Author Archives

To help start 2021 off on a positive note, Paul Smith will share 21 insights from Steven Pinker’s new book Enlightenment Now showing how life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, not just in the West, but worldwide. Join us for a time of positive reflection following one of Read more

From our October 18th service, join Paul Smith for a historical look at Humanism, a detailed look at the Humanist Manifestos of 1933 and 1973, and how to tell if you’re a Humanist yourself. This sermon is also available on Harmony’s YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/IIXtno0Gdis.Read more

A special guest from Tennessee joined us to deliver the sermon on Sunday, December 1st. Mr. Kenny Tedford was born with brain damage that left him with a learning disability, deafness in both ears, blindness in one eye, partial paralysis on his left side, and difficulty speaking until the age of ten. Mocked as the Read more

While most people adopt the bulk of their religious beliefs from one of the world’s many organized religions, the truth is, ultimately everyone is their own theologian. We pick and choose which parts we believe and don’t believe. This week’s sermon discusses the classic UU adult education program Read more

At our June 2nd service, Harmony member Paul Smith asks us to discuss culturally imposed rules about clothing, language, and marriage. We’ll explore our own preferences in these areas, why we feel the way we do about them, and why other people might (legitimately) think and feel differently about these Read more

Much of our everyday behavior is motivated by self-serving reasons. Yet, because of the high social cost of behaving selfishly, we try to convince others that our motivations are magnanimous and noble. The most effective way for our brain to pull off that deception of others is to deceive ourselves. So, that’s Read more

Is it always wrong to lie? If not, when is it OK? In this podcast episode of our March 4, 2018, service, Harmony UU member Paul Smith discusses what can we learn from religion, philosophy, and science about lying, as well as its effects on the lied-to and the liar. Read more details about this […]Read more

This sermon, “Empathy: Too Little, or Too Much?,” was originally delivered to the congregation of Harmony, a Unitarian Universalist Community, on March 5, 2017. It is published here with permission from the writer, with all rights reserved. By Paul Smith We often think of our capacity to experience the suffering Read more