This I Believe...
A collection of views from UU church members
A collection of views from UU church members
This I Believe...
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Paul B. - November 2009
This I Believe...
By Paul B.
November 2009
My name is Paul. I am a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church here in Niagara
Falls. I’ll start off with my background. I was 8 years old when my Father started taking
me and my brother to church at the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Wellsville, NY.
The CMA church is basically Baptist in doctrine, considered non- denominational and claim
belief, as a lot churches do, in the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the 1980’s when I
joined the US Air Force, I was stationed at Beale AFB, CA. While there, I looked for a CMA
Church and found one in Yuba City, It was a small church of about a dozen people but
wow, was I in for a change. Unlike the CMA back home in Wellsville, NY, this one turned
out to be Pentecostal in nature and from there I was taught a more positive message about
God. Rarely did I hear Pastor Beckman preach negative sermons like fire and brimstone.
The music was a lot more fun, full of life. They were good people for me to grow with at
that time in my life.
My favorite of Pastor Beckman’s sermons was about the Atom. No not Adam as in Adam
and Eve but the atom and the mysteries of how it’s held together. Of course, when he
talked about what’s called the nuclear force that keeps electrons orbiting around the atom’s
nucleus, it really appealed to my scientific mind and my spiritual side too. Of course in
Pastor Beckman’s message, God was the central part. Since I’ve been back in this area
from the late 1980’s, I have had many church experiences and not all positive. My thoughts
on my beliefs have evolved from strict right wing exclusive conservative values, to
Christian values more inclusive of all people. I believe each of us is like a little beacon of
light or a piece of the Creator, here to experience life in a physical sense that we could not
do solely as spiritual beings. When we leave this life, it’s like graduating to another form of
existence, whatever that ultimate truth might be.
Today, I consider myself a Unitarian Christian. Why? Because the negative things I got
from other churches like, “You can’t be a part of God’s Family if you are Jewish, Catholic,
any other religion or gay or different.” I think the there are good people in all religions and
that they all can please God.
Who is God?
1.) Neither Male nor Female.
2.) Not Human - But came to earth as a human to relate to each of us.
3.) May be the total energy of this universe and each of us is a tiny piece of it.
I believe also, that we earth people are not the only place in this universe
with sentient life. They too are a tiny part of the Creator.
To put what I’m saying another way, I’ll use an analogy from my favorite science fiction
program, Star Trek. There was an alien approaching earth called V-Ger looking for its
creator. It thought its creator was all machine like himself. V-Ger was our NASA Voyager
Spacecraft that fell into a black hole and landed on a machine planet. These machines, gave
Voyager the means to complete it’s programming. Learn all things it could in the universe
and return that information to its creator. But when Voyager (V-Ger) learned its creator
was human, he could not understand the logic in it. To V-Ger, carbon based units (us
humans) are not true life forms. Of course Capt. Kirk was able to convince V-Ger by
allowing him to meld with a man and a woman willingly, and this allowed V-Ger to
complete his programming by evolving into a whole new level of life.
We tend to create God in our own image but it’s possible that the Creator has many
different images, so for us humans, he/she relates to us with our image of ourselves.
Maybe there was a Son born from the creator, and if so it would be wonderful if more
religions would focus on his loving teachings.
I believe the Creator is:
• Positive
• Love
• Joy
• Peace all rolled into one.
As long as you have a positive heart, you’ll find Love, Joy, and Peace.
By Paul B.
November 2009
My name is Paul. I am a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church here in Niagara
Falls. I’ll start off with my background. I was 8 years old when my Father started taking
me and my brother to church at the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Wellsville, NY.
The CMA church is basically Baptist in doctrine, considered non- denominational and claim
belief, as a lot churches do, in the trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the 1980’s when I
joined the US Air Force, I was stationed at Beale AFB, CA. While there, I looked for a CMA
Church and found one in Yuba City, It was a small church of about a dozen people but
wow, was I in for a change. Unlike the CMA back home in Wellsville, NY, this one turned
out to be Pentecostal in nature and from there I was taught a more positive message about
God. Rarely did I hear Pastor Beckman preach negative sermons like fire and brimstone.
The music was a lot more fun, full of life. They were good people for me to grow with at
that time in my life.
My favorite of Pastor Beckman’s sermons was about the Atom. No not Adam as in Adam
and Eve but the atom and the mysteries of how it’s held together. Of course, when he
talked about what’s called the nuclear force that keeps electrons orbiting around the atom’s
nucleus, it really appealed to my scientific mind and my spiritual side too. Of course in
Pastor Beckman’s message, God was the central part. Since I’ve been back in this area
from the late 1980’s, I have had many church experiences and not all positive. My thoughts
on my beliefs have evolved from strict right wing exclusive conservative values, to
Christian values more inclusive of all people. I believe each of us is like a little beacon of
light or a piece of the Creator, here to experience life in a physical sense that we could not
do solely as spiritual beings. When we leave this life, it’s like graduating to another form of
existence, whatever that ultimate truth might be.
Today, I consider myself a Unitarian Christian. Why? Because the negative things I got
from other churches like, “You can’t be a part of God’s Family if you are Jewish, Catholic,
any other religion or gay or different.” I think the there are good people in all religions and
that they all can please God.
Who is God?
1.) Neither Male nor Female.
2.) Not Human - But came to earth as a human to relate to each of us.
3.) May be the total energy of this universe and each of us is a tiny piece of it.
I believe also, that we earth people are not the only place in this universe
with sentient life. They too are a tiny part of the Creator.
To put what I’m saying another way, I’ll use an analogy from my favorite science fiction
program, Star Trek. There was an alien approaching earth called V-Ger looking for its
creator. It thought its creator was all machine like himself. V-Ger was our NASA Voyager
Spacecraft that fell into a black hole and landed on a machine planet. These machines, gave
Voyager the means to complete it’s programming. Learn all things it could in the universe
and return that information to its creator. But when Voyager (V-Ger) learned its creator
was human, he could not understand the logic in it. To V-Ger, carbon based units (us
humans) are not true life forms. Of course Capt. Kirk was able to convince V-Ger by
allowing him to meld with a man and a woman willingly, and this allowed V-Ger to
complete his programming by evolving into a whole new level of life.
We tend to create God in our own image but it’s possible that the Creator has many
different images, so for us humans, he/she relates to us with our image of ourselves.
Maybe there was a Son born from the creator, and if so it would be wonderful if more
religions would focus on his loving teachings.
I believe the Creator is:
• Positive
• Love
• Joy
• Peace all rolled into one.
As long as you have a positive heart, you’ll find Love, Joy, and Peace.
