RIDDLE AND MYSTERY
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 14: LIFE AS MYSTERY
BY RICHARD S. KIMBALL
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 8:18:02 AM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science... It was the experience of mystery, even if mixed with fear, that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude. In this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. — Albert Einstein
Big Question: Can we ever solve life's mystery?
Here is another question which may prompt a quick "no." The session examines this seemingly obvious answer inviting youth to revisit a few Big Questions from previous sessions. A story, in the form of a drama, suggests that questioning is basic to human nature. In WCUU, youth create UU entries for a Mystery Day Parade modeled on the traditional Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. WIT Time leads them to consider the big questions most important in their own lives.
The playlet and the parade can both be done simply or with elaborate creative participant input. Read both activities carefully. Determine realistic parameters for each based on the time available and the energy of the group.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Questions and Responses | 10 |
Activity 2: Story — Why? A Playlet in Four Scenelets | 10 |
Activity 3: WCUU — Mystery Day Parade | 25 |
Activity 4: WIT Time — Oh, You Mystery | 7 |
Faith in Action: A Big Practical Question | |
Closing | 3 |
Alternate Activity 1: Notable Thoughts | 5 |
Alternate Activity 2: Song — Gathered Here | 5 |
Alternate Activity 3: Challenge Question | 5 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
With everything set to go, take a meditative moment for yourself. Relax. Breathe several deep breaths. Consider your own big questions. If you were guaranteed an answer to just one, which would you ask? Would you really want an answer? If you could help youth find a satisfactory answer to one, single Big Question in Riddle and Mystery, which would it be?
How does it feel to help youth with big questions? Has this effort changed your perspective on big questions and Unitarian Universalism in any way?
Smile in the knowledge that simply joining youth in their exploration of life and its mysteries is good and rewarding.
SESSION PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Greet youth as they enter, and introduce yourself to any you do not already know. If the group uses nametags, invite everyone to wear one. If new youth join this session, add their names on card stock to the Kid for the Day bag.
Sound the bell or tingsha chimes to call for silence.
Reach into the Kid for the Day bag or box and select a name without looking. Announce the name and return the card to the bag or box (unless the group decided to change how the Kid for the Day is selected).
If a Kid for the Day seems reluctant, allow them to pass. Draw another name or invite the participant to select one.
Indicate where you have posted the chalice lighting words. Invite the Kid for the Day to light the chalice while you lead the group in reciting "May this chalice light show the way as we search for answers to our biggest questions and seek to understand life's deepest mysteries."
Invite the group to share a moment of silence. End the silence by sounding the bell or tingshas.
If new participants have joined the group, invite all to introduce themselves. You might ask if anyone did any Taking It Home activities from previous sessions and would like to briefly share what they did.
If you have posted a covenant, direct the group's attention to it and ask if anybody wants to suggest changes. Process suggestions quickly, and amend the covenant as needed.
Announce that it is time to hear the Big Question of the day. Hand the Kid for the Day a copy of Handout 1. Write the question—Can we ever solve life's mystery?—on the newsprint under the "Today's Big Question" sign.
Ask the Kid for the Day to extinguish the chalice.
Including All Participants
If the group includes youth who may have difficulty reading, be sure you routinely allow the Kid for the Day to pass.
ACTIVITY 1: QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity reviews Big Questions posed in previous sessions and gives youth a context for considering today's Big Question: "Can we ever solve life's mystery?"
Say, in your own words:
Today's Big Question asks if we can ever solve life's mystery. Doing that would mean having pretty clear answers to all the Big Questions. So let's review those we have done so far and see how we are doing.
Hand each participant either a question or an answer from Leader Resource 1. Make sure you distribute both the question and its answer. If you have a large group, provide some questions or some answers to a pair of youth. If the group is small, play the game in two rounds.
Ask participants to find the person who has their match and stand quietly together. When all youth have a match, let each pair read its question and answer. Ask the group whether the answer fits and whether it is complete. Does it really answer the question, or is it just a partial answer? (In every case, the answer is partial.)
As time allows, ask youth if they recall a Unitarian Universalist response to each question. Use the information from Leader Resource 2 as you wish to help the youth develop answers that are more encompassing. Point out that Unitarian Universalist responses to Big Questions are very helpful, but incomplete or still open.
