{"id":76,"date":"2011-12-05T22:34:06","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T22:34:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.mybetawebsite.com\/?page_id=76"},"modified":"2017-07-12T21:28:42","modified_gmt":"2017-07-13T03:28:42","slug":"beliefs","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/our-faith\/beliefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Beliefs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Let there be light
\n<\/strong> Light to illuminate the faces of loved ones
\n<\/strong> Light to vanquish the shadows of hatred and fear
\n<\/strong> Light to bring hope to the despairing
\n<\/strong> And the sweet light of love–its wonder to share<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rev. Andy Pakula, <\/em>Newington Green & Islington Unitarians<\/em><\/address>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

\u00a0Our Beliefs<\/h2>\n

A unique feature of Unitarian Universalist congregations is that we do not require members to accept any
\narticles of faith that specify what a person must believe in order to join the church or be saved. Instead, we are
\nunited not by dogma, but by the values expressed in our seven Principles. However, we do have beliefs
\nthat are inspired by the Principles.\u00a0Some of these beliefs have been\u00a0articulated by Unitarian Universalist
\nMinister David O. Rankin:<\/p>\n

We believe in the freedom of religious expression<\/strong>.
\nAll individuals should be encouraged to develop their own personal theologies, and to present openly their
\nreligious opinions without fear of censure or reprisal.<\/p>\n

We believe in the toleration of religious ideas<\/strong>.
\nAll religions, in every age and culture, possess not only intrinsic merit but also potential value for those
\nwho have learned the art of listening.<\/p>\n

We believe in the authority of reason and conscience<\/strong>.
\nThe ultimate arbiter in religion is not a church, nor a document, nor an official but the personal choice and
\ndecision of the individual.<\/p>\n

We believe in the never-ending search for Truth<\/strong>.
\nIf the mind and heart are truly free and open, the revelations that appear to the human spirit are infinitely
\nnumerous, eternally fruitful, and wondrously exciting.<\/p>\n

We believe in the unity of experience<\/strong>.
\nThere is no fundamental conflict between faith and knowledge, religion and the world, the sacred and the
\nsecular, since they all have their source in the same reality.<\/p>\n

We believe in the worth and dignity of each human being<\/strong>.
\nAll people on earth have an equal claim to life, liberty, and justice\u2014and no idea, ideal, or philosophy
\nis superior to a single human life.<\/p>\n

We believe in the ethical application of religion<\/strong>.
\nGood works are the natural product of a good faith, the evidence of an inner grace that finds completion
\nin social and community involvement.<\/p>\n

We believe in the motive force of love<\/strong>.
\nThe governing principle in human relationships is the principle of love, which always seeks the welfare
\nof others and never seeks to hurt or destroy.<\/p>\n

We believe in the necessity of the democratic process<\/strong>.
\nRecords are open to scrutiny, elections are open to members, and ideas are open to criticism\u2014so that
\npeople might govern themselves.<\/p>\n

We believe in the importance of a religious community<\/strong>.
\nThe validation of experience requires the confirmation of peers, who provide a critical platform along
\nwith a network of mutual support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Let there be light Light to illuminate the faces of loved ones Light to vanquish the shadows of hatred and fear Light to bring hope to the despairing And the sweet light of love–its wonder to share Rev. Andy Pakula, Newington Green & Islington Unitarians   \u00a0Our Beliefs A unique feature of Unitarian Universalist congregations.\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":220,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"template-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-76","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":411,"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76\/revisions\/411"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uuwestplainsmo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}