I like your revision of the last sentence, Kara. Thanks.
yes! Exactly.
Bek Wheeler
Can Matthew Johnson consolidate the suggestions - or make it clear that there is a āmost recentā draft of the entire ammended source statement? nice work thanks all.
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Here is the most recent draft that I plan to submit:
As Unitarian Universalists, we proclaim that direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are a primary source of inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives. We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. We respect the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these understandings were created and are currently practiced. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.
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Iām not comfortable with how this prioritizes the current 1st Source over the other sources. While I appreciate the evolution of this idea, I feel it still over-privileges the 1st Source. I prefer Submission 85 from Becca Boerger:
As Unitarian Universalists, we use, and are inspired by, sacred and secular understandings that help us to live into our values: the worldās religions and wisdom traditions, science and other secular sources of truth and meaning, and the direct experience of wonder and mystery which expands our minds and spirit. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times]. We respect the histories, contexts and cultures in which they were created and are currently practiced. Grateful for the religious ancestries we inherit and the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.
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Thank you. For me, this is the most needed and important amendment. Direct religious experience makes us a religion, not a club or social service organization. I wish it could be shorter, but I know itās hard to trim.
Beth McGregor
Merge with this work on Inspirations/sources
I donāt know if this has already been submitted, but this is not an amendment I can support as an atheist/humanist. There is too much emphasis what can be conceived of as religious/spiritual experience. I know that there are also quite a few in my congregation who would object as well.
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Janet, agree with you. And each time I have seen āinspired by the worldās religionsā¦ā EACH and EVERY time, I think Nope. I am NOT inspired by the worldās religions. Nope. likewise for religious/spiritual experience. Donāt even know what that isā¦ Now I DO experience awe and wonder at the cosmos, but I do not call that religious or spiritual.
Yes, exactly Bek! in fact the day I had my epiphanic deconversion from Christianity was one of the best days of my life. It was as if a veil had been lifted and I could see the beauty, diversity, meaningfulness and aliveness of the world for the first time. It was as I had lived my whole life within a silent, black and white film and suddenly the sound and color had been turned on. It was an overwhelming emotional and meaningful experience ā and this was the day I realized that God does not exist and the world around us and within us is the only world there is.
So no, and I most definitely NOT inspired by religion.
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Wow, Janet, that is one of THE most beautiful things I have EVER read. Truly, truly. YES YES YES!
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@BekWheeler and @Janet , getting distracted here, but I just want to copy over my comment from the Blue Boat Passengers group about my more gradual deconversion from strict atheism to a more openhearted ability to appreciate what is spiritual in religion. Please note that I was raised atheist, and the sense of seeing the beauty of the world as amazing and phenomenal in itself was already there for me, so I did not have to reject any beliefs that had been forced on me to share in this beautifully expressed epiphany. I will just however say that I believe Janetās statement above and my own below are complementary, not contradictory. And, going along with that, I also believe that the mental drive towards synthesis and reconciliation is not opposite to or contradictory of the drive towards critical thinking, separation, and discernment. 
āI believe that science is a vital source of UU, and I also believe science and faith are not diametrically opposed. I believed when younger that science truths and existential atheism were the true, brave, and honest guideposts for my life, but later I came to understand religion in a different way, more like the arts, with the power of solace and symbolism, not only honoring the mysterious beauty of the universe, but possibly even sometimes the front line of the subconscious mindās attempts to frame and theorize about not yet learned truths.ā
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Yes, I have also made that journey in the 30+ years since my deconversion. I understand religion and why it is beneficial for people (otherwise I would not be a UU since UUism is not friendly to radical, hardnose atheists). But I understand (and often respect) religion only from a naturalistic perspective. I truly believe that humans invented religion and that humanity is a religion-inventing species. I could go on, but I need to save my typing & time for amendment editting.
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Is there any way we can vote on the last few amendments that thereās not enough time to fully discuss? It seems a shame that they couldnāt find or make a way to let delegates weigh in by voting
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I think I will likely vote in favor of this amendment, AND Iād like to be on record as saying I would like the commission to incorporate most of this language, but not the word āprimary.ā I think if we simply omitted that one word, a majority of UUs could support this.
I think we will discuss the rest tomorrow.
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I hope the Article 2 commission will make some edits that clarify and address previous stated concerns but donāt change the meaning. Perhaps:
As Unitarian Universalists, [we proclaim that] direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder [are a primary source of inspiration. These experiences] open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives. We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific [understandings] wisdom that help us make meaning and live into our values. We [respect] are mindful of the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these understandings were created and are currently practiced. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom.
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And they should make sure that if one source (direct experience) is lovingly described, so too should the rest. I do not care if the sources are in a list or a paragraph. But I do care that they be equally honored.
If not, the A2SC will make it abundantly clear that humanists/atheists are only second-class citizens in UU.
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Hi Janet, do you want to move this post to the official Amendment #5?
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