Food for Thought

I would love to hear from you! Below is a collection of my twice-a-month postings describing my path on how I realized and became a Unitarian Christian.

​

Please reach out to me here for any questions or conversation!

 

​- Carroll "Chip" Fossett, UCCA General Counsel

​​​​

 

​​​Welcome - Article I in a Series

​​

January 1, 2026

​​

Thank you for visiting the newly-updated UCCA website—we on the General Council of UCCA hope that you will visit often to learn more about the UCCA and Unitarian Christianity and hopefully join us on our mission.

​​

My name is Carroll (better known as “Chip”) Fossett and I am the Director of Public Relations and Information on the General Council. I was a long time Trinitarian, but over the last 15 to 20 years, I have found that my religious beliefs align more closely with Unitarian theology. I connected with the UCCA early last year and think that I have found my new religious home.

 

In the future, I plan to post additional notes relating my journey from Trinitarianism to Unitarian Christianity. You may be on a similar journey or otherwise have questions about your religious beliefs. If so, I hope that you will find these notes helpful. In the meantime, if you have any questions for me, please feel free to contact me. (contact link)

 

Thanks and best wishes for 2026.

​​

​

ONCE A TRINITARIAN — Article II in a series                                           

​

January 15, 2026

 

​So that we are on the same page, I believe that the essential difference between Trinitarian and Unitarian is that Trinitarians believe in a “triune,” three-in-one, God—Father, Son (Jesus) and Holy Spirit, while Unitarians believe in a unitary God and that Jesus is not God. I believe that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God which Jesus has brought to us.

​

I received my strictly Trinitarian, Christian education at the Wellesley Congregational Church, Wellesley, MA.  I learned my lessons about the Holy Trinity well:  That Jesus is one with God, seated at His right hand; that he is our Lord and Savior; that he preexisted the world with God.   

 

I don’t feel that, at the time, I was in any position to question my Christian education—one might say that I had been “indoctrinated” with predominant church theology.  However, with time and revelations, my understanding would evolve.

​

​​

GOD'S MIRACLE — Article III in a series                             

​​

February 1, 2026

​​

​After graduation from my Trinitarian Christian education, I had a decade-long “agnostic” period—during college, military service and graduate school, I didn’t think much about God or religion.

Then I had my first Godsend:  I met Becky who would become my friend-of-a-lifetime, companion, partner-in-life, and now my wife of 48 years. Two people became one and we have built our adult lives together.

When I witnessed the birth of Becky’s and my first child, my life was changed forever:  Watching our child emerge from the womb, was the revelation of God’s miracle—the recreation of life!

From this experience, I realized that there was much more to life than work, consumption and paying the bills—I charted a separate course for my work life, and returned to church life with a spiritual awakening.

Since then, Becky and I have had another child and in a miracle of life going full-circle, four grandchildren. What blessings—gifts of God!

​

​​

QUESTIONS ARISING - Article IV in a Series

​​​​

February 15, 2026

​​​​

After my spiritual awakening, I returned to church life and was active in the United Church of Christ (UCC) for over 30 years. Before long, however, I began to question the orthodox, Trinitarian theology of the Church—the representations of Jesus and the Bible complicated my understanding of God and His relation to the world:

 

- Must we “believe in Jesus” to be “saved” to eternal life? (John 3:16, Mark 16:16)

- After suffering crucifixion and dying on the cross, did Jesus actually rise, exit the tomb and meet his followers? (Matthew 28: 16-20, Luke 24: 36-49)

- Did Jesus walk on water (Matthew 14: 22-33), feed 5000 people with a few fish and loaves of bread (Matthew 14: 13-21), raise Lazarus from the dead? (John 11:38-44)

- Is the Bible the “Infallible word of God?”

- Why do we have a “historical Jesus” and a “Jesus of Faith?”

- Do we need Jesus to experience God?

- Is Jesus God?

​

My response to these questions would reshape my understanding of Jesus, religion and my personal spirituality.

