A Philosophy of Goodness.

If you watch T.V. you will be inundated with shows which push a philosophy of competition, treachery, and evil.

Everyone is expected to sacrifice all principles in order to win.

This dog-eat-dog philosophy is the child of Satanism and Plutocracy.

We are expected to lie, cheat, and steal in order to win the prize.

This philosophy is bad.

It corrupts.

And it leads to untold suffering.

But God's philosophy of goodness transcends this low-life propaganda.

A philosophy of goodness encourages us to show: virtue, mercy, consideration, generosity, and love.

We are to deal honestly with others and adhere to the truth at all times.

We are to wish the best for others.

And bless them in their endeavours.

This is the philosophy of goodness that comes from God.

We are to follow it always.

And pray for others to see God's goodness and Love.


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The Religion of the Future.

Rather than the dead, oppressive, regressive religion of fear that has haunted our past.

Progressive Christianity presents as a viable religion of the future.

All over the world progressive religious teachings are liberating people from unreality.

Creeds and traditions and doctrines and dogmas are being cast aside for the simple teachings of the heart.

Love God and love your neighbor.

This is the religion of the future.


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Sex.

Many Church people have a phobia about sex.

They neuter Jesus.

And they neuter God.

God is to them a disembodied spirit.

But how could the omnipotent creator of the universe be less than us.

The world is full of sex.

Humans, animals, plants and flowers, birds and bees.....

Sex is everywhere.

How could this be if God is anti-sex.

They may then say that sex should be only within the confines of marriage.

But God did not invent marriage.

He did not marry Adam and Eve before saying: "Be fruitful and multiply."  Genesis 1:28 (NRSV)

And "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."  Genesis 1:31 (NRSV)

It is natural for young men to sow their wild oats before settling down with one partner.

We see this in nature.

And we see this in humans.

That's the way it is designed.

But excessive promiscuity has always led to sexually transmitted diseases.

So moderation is advised.

But sex is not bad or banned.

God invented it after all.

And He created some of us homosexual.

So don't try and put us in the closet.

And don't try and neuter us.


[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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Beautiful Men.

One of the women at church complained about me putting photographs of beautiful musclemen on my blog.

I tried to explain to her that I did this on purpose in order to indicate that you can go to church and still have an active sex life, even if you are homosexual.

You can be gay and spiritual.

Later I sent her an email in which I reminded her that Michelangelo had the same problem when he painted beautiful naked musclemen in the Sistine Chapel.

So much so that they painted veils over the offending parts while he was away.

Michelangelo was furious!

Many Christians neuter Christ and sanitize his religion.

I will not be censored!


Photo Credit: Jay Cutler.

Pragmatism.

After the violence of the 1980s we were forced to accept the proposition that pragmatism was a superior method to idealism.

Reluctantly we consented to allow the powers of the world to try.

Unfortunately this turned out to be a gross deceit.

After 40 years of pragmatism the world is a darker, more violent, more unequal place than ever before.

And we are powerless.

My remedy is to return to the idealism of the 1960s and 1970s without dismissing the practical advantages that come from pragmatism.

Things like economic development projects in developing countries, sustainable development goals, carbon emissions targets, preservation of marine parks etc......

These can be linked to idealism and peace initiatives in order to turn the world around.

We must accept that pragmatic economic ideology has failed.

The world is not a better place. 

We must return to the ideals of ethical socialism in order to regain what has been lost.

Practical idealism is not only the basis of a balanced political solution it is also the basis of a viable religion of the 21st Century.

So resurrect your ideals and your spiritual values and link them to practical action.

Then we may make the world a better place.


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Back in Black.

After the disaster of the 1980s the Hippie Generation experienced something of a revival in the mid-1990s.

Unfortunately what happened was that the rock stars of the 1960s returned to something of their former prominence but the idealism and aspirations of the Hippie Generation were not restored.

They were merely Back in Black.

Now they just enjoy themselves as others do.

Holidays, shopping, must-see T.V., sports, and nostalgia are all that is left.

Some of their children have inherited their ideals and become active on the Internet.

It is up to us to support them and revive the social movement that is dormant among us.


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Healing.

Rather than condemning a whole generation for taking drugs we should follow the lead of Jesus and pray for healing and wholeness.

The Hippie Generation were betrayed by their rock stars into lives of drugs and degradation.

This was done deliberately by superstars who had sold their souls and practised Satanism and black magic as taught by Aleister Crowley.

We were set up to fail.

And so we should not feel guilty or blame ourselves.

We should pray for a return to the peace and love that was betrayed.

The peace and love that inspired Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela.

The peace and love that was taught by Jesus of Nazareth.


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