Including All Participants
Adapt the activity to involve the full group, being mindful of participants with limited mobility. You might have the youth with questions remain seated, and the youth with answers walk around to look for their matching question.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY — WHY? A PLAYLET IN FOUR SCENELETS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Have participants perform and discuss the playlet.
The group's performance can be as simple or complicated as you wish. If time is short, participants can simply read their lines aloud. With enough time and an ambitious group, let participants prepare the scenelets in advance and add any props or actions they like.
At the end of the presentation, ask the group to identify the play's central messages. Suggest these ideas, if others do not:
Including All Participants
Present the playlet in a way that involves all enthusiastic participants. Do not put any youth on the spot to read aloud. Provide scripts to volunteers, ahead of time if possible. Offer to help all performers prepare their roles, in order to include youth who may have reading or vision limitations.
ACTIVITY 3: WCUU — MYSTERY DAY PARADE (25 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Participants prepare a UU float and/or other entries such as banners and signs, for a Mystery Day Parade, and then present WCUU parade coverage involving three On-Air People (two Co-Anchors and a NUUs Analyst) and an unlimited number of parade participants.
Ask participants if they have ever watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on television. Tell them to imagine that the United Nations has proclaimed a worldwide Mystery Day and, this year, there will be a Mystery Day Parade in a large city near you. WCUU is going to televise the parade, and their group is asked to create a float (and whatever else you want in the parade) that includes messages expressing Unitarian Universalist attitudes toward mystery.
Assign roles, using volunteers. You might invite the Kid for the Day to be a Co-Anchor or the NUUs Analyst. Note that the Co-Anchors will improvise as they interview parade participants.
If the group is small, engage all the youth to make a single float from the largest cardboard box you find and decorate it with messages. On-Air People and Studio Crew can work on the float, as well. You might suggest the youth cut wheels from sturdy cardboard and attach them to a cardboard box, using pencils or dowels for axles. Rubber bands around both ends of the dowels will keep cardboard wheels from sliding off.
If the group is large, have small groups make multiple floats and banners with written messages. Use permanent markers to write messages on balloons.
Musicians in the group might plan a marching presentation of Hymn 1003 in Singing the Journey, "Where Do We Come From?"
The first two activities in this session should have prepared the group to come up with UU messages about mystery. To help them, distribute copies of Leader Resource 4, UU Mystery Messages. If the group is large, consider dividing the resource and giving just two or three ideas to small groups and individuals; that will decrease the time youth need to select ideas and ensure that the parade features a few different messages.
Give the youth at least ten minutes to plan and construct parade contributions. Then explain where you want the camera, On-Air People and parade participants to stand and to move.
Tell the group when the show should end to keep the session on schedule; assign a Studio Crew member (director or floor director) to watch the time.
Begin the broadcast.
After the broadcast, ask participants how it went. Ask them to summarize UU responses to today's Big Question: "Can we ever solve life's mystery?" Help them see that most Unitarian Universalists feel life's mystery cannot be fully solved, but they are content with that and, in fact, celebrate mystery. Ask participants if they think non-UUs would understand Unitarian Universalism better after seeing the WCUU Mystery Day Parade coverage?
Including All Participants
Make sure all participants can participate in the parade and can maneuver around equipment or furniture. Make sure supplies are accessible to everyone.
ACTIVITY 4: WIT TIME — OH, YOU MYSTERY (7 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Youth explore their personal answers to today's Big Question.
Say:
It is WIT Time—or, What I Think time. Imagine you have somehow been chosen as the one person on Earth who will receive the answer to one single Big Question. Imagine—but wait a minute. I'll give you a handout to help with your imaginings.
Distribute the handout and pencils or pens. Review it with the group, and invite the youth to write. Then ask for volunteers to share their responses.
If the group does not like or do well with individual writing, consider forming groups of three to five to talk through the handout with an adult's assistance.
To conclude, ask whether participants agree in their basic answer to today's Big Question: "Can we ever solve life's mystery?"
Including All Participants
If any participants have difficulty with reading and writing, form small groups and let each group talk their way through the handout's challenge with an adult's assistance.
