Chalice Lighting by Ian Dodd 

Unitarian Universalist Community Church

Santa Monica, California

March 18, 2007

Faith. . .is a four letter word. We live in a world in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people are killed each day because of faith. We live in a country whose leader is guided by faith in a higher power. When natural disaster strikes, the victims often turn to their faith to get them through while others claim it was their lack of faith, or faith in the wrong thing, that brought God’s wrath down upon them.

Harsh as is may sound, I was struck by a bumper sticker I saw which said, “September 11 was a faith-based initiative.”

Now, we all have some faith. I have faith that the sun will rise again tomorrow.

Nothing in the conditions of the rising sun have changed since this morning so I have every reason to suspect the same thing will happen tomorrow.

But if you try to tell me that the moon is made of green cheese, then I am going to expect you to produce some evidence to support that belief. And if you try to convince me that the millions of species of plants and animals were placed on the earth by an Intelligent Designer some 6,000 years ago, then I am going to expect you to provide some pretty substantial proof to refute the body of scientific evidence that says otherwise. Or if you decide to invade a sovereign country because of a perceived threat from a cache of weapons of mass destruction, then you damn well better show me some proof before committing thousands of troops to such drastic and lethal action. Don’t ask me to take it on faith.

--pause--

Contrary to popular belief, I think the Buddha must have been from Missouri, the Show Me state. 2500 years ago he taught that one should never accept anything on faith, including his teachings. The Buddha said this:

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumored by many.

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on authority of your teachers and elders.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that it agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

And yet, even the most prominent Buddhist today, the Dalai Lama said this in his book “The Universe in a Single Atom”:

“Where science trumps the beliefs of Buddhism, Buddhism must evolve to accept the truths offered by science.”

I find a parallel between the buddhist approach of accepting only that which has been experienced and tested and the fourth Unitarian principle that we promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. In the community of Unitarians I find a group of people committed to seeking the truth, taking the skeptical view, asking the tough questions and taking nothing on faith.

There is the old proverb that says, “ ‘Tis better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.”

I would update that to say, “ ‘Tis better to light a single chalice of reason to illuminate the darkness for those shrouded by faith.”