Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society
By Phyllis Daniel
Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach
Long Beach, CA
This short workshop series explores the question, “How might the moral and ethical grounding of Unitarian Universalism be given greater voice in the public square?” The workshops can be offered to the general congregation or to a specific group, such as the congregation's social action committee. The workshops are designed for adults, with approximately five 1½-hour sessions.
The outline and resources provided below do not provide “soup-to-nuts” guidance for running a workshop series. Each leader will need to design the class sessions, from openings to discussion questions to closings.
Each session (with the exception of the first) requires participants to engage in advanced reading and study. Course participants will not, in most circumstances, be able to read each of the course's two books in its entirety. Leaders will need to decide in advance which sections of each book will be discussed and assign those sections accordingly. An online study guide  for God's Politics can help leaders choose discussion questions, as can an online book group guide for Don't Think of an Elephant.
Each session includes handouts that can be read during the meeting or in advance of the meeting.
When Phyllis Daniel led this course, she took notes on each discussion and typed them up after each meeting. She would then hand out those notes to participants the following week so that the ideas generated in the course could be preserved.
Outline
Session I: Introduction of topic
Session II: George Lakoff, “Reframing”
Session III: Jim Wallis, God's Politics
Session IV: James Luther Adams, “Five Smooth Stones”
Session V: Values at the Heart of Our Faith
Session I: Introduction of topic
Text: Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society, as passed by the 2005 General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Handouts:
Discussion Help: The Commission on Social Witness's Resource Guide 
Session II: George Lakoff, “Reframing”
Text: Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate, by George Lakoff
Handout: “How Issues are Framed,” a section of the Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society Resource Guide (in Adobe Acrobat format )
Discussion Help: Chelsea Green Publishing's online book group guide for Don't Think of an Elephant
Session III: Jim Wallis, God's Politics
Text: God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It, by Jim Wallis
Handouts:
- “Sex & the Clergy” by Frances Kissling. The Nation, December 13, 2004. Kissling is president of Catholics for a Free Choice and is critical of Wallis's stance on abortion rights.
- God's Politics Book Review by Ben Bush, UU Legislative Ministry California newsletter, Summer 2005, page 11
Discussion Help: Sojourners' online study guide for God's Politics
Session IV: James Luther Adams, “Five Smooth Stones”
Texts:
- “Five Smooth Stones,” a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Daniel O'Connell
- “Guiding Principles for a Free Faith,” an essay by James Luther Adams included in On Being Human Religiously: Selected Essays in Religion and Society, Max Stackhouse, ed. Beacon Press, 1976, pp. 12–20. This book is out of print; however, many UU ministers have it in their collection, and some used copies are available via the Internet.
Handout: “Five Smooth Stones”: Background and Discussion Materials (at end of course outline)
Discussion Help: “Five Smooth Stones” (provided below)
Session V: Values at the Heart of Our Faith
Text: “Values at the Heart of Our Faith,” pp. 52–60 of the 2005 Commission on Appraisal Report, “Engaging Our Theological Diversity.” The report is not online, but is available for purchase from the UUA Bookstore.
Handout: Comment Form on Study/Action Issue for 2005–2007
Discussion Help: See the study guides and discussion questions.
“Five Smooth Stones”
Background and Discussion Materials
According to Adams, the five smooth stones of religious liberalism are:
- Revelation is continuous.
- Relations among persons should rest on consent, not coercion.
- Religious people have a moral obligation to establish a just and loving community.
- Good things don't just happen, people make them happen.
- The resources available for change justify an ultimate optimism.
Adams explains the five smooth stones in the essay “Guiding Principles for a Free Faith” in On Being Human Religiously: Selected Essays in Religion and Society, Max Stackhouse, ed. Beacon Press, 1976, pp. 12–20. This book is out of print; however some congregations' libraries may have it available, and some used copies are available via the Internet.
Further reading on James Luther Adams' theology:
Five Smooth Stones: Discussion Help
By Rev. Sarah Gibb
Background: The story of David and Goliath, as told in 1 Samuel 17, New Revised Standard Version
The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 4 And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six 108 cubits and a span. 5 He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6 He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him. 8 He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us”…
38 Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them.
40 Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field.” 45 But David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand.”
48 When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
Background: Statements of Faith from Unitarian Universalist history
The “Five Points of Calvinism” (the form of Protestant Christianity that both Unitarians and Universalists rejected). These points of doctrine were decided by Calvinists at the Synod of Dort in 1618–19. (Explanations can be found in a Wikipedia entry on the subject.)
- Total Depravity
- Unconditional Election
- Limited Atonement
- Irresistible Grace
- Perseverance of the Saints
Background: James Freeman Clarke
James Freeman Clarke , a nineteenth- century Unitarian minister and Transcendentalist, proclaimed five points of the Unitarian faith. These points were recited and affirmed in many Unitarian congregations from the mid 1800s through the 1960s.
- The Fatherhood of God
- The Brotherhood of Man
- The Leadership of Jesus
- Salvation by Character
- The Progress of Mankind, onward and upward forever
Questions:
- If “Goliath” believed the opposite of each of Adams' smooth stones, what would those opposites be? Are there governments, organizations, and movements in this world that embrace these “Goliath” beliefs?
- As a religious liberal, are there ways you identify with David in this story? What modern-day “Goliaths” would you like to bring down with your smooth stones? (Examples include racism, militarism, and absolutism.)
- What does “revelation is continuous” mean to you? Have you seen religious revelation continue in your lifetime?
- Can you think of situations that challenge the idea “ Relations among persons should rest on consent, not coercion”? Are there times and places where coercion is appropriate? What is the moral ideal we ought to strive for in this area?
- What does it mean—in practical terms—to say that “ Religious people have a moral obligation to establish a just and loving community”? How might the average religious American's life change were she or he to follow this moral obligation? How might your own life change?
- What are the key differences between Adams' “Five Smooth Stones” and the “Five Points of Calvinism”? What are the key differences between Adams' “Five Smooth Stones” and Clarke's five points of the Unitarian faith?
- Adams wrote, “Good things don't just happen, people make them happen.” Are there good things you can think of that occur without human effort? Do you believe that humans have any cosmic help in making good things happen?
- Do you agree with Clarke's belief in the progress of humankind, “onward and upward forever”? If not, do Adams' viewpoints on human potential come closer to yours? Why or why not?
- Adams wrote, “The resources available for change justify an ultimate optimism.” Do you feel optimistic about society and the world? Can you choose to practice optimism? If so, what would that look like?
- What “take-home messages” have you gleaned from today's discussion? What ideas are you likely to apply to your actions?
Books and Resources
- Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate—The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2004.
- Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate: Discussion Questions . White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing.
- God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It by Jim Wallis. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2005.
- God's Politics: Leader's Guide . Washington, DC: Sojourners.
- “Guiding Principles for a Free Faith” by James Luther Adams, in On Being Human Religiously: Selected Essays in Religion and Society, Max Stackhouse, ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1976, pp. 12–20.
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