Without a deep-rooted theology, this tumultuous world in which we live will be full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. If we are to harness our deepest spiritual convictions for meaningful living in this world, we need to get our theology straight.

Developing a personal theology is not an academic exercise; it has to do with the very stuff of our lives. This class invites you to develop your personal credos: the fundamental religious beliefs, values and convictions that inform and direct the living of your life.

Author Richard S. Gilbert, a well-respected UU minister, poses five developmental tasks in which participants come to terms with human nature, ultimate reality, history, ethics, and religious meaning.

Supplemental reading recomended by this course is available from our online Building Your Own Theology Bookstore.

Course Outline

Session 1 - Doing Theology - A Liberal Religious Model

Session 2 - Your Religious Odyssey - Autobiography with a Spiritual Twist

Session 3 - Varieties of Liberal Religious Experience - Unitarian Universalists and the Burning Bush

Session 4 - Human Nature - Some Self-Understanding

Session 5 - Ultimate Reality - Creating an Honest God

Session 6 - History - An Honest Backward Look

Session 7 - Ethics as Unenforceable Obligations - The Importance of Being Good for Nothing

Session 8 - We are the Meaning Makers

Session 9 - So What? Imperatives of My Theology

Session 10 - Wrapping It Up - A Credo