In League With the Devil.

The right-wing political machine is in league with Satanists in our popular culture.

Contrary to popular belief Satanists in the music industry and in our entertainment and sports are not left-wing but hard right-wing.

They support white supremacists and fascist politicians.

And they use their Satanic magic to advance them.

It is part of the right's hate campaign against the left.

And it gives them tremendous power.

But a new generation is rising.

The Millennials are left-wing politically and  surprisingly well informed.

It is yet to be seen whether they can revive the political left or whether the hate and bribery of the right will prevail.


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Propaganda.

The media constantly feed us fear and threat.

We are told daily that there is evil and violence threatening our very lives.

Usually from some outsider or minority group.

Just look at the headlines!

This is quite deliberate.

The rich and powerful men who own our media invest in fear in order to sell us their political candidates.

"We need strong, decisive leaders who can put down the threat."

"Not these wishy-washy, left-wing bleeding hearts who can't handle the economy."

Or so they say.

And it works.

So don't expect the climate of fear to change.

Fear is the currency of political power.

And power is the purpose of their propaganda.

 
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Protector.

Lord Protector was a title given to Richard the Third before he became King.

This should give you some idea of the nature of the protector in political parlance.

The strong leaders put forward by the rich and powerful in response to the threat which they themselves created through the media is there to protect us.

They make war on the outsiders and build walls to keep them out.

This is the Machiavellian plot to which we are all subject.

It is based on fear.

And we are its unwilling victims.


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Corporate Corruption.

Shareholder activism is essential if we are to reverse the slow decline of our civilization.

Shareholders in large corporations must use their votes to to force management to adopt more ethical practices.

Human rights abuses, slave labor, sweatshops, land grabs, kick-backs, collusion, nepotism.....

All these practices are rife in the corporations.

And shareholders turn a blind eye to them.

It is time for them to take responsibility for their wealth.

Or at least for the poverty of Third World Nations.

Returning land to its rightful owners.

Paying workers a living wage.

Treating workers as human beings.

These things would help stem the tide.

It's up to us.


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Duplicity.

Because Generation X labelled the Baby-Boomers loose and reinforced the older generation's moral condemnation of their enemies.

And because they had one foot in the devil's corner.

We were presented with the unlikely phenomenon of a good devil. 

Despite the fact that this is a contradiction of terms they persisted and insisted on it.

They were declaring themselves good by default.

And this despite the fact that they called themselves bad.

Sex was bad.

A bad attitude was approved of.

And bad was good.

And despite the fact that this makes no sense at all it was reinforced by intimidation and violence - verbal, emotional, psychic, and spiritual.

But the fact remains that Generation X turned to hatred and the devil to win worldly privilege and power.

History will decide their fate.


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Nectar.

The Nectar of the Gods.

The Sa of the Egyptians.

The Divine Ambrosia.

The Wine of Immorality.

The Water of Life.

The Water of Aquarius.

All these things are One:

Love.


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One.

"Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One."

This statement in Deuteronomy 6 contradicts all notions of Dualism.

Dualism developed in ancient Persia and influenced Judaism during the Persian Empire.

It states that God and the devil are equal co-creators of reality.

This was a primitive theory developed to explain our experience of the world.

But there are other explanations.

For example evil in our world is caused by the ignorance and fear of human beings with free will.

There is no need for a supernatural explanation of evil.

This means that the only supernatural force is God.

And God is good.

So we are not surrounded by shadows and evil.

We are surrounded by God's Love.

It is evident in creation.

And it is evident in the Life that is all around us.

But that is not to say that there is no evil in the world.

Evil exists in the form of people who have rejected the image of God as a harsh punisher and judge of humankind.

They have turned to the devil and do evil in the world.

Rock stars, entertainers, and sporting heroes have sold their souls for fame and fortune and a rock star reception.

But the image of God which they have rejected is not the true image of God.

Jesus said that the world did not know God.

By this he meant that the standard image of God as a harsh punisher and judge of humans was not what God is like at all.

God does not punish us.

And God does not judge us.

God is our loving Father.

And He loves even His gay children.

"even the darkness is not dark to you,
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you."
Psalm 139:12 (NRSV)

"God is light and in him there is no darkness at all."  1 John 1:5 (NRSV)

"Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One."


[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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God Doesn't Hate You.

The only message that young gay people hear from the Church is that God hates them and they are going to hell.

Some Churches even tell them they are evil.

But they are all wrong.

God loves gay people.

We are His gay sons and daughters.

The men who died of AIDS are in Heaven.

They sit by the river, dressed in white, happy and at peace.

