John.

There are three Johns in the New Testament:

John the Baptist, John the Disciple, and John the Divine.

Many traditional Christians claim that John the Divine, who wrote the Book of Revelation, is one and the same as the disciple John,

But I disagree.

It is hard to imagine two pieces of writing more different than the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation.

The Gospel of John is all about Light, Life, and Love.

The Book of Revelation is violent, vengeful and vindictive.

It includes a curse at the end upon anyone who changes the words of his book.

This was a common practice in the ancient world.

But I find it hard to reconcile with the beautiful words of John in his Gospel and letters.

And John the Divine says of himself that he shared with them the persecution of the early church.

This is significant because if he was the disciple John he would surely have said that he shared with Jesus his ministry on earth.

But he does not.

And so the violent and disturbing passages in the Book of Revelation must be questioned.

It seems to me that the Book of Revelation is a number of apocalyptic writings cobbled together and exaggerated.

It repeats itself and digresses constantly.

And its essential nature is not consistent with my experience of God.

My experience of God is that He is merciful, forgiving, and gracious.

He does not use fear.

And He does not punish or judge.

God is Love.

And His way is non-violent.

So do not get hung up on the vivid visions in the Book of Revelation.

They are not in keeping with the nature of God.

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Youth Politics.

Idealistic youth demonstrations in Bangladesh and Thailand are transforming the political landscape of Asia.

In Bangladesh they toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina who fled the country.

In Thailand they are poised to challenge the unelected Senate and the conservative Constitutional Court and rewrite the military-drafted Constitution.

There have been huge demonstrations in Hungary against the arch-conservative government of Viktor Orban.

And in America we have seen the largest demonstrations in history.

There is little doubt that this new generation is politically aware and active.

They are peaceful and law-abiding and they respect the democratic system.

Youth culture will sweep away the last vestiges of autocratic conservatism and the rule of unelected plutocrats.

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Trump.

".....and he opened his mouth to boast and utter blasphemies....."

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Left of Center.

What Satanists do on the left is push decadence and hedonism.

Sex and drugs and rock and roll is designed to corrupt you to such an extent that your soul is damned to hell.

But it is no use merely switching to the right because on the right Satanists trigger punishment and judgement, severity and death.

Both these positions are extreme.

And both these positions are wrong!

God looks on the heart.

And the heart is located slightly left of center in the body.

This is the case for all living creatures.

For God is Love.

And the heart makes concessions according to understanding.

So do not overindulge in pleasures.

And do not be too rigid in your moral code.

But center yourself in the heart.

And give love to all God's creatures.

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Violence.

God does not use violence.

Violence and severity are attributes of the Beast.

Violent and vengeful passages in the Old Testament and the Book of Revelation misrepresent the nature of God.

God is Merciful, Forgiving, and Gracious.

He does not prosecute our errors.

His Love is steadfast and reliable.

His image is the Lamb - tender, innocent, and vulnerable.

And His Salvation is everlasting.

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Fear.

Fear is at the root of all the lies, violence, war, corruption, hate, abuse, treachery, and evil in our world.

And so, rather than trying to win out against our enemies, we should be addressing the fears that divide us.

Ultimately this can only be done by trusting the Love of God.

God loves us like our mother only more so.

And our mother will not abandon us.

And if she does God will take us up.

"If my father and mother forsake me,

the Lord will take me up." 

Psalm 27:10 (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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Crisis.

One of the things that the election of Donald Trump has done is embolden conservative, anti-gay governments around the world to defund and criminalize same-sex relations to such an extent that activist groups and shelter organizations are facing an ongoing crisis.

Corporate and business sponsors are deserting in droves as Trump's ideological war takes hold.  

Many centers will have to close and other services will have to be scaled back.

And all this while facing an increase in violence and hate crimes.

Trump is using the Bible to justify hate.

And those Christians who support him must be held responsible for his crimes.

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