This week proved to be very productive. On March 28 I finished compiling metadata for the 1960 sermons and on March 30 I began scanning the sermons given in 1961. After 1961, Reverend John C. Fuller would leave to become a reverend for a different Unitarian church in New England. The reasons for his departure are not clear to me at this moment. He may have left to be closer to home, he was originally from New England, or he may have left because the higher authorities in the Unitarian Church ordered him too. Either way, once I am done with the 1961 folder I will most likely move on to the folders that contained sermons he gave before the year 1958. This would no doubt be interesting because not only would I learn about Unitarian teachings but I would be able to see how Reverend Fuller was reacting to all the historical events happening in the 1950's. Scanning the 1960 sermons I was able to see his reactions to the presidential election, the United Nations and a race riot that occurred in Jacksonville.
While on the subject of these sermons, I feel the need to discuss some more important Unitarian teachings I have learned about. The first that needs a lengthy explanation is the Unitarian concept of 'Reverence for Life.' According to Unitarianism, the Universe possesses something known as the 'Creative Spirit.' This Creative Spirit is responsible for the creation of life and every life form, whether it is a human or animal, shows traces of this creative spirit. What makes humanity unique is that the creative spirit acts through every member of mankind. The soul of man is inherently good instead of sinful like most other Protestant religions attest to. Men and women can use the Creative Spirit to reach out to the cosmos and learn more about spiritual matters. The Creative Spirit also allows mankind to show a Reverence for Life. This is the recognition that all beings are part of the cosmos and that they are to be respected as reflections of that greater entity. The soul, Reverend Fuller states, is made to do good but outside events can lead it to go astray and cause man to do evil. Man becomes irrational when he allows outside events to make him lose touch with his/her soul and he loses that important connection to the inner self that is inherently good. This disconnect causes negative actions to occur. This is why another teaching, that one's personal beliefs are a private matter, is so important. Ones relationship with his inner self or soul is a sensitive one. When outsiders pry this relationship can be upset and communication with the inner soul can be lost. Respecting ones private beliefs is not just about not invading ones privacy but rather more about not disrupting another person's spiritual tranquility. Each Unitarian is on his/her own path when it comes to the search for the truth and their individual journey cannot be disrupted by others. This is what Reverend Fuller means when he refers to Unitarianism as a liberal religion. It is the religion of freedom and of the individual.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Thursday, March 23, 2017
March 20-March 22
This week I dedicated my time to compiling metadata. It appears that in 1960 Reverend Fuller began to deliver more sermons than usual. For example, in October of that year three sermons were delivered in October. This is remarkable because last year only one or two sermons were delivered per month. Of course, this could be a misunderstanding of mine based on present material. Maybe Reverend Fuller was constantly delivering plenty of sermons but maybe some of the sermons in the past years were not recorded. Which meant that in the present day I got the impression that less sermons were delivered those years. Reading the 1960 sermons was a very educational experience because in these sermons Reverend Fuller referenced the teachings of other protestant thinkers. That is why I would like to dedicate some of this entry to the descriptions of these various protestant thinkers.
