On June 16, we held our annual “Question Box.” Those present were invited to submit questions and I answered as many as I could in the amount of time given. There were so many great questions left, so I’ll be answering them in today’s and upcoming columns.

Question: Do devils exist in this world?

In my opinion, yes. Now, I’m not talking about something supernatural. For me, I would say that “devils” are those who turn away from what is good and loving, and operate not from ethical principles, but out of anxiety, greed, and contempt.

It can be tempting to look around and identify the devils we see in our world, especially public figures. But does that make anything better?

I think if all of us were to instead look inside and have the humility to acknowledge, “I, too, can be a devil when I allow my anxiety to guide what I do,” we might live our way into a better world.

Do you have any book recommendations for UU history or theology? I’ve read some about Unitarians but less about Universalists.

Yes! And many of these are in our church library – feel free to check them out!

A Chosen Faith, Buehrens, Church. Published in 1994, this book is dated. But I think it still gives a good overview of Unitarian Universalism.

Unitarian Universalist Pocket Guide. This version, from 2019, is the most recent version and gives a good gloss over what you can find in current UU congregations.

House for Hope, Buehrens, Parker. When you’re ready for a deeper dive into the systematic theology of Unitarian Universalism, this book gets into the “big questions” of our faith.

American Universalism, Williams. Specifically on the topic of Universalism, this is a good history book tracing the development of the movement.