Character

Reading from: The Five Points of Calvinism and the Five Points of the New Theology

by James Freeman Clarke

The fourth point of the new theology will be Salvation by Character.

Salvation means the highest peace and joy of which the soul is capable. It means heaven here and heaven hereafter. This salvation has been explained as some thing outside of us, -- some outward gift, some outward condition, place, or circumstance. We speak of going to heaven, as if we could be made happy solely by being put in a happy place. But the true heaven, the only heaven which Jesus knew, is a state of the soul. It is inward goodness. It is Christ found within. It is the love of God in the heart, going out into the life and character. The first words which Jesus spoke indicated this belief. The poor in spirit already possess the kingdom of heaven. The pure in heart already see God. "This is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." He who has the faith which Jesus possessed has eternal life abiding in him. The water that Jesus gives becomes a spring of water within the soul, "springing up into everlasting life." Do not look for a distant heaven, saying, "Lo! here," or "Lo! there "; "for the kingdom of heaven is now with you." When we come to study the words of Jesus as we study human theologies, we shall find that he identifies goodness with heaven, and makes character the essence of salvation. As long as men believe that heaven is something outward, to be attained by an act of profession or belief, they will be apt to postpone such preparation as long as possible. But when we apprehend the inflexible law of consequences, and know that as a man soweth so shall he reap; when we see that spiritual tastes and habits are not to be formed in an hour; and that all formal professions, prayers, and sacraments avail nothing, unless the heart is pure, the soul upright, and the life one of integrity, -- then a new motive will be added to increase the goodness of the world. Then the formation of character will be the fruit of Christian faith to an extent never before realized.

Character

Rev. Dr. Richard Erhardt

James Freeman Clarke remains my favorite Nineteenth century Unitarian. Probably, his systematic thought, his ability to articulate a coherent theology from a creedless faith, is what attracts me to his work. Also, his work and his emphasis on Salvation by Character is a major attraction for me. I believe Salvation by Character to be the key tenet of Unitarianism past and Unitarian Universalism present.

He delivered a sermon entitled: "The Five Points of Calvinism and the Five Points of the New Theology" in which he contrasted the five points of Calvinism against the five points of an emergent Unitarian theology. The five points became for the Nineteenth century and early Twentieth century a vision of what Unitarianism stood for. In a sense it was to that time what our Principles and Purposes are for us today. It was so popular that it was often recited by congregations every Sunday morning. It wasn’t a binding creed, but rather a concise statement of what most Unitarians held in common. The five points were:

The Fatherhood of God,
The Brotherhood of Man,
The Leadership of Jesus,
Salvation by Character
The Progress of Mankind Onward and Upward Forever.

With some changes in language, much of this holds true for the majority of Unitarian Universalists today. While there are many who object to language such as the "Fatherhood of God" and "Leadership of Jesus," many of us resonate with the idea of our common humanity, today called more inclusively and in less sexist language "community," which is the essence of the statement "Brotherhood of Man." "Salvation by Character" can be seen in the oft repeated phrase that we believe in "Deeds not Creeds" and the "Progress of Mankind Onward and Upward Forever" speaks to our current belief that all people continue to grow and all of us may change for the better. Of the list, I have been fascinated by the concept of Salvation by Character because of its relevance for us today.

In the most simple terms, salvation means wholeness. In a world in which our lives are often fragmented and broken, being whole is attractive. The truth is that so many of us live such fragmented lives, where we are pulled in so many different directions that many of us might not really recognize wholeness if we saw it. Fragmentation is normal in our contemporary world.

In the Unitarian Universalist context, salvation means wholeness in this life. There may or may not be an afterlife — we don’t know — but what counts is how we live here and now. How we live is shown in our character. Who we are and how we choose to live is what brings us the possibility of wholeness: that is Salvation by Character.

James Freeman Clarke, in his Manual of Unitarian Belief, raises the importance of living ethically right here and right now.

§ 60. Unitarians regard goodness as the end, and religious acts as the means and helps to that end. Inward goodness of the heart expressed by outward good ness in life is primary and essential. Religion is for the sake of goodness, and belongs not only to the Church and to Sunday, but to every place and to all times. It must go with us to our home, to our place of work, to our amusements and be the help and strength of every day. Religion is given to make all of life sacred; to sanctify business, politics, pleasure, work, and all our intercourse with each other.

It has been said that Unitarian Universalists are thin on theology but thick on ethics. I believe that this is so, but I also believe that our weakness in the area of theology means that we don’t talk about what we are and what we stand for well at all. The result is that we often lapse into a lowest common denominator in our religious thought. We wind up with vague platitudes which don’t say much, but don’t offend anybody. Ultimately we wind up with the sort of "It’s nice to be nice" theology for which we are justly criticized.

