We traveled back from Texas yesterday and managed to get voluntarily bumped on the way. That meant we didn't get back to Pullman until 1:30 in the morning, but it also means we have two free tickets. So look out family - we will be coming to visit you!
Back to work today after a week off. Invigorating, exciting and exhausting. How can work be all of this? But it is.
I had several meetings and other and sundry things to take care of. I finished editing some stuff that I should have finished already. I ride the bus to and from work occasionally, especially when tired, or rushed or it's cold, or ... but I often walk. It is 3/4 of a mile, and uphill both ways! Pullman is built on 5 hills, but the hill that the campus is on is really quite "up-and-down" so I am told that it one develops "cougar calves" from all the hill walking!
Here's a link to the NY Times 10 best books of 2008 list. Maybe I will read a majority of them before the next year is out. Right now I am reading The Age of Shiva, by Manil Suri, who, it turns out, is a mathematics professor! I didn't realize that when I chose his book to read at the local library. I seem to have a fascination with India, and books about India and by Indian writers. One of these days I'd like to travel there, but it doesn't seem too safe right now in the aftermath of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
I am also reading bits of The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. This evening I read the part "What's wrong with religion?" where he makes a compelling argument that the problem in cases like this one is not "religious extremism" but simply "religion". That leaves me wondering about Unitarianism - it is also a religion. Could it also cause similar single-mindedness and righteousness?
3 comments:
But do you really consider Unitarianism a religion? I'm not sure I do. Many Unitarian "churches" call themselves "societies" instead, for precisely this reason. I think Unitarians are a gathering of somewhat like-minded people who share the idea that thinking about serious issues and pondering and talking and sharing with others and being open to possibilities is a good thing. Beyond that, I"m not sure there's much anyone can say about what Unitarians "believe." So can you really say it's a religion, any more than, say, humanism?
OK so I was interested in the answer to this which is why I blogged in the first place. Tonight I looked up the information that they gave me when I joined. Here's what it says: UU is a liberal religion born of the Jewish and Christian traditions. We keep our minds open to the religious quesitons people have struggled with in all times and places. ... In the end, religious authority lies not in a book etc. .. but in ourselves. OK, but the info starts out with "Are you looking for a religious home?" So I think they consider themselves a religion of some kind.
However, in their statement of principles they do not mention religion:
We ... covenant to affirm and promote:
The inherent worth and dignity of evefry person;
Justice, equity, and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the deomcratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
No mention of religion in this.
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