And we will all go to Heaven when we die.

Every one of us.

So you can ignore the threats of conservative Christians.

They don't know God.

And they don't know us.

They are Pharisees and hypocrites!

Their words betray their fears.

And those who fear cannot love.

Homosexuality is love.

And as such it is part of God.

So love with all your heart.

And know that God loves you.


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A Big Step.

When you realize that the worldly approach to adversity - i.e. to defend yourself and to retaliate - leads to endless conflict and at last turn to Jesus' teachings of non-violent resistance you have taken a big step in the right direction.

The world teaches us to be strong, tough, even violent as a response to life's struggles.

But this only leads to more violence and war.

Jesus said: "'You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."  But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer.  But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.'"  Matthew 5:38,39 (NRSV)

And: "'You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.'"  Matthew 5:43,44 (NRSV)

This is far from the practices of Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians who wage Spiritual Warfare and claim that hate is a Biblical imperative. 

You would think that they had never heard of Jesus.

But it is not just Fundamentalists and Evangelicals who ignore Jesus' message.

The Traditional Churches teach a form of Christianity based on guilt and fear.

They teach that humankind is fallen because of the sin of Adam and Eve and needs a Redeemer in the person of Jesus Christ to rescue them.

Many preach a Just War which is in direct contradiction of Jesus' teachings.

So when we lay down the sword and turn to Jesus words we enter a new phase where non-violent love guides us onward.

When we follow Jesus instruction to love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our might and love our neighbor as ourselves we pass through the door of the sanctuary - which is the human heart - and become Children of God.


[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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Life In All Its Fullness.

When Jesus promised us life in all its fullness he was telling us to live life to the full.

Life is about our loving relationships.

And so life in all its fullness includes a satisfying sexual relationship.

Nowhere does Jesus tell us to forgo sexual love.

Our love for our beloved inspires our desire.

And so we can engage in sexual activity without fear or guilt.

And experience life in all its fullness.


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Money.

Another effect of the Coronavirus is our attitude to money.

Suddenly our commitment to profit evaporates and our concern for people - employees or otherwise - takes precedence.

Governments are cooperating with unions.

People are being given money with no strings attached.

The welfare of everyone is foremost in people's minds.

No one knows what changes this crisis will bring but a change in our attitude to money may be one of the long-term results.


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Prejudice and Fear.

The urgent response to the Coronavirus is forcing us to confront our prejudices and fears.

The virus knows no boundaries - physical or otherwise.

Everyone - high or low; foreign or national; Islamic, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu - everyone is equally vulnerable.

A humanitarian response requires us to put aside our prejudices and fears in order to help anyone who is affected by the virus.

And this is accelerating the new light that is dawning.

It has dawned on us that we are all the same - equally human - no matter what our race or religion.

Our confrontation with death makes us realize our mortality.

But it is only our bodies that are mortal.

Our souls are immortal.

And in a time of crisis many turn to God for help.

He will hear your prayers.

So, despite the fact that the Coronavirus is a world-wide catastrophe, we are evolving none the less.


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Love and Fear.

As with everything there are two ways to respond to the Coronavirus:

Love and Fear.


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Gay Panic.

To religious people around the world homosexuality has become a symbol of moral decline.

And in their haste to regain their purity they have made gay people a scapegoat for all the evils of the world.

They think that by ridding themselves of all gay people they can redress the decay that they fear.

But this is a delusion.

You cannot create purity by heaping all your corruption onto a scapegoat.

Evil in our world must be dealt with as it is.

You cannot just project evil onto a despised minority group and feel holy by default.

This is the dream of the Fascist propagandists.

Hitler called it Moral Ease.

And it is widespread in our world today.


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Gay Scapegoat.

The fear and prejudice which exploded during the AIDS crisis has hardened into a gay scapegoat.

Some American States are making it legal to discriminate against gay people.

Poland has declared LGBT Free Zones.

Several countries in Africa and Asia are considering re-criminalizing homosexual acts.

Closeted gays in the Orthodox Church have slammed the door on gays and lesbians.

And several Islamic countries are debating the death penalty for gay sex.

All of this amounts to a worldwide gay scapegoat.

This is exactly what happened to Jews in Nazi Germany.

And the Church will not stand up and support gay people who are being persecuted.

In fact they are the hard core of the prejudice which is driving this alarming trend.

But the fact remains that they are not in the majority.

And their stubborn resistance only serves top further blacken institutions which are  already bankrupt.

Instead of changing with the times they are digging in and are now going to the extremes of fascism.

An article appeared on the Internet claiming that Christianity is dead.

