The title of this post was inspired by a video produced by the LDS Church. Entitled "Same Jersey", the video's central message is that "all of God's Children wear the same jersey; our team is the brotherhood of man." This is a common idea that is echoed in all of the major world religions. When Catholics state in the Creed that God is the creator "of all things visible" they are proclaiming this same essential truth about human unity. The same truth that I mean when I speak about family: "We come from a common source. We are children of the same parent." Like the video says, we're all part of the same team. So if we all believe this, what's the problem?
The problem is that while corporate religion says all the right things about human unity, it is exclusive by its very nature. How can an institution proclaim that we are all on the same team, and yet also insist that some of the teammates will not receive a share of the championship reward? How can corporate religion say that we are children of one Creator, and yet also teach that only a portion of our brothers and sisters will earn salvation? Some faiths are more generous than others in who they grant salvation to, but almost all of them hold that not everyone will see paradise.
I say to you that this notion is false. A true team rises and falls together. The truth is that we were created as a family, we exist as a family, and we will die as a family. Whatever dimension of life awaits us after death is one we will discover as a family of brothers and sisters, not as disconnected individuals. What kind of Parent would our Creator be to only welcome home some of their children?
"In the end, we will all die. We will all return to the artist’s palette. We will all return as one ... Our creator loves us all equally, saint and sinner. Our brother died and rose to welcome both to the banquet. Is this unfair? Ask the paradox."