The Prophets.

What we have to remember is that the Old Testament prophets did not write the books of the Bible themselves.  This was done by interpreters hundreds of years later.

So, as we see with the disciples, there is a lesser level of understanding - an orthodoxy, a primitive worldview, a worldly interpretation which we do not see with Jesus or the prophets themselves.

Those who had direct contact with God are not those who wrote down the books of the Bible.

There is a large margin for error.

So where it says that Samuel cut a man to pieces in front of the altar this may not have actually happened.  Either Samuel has misunderstood God or the writer of Samuel has misinterpreted the story.

In my experience God does not act violently towards anyone.  The violent stories in the Bible are misinterpretations of God's word or of historical events.

Most often it is an overlaying of assumptions of rewards and punishments projected from worldly authority figures like kings or pharaohs.

God is beyond violence.

God does not resolve conflicts with violence.

God waits for us to respond with love and compassion, even for our enemies.

The Plutocracy.

It is the way of the world to think ourselves superior and live a life of privilege.

But God is the great leveler, the champion of the poor and underprivileged.

What happens is that the rich usurp the power of God and change the religion of equality to suit themselves, placing themselves at the top.

To God all people are equal.

Therefore socialism, so hated by the aristocracy, is God's natural political position.

The conservatism of the establishment, which includes the Church, is a perversion  of God's will.

This is neatly rationalized by the rich to endorse their power and privilege.

So the Church endorsed monarchs with their entourage of aristocrats who were born to rule and usurp God's power and authority.

The blind lead the blind.

And Jesus is crucified.

The rule of the aristocracy is established by violence and maintained by fear.

At present the conservatives are using their newspaper, T.V., and radio outlets to vilify left wing politicians.

Why do mining magnates seek a stake in media outlets?
To influence public opinion to stop the mining tax.

They propagandize the election in order to establish their power over the masses.

But when the light rises we see both evil and good.

Satanic rock musicians, blue ribbon conservatives, and captains of industry :

The Plutocracy.

But Uranus is square.

Social activists are openly opposing the corrupt powers :
the corporations and their political puppets.

Set Up.

A whole generation of Hippies and Baby Boomers was set up by their rock stars to be condemned by their gurus and the religious right for drugs and pleasure (which their rock stars told them to do).

So the whole of Generation Z has been set up for practicing magic.
I have already seen a billboard with Merlin engulfed in flames.

What they do is tell you to do something which they know is a transgression and then damn you for it when the stars turn against you.

This is what happened in the 1980s when Generation X and reactionary political leaders blamed the Hippies and Baby Boomers for everything.  This was a political tool of the religious right.

Fortunately the political left will not resort to these extreme tactics.
They will not use damnation as a weapon.
On the whole they do not believe in damnation at all.

At present the religious right (led by the Pope) are trying to scapegoat gays and lesbians in order to create political power.

But it is not really working because powerful rock stars are endorsing gay rights including gay marriage.

So Satan's house is divided.

And the house that is divided must fall.

Stained Glass Windows.

Depending upon which Church you are attending your experience of God will be colored by the theological beliefs and practices of that particular Church.
As light is colored by stained glass windows.

The white light and power of God will reflect the theology of that Church.

God works through people.
God's love is manifest in the world through us.
Through our minds, hearts, and hands.

So it is vital that our ideas are positive, helpful, and harmless.
Our hearts are open, soft, and warm.
And our hands are active.

Out of the World.

When we start out we are of the world.

Our values and attitudes are shaped by our experiences in the world.

We are cynical, pragmatic, aggressive, materialistic, and selfish.

We assume that God wins by superior force and might as people in the world win.

Many people project the ways of the world onto God calling Him mighty, powerful, conqueror, glorious etc..

But we are in for a surprise.

God is in the still small voice - "a sound of sheer silence."  1 Kings 19:12b (NRSV)

"'Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.'"  Zechariah 4:6b (NRSV)

"'for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'"  1 Samuel 16: 7b (NRSV)

God is gentle.

God is patient.

God is non-violent and forgiving.
Full of understanding and grace.

God does not use force.

God does not punish and reward in the way that the leaders of the world punish and reward.

God gives everyone another chance

There is no condemnation, no damnation.

Only Love.

God calls us out of the world.


(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.)

The Redemption of Adolf Hitler.

How many people have you heard say," I don't believe in hell except for people like Adolf Hitler"?

