The X-Factor.

The X-Factor is: 

Satan.

Lucky 13.

666.

And the devil.

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Fear.

Throughout history the Church has taught fear.

Fear of God, fear of sin, fear of the devil, fear of hell.....

But fear is no motivation for action.

Church people will ask you to do things around the church.

But if their motivation is fear then their efforts are in vain.

They will exploit you and take the credit for whatever you do.

But they will not do anything to help.

Because their service is motivated by fear.

And fear begets fear.

It is taking not giving.

So their efforts are in vain.

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Yah-Weh.

Richard Rohr has said that the name of God in Hebrew is not spoken but breathed.

It is a literation of inspiration and expiration.

The Breath of Life!

As the Psalmist says: 

"With every breath we abide with God."  Psalm 33 (Ross Pearce)

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New Life.

The Resurrection brings New Life through Jesus.

When Jesus appeared to the Disciples he breathed on them and said: "'Receive the Holy Spirit."  John 20:22 (NRSV)

This is the Nephesh the Breath of Life that God breathed into Adam. 

It is the air that we breath.

It is the wind that stirs the trees.

It is the oxygen that enlivens our hearts.

And enables us to love.

It is all around us.

It is within us.

It enables us to live.

[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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Salvation.

What is Salvation?

When Zacchaeus said to Jesus: "'Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.'"  Luke 19:8 (NRSV)

Jesus said: "'Today salvation has come to this house."'  Luke 19:9 (NRSV)

So is basic honesty and charity Salvation?

When John the Baptist was asked: "'What then should we do?'"  Luke 3:10 (NRSV) he responded with instructions to practise basic honesty and charity.

When a rich ruler asked Jesus: "'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'" Luke 18:18 (NRSV) Jesus said: "'You know the commandments: "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your mother and father.'"  Luke 18;20 (NRSV)

Then he added: "'Sell all you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'"  Luke 18:22 (NRSV)

But perhaps the most important instruction is when Jesus says: "'I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you.'"  John 13:34 (NRSV)

This is consistent with Jesus' statement that the most important commandment is to love God with all your heart. soul, mind, and might; and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself.

So, if we are able to overcome our fears and practise basic honesty and charity, and we open our hearts to love God and love our neighbor, then we have achieved Salvation.

[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!

We are surrounded by Life!

The earth brings forth plants and flowers.

Towering trees exhale oxygen for us to breathe.

The Earth is teeming with animals and birds.

The seas are full of fishes:

Tiny minnows and mighty whales.

And humans walk the surface of the Earth.

But what of death you say?

Death is no thing.

Death is a concept based on erroneous Dualism.

There is no spiritual state, no realm, no power of death.

At most it is a moment.

A transformation into new life!

Banish it from your mind.

And partake of the abundant Life that is God!

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The Powers.

The powers and authorities of our world correspond to the Roman dictators and the religious authorities of ancient Israel. 

The Corporate Plutocrats and the Religious Right represent the powers and authorities now.

And it is these powers and authorities which conspired to kill Jesus.

Jesus was God's representative on Earth.

So why did the religious authorities of ancient Israel plot to kill him?

Because Jesus was contradicting the teachings of the Priests.

Jesus taught forgiveness of sins.

And forgiveness of sins did not suit the Priests.

Sin was, and still is, the major tool which subjugates the masses.

Sin puts you in debt.

And debt must be paid off.

But Jesus told parables about the Master writing off debts.

He also taught that God is Love.

But the powers of this world are invested in an angry God - a God of judgement and punishment.

This false God is what keeps the masses in line.

And their major threat is hell.

Jesus did not threaten people with hell.

Jesus promised Heaven.

Jesus was merciful and compassionate.

And these qualities reflect the nature of God.

God is Love.

And His face is Mercy.

We can give thanks for that.

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Resurrection.

The Resurrection was God's final blessing on His Prophet.

The powers of the world think that the ultimate power is the power of death.

But God raised Jesus to Life!

The Angel said to the women: "'Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen.'" Luke 24: 5 (NRSV)

So God has the power to bring Life out of death.

And His Love will prevail over the hate of this 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.] 

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The Cross.

What is the meaning of the Cross?

Victory, Ransom, Atonement, Suffering, Injustice, Violence, Death?

To me the Cross is a symbol of Tragedy:

For this is the day that the Light went out of the world.

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Hidden.

Pluto governs hidden things.

Pluto orbits at 17° to the ecliptic.

Thus its children cannot be seen.

All other planets orbit within a few degrees of the ecliptic.

So what appears normal is not the whole story.

Pluto's influence is hidden.

Satanism in rock music and entertainment is a strong plutonic influence which is not immediately apparent.

It functions mostly through the unconscious using subliminal images and backtracking.

So don't just take things at face value.

Pluto's influence is hidden.

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Love.

Jesus said: "'The first commandment is, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."'"  

"' And the second is this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  There is no other commandment greater than these.'"  Mark 12: 29-31 (NRSV) 

And Jesus' own commandment was: "'I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.'"  John 13:34 (NRSV)

It has been said that the First Commandment covers the first five commandments of Moses Ten Commandments and that the Second Commandment covers the second five commandments.

To love God and to love your neighbor.

This was Jesus' teaching in the Temple during Holy Week.

And it is his teaching to us now!

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AFL.

Homophobia is rife in the AFL.

Sportsmen from other codes have come out as gay but no one in the AFL has admitted to homosexuality.

Why?

The answer is fear.

