Respect.

With desire comes love.

And with love comes respect for the beloved.

What diverts this respect is fear.

Fear of losing out, not experiencing communion.

When this fear is gone we experience respect for the loved one.

Respect for their wishes.

Respect for their rights.


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If Only.

If only

they knew

how wonderful

you are;

how beautiful

and generous,

how constant

and benevolent;

trustworthy,

reliable,

steadfast in love;

we can turn to you

in distress

or in gratitude

and be healed,

delivered,

saved

by your Love.


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Blessing.

Bless him,

deliver him from

the web of evil,

lift him up,

guide him,

touch his heart,

and bring him Home.


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Rock of Light.

You wear light

like a garment,

O rock of

my salvation.


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Blessed.

Future generations will call us blessed.

"How beautiful upon the mountains
     are the feet of the messenger who
        announces peace,
    who brings good news,
        who announces salvation,
        who says to Zion 'Your God reigns'."

Isaiah 52:7 (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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Treachery.

When we experience treachery we should realize that the people involved
are acting out of fear and insecurity.

These people don't believe that they can win, so they turn against us.

This is fear.

Fear of losing out.

If we can see this for what it is we can pray for them to be helped with their fear.

Thus we can have a benevolent attitude towards them despite their treachery.

This is what it means to love your enemies.

As Jesus did on the cross.


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Modernism.

Modernism tends to dismiss anything that came before science as worthless.

But religion and philosophy are about life and how we live it.
And this was as true in 3000 BCE as it is today.

Scientific knowledge informs our worldview and our vision which helps to dispel superstition and ignorance.
But the way of the heart is as ancient as humanity.

Science ignores the human dimension of life.
This is why modernism failed.

But Egyptian religion, the Buddha, Jesus and their successors all recommend the way of the heart as the answer to life's problems.

And this is as true for modernism as it was for them.


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The Rings of Saturn.

Saturn has a reputation for being dour and dull.

This is because it is the farthest planet visible from the earth.
So it appears faint and dull.

But when we come closer to Saturn it is quite beautiful with its colored bands and its rings.

What could this mean?

Saturn also governs the pinnacle - the best of things - like silk or satin.

It must be remembered that Saturn also governs rewards as well as restrictions.
He is immaculate and glorious.

Discipline is beautiful.

So perhaps Saturn has been maligned.

We should come closer and see his beauties.


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Judge No One.

"'You judge by human standards, I judge no one.'"  John 8:15 (NRSV)

Jesus made this statement to the Pharisees in the treasury of the temple.

"'I do nothing on my own but I speak these things as the Father instructed me.'"  John 8:28b (NRSV)

Jesus was making a distinction between how human beings on earth see things and how the Father sees things.

"'The Father judges no one.'"  John 5:22a (NRSV)

People on earth believe in natural justice - rewards for good behavior and punishment for bad behavior.
But God punishes no one.

God gives everyone a second chance.
He does not judge us but helps us to grow and progress towards the light.

Even the most heinous criminals are His children and He will not reject them.

"The Lord is not slow about His promise as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish."  2 Peter 3:9 (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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Abnegation.

God is not a rule-maker.

God is not a moral accountant.
God is not a punisher.
God is not esoteric knowledge.

God is not right beliefs.

God is not a wowser.
God is not awful.
God is not a deal-maker.

God is not a spirit.

God is Love.
Universal Love.


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Little Boxes.

What is it that makes us feel separate from nature?

From the time we are born we are enclosed within little boxes.
Man-made structures that separate us from nature.

Humans consider nature hostile so we set about withdrawing from it in order to try and tame it.

In the Book of Genesis in the Bible God tells Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and gives them dominion over every living thing.
This passage has been used by humans to justify the rape and pillage of the earth and its animals and plants.

We can see the results.

It is time to reconnect with nature.
We are not a race apart.
We are a part of nature.

Go outside.
Breathe the fresh air.
Look at the trees and flowers.
Smell the roses.

This is God's temple
Not the massive buildings we have made.

So come out of your little boxes and be with God.


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Degradation.

I saw a television documentary about a photographer who recorded the lives of her friends in the 1970s.

I recognized much of the scene from that period.

But what struck me was the squalor and degradation in which we lived.

The objective lens of her camera showed what this must have looked like to others.

Many were drug addicts and the daily rituals and habits which were exhibited were quite shocking.

