Counterplay.

What then must we do?

To counteract the corrupting and deceiving voices in our popular culture we must cultivate virtues and principles in line with the goodness of God.

These include non-materialistic values like: generosity, charity, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, non-violence, and unconditional love.

We must turn away from death and darkness and seek Light, Life, and Love. 

Rock music is the devil's music.

So listening to sacred classical music will help.

Addictions to sports, gambling, and sex can be countered by volunteering and moderation.

Studying scripture and prayer connect us with the Divine that is the source of Light, Life, and Love.

Sincerity and integrity will lead you to the Living God.

And He will show you His Salvation!

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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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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.

Photo Credit: immanuelconrad.org 

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.

Photo Credit: Highfield Road Uniting Church.

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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A Deeper Understanding.

The heart is a deeper level of self than the body or the mind.

And our soul - the Divine Spark within us - resides in the heart.

We may have a physical understanding of our life and our experiences in the world.

Or we may have an intellectual understanding of our life and experience.

But the deeper level of understanding is in our true self, and that is in our heart.

The physical understanding of ourselves emphasizes appearance and physical sensations of pleasure and pain.  And these may rule us.  

The intellectual understanding emphasizes mental principles and ideas.  And these may become rigid and extreme.

But the heart mediates between mental principles, that in the end are only ideas, the sensations of our bodies and a human understanding of life.

And so the heart is the center of a deeper understanding.

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Liberalism.

Aquarius is a liberal sign.

And a such it is in harmony with Liberal Humanism.

But Liberalism is not Satanism.

Satanism is hedonistic, indulgent, and extreme.

Astrologically it is governed by Scorpio.

It is an anti-religion based on hate and rejection.

And so its influence is to be discouraged.

This is the influence which historically hijacked the movements of the 1960s and 70s.

Sex and drugs and rock and roll poisoned and betrayed a whole generation.

And it is still happening today.

Rock music conceals hidden Satanism.

But Liberalism is not Satanism. 

And the negative influence of Satanism is not an excuse to reject Liberalism. 

Liberalism frees us from prejudice and bigotry.

It is liberating and positive.

And its influence should be separated from the negative influence of Satanism.

So beware of extreme hedonism and drug indulgence, they may be the results of Satanism hidden is our popular culture.

Photo Credit: ar.inspiredpencil,com

Hidden by Darkness.

The right-wing political machine relies on hate and prejudice to get elected.

Hatred of the left-leaning Baby-Boomers.

And prejudice - racist, homophobic, and political.

But this is mainly reliant on Generation X who are known for their prejudice and hate.

And the support of the right-wing, corporate-owned media.

But deep darkness hides their crimes and blames their political enemies.

This is achieved by Satanism in our popular culture.

Satan is the Prince of Darkness.

And the predominance of black, dark, night, shadows, hate, and evil in our poplar culture derives from this.

But Satanism is backwards so the blame falls on their enemies.

Pray for the Light!

Pray that God will expose their crimes.

And pray that all may see.

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Hidden.

"I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."  Matthew 13:35 (NRSV)

"For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed, nor anything secret, except to come to light."  Mark 4:22 (NRSV)

What is it that is hidden?

I believe that what is hidden from normal sight is the presence of Satanism in rock music and popular culture.

This secret influence works mainly in the unconscious through backtracking and subliminal messages.

Death, darkness, night, violence, hate and evil lurk beneath a mask of glamour and popularity.

And this works on our subconscious encouraging sex addiction, drug addiction, obsession with pleasure, and selfishness.

But it is hidden from normal sight.

So we think it is not true.

But it causes untold suffering.

Drug addiction and divorce alone have caused great suffering for those influenced by rock music.

So be aware!

There is an evil influence hidden in our culture which is leading us away from those things that bring happiness.

It is sabotage.

And it is evil.

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Get or Give.

Once we realize that God is Love the first thing we do is try to get love from God.

But this is selfish and grasping.

So God may withhold His Love temporarily in order to discourage this mistake.

But love is a verb.

And when we learn to give love rather than merely wanting to receive love God returns and we find that our love is requited.

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