UU First Principle & Wiccan Rede

Part 1

            This evening I was supposed to be working on some schoolwork but I got side tracked.  Tonight when I sat down to start my readings for the Humanism course at the seminary; I thought it would be a good idea to research Humanism first.  What began as a short investigation to better understand Humanism as a religion, developed into an interesting search leading to deep contemplation.  I started to think about the first principle of Unitarian Universalist and then decided to relate it to my Wiccan Spirituality.

            The Unitarian Universalist’s first principle is “The inherent worth and dignity of every person.”  From my research and reflection on those readings the first principle means that we are to recognize and honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person.  Some may say that this means that everyone is good and in a sense, it does because we are born innocent.  We are born into families, cultures, and communities that influence our development.  The experience a person has in life shapes many aspects of their character and personality.  Due to life’s experiences, an individual’s beliefs develop and change through time.  Those beliefs influence a person’s actions.  However, it is important to recognize that everyone has the capacity to commit wrongful acts. 

             Although some may argue that, this recognition is not a part of the first principle, I think it is.  I think that if we are to recognize “the inherent worth and dignity of every person” then it is important to recognize each individual holistically.  This means that we recognize and honor all the various parts of an individual including the good and the bad.  The reading that prompted further exploration of the idea that people need to recognize both their capacity to create good as well as bad actions is the written account of a sermon delivered by David M. Sargent (2007).

            According to Sargent’s (2007), sermon it is important to be in a religion and spiritual practice, that recognizes “the sins of man” as well as the good deeds.  For a religion that turns away from accepting humanity’s capability of producing acts of horror as well as virtuous, then we will not be fulfilled spiritually leading to disappointment with the religion.  This raises several questions regarding religion and spirituality.  One question that comes to mind is can we be spiritual without religion or is religion important to developing and maintaining our spirituality.  This is an important question and is one of the big questions I have had for a while.  Therefore, it will appear several times in later writings.  

          Now let us go back to the idea that a religion that does not honor all the capabilities of an individual leads to eventual disappointment and lack of spiritual fulfillment.  To me this makes sense because every person’s experiences are unique.  Although many people experience abuse, oppression, acts of kindness, and any number of different events, we interpret those events differently.  We develop emotions and feelings based on our personal background and view the world through those lenses.  Because an individual’s experiences are unique then reactions to various situations will vary and if we as human beings recognize all our capabilities then we may realize that the quality of our actions are relative to our unique life experience as well as other’s unique life experiences.  I know this last sentence might sound vague but the story David Sargent (2007) tells in his sermon about an Aikido expert that almost used his skills to protect a mother and child against a drunken man would have turned into an act of horror.  The act of protecting a mother and child from being harmed by a drunken individual is noble.  However, if one act of violence is returned by another without considering the other individual’s humanity then the noble act may turn into a brutality.  In this story, the Aikido expert was unable to act because an old man intervened (Sargent).  Because the old man considered the drunkard’s humanity all participates in the event learn the man is drowning in sorrow from his spouse’s death (Sargent).  In this moment, the Aikido expert realizes his noble act of protection would have been a brutality on the drunken man because he did not consider this man’s humanity (Sargent).  This story leads me to reflect on my Pagan/Wiccan beliefs and see how the Unitarian Universalist first principle appears in my religion and spirituality.

            My first thoughts turned to the Wiccan Rede, “An’ it harm none, do what ye will.”  I have done a lot of thinking on the Rede through my years of being Wiccan.  The way that I interpret the Rede is that I should not commit any actions with the intention to harm.  However, I believe that there are circumstances that call for us to act in ways that may harm someone.  There is a reason I believe this due to my unique experiences in life.  I also realize that we do not live in a Utopian world and that as much as we try not to act in ways that could harm others, we may inadvertently cause someone harm.  However, there are circumstances that call for harmful actions but it is the intent behind the action that is important.  What the Wiccan Rede teaches us is to think and consider the other person’s humanity before we act.  If we consider their humanity and honor their personal worth and dignity then we commit good or bad acts with caution.  Because good and bad actions can cause other individuals harm, so we should always consider other people’s humanity when committing any actions.

            This is a good place to close this post for today.  Tomorrow I will further the discussion and express I how implement the teachings of the Wiccan Rede in my daily life and practices.  I will also further the discussion on how a Religion that does or does not recognize all aspects of a person’s humanity may influence our ability to be spiritually fulfilled. 

             The picture on top was taken by me in Chicago, IL. I think it gives a good introduction into the idea of perspective.

By Hano Tawodi

Reference

Sargent, D. M., (2007). Our Inherently Difficult First Principle. Retrieved from

http://www.uvcommons.org/uvuu/sermons/inherentlydifficultfirstprinciple.pdf

UU First Principle retrieved from http://www.uua.org/beliefs/principles/index.shtml