Unitarian Universalist Christian Fellowship. The Theology of Peacemaking. A Theology of Evolution. Liberal Theology and the Problem of Evil. UU World: Mathematical Theology. By Sarah Voss Guests in our home are often startled to find a large mannequin sitting on our sofa. Unless I draw their attention to it, most people overlook the inscription on Jonesy's T-shirt, which pretty much sums up (humorously, but also seriously) what I mean by "mathematical theology": And God said, and there was light!
The idea that God speaks mathematically is very old. The ancient Pythagoreans, for example, believed that "Number is all" and that "the harmony of the spheres" depended upon right relationship between those numbers. A few recent books—like Chaos Theology and Quantum Theology—explicitly bring mathematics to theology. Mathematical theology is a study of the divine that in some way draws on mathematics. God seems to speak in mathematics in two basic ways. The other way is through metaphor. To some, drawing analogies from math and the hard sciences is a suspect process. Cantor's work involves numerous radical conclusions about infinity and the continuity of numbers.
Different uu ideas about god. You're definitely in good company when it comes to God-turning and God-thinking.By Myriam Renaud Spring 2011 2.15.11 Have you heard this joke? God created human beings and, ever since, human beings have returned the favor by creating God. Sure, some Unitarian Universalists don’t believe in God. But some UUs do. They are what I call “Got-God” UUs. Got-God UUs turn to God when life stomps them to the ground, or when they’re so happy they can’t stop grinning. Are you a Got-God UU? Want examples? Then there’s the Rev. And what about the alive-and-well Professor Sharon Welch, provost at Meadville Lombard Theological School? Instead, Welch locates the divine in human compassion.
The Rev. For Church, God is a name for “that which is greater than all and yet present in each.” Are you a Got-God UU? See sidebar for links to related resources. UU World November/December 2001: Universalism, A Theology for the 21st Century, by Forrest Church. Are My Beliefs Welcome in Unitarian Universalism?
Marilyn Sewell: The Theology of Unitarian Universalists. How many times have I heard people remark, "You can believe anything and be a Unitarian Universalist. " Or someone might say, with no trace of irony, "I go to the Unitarian Universalist church because I don't believe in organized religion. " Incredulous, I say to myself, "Gee, I try to be organized. And we do have a choir. And choir robes. And ministers. And a building. " Unitarian Universalism is a religion -- and one with a long and noble history. We are a free religious faith, and so have no creed. Our faith, of course, does have requirements. In a very real sense, all theology is autobiography, is it not?
Our free faith was hard won. A Unitarian, King John Sigismund of Transylvania -- now known as Romania -- pronounced the first edict of religious freedom in the year 1568. Francis David, King Sigismund's spiritual advisor, was the single greatest influence on the king's theological beliefs. Many others died for their faith during this period of religious persecution. "Yes," he said.