Degeneration.

Since 1984 there has been a gradual degeneration of the conscience of our world.

The idea that money justifies everything has undermined the principles on which our society was built.

Idealism is attacked.

And honesty is marginalized.

Exploitation is universal.

And corruption is the norm.

But nothing lasts forever.

The time has come to redress the decline and reestablish some sense of proportion.

For God is good.

But the works of the world are evil*.

(*John 7:7) 

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Beneath Contempt.

Those who say bad is good, who laud materialism, who worship money, and who love the devil.....

Are beneath contempt.

Because they have inverted the natural definition of goodness to justify their evil deeds.

And those who support them share in that evil.

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Black.

"And this is the judgement, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil."  John 3:19 (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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Bad.

Materialism, Cupidity, Violence, Intimidation, Attitude, Obsession, Hate, Addiction, Evil.....

These things are Bad.

And we should say so!

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C.E.O.

C.E.O. bonuses:

10 million dollars to betray everyone.

And they did.

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The Will of God.

It is ironic to say the least that those who choose to enforce what they perceive to be the Will of God are not reflecting that Will at all.

Those who impose their image of a harsh God who judges and punishes sin do not know God.

Pope Francis called them imposters.

For the Will of God is not the rule of draconian moral laws but the reign of goodness and love.

And the fear of God is not the fear of punishment and damnation but respect for those things that please God.

And that is basic honesty, charity, and love.

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Sympathy.

Why do Fundamentalist Christians have no sympathy for the poor or the suffering?

The answer to that is that they believe that their poverty and suffering is their own fault because God is punishing them for their sins.

Conversely they believe that affluence and prosperity are signs of God's favor.

So they don't need to help the poor or the disadvantaged.

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Science and Faith.

When we are young we are educated in a purely scientific way.

But God is absent from this worldview.

Not that science is wrong, it just excludes the Sacred from its approach.

And so we think that God is absent.

But God is everywhere in Nature.

He is the sap in the trees. the oxygen in the water, the heat of the Sun.....

And His Divine Spark is in animals and humans.

But the work of doctors and nurses is His Healing work.

And the work of activists is the working of His Justice.

And so a balance can be found between Science and Faith.

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Diversity.

God's Creation is nothing if not diverse.

So therefore it should be no surprise that God embraces sexual and gender diversity.

God loves all His children.

Not just those who conform to narrow-minded stereotypes.

Persecution and scapegoating are abominations to Him.

And oppressive laws are anathema to His Will.

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The Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God, rather than being a burden of Thou shalt not commandments and threatening demands, is a liberating freedom to love as we have always wished.

God gives us permission to practise virtues and ideals that the world scorns.

So do not be afraid to approach God.

He will show you mercy.

And requite your love.

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Motivation.

If you think that you must help others in order to avoid hell.....

Then your motivation is fear.

But if your motivation is Love.....

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Wake Up.

We are born into the love and protection of our family.

Little do we know what awaits us in the wider world.

Devil-worshippers in popular culture lure us into negative mind states and vices. 

The main target is disaffected teenagers.

Satanists in rock music, sports, and comedy trigger adolescent rebellion in the hope that we will reject God.

Their diabolical creations poison our minds with hellfire. darkness, death, violence. and evil.

So beware of anything that is blasphemous or dark, it most probably is the work of Satanists hidden in our popular culture.

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Washed Clean.

Aquarius is the Water Carrier.

And water washes.

So when the water of Aquarius comes 

we will be washed clean.

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The Scapegoat.

Why don't Fundamentalist Christians feel guilty about their financial and social sins?

The answer is that they project all their guilt onto scapegoats - gays and lesbians, left-wing Hippies and politicians (Liberals), and immigrants.

So when the scapegoats fail all their guilt and more will come back upon them.

What happened in Nazi Germany?

Hitler told the German people that the Jews were responsible for all the evil in the world and that they assumed all their guilt - thus creating what he called Moral Ease for the majority. 

But when Hitler was defeated and the scapegoat vindicated then all that guilt and more came back upon the German people. 

This is what awaits those who rely on scapegoats for their moral purity.

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The Far-Right.

Far-Right political parties are not just an alternative social perspective.

Their policies are extreme, discriminatory, and dangerous.

The Far-Right Fascist parties of 1930s and 40s Europe were led by dictators Hitler and Mussolini.

Hitler was responsible for the extermination of 6 million Jews.

Mussolini bombed and invaded parts of the Mediterranean and Africa.

Their philosophy was extreme nationalism and romanticism of the military.

World War II was fought to defeat Far-Right Fascism.

So don't be fooled by the rhetoric of Far-Right political parties.

They are extreme, draconic, and dangerous.

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The Two Keys.

St. Peter holds two keys:

One silver.  One gold.

The silver key represents the exoteric teaching.

The gold key represents the esoteric teaching.

The exoteric teaching is about the mind and intellectual principles.

The esoteric teaching is about the understanding of the heart.

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100 Years.

In church today we celebrated the 100 year anniversary of our church building.

This stimulated thoughts of how much longer we would be meeting in this building.

In the District of Boroondara three churches have closed in the last couple of years and the buildings will be sold.

The church in Mornington is a restaurant.

The church in Carnegie is an art gallery.

This made me wonder what would happen if there were no more churches at all.

But the thought came into my mind that the body is the temple.

I would be the locale of God's presence in the world.

And this is confirmed by scripture - 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Peter 2:4,5.

And so we will be temples of living stone.

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The Three Stages of Life.

There are three stages of life:

The first is childhood when we are innocent and protected.

The second is adulthood when we begin to interact with the world and we become cynical and uncooperative.

But there is a third stage - the great inkling - where we transcend our cynicism and negativity and establish a mature innocence and benevolence toward others.

Many people only reach the second stage.

But a third stage awaits those who are willing. 

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Gay Men.

When conservative Christians call gay men devils we must remember that the conservative religious authorities of Israel called Jesus Beelzebul, which is a name for the devil.

"And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, 'He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.'"  Mark 3:22 (NRSV)

This is basically subterfuge used to discredit Jesus.

And conservative Christians have a similar motive.

But gay men are no more devils than you are.

And the vehemence of Christian objections betrays their fear.

This is homophobia - fear of homosexuals.

It is not based in fact.  

And it is not true!

[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 Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

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