Among the seven Principles that covenant Unitarian Universalist congregations, the seventh holds a unique and expansive place: "Respect for the interdependent web of all existence, of which we are a part." This statement is both a spiritual affirmation and a profound ecological and philosophical truth claim, serving as a foundational ethic for modern religious naturalism. To understand its depth is to explore its scientific underpinnings, its theological implications, and its urgent call to ethical living. At its core, this principle moves beyond a mere acknowledgment of nature's beauty to assert a fundamental ontology of relationship. It posits that existence is not a collection of discrete, independent objects, but a dynamic, interconnected process. Is this true that all existence is interdependent? From a scientific perspective, evidence abounds. In ecology, the concept of the food web illustrates how energy and matter flow through systems, where the loss of a single s...
Playing in the woods of Northwest Alabama…
Was a highlight of my childhood—a thrill.
Back then, I didn’t know anything about pop culture.
I was raised in a cult that forbade television,
So, I was not allowed to watch television like other kids.
I learned to retreat into my own imagination.
I learned to be OK with aloneness and…
I learned to enjoy my own company.
Not watching television made my imagination…
Work overtime—I existed in a world I invented.
Television they called, “the One-eyed devil.”
They didn’t like it because it exposed us to a new world.
I had a secret, though, a story I couldn’t tell.
I had a boyfriend—our cult’s most forbidden, hated form…
Of sexuality: The Holy Bible says so right there “in black and
white.”
I was never fully committed to the church in which I was
raised.
I declared at the age of 18 I did not believe in my church.
So many contradictions, things that are senseless, and…
Lies (so many lies)—a church committed to hypocritical
self-deceit.
I could no longer declare my allegiance to a lie.
There was a freedom in declaring my old religion what it was—
A lie told over and over until it took root…
And impregnated the adherents’ minds with ignorance and naiveite.
I declared once and for all, my mind would no longer be a hostage!
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