August 6, 2023
© Rev. Janet Onnie
In 1971 John Lennon wrote the wildly popular song, “Imagine”. Some of the lyrics, “Imagine there’s no heaven, No hell below us,” is core Universalist theology.” No one is damned, all are saved. What I find problematic, however, is the lyric, “Imagine there’s no countries, nothing to kill or die for – and no religion too.”
And also no religion?? The implication is that religion is the basis for all conflict and if we could just do away with religion the whole world will be at peace. I take issue with that idea. The impulse to look beyond oneself for truth and meaning – religion – is a basic human construct. Religion takes the rap for a lot of human misery. But I don’t think the religious impulse in and of itself is the problem. Karen Armstrong’s book “Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence” informs and supports my view. She’s written an astonishing journey from prehistoric times to the present. It’s not an easy read, but Armstrong had an idea there was something more to the accepted view of religion as the cause of violence. She believed the idea had merit before she saw the truth of it. Her belief drove her to do research into the subject which resulted in a dense 528-page book that makes the compelling argument that it is the struggle for power, not religion, that is the source of violence.
I don’t intend to give a book report this morning or to argue with John Lennon. Instead what I’d like us to consider that believing may be a prerequisite to seeing. Belief in a thing does not always depend on seeing – on visual perception. In fact, the ability to perceive a thing may hinge on belief – belief in the possibility that the thing can exist. We see this in all fields of human endeavor: in literature, in art, in science and engineering, in technology, and in our own lives and relationships.
Let me give you a concrete example. My beloved is red-green color blind. It’s a trait common in the male of the human species. Nelson absolutely cannot differentiate between the colors red and green. He can only see a red bird in a green tree when I point out that there’s a male cardinal in that tree. Or a red flower on that bush. Or a red anything against a green background. He can only distinguish the colors as separate when someone he trusts points it out to him; when he BELIEVES there’s something to see. Furthermore, when he thinks that it’s important to try to see it in its entirety, if only to please me.
I’m not talking about faith. There’s a difference between belief and faith. Belief is more active. It relies on imagination and experience. You imagine there’s some sort of something that’s hidden, then you set about uncovering it. Imagination is the key ingredient in belief. The gift of imagination is what makes us human. It is imagination that allows us to see the ‘other’ – to see commonalities rather than differences. The failure to imagine commonalities is our national tragedy of racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia.
Prophets, artists of all kinds and many scientists are great imaginers. These days I’m particularly fond of astronomers and physicists. Take, for instance, the Mars Rover. For a moment put aside the debate about the efficacy of space exploration. Who first imagined it was possible to propel something to land on a distant planet and send images back to earth? And even more awesome is the New Horizons satellite, zipping past what looks like a giant snowman enroute to the planet Pluto. The James Webb Telescope is sending back amazing images from deep space. Someone believed these instruments of exploration were possible way before the engineers figured out ways to make it so.
Just last week I saw the film, “Oppenheimer”. Among the many aspects of his life I didn’t know was that he was one of the scientists who brought the field of quantum physics to this country. Lately there has been news of a process using quantum physics that would make computers unhackable. I don’t begin the understand the physics of it. But a few years ago I got caught up in the research on quantum entanglement – what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance”. I even wrote a sermon about it, which only proves you don’t need to know what you’re talking about to deliver a sermon. Like the discovery of the Higgs bosun – the so-called “God particle”– back in 2012, someone looked at nothing and thought there might be something. Or someone looked at something and thought there might be something more. Then set about to prove it.
What the imaginers in art and science and literature does for me and maybe for you is inspire awe. And because I like the way I feel when I’m awe-struck I try to look around believing there’s always something I’m missing. Something that’s going to make me catch my breath and say ‘Wow’. Like learning about the discovery of the gravity waves. I can imagine surfing through the universe on something discovered but not visible and trust that some artist will have a vision on how to paint it. Or hearing the “Moon Symphony” by Amanda Lee Falkenberg, a 7-movement orchestral work that exists between the intersection of art and science and celebrates past, present, and future moon explorations. Now I don’t know if or how any of this is going to affect my existence here on earth. I’ll still need to tend to the mundane chores of daily life. But in the back of those chores is the sense of wonder. Of Wow. I catch myself chopping vegetables or doing laundry and thinking about those images and waves and the vastness of space and thinking about what else might there be out there that I can’t even imagine. But I believe there’s probably something. And I feel grateful that I’m a miniscule temporary part of all that mystery and energy.
