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Monday, November 15, 2004

From anguish to dialogue.

by Philocrites

Mike Andreski writes in the comments to an earlier post:

Where can a UU who is almost in agony over the election get a UU perspective on dealing with this? I would like a dialog on how we can talk to fundies and move them back to the loving side of religious dialog, using their own language.

That's a tall order! But let's talk about it. We could start with Jake's discussion, "Liberalism Reframed," or we could share sermons and other materials that have helped us find new ways to seek dialogue in our divided culture. (My own caution would be that religious liberals have very limited prospects for persuading "fundies": I would recommend finding somewhat more moderate dialogue partners first.) Let's not dwell in agony, friends: How do you engage in real dialogue with politically conservative Christians in your families, workplaces, and communities?

Copyright © 2004 by Philocrites | Posted 15 November 2004 at 5:18 PM

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3 comments:

Paul S. Sawyer:

November 15, 2004 07:41 PM | Permalink for this comment

I found this article from Beliefnet a good beginning for both sides (as if there were only two), in starting to speak with each other.

"Understanding the Truth (and Lies) About Liberals and Conservatives" by Steven Waldman

Nancy Proctor:

November 16, 2004 04:42 PM | Permalink for this comment

Having spent the last few weeks researching "evangelism", "Evangelism", and "Missiology" within a UU context, I think we need to revisit our definition and understanding of the Evangelical movement. We make assumptions based on limited understanding of the millions of Americans who identify themselves with this movement. Most don't like Jerry Falwell. They are moved by the "social" gospel (good works) Evangelical theologians are struggling with post-modern evangelism and theology. All based on two things - Jesus, personal savior and the infallibility of the Bible. These are not your fundamentalists of the 1920's.

Which leads me to my question. As Unitarian Universalists how do we define evangelism in theological terms? Does missionology exist within a UU theological context. How was that played out in the 1900's? The events of that century (world wars, depression, middle class prosperity) positively affected Evangelism. In seems to me, that during the same time period, Unitarian and Universalism gained humanism but lost a liberal Christian focus and vocabulary.

I'm a layperson putting some intellectual and spiritual challenge in my life. What do the professionals say?

Nancy P

Melanie:

November 19, 2004 11:39 AM | Permalink for this comment

Nancy,

I highly recommend a book by one of the leading lights of Evangelical theology, Miroslav Volf's Exclusion and Embrace. It explores the depths of the Evangelical tradition and offers a thoroughly Christian way of bridging differences that is classically liberal.



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