The 1950s.

One of the women in in my church said to me: "Obviously your experience of the Church in the 1950s was very different from mine."

In the 1950s the churches were full and all children went to Sunday School.

But my memories of that period are not good.

The Church was part of the Conservative Establishment.

It taught obedience to authority, repentance of sins, and the redemptive power of the cross.

But my intuitive understanding of Jesus and God, based on the stories in the Bible, did not match what I experienced in the Church.

The Church was cold and forbidding.

It moralized about sex.

     

And its members were hypocrites.

If everyone went to church and the Church was God's representative on Earth then why was it a "jungle out there"?

It seemed to me that people just ignored what they were told.

Even if half of it was wrong.

They just believed that they were saved and put nothing into practice.

So the nostalgia for the past in the Church is not sustainable in the present.

And that is why the Church is dying.

Photo Credit: Richmond. 

The Beloved.

When we see beauty in another person we are filled with love and great desire.

In the midst of these overwhelming feelings we must always remember to respect the beloved.

To respect his wishes and his rights and his vows.

He is an individual with a heart and a will of his own.

We must respect that.

And offer him our love.

Photo Credit: Leo Bartenev.

Controversy.

God is controversial.

God's radical Love challenges our preconceived ideas about goodness and justice. 

We are used to thinking of ourselves as good and others as evil.

But God judges no one. (John 5:22)

And Jesus said: "' You judge by human standards, I judge no one.'"  John 8:15 (NRSV)

Our expectations of Natural Justice are shattered.

And this is because those we call evil are acting out of fear or a reaction to the false teachings of those in authority.

And so God writes off their debts.

Just as God has written off our debts.

This is the reality of God's amazing grace.

And it is available to anyone.

[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.]

Photo Credit: hipwallpaper.com

Homosexuality in the Church of England.

The Church of England still teaches that homosexual sex is a sin.

They say that homosexual orientation is not sinful in itself but any expression of it is sinful.

And so they seek to tear us in half.

This is torture for gay people.

And it can not be tolerated.

But the Anglican hierarchy will not change anything.

They adhere rigidly to tradition.

But what did Jesus say about tradition?

"'thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on.  And you do many things like this.'"  Mark 7:13 (NRSV)

And they are still doing this today!

They deny the Love of God for the sake of tradition.  

[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.]

Street Stock photos by Vecteezy

Need to Know 2.

The second thing that people need to know is that there is Satanism hidden in rock music, sports, and popular culture.

Rock stars, sporting heroes, movie stars and directors, novelists etc. sell their souls to the devil for fame and fortune and a rock star reception.

This evil influence permeates the whole of our media and poisons and curses everyone.

It can be seen in the obsession with darkness, night, murder, death, and evil in our entertainment.

It is rooted in hate.

And it is hidden in the unconscious.

But there is no devil in reality.

And no hell.

Only God's Love.

God is Good.

God is Light.

God is Life.

God is Love.

It is these things that will save us.

Photo Credit: Christian Broadcasting Network.

Need to Know 1.

The first thing that people need to know is that the traditional teachings of the Church distort our image of God and His relationship with humanity.

There is no Original Sin and therefore no Substitutionary Atonement.

We are not condemned by God.

Neither are we dead in sin.

The truth is that God is our Father.

And He loves us like a father.

He does not punish us for our mistakes.

He forgives us and He puts us on the right track.

Even the most heinous sinners can be forgiven.

This is the reality of His amazing grace.

And we are the fortunate beneficiaries of this amazing grace.

So pray to God with a sincere heart.

He will answer.

Photo Credit: Smithsonian Magazine.

The Right Hand of God.

I am a gay man standing at the right hand of the Father.

I represent all the gay people of the world.

If God accepts me then God will accept you.

If I will be honored in Heaven then you will be honored in Heaven also.

My heart includes all gay people.

And my prayers extend to the ends of the Earth.

I denounce the devil and all his works.

And I take refuge in God.

In His Sacred Sanctuary.

I give my heart to Him.

And I trust in Him.

That all gay people will have Eternal Life!

Photo Credit: Mt. Eliza Uniting Church.