What does the upside down star(pentagram) mean to you?

Doktor S wrote:

It holds a deep symbolic meaning to me. It represents personal power, growth, intellect, independence, and freedom. It represents being mastered by none but the self.
I have it inked on my body to remind me of what and who I am...

Why do you need a silly symbol to remind you of what and who you are? Don't you know?

I wonder how many Christians own or wear a cross?
P

Quote:

I wonder how many Christians own or wear a cross?
P

A lot of them.I fail to see the relevance of this to my post however.

Hi Intrepid,

Intrepid wrote:

Relying on the judgement of some knowledgeable experts (A2K members) may be far more productive in identifying obvious truths than trying to develop a list of unfounded accusations in randomly selected pieces of posts. Ciao.

If this post is for me (no way to tell in fact) I have no idea who these "knowledgeable experts" are that you deem "may be far more productive in identifying obvious truths". Further if they are so-called "obvious truths" there would appear to be no need of the so-called "knowledgeable experts".

Finally I have no idea what this so-called "list of unfounded accusations" are that you refer to, nor what "randomly selected pieces of posts" you suggesting .

Then again for all I know you have directed this post to someone else, or to no one in particular.

Intrepid wrote:

Doktor S wrote:

It holds a deep symbolic meaning to me. It represents personal power, growth, intellect, independence, and freedom. It represents being mastered by none but the self.
I have it inked on my body to remind me of what and who I am...

Why do you need a silly symbol to remind you of what and who you are? Don't you know?

I wonder how many Christians own or wear a cross?
P

OK please name a recognized identifiable religion which has zero congruence to any belief in any supernatural powers in any way. I am not saying three is no such thing but I am saying I am not aware of any.

Chumly wrote:

OK please name a recognized identifiable religion which has zero congruence to any belief in any supernatural powers in any way. I am not saying three is no such thing but I am saying I am not aware of any.

I've been describing one all along. UU does not espouse any particular belief system. Some members believe in a supernatural power, most do not; it's not what we spend our time worrying or even talking about. The Principles are drawn from the Sources, but not in how they are derived from a supernatural power but in how they encourage positive interactions with each other. Morals and values are emphasized, social activism is encouraged, personal spirituality (however you want to define that) is accepted as long as one's behaviors do not interfere with the rights of others.

Dignity, respect, justice, equity, compassion, acceptance, encouragement, peace, liberty, social conscience, environmental concern...

None of those have any connection whatsoever to a supernatural power.

Living the Principles is more difficult than you might imagine. It's not about what you believe, it's how you interact with the world around you. First do no harm then make it better.

God is no bulwark to the arrogant who spurn the great altar of God's justice.
AESCHYLUS

We do too narrowly define the power of God, restraining it to our capacities.
ANONYMOUS

Without God we cannot; without us God will not.
ST. AUGUSTINE

If you hallow this life, you meet the living God.
MARTIN BUBER

God listens to the heart, not to words.
GASTON M. CARRIER

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
I CORINTHIANS 3:16

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
II CORINTHIANS 3:17

You can't find God before an altar if that is the only place you look for him.
A. POWELL DAVIES

This something that we call God is the indwelling idealism of humanity.
DURANT DRAKE

To seek God by rituals is to get the ritual and lose God in the process.
MEISTER ECKHART

God offers the choice between truth and repose. Take which you please?-you can never have both.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON

God enters by a private door into every individual.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON

Try first thyself, and after, call in God; for to the worker God lends aid.
EURIPIDES

Wherever souls of men have worshipped, there is God.
HERBERT D. GALLAUDET

The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time.
THOMAS JEFFERSON

God enters the world in every man.
WILLIAM B. KILLAM

God is as close to us as we are to ourselves.
MARJORIE NEWLIN LEAMING

The search for God is the search for reality.
SIDNEY E. MEAD

All things proceed from God; all things end in God.
GEORGE MOORE

You love God best when you love men most.
THEODORE PARKER

The Lord is my strength and my song, and is become my salvation.
PSALM 118:14

Every picture of God is a self-portrait.
J. FRANK SCHULMAN

God is not against us for our sins. God is for us against our sins.
DAVID A. SEAMANDS

UU Kids Say... God Through the Eyes of Our Children
Edited by Beth Graham
Purchase Here!

UU Kids say God is . . .
God is anything you want God to be.
It's probably a portable God you can shape to fit your beliefs.
An individual God. No two alike.
For me, God is a five-year-old little girl. For my cat, God is a cat.

. . . everywhere.

