Love.

"God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them."  1 John 4:16 (NRSV)

"The inmost nature of God is love."  (Bhagavad-Gita)

So if you love God and love your neighbor you are constantly in love and in communion with God.

Love flows through your whole being.

And you are Home!

[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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Service.

If you are doing things because you think you're supposed to the chances are that you are acting out of fear.

The result of this is usually a sense of resentment that you are being asked to do something you don't really want to do.

And this reluctance can make you unhappy and bad-tempered.

This is the opposite of what is intended.

But if your motivation is love and a genuine desire to help then you will experience joy!

This is the great happiness that comes from loving God and loving your neighbor.

And there is no experience greater than this.

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3 Generations.

Satanism in rock music affects each generation according to the generational planets in their horoscopes.

And so the Baby-Boomers were encouraged to indulge in bodily pleasures - "sex and drugs and rock and roll."; "The Flesh Failures."*

Generation X were encouraged to hate and use violence and evil to win - "Sometimes you kick"; "The Devil Inside."

The Millennials are being assailed by rock stars and tempted to turn to wickedness and evil magic.

So be aware.

We have been betrayed.

Rock music is Satanism. 

(*The alternative title for "Let the Sun Shine In" the last song of Hair.)

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Beast.

The origin of the Beast is in the prophetic dreams of Daniel in the Bible.

It also appears in the Book of Revelation

It represents powers that use violence and brutality to conquer and maintain dominance.

In Daniel there are four Beasts which represent the Empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

The Beast in Revelation is the Empire of Rome and the man whose number is 666 is Nero Caesar.

But the Beast represents anyone who relies on violence and force to establish power.

We are seeing increasing references to Beasts in sports and entertainment.

This is no accident.

Satanism in our popular culture deliberately portrays Beasts as desirable, powerful, and successful.

Most people do not realize the sinister origins of these words and images.

So if you are supporting Beasts you are endorsing the use of violence and brutality to achieve your ends.

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Sex.

When we are young we can have problems related to sex that stem from viewing the beloved as a sex object.

This is not recognizing that the object of our desire is in fact a human being.

But with desire comes love.

And with love comes respect.

So if we always respect the loved one's wishes, and right, and vows.....then we will have no further problems with sex.

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Life!

When I was young I thought that God was far away in Heaven.

My scientific education presented me with a world devoid of God.

But now I know that God is everywhere.

He is the sap in the trees, the pollen in the flowers, the oxygen in the air, the life of the waters, the warmth of the Sun, the fertility of the earth, the healing of the body, and much more,,,,,

He resides in all the animals that surround us.

And He is in all the peoples of the Earth.

But the inmost nature of God is love.

And the Divine Spark, out soul, is in our hearts.

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Counterpoint.

And so to counter the influence of Satanism in our popular culture we can orient ourselves to the good by practising:

Mercy, forgiveness, compassion, charity, honesty, altruism, generosity, benevolence, tolerance, truthfulness, care, and unconditional love.....

We can endorse: Light, Life, and Love!

And open our hearts to others.

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Astray.

The truth is that Satanism hidden in our popular culture is leading everyone astray.

They tell you to indulge in bodily pleasures, to endorse obsession and addiction, to hate, to chase after fame and fortune, to think of the devil as lucky and successful, to worship money, and to rely on materialism..... 

These things will not lead to the happiness they promise.

They lead to emptiness, burn-out, alienation, delusion, and suicide.

They are malicious lies and falsehoods.

And they display the flames of hell.

Those who push these things are betraying you.

They want your soul in hell.

And they think that the sins they sell will get you there.

They think that the devil will reward them with fame, fortune, and a rock star reception.

But there is no devil in reality.

So their hope is a delusion.

But the damage they do remains.

And we suffer for it.

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Jonah.

In church we have been studying the Book of Jonah.

Jonah was sent to prophesy to the wicked city of Nineveh via a boat trip in the opposite direction and three days in the belly of a whale.

I wondered what the wickedness of Nineveh was.

And I found later in the text: "All shall turn from their evil ways and the violence that is in their hands."  Jonah 3:8 (NRSV)

And: "people who do not know their right hand from their left."  Jonah 4:11 (NRSV)

So the sins of Nineveh were violence and ignorance.

And these are problems in our world today.

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Educaion 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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Love.

There is a part of you that cannot be touched by what you have thought or what you have done.

This is your inner child, your soul, that is the Divine Spark within you.

And because this soul is in essence Divine it is entirely good because God is entirely good.

This is your true self, and it is good.

It is descended from God, and it is immortal.

It is the part of you that loves, and that love is infinite.

For love is the inmost nature of God.

And love is the universal panacea.

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Money.

Jesus said: "'No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money (sic).'"  Matthew 6:24 (NRSV)

Many Christians rationalize their love of money by practising what Dietrich Bonhoeffer called "Cheap Grace".

That is accepting the blessings of God and Jesus but not making any changes to their behavior.

They merely behave as everyone around them behaves - and that is to accumulate money and possessions.

This is their security; not the security of trust in the Love of God.

[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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Fear.

The bane of Christianity is fear.

All the force and violence and finger-pointing that Christians do is caused by fear.

Fear of God and fear of Satan.

But we have nothing to fear from God.

God loves us.

He does not punish us and He does not judge us.

And in the end perhaps Satan does not exist.

There is enough fear and evil in humanity to explain our experiences; there does not need to be some supernatural being directing it.

And so we can let go of our fear.

And we can express our love.

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Hidden Evil.

We think that we are enlightened and aware.

But evil is present and active in our daily lives.

It is hidden.

It lurks in rock music and videos, in movies, novels, TV, and sports.....

It appears in advertising.

It turns us to darkness, hatred, and evil.

It sells selfishness and hedonism.

It induces addiction, obsession, and indulgence.

These things do not bring happiness.

They serve money and evil.

They invoke the flames of hell.

So open your eyes and your mind.

But most of all open your heart.

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Counterplay.

What then must we do?

To counteract the corrupting and deceiving voices in our popular culture we must cultivate virtues and principles in line with the goodness of God.

These include non-materialistic values like: generosity, charity, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, non-violence, and unconditional love.

We must turn away from death and darkness and seek Light, Life, and Love. 

Rock music is the devil's music.

So listening to sacred classical music will help.

Addictions to sports, gambling, and sex can be countered by volunteering and moderation.

Studying scripture and prayer connect us with the Divine that is the source of Light, Life, and Love.

Sincerity and integrity will lead you to the Living God.

And He will show you His Salvation!

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