Rational Theism as a practicing denomination

Commenced by Ken Wear
Easter Sunday, 2005

There is a unity in philosophy, science and religion; in this world of competition there is need for an organization committed to the recognition of that unity. Atheists have found it wise, in the propagation of their teachings -- and Rational Theists should do no less -- to come together in an organizational structure with houses dedicated to regular meetings and group activities. I offer here suggestions that I think most agreeably and practically lead to an organized denomination or sect that could justify the name "Rational Theism."

Of all truths, we first and foremost recognize that Deity -- an organized and active intelligence Who is guardian of all -- has a place in our daily deliberations and practices. And then we must believe what rational thought dictates since it is difficult to deny what your senses clearly sense.

Religion is an intensely personal, yet practical, activity. Not only does it offer comfort to its practitioners in times of stress, but it offers guidance in the treatment we accord each other and encourages thoughts and activities beneficial to ourselves, to the lives we touch and the surroundings we share. There is no reason Rational Theists should be at odds with practitioners of any other system of belief since we all strive for a union of self with the larger world in which we are immersed. It serves no purpose to be antagonistic toward others whose personal histories have led them to subscribe to traditions that lie outside your notion of the bounds of rational thought.

If you agree Rational Theism* should become an organized institution, you may be part of that effort. Click here.
*For my notions of Rational Theism, click here.

I awoke this morning with the realization that presentation of articles of rational belief is not enough, that an outline of religious doctrines seems hollow without suggestions for living an upright and rewarding life. My early life was aligned with Protestant Christianity; I have cursory acquaintance with other monotheistic systems of belief (including Hinduism and other Eastern religions), and I assert that Rational Theism is more closely aligned with Protestant Christianity than any other major branch of religion.

I am drawn to the idea of worship in natural settings^{1(for Footnote, click here)}, including song, prayer, study, admiration of and appreciation for Nature in all its forms, and presentations and discussions that promote both the faith and correct personal behavior. But there also needs to be places sheltered from the weather and housing, in addition to a common meeting place, facilities for study of science, philosophy, ethics, religions, history, nutrition, bodily development, the natural world and other elements of the development of mind, body and personality. It should be evident that development of mind and body are aspects of worship since a sound body allows for extending the time span of an individual life and hence the opportunities for worship; and a well-informed mind assists in adoration of deity and appreciation of His handiwork. A fully developed facility for worship will include provision for bodily maintenance, athletic competition and family activities as well as a library, classrooms and laboratories for study, instruction and exploration. (Knowledge of Nature and its workings is the province of education and appreciation of Nature and the deity as driving force in Nature is an aspect of worship.)

I have great respect for the literature from which others have learned to live and regard all as having been inspired by ideals of grave importance to the human authors as each sought to respond to the Divine Will. Of all religious documents in my own background I prefer the moral instruction contained in the New Testament's St. Mathew 5-7, known as the "Sermon on the Mount" (or the counterpart St. Luke 6:20-38), with the addition of other selected passages from the New Testament and the book of Proverbs from the Old Testament, as the starting point of personal and group ethics. I have stated elsewhere^{2(for Footnote, click here)} my own interpretations of religious doctrines I encountered as a youth and recommend those discussions as an initiation into pursuit of truths any individual can adopt and foster.

I perceive as duties of the individual, in the conduct of his faith, in order, as:
Acknowledge and honor deity and the result of His creative activity
Respect and honor your fellow creatures
Petition deity for guidance (prayer or its equivalent)
Ethical behavior toward other humans*
Stewardship of Earth and all its components**
Stewardship of personal earnings, possessions and environment***

*The Ten Commandments^{3(for Footnote, click here)} is a good starting point, although "kill not" should be amplified since we harvest vegetables and slaughter animals for food, and we defend the safety of both self and our fellows.
**Which requires specific knowledge resulting from study and observation.
***Which includes preparation for career, beautifying your home and grounds, preserving and sharing possessions of value.

I recognize as milestones in the passage of each individual through life: (ordered as appropriate)
Conception
Birth
Introduction to rational explanations of the diversity of nature and life
Puberty
Undertaking study of the coalescing of nature into Rational Theism
Completion of his formal education
Incorporation into the work force
Marriage
Arrival of children
Reaching adulthood (a fully-formed brain--about age 25)
Confirmation as Rational Theist
Empty Nest
Arrival of grandchildren
Retirement from the work force
Rapid bodily decline (Onset of decline was at birth)
Death and release
Return to dust
Whether any of these warrant personal or group festivals I will not suggest although confirmation should likely be a requisite for recognition as part of the body of believers. And, even there, I do not suggest any requirements beyond a statement of personal principles and belief -- no rites or formalities or special preparations, although local personal or group preferences should be honored.

