The Church.

When we were young the Church was part of the Conservative Establishment and as such it claimed authority and demanded obedience.

The Church taught that God would judge us and punish us with eternal damnation if we disobeyed.

Their attitude to sex was extremely negative and induced guilt and shame.

Homosexuality was never mentioned.

So it is little wonder that an educated generation rejected the Church outright.

The revelations of child sexual abuse were just the last straw.

But after closer scrutiny of the scriptures it has become evident that this traditional Church is not representative of Jesus or God at all.

It is in fact the equivalent of the Priests and Pharisees in the New Testament and as such they are "blind guides". (Matthew 15:14)

God is merciful, forgiving, and gracious.

He does not judge us.

And He does not punish us.

God loves us like our mother.

Only better.

So do not reject God or Jesus because of the teachings of the Church.

"But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you."  Matthew 6:6 (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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No Weapons.

If you Google Male Angels you will invariably get images of musclebound angels wearing armor and brandishing swords - ready to fight against the devil.

But evil is not overcome by violence or force.

Evil is overcome by the sheer power of love.

Love is the most powerful force in the universe.

And Love is the inmost nature of God.

So when you image male angels make sure that they have no weapons.

Because it is not weapons that will save us but love.

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Holy.

The opposite of evil is not merely good but Holy.

This is a method of understanding the Holiness of the Divine.

It is not some cold, rarified, distant paragon.

It is the pure and perfect refinement of Love.

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Homophobia.

The world has become poisoned with homophobia.

Right-wing political forces are attempting to roll back advances made to protect homosexuals.

Countries in Africa and elsewhere are passing laws that criminalize homsexuality.

Some are even introducing the death penalty.

This fuels prejudice and hate.

And the fear that followed AIDS.

But AIDS is cured!

So religious and social objections are invalid.

Homosexuality is acceptable to God.

And gay people go to Heaven.

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Brutality.

"Football is brutal."

It is violent and merciless.

And it is the home of the Beast.

Players make the sign of the horns.

And the presentation is riddled with flames.

The commentators use violent language.

And the advertisements are dubious.

So don't put your faith in sports or entertainment.

It is poisoned with Satanism.

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Natural Justice.

It is our human expectation that God will reward good deeds and punish evil.

This is called Natural Justice.

But this does not seem to take place in reality.

This is because God transcends our human understanding.

God can see deeper than the surface we see.

He knows the reasons why people act the way they do.

Violence, abuse, deceit, fear....

These things cause the problems we face in life.

And so while we expect Natural Justice we never expect it to apply to ourselves.

But God does not judge us or punish us.

He merely withdraws from error.

And when we turn to God at last we encounter mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

This does not stop the evil and madness we experience on Earth.

But it changes us.

We become more benevolent, more relaxed, more generous......

Our fears fall away as we experience the Love of God.

And we become the person we were meant to be.

God restores our soul.

And we find peace.

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Lukewarm.

"And to the church at Laodicea.....

.....I know your works, you are neither cold nor hot, I wish that you were either cold or hot.  So because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.'  You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor,,,,,"

Revelation 3:14-17 (NRSV)

And so it is.

[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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