Theology of the comma

The United Church of Christ has decided that its place in the kingdom of God, its purpose in the world its message to humanity, is summed up in an article of punctuation. I kid you not.

According to UCC News:

"As the story goes, after comedienne Gracie Allen died, her husband, George Burns, was going through her papers and found a note from her to him saying simply, 'Never place a period where God has placed a comma.' While visiting in southern California in 2001, Buford, the UCC's public relations and marketing manager, saw that message on a postcard, found it intriguing, and bought one.

"A few days later, back home in Cleveland, Buford woke up in the middle of the night with an epiphany. Why should we never place a period where God has placed a comma? 'Because God is still speaking,' he says. The next morning he shared the postcard and his revelation with Randy Varcho, the graphic designer in the UCC's Proclamation, Identity and Communication Ministry. Varcho then designed a red-and-black poster with the oversized comma that was distributed to every UCC church.

"After that, as churches began to promote the comma, it just took off. 'The comma is perfect for representing UCC theology,' says the Rev. Diana Coberly of First Congregational UCC in Great Bend, Kan. 'It lets people know that there is an alternative, that they have a choice.'"

And there you have it. "Choice" is now the sum and substance of the gospel for the mainline's most liberal denomination. And it isn't hard to guess what the expression, "God is still speaking" is about. It means that the UCC hears Him validating their politics and contradicting what's He's said in the past. But then, if He's only the god of choice, what real difference does it make?