Serious.

One thing about Fundamentalists and Evangelicals that corresponds to Progressive Christians is that they are serious about their religion.

They genuinely want to establish God's reign on Earth.

Unfortunately they are mistaken about what that reign entails.

They mistake God's Love for morality.

  

And His goodness for righteousness.

And they try to force their errors onto others.

At the root of this is fear.

Fear of God's punishment.

So Jesus was right about them:

"'Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?.....You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.'"  Matthew 7:3-5 (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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Mandela.

It was a surprise to everyone when Nelson Mandela, after 27 years in prison, announced the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Rather than seeking revenge he was prepared to pardon those who came forward and confessed their crimes against the black majority.

I believe that Nelson Mandela was guided by God in his decision.

Contrary to popular belief God does not punish evil.

He pardons evil and seeks to redeem those who have fallen victim to its wiles.

Fear lies beneath acts of evil.

And we are all subject to fear.

So, if we are forgiven, then those who have committed crimes are also forgiven.

    

And, as Jesus said, he who is forgiven more will love more.

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Set.

During the early 80s I attended a lecture on ancient Egyptian mythology.

There I met a girl who said to me: "I have been doing meditations on the Egyptian gods but Set keeps interrupting them."

Set is the ancient Egyptian devil.

Later I realized that this interference was coming from the rock music we were listening to.

The rock bands of the era made no secret of their admiration for Aleister Crowley.

Unknown to us was that Aleister Crowley was a black magician and Satanist.

And the rock stars who had sold their souls to the devil* practised all kinds of magic.

Egyptian symbols can be seen in many of their albums and videos.

And the center of Satanism in California is called the Temple of Set.

This is why the spiritual practices of the Hippies failed.

Their meditations were interrupted and diverted by Satanists in the rock music they constantly listened to.

We were stabbed in the back.

And our spiritual aspirations were sabotaged.

And this is still happening today.

So if you want to practise meditation I suggest that you throw away your CDs and videos and turn off the TV.

We have been betrayed.

(*Aleister Crowley's writings include instructions on how to make pacts with the devil.)

Photo Credit: Pinterest.

Pluto in Leo.

Pluto is exalted in Leo.

This is because the benevolent influence of the Sun causes the power of Pluto to be expressed positively.

This is the best placement of Pluto whose energies can be expressed negatively in other signs.

But the Sun channels Pluto's power in a creative way.

And Pluto's dangers are averted.

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Leo.

Generation X thought that if they sold their souls like the rock legends of the 1960s & 1970s they would become superstars like them.

But what they did not realize was that it was not planets in Scorpio which made them superstars but their planets in Leo.

Leo governs all kinds of stardom and it was this that made them superstars.

Also the Sun, which is the ruler of Leo, is the ultimate benefic.

Therefore their power was expressed positively.

The covert Satanism and malice which was hidden in their music was due to planets in Scorpio (natal and transiting).

But it was not the devil that made them superstars.

It was Leo.

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Respect.

Respect is the key to sex.

With desire comes love and respect.

We should always respect the wishes and the rights and the vows of the object of our desire.

Then we will be free.

Photo Credit: Alexey Lesukov.

Sex.

The purpose of sex is not only to create life but to engender love between us.

Sex without love is unsatisfying and leaves us empty and miserable.

But sex with love leads to a kind of ecstasy.

And it is the love we feel that creates this bliss.

To repress our sexuality is to cripple our capacity to love.

And it is our capacity to love that engenders happiness.

So do not eliminate sex altogether.

But practise sex with moderation as an adjunct of love.

Photo Credit: Lady Chatterley's Lover.