CLOSING (3 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Briefly summarize the session with words like these:
Today's Big Question asks, "Can we ever solve life's mystery?" Our general answer to the question is "no." We cannot expect to find absolute answers to the Big Questions. Today we reviewed some of the Big Questions we have considered so far, along with some UU responses to them. Then we performed a playlet showing that people ask important questions all their lives. In fact, asking questions is part of what it means to be human. For WCUU we made UU contributions for a Mystery Day Parade. In WIT Time we talked about what Big Question we each would ask if we knew that it was the only one we could have answered.
Hand out any Taking It Home activity suggestions you have prepared.
Relight the chalice. Ask the group to speak these closing words with you: "May this light shine on in each of us as we search for the answers to our own biggest questions."
Extinguish the chalice (or ask the Kid for the Day to do it). Sound the bell or chimes.
FAITH IN ACTION: A BIG PRACTICAL QUESTION
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Choose from the following possible activities for the group.
Ongoing Faith in Action Project: If the group has chosen an ongoing Faith in Action project to do during Riddle and Mystery, continue work on it now.
Food Force: Sponsor a Food and Fun Night at the congregation, a local school, or other community-gathering place. Visit the website of the World Food Programme (at www.food-force.com/index.php/game/undefined) and download Food Force, a game where you are responsible for dispersing resources to a mythical village that has experienced a natural disaster. Let people play the game.
If the meeting space has internet access, you can set up a computer to play Darfur is Dying (at www.darfurisdying.com/), which simulates life in a refugee camp.
After playing the games, discuss using the following questions as prompts:
What was your experience in playing the game?
What was surprising? What was disappointing? What gave you hope?
Did you gain any insight into coping with a disaster?
Have you ever participated in anything similar to this experience in real life? If so, how did it compare?
What can we do to help support the United Nations in their relief services? If a group is interested in taking further action, the website includes ideas for action s to take at school and at home. Most of these are adaptable for a congregation.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Meet with your co-leaders after the session to reflect on it. How was the mix of discussion and action? Are you continuing to find ways to involve all youth fully in the sessions despite any limitations they might have? Does the group have new behavioral issues you need to address? Were youth excited about the idea of mystery? Do they not just accept but also celebrate the idea that the Universe is a mystery we can never totally solve?
Look ahead to Sessions 15 and 16 for ways to build on participants' understandings of the programs' themes.
TAKING IT HOME
The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science... It was the experience of mystery, even if mixed with fear, that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty—it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude. In this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man. — Albert Einstein
Talk about the quote. Do you agree with it? Are you religious in the same way Albert Einstein said he was? When you look at the stars at night, do you have an appreciative sense of wonder and mystery?
WHAT WE DID TODAY
Today's Big Question asks, "Will we ever solve life's mystery?" We reviewed UU responses to some of the other Big Questions we have asked in Riddle and Mystery. We saw UUs have many responses to mystery, but mystery will never be completely "solved." Our story showed that questions lead to more questions, and that exploring mystery can lead to more mystery. For WCUU, we created UU materials for a Mystery Day Parade. In WIT Time, we talked about the big questions we most want to have answered.
MYSTERY TOOL KIT
If your family had a mystery tool kit, what would you put in it? Maybe someone knows a lot about science, and knowledge could go in it. Maybe others are very familiar with UU Sources, and our Sources could go in the tool kit. Someone who likes to dance or sing might have tools for celebrating mystery. What else? You decide.
FAMILY MYSTERY
When is the last time someone in your family said: "I don't know. It's a mystery to me." What is the biggest mystery your family has talked about in the last week? Did you solve the mystery? Will you ever solve it?
SHARE YOUR FAVORITE MYSTERY BOOKS AND TV SHOWS
What are some of your own or your family's favorite mystery books, films or television shows? What about your friends'? If you have a favorite mystery book or movie, share it with a friend or family member. If you really love mysteries, start a mystery book club at your school or congregation.
SHARED SEARCH
Travel to a mysterious place. Maybe it will be a haunted house. Maybe it will be a place where most people do not think about mystery—but you do.
