Give.

It seems to me that too much of our worship is about receiving.

We ask for peace, we ask for love, we ask for protection, we ask for healing, we ask for a blessing, we ask for guidance, we ask for safety.....

But true religion is about giving.

Jesus' commandment was to love.

Not to ask for a blessing.

But to give love.

Not even to do good works.

But to give love.

And good works will follow.

Then we may receive a blessing.


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Selling Your Soul.

When I was young we would occasionally hear about people who had sold their souls to the devil and practiced some sort of Satanism.

This would periodically appear in the Sunday press.
It was a kind of sensationalism.

But it did not appear to be widespread or common.
It was a fringe phenomenon.

We did not take it seriously.

There was no devil in any case so how could there be any great number of devil worshipers?

Later in life I came to realize that this was not the true picture.

There were many people who sold their souls to the devil and practiced covert Satanism.  Many of them were famous people - mostly rock stars and celebrities.

And after many long prayers I found that these people were deluded.
They believed that the devil had granted them fame and fortune in return for their souls and spiritual atrocities perpetrated against us.

But there is no devil in reality.

Theses people practice the dark arts but there is no supernatural element to what they do.

Instead it works on the unconscious level like subliminal suggestion or propaganda.

This is not to say that it is not effective.
It still does untold damage by sabotage and suggestion.
As many a Hippy had discovered.

But this is by no means our fault.

We are the victims, not the perpetrators.
And the vicarious negativity done should not be blamed on the victims.

Instead we should pray for the victims of these spiritual atrocities to be delivered from their hands and healed.

And for the Satanists themselves to be redeemed and reconciled with God.


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The Age of Aquarius.

Many people believe we are now entering the Age of Aquarius.

The theory of the Ages derives from astrology.
The precession of the vernal equinox moves backwards through the zodiac at the rate of 1 degree every 71 years.
So every 2130 years it moves into a new sign.

At the moment the vernal equinox is still in the sign of Pisces.
But the flurry of activity around Uranus (the ruler of Aquarius) and the sign of Aquarius itself since 1993 has convinced many that the Age of Aquarius has begun.

At the very least we are in transition.

Most people have heard of the Age of Aquarius because a song about it was included in a certain 1960s musical.  But the song was quite a late entry in the mythology.

Astrology has been used by holy men in the East for thousands of years and many believe that the three wise men in the Bible were astrologers following the star of Bethlehem - the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction in Pisces in 7 BCE.

So the Age of Aquarius is not just a populist fad.
It has its roots in legitimate religious traditions.

Aquarius governs equality, homosexuality, universal brother-and-sisterhood, socialism, liberty, liberalism, the future, revolution, conceptual thinking, humanitarianism, technology, and enlightenment.

It represents a great leap in the consciousness of humankind.

But this phenomenon will only take place if we can liberate the Age of Aquarius from rock music and popular culture.

Rock musicians and celebrities will wreck the Age of Aquarius in the same way as they wrecked the Hippies in the last century.

So don't be seduced by stars who put themselves forward as leaders of the Age of Aquarius.
They are not.
They are only doing it for their own selfish purposes.

Look to leaders who do not benefit from CD or book sales.

Look to legitimate religious leaders and thinkers.

The stars can take care of themselves.
  

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By the Book.

When many people experience something of the divine - an answered prayer, a sudden solution, a healing - they assume that the orthodox perspective is correct.

This is doing it by the book.

Taking literally the words of the Bible as the Word of God.

But falling back into orthodox theological positions is not the answer.

This is the safe, the unimaginative approach.

But it does not lead to spiritual development.

Instead it stunts the person's faith in a childish fixity.
It inhibits growth and stifles the intellect.

Better to ask questions and search.

You may just find the Reality.


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God is Coming.

The Africans have a saying when a catastrophe happens - God is coming.

The catastrophe that hit the world's gay community was AIDS.

So in what way could we say that God is coming to the gay community?

After Stonewall in 1969 the gay community enjoyed a decade of activism which saw homosexuality become almost glamorous.

At the height of this surge AIDS hit.

Not only did this stretch the spiritual resources of all gay people but it threw up all kinds of prejudices - especially religious prejudices.

The current Progressive Christian movement developed from a reaction to the AIDS crisis.  Jack Spong said that sex sent him back to the Bible - to reinterpret it and set Progressive Christianity in motion.

So it is true - God is coming to the gay community.


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The Eucharist.

Many have pondered the meaning of the Eucharist.

What could it mean?

This is my body (the bread).
This is my blood (the wine).

I believe that the key to this is the New Covenant.

Jesus was saying that he was giving his life as ransom for many.
Not because God required it.
But because he was innocent.

"'This is my body, which is given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.'"  Luke 22:19b (NRSV)

"'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'"  Luke 22:20b (NRSV)

Jesus' sacrifice of his life is the symbol of the New Covenant between God and humankind.

It is not some supernatural event, however, but a tragedy of massive proportions.

For God sent us a messenger with good news and we crucified him.


[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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Androgynous.

A gay person whose personality is 50% male and 50% female is like God whose attributes are 50% male and 50% female.

God loves men and women equally.

God loves us like a Father and comforts us like a Mother.

God teaches us and nurtures us.

God's love is unconditional.

And God's forgiveness is forever.


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