My first church was a part of the Disciples of Christ, which was every bit as exploratory as the UU community. The start and end of our creed was "I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and my personal Savior." Beyond that and a respect for the rituals of baptism and communion, everything is on the table. I'm currently a Presbyterian, which I feared would be a theological straight jacket since their collection of creeds is nearly as long and much denser than the New Testament. But even there there is a duty to find your own path; we all have personal faiths that reflect and are influenced by each of our personal relationships with God. I am free, for instance, to reject John Calvin's doctrine of predestination, provided I know what I'm rejecting and why.

My group answered the questions "Who made the world?" "What happens when you die?" and "Is there a God?" (My reaction to the first one was that it's a scientific question, not a religious question.)

One of the things I appreciated from The Tao of Pooh is that Eastern wisdom holds that science, theology, and philosophy are complementary processes for gaining and applying knowledge, rather than opposing ones. "By what processes was the world created?" and "For what purpose (if any) was the world created?" are two relevant questions that cannot be well analyzed without working across disciplines. I couldn't be immediately certain where a child's interest is if she asks "Who made the world?" Sometimes I ask "Who made this dessert?" because I want to adore the chef and sometimes because I want the recipe, you know?