Rove – Earthly Religion

Religiously Political prep in Newsletter

January 25, 2012
Byron Carrier

Carrier’s Comments in November, 2008 Catalyst Newsletter Federal tax law bars me from a partisan directive to you on how to vote. I wouldn’t presume to do that anyway. The intent of the separation of church & state is to bar the government from promoting, or persecuting, any religion in order that the religions have the latitude to speak to social trends & issues. The church should not be beholden to, or afraid of, the government. To suggest that religions should remain silent on political…

January 24, 2012
Byron Carrier

It is not just the Unitarian Universalists who hold democracy as scared duty and hope; much of humanity honors mutual self rule. We no longer believe a king or pope has the right to rule us, for the divine hierarchy isn’t top down, it’s inner out, both individualistic and communal. This isn’t a passive putting up with bossy rulers; it is protecting, perfecting, and promoting humanity’s rising to be itself. By democracy I don’t merely mean voting. Voting for others to represent us is…

January 24, 2012
Byron Carrier

What has become of civility in our society? Civility is inherent in civilization. To civilize is to instruct on the arts of life, to enlighten and refine them, to bring our society out of a state of barbarism. However, a wave of incivility has us headed back to barbarism, diverting us from any sensible dialog or progress, especially as we consider health care reform. My concern here is not just for health care. Our health care system is exemplified by Paul Goodman’s comment about…

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The dream of an Earthly Religion…

Earthly: our precious natural earth which allows us our bodies, lives, cultures and future.

Religion: from the old root words religare and religio, meaning “to bind back to the root and be whole again.” This does not assume we need to believe in God or the Bible. Rather, we should be well-related with our own bodies, each other, natural life, and natural existence as it actually is. If there is connection with divinity or God, it is in and through our bodies and beings that we relate primarily, not via scriptures, traditions, rituals, or supposed religious authorities. In short, by religion we mean “relating well with reality.”

The emphasis here is on the earthly. It is not an afterlife or an instead-of-life that interests us. Living well here on earth together does.

While we take our religious perspective and work seriously, we don’t want it to be stuffy. Too often, religions can be alien to the human condition rather than affirming of it. They can be demeaning and demoralizing, dull and bossy, ponderously pretentious. We lean more towards the fun and sexy, natural and lively, human and humane, thoughtful and pertinent.

Reality: the obvious and inescapable stuff of physical existence. We intend to enjoy and tend our lives in these bodies, for our time, in our cultures, for our singular and interrelated ecosystem. There may be more, but there is AT LEAST THIS of which we are born, in which we live, and into which we will die.

God or no-God is not the point; Earth is. Both believers and non-believers are welcome here, for we all share a common source, opportunity, and responsibility: life as it is and could be. This ranges from simply improving one’s own life to your helping save and restore Eden’s, not just to “sustain” it, but veering it to thrive as never before. If you value your life, each other’s, and Earth’s – welcome!

Learn more…

Religiously Political prep in Newsletter

Destroying or Developing Democracy

Civility and Health Care