Samuel Stuart Maynes

At the beginning of this thread, looking for constructive feedback on the thesis of my draft book, Religious Pluralism and the Trinity Absolute, I tried to summarize what I think is a rational, systematic, and worshipful advance in understanding the Trinity, not the Satanic heresy against orthodoxy that many of you seem to presuppose. The Trinity Absolute is about freewill religious and political pluralism not exclusivism. Not one religion, but one world. Not one way, but one God. Not globalism, but internationalism. Not ghettos, but true multiculturalism. Religious Pluralism, democracy, and a reformed (no-veto) United Nations under universal law (or something very like it) must be made to work. There is no practical substitute for building on what we've got, and good free will is all we need. Anyway, I believe that as St. Paul says, God will ultimately resurrect both the "just and the unjust" (Acts 24:15), so even though your exclusivist attitude is manifestly unjust to most believers, I expect to see you on the other side, and we'll have a good laugh about all this. I'll buy you a beer or a glass of wine (or whatever they drink over there) and we'll listen while God explains to us "all that wherein we differed," as the Qur'an puts it. Samuel Stuart Maynes

Jesus did not say that he is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, the ONLY life. The Bible says that there is no way to the Father, except through the Son, and implies that Jesus Christ will be the Supreme Judge of all human beings on 'Judgement Day.' However, it would only be fair if Christ shares that judgment seat with Muhammad or the Mahdi in the case of Muslims, Indra or Krishna for Hindus, Gautama or Maitreya for Buddhists, Lao-Tzu for Taoists, and so forth. Some just recognition is required. I think that Genesis 1:26 (in the beginning), where God says "Let us make man in our image," suggests that later on he might also have said, "Let us help humans make their religions in our image." It would be quite natural if human religions reflect particular aspects of the threefold psychology of One God in Trinity expression. On the face of it, maybe God is telling us something about his multi-dimensional self, through the diversity of major religions, which can be seen to fall into three basic "attitudes to" or perspectives on the Divine. Samuel Stuart Maynes

If you are interested in some new ideas on Religious Pluralism and the Trinity Absolute, I am in the midst of writing a book with this title. It has not been formally published yet, and is still a 'work-in-progress,' so constructive criticism from members of this forum would be much appreciated. My thesis is that an abstract version of the Trinity could be Christianity's answer to the world need for a framework of pluralistic theology. In a constructive worldview: east, west, and far-east religions present a threefold understanding of One God manifest primarily in Muslim and Hebrew intuition of the Deity Absolute Creator, Christian and Krishnan Hindu conception of the Universe Absolute Supreme Being; and Shaivite Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist apprehension of the Destroyer (meaning also Consummator) or Unconditioned Absolute Spirit of All That Is and is not. Together with their variations and combinations in other major religions, these religious ideas reflect and express our collective understanding of God in an expanded concept of the Holy Trinity. Peace in the world requires peace among religions. Religious pluralism is a necessary paradigm shift whose time has come. The Trinity Absolute may be the only adequate metaphysical vehicle for a constructive interpretation that will allow all groups to agree to a "minimal consensus" of shared beliefs in a systematic unity, without hindering the maintenance by each group of its own personal identity. What do you think? Samuel Stuart Maynes

I think that God is looking for moral behaviour. In regard to any question of moral significance, the Golden Rule (Do as you would be done by others) prompts the personal question: "How would you like it if somebody did that to you?" In more general terms, the Rule boils down to; Act as you would have everyone act," which suggests the universal question regarding the morality of any contemplated action: "What if everybody did that?" Did you mother never ask you these universal moral questions when you failed to be "nice" to you childhood playmates? Samuel Stuart Maynes

How can the Spirit be a person and not have freedom of will? And, if freewill is a prerogative of personality, does the Qur'an have a point in speculating that the individual wills of the free persons of the Trinity may eventually conflict, and then each would tend to "take their portion of the kingdom and go their own way?" It would seem that there is always a danger that the creation could fall apart, unless there is only One God with one will. Samuel Stuart Maynes

It is quite probable that the inspiration for human religions reflects the threefold psychology of One God in Trinity expression. Indeed, when we examine world religions, we see in the personalities they portray and the language they use, a reflection of one or other (or some combination) of the three divine psychological personae. On the face of it, God may be trying to tell us something about his multi-dimensional self, through the diversity of major religions. Samuel Stuart Maynes

"Three" is common to many aspects of reality, e.g.: space, time, states of matter, electro-magnetism, atomic structure, etc. In addition, the psychology of the human soul may be understood in three essential aspects of being, i.e., personality or ego self-consciousness, mind or id - conscious and unconscious, and spirit or superego - unconscious even superconscious. Furthermore, the threefold nature of human religious predilections is apparent in three major views or cultural attitudes to the Absolute, which may be said to venerate one or other (or some combination) of the persons of the Trinity. Indeed, it looks like God made not only humans, but the world and human religions "in his image." What do you think? Samuel Stuart Maynes