Laudato Si.

I started reading Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si which is ostensibly about climate change.  

I found the introduction and the first chapter quite informative about the state of the environment.

But I'm afraid when I came to Chapter 2 The Gospel of Creation I began to profoundly disagree.

Pope Francis uses the stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel, even the story of Noah and the Flood, in a way which is far too literal for me.

I cannot agree that there is some kind of curse on us all because of the sins of these mythological figures.

And he even contradicts himself by saying that Noah and Saint Francis somehow returned to the original state of innocence.

I do not believe that we are cursed because of Original Sin.

There are other explanations for the problems of our world.

For example I believe that hatred, violence, and abuse are caused by fear.

What is jealousy but fear.

And what causes war but fear.

Prejudice, oppression, and persecution are caused by fear.

We are born into a world that is full of fear.

But I do not believe that this fear has a metaphysical basis.

It is merely part of our individuality, our isolation, our ego.

 

Once we begin to see the interconnectedness of life in our world, and its relationship to God, our fears begin to abate and we return to the innocence we experienced as a child.

Jesus said that to enter the Kingdom of God we must become again like a little child. (Mark 10:15)

And so we are not dealing with a metaphysical state but with an immature state of development.

There is no evidence that nature or the universe changed in some way 5000 years ago.

There is no state of original innocence, some golden age, in our past.

The universe develops in time and gave birth to life on this planet.

And human beings evolved from this life.

But there was no created man and woman, no Adam and Eve.

These are mythological figures invented to explain why we suffer.

But it is not true! 

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The Circle of Life.

Our world was created as a Circle of Life.

Our environment, which includes us, is a complex cycle of living things.

Trees exhale oxygen which sustains animal life.

And animal waste fertilizes the earth and gives rise to plants and flowers.

The Sun warms the seas to create clouds which move across the land watering the plants life and creating great rivers which irrigate the land and provide water for animal life.

Great river which flow back into the seas.

But since the Industrial Revolution man has created toxic waste that cannot be recycled by Nature.

Our food contains chemicals which poison our waste and are harmful to the environment.

Industry creates gases which are not broken down by the environment and cause global warming.

The great forests of the Earth which convert carbon dioxide into oxygen are being systematically destroyed.

Our waterways and seas are being polluted with dangerous chemicals - limiting the availability of fresh water, especially to the poor.

All of this has resulted in the ongoing loss of species due to the destruction of their environment which may affect human life on this planet in the future.

And so we must reassess the effects of industrialization and bring our human activities into harmony with the world around us.

We are not free agents with no responsibilities.

We are part of a complex system of life on this planet.

And we must now begin the long road back to equilibrium.

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Blind Faith.

Satanists have blind faith in the devil.

They presume that he is correct.

And they presume that he wins.

They are gullible.

They believe what their Satanic masters tell them.

But Satan is a liar.

He is the father of lies*.

So why would you believe him.

They tell you to lie so why believe their lies?

Satan can lose.

And his promises can fail.

So put your faith in the One whose promises come true.

Because there is only one supernatural power and that is God.

(*John 8:44)

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A Good Influence.

We are surrounded by bad influences:

We are tempted.

We are corrupted.

We are poisoned.

We are distracted.

We are obstructed.

We are diverted.

All these things add to our suffering and frustration.

What is needed is a good influence to counter this flood of evil.

All goodness comes from God.

And so we must pray for His Light, His Life, and His Love.

And when His Love comes down upon us our fears dissolve and we feel joy and peace, gratitude and love.

And we want to be good and do good like Him.

So do not cease from praying and contemplating God.

Because it is from God that this good influence flows.

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The Heart.

"The Lord looks on the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7 (NRSV)

And so we are to open our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves.

[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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Your Will Be Done.

"Your kingdom come,

  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  

  - Matthew 6:10 (NRSV)

What could this mean?

Dostoevsky had a dream in which God took him to another planet on which everyone helped each other and everyone was cared for and happy.

When he asked how this could be God answered him by saying that all they did was love their neighbors as themselves*.

So all we need to do to create the Kingdom of God on Earth is to love our neighbors as ourselves!

(*Matthew 22:39)

[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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Hidden Evil.

When we consider our place in the world - our struggles, our suffering, our attitudes - we think that we are dealing exclusively with powers and authorities, other people's failings, even God.....

But there is a hidden influence which affects us negatively behind these things.

That is Satanism in our popular culture.

Satanism has infected rock music since the late 1950s and is an undercurrent in sports, movies, T.V., and literature.....

Satanism is negative, hedonistic, anti-christian, and vicious.

They will tell you to do all the wrong things.

And your suffering will increase.

So watch out for anything backwards or upside-down, anything dark, depressing, or to do with death, the devil, or hell.....

They may be the results of modern Satanism.

But the good news is that there is a good influence that can counter this evil.

That is God.

All goodness comes from God.

God will guide you in the right direction.

And your happiness will increase.

You will experience joy and peace.

God will touch your heart.

And you will find your way home.

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Victimization.

Rene Girard has observed that society creates a scapegoat in order to deflect any sense of evil or culpability.

And he says that we victimize the scapegoat.

This was evident in Nazi Germany.

And it is evident today.

Society and even governments will victimize a minority group in order to gain the approval of the majority.

But this is evil itself.

And it should not be tolerated.

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Scapegoating.

One of the most harmful psychological phenomena in out time is scapegoating.

When confronted with evil or culpability we switch the blame onto a scapegoat.

Usually some outsider or minority group.

Rene Girard called it the scapegoating mechanism. 

In our time there are three scapegoats:

Gays and lesbians and trans-gender people.

Liberals and Socialists.

And immigrants.

This is perpetuated in the media.

And it is used for political purposes.

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Shame and Guilt.

Where does shame and guilt about sex come from?

Negative attitudes about sex based in fear have poisoned the Church for millennia.

Sex is dirty, sex is shameful, sex is bad.

But it is interesting to note that in the Bible Adam and Eve "were both naked, and were not ashamed."  Genesis 2:25 (NRSV)

It was only after the serpent tempted them and they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that they were ashamed.

It is interesting to note that Satanism links sex to toilet training - its "dirty and sweet" - and perhaps this is where shame and guilt come from.

Shame and guilt and fear are associated with death and this is the basis of Satanism.

So perhaps Satanism in rock music and sports induces this shame and guilt and fear about sex.

And these things create the pollution which bedevils sex.

This is one of the great mysteries of life.

May it be resolved in our lifetime.

[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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AFL.

Players in the AFL are terrified of being called poofters.

The all male environment of men and boys, fathers and sons is undergirded by love.

Luke Hodge called it "man-love".

And so there is a constant fear of homosexuality.

And their fear makes them victimize homosexual men.

But fear is no motivation.

Fear locks us up inside a fortress of stone.

And we suffer.

So the AFL should work to reduce the players' fear of ridicule and normalize same-sex affections as friendship and brotherly love.

Because when the fear is gone there is love.

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Love and Fear.

There are only two things in the world:

Love and fear.

Conservative Christians obey the laws of the Old Testament out of fear.

Fear that they will be punished if they transgress.

And so their motivation is fear not love.

But God says: "Fear not!"

Because there is no fear in Him.

God is Love.

And Love should be our motivation.

Because there are only two things in the world:

Love and fear.

And when the fear is gone there is only Love.

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