How can we reconcile our ideas of natural justice with a God who will forgive Adolf Hitler?

The way to do this is to look for the reasons that Adolf Hitler did what he did.
These lie in his childhood; his experiences, especially after World War 1; and his temperament.

"'Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.'"  John 8:7b (NRSV)
This saying of Jesus does not just relate to minor offenses it relates to everyone.

Punishment and hell are out of character with a loving God.

So do not torment yourselves with past sins, they are forgiven.
Look to the future and "'do not sin again.'"  John 8:11b (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.)

The Redemption of Dorian Gray.

Jesus said to love your enemies.

He did not say to destroy evil.
In fact he says not to resist evil.

The dualistic mind set which sets up a battle between good and evil is not the way of Jesus nor is it the way of God.

The parables of reconciliation :
the lost sheep, the lost penny, and the lost son
show that God seeks redemption even to the last one.

A more modern example of this is the story of Dorian Gray who corrupts himself completely through the temptation of eternal youth.  At the end his dead body resumes its corrupted state and the picture reverts to its original youthful image.

We are not told what becomes of the soul of Dorian Gray.
I believe that his soul is forgiven and reconciled with God.

Why?

Because in my experience God punishes no one.
He seeks redemption to the very last one as we are taught in the parables of reconciliation.

God understands everyone, even those we call evil.

So evil is not to be battled against and destroyed.

Evil is to be forgiven and reconciled to God through love, the unseen hook.

Clear as Crystal.

When God speaks now it is as clear as crystal.

Life is about Love.
Giving and receiving love.

Our experiences help us to develop the capacity to love others.

God comes last.
He is concerned with the least in our society.
Those who are left out and left behind.

Aquarius is about equality.
Equalizing the imbalance of wealth and power.
Nationally and Internationally.

We are to care about and have compassion for everyone.

If we pray to God He will hear.
He may not answer in the way that we expect.
But He will answer none the less.

Open your hearts.
And you will blossom like a flower.

Give love to God.
Give love to everyone.  

Vision.

When I was about three years old, in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep, I woke up and saw a vision of God hovering beside my bed.

The image itself was traditional - an old man with long hair and beard sitting on a throne - it was all white and shining like a watermark held up to the light.

He was quite handsome and strong across the chest and shoulders.

The vision seemed to emerge from within itself and radiate outwards like a brilliant white star.

And there was no fear, as if fear had never been invented.

And God breathed on me and spoke to me.

But I could not understand what He was saying - His voice was all breath and in a language I did not understand.

Later I came to know that in Hebrew the name of God is all aspirates or Hs, i.e. the breath of life or nephesh.

Later still I discovered that in the Gospel of John Jesus breathes on the disciples when he gives them the Holy Spirit.

This childhood experience was so vivid that I can still remember it now as if it was yesterday.

Today I realized that this was a call like the call of Isaiah or Samuel.

So God is calling me to be a prophet.

A prophet of Aquarius.

A prophet is a messenger.

And the message is Love.

A New Bar Mitzvah.

At the age of 13 Jewish people observe Bar Mitzvah* which celebrates their coming of age.

Afterwards youths and girls are considered responsible for their own actions and participate in community life.

The equivalent in Christianity is Confirmation which is something quite different.
Confirmation ties the individual into a false theology of belief - the Christology of which Jesus knew nothing.

I propose that we should return to the rite of passage that celebrates puberty as a natural  and joyful part of life.
Instead of guilt, fear, and shame we should encourage joy, happiness, and delight.

The sexual development of each individual would then receive a blessing from God and no longer be a thorn in the side of adults.
They would no longer feel that their sexual feelings had to be hidden from parents and society.  They would feel more comfortable with their own sexuality as part of adult life in community with others.

There could even be education and training in responsible sexual activity - including homosexual activity - which respects the wishes and rights of the object of desire.

There would no longer be this unhealthy separation of body and spirit which has so blighted Christianity.
The individual would experience a synthesis of body, sexuality, and spirituality in a loving response to others.

Sex is the consummation of love.
The heart mediates between the body and the spirit.

In Jewish practice circumcision is the mark of consecration to God.
This creates a link between sexuality and God which allows the individual to feel more relaxed about sexual feelings.
This takes place at a deep unconscious level.

The development of sexuality coincides with feelings of love for another individual.
If the desire that is experienced is tempered with respect for the other then there is no harm in sexuality - homosexual or otherwise.

