The Unitarian Universalists have a new advertising campaign. The theme is "Uncommon Denomination." One of the posters features this pithy little prose:
A Different Trinity: Respect, Freedom, Justice
Another features this brainteaser:
Different People. Different Beliefs. One Faith.
Where do I start? Okay, let's admit from the top that Christianity hasn't always gotten the respect, freedom, and justice thing right. However, having admitted that, it's fair to say those ideas are part of what Christianity ought to be. Second, why those three? And respect first? Please. Why not just admit you're telling people, "What you think really matters!" What if the person is wrong, or stupid, or a bigot? I know, we should still respect them at some level, but do we have to make respect part of a new trinity? Freedom? As in free to do what is right or free to do what I want? That makes a bit of a difference, you know. Justice I like. Why not love or compassion or service or any of a dozen ideas? Why those three?
Different people, different beliefs, one faith. Blah, blah, blah... It's a lovely idea on paper, but the reality is all religions are sectarian. Cognitive dissonance will only allow so much of the different beliefs stuff until someone goes and starts a new church. If the goal is to get everyone to embrace one faith despite different beliefs, then what is faith? And why believe anything?
The last observation I want to make is this: if the unitarian universalists are right and there is one non-trinitarian God who is going to save everyone in the end, why am I being good? What motivation do I have to be good? Don't give me any philosophical crap about common good or reciprocity. Absent a transcendent ideal of justice, I'm going to get mine at the expense of yours unless being nice to you gets me something. Justice in a UU framework is nonsense talk. If the UU folks are right, let's all embrace Nietzsche, cause he saw through the silliness inherent in this sort of faith. Absent a God of real justice, the will to power is all that matters. And if that is the way this sort of faith breaks down, why are these people in church? If I believed this stuff, and I've wanted to at different times, I would NOT be in church.
