 Yes, ma'am. Welcome to the First Unitarian Society of Madison. This is a community where curious seekers gather to explore spiritual, ethical, and social issues in an accepting and nurturing environment. Unitarian Universalism supports the freedom of conscience of each individual, as together we seek to be a force for good in the world. My name is Karen Rose Gredler, and on behalf of the congregation, I want to extend a special welcome to visitors and a wholehearted welcome to all who are with us on a regular basis. We are a welcoming congregation, so whomever you are and wherever you are on your life's journey, we celebrate your presence among us. We trust that today's service will stimulate your mind, touch your heart, and stir your spirit. And now I invite you into a few moments of silence for contemplation, meditation, prayer, as we settle in and come fully into this place together. Number 360, here we have gathered. I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more important than history. I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death. And since I didn't bring my order of service with me, I have no idea what happens next. Ah, yes. We could stand and exchange friendly greetings, one with another. Oh, the chalice lighting. Somebody ring the gong and we're going to start. If you will join me in the chalice lighting, the words of the chalice lighting are printed in your order of service. We gather this hour as people of faith, with joys, sorrows, gifts, and needs. We like this beacon of hope. Nine of our quest for truth and meaning. In celebration of the life we share together. And now, ner, scrambler. Are there any children of any age who'd like to hear a story? I am very excited about this one. I think it's spectacular. Hello. Come on. What? Yes, you were. He was first by 30 seconds. Not that he's counting or comparing or anything, but, you know, I'll come up a little closer. Oh, good. Some more people. Anybody else? Any older children who would like to hear this fantastic story? Oh, nine years old. Well, you're almost aged out, but we're happy to have you anyway. There is the book. It is called The Honest to Goodness Truth. And I love this book because I think it fits so well with Jim's message today because it talks about the nuance. You guys don't know what that means. That's okay. Nuance of truth. And it's by the wonderful children's writer, Patricia McKissick. Some of you who are librarians or teachers will know her name. The Honest to Goodness Truth. Now, this is set in a rural area in probably a time gone by. Libby hurried out the door and down the porch steps. Did you feed in water, old boss? Mama called from her sewing room window. Old boss was the horse. Libby stopped at the gate. Yes, mama, she answered. She was surprised at how easy that lie came out of her mouth like it was greased with warm butter. Mama stopped sewing Virginia Washington's wedding dress and came outside. Libby dropped her head and wouldn't look in her mother's eyes. Are you sure? Mama asked in a real stern like, speak the truth and shame the devil. Libby opened her mouth. Mama placed a finger in the air as a signal for her to stop. Libby, Louise Sullivan, I'll ask you one more. And again, did you feed in water, old boss? Libby's stomach felt like she'd swallowed a handful of chicken feathers. Her eyes commenced to fill with water and her bottom lip quivered. Did yours ever do that when you're kind of nervous or something? Then taking a deep breath and a gulp that was hard, she opened up to her lie. I was gonna do it as soon as I got back from jumping rope with Ruthie May. Well, Libby felt a lot better even though mama punished her, punished her double, for not tending to old boss. Libby couldn't play with Ruthie May. And for lying, she had to stay on the porch the whole rest of the day. It was the first time Libby had lied to mama, and as far as she was concerned, it was gonna be the last. From now on, I'll tell only the truth, she said. Can you guys see those pictures up front well enough? Oh, look at that pretty picture of her with her school friends. All the children from Briarsville were gathered outside the small church waiting on Sunday school to begin. Everybody was admiring Ruthie May's new dress and matching hat when Libby came skipping up. Morning, everybody. Morning, Ruthie May. She spoke all nice. Unlike your outfit, it's real pretty. But you've got a hole in your sock. Libby's went from the hat to the dress to the hole. Meanwhile, Libby skipped up the steps and inside the church without ever noticing the hurt feeling on her best friend's face. Services ended and same as always, Libby asked Ruthie May to walk home. No, no, no again, Ruthie May glared at her. Libby was purely surprised. What did I do? You told the world I had a hole in my sock. It was the truth, Libby pronounced, feeling satisfied. It was plain mean, replied Ruthie May, and she hurried away. Well, Libby looked at the idea from the outside in and then from the inside out as she walked home alone. But by the time she trudged up her steps, she was still confused. The next morning, Libby joined a group of friends on the way to school. Did you do your geography homework, Willie asked Libby? It was easy, she answered. Not for me, Willie shook his head. I didn't understand it, so I didn't do it. First thing in class, Libby started waving her hand. Me, Ms. Jackson, me, me, Ms. Jackson. When the teacher called on her, Libby announced, Willie don't got his geography assignment. Doesn't have his homework corrected, Ms. Jackson. No, ma'am, he don't. Libby was pleased with herself. Willie gave her an ugly look. Look, he's sticking his tongue out at her. Why'd you tell on me? He whispered as he