Atlanta Unitarian

In adolescence in particular there is a strong need to call out those things that are fake, those niceties required by society but performed without any sincerity. This impulse, the impulse to say no to the half-truths of the world, is, I think, a deep spiritual impulse, one that never entirely goes away as one gets older. Perhaps as we grow older we learn the instrumental value of little white lies, of picking our battles. But in some sense we want the freedom to yell out "No!", to set aside the expectations of others and the roles we have assumed and shout out the contrary, more direct and more honest truth we harbor within.  I think we all have a hunger for unrefined truths, especially when they have been long suppressed. The truths of the soul are quiet and difficult to obtain. This early form of resistance is the potential beginning of something much more significant, the capacity for deep listening to the callings of one's true self. When we are adults, teachers...

One of my areas of greatest discomfort with Christian theology has been the concept of original sin.  To say that human nature is inherently inclined towards the evil seemed to me unfair and inaccurate.  Also, the score keeping seemed unfair as well:  If you do something wrong, you get the blame, but if you do something right, only God gets the credit.  You own your own flaws but not your own virtues. Now I say all of this as a strict amateur, someone who has never studied Christian theology seriously, so please take it with a grain of salt.  This is less an accurate portrayal of Christian theology than an outline of my own theological thinking. For a long time I think I subscribed to an essentially optimistic view of human nature - that people are born essentially good, and if they gravitate towards bad behavior later in life it is because they were not provided the necessary nurturing and guidance in their childhood.  I think this is a view fairly com...