Much of this derived from the rock music we were constantly listening to and the promiscuous sexual practices which it promoted.

Since I have sworn off rock music I have re-discovered a dignity and purity which I had lost.

I owe my life, my health, and my well-being to God.


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Entertainment.

The Satanism which has infected our entertainment is becoming more widespread.

It now appears in most television programs and sports in the mass-media.

It began with rock music in the 1960s when superstars sold their souls to the devil and used black magic in music and videos.

This was cleverly disguised as popular culture.

Most rock bands are involved and their dark practices can be traced through sabotage and backtracking.

Biblical references like temptation and death are common in their music, as are backwards references and backtracking.

Deafness, dumbness, blindness - the opposite of Christian principles - appear in their music and images of death and darkness appear in their videos.

They may even reference the devil or wear horns.

These things have spread to other areas of our entertainment industries.

It now affects television, movies, theater, literature, and sports.


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A Doorway to the Heart.

Aquarius is an air sign, it governs our concepts.

Unconditional love is a concept.

It is a doorway to the heart.

So, rather than wallowing in the shallows of mere knowledge, we should enter through the doorway of unconditional love into the holy of holies - our heart of hearts.

And learn to Love.


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Birth Control.

Is homosexuality natures birth control?

As we move further into the 21st century the problem of over-population is increasing.

Advances in medical science and the subsequent reduction in infant mortality means we are growing at an unsustainable rate.

Is it possible that nature is producing more homosexual people as a method of birth control?

Homosexual people do not produce offspring under normal circumstances.
Sperm donation, or IVF, or surrogacy are necessary for homosexual people to reproduce.

This is not a moral matter.
A minority of homosexual couples will still want to have children.
And they should not be discouraged from doing so.

Nature adapts to new circumstances.
For example fruit flies can change their sex according to need.

So it is not outrageous to suggest that nature is creating more and more homosexual people as a method of counter-balancing the population explosion.


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Recycling.

God is a master of recycling:

Trees turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.
Humans turn oxygen into carbon dioxide.

Manure fertilizes plants.

Salt water is distilled by the sun into fresh rainwater for plants, animals, and humans.

Insects drink nectar and cross-pollinate plants.

Everything is interconnected in a masterpiece of recycling.

We are part of this ecology.

We must remember that.

And respect our place in it.


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Wild Animals.

When walking the streets I often come across people wearing t-shirts with pictures of wild animals - tigers, leopards, panthers, wolves.....

Not only this but we are continually subjected to television documentaries showing wild animals eating each other and copulating.

This gives a false impression of nature and life.

The people who are wearing the wild animal t-shirts are showing that they consider their environment to be threatening - a jungle - and therefore need to display threatening images to survive.

This is not necessarily due to the television documentaries but everything conspires to make us compete with others.

Jesus was gentle - meek and mild.

He was depicted as a lamb.


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The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

The situation that we find ourselves in is not black and white, good and evil.

We find ourselves between the devil and the deep blue sea, i.e. between evil and blindness and prejudice.

This is the evil of Satanism in our popular culture which pulls strings from behind the scenes to turn us against God and His Church and lead us into temptation.
And the deep blue sea of blindness and prejudice in His Church.

Because the process of life is one of learning or enlightenment the alternative to evil on earth is not good but ignorance or darkness.

This is double trouble.

Our job is to enlighten both.
To deconstruct evil by exposing its lies and errors.
And to enlighten His Church by shedding light on hatred and prejudice and corruption.

There is no devil, no hell.

God is goodness and mercy and love for all.


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Good Sex.

Have you noticed how elements within the popular culture paint all sex as bad.

Images of flames (hell) and skulls (death) predominate; snakes, spiders, and pigs are common.

This is not a healthy way to think about sex.
And it is propagated by those who do not have our best interests at heart.

Naughty, punishment, spanking etc. merely feeds our fear and guilt.

Sex should be associated with images of life: flowers, bird and bees, hearts, love etc..

This will create good sex.

Sex which is associated with God as the author of life.

We should not fall into the trap of playing off spirit against flesh.
As if one excluded the other.

Sex is life itself.

We can give thanks for that.


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Harsh Penalties.

No matter what the sentence handed down by judges for crimes the media call for harsher penalties.

This seems always to be the case.

Why?