Thoughts about prayer as thanksgiving and adoration, as well as practical introspection and petition for guidance:
Whether audible or silent, prayer is intended to be communication with authority figures in the Spirit Realm. Thanksgiving and adoration, of course. Petitions for daily needs, sure. Requests for guidance, certainly. Consolation in times of stress, without question. While I am uncertain about its nature, reason tells me there is a link between the Physical and Spirit Realms; the visitation from my dead mother^{4(for Footnote, click here)} testifies to that. And I, like most, have had what I sensed as both answered and unanswered prayers.

My life has been, in a sense, a continuing prayer (as I had requested of God as a young and much more idealistic man). I am grateful for having awakened this morning for another day immersed in God's Nature as reshaped by man in my neighborhood. And I occasionally petition for guidance in this matter or that. More than this it is difficult to say, but let me recite a bit of my experience in business. From time to time I would be required to make a decision, and, after wracking my brain and not finding an obvious answer, I would cease the mental debate and engage in a prayer for assistance. Remarkably, with uncanny frequency, I would emerge from prayer with a solution that was much more appropriate than anything I had considered during my agonizing reflections. What is prayer? This exhausts my certain knowledge.

In recent years I have come to recognize a desire for a particular change that would drastically alter my circumstance, but there was a task that had apparently been set before me that I had resisted undertaking. The answer in my prayers was consistently "You know what you must do." Well, I ceased to resist and this web site, including its presentation of Rational Theism, resulted. The web site is now essentially mature; my answer in prayer has now changed to revolve around specific steps to make my life more complete.

In thinking about things religious, a question arises about what is sacred. We must agree that religion is a specific system of belief, worship, conduct, etc., and that what is holy is regarded with or deserving deep respect, awe, reverence or adoration. Then what is sacred must be regarded with the same respect and reverence accorded to what is holy. Notions of sacredness lie within the mind; evidently the artifacts that you regard as sacred are dependent on your background in religion. I have reflected on what I personally regard as sacred. I recognize that adherents to many religions regard certain books and texts and artifacts as sacred, such as a crucifix or a Bible or Koran or Book of Mormon. I consistently take this view toward all such things: While I respect the adherents and their sense of reverence, I do not myself regard the 'things' as sacred. In fact, sitting here thinking about it, I can think of nothing -- no artifact -- that I regard as sacred. I stand in awe at deity and seek to conduct my life in a manner that is pleasing to Him. But that is an idea -- a product of consciousness and intelligence -- as well as the other end of a silent dialogue. I do not regard any artifacts of which I am aware as imbued with a fragment or aspect of the Divine Spirit and hence deserving the respect and accord with which I regard deity. So, what do I worship? I appreciate and respect with great depth much of the natural world and the things of Nature; I respect these things as products of His handiwork. But I pray to the deity and hold for Him alone my submission and reverence. As a practical matter, of course, my prayers are directed to whichever Spirit is answering in His behalf at the moment with the assurance that responses will proceed from whatever level in the Spirit Realm seems appropriate, including the deity Himself.

Who should be considered a Rational Theist? I grew up in the Old South and my family avoided everyone not of Northern European descent. I later learned that Jews and Greeks and Italians and Lebanese could also be worthy of my respect. Later I was in Japan and discovered that Orientals can also be worthy. Still later I had working with me a black man who is one of the finest human beings I have ever known. It all reinforces the idea that we need to take the time to overlook stereotypes and evaluate each person on his own merits. I would not shut the door to anyone who wishes to subordinate himself to the deity and give due reverence and honor. All are made in the same image and we assume all are equal in God's sight. While we would not want vicious or self-seeking people in our managerial ranks, a church should work to improve the lives of all and welcome into its midst all who come of their own volition.^{5 for footnote, click here.}

I must hope adherents make no attempt to form isolated communities of believers. Natural relationships such as family and close associates should be encouraged and nurtured since therein resides mutual support and growth. I see in such cults as Jehovah's Witnesses and Scientology effort to isolate cult members from their natural relationships, this as a means of forcing cult members to rely on each other and thus strengthening their cult by forming isolated communities of believers. While still taught in some quarters, I note that Protestant Christianity has largely abandoned the practice; we see the results in modern Islam, where each sect is at war with other sects; in my lifetime whole cults, most of which practiced isolation, have arisen and perished.

Some sects are offensive in their aggressiveness; I do not support such aggressive outreach to present Rational Theism to friends, neighbors, associates and citizens. Gentle suggestion is enough for those with mind enough and time enough to question orthodoxy. Rational Theism will be appreciated by the inquisitive and will earn the allegiance of persons willing to allow reason to dictate their choices. Hopefully there will arise recognizable centers dedicated to pursuit of Rational Theism so that other inquirers may find a haven dedicated to the consequences of rational thought.

