Unitarianism is Good Enough for Me

Check out this song which struck me as fittingly funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO3w9KbhVqo

I grew up going to Hebrew School and generally believing in what I was being taught. One of the things I enjoyed was the fact we were encouraged to question. However, much of this questioning was towards why Christianity was not the correct faith and how Jesus didn't fulfill the prophecy of what Christians call the Old Testament. I could see how many of these questions made sense, but at the same time there were many things I questioned about Judaism and for that matter most religions I learned about. At temple there were many great stories that interested me about the struggles fellow Jews faced and overcame, however the concept that we were "The Chosen People" bothered me. It seemed being "Chosen" meant being chosen for abuse and attack throughout history. This may be to literal an interperetation, but still it is like being the teacher's pet of religion.

Despite my questioning and reservations I had my Bar Mitzvah and considered myself to be a conservative Jew. This slowly changed as I questioned more and more up to the point I decided to take a test online to evaluate what religion I was most aligned with. The test indicated I was 100% aligned with Unitarian Universalism. This was a religion I had never heard of, but I decided to give it a shot. What a pleasant surprise it was and has been. A belief system that doesn't condemn you if you question or don't follow an exact dogma. It never made sense to me that one could do wonderful deeds and believe in their version of God strongly and still go to hell for not believing in  the "right" way.

What also pleased me about Unitarian Universalism is their basic tenets that are shown here. They were found on the site for the church I attend in Pasadena at http://www.uuneighborhood.org/worship/beliefs.htm

As a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, we covenant to affirm and promote:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

These appear to me to be pretty good things to work towards. This is one reason why Unitarians are able to also be Jewish, Christian, or other religious beliefs as well as being Unitarian. I do not push being a Unitarian on anyone else. I just share my happiness and I think it is important for people to be informed of the many choices out there. This is what I enjoy and finally feel at home with a religion of my own and that makes me happy.