The difficulty for homosexual people is the minority status of their feelings - the number of people who will respond positively to homosexual advances is considerably less than that of heterosexual people.
Therefore homosexuals experience greater levels of rejection which can lead to thoughts of suicide.

The incidence of suicide in gay youth is 4 times that of heterosexual youth for these reasons.

This is why it is vital to have gay sex education in schools, or even Churches.  This education would help with rejection and feelings of inadequacy and self-loathing.

A rite of passage with education and training would also help to alleviate sexual abuse in society.

*Bat Mitzvah for girls.

The Next Generation.

We forget, when we have learned things or regard those things which humanity has learned during our lifetime, that people born after us may not have learned those things.

So it is important to put in place in advance education that will pass on to later generations what we have learned.

Otherwise humanity is doomed to repeat our mistakes.

This can take the form of legislation, education, or custom.

Of course any of these things can be reversed by counter-revolutionary forces.  But once these things are in place they tend to stay there.

So if Churches teach that there is no devil future generations will not sell their souls and the problem of covert Satanism will die out.

This is part of a complete overhaul of religious thinking in our world.

At present many Churches still preach the devil and his angels.  So it is a small step to believing this and embracing the dark side of religion.

Satanists have told young singers and musicians that famous rock bands and superstars have sold their souls for money, fame, and sex.

Of course this is not what happened.  These things happen to all stars and celebrities whether they sell their souls or not.  But how do you prove that?

No Satan is a start.

It's a lie, it fails, the physical body is not the enemy of the spirit, homosexuality is O.K. with God, there is no hell to go to.

In the end there is no Satan only God's love.

Steadfast Love.

At first we expect God to be a kaleidoscope of colors and flashing lights.
But God, when we encounter Him, is a gentle guiding light and full of love and mercy.
God is kind and trustworthy.
God is gentle.

When we are little children we are innocent and trusting.
But in the playground we are attacked by bullies.
(Bullies are children who are afraid of being bullied.  They defend themselves by attacking children who are weaker than themselves in order to look tough and unassailable.)

Fear begets fear.

So when we encounter God we are surprised that he is not aggressive.
Why doesn't He attack evil and destroy it?
Why doesn't He force them to stop?

But God is non-violent.
He will persevere in a non-violent fashion until we give up and accept His love.

We mistake gentleness for weakness.
We think that violence makes us look strong.
But people who are really strong are gentle.

In the west we have huge armies.
If we were really as peace-loving as we make out we would not need armies.
But we keep them because we really think that we must be more violent and ruthless than others.
Our peace and benevolence is a lie.

So when the ancient prophets encountered God and He revealed His holy name "'a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,'" Exodus 34:6b (NRSV) they tacked on the end "'yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children's children, to the third and fourth generation.'"  Exodus 34:7b (NRSV)  This last statement was later repudiated in Ezekiel 18.

So people attack the weak in order to look strong and invulnerable, so that bigger bullies will not attack them.

Bullies are people who are full of fear.

Big strong men will quake at the sight of a homosexual.  They will run and hide.  They will not consort with them lest people call them poofters.  The terror is too much for them.  They may even become violent.
What they fear is humiliation and rejection.  He would no longer be one of the boys.  He would be cast out and kept at arms length.
Of course this may never happen but the fear is too great.

God has no such fears.
God is gentle and supportive, steadfast in 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.)

What to Encourage.

What to use as an antidote to Satanic rock music :

Classical music.

Sacred choral music.

Chanting.

Prayer.

Silence.

Gratitude.

Blessings.

Benevolence.

Generosity.

Charity.

Courage.

Integrity.

Discipline.

Faith.

Truth.

Angels.

Doves.

Rainbows.

Flowers

White.

Light.

Life.

Love.

What to Avoid.

Satanism in the music industry.

What to look out for :

The sign of the devil (two fingers = horns).

Anything backwards or upside down.

Magical symbols or writing.

Hate.

Darkness.

Death.

Murder.

Skulls.

Snakes.

Spiders (webs).

Flames (of Hell).

Apples (Garden of Eden).

Fallen Angels.

Demons.

The toilet.

Urine or excrement.

Swearing or cursing.

Hammers and nails.

Knives or swords, through the heart.

Broken hearts.

Korruption (K = Scorpio, power)

Desecration.

Profanity.

Blasphemy.

Evil.