In the Unitarian Universalist ministers on-line chat a few years ago, one minister complained that Stephen Covey, the author of the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, both condemned Unitarian Universalism in a (then) recent interview, and, ironically, stole our Salvation by Character. There was much hand wringing, about this nefarious act. My take was that it is hard to claim that someone has stolen something from us when we have all but metaphorically kicked it to the curb and spit on it. The sad commentary is that very few came up with suggestions for how we may reclaim our heritage, and the majority focussed on that "bad man."

One of the problems over the years has been that Unitarian Universalism shifted emphasis from our responsibility to change ourselves and change our world, to an emphasis on our rights. It shifted from what we may give to what we may get. This is not to deny the importance of rights, but rights without responsibility is meaningless and responsibility without rights is oppressive. Actually they’re both oppressive, since someone demanding rights without claiming any responsibility often holds the rest of the group hostage to their perceived needs.

Admittedly this is a tangent. The point I am hoping to make is that we have a proud theology just waiting to be claimed. Last week I mentioned the disastrous cultural influence of the misreading of the Adam and Eve story. Our theology is an antidote to that.

We live in a culture which, despite some political protections in place, truly does begin from the cultural theological assumption that people are bad and in need of being controlled. This is a direct cultural response to the concept of Original Sin. We need only look around to see the horrible consequences of this sort of belief. Two indications of this are the insane War on Drugs, which author Robert Anton Wilson, in his book Everything’s Under Control, refers to as the "war against some drugs." Which are filling our prisons with first time offenders and seeks punishment over treatment. Lest I hammer the point home to hard, good people have the possibility of transformation, and the possibility to be treated, bad people need to be punished. Original Sin is writing this policy. Theology has real implications in the real world.

The second example, is that we have a huge number of our people in prison. Of all of the industrialized countries, we are the one with the highest population in prison. Most of whom are disproportionately people of color. Can it be that everyone is really that bad? Or, is it possible that our culture is influenced by the concept of Original Sin and see everyone as hopeless and utterly depraved?

We have a theological message worth sharing. Imagine how different our entire culture would be right now, if instead of seeing people as essentially bad and in need of control, we saw people as essentially full of worth and dignity. Instead of seeing depravity in our souls, we saw divinity. All of the great heroes and sages have seen divinity in our core: Jesus, Socrates, Ghandi, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Martin Luther King Jr. Each of these people saw divinity within each and every one of us and just look what they were able to do. What could we do if we saw this too?

Unitarian Universalists start from the position that we are essentially worth something. People filled with worth can and should be trusted to take responsibility for their own lives. We express our worth in our character. We allow the divine within to shine forth.

This theological position stems from our belief in the value of human beings and human nature, which is expressed in the current Principles and Purposes as "The Worth and Dignity of Every Person." We are human and we have divinity within us. We can be trusted to take the reigns of our own lives and our future.

In William Ellery Channing’s work, The Moral Argument Against Calvinism, Channing speaks to our belief in the value of human beings when he writes:

"It is an important truth, which we apprehend has not been sufficiently developed, that the ultimate reliance of a human being is and must be on his own mind. To confide in God, we must first confide in the faculties by which He is apprehended, and by which the proofs of his existence are weighed. A trust in our ability to distinguish between truth and falsehood is implied in every act of belief; for to question this ability would of necessity unsettle all belief. We cannot take a step in reasoning or action without a secret reliance on our own minds. Religion in particular implies, that we have understandings endowed and qualified for the highest employments of intellect. In affirming the existence and perfections of God, we suppose and affirm the existence in ourselves of faculties which correspond to these sublime objects, and which are fitted to discern them. Religion is a conviction and an act of the human soul, so that, in denying confidence to the one, we subvert the truth and claims of the other. Nothing is gained to piety by degrading human nature, for in the competency of this nature to know and judge of God all piety has its foundation. Our proneness to err instructs us, indeed, to use our powers with great caution, but not to contemn and neglect them."

And, once again, James Freeman Clarke’s Manual of Unitarian Belief states:

§ 39. When Unitarians speak of "the dignity of human nature," they do not mean the dignity of man in his actual condition, but of man as God means him to be and has made him to become. We find in all men powers and faculties which unite them with eternity no less than with time. We have within us reason, which is capable of seeking and finding the noblest truths. We have conscience, which shows us the difference between right and wrong. We have the power of freedom, by which we can choose good and refuse evil. We have the sense of the beautiful, the true, and the good; and a longing for what is unchanging and eternal. These powers, which are in all men, constitute the dignity of human nature, and make it capable of perpetual progress.

It is our right and our responsibility to live ethically here and now. We have the ability to take full charge of our lives, to allow the spark of the divine to blossom within ourselves. What we do matters. May we allow our character space to grow. May we envision a world in which people are given the benefit of a doubt; where goodness is assumed first. May we attempt to live to our highest ideals here and now, knowing that we will fail, and fail often, and that we are blessed nonetheless. Amen.