There's a long story (that you don't really need to know) about how this came to be, but suffice it to say that a draft of a book I once titled Unitarian Universalism 101 (I'm not sure what got into me) has been sitting on my hard drive since 2008, waiting for me to rewrite it the way it really ought to be.
The problem is that my new ideas for rewrites run faster than my actual writing, so I get continually further and further away from finishing my ideal intro-to-UU book. I have lots of "improved" chapters and other fragments in other folders on my hard drive, but 2008 is the last complete draft that has some kind of internal consistency.
In the meantime, friends have found out about the existence of this draft, and one of them talked me into letting my congregation's Coming of Age classes use it for the last two years. They seem to like it.
And that has made me realize how silly I'm being with my dreams of perfection. This morning I fixed some simple things (like making the page numbers in the Table of Contents match reality) and uploaded a PDF to the web.
It's here. Also here. Look at it. Use it in classes if you want. Show it to that cousin who thinks you've joined a cult. Denounce it on your blog if that seems appropriate. If you find mistakes, or just think you've got a better way to explain something, post a comment here. Who knows? If I ever finish another complete draft, maybe I'll do it your way.
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12 comments:
I don't know if you intend this, but the document is requiring a Google login to view or download.
No, I didn't. I'll try to fix it.
I can't duplicate this problem. Is anyone else seeing it?
I still can't make the Google link demand a login, but I've added a second link to Keep&Share.
I can see it whether I am logged in to Google or not.
This is fantastic - thank you!
Good book. :)
You should publish it.
Starting it tonight. Thanks Doug.
This is great. There is definitely a need for this type of book, it will be great to recommend to people who ask about UU or Unitarianism.
If I'm allowed a comment, on page 127 you say "The beliefs of English Unitarians today..." This should really be British Unitarians, as you are referring to the United Kingdom and the UFCC. (I go to the Edinburgh Unitarian church in Scotland :) )
Thanks Sarah. I'll fix that.
This is cool!
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