God is the earth and all spirits, everything, everywhere.
God is in us and around us.
God is not a person but a controlling force in all of us.
God is all different colors.
God is all beings and all life and all creation.
God is all those things that make up me.
God is in everyone.
God is in your heart.
God is anything that is mysterious and has remarkable power.
God could be the spark that keeps everything everything.
. . . like other things.
God is like the wind because God is all around.
God is like magic because God has all power.
God is like a car driver because God is in control.
God is like your heart because God keeps you alive.
God is like friendship because God is loving.
God is like a chair because God makes you feel comfortable and safe and great.
God is like a protector.
God is like a fire.
God is the biggest camera ever made.
God is an old man with a white beard who is tall and nice.
God is a big woman who loves us all.
God is a young woman.
God is breath.
God is a good feeling.
God is the curiosity inside you.
God is about feelings.
God is peace.
God is the whispering of the wind, the brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, cousins, gold and silver, a cross, a star, a chalice, and the people.
. . . about nature.
God is a rainbow.
God is a cloud and stays in the sky.
God is in the sea or up in the air.
God is the sun coming through the clouds.
. . . a spirit.
God is a very special person who lives in the clouds and all the dead people are his helpers.
God is a spirit, not a person or an animal.
God is a spirit who looks a lot like Jesus, but not exactly.
God is someone who sort of takes your spirit after you die.
God is the Spirit of Life.
There is a god but he is invisible.
He is a she and a he.
God is a good spirit to me.
He never lies, he has intelligence, and most of all he loves me.
. . . a mystery.
God never shows himself. Only gives symbols, images.
God might give something bad to save something good.
God can grant love but not a million dollars.
. . . nonexistent.
I do not believe in God. I can think what I want. I don't believe in the devil either.
There are many ways to believe and every way is okay. . . even those who don't believe.
What is God?
Some people think that God is a feeling you carry deep in your heart,
Some people think God's all around us, the world of which we're a part.
Some people think that God is the flowers, the earth, the air, and the trees,
Some people think that God's what's unknown and to wonder is just a big tease.
Some people think that God is the stars twinkling so bright in the night.
Some people think that God is the knowledge of doing what's wrong and what's right.
Some people think that God's an old man living way up in the sky,
Some people think that God is the answer whenever we ask ourselves "why?"
Some people think that God is a puzzle, the pieces never quite fit.
Some people think that God's what you hear when you make yourself quietly sit.
We all have ideas about what is God,
Thoughts that we think on our own.
But here in this church, in this place together,
We never need question alone.
?-Beth Graham

Thoughts for Parents
One of the seven principles that Unitarian Universalists affirm and promote is "a free and responsible search for truth and meaning." We believe this is as important for our children as it is for the adults. Since children absorb their religious understandings in terms that are unique to their stage of development, we as adults must be sensitive to their evolving sense of the holy. We have much to learn from our children, for their spiritual language and images seem to flow so smoothly between the concrete and the ethereal.
"Enjoy your child's personal philosophy as it unfolds," says child-study professor George Scarlett of Tufts University. "Listen to the child's thoughts about God. Try to understand and show respect for their ideas, even while sharing your own. The point is to keep a dialogue about spiritual matters going."

Harold Howe, former U.S. commissioner of education and a Unitarian Universalist, jotted these words to his minister at church one day: "Here's a definition of a Unitarian Universalist: a person who can ask children, 'What is God?' and listen seriously to their replies. P.S.: I once went to Sunday school for about 7 years, but no one asked me 'What is God?' Instead, they told me."

Unitarian Universalists find value in listening to what our children are saying about God.

The children's words and illustrations were contributed by grade school students in religious education classes from the First Universalist Church in Minneapolis, MN; the First Unitarian Church in Memphis, TN; the Unitarian Universalist churches in Sarasota, FL and in Olinda, Ontario; and the First Parish churches in Concord and Milton, MA. Cover illustration by Adam Robison.

Currently minister of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington, NY, Beth Graham has been involved in Unitarian Universalist congregations her whole life. Raised in the Unitarian Church in Arlington, VA, Beth's first settled ministry was with First Parish in Concord, MA. She lives in New York with her husband, the Reverend William Schulz.

Many people have questioned whether any concept of God can be meaningful in a modern, scientific world. Others, however, find the idea of God to be profoundly meaningful. Among Unitarian Universalists and other religious liberals, conceptions range across a wide spectrum. Some reject God altogether and hold a strictly atheistic view of the universe. Others may use the term God to convey very different ideas, such as the creative power of evolution in the universe, or the power that makes transformation possible in our lives, or the ongoing power of love, or simply the ultimate mystery within which we all must live. And while few UUs think of God as a supernatural being, many understand themselves to be in some sort of personal relationship with God, however conceived. Many also stress the feminine aspects of the divine by invoking Goddess imagery and using metaphors such as mother or sister in place of traditional metaphors for God such as father or lord.

