The UCC was formed in 1957 with the merger of the Congregationalist churches (Puritans, largely Calvinists) and the Evangelical and Reformed churches (German and Swiss Calvinists).
The best way I know to think of it, given my understanding, is that the UCC is the logical end of late-stage protestantism.
In China, Mao talked about the "continuous revolution." Similarly, in some strands of protestantism there has been an almost continual revolution, or evolution, towards human-centric doctrine, and therefore, away from God and traditional Christianity.
In American, the early puritans were strict and devout, and they were fiercely independent. They were opposed to the Anglican church, the Catholic church, all these top-heavy churches that strictly controlled their orders. The congregationalist churches were more loosely linked and more independent. During the revolution, the congregationalists were strongly anti-monarch. A big theme was pushing back against authority, studying the Bible on your own, following Christ in your own actions. Typical protestant stuff really, but...
If you take this level of independence, along with shifting moral values, the values of the Enlightenment, and (my personal favorite) a rather Hegelian thesis-antithesis comparison to other churches, you end up with unitarianism. When the more conservative Awakenings were happening, the descent into nothingness accelerated as a way of differentiating themselves from conservatives (the ignorant loathsome people). You end up with church members who push back on authority, no matter the source. You end up with churches that become the polar opposite of what they were.
In many ways, the evolution of puritan to UCC, particularly in the northeastern United States, is a precursor to the woke age we are in today. When a strong moral base is gone, social contagion and human depravity rushes in.
In many ways, the evolution of puritan to UCC, particularly in the northeastern United States, is a precursor to the woke age we are in today. When a strong moral base is gone, social contagion and human depravity rushes in.
I was tempted to say something like that, but I thought that it would upset people and prevent them from seriously addressing my question. Both leftism and these supposed churches seem to be in an endless basically random spiral. Of course, there are people who don't believe it's 'random', but the positions that are adopted seem to be arbitrary - in that, if you looked at leftists 100 years ago, you would have no idea they would be supporting transgenderism and war today.
It’s pretty ironic. For much of my early life I was a hardcore libertarian. While my family has been religious, I’ve never been religious, and deism is not an important part—not any part—of my life.
Today, I firmly believe that we need something like a Catholic church to help maintain order and cultural stability.
Human-centric leftism decays into nihilism and self-destruction.
Human-centric leftism decays into nihilism and self-destruction.
Almost seems like some sort of civlizational entropy. Of all the possible states that a society can have, a free and rational one is not inevitable and certainly not the most likely - like 'order' is not the most likely state of matter, so order tends towards the increase of disorder.
I used to be a New Atheist, and I'm still an atheist, but it seems that people simply cannot be left to figure things out on their own.
I've thought about this as well.
The UCC was formed in 1957 with the merger of the Congregationalist churches (Puritans, largely Calvinists) and the Evangelical and Reformed churches (German and Swiss Calvinists).
The best way I know to think of it, given my understanding, is that the UCC is the logical end of late-stage protestantism.
In China, Mao talked about the "continuous revolution." Similarly, in some strands of protestantism there has been an almost continual revolution, or evolution, towards human-centric doctrine, and therefore, away from God and traditional Christianity.
In American, the early puritans were strict and devout, and they were fiercely independent. They were opposed to the Anglican church, the Catholic church, all these top-heavy churches that strictly controlled their orders. The congregationalist churches were more loosely linked and more independent. During the revolution, the congregationalists were strongly anti-monarch. A big theme was pushing back against authority, studying the Bible on your own, following Christ in your own actions. Typical protestant stuff really, but...
If you take this level of independence, along with shifting moral values, the values of the Enlightenment, and (my personal favorite) a rather Hegelian thesis-antithesis comparison to other churches, you end up with unitarianism. When the more conservative Awakenings were happening, the descent into nothingness accelerated as a way of differentiating themselves from conservatives (the ignorant loathsome people). You end up with church members who push back on authority, no matter the source. You end up with churches that become the polar opposite of what they were.
In many ways, the evolution of puritan to UCC, particularly in the northeastern United States, is a precursor to the woke age we are in today. When a strong moral base is gone, social contagion and human depravity rushes in.
I was tempted to say something like that, but I thought that it would upset people and prevent them from seriously addressing my question. Both leftism and these supposed churches seem to be in an endless basically random spiral. Of course, there are people who don't believe it's 'random', but the positions that are adopted seem to be arbitrary - in that, if you looked at leftists 100 years ago, you would have no idea they would be supporting transgenderism and war today.
Very good point about leftists 100 years ago.
It’s pretty ironic. For much of my early life I was a hardcore libertarian. While my family has been religious, I’ve never been religious, and deism is not an important part—not any part—of my life.
Today, I firmly believe that we need something like a Catholic church to help maintain order and cultural stability.
Human-centric leftism decays into nihilism and self-destruction.
Almost seems like some sort of civlizational entropy. Of all the possible states that a society can have, a free and rational one is not inevitable and certainly not the most likely - like 'order' is not the most likely state of matter, so order tends towards the increase of disorder.
I used to be a New Atheist, and I'm still an atheist, but it seems that people simply cannot be left to figure things out on their own.