Sunday service by Chris Edwards, Nov. 14, 2010

Chalice Readings:

“The progress of mankind onward and upward forever.”
– Unitarian Rev. James Freeman Clarke, 1885

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. – Ecclesiastes

“Knowledge will lead to the absolute perfection of the human race.” -Nicolas de Condorcet

Trying to control the future
Is like trying to take the master carpenter’s place.
When you handle the master carpenter’s tools,
Chances are you’ll cut your hand.
–The Tao

Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers. – Socrates

At least the past is safe. . . Because it’s in the past; because we have survived. – Susan Sontag

The past is never dead–it is not even past. – William Faulkner

The guns will all be silent and the flags will all be furled
When we tie a yellow ribbon ‘round the world.
–Utah Phillips

Don’t look back. Something may be gaining on you. – Satchel Paige

***

In 1885, Rev. James Freeman Clarke outlined his “Five Points of the New Theology,” a predecessor to our 7 Principles that’s engraved in some old Unitarian churches:
“The fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, the leadership of Jesus, salvation by character, and . . . the progress of mankind onward and upward forever.” Aside from theological and gender language, what else here might be outdated?

Today’s Hymn 143 appears in a section in the UU hymnal of onwardy, upwardy hymns, mostly penned in the Victorian Age. Our tradition is strong on this. The first UU service I recall attending, in the late 60s, had a discussion of whether human progress happens. One man kept insisting the question was ridiculous: “We have plastics, my wife fixes TV dinners, we’re putting a man on the moon!”

Yes, we humans are stunningly clever at devising technological stuff. But how much have we learned about how to live? Bringing the question back today, I’ll leave out lofty metaphysics and just think of a line from that song, “The Kindergarten Wall”: “Don’t hurt each other and clean up your mess.” Are we getting better at that? [Read more…]