Up.

Have you ever noticed that churches, temples, and pagodas all point up.

I suppose this has something to do with heaven being the sky.

This tiered worldview is now obsolete.
But we still have the structures pointing up.

Eastern pagodas have successive roofs representing higher states of consciousness.

Western churches have towering steeples reaching for the heavens.

But to go up is to miss the point.

God dwells in the heart.

So to reach the divine we must go deeper within.

In the end life is not so much about the state of our minds as the condition of our hearts.

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Sinners..

Contrary to popular opinion God's attitude towards sinners is not one of condemnation.

God wishes to redeem us, even to the very last one.

For God knows the reasons for our sins, even of those who have turned against Him.

We may be forgiven little, but those who are forgiven much will love much.

As for those who have turned against God the reasons are to do with a false image of God which has been given to them by blind guides.

This is a misunderstanding of God's nature.

They turn away from an angry, vengeful God that does not exist.

So they can be reconciled to the God of Love.

Who is the only God in reality.

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Cover Up.

If Satanism is so rife in the music industry how come nobody knows about it?

The answer is simple:

They cover it up.

When suspicion grows the suspected artist brings out an album (usually with a white cover) which paints them as good, even saintly.

They bring out material which is forwards.

But don't be deceived.

They will revert to their black, backwards songs as soon as the coast is clear.

And as everybody takes everything at face value, everyone is fooled.

So be warned.

Rock musicians practice black magic and Satanism.

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What of Evil?

As for evil, the only evil that exists in the world is that which is deliberately chosen as an alternative to good.

This is usually because life is unsatisfactory, even hateful, and God is seen as the cause of this.

It is usually accompanied by a harsh image of God.

But such people are not to be blamed.

They have been led astray by blind guides and misguided magicians, they are reacting dramatically to their life-long experience.

When Jesus says to love your enemies it is these people he is talking about.

They are not to be hated or damned, they are to be loved and redeemed, reconciled with the God of love whom they have never known.

So we can stop battling against evil and pursuing it with the sword.

They are to be loved and reconciled to God.

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Blame.

It may seem that I am taking sides and blaming Conservative Christians.

But Progressive Christianity is for everyone.

Conservative Christians may be the agents of negative doctrines but they are not evil.  They are acting out of fear.

This fear has been passed down from generation to generation as tradition and discipline.

Their fear of God comes from their fear of their own fathers' discipline.

So they are not to be blamed or damned for what they have done.

They are to be helped to overcome their fear.

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Life Is Not a Game.

When I was growing up we had a board game called "Life".

This game was about getting a job, making money, and buying cars and houses.

No wonder we sang along to "Is that all there is?"

Life is not about accumulating money and possessions.

Life is about love.

And people who turn to alcohol and drugs are doing so because they don't experience enough love in their lives.

When Jesus says to love God, our neighbor, and our enemies he is not merely obeying a commandment, he is teaching us the very essence of life.

Love is an essential, like food or water.

We cannot live without it.

And this is what you will find in a relationship with God.

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Inverse.

Satanism is the inverse of Orthodox Christianity.

Therefore the errors that mar Orthodox Christianity also affect modern Satanism.

The doctrines of Original Sin, Substitutionary Atonement, Judgment, Damnation, Hell, and Death all infect modern Satanism.

But the fact that these are theological fictions does not altogether cancel the damage done.

Curses, temptations, negative ideation, misery, sabotage, and violence all affect us through rock music and movies, books and sports......

The harm remains.

So we must be careful what we watch and what we listen to.

It may not be as harmless as we think.

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God Comes Last.

Quite contrary to our expectation that God will beat everybody and rule alone, God is with the losers and the outcast, the neglected and the marginalized.

God does not win.

God comes last.

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A Healthy Attitude Towards Sex.

What is needed in the Church today is not the traditional phobias and taboos about sex but a healthy acceptance of what is a natural part of life.

I include homosexual activity in this acceptance because apart from procreation sex creates intimacy, trust, and love in a relationship.

For far too long the Church has hidden its head in the sand and enforced silence about sexuality.
This has created fear and repression.
It is the cause of the sex abuse scandals.

It is time for the Church to realize that it has been mistaken about this and to teach its congregations to have a healthy attitude towards sex.

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