How to be a happy heretic

How to be a happy heretic.

(Rev Ant Howe)

Has this ever happened to you?

You meet someone, maybe for the first time, and get chatting. You tell them some things about you and they tell you some things about them and then, during the conversation, the other person mentions that they belong to a church. You say “me too!”. The other person says to you “really, which church” and you say “well I belong to a Unitarian church” and the other person looks as if you've just slapped them!

They either look at you with great pity, or even anger and say things like “but your church denies Jesus” (now of course that's not true, but that's what they say). You try to explain what our faith is about but it's too late. The barriers have already gone up. All the other person is then interested in is trying to win your soul.

Situations like this illustrate perfectly why Unitarianism is needed. Beliefs can quickly divide people. How much better to look for common ground and to try to learn to live with different beliefs.

I have always thought that Unitarians should be amongst the happiest religious people in the world today.

Why? Because as individuals we have created a faith that works for us, that is meaningful to us – and yet we can still know the blessing that comes from being part of a religious community.

We treasure our religious freedom when it comes to matters of faith. We won't let anyone tell us what to believe, but we have learnt that the journey is far more pleasant and becomes far more meaningful when you share that journey with others.

We don't believe because we feel we should. We don't believe because we think we'll get thrown out if we don't toe the party line. We don't even believe because our parents did. Unitarians choose their faith. And that's not a one-time thing, because Unitarians always continue to look at what they believe. They hone their faith until it becomes so meaningful and personal and precious. We have a faith that is truly ours. Even those who were born into Unitarianism are still called to create a faith and a belief system that is meaningful to them.

It's hard work, no-one can do it for us. But it is rewarding work, because if we dedicate ourselves to the task of working out what we believe and why, our faith becomes strong and it will see us through pretty much anything.

Unitarians sometimes get accused of being faith-less, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact quite the opposite, Unitarians can potentially see God everywhere. In every religion, in every person.... and that takes faith, lots of it!

And when the Unitarian can't find God in a traditional belief system then God comes to us whilst we're drinking coffee together, or whilst we're moving the chairs, or having a social event. We know that there is a Spirit that unites us in our endeavours.

I've lost count of the times that people have called me a heretic. I don't know whether they are trying to insult me, but it doesn't work because I'm a happy heretic! When people call me a heretic they are trying to imply that my beliefs are false or wrong or invalid. Unitarianism sometimes get called a heretical sect.

Well they're right. It is! We are heretics..... I can't deny that.....

But what does the word heretic mean? Unitarians know that it means “someone who is able to choose”.

So it's a great compliment to me when someone calls me a heretic! Because being labelled a heretic reminds me that God has given me a mind that I use to work out my faith, God has given me a conscience against which I test things, and God has given me a heart that yearns for true spirituality.

That's the sort of faith that brings me joy. It makes me a happy heretic! Because I've worked out my faith for myself. And because it's mine, no-one can take it from me.

Of course, being a heretic means that some of the conclusions I've come to aren't the norm. My faith doesn't fit into a neat box. It won't be pinned down. But it brings me joy and peace. I can get to the end of each day content, and face the next day with excitement because tomorrow, God may show me something new.

I'm a happy heretic!

If you've ever questioned a traditional religious teaching, or if you've ever looked at traditional Christianity and decided that you can't believe everything literally, or if you've ever modified your beliefs then CONGRATULATIONS: you're a heretic too!

And if you're going to be a heretic then you might as well be a happy one!

Sometimes people look at Unitarianism and then say to me “I just don't understand. If there are no rigid set beliefs in Unitarianism and you're all free to believe as your conscience dictates then what's the point of it? Why bother with it?”

I can see why they would ask that question. I try to explain that beliefs are personal things and can't easily be shared, but that a community of love can still be nurtured as long as we are sensitive to one another and look for common ground.

But what I really want to say to people is “come and try it out for yourself”.

I've tried all sorts of churches. I tried to believe everything that each church taught me. But there always something, some stumbling block, some aspect of the teaching I couldn't quite agree with.

Now I know what was wrong: I was a heretic all the time! My soul was trying to make it's voice heard and nothing would be able to constrain it.

However, it took coming to a Unitarian church to teach me how to be a happy heretic!

I learnt how to be a happy heretic when I realised that for an hour on a Sunday it wasn't so important what I believed. Instead, the most important thing on a Sunday was to just to be there with people who love me, people who also want to worship in freedom; people who won't judge me for my beliefs or lack of beliefs.

Being a Unitarian isn't easy. There are no easy answers here. No-one is going to tell you what to believe. We can help each other work things out. We can ask God to help us but the final responsibility rests with us as individuals.

The next time someone calls you a heretic just smile and say thank you. Be a happy heretic and take it as a compliment. A heretic is one who is able to choose and our faith needs people like that!