headed to Ms. Jackson's desk to explain. With certainty, she whispered back, all I did was tell it like it is, so there. And she folded her hands neatly in her lap. Before lunchtime, Libby had told a lot of truths. She reminded everyone how Daisy had forgotten her Christmas speech and cried in front of all the parents. She told how Charlotte had gotten a spanking for stealing peaches off Ms. Stacy's tree, and the whole class knew that Thomas didn't have lunch money and had to borrow some from Ms. Jackson. Well, how do you think things were going by then? I think she was probably on everybody's dirt list. By the time school was out, hardly anyone would talk to her. Why are you all so mad at me, Libby asked, as her classmates started home without her? On Libby's way home, she wondered why her stomach felt as fluttery as it did when she told the lie. I promised mama I would tell the truth no matter how much it hurt. She reassured herself glumly, and that's all done. Before Libby knew it, she was in front of Ms. Tussleberry's vine-covered cottage. The woman was in her rocking chair, gliding back and forth and fanning herself with a hand-folded fan. How do Libby Louise, she called in her sing-song voice? What's that sad look you're wearing on such a pretty day? Libby jumped right in with what was bothering her. Can the truth be wrong, she asked? Oh no, Ms. Tussleberry said, fanning faster. The truth is never wrong. Always, always tell the truth. That's what I thought Libby said with a smile of relief lighting up her face. Ms. Tussleberry leaned over the railing to pluck a bloom from one of her vines that grew all over her yard and up her house. Don't you think my garden is lovely? Libby thought on it. Well, ordinarily, she would have just said yes for fear of sounding sassy. But that wasn't the truth. So polite as your police, she answered, Ms. Tussleberry, truly and honestly, your yard looks like a jungle. Well, I declare Ms. Tussleberry gasped. Don't be mad, Libby pleaded, but it was too late. Ms. Tussleberry rushed inside her house and slammed the door. Even though Mama was busy putting the finishing touches on Virginia Washington's wedding dress, she still took time to listen to Libby's problem. I feel something awful. My friends don't like me no more anymore, repeated her mother. No, they don't. Just because I told the truth, the girl sighed deeply. Handing her mother a needle to thread Mama, asked gently, are they mad at you for telling the truth? I think so, said Libby. She was mad as a hornet when I told Ms. Jackson he didn't have his homework, and Ms. Tussleberry got plenty upset when I told her her garden looked like a jungle. Mama smiled. Oh, I see. And putting down her work, she took Libby's hand, saying, sometimes the truth is told at the wrong time or in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons. And that can be hurtful. But the honest to goodness truth is never wrong. Then Mama went back to stitching and pulling and stitching and pulling. Well, Libby walked to the barn to feed and water old boss all the time trying to get an understanding of her mother's words. Just then, Virginia Washington sacheted out of the fields, passed the barn, come for the final fitting of her wedding dress. As she watched Libby brush old boss, Virginia burst into laughter. That horse is older than black pepper, she said, shaking her head. And I doubt you could get a dollar for that old flea-ridden sway back. And she won't stop toward the house. Don't say those things about old boss. Libby called after her, throwing her arms around the horse's neck. She knew he wasn't a fine carriage horse. He'd once been. But why did Virginia have to rub it in? Now Libby thought back on her own truth telling and Mama's words suddenly became crystal clear. The next day Libby caught up with her friends on the way to school. She told Ruthie Mae, you did have a hole in your sock, but I could have whispered it to you instead of hollering it out for everyone to hear. I'm sorry, Ruthie Mae smiled. You finally got it, she said. Libby apologized to Willie too. I should have let you tell Ms. Jackson about your own homework. But hey, he had it. Do you think you could help me with my geography homework? No problem, said Libby. But there was one more person she had to see. On the way home she headed straight for Ms. Tussleberry's house. Libby found her neighbor out front down on all fours. See how she's crawling around down there. Take care of her weeds. When Ms. Tussleberry saw her, she wiped her brow with the back of her hand and flashed a full smile. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings yesterday, Libby said. Living weeds, you were right, Ms. Tussleberry replied. This place had gone completely and uncontrollably wild. But you were so mad at me. Ms. Tussleberry waved a disarming hand. The truth is often hard to chew, but if it's sweetened with love, then it's a little easier to swallow. Libby really didn't understand, but she picked up a hoe and began helping. Things are really looking pretty good around here, she said. And that was the honest to goodness truth. So there's a difference in the truth and the truth and how we tell it and how we say it and whether it's sweet when we do that. Okay, we are going to sing a song while you go off to summer fun. We are going to sing. What are we singing? What are we singing? 16 is a gift to be simple. We almost all know this one by heart. Please be seated. The first reading Humpty Dumpty appears in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass that was written in 1872, where he discusses semantics and pragmatics with Alice in the following dialogue. I don't know what you mean by glory, Alice said. Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. Of course you don't till I tell you. I meant there's a nice knock down argument for you. But glory doesn't mean a nice knock down argument, Alice objected. When I use the word Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to mean neither more nor less. The question is said Alice whether you can make words mean so many different things. The question is said Humpty Dumpty which is it which is to be master, that's all. Alice was too much puzzle to say anything. So after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again. They've a temper some of them. Particularly verbs. They're the proudest. Adjectives you can do anything with but not verbs. However I can manage the whole lot impenetrably intra impenetrability. That's what I say. Our second reading do I have a song? Our second reading is from Dr. Rachel Noble professor of environmental science. Gone are the days when we simply read our local paper or watch one nightly news program after dinner. We're flooded by information from the internet, social media and cable TV. Whom can we trust? How do we know what the news we're digesting and redistributing is even true? It turns out that what we believe and don't believe is based on a combination of emotion, logic and memory. And the complex cocktail is all housed in our brains. This can be dangerous leading us down a path of believing information that isn't even true. Research has found that people usually gravitate toward news that supports their own beliefs and ignores information that challenges their views. This is known as confirmation bias according to Talia Shara a neuroscience scientist and author of The Influential Mind. It is extremely difficult to open someone to a new idea. Data is not enough. It must be communicated in a way that taps into people's emotions, needs and desires, Shara says. This helps explain how folks can believe a seemingly questionable story. If it generates an emotional response, stoking fear or reinforcing beliefs, we bite. Advertising experts such as Troy King have known this for years. People buy into something because it is an emotional connection, King says. Logic has little to do with it. Even so, most Americans feel fake news is hazardous. 64% of U.S. adults say fabricated news stories cause confusion about issues and events. According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center. I want to find some bias upbeat. I have said before in this same venue see if you were paying attention. There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who divide people into two groups and those who don't. Keep it simple. But simple and easy. I remember vividly Donald Trump's great moment of clarity. Health care is complicated. Who knew? There are three umpires sitting in a locker room comparing strategies. First up says some of them strikes and some of them's balls and I calls them as I seize them. Second up says some of them strikes and I calls them as they are. Third up says some of them strikes and some of them's balls but they ain't nothing till I calls them. First up is a realist accepting his role and his limitations. The second up is a fundamentalist. He believes that his calls exactly reflect reality that his words are true. The third ump is a semanticist maybe even a you-you who understands that words are human ambiguity lurks meanings are shaky intentions are murky. He knows that a pitch is a ball that passes through an imaginary window but without that window there would be no game. My topic is fundamentalism. Not so much religious fundamentalism but plain old garden variety fundamentalism. Things are what they are and our words represent them. It's simple as Humpty Dumpty explained to Alice. Words are powerful. Kids learn this very early the meaning of no and mine and a little later why. Remember those classic dialogues? Why? Because because why? Because I said so. The basic principle of fundamentalism. It contains the unspoken idea because it's our house and we're bigger than you are. Yep. It's about power. Fundamentalism is a part of my own religious journey so deeply ingrained in my 16 years of Catholic education it was invisible to me. When I began my theological studies I'm guessing that most of my classmates were unconscious fundamentalists as we sat down to our first class in theology sacred scripture. In the Christian tradition we were taught that the Bible was inspired by God. Every word in it is true. The truth was revealed to the sacred writers passed on by the leaders of the Judeo-Christian community clergy, writers, parents down through the generations extracting that truth from the Bible is a bit tougher. What many Bible fundamentalists do is piece together bits and pieces that they can understand and feel strongly about, particularly in matters of race and sexual morality. By the end of the first week my class, the largest class that seminary ever had had divided into two groups. The first group said forget about all this scholarly analysis we can't learn all that stuff we're just going to hold on to the simple principle it's the word of God and it's all true. Pure fundamentalist position. Second group said if the Bible is the revealed word of God it must be important to learn what those words mean. To give up simplistic magical notions of inspiration and probe the sources to find their meaning. So, what would be a non fundamentalist way of understanding the Bible? The various books of the Old and New Testaments that grew out of the history of the Jewish people and represents an interpretation of their experiences based on the foundational principle of their faith. That Yahweh had chosen them as His people and demanded fidelity to His covenant. The priestly compiler