PHOTO CHALLENGE
Photograph a mystery or try just the opposite: Photograph something that has no mystery to it at all. Can you think of such a thing? Before you answer "yes," remember some of the Big Questions you have talked about—like where things come from, and what they are. Now see if you can find something that has no mystery at all.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: NOTABLE THOUGHTS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Remind participants that this is a time for them to record their own ideas about today's Big Question. Distribute participants' notebooks and pencils or pens. Provide new participants with notebooks. Say that the notebooks are private; you will keep them between sessions but not read them.
Tell the youth they will have about five minutes. Remind them of today's Big Question: "Can we ever solve life's mystery?" Say they can write about anything they want. Their ideas can be as different as they wish from what you have talked about so far. If youth have nothing to record, they are free to doodle or relax.
Give them a few minutes to work quietly in their notebooks. When time is up, offer that they may seal their notebooks with masking tape before handing them in. Collect the notebooks.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: SONG — GATHERED HERE (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Remind/tell the group that Unitarian Universalists often express our ideas in hymns. Introduce "Gathered Here" in a manner comfortable for you and the group.
Invite participants to respond to the hymn. What does "the mystery of the hour" mean? Do the words suggest that mystery is part of all religious services where the hymn is sung? Do youth feel a sense of mystery when they attend the congregation's worship services? When do they feel a sense of mystery?
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 3: CHALLENGE QUESTION (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Challenge questions guide a deeper inquiry for especially thoughtful individuals and groups. For this session, ask:
Is there value in asking big questions if we already know we might not ever find the answer?
Extend discussion with these additional questions:
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
STORY: WHY? A PLAYLET WITH FOUR SCENELETS
Characters
Scenelet One: Narrator, Parent, Little Kid
Scenelet Two: Narrator, Pediatrician, Parent, Little Kid
Scenelet Three: Narrator, Adult, UU Minister
Scenelet Four: Narrator, Old Scientist, Old Scientist's Young Friend
SCENELET ONE
Narrator: A Parent and a Little Kid were at the beach on a nice summer day.
Parent: Look at the sky! It's just as blue as can be! It's a perfect day.
Little Kid: Why?
Parent: Because we won't get wet.
Little Kid: Are we going to swim?
Parent: Sure. That's why we're here.
Little Kid: Why?
Parent: Because it's such a hot day. It will feel good to get wet.
Little Kid: Why?
Parent: Because it will!
Parent: Goodness, the sky is getting dark. I think we'd better go.
Little Kid: Why?
Parent: Because it's going to rain. We might get all wet and yucky. Come on, let's go.
Little Kid: Why?
Parent: Because.
Little Kid: Because why?
Parent: BECAUSE I SAID SO!
Narrator: So the Parent and the Little Kid went home.
SCENELET TWO
Narrator: The Little Kid kept asking so many questions that the Parent was getting very flustered. The Parent made an immediate appointment with the Little Kid's Pediatrician.
Pediatrician: (to Parent) Good morning. What can I do for you?
Parent: The Little Kid never seems to say anything except why and what and when and who and where. I don't think that's normal and it's getting really aggravating! And I'm concerned!
Pediatrician: Well let's have a look. (To Little Kid.) Hi, there, Little Kid. What's the story here? What seems to be going on?
Little Kid: When?
Pediatrician: Anytime. Does anything feel strange? Hurt?
Little Kid: Where?
Pediatrician: Anywhere.
Little Kid: Why?
Narrator: At this point the Pediatrician turned to the Parent and smiled.
Pediatrician: I think everything is just fine. Young children ask a lot of questions, that's all.
Parent: Why?
Pediatrician: One reason is that they are curious. The world is new to them, and they want to know how it works. Also, questions are a child’s way of making conversation. They don’t have a whole lot to say, but they want to keep talking because that is what other people do. So they ask a lot of questions. I’m sure things will begin to change very soon. Then the Little Kid will say a lot more, and some of it may be harder to hear than the questions.
Parent: Why?
Pediatrician: Kids grow up, that's all.
Parent: When?
Pediatrician: I can't tell you that. It differs from kid to kid.
Parent: How?
Pediatrician: Oh-oh. I think the Little Kid's questions may be contagious.
Parent and Little Kid (together): Why?
Narrator: That's enough for now.