 

​  ​

SALVATION - Article V in a Series

​

March 1, 2026

 

As I considered my questions about Jesus and the Bible, I found that Church theology did not make sense to me:

The Gospel of John provides explicit statements about exclusive salvation through Christ:

​

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (3:16, Revised Standard Version)

“No one comes to the Father but by me.” (14:6, RSV)

 

But what about other people, other religions--Jews, Muslims, Buddhists? Does God condemn them to eternal damnation if they don’t believe in Jesus? I don’t think so:

​

God is the Creator and He loves His Creation—the Universe, life on Earth, the Human Race, even us “sinners.” If He loves us, I don’t think that He wants to sentence us to eternal punishment. There are considerations to putting oneself “right with God” other than an orthodox belief in Jesus—love and doing God’s will to suggest two examples:  In Luke 10: 25-28, Jesus admits that love is the way to eternal life; Similarly, in Matthew 7:21 he says “He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” shall enter the kingdom of heaven. (RSV)

​

Paulo Coelho in “Aleph” has a compelling take on Heaven and Hell:

“In the second before our death, each of us understands the real reason for our existence, and out of that moment, Heaven or Hell is born. Hell is when we look back and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of life. Paradise is being able to say at that moment:  I made some mistakes, but I wasn’t a coward. I lived my life and did what I had to do.” (“Aleph,” second chapter)

 

​​

RESSURECTION - Article VI in a series                              

​

March 15, 2026

 

As with the orthodox Christian doctrine of salvation, the literal resurrection of Jesus did not make sense to me:

 

According to all four Gospel narratives, Jesus was crucified, died on the Cross, was buried, arose from death, left the tomb, and later met and spoke with his followers, even showing them the nail holes in his hands and feet.

 

Viewing Jesus as human, the stories are implausible:  Jesus was whipped, beaten, and nailed to the Cross; in the final coup, a soldier slit his side to ensure his death. He died in agony. His body was in no condition to rise and exit the tomb, less to meet and speak with his followers.

 

At the risk of sounding cynical, I also note that the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection on the “third day,” including the empty tomb, “conveniently” fulfill Jesus’ prophecy.  (Mat 16:21, RSV)

 

A spiritual resurrection is another story:  Jesus certainly has one of the strongest spirits in the history of humanity—it is highly plausible that Jesus met and communicated with his followers in spirit, that his followers had strong spiritual experiences of his presence.

 

I fully accept a spiritual interpretation of the resurrection—that Jesus “arose” from death to “eternal life” in the spirit.

 

​​​​

MIRACLES—Article VII in a series                              

 

April 1, 2026

 

It is generally accepted that Jesus was a faith-healer and exorcist, and in this light, any of his “miracles” of faith-healing or exorcism, both of which are practiced to this date, are believable.

On the other hand, some of Jesus’ “miracles” challenge our understanding of science and nature and thus provide cause for skepticism:

 

Did Jesus actually walk on water? It may have looked that way to his Disciples, but in his human form, it is unlikely that he was doing so.

 

It seems virtually impossible that Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and I don’t believe the supplement appeared miraculously. It is more likely that with his charismatic spirit, Jesus inspired the people to find and provide the necessary food and then some—this would be a miracle in itself.

 

Did Jesus actually raise Lazarus from death? Faith-healing and exorcism are practicable, but resurrection of the dead is a separate issue:  Brain death is said to be irreversible; cardiac death can only be reversed by reviving the heart quickly. It is possible that Lazarus was not actually dead--that he was only near death or in a coma. In any case, it is not likely that Jesus was able to raise Lazarus on command. (John 11: 38-44)

 

These concerns lead to the question of the credibility of the Bible.

 

​​​

The Bible - Article VIII in a Series

​

April 15, 2026

 

Is the Bible the “Infallible word of God?” I don’t think so:

​

The Bible was not written by God but by Man, who by definition is imperfect, fallible.  We also know that the Bishops who compiled the Biblical Canon in the Fourth Century C.E. were human and that they had political and theological bias—they needed to include gospel accounts which indicated Jesus’ divinity.  The Bible has excluded other gospels such as those of Thomas and Mary, which do not indicate his divinity.

 

The Creation narratives (Genesis, ch 1-3) certainly aren’t the infallible word of God:  With modern scientific knowledge, it is believed that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old, the Earth 4.5 billion, and they weren’t created in seven days. Fossil evidence has indicated the existence of simple life forms on Earth 3.6 billion years ago, and we know that humans evolved in Africa from earlier hominids 300 thousand years ago. God knows these facts—He is the Creator; the writers of Genesis 3,000 years ago did not.

 

The Bible contains at least 100 notable contradictions including questions of faith v. works (Romans 3:28 v. Matthew 19:17 v. James 2:26); seeing God (Genesis 32:30 v. John 1:18); and the stone at the tomb (Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2, John 20:1 v. Matthew 28: 2)--(All RSV). With so many contradictory verses, it is difficult to defend the Bible as “the infallible word of God”—If we view Him to be omniscient, we expect that His word would be consistent.

 

I believe that the Bible is a sacred but fallible text, full of spiritual inspiration, particularly the teachings of Jesus found in the New Testament which lead us to a Godly way of life and to being “put right with God.”