The first thinker that is mentioned in numerous sermons is Dr. Albert Schweitzer. He was born in the Alsace region of France and was brought up in a family that prized education. He received his theological education at Strasbourg University in 1893 where he graduated in 1899. He not only received a religious education at Strasbourg but also a philosophical one as well. Having done his dissertation on Kant. He immediately began preaching an served in several high profile posts at the Theological College of St. Thomas. It was there, in 1906, that he wrote his famous book, The Quest for the Historical Jesus. It was this book that earned him his fame as a religious scholar and the book that no doubt gained Reverend Fuller's attention. As I have stated in a previous blog post, Reverend Fuller believed that Jesus was not divine and that he was a mortal Jewish man with remarkable insight who lived in the Levant. In his book, Albert Schweitzer argued the same thing, saying that Jesus was a religious teacher of the late Jewish tradition that preached of an incoming apocalyptic event. These similarities make it clear that Reverend Fuller was highly influenced by the European thinker's views on Jesus. Another important thing to note about Dr. Albert Schweitzer is that towards the end of his life he joined the International Unitarian Association, making him a Unitarian, showing that the influence went both ways. With Unitarians being interested in Dr. Schweitzer and and doctor being interested in Unitarianism. Another important thinker mentioned in many of Fuller's sermons was William Ellery Channing, the famous Unitarian ancestor of his. While Unitarianism first developed in Europe, it was Reverend Channing who was responsible for its spread in America. During the early 1800's when Calvinist teaching spread across the United States, Reverend Channing most daringly preached against them. Calvinism states that mankind is destined to be punished by God and only the ones destined to be saved will go to heaven. In contrast, Reverend Channing taught that God was all loving and that surely a loving God would be unable to send anyone to hell. In 1820, Reverend Fuller formed a group of liberal ministers and in 1825 they would be recognized as the American Unitarian Association. It is no wonder why Reverend Fuller mentions Reverend Channing on so many occasions. In many ways, his ancestor was the founding father of American Unitarianism.
The first thinker that is mentioned in numerous sermons is Dr. Albert Schweitzer. He was born in the Alsace region of France and was brought up in a family that prized education. He received his theological education at Strasbourg University in 1893 where he graduated in 1899. He not only received a religious education at Strasbourg but also a philosophical one as well. Having done his dissertation on Kant. He immediately began preaching an served in several high profile posts at the Theological College of St. Thomas. It was there, in 1906, that he wrote his famous book, The Quest for the Historical Jesus. It was this book that earned him his fame as a religious scholar and the book that no doubt gained Reverend Fuller's attention. As I have stated in a previous blog post, Reverend Fuller believed that Jesus was not divine and that he was a mortal Jewish man with remarkable insight who lived in the Levant. In his book, Albert Schweitzer argued the same thing, saying that Jesus was a religious teacher of the late Jewish tradition that preached of an incoming apocalyptic event. These similarities make it clear that Reverend Fuller was highly influenced by the European thinker's views on Jesus. Another important thing to note about Dr. Albert Schweitzer is that towards the end of his life he joined the International Unitarian Association, making him a Unitarian, showing that the influence went both ways. With Unitarians being interested in Dr. Schweitzer and and doctor being interested in Unitarianism. Another important thinker mentioned in many of Fuller's sermons was William Ellery Channing, the famous Unitarian ancestor of his. While Unitarianism first developed in Europe, it was Reverend Channing who was responsible for its spread in America. During the early 1800's when Calvinist teaching spread across the United States, Reverend Channing most daringly preached against them. Calvinism states that mankind is destined to be punished by God and only the ones destined to be saved will go to heaven. In contrast, Reverend Channing taught that God was all loving and that surely a loving God would be unable to send anyone to hell. In 1820, Reverend Fuller formed a group of liberal ministers and in 1825 they would be recognized as the American Unitarian Association. It is no wonder why Reverend Fuller mentions Reverend Channing on so many occasions. In many ways, his ancestor was the founding father of American Unitarianism.
Saturday, March 11, 2017
March 6-March 8
This week I finished scanning the documents of the 1960 folder and compiled some metadata. After examining so many documents I feel that I am qualified to talk about the specific beliefs and world views of the Unitarian Church. The Unitarian Church has a long history that stretches back hundreds of years ago to New England. In 1819, Reverend William Ellery Channing, an ancestor of Reverend John Channing Fuller, gave a sermon titled "Unitarian Christianity" where he rejected the trinity, rejected the belief that all men are borne sinners, stated the importance of reasoning and maintained the dignity of human nature. This was most likely done in response to the religious movement of known as the Great Awakening that was enforcing Calvinistic ideals on the American population. Indeed, Reverend Channing's resistance to such Calvinistic concepts as original sin and predestination mirrors Reverend Fuller's future resistance to the Evangelical ideals of his fellow protestants in the 1960's. Another American religious movement that would effect Unitarianism in the 1800's was Transcendentalism. Walt Whitman and Ralph Emerson would have a strong influence on Unitarian beliefs. Transcendentalism stressed the importance of the soul of an individual and his\her own ability to experience something vaguely known as the "divine." Also, Ralph Emerson's father was a Unitarian minister who is referenced in some of Reverend Fuller's sermons. Another parallel between past and present can be seen in how Walt Whitman is quoted in many of Reverend Fuller's sermons. One sermon Reverend Fuller gave at a Unitarian conference outside of Orlando opened with a poem by Walt Whitman.
