Paradise.

Paradise is not just some boon we can get for ourselves.

Paradise is the domain of God.

And as such it is tied to the process of Salvation.

Salvation is the gradual cleansing of the persona through faith and prayer.

Once we have established contact with God the negative aspects of our personality just fall away.

This is because these negative traits are rooted in fear.

And God's steadfast Love casts out fear.

And because God is wholly good we become good people.

We no longer feel the need to attack others to defend ourselves.

We no longer need to control people.

We no longer need to dominate.

These things are caused by deep-seated fears.

And we no longer need to accumulate money and possessions.

Because with God there is always enough.

And so as we draw closer to God we become better people.

There is no fear in God.

And God looks upon the heart.

There are only two things in the world:

Fear and Love.

And when the fear is gone there is only Love.

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Bodybuilders.

Bodybuilders can be pillars of the Aquarian Temple.

But they must leave the devil at the door.

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King.

When the people of Israel called for a king, God said to the prophet Samuel: "they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them."  1 Samuel 8:7 (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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God's Will.

It is God's Will that we love one another.

For where there is love all things fall into place:

Finances, employment, accommodation, companionship, understanding, mercy, forgiveness, charity, loyalty, justice, support.....

All these things flow from love.

Love will never let you down.

And love will not forget you.

So open your heart.

And give love to everyone.

Then you will be doing God's Will.

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Disgrace!

Right-wing political forces took advantage of the AIDS crisis to make a scapegoat of gay and lesbian people.

The scapegoat creates political power by ascribing all evil to a vulnerable minority group.

Hitler called it Moral Ease.

It is straight out of the Nazi rulebook.

And it is a disgrace!

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The Possessed Boy.

When a father came to Jesus requesting that he cure his son who suffered from violent fits Jesus said: "' You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you?  How much longer must I put up with you?'"  Matthew 17:17 (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 Lady Aoi.

The Lady Aoi was the principle wife of Prince Genji.

She developed a mysterious illness and was confined to bed.

The Buddhist monks prayed and chanted over her for weeks.

Eventually the demon revealed itself as the jealousy of the Lady Rokujo.

This is a classic story of how our thoughts can affect others.

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