Satanism.

Satanism is not the insignificant fringe phenomenon that most people think it is.

Satanism saturates our popular culture.

It is based on the concept of death.

This is the death to God of St. Paul.

And its allies: darkness, night, shadows, hate, and evil.

These things dominate modern entertainment: rock music, movies, novels, sports, comedy, reality TV etc..

But because most of this takes place in the subconscious most people are unaware of it.

But it is there!

And it poisons our minds.

So don't just take things at face value.

There may be malice and evil hidden beneath.

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Light.

Light is at the center of the galaxy.

Stars and planets revolve around the Light.

There is no center to the Universe.

The universal center is everywhere.

So we only have the model of the galaxy.

And, as with the Solar System, Light is at the center.

This symbolizes the Reality that God is at the center of everything.

And God is everywhere.

The Light shines and is not diminished.

When stars die new stars are born.

This is the eternal cycle of Life. 

And if gravity is Love then everything is bound by Love.

For God is Love.

And Love leads us to the Light.

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Black.

Remember when everything went black?

Clothing, electrical equipment, sunglasses, cars, humor, movies, novels, science, hearts.....everything!

And the uniform for corporate workers became all black.

And it still is.

This is no accident.

Black is darkness.

And darkness hides things.

What it hides is the corruption and exploitation of corporations.

And the materialism and cupidity of Generation X. 

But that is not all that is hidden.

Right-wing plutocrats and politicians use scapegoating methods devised by the Nazis to boost their support and blame their opposition.

Left-wing liberals and gays and lesbians* are charged with the blame for Satanism in rock music and all the evils of society.

This was popularized by Ronald Reagan who called the Hippie Generation "Unconscious agents of the devil." and demonized his political opponents.

This created what Hitler called "Moral Ease" for the Right.

But this is not all.

Big business and their sporting allies have used black magic and Satanic methods in the hope of boosting their sales and popularity and reversing the blame.

Satanic magic is backwards and upside-down and this is what has happened.

Satan is the Prince of Darkness.

And what the darkness hides is evil indeed.

(*Gays and Lesbians are obvious targets because of the fear and hostility created by AIDS.)

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Peace.

Today is the International Day of Peace and our church is decorated with hundreds of paper cranes.

This is to commemorate the story of Sadako and the Thousand Cranes.

Sadako was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

She developed leukemia and folded a thousand paper cranes in the hope of being healed.

Unfortunately she died some years later.

But the thousand cranes were placed in the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima.

And they are still there today.

Now more than ever our world needs peace.

Conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine disturb us daily.

Myanmar and Kashmir have seen armed revolts.

Even the United States is on the brink of violence.

So pray for peace.

And do what you can to bring peace in our world.

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Moderation.

"Moderation in all things."

Hesiod 700 BCE.

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Progressive Christianity.

I am a Progressive Christian.

I am also openly gay.

And I am a full member of the Uniting Church in Australia.

I do not subscribe to the traditional theology of the Fall of Humanity through Adam and Eve and our Redemption through Jesus' death on the cross.

I believe that the story of Adam and Eve is a myth.

It is not true literally, and it is not true metaphorically. 

It is just one of many explanations for life on Earth as we experience it.

I do not believe that Jesus' suffering and death were required by God to expiate our sins.

I believe that the powers of this world were threatened by Jesus' miracles and his popularity and that they put him to death as an example to anyone who dared to challenge their authority.

These powers were the ruling power of Rome and the established authorities of Judaism in Israel.

So what do I believe?

I believe that the inmost nature of God is Love.

God loves all His children like a Father/Mother.

Think of your mother's love for you and magnify it.

God is wholly good.

God is merciful and forgiving.

God is compassionate.

God is Light, Life, and Love.

There is no fear in God.

God does not judge or punish us.

God loves us.

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The Curse.

The curse of our world is Satanism hidden in our popular culture.

Unknown to most people Satanism dominates rock music and entertainment, literature and sports.

The devil is the Prince of Darkness (The Black One).

So beware of anything black, dark, night, shadows, hate, death, evil..... 

The Beast represents violence and brutality.

And the Whore of Babylon rides the Beast.

The devil may not exist in reality but the damage done by those who do believe in him is crippling.

It is sabotage.  It is poison.

We are cursed!

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What Do You Stand For?

The Hippies stand for: Peace, Love, Compassion, and the Redistribution of Wealth.

Generation X stand for: War, Hate, Cruelty, Greed, and Cupidity.

What do you stand for?

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Same-Sex Love.

Spirituality has a history of Same-Sex Love.

Ancient Yogis and Teachers emphasized the love relationship with their male disciples.

The Same Sex Love relationship between King David - the writer of the Psalms - and Jonathan is celebrated in the Bible.

The disciple that Jesus loved was a man - the Disciple John - who laid his head over Jesus' heart at the Last Supper.

And Jesus said to Peter: "Do you love me?" three times.  John 21:15-17 (NRSV)

Islamic Sufism boasts the famous love relationship between Rumi and Shams-i-Tabrizi (two men).

And my own Yogi - Shri Vijayadev Yogendra - is the son of Founder who was loved by the Yogi Paramhamsaji.

When the two men met Mani (later called Founder) was an 18 year old muscleman with a Mr. Universe physique.

So, rather than being frowned upon, Same-Sex Love is the very foundation stone of Spirituality.

(NB It is Traditional.)

[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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Homosexuality.

Homosexuality has been made a scapegoat by evil forces in our society.

And right-wing political parties have taken advantage of this to boost support.

In response to the AIDS crisis Generation X retreated into the safety of heterosexuality.

But at the same time their fear entrenched virulent homophobia.

And it is this homophobia which we are now confronted with.

The booing of AFL footballer Isaac Quaynor for reporting a homophobic slur is a blatant example of this.

It is unacceptable and it should not be tolerated.

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The Tombs of the Prophets.

Jesus said: "'Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, and you say, "If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets."  Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.'"  Matthew 23: 29-31 (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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The Passion of Jesus.

The Passion and death of Jesus is not some ransom for our sins demanded by an angry God.

But it is the vengeance and violence of the established worldly powers.

And a return to the dominance and brutality of the rich and powerful.

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Money.

At the root of the betrayal of the masses by conservative Christians is money!

The rich and powerful have formed an alliance with traditional Christianity that usurps the power of God and enslaves the masses.

This has been done since the time of the Pharaohs.

And it continues today.

The ruling powers of this world use violence and threat to subjugate the good to their wills and establish absolute power.

And absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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Weapons.

The rich and powerful of this world use the unconventional weapons* in Christianity to suppress and destroy any opposition to their rule on Earth. 

And so damnation, shaming, and blaming have become weapons in the hands of ruthless right-wing political and economic leaders.

(*Ronald Reagan was quoted as saying: "Christianity contains unconventional weapons.")

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Salvation.

"Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, '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.'  Then Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek out and save the lost.'"  Luke 19:8-10 (NRSV)

God does not judge us or punish us.

There is no damnation, no hell.

But you are not saved unless you change your behavior.

[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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