Meta-Religious Essays and Sermons
Thomas Berry speaks of the Universe Story, or Great Story, not as a new religious outlook or faith but as a meta-religious contribution that can enrich the religious or world-relational experience of all peoples and all faiths, lifeways, and philosophies. The Great Story embraces not only the full diversity of cosmos and life, but also the full diversity of religious expression. It is the over-arching narrative that includes and uplifts all sacred stories. The Great Story thus offers hope for expanded interfaith dialogue and harmony.
Connie Barlow and Michael Dowd began soliciting in 2000 meta-religious essays from individuals in this movement who are deeply grounded in and faithful to a particular religious tradition, who enthusiastically embrace the Universe Story / Great Story, and who are excellent writers. Paula Hirschboeck, Professor of Philosophy at Edgewood College in Madison WI, submitted the first such essay, and then joined Connie and Michael as co-editor of this project.
We realized upon reading Paula's essay that mere reconciliation of the Great Story with various faith traditions and philosophies is too limited a goal. Rather, mutual enrichment is the standard. Indeed, Paula's essay movingly shows that not until the Universe Story provided her with a way to understand the core tenets of Buddhism could she get past her difficulty with the personhood of the Buddha. As a modern feminist, Paula was then able to fully embrace this ancient religion.
Important too is that all of these essays speak from the heart. The authors do not write generically how the Great Story can enrich their tradition; they write subjectively. They intimately share what it has done for them. They tell their personal stories.
Curiously, the effect is to not only translate the Great Story into ideas and words that can resonate with those in the same tradition; each essay also educates and allures those outside the tradition. We find ourselves saying, "If that's what Buddhism is, I could be a Buddhist." Or, "If that's what Catholicism is, I could be a Catholic." Or, "If that's what Paganism is, I could be a Pagan." And so we find ourselves hoping . . .
Maybe, just maybe, the Great Story could build religious harmony, everywhere that the story is told.
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Example 2 - "On Finding Grandeur in Nature" by Thomas Shotwell. Click here to view RELIGIOUS NATURALISM-2 on-screen or in PDF version.
For sermons and other hotlinks on religious naturalism, click more religious naturalism.
1997 interview in U.S.
Catholic. |
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AUDIOS of CHURCH SERMONS by Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow
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Sermons: MICHAEL DOWD
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First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, WI
Unity of Marin, CA
First Unitarian Church of Dallas, TX
Unity Church of Christianity, Houston TX
Unitarian Universalists of Hendersonville, NC
Unity of Woodinville, WA
can be viewed at ThankGodforEvolution.com
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Sermons: CONNIE BARLOW
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Riverside, CA
Second Unitarian Church of Omaha, NE
Unitarian Society of Hartford, CT
Yakima Unitarian Universalist Church, WA
Unitarian Church of Asheville, NC
Unitarian Church of Asheville, NC Note: Sermon is accessed as Pt. 1 of 23 April 2006, under the name of Rev. Laurel Hallman
Unitarian Universalist Church of Canandaigua, NY |
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JOINT SERMON
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First Unitarian Society of Denver, CO |
AUDIOS of CHURCH SERMONS by Various Individuals
guest preacher at Bozeman United Methodist Church, 17 August 2008
