Not sure. For a few weeks my wife and I have visited a local Unitarian Universalist (UU) church with the goal of establishing a communicative link with someone other than ourselves. The reason we have selected a church atmosphere over any other venue is because of our faith. We are followers of Christ, but our peculiar form of doctrine (or lack thereof) makes us not quite comfortable with the plethora of churches available — both denominational and non-denominational (which is really just a title; they mirror other denominations).
Our spiritual journey has been both exciting and somewhat lonely. We were steeped in Christian fundamentalism, but after 35 or so years of our married walk together, we began to question some of our doctrine. Like the validity or purpose of the Rapture and Tribulation, how the world will end (if it ends) and why is an eternal torture in a burning hell necessary?
We started taking Jesus at his word. He prayed to God and called him his father, so we wondered how he could be God at the same time. Sure, he said “my father and I are one,” but that could just mean that they were of the same mind, like “my father and I are just alike.” So there goes the trinity.
And we struggled to find definite comments or teaching from the Son of God to support the main stream salvation/end times position that so many promote. The only thing that we could come up with is that Jesus wants us to be nice (pardon the oversimplification).
We went from organized church to house church to no church. We tried a couple of Methodist churches because they seemed rather innocuous. But we felt that getting involved outside of worship service might put us in a position of revealing our beliefs, thereby making us and them uncomfortable. Our next stop - the Unitarian Universalists.
We had done some research on the UUs and learned that they were tolerant of all religions and were big on encouraging human kindness. So far, so good. We have attended three “worship” services: one on remembering UUs who have passed on; one on doing your own thing; and the last one could have been titled, “Is is possible that I’m a humanist?”
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What’s with the Jesus in the bathtub?
When spring arrived in our area, the leaves budded, the flowers bloomed and a new crop of bathtub shrines appeared. And we’re in the heart of the Bible Belt — not that many Catholics to speak of. Now, if you haven’t seen them, they usually are placed in the front yard for street view. They are full sized bathtubs that are submerged in the soil, vertically, half way, with a figurine placed in the center. This configuration is in the form of a grotto, which is an Italian word for “cave.” Flowers and landscaping are added to some.
The primary figure is the Virgin Mary, but around here there seems to be more figures of Jesus, maybe because we are in the Bible Belt. Sometimes they will substitute Mother or Son with their favorite saint. I don’t recall seeing anyone bowing before the tub in worship, so I’m not quite sure what the purpose is in having them. And using a bathtub seems, well, tacky. You would think the Son of God, or his Mom, would rate something better.
Perhaps the tub talisman is a visual reminder that we are to come clean. No hidden sins or secrets. No unclean living or soiled spirituality. Many religions use such reminders in order to stay focused, so I’m not knocking it. However, I think the best reminder is to be in each others lives, intimately, bearing one another’s burdens and teaching by example.
While there are no Biblical references to Jesus bathing, he was certainly no stranger to water. He was baptized in it, walked on it, calmed it and changed it into wine. One time he used a basin to wash his disciples’ feet (John 13:5). They didn’t seem to understand why he was doing it, but he basically told them that they would figure it out later. Some folks today have made it into a ritual, but I’m not so sure that they have really figured it out.
Peter saw the event as a service performed by a lowly servant. So when Jesus came to him, he refused, apparently feeling that the Messiah should not stoop so low. Jesus gently rebuked him, saying that such a refusal would eliminate Peter from service in the Kingdom of God. Peter’s dramatic response was, “Don’t stop with my feet!”
Such passages are subject to personal interpretation. Here’s mine.
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