For the Beauty of the Earth (April 20, 2007 by Nancy Irish)
In the book, Our Chosen Faith, An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism, Forrest Church writes, “one sure proof of authentic religious experience is the combination of humility and awe. Our encounter with nature inspires both. It is the power of humility and awe that lies at the core of Earth centered religions. Though
such traditions range from simple to complex, from tribal to universal, each taps a power that no book or creed can begin to approximate—the power of the creation. This is true even of the simplest faith: man, woman, fire, food, sun, rain, star.”
He goes on to say that Unitarian Universalism went through a period of such devout rationalism that the faith lost sight of the fact that much of human experience defies rational analysis. If we exclude the transrational realm from our field of contemplation, we delude ourselves. We may begin to presume that we understand, even control, powers completely beyond our control and understanding. We then lose our sense of humility, taking the creation for granted, rather than receiving it as an unfathomable gift. He writes, “whenever knowledge supplants mystery, our imagination and sense of wonder are just as likely to die as are the gods we pride ourselves for disbelieving.”
He recounts how in recent years, many UU’s have begun to discover that with each gain in scientific understanding, we must risk losing something even more important: an intimate experience of the power and mystery of the creation. The famous Unitarians of the nineteenth century, the Transcendentalists Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, certainly understood this.
Contemporary Unitarian Minister and poet Jacob Trapp grew up in the Dutch Calvinist faith of lower Michigan, but was excommunicated at age 19 for being a “free thinker.” He believes that our spirits yearn to return to what is unpolluted, authentic and original in human religious experience. Trapp calls it, “returning to the springs,” which can be found at the source of all spiritual traditions: mystery, awe, and renewal; basic gratitude for the unmerited beauty of Being itself; faith that isn’t dogma, real hope, and enduring love. Jacob Trapp writes, “the fresh mountain springs of religion are in the singing of poems, in such feelings of wonder, of related-ness, of intimacy with all that lives. Awe becomes reverence. Relatedness becomes community and communion.