What exactly is God?.......A celestial "peeping tom" willing to strike you down for not obeying or believing in him........ or a "mind" that sets the ways of universe and using human consciousness to experience? I guess the answer depends on the individual level of spiritual maturity.
Erika


Posted: Mar 27, 2006 14:21:23


To read about Unitarian Universalist views of God, please see http://www.uua.org/pamphlet/3039.html.
Anonymous


Posted: Apr 11, 2006 21:56:55


I can't speak for other UUs, but my view of God is of an intelligent force. A power, an energy that is in every inch of creation and within each of ourselves. I don't view God as a person, as male or female; I view God as God. I think God is intelligent to have created the universe; I don't think it just randomly happened. But I think God's intelligence is something that is beyond our comprehension; and I think this goes for everything about God. I think we can bring ourselves closer to God through love, compassion, hope, faith, peace, happiness, friendship; never through war, hatred, or selfishness. Just my own views
Aaron
Member

Posted: Apr 25, 2006 11:57:29 · Edited by: Aaron


As a Panendeist or "Open Pandeist" I view God as the Cosmos. Not just the material Universe, everything, Energy, Matter, The Laws of Nature and everything else within the Universe. Therefore we humans, our thoughts, dreams, actions, and spirits are all a part of "God" or "deity" or "Allah", or "The Force" or whatever else you want to call it.

To read about Unitarian Universalist views of God, please see http://www.uua.org/pamphlet/3039.html.[/i]

I like The Web of Existence example...
mtatum4496
Member

Posted: Apr 25, 2006 14:18:35


When I use the term "God" I understand I am using a finite term to refer to an infinite phenomenon. The images of God that have relevance to me are of necessity limited, as my intellect and my ability to experience the world and creation is limited (albeit with plenty of room to expand!).

Within these parameters, my tendency is to accept that others will have concepts and images of Deity, God, the Universe, the Ultimate, etc that are just as finite, and just as valid as mine - even if I don't accept or agree with all those images or concepts.
Anonymous


Posted: May 14, 2006 19:08:26


Aaron

Greetings, fellow PanDeists!!! I am overjoyed to find other who share my belief in PanDeism - that the God who designed the universe and set forth its laws carried out its creation through this God's own metamorphasis. Indeed, the only rational reason for the creation of the universe is that God wished to experience things that even God could not know, overcoming limitations and making difficult decisions, understanding good and evil from experiencing both. We are God's experience, and in the end, God will be our experience!
Anonymous


Posted: May 14, 2006 19:44:37 · Edited by: Admin


Oh, didn't identify myself - I'm Pacific PanDeist. I have a MySpace account if anyone wants to drop me a line there, and I would love to hear from my brothers and sisters in faith!
Also, I have recently made a new friend in the creator of a website, http://www.fringecult.com/?page_id=2, who is ahead of me on that path to bringing unity to the growing movement towards PanDeism!
////Pacific PanDeist
Mymloch
Member

Posted: May 22, 2006 21:22:30


I see bits and pieces of my personal views in the previous posts (big shock there, huh?). It's all there, though.

I think that we are all part of whatever "God" is. However, I also believe that there is something apart from what we understand, and that it may even be self-aware in its own right. Upon death, I think we return to God, in some way, anyway. I still debate myself on the workings of the affect of Good and Evil on that path (i.e. does Good bring you closer to God and Evil push you further away).

Quick digression, perhaps beings closer to God are compelled to do "Good", while the opposite is true to those that are not. Of course, this only applies to beings of reason, as we are the only ones blessed/cursed with the knowledge of such things. For instance, one would not say that an animal is "evil" or "good". That's not to say that animals are better than humans, but it's just a price we pay in having reason.

Anyway, the Pandeist idea is something I had never really heard before, but it sounds pretty interesting. The idea that we as sentient mortals are existing as God in some cosmic way, being the mortal experience of God is a very fascinating concept.

What does the upside down star(pentagram) mean to you?

Fundy types on both side of the aisle should occasionally remove their blinders..

The upside down pentagram represents Satan. It is the same as denouncing God. To wear it is to attract evil around you. It will not bring good spirits around you. Normally it is only worn by Satanists or devil worshippers.

That makes it sound as though there were something wrong with denouncing god. If one refers to that clown in the old testament, i can think of nothing more praiseworthy than to denounce such a cartoon character of such vicious habits.