Comments on: Come, Come, Whoever You Are http://adamsnider.com/blog/rumi-unitarian-universalist-hymn/ Adam Snider is an Edmonton-based writer. This is his personal blog. He writes about his life, his city, and a variety of topics that are of interest to him. Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:44:26 +0000 hourly 1 By: Adam Snider http://adamsnider.com/blog/rumi-unitarian-universalist-hymn/comment-page-1/#comment-56 Adam Snider Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:02:20 +0000 http://adamsnider.com/blog/?p=99#comment-56 One of the things I like and find interesting about Unitarianism is that you can be an atheist---I suspect that the vast majority of the congregation at <a href="http://uce.ca" title="Unitarian Church of Edmonton" rel="nofollow">UCE</a> are secular humanists---and still get value from the religion. Rarely, if ever, is it about god or the afterlife or anything like that (at least in the North American/Canadian version). It's about how to live a better life in the now. In a lot of ways, it's humanism with some symbolism and ritual thrown in. And, even though I'm basically an atheist (though I sometimes use the word god, it's rarely in the sort of Abrahamic sense of the word that's typical in Western cultures (a deist sense, maybe?)), I find value in the spiritual aspects of things like the Unitarian faith. I find them to be---at the very least---useful metaphors for living a moral life. Either that or I'm one of those people whose brain has evolved in such a way that I "need" religion in my life. I dunno. I'm not exactly sure what the point I'm trying to make is, but it seemed like an appropriate response to your comment. One of the things I like and find interesting about Unitarianism is that you can be an atheist—I suspect that the vast majority of the congregation at UCE are secular humanists—and still get value from the religion.

Rarely, if ever, is it about god or the afterlife or anything like that (at least in the North American/Canadian version). It’s about how to live a better life in the now. In a lot of ways, it’s humanism with some symbolism and ritual thrown in.

And, even though I’m basically an atheist (though I sometimes use the word god, it’s rarely in the sort of Abrahamic sense of the word that’s typical in Western cultures (a deist sense, maybe?)), I find value in the spiritual aspects of things like the Unitarian faith. I find them to be—at the very least—useful metaphors for living a moral life. Either that or I’m one of those people whose brain has evolved in such a way that I “need” religion in my life. I dunno.

I’m not exactly sure what the point I’m trying to make is, but it seemed like an appropriate response to your comment.

]]> By: 40 Year Old Atheist http://adamsnider.com/blog/rumi-unitarian-universalist-hymn/comment-page-1/#comment-55 40 Year Old Atheist Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:14:49 +0000 http://adamsnider.com/blog/?p=99#comment-55 My wife and I were married by an Unitarian minister because we felt it was the least religious, with a nice warm feel - kind of midway between religious and using a J.P. We were married prior to my becoming an atheist. Today, I'd probably just find a nice J.P. unless it was really important for my partner to make it feel more spiritual. My wife and I were married by an Unitarian minister because we felt it was the least religious, with a nice warm feel – kind of midway between religious and using a J.P. We were married prior to my becoming an atheist. Today, I’d probably just find a nice J.P. unless it was really important for my partner to make it feel more spiritual.

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