Why do corporate plutocrats and media moguls want harsher penalties?

They whip up fear and hatred against evil and play a dangerous blame game.

Is this just an exercise in power?

There is more to it than that.

Because they believe in the power of punishment and fear they believe that being soft on crime will lead to increased violence and robbery against them (the rich).

Any talk of rehabilitation or reform is ridiculed.

The headlines scream "Burn in Hell!"

Perhaps they think this makes people work harder.

Fear is a great motivator.

But fear is not the way of God.

Cry out to God and He will deliver you.


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The Popular Culture.

So what happened to peace and love?

We were betrayed by our rock legends.

From the early 1960s onward rock musicians have been selling their souls to the devil and practicing covert Satanism and black magic in their music.

I know this sounds incredible but their practices are well disguised.

Peace and love became sex and drugs and rock and roll.
This was thought to lead to death - the death to God that st. Paul calls the wages of sin.

We were all steered in the direction of hell.

This combined with the counter-revolutionary events of the 1980s to see the end of peace and love.

But it has reappeared in the form of Progressive Christianity.
The Gospel of Love as taught by the historical Jesus has re-emerged as the cornerstone of the New Temple - the home of the New Paradigm.

It is not rock music that will save us but the teachings of the historical Jesus.


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The Gospel of Love.

"'Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.'"  Luke 11:9 (NRSV)

In 1979 I set out to find out what was wrong with the world.

It seemed to me that the world's religions were well established - Christianity had been around for nearly 2000 years - democracy was the government of the land, and peace and love were the songs of the popular culture.

But something was wrong.

No one was happy.
And nothing seemed to work.

After studying Egyptian and Greek mythology (the former to discover why they were always smiling) I returned to the Bible and Christianity.

This was the 1990s when the New Reformation of Christianity was beginning.
It began with the Bible and how we interpret it.
It went on to seek the historical Jesus and arrived at the Gospel of Love that Jesus taught.

I discovered that the problem with the Orthodox Christianity I had been taught as a youngster was that the message of unconditional love and forgiveness from God had been modified by the bishops to suit the needs of the rich and powerful.

Therefore, instead of the Gospel of Love, we had the religion of rewards and punishments based upon moral rules and imperatives.

This suited the powers because it kept the masses under control and substituted worldly authority for divine authority.  Obedience to God had become obedience to worldly authorities.

This situation exacerbated what was wrong with the world - i.e. that there was not enough love - fear had replaced love at the heart of the religions of the world.

As for the popular culture - that's another story.


[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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The Yoke.

"Look, you serve your own interests on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers."  Isaiah 58:3 (NRSV)

"Is not this the fast I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke.
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?"
Isaiah 58:6 (NRSV)

Could it be that Isaiah was a Marxist?

He could have been talking about our corporate masters today.

Does God really desire to break every yoke?

Will He deliver us if we cry out to Him?

The ways of the world are not the ways of God.

Let God perform a miracle and deliver you from your oppressors.


[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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My Journey.

I was born into a desert
of suffering and fear.

I found an oasis
of relationship and art.

I descended into the underworld
of power and evil.

God lifted me up.

And at the end of my searching
I found the Beloved.

And opened my heart
to find a land
flowing with milk and honey.


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On the Rocks.

Unless we recognize that rock music is the domain of Satanism our hopes for the Age of Aquarius are in vain.

Because if rock musicians are allowed to infiltrate and influence Progressive Christianity they will wreck it and damn it to hell.

The problem is that most Progressive Christians don't believe in Satan and they erroneously believe that therefore there are no Satanists.

Heaven forbid that their rock legends are evil.

But this is indeed the case.

Rock musicians are like sirens luring us onto the rocks.
They divert us from our purpose and tempt us to transgress.
Then they pull the trigger and damn us to hell.

But there is no hell.
God punishes no one.

The damage done, however, remains.

Unless we steer clear of rock music our cherished dream of an Aquarian Age is on the rocks.


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Love Your Enemies.

What then does it mean to love your enemies?
If my enemy is not my enemy but fear.

My enemy's motivation is fear.

To love them thus means to liberate them from the power of their fears.

This can be done by asking, "What are you so afraid of?"

They may think about it and come up with fear.

Otherwise we can pray for them to recognize and be released from their fears.

This is a blessing.