SCENELET THREE
Narrator: The Pediatrician was right. The Little Kid did grow up, and eventually became both an adult and a scientist. One day the Adult who used to be the Little Kid went to talk with a Unitarian Universalist minister.
Minister: Hi, there, Adult. What's on your mind today?
Adult: Questions. All the time I have questions. At work. At home. In worship. On vacation. Questions.
Minister: Any particular kind of questions?
Adult: Big questions. Like why do I exist? Why did my friend have to die at such a young age? Why doesn't my UU congregation have all the answers?
Minister: Because we cannot know for sure the answers to big questions like the ones you just asked.
Adult: So why come here, if you aren't going to give me answers?
Minister: UU congregations and ministers don't have all the answers to big questions. But we do have responses.
Adult: Responses? I don't get it.
Minister: Responses are ideas about the big questions that help us understand life and its meaning. UU responses help us all to think about the mysteries of life and death, the mysteries of everything.
Adult: To think about the mysteries but not to solve them?
Minister: That's right. And that's okay with me. I think the mystery is what makes life life. I think it is wonderful. There will always be big questions and there will always be mystery.
Adult: Maybe you are right. But I have to go to work now. Thanks for your time.
Minister: You are very welcome. Merry mystery and happy questioning.
Narrator: So the Adult went off to work.
SCENELET FOUR
Narrator: The Adult who used to be the Little Kid went off to work. In fact the Adult who used to be the Little Kid went off to work in a science laboratory over and over again, for many, many years. After a few decades, the Adult turned into the Old Scientist, and the Old Scientist kept right on working. Sometimes the Old Scientist's Young Friend worried about that.
Young Friend: How come you keep working, Old Scientist? You are old and deserve some rest.
Old Scientist: Because I have been trying to answer the same question for decades, and I cannot rest until I find the answer.
Old Scientist: The question is: What happens when you combine a thingamadoojit with a whatsamajig?
Young Friend. Oh. Well, good luck with that.
Narrator: Then one day, success!
Old Scientist: Eureka! I did it! Problem solved! End of puzzle! Mystery revealed!
Young Friend: Congratulations, Old Scientist! So tell me! What happens when you combine a thingamadoojit with a whatsamajig?
Old Scientist: You get a fummagaroochit!
Young Friend: Wow! That's great to know. It is also great to know that now you can stop working and get some rest.
Old Scientist: Oh no. Not yet.
Young Friend: Why?
Old Scientist: Because a fummagaroochit is not the only thing you get when you combine a thingamadoojit with a whatsamajig.
Young Friend: What do you get besides a fummagaroochit when you combine a thingamadoojit with a whatsamajig?
Old Scientist: You get a whole bunch of new questions!
Young Friend: What are they?
Old Scientist: That's the first one right there. What are the questions? Another question is: What does a fummagaroochit do? I am just beginning to write down all the new questions. So pardon me while I run back to the lab.
Narrator: So the Old Scientist who used to be the Adult who used to be the Little Kid ran back to the lab. And that's where you will find the Old Scientist today, still answering questions and creating more, still moving deeper into mystery.
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
HANDOUT 1: TODAY'S BIG QUESTION
To the Kid for the Day:
You have two jobs. The first is getting your group excited about hearing today's Big Question. The second is announcing the question.
1. Say to the group, "Give me a drum roll!" Then wait for a minute while the drum roll builds. (Here is how to do a drum roll: Everybody slaps their thighs, one leg first, then the other, back and forth, beginning gently and getting louder and louder.)
2. When the drum roll is good and loud, hold up your hands to signal "Stop!" Then read today's Big Question. Here it is:
Can we ever solve life's mystery?
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
HANDOUT 2: FOUR QUESTIONS
Imagine that Mystery has suddenly arrived on earth in a spaceship. Mystery is the wisest being in the universe, who knows all the big questions there are—and the answers. Mystery has agreed to answer just one question from just one person. All the people on Earth have put their names into a giant hat. Mystery has pulled out just one name. Congratulations! The name is yours. You get to ask just one question. So...
1. What is your biggest and most important question? Write it here:
2. Now, imagine a little bit of how Mystery might answer your question. Write it here:
3. Would that answer satisfy you? If so, write "okay" below. If not, write a follow-up question you would want to ask Mystery.