Sabotage : taking the easy way out,
                   cutting corners,
                   shame,
                   guilt,
                   drugs,
                   leaving love, divorce,
                   ending faith.

Covenant.

The first version of the covenant between God and Moses would appear to be in Exodus 34 where the three festivals - the festival of unleavened bread, the festival of weeks, and the festival of the passover - were consecrated to the nation Israel.

So perhaps the legalistic language of the ten commandments was not Moses' but the mentality of the priests who wrote them 600 years later.

That being said the important part of the story is the covenant between God and the liberated Israelites.

The first covenant is the rainbow between God and Noah.

The second covenant is between God and Abraham and his descendants.

The third covenant is between God and Moses.

The fourth covenant is with David and Solomon.

The fifth covenant is through Jesus of Nazareth.

A sixth covenant could be said to have been made with Mohammed.

So God regularly renews His covenant not only with Israel but with all humankind.

Is it possible that there will be a new covenant between God and humanity through Aquarius?

They say that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.
It is certainly dark enough.

The fertile ground is there with many people in the world at the moment having Aquarian aspects.

God is certainly doing something - nurturing our understanding and hinting at the direction.

After liberating theological thought from negative doctrines, the rest is all about love.

Love God.  Love everyone.

Ideation.

The bane of Christianity has been negative ideation :
The notion that sex is a sin creates unpleasant feelings of guilt, fear, and shame.
The idea that suffering is in some way meritorious actually creates pain in the practitioner.

So it is important to practice positive ideation :
Original blessing.
"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."  Genesis 1:31a (NRSV)
Sex (including gay sex) is natural - the consummation of love.

"'I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.'"  John 10:10b (NRSV)

Life is a combination of good experiences and bad experiences, pleasure and pain, joy and suffering.

Even though compassion and understanding may come from pain and suffering that does not make pain and suffering good or desirable.
Pain should be alleviated as much as possible so that everyone can live happy lives here on earth.
"'Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.'"  Matthew 6:10b (NRSV)

Guilt serves no positive purpose.

Shame is self-destructive.

The theology which has grown up around negative ideas like the death and suffering of Jesus is a perversion of the truth.
It seeks to make of a failure a victory.
And makes of something which is inherently bad something good - Good Friday.

Therefore because it does not face the failure of Jesus mission it creates aberrant theology :
Original sin, Penal Substitution, Salvation through the Blood of Christ, Universal Condemnation, Penance, Atonement.....
All these are false doctrines.

Can God lose?

The interpretations and beliefs of Peter and the apostles never quite reaches the heights of Jesus' understanding.
"'servants are not greater than their masters.'"  John 13:16a (NRSV)

They were always making mistakes and misunderstanding what Jesus said.
And they continued to make mistakes after Jesus' death.
Peter sought to encourage people to believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah - the fulfillment of the prophecies.
But Jesus does not always resemble the Jewish Messiah which is a military ruler and conqueror in some prophecies and a suffering servant in others.

Jesus was the tutelary spirit of the Age of Pisces.
Look at the Piscean symbolism in the New Testament :
Fish, fishermen, nets, water (baptism), Lake Galilee, washing away sins, washing feet, spirits, the Holy Spirit, prayer, forgiveness, healing, wine, vineyards, Jerusalem, faith.....

But it is Jesus' teaching of love and compassion that counts.


(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.)

New Age Gurus.

The mistake that the New Age gurus make is to try to create wealth and worldly success in the name of spirituality.
Get what you want out of life is their mantra.

But Jesus said you cannot serve God and money.

In running after worldly idols the New Age gurus gain plenty of followers.
But it never really works.

This is because they mistake the purpose of life.
Life is not about achievements and possessions.
That will not make you happy.
Life is about love -our relationships, and our relationship with God.

They are blind.
They call their methods spirituality but spirituality has nothing to do with accumulating wealth and success.
Spirituality is about developing qualities like: love, compassion, charity, gratitude, courage, integrity, truthfulness, kindness, and faith.

Jesus said that the way of the world is evil.

You cannot serve two masters - God and money.

Two Masters.

You cannot succeed in the world and serve God as well.
You will compromise your principles to achieve success,
or you will sacrifice success to serve God.

"'No slave 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 wealth.'" Luke 16:13 (NRSV)

It is very rare for a person to achieve a high position in society and still be faithful to God.
They will be seriously flawed like David or J.F.K., who was killed like his brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jnr..  As was Gandhi and Anwar Sadat.

