Prophetic Words From Rev. Victoria Weinstein About A Free And *Responsible* Search For Truth And Meaning

Free and Responsible

The fourth principle of the UUA is "the free and responsible search for truth and meaning."

This is one of those phrases that sounds wonderful to rebels like me. . . until we take a second look and realize that there are two adjectives describing the nature of the search for truth and meaning.

We pause and think about it for a while, and then decide we still really like this principle. In fact, we think, it will be good for us to be responsible, and not just free.

So what does it mean to be a responsible UU seeker?

Maybe one of the things it means is committing to a community of fellow seekers, submitting to the admittedly broad boundaries of UU sensibilities. Rather than frittering away, bouncing from one faith community to another, running from the inevitable disappointments of human imperfection.

Maybe it means not screaming and yelling at people whose beliefs seem infuriatingly narrowminded. And to balance that, it probably means speaking clearly and courageously about the truth as I have come to understand it.

And it means things like reading a wide variety of books, even boring ones. Maybe it even means watching Fox News every once in a while, with an open mind and a calm demeanor.

It's hard to be responsible.

But the consequences of irresponsibility are even harder to take.

Comments

indrax said…
Do you affirm and promote my free and responsible search for truth and meaning?
Robin Edgar said…
Of course I do indrax. It should be obvious to anyone. It is U*Us who have failed miserably to enter into a genuinely free, and genuinely responsible, search for the truth and meaning of the various things that I have been saying to U*Us for well over a decade now; including the truth and meaning of the important religious messages that were conveyed to me via the profoundly meaningful revelatory religious experience that Rev. Ray Drennan very freely, but incredibly very irresponsibly, contemptuously dismissed as my "psychotic experience" just over 11 years ago now. . . I am still waiting for the U*U religious community to live up to its fraudulent claims to be open to revelation and prophecy and enter into a genuinely free and responsible search for the truth and meaning of that significant revelation of God.

I hate to have to say so but your rather less than coherent blog is very free with the truth but not particularly responsible with it. I am very confident that most intelligent people of conscience will concur.
indrax said…
I what ways am I irresponsible with the truth?
Robin Edgar said…
Well if you are not capable of figuring that out for yourself I am not going to waste any time uselessly arguing with you indrax.

Why not ask a few other U*U bloggers for a real eye-opener. Start by asking them if they agree with you when you accuse me of lying. . .