4. Can we ever solve life's mystery? Answer "yes" or "no" what do you personally think?
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: BIG QUESTIONS AND SMALL ANSWERS
In addition to these, create your own pairs from the discussions of your group in previous sessions.
Where do we come from? | From mystery and stardust. |
What are we? | We are what we do. |
Where are we going? | Toward goals we set for ourselves. |
Does God exist? | Not on a throne in heaven. |
How did life begin? | A Big Bang, and evolution. |
What happens when we die? | Nobody living knows |
Why do bad things happen? | Because of people and nature. |
Is life fair? | No. |
How can I tell right from wrong? | The Unitarian Universalist Principles can help. |
What is truth? | A mix of what we know and feel. |
How am I connected with everything else? | Like a strand of a spider web. |
What should I do with my own life? | Follow your calling. |
Do I have a soul? | You have a core inner self. |
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: UU RESPONSES TO BIG QUESTIONS
1. Where do we come from?
Most Unitarian Universalists believe everything in our known universe comes out of the stardust created by a Big Bang. Our history from then to now can best by traced by science. Why there was a Big Bang, and why there is anything at all remains a mystery.
2. What are we?
We are Unitarian Universalists. We are what we say. We are what we do. We are what we make ourselves. These are some of our humanistic beliefs.
3. Where are we going?
We agree that we humans play a huge part in deciding where we are going. We have the power to move individually and together toward goals like peace and justice and equality—goals reflected in our Unitarian Universalist Principles.
4. Does God exist?
Most Unitarian Universalists do not believe in a god who resembles a human, who lives in Heaven and who decides what will happen to people. Many Unitarian Universalists feel there is a power beyond us, a mysterious power we can never fully know. Some believe this power is the power of love. Some UUs, even some Humanists, call that power God, and their ideas of what God is like may vary tremendously. Others call a power beyond us the Spirit of Life, Great Mystery or other names.
5. How did life begin?
Unitarian Universalists believe that science and the theory of evolution best explain how life began. Many UUs enjoy stories and myths about the beginning of life. They see these as artistic and poetic explanations and may find in them some meaning or some truth—but not literal truth.
6. What happens when we die?
Most Unitarian Universalists say we do not know what happens when we die. That is a mystery we cannot fully solve while we are still alive. Most UUs do not believe in a physical afterlife, but a natural ending to our physical beings. UUs have different beliefs about how one's spirit may exist after physical death, but most UUs would agree that we may leave a "spirit legacy" in the people who loved us and the good things we did to make the world a better place.
7. Why do bad things happen?
Not because God or the Devil makes them happen. Nature causes some bad things, and people cause a lot more. The idea of human agency and the tools of science help us understand how, if not why, bad things happen. As Unitarian Universalists, we like to know how and why bad things have happened when that information helps us make things better.
8. Is life fair?
No. Unitarian Universalists generally agree that life is not fair. Our humanist ideas say our job as people is to work for justice and equality and do all we can to make life more fair.
9. How can I tell right from wrong?
Unitarian Universalists find guidance in our Unitarian Universalist Principles, the Golden Rule and ideas from many UU Sources. A very important guide is our inner feelings, especially our conscience. It is helpful to discuss moral issues and decisions with others you respect, and to explore these issues in a faith community like our UU congregations.
10. What is truth?
There are different kinds of truth, such as scientific truth, which can be supported by evidence, and spiritual and moral truths that are based not on science, but on reason, values, opinions, beliefs, and even feelings. These non-scientific truths — such as "all people are created equal" — are some of the most important truths. UUs find their own spiritual truths, with the help of their UU communities and UU Sources. Some truths that UUs share are expressed in the Principles.
11. How am I connected with everything else?
Unitarian Universalists say they have been connected with everything from the Big Bang on. UUs believe all life is connected. Love cements our connections and helps build community. Because of these connections, UUs believe we should act responsibly toward others and all life that shares our planet.
12. What should I do with my own life?
Unitarian Universalists say people should follow their inner calling. Most UUs try to live according to their own beliefs and values. Most find their own beliefs and values reflected in our UU Principles as well as the Golden Rule.
13. Do I have a soul?
Many Unitarian Universalists use the word "soul" to speak of their deepest inner self. They likely do not think of "the soul" as the piece of them that travels to a place called heaven or is reincarnated on earth after death.
