Is the Universe Intelligently Designed?
At this workshop on Saturday, July 22, 2006, we discussed the lawsuit in Dover, Pennsylvania, where there was a court case prohibiting the teaching of intelligent design in public school biology classes. We then looked at our UU principles and vision as they relate to our beliefs about order and design in the universe. This led to a discussion of what might a UU theology look like. The workshop was lead by Rev. Scotty McLennan, who is a UU community minister endorsed by UUCPA, and the Dean for Religious Life at Stanford University.
Resources from Scotty’s workshop:
A compilation of quotes from UU hymns, readings and sources gathered by Scotty for this workshop.
A excerpt of a sermon O God: Darwin at the Cross by Scotty was published in the Sping 2006 issue of Stanford Medicine Magazine.
About 33 people participated in this workshop. Below is a summary of the discussion by the group of what might be considered a common UU theology:
- “God” is immanent [The term “immanence” is usually understood to mean that the divine force, or the divine being, pervades through all things that exist, and is able to influence them. — Wikipedia]
- We have an inclusive view
- There is order in the universe and this order is understandable by humans
- Humans are “special” and have responsibility of stewardship *
- Don’t say “god” but something like it
- There is purpose to life (human are meaning-making creatures) *
- We experience wonder and awe (which language cannot fully express)
- We respect religion and theology
- We believe that there is no one correct answer
- We are committed to community
- We tend to be non-hierarchical and anti-authority
* points of disagreement or lack of consensus
At the workshop, participants were asked to look over a compilation of compilation of quotes from UU hymns, readings and sources gathered by Scotty for this workshop, and identify which ones resonated with them. Here are the some of the ones we liked most:
#123: Spirit of Life (most popular)
“Spirit of Life, come unto me. Sing in my heart all the stirrings of compassion. Blow in the wind, rise in the sea, move in the hand, giving life the shape of justice. Roots hold me close; wings set me free; Spirit of Life, come to me, come to me.”
#531: (second favorite)
“Let us learn the revelation of all nature and thought; that the Highest dwells within us, that the sources of nature are in our own minds. As there is no screen or ceiling between our heads and the infinite heavens, so there is no bar or wall in the soul where we, the effect, cease, and God, the cause, begins. I am constrained at every moment to acknowledge a higher origin for events than the will I call mine. There is a deep power in which we exist and whose beatitude is accessible to us … When it breaks through our intellect, it is genius; when it breathes through our will, it is virtue; when it flows through our affections, it is love.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
#158: Praise the Source of Faith and Learning
“Praise the source of faith and learning that has sparked and stoked the mind with a passion for discerning how the world has been designed … Far beyond our calculation lies a depth we cannot sound where the purpose for creation and the pulse of life are found.”
#298: Wake, Now, My Senses
“Wake,now my senses, and hear the earth call; feel the deep power of being in all; keep, with the web of creation your vow.”
#452: “Life is a gift for which we are grateful. We gather in community to celebrate the glories and the mysteries of this great gift.” (Marjorie Montgomery)
#532: “The music of the spheres. A harmonious universe — like a harp … The beating of the heart. Day/night … Rhythms of moon and tide. One single rhythm in planets, atoms, sea … Melody, accord, arpeggios, the harp of the universe. Unity behind apparent multiplicity. That is the music.” (Ernesto Cardenal)
#550: “This we know. The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth. This we know. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family … Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons and daughters of the earth. We did not weave the web of life; we are merely a strand in it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.” (Chief Noah Sealth)
