The Five Rocks of UU Theology
- May 30, 2022
- 2 min read
Nicknamed the “five jagged rocks,” these statements were crafted by Rev. Nancy Bowen and the UU Mountain Desert District religious professionals, inspired by James Luther Adams’ Five Smooth Stones of liberal faith.
While not yet adopted by the national UU Association, these statements provide a view of shared faith that many Unitarian Universalists believe.
One. All souls are sacred; Two. There is a unity that makes us one; Three. Courageous love can transform the world; Four. Salvation is in this lifetime; Five. Truth continues to be revealed.
James Luther Adams’ Five Smooth Stones of Liberal Faith
Understanding evolves. “Religious liberalism depends on the principle that ‘revelation’ is continuous.” Our religious tradition is a living tradition because we are always learning new truths.
We have choice. “All relations between persons ought ideally to rest on mutual, free consent and not on coercion.” We freely choose to enter into relationship with one another.
Justice is a moral obligation. “Religious liberalism affirms the moral obligation to direct one’s effort toward the establishment of a just and loving community. It is this which makes the role of the prophet central and indispensable in liberalism.”
Goodness comes with human agency. “… [W]e deny the immaculate conception of virtue and affirm the necessity of social incarnation.” Good things don’t just happen, people make them happen.
Hope is justified. “[L]iberalism holds that the resources (divine and human) that are available for the achievement of meaningful change justify an attitude of ultimate optimism.”
Who was James Luther Adams? The UUA Tapestry of Faith: A Place of Wholeness explains, “James Luther Adams was a Unitarian parish minister, social activist, journal editor, distinguished scholar, translator and editor of major German theologians, prolific author, and divinity school professor for more than forty years. Adams was the most influential theologian among American Unitarian Universalists of the 20th century.”
Adams conceptualized the Five Smooth Stones of religious liberalism, based on the smooth stones in the Biblical story of David and Goliath (1 Matthew 17)