It said that Evangelical Christianity had sold its souls to buy into political power.

And now it is dead.

So be it.

If the Christian Churches will not stand up and challenge fascist rhetoric and propaganda then they don't deserve to survive.

God will have to find another way to save humanity. 


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Fear of the Enemy.

The Germans have a word - schadenfreude - which means rejoicing in the misfortune of others.

At first this seems an evil thing

But at the root of it is fear of the enemy.

Fear that they will ruin our efforts to save the world, to establish God's reign on Earth.

And this can incite people to kill.

So pray for your enemies.

Pray that they overcome their fears.

And rejoice in the Love of God.


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Serious.

One thing about Fundamentalists and Evangelicals that corresponds to Progressives is that they are serious about their religion.

They genuinely want to establish God's reign on Earth.

Unfortunately they are mistaken about what that reign entails.

They mistake God's Love for morality,

And His goodness for righteousness.

At the root of this is fear.

Fear of God's punishment.

So Jesus was right about them.

"'Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own?.....You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.'"  Matthew 7: 3-5 (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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Death.

With the advent of the Coronavirus everyone is hoping that their enemies get the virus and die.

This is the origin of people claiming that the disease is punishment for homosexuality or Chinese Communism.

But we also hope that our enemies die.

When Peter Dutton and Boris Johnson contracted the virus many rejoiced.

Unconsciously we thought this proved God's condemnation of their right-wing views.

But at the root of this murderous hope is fear.

Fear of their right-wing agenda.

But their agenda is no different from ours.

We both are trying to establish God's reign on Earth.

So fear is the problem.

Fear of God's punishment.

Unconscious fear of condemnation drives many to murderous thoughts.

We think that if only we can kill the enemies of God all will be well.

But this is not the way.

And this is why Jesus said to love your enemies.

Because it is fear of God that drives them.

So we should pray for our enemies.

That they overcome their fear of God's condemnation.

And rejoice in the Love of God. 


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Life!

As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus this Easter Sunday we can see the signs of new life.

Amid the turmoil of the Coronavirus humanity is rallying in a way that has never been seen before.

A shared sense of humanity has sprung up from our confrontation with mortality.

For the first time we are seeing others as equally human.

People greet you in the street.

A new warmth permeates the community.

This is Life!

Death is not the end.  Death will not have the final say.

This Easter Sunday we celebrate the gift of Eternal Life!


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Justified?

In a way you could say that Satanists are justified.

By this I mean that the image of God that they have rejected is not worth worshipping.

Their image of God is the traditional image put out by the Churches of a harsh judge and punisher of men and women.

They have internalized this false image of God.

And they have made their decision to choose Satan based on this received knowledge.

So in a way you could say that they are justified.

Because they have been told that God is awful.

And based on that knowledge they hate God and love Satan.

Perhaps they will go into Heaven before the religious authorities who created this image.

Because it is the fear in the religious authorities which inspired their false image of God.

Jesus said to Nicodemus: "'Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?'"  John 3:10 (NRSV)

And to the Pharisees he said: "'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.'"  Matthew 21:31 (NRSV)

So if we look at Satanists from this angle they are redeemable despite the many and terrible things they have done.

Jesus also said that he who is forgiven more will love Him more.


[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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Black.

"'The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.'"  John 3:19 (NRSV)

Have you noticed that some people wear black or dark colors all the time.

They love the darkness.

For their deeds are evil.

Black is the uniform of the corporate world.

"'For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed,'"  John 3:20 (NRSV)

Darkness extends to entertainment and movies, even to science - dark matter, dark energies, black holes.....

We are in the grip of darkness.

But the Light is coming with Aquarius.

The starlight, the day.

Gradually, step by step, the Light is dawning.

Pope Francis I, the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Richard Rohr, Jack Spong, Matthew Fox, Dominic Crossan, and many others are showing us a new way to vision spirituality.

And the hand of God is evident within it.

Progressive Religion - the New Paradigm.

This is the Light breaking into the darkness.

But those in darkness may hate the Light and try to destroy it.

This is what happened to Jesus.

The Cross.

So try not to trigger their fears.

Show them the Light.

And pray for them to see.


[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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Holy Week.

While I was home this Holy Week I looked up the activities of Jesus in that first Holy Week.

I was surprised by how different the Gospels were on the subject.

The three Synoptic Gospels have in common the Cleansing of the Temple and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants.

Mark, the first Gospel written, has Jesus questioned by the Pharisees as they attempt to catch him out.  This is followed by some prophecies.

Matthew, written next, has a violent confrontation with the Pharisees and predictions of dire Judgement.