Fear of ridicule and hostility.

Which indicates that homophobia is still rife in the AFL.

The women of AFLW have embraced the Pride Round but the men are yet to admit to same-sex attraction.

The homo-erotic atmosphere in the clubs is fertile ground for closet homosexuality.

And there could be up to 100 gay men in the AFL on averages.

So there needs to be some work done in the AFL men's competition to allay their fears and encourage young men to come out as gay.

But first they must be educated about same-sex attraction.

And taught not to abuse and ridicule people on the basis of their sexuality.

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A Den of Robbers.

"Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, 'We are safe!' - only to go on doing all these abominations?  Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your sight?"  Jeremiah 7:9-11 (NRSV)

This passage from the Hebrew scriptures is the basis for Jesus' actions in the Temple - "He said to them, 'It is written, "My house shall be called a house of prayer", but you are making it a den of robbers.'"  Matthew 21:13 (NRSV)

In this way Jesus is firmly in keeping with the tradition of the Hebrew Prophets.

"From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day, yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks.  They did worse than their ancestors did."  Jeremiah 7:25,26 (NRSV)

"they walked in their own counsels, and looked backwards rather than forwards."  Jeremiah 7:24 (NRSV)

All these things that they do in God's House - lie, steal, commit adultery, kill - go on today.

But, like the Hebrew Priests, they are blind.

And they plot to kill the prophets.

"The inheritance will all be ours." they say.

But God is not a fool.

You cannot deceive Him.

And if they kill the Prophet God will raise him from the dead.

[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's Love.

The steadfast Love of God 

is constant and reliable.

I am totally secure.

There is no fear.

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Enemies.

Martin Luther King said: "We do not seek to defeat people; we seek to defeat prejudice."

And so we pray for our enemies.

That they see more clearly.

That they see God more clearly.

And that they see us more clearly.

For God punishes no one.

No one will perish.

God waits for us to realize.

Homosexuals are not devils.

Homosexuality is not demonic.

God does not discriminate.

God loves gays as He loves others.

And all gays will go to Heaven.

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Natural.

Fear of AIDS caused Generation X to retreat into a too-rigid heterosexuality.

And they reacted by judging homosexuals, even to the point of damning them.

But homosexuality occurs in nature.

There are several species in particular that form same-sex relationships.

So we can say that homosexuality is natural.

And now that AIDS is virtually cured there is no longer any need of fear.

But homophobia has become embedded in some, particularly those who are religious.

It is our job to allay their fears and educate them in the hope that they will change and see that God loves gay people as He loves others.

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The Scapegoat.

Because the hypocrites do not practise what they preach they need a scapegoat on which to heap all their evil.

Because by ascribing evil to the scapegoat they cam think of themselves as good by default.

This is often done in relation to sexual morality.

Fornication, adultery, divorce, homosexuality, even masturbation have been used by religious people as a moral scapegoat to disguise their own sins.

The latest scapegoat is gays and lesbians who many church-goers call devils and sinners.

This distortion of the truth is a deliberate psychological ploy to whitewash their image of themselves.

It is evil and it is wrong!

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The Hypocrites.

In my experience many people who go to church say the words and sing the hymns but do not make any attempt to understand the meaning of what they are saying.

It goes in one ear and out the other.

As does the sermon.

This was what people did in the 1950s.

They recited the Creeds by rote but did not ascribe any meaning to them.

Whether they did this out of fear or ignorance I don't know.

This is what Jesus called lip-service.

But why do they go to church at all?

Is it out of fear?

Fear of hell?

Or is it to be good?

Or rather to think of yourself as good without actually doing anything.

To hide a multitude of sins.

Then you are free to abuse and exploit people with impunity in your daily life.

Because you are so good on Sundays.

But the fact remains: they do not understand what they are saying or hearing.

But they will take the credit for the good works of the Church or any charities that might be associated with them even if they don't do it themselves.

In fact they don't want to understand because if they did it would challenge what they do in their daily lives.

And they might have to change or challenge those in authority above them.

And they are too cowardly to do that.

So they turn up on Sundays and say the words and sing the hymns and ignore the sermon and go home feeling good.

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Homosexuality.

John Shelby Spong said: "Sex sent me back to the Bible."

Meaning the Church needed to reform its teachings about sex.

This was in response to the Churches' reaction to AIDS.

So homosexuality is the issue that inspired Progressive Christianity.

This can be seen in the attitude of all the Founders of Progressive Christianity.

They are 100% in favor of the acceptance and blessing of homosexuality.

And so the future is secure.

Homosexuality will be celebrated in God's House.

And gay people will be welcomed in Heaven.

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Founders.

The Founders of Progressive Christianity are:

John Shelby Spong, Marcus Borg, Robert Funk, Dominic Crossan, Karen Armstrong, Richard Holloway, Matthew Fox.....

Their seminal work forms a strong basis for the religion of the future.

We stand on the shoulders of champions.

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Good Sex.

Good guys have sex too.

Sex is not just the domain of the devil.

God created us as sexual beings.

He did not tell us not to do it.

He said: "Be fruitful and multiply."  Genesis 1:22 (NRSV)

"and indeed, it was very good."  Genesis 1:31 (NRSV)

This also applies to homosexual sex.

God does not condemn the love between Jonathan and David in the Bible.

A love that David describes as: "passing the love of women."  2 Samuel 1:26 (NRSV)

So do not feel bad about your sexual activity.

God blesses you.

And indeed it is very good.

[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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