Fear in the Darkness.

We are born into darkness.

When we are in darkness we are plagued by fears.

Primitive humans were in darkness.
They imagined all manor of evil spirits and gods around them.

Scientific knowledge has dispelled much of this fear.
It has also challenged faith in one God.

As we approach God through prayer, contemplation, and love we begin to see.
And as we begin to see our fear leaves us.

There is nothing to fear from God.
He wishes our benefit and progress.

This comes through Love.

And "perfect love casts out fear."  1 John 4:18 (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.]

Respect.

Love brings with it both desire and respect.

Desire for the loved one and respect for his or her wishes.

All too often desire dominates and we neglect respect.

But if we truly love the beloved we will respect their wishes.

Sometimes our desire for the beloved is so strong that we overlook the fact that the object of our desire is a human being with a will and rights of their own.

This is where respect can save us from violating the rights of the loved one, either physically or emotionally.

We must respect the wishes of the loved one no matter whether they fall in with our desire or not.

Sometimes we must sacrifice our desire in order to respect the wishes of the loved one.

There will hopefully be other opportunities to express our desire with others.

To men who are unable to reciprocate the desire of another man I would say:

Do not reject us violently.

Let us down gently.

Capricorn.

I was somewhat surprised when an astrologer said to me that Jesus is governed by the sign of Pisces but the Church is governed by Capricorn.

This is because the Church and the State are part of the social authority structure - the establishment.

This is how it was before the fall of Christendom.
The Church was an authority.

When we think now of spirituality we no longer think of an institution invested with social authority.  We think of green trees and political ideals.
God is no longer confined to stone buildings.
He roams freely through nature and acts for social justice.

So perhaps now Christianity can return to the sign of Pisces - the sign of the spirit - and follow Jesus - the teacher of love and forgiveness.

Hypocrites.

What is it that makes people say one thing (in church) and do another (during the week).

Quite contrary to the popular belief that these people are wicked or sinful, I believe that the reason is fear.

The fear that what they espouse on Sundays will not work in the world drives them to behave differently in their work environment and even in their family life.

And the fear of ostracism causes them to mouth agreement with Jesus on Sundays.

The fear of hell makes them say one thing and do another.

So, rather than thinking of these people as the enemy, we should have compassion for them, so ruled are they by fear.

Their fear makes them do what everybody else does - at work and in church.

How can we reduce their fear?

By removing the threat of hell to begin with.

And increasing their faith.

That God will deliver us; and God will provide.

Pray for this.

Whited Sepulchers.

Rock stars cover up their music of death by whitewashing their image.

This serves two purposes:
1.  To hide the dark nature of their mission.
2.  To draw people in.

Have you ever noticed the sweet innocent music of one album becomes the dark, suicidal music of the next.

Look more closely.
You will see a pattern.

Lure > Darkness > Cover up.

Many use nudity and sex to lure people into their web of evil.
Then they poison and curse them to death.
In the hope that they will go to hell.

It is  a subtle game of temptation and damnation.

The inverse of orthodox religion.

It is dark.
It is negative.
It is superficial.
It is sabotage.
It is anti-Christian.

But they are whited sepulchers.

Religious Authorities.

Were I to speak with those in authority in the Church I would argue that the absolutes inherent in their versions of Christology are at odds with my experience of God.

God is not angry or judgmental.
He does not condemn or punish us.

These are explanations for what happens to us in life - which is merely the actions of human beings with free will.  It is not the will of God.

Jesus is not some magical savior who died for our sins but a teacher of radical love who died because he threatened the powers of the world.  It was not a act of God.

The angry, judgmental, punishing God of the Old Testament is a projection of our experience of earthly authority figures - fathers, kings - who reward and punish us.  This is not a part of God.

God's nature is wholly good.
He is not subject to the dualities of our world.

We project our human traits onto God.

Hear the good news:
God is Love.
All are forgiven.

Projections.

What we are and what we think are to some extent created by the projections of others.

This is why stereotypes and prejudices should be addressed.
They will tend to create the kind of behavior projected.

"'The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.'"  John 3:8a (NRSV)

Projections from others in the collective unconscious will create thoughts that are in line with those projections.

So we should always be aware of what others think of us.
Albeit without manipulation.

We can counteract negative projections with positive thoughts.
But we must be constantly vigilant.

This is particularly true for gays and lesbians, who are despised and demonized by the religious right and others.

Gays and lesbians should be constantly reminded of their innate goodness and their acceptance in heaven.


[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.]

Suffering.

The cause of suffering is sin.

The cause of sin is fear.

Faith helps us overcome our fear.

But it is Love which leads us to God.

The Golden Rule of Chiron.

The Wounded Healer.

Make sure you don't do to others what others have done to you.