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: WCUU SCRIPT — THE PARADE
To the Co-Anchors:
Today's WCUU program features the UU entries in a Mystery Day Parade. Your job is to follow the script, read your parts and keep things going. When the broadcast begins, you have a microphone. The parade can be seen in the background.
Co-Anchor 1: This is WCUU, Wisdom of the Community of Unitarian Universalists, on the air.
[Director: Cue the station break.]
[Director: Cue the theme music. Cue Co-Anchor 2.]
Co-Anchor 2: Good morning. I am [give your real or stage name].
Co-Anchor 1: And I am [give your real or stage name]. Today's broadcast comes to you live from the fantastic Mystery Day Parade. We are here to see the wonderful Unitarian Universalist contributions to that parade.
[Director: Cue the parade participants as previously arranged—for example, if they need to move toward the Co-Anchors or begin a parade.]
[Co-Anchors: Describe the UU contributions to the parade as the camera shows them. Talk to each other and to parade participants if you like. Ask participants to tell you about the message of their parade floats and other decorations.]
[Director: Cue Co-Anchors to wrap up parade interviews when they are out of time.]
Co-Anchor 2: Well, [use Co-Anchor 1's real or stage name], it is time to wrap up our coverage of this year's parade.
Co-Anchor 1: Right, [Co-Anchor 2's real or stage name]. Let's get NUUs Analyst to join us.
[Director: Cue NUUs Analyst to join the Co-Anchors.]
Co-Anchor 2: Good morning, NUUs Analyst. What can you tell us about the UU contributions to this year's Mystery Day Parade?
NUUs Analyst: They are wonderful, Co-Anchors, very wonderful, as your viewers have just seen. You see, nobody enjoys mystery more than UUs do. They truly celebrate mystery. UUs do not expect to ever know all the answers to all the big questions. They love to move through mystery, to solve parts of the mystery and to see new pieces of mystery unfolding before them.
Co-Anchor 1: Thank you NUUs Analyst. That is a very helpful summary.
NUUs Analyst: But wait a minute. Want to know what the biggest mystery of all is?
Co-Anchor 2: And what is that, NUUs Analyst?
NUUs Analyst: Why it is me, of course! I might look simple on the outside, but I am fascinating and complicated on the inside. You can tell that from my dreams. Want to know what I dreamt last night?
Co-Anchor 1. No!
Co-Anchor 2: Sound the theme music!
[Director: Cue the theme music.]
[Director: Cue the station break.]
Co-Anchor 1: This is [your name] signing off for WCUU.
Co-Anchor 2: That is W-C-U-U for Wisdom of the Community of Unitarian
Universalists. And this is [your real or stage name] signing off, too.
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
LEADER RESOURCE 4: UU MYSTERY MESSAGES
Here are some UU ideas about mystery. Put the ideas into your own words and use them any way you like as you make a float or another contribution to the Mystery Day Parade.
RIDDLE AND MYSTERY: SESSION 14:
LEADER RESOURCE 5: REV. KOWALSKI ON EINSTEIN
"The Relationship between Religion and Science" by the Reverend Gary Kowalski.
Put on your bifocals to read from the book of Genesis and you're relying on the same laws of optics that astronomers use to tell us the universe could not possibly have been created the way the Good Book says. The irony would be delicious if it weren't so dangerous.
At least since the time of Galileo, science and theology have been in conflict. While the vast majority of Americans profess belief in a deity, ninety–five percent of biologists in the National Academy of Sciences call themselves atheists or agnostics.
The chasm between the two camps is worrisome. For if religion has the power to unleash the best and worst in human nature—from Mother Teresa to Osama bin Laden—technology has the ability to harness the creative and destructive potential of the universe itself. The world can no longer afford either heartless science or mindless faith.
But like a pair of bifocals, science and religion may simply offer differing lenses on our experience. One lens focuses our curiosity, while the other magnifies our awe. The point where the vision converges is in mystery.
Whether discussing divinity or dark matter, a little humility is in order. Isn't plain not knowing better than being absolutely sure of "facts" that just aren't so? Neither science nor religion can completely unscrew the inscrutable. Ultimately, both may be better at questioning our answers than answering our questions.