​

​

IS JESUS GOD? - Article IX in a Series

​​

May 1, 2026

​​

The question is controversial, but I don’t believe that Jesus is God:  Belief in Jesus as God like belief in God Himself is a matter of faith which can neither be proven nor disproven. While Jesus’ divinity is supported by 1700 years of Christian orthodoxy, we all need to decide what we believe.

 

I believe that God created the universe, life and nature. Jesus is not the Creator. God is universal, eternal; Jesus has the eternal spirit of God, but he is known on Earth, not to living beings elsewhere in the universe.

 

“God is spirit” (John, 4:24, RSV); while Jesus had the spirit of God, in his life, we can see that he was not spirit but demonstrably human--that he was born a human, walked, talked and taught as a human, suffered and died as a human.

 

“For thine is the power.” I believe that God, the Creator, not Jesus, is the Ruler of the universe and “of all nature.”

​

I believe that the mystery of God is somehow immersed in the mystery of eternal time and space—neither time nor space has beginning or end. Only God understands this incomprehensible mystery.

 

I believe that Jesus is a Godsend to humanity, sent to teach God’s will and to lead humanity to a Godly way of life; that, in the Christian tradition, he is the closest human representative of God, a manifestation of God. As a human being, Jesus enables us to feel closer to God.

 

Having answered my questions about Jesus and the Bible, I didn’t think that I was Trinitarian anymore! But what was I?

 

​

A TRINITARIAN NO LONGER—Article X in a series                                

 

May 15, 2026

 

A TRINITARIAN NO LONGER

 

So, I had found that my religious beliefs were not at all orthodox or Trinitarian Christian:

 

I do not believe in exclusive “salvation” through Jesus, but that we all can be “put right with God” by following His will;

 

I do not believe in the literal, physical Resurrection, but in a spiritual resurrection from death to “eternal life” in the spirit;

 

I am skeptical of the miracles attributed to Jesus, particularly those which challenge our understanding of science and nature;

 

I do not believe that the Bible is “the infallible word of God,” rather a sacred but fallible text full of spiritual inspiration, particularly the teachings of Jesus found in the New Testament;

 

I do not believe that Jesus is God, but that he is a Godsend to humanity—not “God incarnate” but the “spirit of God” incarnate.

​

If not a Trinitarian, then what am I?

 

From some time in the past, I remember hearing something about “Unitarian.” Only knowing that it was different from “Trinitarian,” I decided to check it out.

 

My wife and I attended a few services at a “Unitarian” church in our hometown but did not hear God or Jesus mentioned once—I was at least looking for a church which was theistic and which considered Jesus to be a spiritual light. It turned out that this church was Unitarian Universalist (UU) which is not necessarily oriented toward Jesus or even theistic. And at this time, most Unitarian churches are UU.

 

Alas, what to do now?

​

NOW A UNITARIAN CHRISTIAN—Article XI in a series                       

 

June 1, 2026

 

Disappointed that Unitarianism seemed to be non-Christian, even atheistic, it was back to the search:

On the Facebook page for the American Unitarian Conference (AUC), a predecessor of the UCCA, I found the messages of the Reverend Shannon Rogers to be helpful with my spiritual journey:  Neither “preachy” nor dogmatic, Dr. Rogers relates God’s will, and the teachings of Jesus and other spiritual teachers to their application in our daily lives.

 

Connecting by e-mail with Dr. Rogers, he directed me to his “Introduction to the Unitarian Christian Church of America” and other sources, and I was thrilled with what I found. The “foundational beliefs” of

the UCCA include:

 

That it is a “creedless” faith. It does not require its members to adhere to any specific set of beliefs. The “foundational beliefs” are presented as “point of beginning” and a “call to assembly.”

That there is one God, a unitary entity, not a “triune” God;

That we believe in the teachings and example of Jesus as presented in the Bible; that Jesus is not God;

That the Bible is a valuable source of inspiration, truths and guidance for our lives, and that other sources may be similarly valuable;

New and liberating to me, that we believe in the “free will” of all humankind:  That each individual should be enabled to develop his/her personal beliefs and relationship with God.

​

My religious and spiritual beliefs align closely with these foundational beliefs of the UCCA. I have now followed Dr. Rogers for a year-and-a-half and have found him to be a thoughtful and enlightening mentor. I think that I have found my new church home!

 

Maybe most importantly, I feel liberated from the sometimes oppressive orthodoxy of the mainline Christian Church.

​​

​​

​​