of these experiences did not select them to be pious or edifying. Consider the murderous Cain the father of the race. Consider Jacob the hustler who conned his dim older brother out of right. Consider the adulterous David and so on. One of the deepest assumptions underlying the accounts of the Old and New Testaments is the primacy of patriarchy. The so called religions of the book Judaism, Christianity Islam are desert religions. They have nomadic roots that tribes survived and were susceptible of patriarchy. One man the Sharif made a decision and that was it. Fast, indisputable efficient. I think there are actually deep biological roots for patriarchy which explain the fierceness with which its defenders respond to threats. Primatologists distinguish between tournament species in which the male is as much as 50% larger than the female. He is concerned with passing on his own genes to the next generation and has only a transient physical relationship with the female who bears his offsprings. Think the great apes gorillas, baboons, chimps. Their opposite numbers are called pair bonding species like bonobos where the female and male are of this equal size, bear equal responsibility for the offspring and form stable monogamous relationships. Of course, homo sapiens that's us are not pair bonding species exactly. Males are typically about 10% larger than the females. Males are much disposed are not biologically disposed to monogamy are much disposed to establish rankings by exercising power symbolically or physically. Think muscle cars and corner offices. Sapiens create social systems and practices that valorize patriarchy as a structuring principle. And because the biological edge of sapien males is so small the need to defend that edge in the culture wars is fierce. The passionate response to the Me Too movement is evidence of the widespread experience of women and not just women to predatory sexual behaviors and perhaps worse the smug sense of entitlement which has dismissed these behaviors in the past. Boys will be boys. What good is power if you can't exercise it? The assertion of patriarchy is often most obvious in the realm of religious practice. Consider the awkward tangle being experienced by contemporary evangelicals in the current political and cultural scene. As the prominent evangelical pastor Tim Keller recently wrote evangelical used to denote people who claim the high moral ground. Now in popular usage the word is nearly synonymous with hypocrite. So it is little wonder that last year the Princeton evangelical fellowship 17-year-old ministry dropped the E word from its name becoming the Princeton Christian fellowship. Too many students had identified the term with conservative political ideology. Indeed a number of serious evangelicals are distancing themselves from the word for similar reasons. Professors Ron Hessinger and Kristen Tobey also suggest that evangelicals are concerned with the preservation of patriarchy. Many commentators have puzzled about the seeming hypocrisy of those who would see adultery and womanizing as grave sins and yet ignore these behaviors in their ministers and political leaders mentioning no names. And yet for those who know the history of evangelicalism in America this should be no surprise at all. Hessinger and Tobey insist there are good reasons why we need to expect this result. The history and sexual politics of evangelicalism in America fit well with Trumpian attitudes. As it turns out the idea of evangelical Christianity is rooted in a conception of biblically inspired male dominance and superiority. Used as a selling point for the religion spread in the south and cleverly packaged as family values. The authoritarian dynamic was central to southern antebellum families Hessinger and Tobey point out to win southern hearts evangelicals buttressed patriarchy empowering fathers and father figures looking the other way when they took prerogatives that crossed moral lines. Catering to southern values evangelicalism became one of the predominant forms of religious expression in America. One of the pillars of evangelical Christianity is the perception that evangelicals are outcasts standing bravely against the evil forces of the world. This is characteristic of a cult because it spawns a group persecution complex that solidifies the community. As the authors point out religious outsiders have much to gain from boundary maintenance often courting outcast status or even persecution to rally the faithful us and them. We know the problems of our society they are often interrelated economic inequality race patriarchy over aggressive policing uncontrolled and technically vulnerable electronic media fake news vast expenditures by one issue lobbyists ecological disasters happening before our cameras and instruments well make your own list nothing on the list is new but technological changes have intensified the issues. I think the majorities of Americans still believe with various levels of conviction that the democratic process can address the problems of our nation. We you use are committed to this as one of our founding principles fin tano tool writing in the irish times where would somebody name fin tano tool write if not in the irish times fin tano tools suggest a darker scenario the president may be deliberately indifferent to the nuances of politics but he is skilled and experienced in the process of test marketing dating back to his early career in marketing himself planning stories in the gossip pages of the new york tabloids uh... then confirming or denying them after studying the reaction and he recreated himself in reality tv where the story lines can be adjusted in response to the ratings put something out there pull it