It may not be immediately apparent what fear lies beneath your enemy's hostility.
But fear it will be.

So then, when we see that the source of our enemies' attacks is fear, we can begin to love our enemies.


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Love Your Neighbor.

"'Do not bear a grudge against anyone, but settle your differences with him, so that you will not commit a sin because of him.  Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbor as you love yourself.  I am the Lord.'"  Leviticus 19:17,18 (GNB)

I have used the Good News Bible translation for this quote because it better expresses God's universal forgiveness.

If only the Israeli government followed this commandment of God the Middle East might be at peace.

I have heard political leaders in Israel say that their religion does not require them to love their enemies.  But passages such as the one I have quoted above point in that direction.  Certainly the eye for an eye philosophy is contradicted here and elsewhere.

But they don't believe that God will answer them.
So they attack and launch vicious reprisals.

This passage is the second commandment referred to by Jesus when asked what is the greatest commandment.  The first is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.

So don't say that you are not required to love your enemies.
Even the Old Testament points in that direction.


[Scriptures (marked GNB) are taken from the Good News Bible published by The BIble Society/Collins copyright American Bible Society.]

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My Enemy is Fear.

What is it that stops us loving each other?

It is fear.

Fear of being hurt, fear of ridicule, fear of rejection, fear of humiliation.....

And who is my enemy?

My enemy is afraid.

Afraid of losing, afraid of being wrong, afraid of evil, afraid of hell.....

So my enemy is not my enemy.

My enemy is fear.


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What is Good?

It has been said that God is good.

But what is good?

Mercy and compassion, patience, contentment, honesty, truthfulness, faithfulness, charity, faith, and love.

But most of all Love.


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The Glittering Prizes.

Success.

We are taught to chase after worldly success.
Our parents and our teachers tell us we must succeed in the world.
All our efforts are directed towards this end.

But is success in the world what our lives are all about?
Are we to accept that life favors the winners?

God is with the losers, the marginalized, the outsiders.

Does God know nothing about life?

It is we who know nothing about life.

All that glitters is not gold.

Life is about Love.

Equal Love.

Once we realize this we begin to truly live.


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Pathway to Heaven.

All that glitters is not gold.
The glittering prizes of the world
lead only to the Golden Calf.
But he's finding a pathway to Heaven.

And if you listen to the tune,
the sirens sing beneath the moon.
will lure you onto jagged rocks.
But he's finding a pathway to Heaven.

And in the old abandoned church
he finds again his battered faith
which leads us to new faith in life.
And he's finding a pathway to Heaven.

He opens up his broken heart
and sings again the lovers' song
forgotten for a hundred years.
He's finding a pathway to Heaven.

And with the old familiar God
we walk together hand in hand,
beloved and betrothed again.
We're finding a pathway to Heaven.


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Salvation.

Many Churches teach that Jesus Christ is our salvation.

This is backed up by the I am statements in the Gospel of John.

This style of teaching however creates a false impression of what was intended by the Gospel writers.

The reason why Jesus Christ is our salvation is that he taught us how to love.

It is Love that is our salvation.

So don't listen to those who present you with a formula for salvation based on Jesus Christ as a person, or even as God incarnate.

It is not belief that will bring salvation but Love.


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The Catholic Synod.

The decision of the Catholic bishops to reject a more compassionate approach to gay people speaks for itself.

They lack sympathy and compassion.

And their decision reinforces how out of touch they are with modern society.

Some commentators suggested that many of the bishops came from countries where homosexuality is still illegal.

This is true.
And it emphasizes the need for continued education and dialogue in the 77 countries where homosexuality is a criminal offense.

I am certain that in the long run homosexuality will be accepted in these countries and in the Churches which are captive to them.

Homosexuality is not a sin.

Gay people are a part of the wonderful diversity of creation.

And we should celebrate them as such.


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In the Darkness.

Walter Wink describes the powers of this world as fallen.

This suggests that there was an earlier time when they were not fallen.

I would disagree.

The powers and authorities of this world are unevolved.
They live in darkness.
There was no prior time when they were enlightened.

Fear rules them.
They have no faith.
They say, "God has forsaken the earth."

They will not take a risk on charity or compassion.

Theirs is the brutal rule of the plutocrats.
The new Rome.

And they conspire with evil in the darkness.


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Bringing Love Back.