But how do these beliefs work? Unitarianism had its roots in the Protestant Reformation in Europe and yet Unitarianism's beliefs are so different from other Protestant denominations. How did this happen? The answer can be found by examining Unitarian beliefs in more detail. The first thing that must be recognized is that Unitarianism is more of a movement than a religion, as stated by Reverend Fuller in a 20th century sermon. Members of the Unitarian Church are "seekers" who each try to use their human reasoning to discover the truth. Their human reasoning is divine because that is what gives them a measure of control in the universe. Reverend Fuller points out that yes, we are insignificant parts of the greater cosmos but our ability to understand and learn about the universe around us makes mankind special. But even if we are special, how do we use our reasoning? Unitarians say we use it by looking at the figures of the past as examples. Reverend Fuller repeatedly denied the divinity of Christ in his sermons but he still saw Jesus as an exemplary human teacher that taught important humanist values. He also listed mystics such as Meister Eckhart and even secular teachers like Freud as men whose teachings are worth learning about. Even teachers belonging to other religions are looked to. This is not viewed as unusual by Unitarians. A key belief of Unitarianism that Reverend Fuller was fond of pointing to was the "Brotherhood of Man." Unitarianism fully upholds the equality of mankind and states that we are all equal. Men are not drenched in sin but are rather made to do good by others. Reverend Fuller criticizes his fellow ministers who use threats of hell fire to keep their congregations in line. Reverend Fuller's defining belief, and perhaps the key belief of Unitarianism, is the inherent goodness of man and his/her ability to find his own salvation.
But how do these beliefs work? Unitarianism had its roots in the Protestant Reformation in Europe and yet Unitarianism's beliefs are so different from other Protestant denominations. How did this happen? The answer can be found by examining Unitarian beliefs in more detail. The first thing that must be recognized is that Unitarianism is more of a movement than a religion, as stated by Reverend Fuller in a 20th century sermon. Members of the Unitarian Church are "seekers" who each try to use their human reasoning to discover the truth. Their human reasoning is divine because that is what gives them a measure of control in the universe. Reverend Fuller points out that yes, we are insignificant parts of the greater cosmos but our ability to understand and learn about the universe around us makes mankind special. But even if we are special, how do we use our reasoning? Unitarians say we use it by looking at the figures of the past as examples. Reverend Fuller repeatedly denied the divinity of Christ in his sermons but he still saw Jesus as an exemplary human teacher that taught important humanist values. He also listed mystics such as Meister Eckhart and even secular teachers like Freud as men whose teachings are worth learning about. Even teachers belonging to other religions are looked to. This is not viewed as unusual by Unitarians. A key belief of Unitarianism that Reverend Fuller was fond of pointing to was the "Brotherhood of Man." Unitarianism fully upholds the equality of mankind and states that we are all equal. Men are not drenched in sin but are rather made to do good by others. Reverend Fuller criticizes his fellow ministers who use threats of hell fire to keep their congregations in line. Reverend Fuller's defining belief, and perhaps the key belief of Unitarianism, is the inherent goodness of man and his/her ability to find his own salvation.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
February, 27-March, 1
I am very pleased to announce that on Monday I finished all the metadata concerning the 1959 sermons. It was very time consuming due to their length and the higher amounts of complexity they possessed than the meeting minutes but I managed to get my metadata all up to date. The descriptions were the most time consuming, everything else I managed to simply copy and paste. Upon completion of the metadata I began copying the records of the sermons given in the year 1960. Interestingly, these were in a different format than the previous folders of sermons. The 1957-1958 and 1959 sermons were recorded on individual pieces of paper that were cut into tinier portions. These sermons on the other hand were recorded in pamphlets and usually there were two copies of pamphlets