The UU Blog Carnival topic was authority, a topic of particular interest to Unitarian Universalists, who do not necessarily obey conventional sources of authority (The Church, The Bible, Dad).

My own sense is that I almost never got authority from outside myself (not as a teacher, editor, seminarian, and now as a consultant). I basically had to seize the authority for myself. I suppose that’s why I took the title Ms. Theologian, which I think is frankly a little ridiculous, but give me both feminist and theological authority, which my ordinary name does not.

Another Working Mom writes about authority, relating a survey of parenting techniques to Unitarian Universalists. An excerpt:

The religion I chose, Unitarian Universalism, if put to the same measure, would likely rate high on affection but not very high on control. Without the “authority” of Scripture, of creed, of dogma, we UUs are left to our own devices. Or are we? I look around at the other folks at my church, and at other UU churches, and I don’t see a bunch of self-indulgent, spoiled, impulsive people (although there are a few…but they don’t usually stay very long). On the contrary, I see people engaged in their community, working for justice, reaching out, trying to make the world a little better.

Jess wrote about the authority of ministers from the perspective of a spouse observing her partner’s authority, as well as observing the authority that she herself is granted. An excerpt:

In Coffee Hour after my husband has given a service, there are a couple of distinct camps that people who talk to me tend to fall into. One is the “wink-wink, nudge-nudge” type, characterized by questions like, “Wow, he must have been up late last night writing that one…” or “You must be his biggest critic/inspiration, right?” These folks see me as the one with the inside “scoop” on the humanity of the minister, thinking they’ll get the inside story.

UU Soul wrote on the problems with authority. She begins in high school, with a classic example. An excerpt:

By the time, I was a senior in high school my rebellion had taken shape in a war of the wills with my homeroom teacher, Mr. Wright. Ah, yes. I remember him well. I showed up late every day. And every day he gave me detention. I was never going to give him the satisfaction of winning. And neither was he. It was a quiet pact.

Earthbound Spirit gives us a poem about authority and ministers, and how authority is developed. An excerpt:

Claiming My Authority

They said:
“You need
To claim your own authority,
To live into your ministry,
To be a ministerial presence.”

To which I said,
“Huh? What is this authority?”

If more posts come in on authority, I will update this main post.