We are inundated
with the cavalcade
of selfish celebrities
posting sexy selfies

to get our attention
and make their name.

The flipside of news
and the a-side of music
lures us to worship
the Pandora of sex.

But I'm bringing love back.

The cause and the purpose
of inter-relations
that opens our hearts.

Ignore the advertisements,
T.V., and movies.....

And follow the urgent beat of your heart
to introduce you to the mores of Spring
and initiate you in the mysteries of Love.


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The Third Temple.

Fundamentalist Christians say that Jesus will not return until the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.

But what of the Dome of the Rock?

The mosque that stands on Mount Zion could not be replaced without starting a world war.

So it seems that this will never happen.

But what of the New Age?

What will its temple be?

Where will it stand?

The temple of the Age of Aquarius may not be a building at all.
It may be a mental construct which spans the peoples of the earth.

This is the New Paradigm - a vision of an  immanent and holistic God.

Its foundations are in modern scholarship.

And its cornerstone is unconditional love for everyone.


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Business.

The New Paradigm in business will manifest like a family business.

The purpose of business will not be profit alone but the provision of employment for men and women.

Ideally managers will treat their employees and workers like sons and daughters.

The hostility between employers and their employees will cease and all will help as God helps us.

But it still has to add up.

Business must make modest profits.

The equalizing power of Aquarius will see the wealth of the rich diminish and the income of the poor increase.

This may come about voluntarily if the rich are able to overcome their fears.
But if not there will be international legislation that will bring this about.

Aquarius will not tolerate a huge disparity between rich and poor.

All must be able to live.


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Spreading The News.

While I was travelling to church on the tram I overheard a man talking with a woman about the Bible.

He was saying that some people interpret the Bible literally as the word of God.
But this was not the only way to interpret the Bible.

He said that the Bible was a collection of different writings from different times and different authors.

He also said that we didn't have to believe the story of Adam and Eve as literally true.
He stopped short of calling it a myth but I got his drift.

It seemed to me that if I was hearing this message on the tram then the news must be spreading fast.


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The Good Within.

Jesus said, "'the Kingdom of God is within you.'"  Luke 17:21b (GNB)

Within each one of us there is a Divine Spark - a part which partakes of God's nature.

To identify with this spark we must live in the present moment - the moment of eternity.

To do this we must quieten the mind with its endless searching and distractions.

But the Divine Spark is not in the mind.
It is in the heart.

So to experience the spiritual we must enter the fifth dimension - within.


[Scriptures (marked GNB) are taken from the Good News Bible published by The Bible Societies/Collins copyright American Bible Society.]

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Positivity.

Gratitude, discipline, compassion, generosity, faith, peace, harmony, hope, and love.

These are the things which come from my relationship with God.

Prayer, study, contemplation, devotion, and love led me to the experience of God.

Following in the footsteps of Jesus - loving God and neighbor - I drew closer to God.

I experienced positivity for the first time.

My mental and emotional state improved dramatically.

I experienced beauty and peace.

But most of all Love.


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Negativity.

Depressed, oversexed, suicidal, superficial, irresponsible, criminal, desperate, drunken, escapist, hedonistic, and hopeless.....

These words describe my condition before I discovered what rock music was doing to me.

Satanists in the rock music industry project negativity onto us.

It was only when their malevolence became more obvious in the 1980s that I put 2 and 2 together.

My negative mental and emotional state was coming from the rock music I was listening to.

Since I have returned to the Church and replaced rock music with classical and sacred music my mental and emotional state has improved dramatically.

I have experienced spiritual interventions and protection from God.

And a growing relationship with the Divine.


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Follow Me.

When you follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

When you love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

When you open your heart to God and to to others.

When you cease to accumulate money and possessions.

When you give freely to others as God has given to you.

When you realize that God is your Father and all people are your brothers and sisters.

Then you may be poorer but the quality of your life will improve dramatically.

Your relationships will flourish and grow.

Your fear of others will leave you.

And Love will be your guiding spirit.


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Sport.

There is nothing wrong with sport in itself.

What is wrong with sport is the win-at-all-costs attitude and philosophy which has grown up around it.

No one likes a loser.

Losing is pain.

Winning is being successful.

No one likes a failure.

Failure is humiliation.

But Jesus said, "'many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.'"  Mark 10:31 (NRSV)

This refers to the values of the Kingdom of God as set out in the Beatitudes.