The only godly man to survive is Nelson Mandela and he did not challenge big business.

Barak Obama is in constant danger because he is challenging the powers of the world: big business and conservative religion.

Ang San Su Kyi has been under house arrest and is always in danger.

Instead our leaders compromise with big business and conservative thugs.
In this way they survive but nothing changes.

Big business owns the media.
They use it for their own purposes :
To threaten political leaders and activists.
To promote those who will serve their needs.

The world has no respect for the messenger of God.
He has no position.
He has no letters after his name.
He has no power.
So why should the world listen to him?
They will take what suits them,
and disregard the rest.

The ultimate purpose of God is to enlighten us.
And to enlighten us is to open our hearts.
Love is the ultimate purpose of life.
We learn to love.

And to do this we must overcome our fear.
Fear motivates the world.
It triggers violence, stirs hatred, wants revenge.
But God does none of these things because there is no fear in Him, only love.
If we can overcome the fear which lies at the root of all evil, then we will find love.

The covenant with God is a bond of love.

God does not judge evil people because he understands what makes them evil.
And He forgives them.

This is understanding.


(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.)

Love for Hate.

Love for Hate.

Goodness for Bad Behavior.

Compassion for Cruelty.

Forgiveness for Revenge.

Charity for Materialism.

Faith for Doubt.

Honesty for Corruption.

Truth for Lies.

Moderation for Excess.

Sobriety for Drink and Drugs.

Respect for Desecration.

Discipline for Indulgence.

Discrimination for Confusion.

Non-violence for Violence.

Might and Power.

God is not might and power.

Although God is almighty and all powerful He does not function through might or power.

Many Christians have made the mistake of assuming that God. being almighty and all powerful, wins out through violence and force.

But this is not the case.

God is gentle and non-violent.

When God showed Elijah the wind, the earthquake, and the fire God was not in them. He was in the small voice (a whisper).

"'Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts.'"  Zechariah 4:6b (NRSV)

So we can disregard all the hymns and doctrines based on might, power, victory, conquest, triumph.....

God is not in them.

God is gentle and non-violent, even small.


(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.)

Open the Gates.

Whenever the issue of gay marriage comes up in the media we are immediately confronted by Christians saying that God does not accept homosexuality and that gay people are not welcome in the Church unless they repress or change their sexuality.

This is a blanket position.
You never hear otherwise.

But I am an openly gay, sexually active member of the Uniting Church in Australia.  I enjoy full membership and serve on the Church Council.  I also receive communion and partake of Jesus covenant with God.

I worry, however, about others, especially young gay people, who have never heard that this message :
God accepts and loves you as you are.

There is nothing wrong with gay sex.

It is only a problem in the minds of far right Christians who persecute and torture innocent gay people.

I hope and pray that gays and lesbians hear the truth :
God loves you as you are and the Gates of Heaven are open.

Deliverance.

Have you ever wondered why nothing seems to work as it should?

That relationship that didn't blossom.
That new found independence that led to isolation.
That ideal job that went wrong.
That friendship that didn't last.
Those meditations that went awry.
Those drugs that led to mental illness.

You will be pleased to know that there is a reason for all of them.
It is the music you listen to and the television and movies you watch.

There is a secret.
And that secret is Satanism.
Rock musicians and T.V. and movie stars and directors sell their souls to the devil and push dark arts upon us.
They poison all our attempts to relate to others and sabotage the spiritual quest.
With the result that nothing works as it should.

Give up rock music, movies, and T.V. (including sports) and pray to God for deliverance.
He will hear.
And deliver you from evil.

Football.

When the cameras showed two young boys in tears at the football the commentator said that they should harden up.  Meaning that they should follow the example of the footballers who were hard.

The greatest insult that a team can be given is to be called soft, like one coach's marshmallows.

To become hard may seem the most logical survival strategy to people who live their lives reactively.  The world is harsh and cruel, brutal even, so it may seem that the only way to survive is to harden up.

This is the way of the world.

But God's way is different.  We pray not to harden our hearts.  A gentle, loving heart is what God desires for us.

Love.
Compassion.
Charity.

These are the things of God.

The football league epitomizes the way of the world (the philosophy of their corporate owners).  And we are encouraged to emulate their success (the cigar, the chocolates).

"He who dies with the most toys wins."