Science punctures our certainties through a process of falsification. Hypotheses can be invalidated but never conclusively verified. Every assertion about the cosmos contains a grain of tentativeness.
And theology is not so different. "Proofs" of God are seldom convincing (except to those who already believe), and every statement about the ineffable by its very nature is partial and imperfect. Like physicists, who know that an electron can sometimes behave like a particle and other times like a wave, but realize that neither simile matches the utter peculiarity of the subatomic realm, theologians need to recognize that creeds and doctrines are far from capturing the wonders they purport to describe.
Faith comes to us in the form of questions and quandaries. In the book of Job, for example, God speaks in the interrogative mood rather than imperative. "Brace yourself," the Almighty warns Job. "I will ask questions and you will answer." From the whirlwind, God queries, "Where were you when I created the heavens and the earth? Have you comprehended the vast expanse of the world?" A lengthy list of inquiries ensues. "Who sired the drops of dew? Do you know when the mountain goats are born, or attend the wild doe when she is in labor?" And as a result of this relentless quizzing, Job is finally reconciled—not because he has been given any answers or rationalizations that could account for his fate, but because he has been forced to encounter the enigma of existence at deeper, more daunting levels.
Einstein was one who cultivated a taste for mystery. In the last decades of his life, he was regarded as a bit of a crank by other physicists, bent upon a seemingly quixotic quest for a unified field theory when scientific fashion was headed elsewhere. Now, fifty years, later, researchers have rejoined Einstein's pursuit, understanding that while he never did obtain his elusive quarry, he was at least asking the right questions, drawn on by an almost romantic attraction. "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious," he wrote. "It is the source of all true art and science," and also a source of authentic spirituality.
"To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their most primitive forms—this knowledge, this feeling," proclaimed Einstein, "is at the center of true religiousness."
The lens of science and the lens of faith can complement each other if we realize that neither one offers a complete picture of universe we inhabit. Both are needed if we are to see clearly and walk steadily through this world. For as Einstein said, "religion without science is blind; science without religion is lame."
Rev. Gary Kowalski is the author of best-selling books that explore spirit and nature, including The Souls of Animals (at www.textbookx.com/product_detail.php?upc=9781883478216&type=book&affiliate=froogle) (Stillpoint 1999), Goodbye Friend (at www.amazon.com/Blessing-Bridge-Animals-Teach-Beyond/dp/0939165384/): Healing Wisdom For Anyone Who Has Ever Lost A Pet (Stillpoint 1997), The Bible According To Noah (at www.amazon.com/Bible-According-Noah-Theology-Mattered/dp/1930051328/): Theology As If Animals Mattered (Lantern 2001), and Science & the Search for God (at www.amazon.com/Science-Search-God-Gary-Kowalski/dp/1590560450/) (Lantern 2003). His next volume, Revolutionary Spirits (at www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Revolutionary-Spirits/2500926/product.html?cid=80486&fp=F): The Enlightened Faith of America's Founding Fathers, will soon be published by BlueBridge.
FIND OUT MORE
Albert Einstein and the Mysterious
Albert Einstein was not a Unitarian Universalist, but his writings often resonate with UUs. Einstein wrote, "The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle."
Leader Resource 5, Rev. Kowalski on Einstein (included in this document) features a brief article on the relationship between science and religion talks about Albert Einstein and his "taste for mystery."
When Young Children Ask "Why?"
The WCUU script for this session plays on the developmental stage when a child will constantly ask "Why?" In fact, when young children persistently ask "Why?" they do not necessarily yearn to solve life's mystery, nor might they even have a specific question. Fielding a parent's query on his website (at www.drgreene.com/21_564.html), Dr. Alan Greene says:
[... By] the time children are able to speak in sentences, it sounds deceptively like they mean the same thing we do. This happens at about the same time their curiosity, imagination, and creativity skyrocket.
They begin to ask, "Why?" "Why?!?!" "WHY, Mommy, WHYYYYY?"
I've found that, when I try to answer children at this stage of development with the reason for something, they are left cold. After conversing with thousands of children, I've decided that what they really mean is, "That's interesting to me. Let's talk about that together. Tell me more, please?"