Twenty or so years ago I was living on a very small island that was home to a crumbling church structure. Small, quiet places are breeding grounds for visions. As I looked on this structure and what it represented I had the vision– I imagined –restoring the building. I believed it could be used as a centerpiece in transforming a dusty little backwater into a vibrant spiritual retreat destination. Well, the structure was restored and rededicated. But two years later a hurricane tore through the island, taking off the new roof and reducing the building to its former ruined glory. As I stood with my neighbors howling in the rain-soaked steaming rubble it occurred to me that transformation is a tricky thing, not subject to projected outcomes. From the scientific point of view my belief and subsequent action would be viewed as a failed experiment. But the theological point of view doesn’t evaluate in terms of success or failure. It evaluates in terms of transformation. And imagination is what fuels transformation.
We humans have enormous power of imagination – to believe it before we see it. Cynics would name this as the ability to delude ourselves. We live in cynical times where there seems to be a preponderance of flim-flam artists. So there’s no doubt that our readiness to believe makes us vulnerable to all sorts of predatory claims: of fake news. Of ‘alternative facts’. Our readiness to believe before seeing also makes us vulnerable to assumptions that may or may not be valid. Acting on those assumptions may cause enormous harm. Witness the events of January 6, 2021. That is why it’s so important to subject the claim – whatever it is — to individual logic and reason. Then to test out the evidence supporting the claim in a trusted community of truth-seeking people.
I want to emphasize this last point: testing evidence in a trusted community of truth-seeking people. This process – this method – is at the heart of Unitarian Universalism. To claim Unitarian Universalism we must be scientifically-minded. I don’t mean that we all must be scientists. What I mean is that we all must be aware of the tentativeness of knowledge. We must be aware that ultimate truth is not found by finite minds. And that the truths we do discover are vulnerable to alteration and sometimes even rejection when the evidence does not support our beliefs.
It’s a particular sport of some Unitarian Universalists to point to Christianity as a platform for the flim-flam artists. I can see why we make those assumptions. Brian McLaren points them all out in cringe-worthy detail in his latest book, “Do I Stay Christian?”. Looking at the current agenda of those who most loudly claim to be Christians, most of us want nothing to do with the inhumanity of their actions. If we continue to believe this is what Christianity looks like, we won’t be able to see the enormous amount of good done by those who follow of the teachings of Jesus. Whether they identify as Christian or not.
We are living in an axial age – a hinge time in human history. Every 500 years or so the world, including the religious institutions, experience huge social, political, economic, and cultural shifts. The pressure to return to the ‘good old days’ is enormous. But here’s the good news: Unitarian Universalism exists for such a time. We are in the transformation business. When you hear that we have a ‘historical opportunity’ to build a new way to be in communion with the earth and all the creatures in it believe it. Take it seriously. Since Arius led the minority position in the 4th century struggle over the nature of Jesus we Unitarian Universalists have been up against the Empire in all the ages. To be the outliers – to imagine alternatives to the forces that impoverish the human spirit – that is our birthright. We believe the arc of the moral universe is long and that it bends toward justice. In daily small acts of kindness we are willing to see that justice and love can prevail. And we are called to work toward that end.
Here’s an idea on how to start this work. For just one week turn off the news. All of it. For that week, simply observe people interacting in the grocery store, at the gas station, in line at the bank, in restaurants. Anywhere where two people interact however briefly. Are these observed interactions consistent with the news stories about our divided country? Are these encounters between people hostile or benign? Do you witness decency and small kindnesses between ordinary people in ordinary situations? Are you dispensing decency and kindness in your daily encounters with others unlike yourself? Take note of how you experience this news-less week come back next Sunday and share your findings with others in this trusted community.
As we stumble into the future let’s imagine what sort of world we might see if we believed this was our time to lead humanity to the unification of reason and love in this age. What would the world look like if the prophets, sages, and mystics and all imaginers finally prevailed over the Empire? How would our lives and our communities be transformed if we could ALL trust each other enough to see that red bird of love and justice in the green tree of fear and intolerance? That bird is sitting there. It’s just waiting for us to believe we can see it. May it be so. Blessed Be. Amen.