Your Brother.

When you look on your brother

Don't just see the outward appearance:

The face, the physique, the clothing.....

But see the soul buried deep within -

The innocent child crying out for love.

And make concessions

According to understanding:

All human beings suffer,

There is a reason for every wayward action:

A decision, a lie, a crime.....

But the Divine Spark within

Is pure and untouched,

Forgiven and Saved.

It is him you should seek.


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Takers.

Too many Church people are takers not givers.

They leave it to God.

But they take the credit.

And when something goes wrong.

They are nowhere to be found.

They do little.

But they feel spiritually superior.

When they are called upon to act.

They do little or nothing to help.

And this is why the Church is dying.


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God.

When we are young and we encounter the world we can mistake the way of the world for God.

Life seems tough, demanding, unsympathetic, and unforgiving.

This is the influence of power and money which was once in league with the conservative establishment and now represents the corporate plutocracy and its political puppets.

But this is not the way of God despite what Fundamentalist Christians may tell you.

God is merciful, forgiving, gracious.
He will always give you another chance.

He is undemanding and considerate.

He loves you like a Father.

But the Church has traditionally sided with the political conservatives and represented God as a harsh judge and moral wowser.

The reason for this is that the Church became entangled with power and money and adopted their carrot and stick approach to the masses in order to maintain their position of authority in society.

The result has been that the message of Jesus is severely compromised, even contradicted completely.

The traditional authorities of the Churches are the spiritual descendants of the Pharisees who were the enemies of Jesus.

Since the mass exodus from the Churches there have been some desperate attempts to bring people back but change is slow and reluctant.

There are some progressive Churches but the mainstream Churches are dragging their feet.

Even the most liberal Churches - The Episcopalian Church in America and the Uniting Church in Australia - sit on the fence when it comes to important decisions and refuse to speak up for minorities and outcasts.

Their attitude towards homosexuality and gay marriage is the definitive example.

So pray for courage and change.

Or the Church will die.


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History.

There are two versions of history:

The version written and propagated by the powers of the world - the winners.

And then there is the truth.

The version of history put out by capitalists after the fall of communism in Russia - the End of History - lauds the winner, Ronald Reagan and his allies Generation X, and denigrates the Hippies, their political enemies.

But Ronald Reagan was a dark man.
He did not hesitate to use violence in Central America to defeat his political enemies.  And he did not hesitate to use propaganda which demonized his political opponents.

He used Satan to win - he used the violence and evil in Generation X to intimidate and brainwash the Hippies calling them unamerican and wrongheaded.

So where is the truth?

The truth is that people who use violence and evil to win are not heroes but villains in the mold of Hitler and his thugs.

The victory of the right-wing capitalists is sustained by the media moguls who tell everyone what to think.  Our news, T.V., movies, and sports are controlled by them.

It's 1984.

But in the long run Ronald Reagan and Generation X will be seen for what they are - violent people who used evil to win.


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The Establishment.

If you take Jesus' teachings seriously and put them into practice you will inevitably come up against the Establishment.

As Jesus did.

And it was the Establishment that murdered Jesus.


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Economic Advancement.

In our modern world anything can be justified by economic advancement.

If it makes the stock market go up it is good.
Whether we like it or not.

So social safety nets, young people's wages and conditions, worker's rights, standards of education and health are all sacrificed to the ultimate god of economic advancement.

The fact that these economic advantages only benefit the rich seems not to matter.

All regulation is bad, even if it protects public safety.
Taxes should always be cut because the rich hate taxes.

So, despite the fact that the rich corporations pay no taxes, there is no longer enough revenue to supply basic services let alone despised welfare.

How long will people put up with this?

Our governments have betrayed us.

And they lie to us about everything.


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Pleasure.

Pleasure is not bad.

But pleasure is not the answer.

As we grow up we experience pleasures and they will often make us feel a bit better.

This results in a quest for more and more pleasures.

This results in feelings of emptiness and want.

This is because selfish pleasure is not the answer.

The answer is Love.

When we give love we realize that pleasure is a pale facsimile of love and we cease chasing after pleasures.

But pleasure is not bad.

Pleasure is not banned.

Pleasure in moderation is as good thing.

But Love is the answer.


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