Luke, omits the cursing of the fig tree, and concentrates on predictions for the future.

The Gospel of John has Jesus rejected by the people and records Jesus' esoteric teachings to his disciples - the New Commandment, the Way to the Father, and the True Vine.

And so the individual character of each Gospel is revealed.

We are free to make of that what we will.


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Non-Violence.

 At first, when we become aware of the evil in our culture, we instinctively try to battle against it and defeat it.

This formula can be seen in the many manifestations of The Myth of Redemptive Violence*.

From fairytales to horror movies this myth saturates our culture.

The Myth of Redemptive Violence sets up a scenario in which good battles against evil and wins by violence - killing the evil beings.

But in real life this approach never works.

It only embroils us in more violence.

So methods like Spiritual Warfare are bankrupt.

The only approach that works is to lay down the sword and cry out to God for help.

God will answer.

And rescue us from evil.

Evil will tempt us, corrupt us, and try to kill us.

But we cannot overcome evil with violence.

Jesus' example of non-violent non-cooperation is the only approach that can save us.

So set aside your weapons and pray for those who abuse you.

It is the only way.


(*The term The Myth of Redemptive Violence was coined by Walter Wink in his book Engaging the Powers.)

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Millennials.

The Millennials are the most politically aware generation since the Baby-Boomers.

Their commitment to gun control and climate change action is exemplary.

And their courage and integrity sets them apart from a population which is apathetic and confused.

Their action is also in harmony with the Will of God for humanity.

Because God is non-violent and caring in nature.

It is His Will that there be peace on Earth and goodwill between the nations.

It is also His Will that we care for our environment.

The Biblical witness attests to the fact that we are custodians of the environment.

We are not put on Earth to rape and plunder nature.

We are to care for nature like our Mother.

The Millennials are also the biggest victims of the workplace changes brought about by Generation X.

Casual jobs, no overtime or penalty rates, no sick leave or holiday pay, no job security, low wages, work for the dole, exploitation etc..

A renewed commitment to unions is the only answer for a workforce that has no power.

So the Millennials deserve our support.

Their actions will change the world.


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God's Love.

Because God loves everyone equally does not mean that what everyone says is equally true.

There is a Reality.

And that Reality has its own truth.

The modern preoccupation with relativism is a perversion of the concept of freedom.

We are not free to hate.

We are not free to harm others.

These things are anathema to the Divine Will.

God is good.

He does not punish us.

He does not judge us.

He loves us like a Father.

But that does not mean that He condones violence and hatred.

Violence and hatred are rooted in fear.

God's Love dispels our fear.

And we are free to love.

And to forgive as we have been forgiven.


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Fear.

What drives the inhumanity, the corruption, the evil in our world?

It is fear.

Don't be fooled by the tough guy exterior.

What lies beneath is fear.

He has to look tough or people will exploit him.

He learns this in the schoolyard.

And he carries it throughout his life.

Get the next guy before he gets you.

Dog eat dog.

Good guys come last.

But God is with the last and the least.

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

And God's Love takes away our fear.

When fear is gone there is love.

Love God and love your neighbor.

Love even your enemies.

And banish fear forever.


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The Living God.

When we make contact with the Living God we experience:

Light.

Life.

Joy.

Peace.

Beauty.

Goodness.

Truth.

Mercy.

Forgiveness.

Gratitude.

But most of all we experience:

Love.


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Mind.

Most religions are centered in the mind.

Christianity is a set of beliefs.

Judaism is the practise of the Law.

Islam is a set of spiritual principles.

Buddhism is the development of the mind.

Yoga concentrates on the attainment of pure consciousness.

But any of these mental concepts can harden into rigid rules which can be enforced with rewards and punishments, heaven and hell.

This approach is not the true path however.

Both Jesus and the Buddha warned against rigidity in religion.

Because the true path is through the heart.

And the heart will make concessions according to love.


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Class War.

Since 1984 employers have been waging a class war against workers.

Insecure economic times have given too much power to employers.

They have forced wages down, removed conditions, cancelled overtime, and destroyed job security.

They have bashed unions, turned education into job training, corrupted governments, and oppressed workers.

This has resulted in a workplace that is like a battlefield.

No one is happy with it.

The time has come to make peace in the workplace.

Workers are not the enemies of employers but their sons and daughters.

Workers are not units of productivity but human beings.

It is time to end the class war.

And give workers the rights they deserve.


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Family of Humanity.

Children should be taught that not just their siblings but everyone is their brother or sister.

God is our Father.

And everyone is His child.

We live in a Family of Humanity.


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