Just call me Buffy, for short

Now, most of y’all know me as mild-mannered Chalicechick, peaceful and sweet.

Little do you realize that when UUism is insulted, I have a bad habit of turning into “Buffy, the Logical Fallacy Slayer.”

I don’t know, I just really don’t like to see UUism insulted, especially by people who don’t seem to know what they are talking about. So I have quixotic little verbal battles.

I had a really bad day and got into is over at B-net UU debate tonight. I gave you a link, but don’t look it up, kids, it’s just lame.

Anyway, as things were dying down, someone asked me why I do that.

Best answer I could think of:



Because I was a really screwed up person before I found it.

I knew there was more to life than what I was seeing, but I couldn't accept what my Presbyterian upbringing had taught me. I couldn't stomach a faith where people told me what to believe, and I had a sense that there was something beyond my understanding, but was an atheist in some ways purely out of self-protection.

I found UUism's focus on reason salvific. Once I began refining belief through reason and making a conscious effort to look at the world objectively, I found things made a lot more sense and my behavior became a lot less self-destructive and a lot more productive.

I hadn't had an easy childhood, and for a long time, I believed that forces more powerful than I was were forever ready to sweep chaos in and destroy any plans I might have made. Finding UUism was a vital part of taking control over things and realizing that I really do have the power to shape my life.

Eventually, I came back around to the concept of God. My UU friends were always there for me, happy to help out, but asking enough pointed questions to keep me from making God in my own image.

I'm still deep in my Tillich and Pagels and Buber, trying to figure out God's place in my life and my own place in the world, but I do find I've made progress and I've become a more stable, sexy, interesting human being along the way.

So basically, I defend UUism because it saved me.

Goodness, seems like the least I can do.