for each individual sermon. It is my belief that pamphlets like these were distributed to the congregation and perhaps kept by them for future services. I say future services because each pamphlet contained enough material to last multiple church services. For example, one pamphlet identified on its cover as being for the months of "January and February" and its material encompassed a sermon that touched on love and all the different types of love. Such as love for god, brothers, neighbors and family. Another pamphlet which contained a sermon about what Unitarians believed in was part of a Lent series. Which I thought was odd since lent is usually associated with more conservative churches and it was my understanding that the Unitarian church is very liberal. I dedicated the rest of the day to scanning pamphlets and I was sure to crop them after each scan so I could easily read the digital copies when compiling my metadata. It occurred to me that I forgot to crop the scans of the OMA folder so I made a mental note to myself that I would go back and crop those images when I had the time. This week however, I dedicated my efforts solely to scanning.
On Wednesday I continued scanning the pamphlets. It appeared that the first few pamphlets might have been exceptions because one of the pamphlets I scanned, titled "What Unitarians Teach their Children" was dated to a specific day in March. It appears that in 1960 Reverend Fuller began to grow more adventurous with the amount of material he was putting into his sermons. Once again I was surprised by how liberal the content of these sermons were. One thing that stood out to me in a sermon about love was how "sexual love was the highest form of brotherly love." While this would not raise any eyebrows in 2017, I found this to be a very controversial statement for 1960. Even more surprising is that this was said by a clergyman in the deep South. This goes to show that there are always exceptions to a historical trend. The South was known for being very conservative and not especially progressive during the 1960's but the presence of the liberal Reverend Fuller in this time period subverts this view. Also, more surprising examples of liberalism was found in a pamphlet that contained a sermon about how Unitarians raised their children. Unlike most peoples' Sunday school experiences, the children that attended the Unitarian school were taught a wide variety of values from different religions. They also read a book when they got older that portrayed Jesus as a mortal man. This was all very surprising to me. I have in the past attended a Lutheran church that I considered liberal but they would of never taught children that Jesus was not divine. I decided that I would finish scanning the contents of the folder next week and left feeling pleased with the amount of progress I made.
On Wednesday I continued scanning the pamphlets. It appeared that the first few pamphlets might have been exceptions because one of the pamphlets I scanned, titled "What Unitarians Teach their Children" was dated to a specific day in March. It appears that in 1960 Reverend Fuller began to grow more adventurous with the amount of material he was putting into his sermons. Once again I was surprised by how liberal the content of these sermons were. One thing that stood out to me in a sermon about love was how "sexual love was the highest form of brotherly love." While this would not raise any eyebrows in 2017, I found this to be a very controversial statement for 1960. Even more surprising is that this was said by a clergyman in the deep South. This goes to show that there are always exceptions to a historical trend. The South was known for being very conservative and not especially progressive during the 1960's but the presence of the liberal Reverend Fuller in this time period subverts this view. Also, more surprising examples of liberalism was found in a pamphlet that contained a sermon about how Unitarians raised their children. Unlike most peoples' Sunday school experiences, the children that attended the Unitarian school were taught a wide variety of values from different religions. They also read a book when they got older that portrayed Jesus as a mortal man. This was all very surprising to me. I have in the past attended a Lutheran church that I considered liberal but they would of never taught children that Jesus was not divine. I decided that I would finish scanning the contents of the folder next week and left feeling pleased with the amount of progress I made.
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