Damage.

It is no use pretending to be Progressive and then turning it back into Orthodoxy.

It is no use stealing the answer and pretending that the Church has never done anything wrong.

It is no use clinging to the old theology.

Original Sin, Penal Substitution, Mortification of the Body, penance, suffering, sin, debt, celibacy, fear, purgatory, hell.....

All these things have damaged humanity.

And that's quite apart from The Crusades and The Inquisition.

The Church has a lot to answer for.

There will be no revival until they do.


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Dualism.

Because I write about Christianity and Satanism you may think that I believe in Dualism.

But the only reason that I use dualistic formulae like: life and death, good and evil, light and darkness, day and night etc. is to counteract the negative suggestions put out by Satanists in our popular culture.

These negatives have been created by reversing positive Christian concepts.

This is born of a belief in Dualism.

i.e. That the positives of God: life, good, light etc. must have negative counterparts.

But this is not necessarily true. 

Personally I believe that God is One.

And all things are interrelated aspects of God.

There is no devil, no dark powers.

Even darkness is an optical illusion caused by the limitations of our human eyes.

"even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you."  Psalm 139:12 (NRSV)

There is radiation beyond our human eyesight which other beings can see.

God is One:

Life without death, good without evil, light without darkness, day without night, love without hatred.....

We are surrounded by the Love of God.

"'"In him we live and move and have our being."'"  Acts 17:28 (NRSV)


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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(The image has been slightly modified.)

Christian Socialism.

Once we have seen the diabolical nature of rock music and much of our popular culture we emerge into a minefield of competing interests.

The major players in this arena are Fundamentalism and Orthodoxy.

They are strongest and most aggressive.

They will try to force you to accept their authority over you and you will lose your freedom and your psychological independence.

But these are false prophets.

They represent the conservative establishment which is the modern version of the Pharisees.

And it is no coincidence that their allies are the corporate plutocrats because as the dominant power in the world they are the modern version of the Romans.

But there is an alternative.

Progressive Christianity is a modern, intelligent, liberal religion that does not expect you to check out your intellect or your politics at the door.

It is a form of Christian Socialism.

Now any mention of Liberalism or Socialism will encounter screams of Satan from the Fundamentalists.

This is because they associate any left-wing political philosophy with the devil.

And this is because they associate left-wing politics with godless Communism which is the devil himself to many American Christians.

But this is Mammon - the worship of money - not the worship of God.

John the Baptist and the early Christians practised a form of Socialism that is seldom mentioned in church.

Mary's Magnificat lauds the downfall of the mighty and the uplifting of the humble poor.

This echoes the Old Testament prophets who constantly advocated for the poor, the destitute, and the alien.

This is God's true manifesto.

So don't be fooled or forced into accepting conservative control.

Progressive Christianity is a form of Christian Socialism.


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A Different Place.

At a Progressive Christian forum when the assembled people were asked if they supported gay marriage 100% were in favor.

And when asked about damnation and hell 100% were opposed.

This is extremely promising.

Because, outside of the Uniting Church, all denominations are opposed to gay marriage and they still preach damnation and hell.

But there is a grassroots movement within the mainstream Churches to embrace progressive ideas.

The hierarchies, however, are digging in and delaying change.

This is why the Christian Churches will continue to decline until the last hope of survival is gone before those in authority will act.

Then they may adopt more progressive theology.

So, if the future of the Church is in Progressive Christianity, the world will be a different place.


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Asceticism.

It is clear that St. Paul retained some of the Asceticism that he learned in the strict sect of Pharisees in which he was trained.

Asceticism in the ancient world taught that abstinence from sex was necessary for spiritual development.

And this influence can be seen in Paul's writings.

But Jesus said, "'For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, "He has a demon"; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!"  Luke 7:33,34 (NRSV)

This indicates that John the Baptist was an Ascetic.

But Jesus himself is definite in his statement that he is not.

This is consistent with the scriptural assertion that the Way of Love which Jesus taught is greater than the Way of Asceticism or Self-Denial.

John the Baptist himself says, "'I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.'" John 1:27 (NRSV)

This inferior way survives as the Christian tradition of mortification of the body.

But this practice derives from the writings of St. Paul not the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus way is the Way of Love.

He did not practise or recommend Asceticism.

So Paul's writings about the body and sex, including his condemnation of homosexuality, can be ignored because they are not consistent with the Way of Love.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible. copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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Progressive Christianity.

Join my new facebook group: Progressive Christianity for daily posts on Progressive Christianity, Gay Rights, Poetry, and Social Issues at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/461671534607561/

Invested.

It is clear that those older people who have remained in the Church have invested their lives in good works.

The Way of Good Works which leads to Heaven and avoids hell was the standard teaching of the Church.

So it is no surprise that they have internalized it.

But the new teachings of Progressive Christianity maintain that the Way of Love is greater than the Way of Good Works.

And this is confirmed by scripture.

But the older generation  are so firmly entrenched in the Way of Good Works that they may try to tell you otherwise.

Their fear of hell is too strong.

It is not for me to deny them their place in Heaven.

But I will not be diverted from the Way of Love.


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