Unitarian Universalists do not usually convert people to save their souls. We do not believe there is a hell or a devil who is after our souls. We believe God dwells with us and it is our task to discover this dynamic living reality. Our fall from grace is our ignorance of who we really are. We would describe salvation as more an inner awakening to the truth of our human nature and capabilities. In this context salvation would be the experiential realization of our fundamental interconnectedness which infuses our existence. It experientially is linked with traditional concepts of salvation but the referent isn't an incarnational deity but rather nature itself. It would be sort of like a leaf blowing in the wind feeling very separate and unique among leaves until one day it notices it is connected to something and later gets a glimpse of the tree. Wow! At the same moment the leaf is so small and insignificant, it also realizes how grand and magnificent it is. This feeling of union with the principle of life of which we are an expression is our definition of salvation.

Copyright (c) 1995 by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore, All Rights Reserved.