And these values are the opposite of the values of the world.

"'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)


{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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Turn to God.

"Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!
  For I am God, and there is no other."  Isaiah 45:22 (NRSV)

Jesus (John 12:40) quotes Isaiah "turn and be healed."  Isaiah 6:10b (NRSV)

What could this mean?

It would appear that God does not act in the world unless we turn to Him.

What does it mean to turn to God?

It means to call on Him in prayer.

Many people who complain that God does not act in the world, or worse blame Him for all the evils of our world, have failed to call on God in prayer - they have not turned to Him for help.

Many are unaware of the fact that you can call on God for help.

When we call on Him we become aware of His benevolent nature and the social justice agenda of the Old Testament prophets: the widow, the orphan, the stranger.....

And He heals us.
He mends our broken hearts, our broken bodies, and our broken spirits.

We are healed in body, mind, and spirit.

He delivers us from our oppressors.
And He delivers us from evil.

So turn to God and be healed.


[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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Aquarius.

Everyone is looking for Aquarius.

Even Fundamentalist Christians, so opposed to everything Aquarian, are looking for Aquarius.  (Cite their addiction to Ronald Reagan - an Aquarian - and the stylized fish - the symbol of modern Pentecostalism.)

The stylized waves (the glyph for Aquarius) can be seen everywhere from clothing and furnishings to architecture and art.

What people are looking for is a savior, something to rescue them from the rampant materialism and darkness we find ourselves immersed in.

There are certain things which are associated with Aquarius.
One is homosexuality which has become the major issue of our time.
Another is equality which is represented by feminism and social justice.

The prophecy implies that God or the Divine will reach out to humanity and bring about a sea-change in our thinking.

This is taking place in Western Protestant Christianity in particular.
The New Paradigm, however, will appear everywhere at once.
It will affect all religions and social systems.
The Millennium Development Goals are a good example.

But people are blind.
They can look straight at it and not recognize it consciously.

We are so attuned to the media with its hate campaigns and propaganda.
We cannot see our way clear to move forward.
And the popular culture betrays us.

So, rather than just using Aquarius as decoration, we should be looking to what it represents and moving forward with that.


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Love and Fear.

What is it that stops us from manifesting love?

Incorrect ideation - false images of God; such as a moral arbiter, or an enforcer of rewards and punishments; give rise to false doctrines and dogmas; such as penal substitution, or original sin.

These things get in the way of love.
They can even cause hatred and murder.

A belief in the existence of hell can cause the most heinous crimes, like torture and execution.

But ultimately what stops us from loving is fear.

All false doctrines, including the existence of hell, are based on fear.

Look a little deeper below the surface and you will find fear.

This begins and ends with the fear of God.

And when we overcome our fear we are able to manifest love.


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Brihaspati.

After the council of the gods decided that Soma* fought on the side of the demons his place was taken by Brihaspati.

Brihaspati is the god of prayer and devotion and wisdom.

He is called the guru of the gods.

And he leads to enlightenment.

(*Soma is the god of drugs)

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Soma.

Soma is the Hindu god who governs drugs.

In ancient India the gods held a council to decide whether Soma was on the side of the gods or the demons whose contests caused the churning of the Cosmic Sea of Milk.

The outcome of this council was the decision that Soma fought on the side of the demons.

And so it is.

Drugs do not lead to enlightenment but to addiction and ruin.

As many a hippy has discovered.


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Lay Down the Sword.

When the light rises it illuminates both good and evil.

When we first encounter evil the instinctive reaction is to battle against it and defeat it.

This is the sword.

But Jesus said, "'Do not resist an evildoer.  But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.'"  Matthew 5:39 (NRSV)
And, "'Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven'"  Matthew 5:44,45a (NRSV)

So, if we seek to be like God, we must lay down the sword and pray for those who attack 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.]

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Torture.

The only thing which is worse than death is torture.

Dictators, tyrants, criminals, governments, and Satanists believe that if they torture their enemies they will submit to their will.  The fear of torture and death will keep them in line.

But Jesus said, "'Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you on my account.
"'Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.'"  Matthew 5:11,12 (NRSV)

The martyrs went to heaven.
Their bodies were tortured and killed on earth.
But their souls went to heaven.

Once you realize this the fear of torture is gone and you will rejoice and be glad for your reward is great 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.]

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