What should be the elements of a worship service? I have liked the order of service in a Southern Baptist church:
Opening instrumental music while congregants assemble,
choral music to open the service,
opening prayer and/or statement,
congregational singing accompanied by the choir,
needful announcements, (perhaps) more songs,
instrumental music during money offering,
a choral presentation, prayer,
sermon or other exhortation,
invitation for non-members to join,
closing congregational singing accompanied by the choir,
and instrumental music while congregants acknowledge each other and depart.
but others may have other preferences:
It would, of course, be necessary to adapt the order of worship in an outdoor setting, where it may be difficult to have musical instruments.
I have removed references to specific sectarian teachings from a number of songs, and there are many others that can be adapted so they may be sung by adherents of any monotheistic faith. And there are many songs that can be adapted with little change and can be sung with equal fervor by the religious, areligious or irreligious alike.^{6 For footnote click here.}

Should public expression of charismatic experiences be encouraged? I am inexperienced here. While I wish to respect the individual right of free expression, I must also respect the wish of others to pursue their own religious experience without disruption. If this distinction in the conduct of church services become a matter of concern, then the most likely resolution will be separate church services for those of charismatic temperament, perhaps at a different time of day or during the week.

In addition to regular meetings in a common meeting place, I have suggested group meetings in settings of natural beauty to appreciate Nature; my notion was that at such meetings there would be presentations of some aspect of science that is visible at that location. To me the deity is glorified when we recognize that natural law has been influenced over the eons to cause the things around us to work as they do. Leaves. The spectrum of sunlight. Nourishment of plants. The human digestive system. Organs of sight and sound. The flyways of migrating birds. Stages of a butterfly. Varieties of birds and adaptations to specific food sources. Nor would I exclude discussion of the works of man that exalt man as the ultimate achievement of deity, such as the Sistine Chapel and other works of art or engineering works that seek to exploit Nature for man's benefit. The list could be extended for pages even though I am impatient with those who would insist deity is absent from these developments. I conclude that texts must be developed for the scientific aspects of worship and the humanities must be explored for ethics and appreciation of man's contributions to life.

Should the congregants include those who find worship of deity outside their system of belief, they should be afforded an opportunity to have their own service of appreciation during the exhortation (if the name of deity is likely to be invoked).

Is there a text or study guide that is suitable for the teaching of Rational Theism? For the present it may prove necessary to select passages from the Bible and other religious documents; with time new writings and selections from existing writings can be accepted as appropriate. It is, of course, instructive to study what other believers believe as part of our understanding of motivations.

Is there an interpretation of this person Jesus of Nazareth that lends to Rational Theism a distinctive view that sets it apart from other denominations? While each of us must grapple with questions and reach answers satisfactory to himself, I view the answer in this way: I have no doubt Jesus lived and taught, but I view Him as a very ordinary mortal, a human being in every sense of the word -- if you can say there is such a thing as 'ordinary' since we are each unique. His body, with its inherited characteristics, was selected as the vessel for the spirit chosen to possess that body. We may believe what we must about the closeness of association of that spirit with the spirit we know as deity. Since we all possess free will (rejecting the notion of predestination), how did the spirit inhabiting that body come to recognize His calling as a special agent of deity? Considering my personal experience with prayer, I suggest that Jesus learned of His calling through prayer. And how did it come about that He knew to pray? We can look to the then-centuries-old religion originating in the tribe of Judah as providing motivation for prayer. So His devout parents influenced Jesus to pray.

I have no doubt Jesus possessed an unusually alert and powerful mind. We know almost nothing of His early life or His education since His ministry commenced in adulthood. The Interpreters' Bible suggests Joseph died at an early age, but not before Mary gave birth to four other sons (James, Joses, Judas and Simon) and daughters whose number and names are not known.

I was reared in a Fundamentalist atmosphere that presented the stories from the Old and New Testaments (as translated in the King James version of the Bible) with the assumption they were literally and historically accurate (even if they defied logic) and thus suitable for presentation of guidelines for living. Of course the dark side of the Bible's content was never presented, but close reading of the text between those stories reveals a vicious deity exercising immense power in pursuit of highly personal objectives that, in the light of modern political realities, will curdle your blood. But I am reluctant to select only those portions of the Bible that amplify my interpretations of Reality and reject those displaying cruelty, viciousness and other degrading activities attributed to deity. Some stories are, of course, historically accurate, but it is difficult to sort between the historical and the allegorical and, lacking details of history, am more likely to interpret them as allegorical.

I am not sufficiently versed in the Koran (or the Book of Mormon or other sacred documents) to comment on the educational value of their scriptures. Many years ago I undertook a publication that would include presentations of science to a believer; I ceased after three issues did not find an appreciative audience. Several years later, under the auspices of Mensa, I published a monthly newsletter of religious content and included in the first issues popular Christian songs altered to remove sectarian suggestions; I ceased working with music when I realized no one had responded to that aspect of the newsletter. It will be difficult to select materials from traditional religious sources although the object of meetings is served equally by adoration of and homage to deity, by studies of science and Nature and man's effort to accommodate that Nature, and by instruction in behavior that honors deity or nurtures His creation and that crowning achievement, Man.