back adjust based on the response then go again consider the border immigration story zero tolerance policy blame it on obama blame it on the law claim powerlessness then act to change the policy but resist implementation while the nation reacts in horror fox news which the president watches her validation reacts with enthusiasm mocking the images calling the children actors the immigrants and infestation the ratings affirmed that this treatment otul suggests that the administration is test marketing fascist news while the public response to the border policies have been intensely negative the base is solidly behind the president and so otul points out hitler never had the political support of the majority of his people but was successful in the gradual demonization of the jews with the results that we all remember it's a very ominous observation so how can we as you use address these problems this is the story of the newly elected senator who tells the staff speech writer that he's cutting back on staff and that he doesn't need his speech writer but then tells the writer as a last assignment to sketch out his inaugural address the embittered scribe sits down to his smith corona lists the problems of the state of noison then writes at the top of the second page okay senator, you're on your own I have the feeling that I've done that to myself my intention in these reflections is not to condemn fundamentalism because I think it is natural it has a childlike directness and clarity we can see that the earth is flat we can see that the sun passes across the sky we can add up the ages in the bible and come to a precise knowledge of the age of the earth do the man but at some point in the maturing process we have to recognize that the universe is more complex than we imagine perhaps than we can imagine that human behavior even our own is beyond simple explanation nor is my intention to condemn patriarchy outright but to recognize its excesses even Pope Francis a man obviously striving to practice an authentic personal christianity has until recently remained blind to the inferior status of women in the church has believed and trusted in his fellow bishops in the face of overwhelming evidence of sexual abuse and their denial of it nor do I wish to devalue the personal religious experience of evangelicals liberating sense of being born again forgiven loved but rather to be alert to the dangers of righteousness its long bloody contributions to the history of religions we love stories because they have an end and at least the implication of meaning we tell stories to express our understanding of how our world works when our stories attempt to explain how our world works we call them myths when we incorporate them into formalized tellings rituals and sacramentalize them incorporating the physical world into the telling they evolve into religions since none of us, Steve and Hawking included have a mind that encompasses everything our stories have to be inadequate limited, incomplete we don't call a story of our religion truth we call it our understanding and we invite others to share that understanding and we try to grow in our understanding and in our practice reaching in to practice mindfulness reaching out to deepen our community caring than acting let's begin that by starting our offering of the gifts for our congregation in addition to your generous monetary gifts we also appreciate the many gifts of those who helped to make our services run smoothly this morning your greeter was Claire Boggs your ushers are Gail Bliss Tom Dolmage and Brian Karnas your sound operator is Maureen Friend hospitality coffee preparation lemon water is being prepared by Blaise Thompson our lay minister is Pamela McMullen tour guide is John Powell I believe he's going to be here and if you would like to have a tour please join John over at what is your left side of the service of auditorium right after the service let's see Karen Jagger brought us the lovely flowers that are up here by the chalice and Hannah Pinkerton is in charge of care of the pulpit flowers or pulpit palms for this week we join together each week a community who gathers with joys and sorrows written on our hearts in this place we love and are loved we forgive and we are forgiven we give and we receive in return we come together to find strength and common purpose turning our minds and hearts toward one another seeking to bring our circle of concern to all who need our love and support we do have an entry in our book of Concern and Joy which sits outside the front door to the auditorium Charlotte Wolfe would like to light a candle and I will do that as soon as I quit talking for a dear friend Carol Gampler admitted to the hospital after a heart attack and pneumonia diagnosis so we will all think of her Char thank you for mentioning it in fact let me light the candle right now before I forget let us all with Char hold Carol in our hearts let's please take a moment to remember all the joys and all the sorrows too tender to share that live in the fullness of our hearts let's just take a moment may we remember that we are part of a web of life that makes us one with all humanity one with all the universe may we be grateful for the miracle of life that we share and the hope that gives us the power to care to remember and to love and now please rise as you are able for our closing hymn number six which is just as long as I have breath is to mend our broken world if religion cannot do that it is worthless and what our world needs now is not belief, not certainty but compassionate action and respect practically expressed for the sacred value of all human beings even our enemies our service is now concluded please remain for the postlude