These are people who do not listen to God.  If they have heard God's message they do not follow it.

"You have to live in the real world" they say.

But you can cry out to God!
He will hear you and deliver you.

"You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and the needy from those who despoil them."  Psalm 35:10b (NRSV)

God is faithful and worthy of our trust.

We should love those who oppress us and pray for them.
For they are more afraid than us.


(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.)

Did Jesus Make a Mistake?

When Jesus reached Jerusalem he attacked the Pharisees and Sadducees (the religious authorities of the time) and threatened to replace them.

Was this a mistake?

Jesus philosophy was to love your enemies and bless those who curse you and pray for those who abuse you.  Not to attack and threaten them.

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed for the cup to pass from him. He did not pray for the Pharisees and Sadducees as he had preached.

It was not until he was on the cross that he prayed for his enemies.

Astrologically Jesus' progressed Sun was in Aries and this stimulated his progressed Mars conjunct Pluto (as yet undiscovered) in Virgo directly opposite his stellium in Pisces (including his natal Sun).

The mars opposition can be read as biting off more than you can chew, provoking authority (Saturn) and inviting a test of strength (Jupiter).  It can cause a sudden turn around (Uranus).

Pluto opposition is power struggles, also suicide and self-destruction.

Mars and Pluto together in opposition represent violence.

This certainly happened to Jesus.

So should Jesus have behaved differently?

Should he have recognized that the Pharisees and Sadducees (and the Romans) were motivated by fear - fear of God and fear of revolt?

By being too aggressive Jesus inadvertently triggered their greatest fears.

Had he talked about fear and had compassion for those who were captives of that fear the result might have been different.

Jesus said not to oppose evil but to pray for those who you perceive as evil.  You will find that they are motivated by fear and that you can have compassion for them.

We can pray for them to be liberated from their fear.

The Way of God.

1.  Love (for everyone).
   
2.  Compassion (understanding).

3.  Unselfishness (consideration).

4.  Gratitude (to God and others).

5.  Charity (generosity).

6.  Courage (to act).

7.  Integrity (principles).

The Gods of the World.

The first god of the world is beauty.
If you are good looking you are more likely to make friends, get a partner, get a job, get a promotion, get elected, make money.....than if you are not.

The second god of the world is money.
Wealth is what we seek when we have achieved success in the first god's arena of relationships.

The third god of the world is fame.
When we have a relationship and wealth the next god of seduction is fame.  We want to be extensively admired and applauded.

The fourth god of the world is leisure.
Holidays, sports, entertainment, movies, lunch, dinner, all these recreations follow the former gods.

The fifth god of the world is shopping.
Spending money for the sake of it or as therapy (compensation) is the next pitfall.

The sixth god of the world is pleasure.
Sex, food, art, reading, sports, entertainment.....all theses things are pleasurable (epicureanism).

The seventh god of the world is success.
 Achievements in this world are a constant seduction, a prop for our ego.

There are many other gods in the world but these are the most seductive.

Change.

Everything is alright until you try to change things.

It's O.K. while  its all academic.

It's O.K. while you do good works that don't challenge the status quo.

It's O.K. while we pat each other on the back and say, "You don't do it for the thanks of course but....."

You can be as good as you like within the prescribed bounds - i.e. band-aids only.

But try to change things; try to address the reasons for poverty, injustice, and war; and see what happens then.....

You won't be allowed to.

This is why the sanitized and spiritualized versions of Christianity developed - so that nothing here on earth changes - the rich are still privileged, the powerful are still violent, the poor are still helpless, the infirm are still destitute, the marginalized are still demonized.....nothing changes.

This of course is what happened to Jesus.

He talked about the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth - i.e. things would change.
"'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'"  Luke 4:18,19 (NRSV)

They crucified him for that.

And the world did not change.

"Don' rock the boat."
"Play the game."

What now?

It is fear of course.

Fear of losing our privileges, our money, our possessions, our power.....

Pray for us to overcome our fears.


(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.)

Islam.

Much of Shariah Law does not come from the Koran at all.
Amputations and dress codes for women come from other sources.

This is like the Catholic Traditions which are not Biblical.

Islamic God Alone theology returns to the Koran and interprets it in a progressive way - i.e. in its cultural and historical context.

There are other progressive movements within Islam.

We can only hope that these baby steps will gain momentum and that a non-violent form of progressive Islam which is accepting of gay people will develop.

It cannot be too soon.