Progressive Revelation in Society and in Myself

In my initial Unitarian Universalism and Baha’i Faith articles I briefly mentioned my experiences with both religions and ultimately why I couldn’t connect to them. I would like to offer more personal insight to both and update my audience on how I feel about them.

Regarding Unitarian Universalism, on my YouTube’s recommended feed I saw that my local congregation in Milwaukee hosts video services on Sundays. It is unclear to me whether they do this as a live feed or if they post it on a later date. However, the video I saw was the most recent. The title was “God is change. Shape God.” I could not believe it. There was actually a Unitarian Universalist service about Earthseed. I immediately subscribed to that channel, and I plan on doing a deep dive of that service, and others, on a later date.

And regarding the Baha’i Faith. I don’t think I was being fully honest with my article. Yes, part of the reason why I left the Baha’i Faith was because I felt like I was becoming a Christian. The last thing I wanted to do. However, what was really going on in my head at the time was that I realized that their interpretation of progression and mine were starkly different. I believe progression comes from all people — from society. They believe progression only unfolds with new Manifestations, and they don’t come very often.

I would like to point out the two progressive revelations society has had since the birth of the Baha’i Faith. Women holding leadership titles in religions, and accepting gay marriage. In the Baha’i Faith women do hold some leadership roles, but cannot be on the Universal House of Justice. Baha’u’llah said they couldn’t and his word is supposed to be infallible. I believe it is because all the recorded Manifestations in history have been male. And regarding same-sex marriage. At the time of Baha’u’llah’s age it was seen as a mental disorder or worse. Same-sex couples can now be surrogates or adopt children. Two things they couldn’t do in the past. That’s still not a valid reason for the Baha’i Law not to be updated. But since the next Manifestation isn’t supposed to come until a thousand years into Baha’u’llah’s dispensation, things like this and other future changes won’t happen for a long time.

Unitarian Universalism is literally the opposite of this. They accepted gay marriages before they were legal. They had Presidents who were female. In fact, the current person who is the President is female. But they had male Presidents too. I do not believe Unitarian Universalists discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender. Some of them think they do — they use the term “microaggressions” to describe some of them. I don’t think that’s particularly fair of them to do so. The kinds of people modern Unitarianism attracts are so liberal that they attack each other for not being progressive enough. Such as how some members wanted an eighth principle that has not been codified into the covenant. Yet. But that proposal was staunchly a far-leftist take on the current state of affairs. Unitarians used to be about equality. Now they are about equity.

I have distanced myself from the idea of Earthseed not because I don’t believe in it, or that it comes from a fictional novel, but because the story is set in a dystopia. And I found out a term that encompasses all of Earthseed, does not include dystopia and encompasses all of my orthopraxical beliefs. Cosmism. I’ve said this before in other articles, but essentially my orthodoxy is Syntheism and my orthopraxy is Cosmism. I call this umbrella term Synversalism, syn — meaning to create, — versal meaning to turn and — ism meaning the adherence to. I have an adherence to creating new Universes.

The Lightbringer is the First Mover. It contained reality, which contains nature, intelligent life and the future. It just isn’t actualized yet. My mom in particular doesn’t think that reality is God — that God is supposed to be a being — but I would actually contend that reality is actually a being. But she and her husband are still atheists. I considered Christianity and atheism and both of them feel off to me. Christianity feels like superstition and atheism feels like nihilism. My beliefs have not changed.

I will continue to define my world view, but I will never forsake it. No matter how much my friends or family wants me to.