Ask.

Ask not what your God can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your God.

What We Need.

Political activity and charity work concentrate on supplying people's material needs.

While this is important we should not overlook people's spiritual needs.

This is where the philosophy of unconditional love comes into its own.

St' Paul said, "And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith.....If I give away all my possessions, and I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."  1 Corinthians 13:2,3 (NRSV)

We need food and shelter to survive.

What we need to live is Love.


[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.]

Universal Principles.

If larger, transpersonal principles are what will unite us in a common spirituality - one which is beyond cultural boundaries - what could they be?

The principles which I have observed appearing on the internet are:

1.  Environmentalism.

2.  Social Justice.

3.  Egalitarianism.

4.  Humanitarianism..

5.  Compassion.

6.  Generosity.

7.  Human Rights.

This would indicate a more political kind of spirituality - one which engages actively with the world and its powers.

The Truth.

Who knows why we come into the world.

But while I am in the world I will bear witness to the truth.

And not just the truth as I discern it.

But the truth that I have heard from the Father.

Open Your Heart.

"'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.'"  Luke 6:27,28 (NRSV)

Always we come back to the words of Jesus.

"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.'"  Matthew 22;37 (NRSV)
"'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  Matthew 22;39b (NRSV)

"'I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.'"  Matthew 9:13b (NRSV)

This is evidence from the mouth of Jesus that God redeems evil.

We are to treat all people on earth as our brothers and sisters.

We are to love everyone.

Spirituality is not some proposition held in our minds.

Spirituality is anchored in the heart.

"The Lord looks on the heart."  1 Samuel 16:7b (NRSV)

We are anchored in the Love of God.

Open your heart.

Let your heart bloom like the rose.

Overcome your fear.

Give love to everyone.


[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.]

Three Factors.

There are three factors: work, popular culture, and inheritance.

Work is pragmatic and secular.
Popular culture is hedonistic and anti-religious.
Inheritance is idealistic.

So the young person has pressure from employers directly in their work and indirectly through media outlets (news and sports).

They also have pressure from Satanists is the popular culture directly through their headphones and indirectly through peer pressure.

They have an inherited idealism, which has come down from the hippies, which makes the spiritual political.

Notions of God and spirituality are vague and confused.

Most are anti-religious, this is the fashion.
So they are at once religious and anti-religious.

Sometimes, as happens with repressed energies, this comes out in a perverted form like a belief in magic.

This is re-enchantment gone wrong.
And fertile ground for Satanism.

Because popular Satanism works on the unconscious you may find two contradictory beliefs existing at once.
For example a disbelief in God and a belief in Satan.
Or anti-religious beliefs and beliefs in magic - which is based on the inverse of religious doctrines.

Our task is to bring what is in the unconscious up into the conscious mind so that it can be examined and resolved.

This is why I expose Satanism in our music and entertainment.
So that people can see it for what it is and decide for themselves.

This may mitigate some of the anti-religious feeling in our society and allow spirituality to combine with the Emerging Church.

A Double Life.

Young Australians who privately admit to spirituality are living a double life.

Work dominates everything 24/7.

Work is left brain, logic, secular, materialistic, pragmatic, cynical, and competitive.

Young people know what employers want and they publicly adhere to their materialist philosophy.

But privately they are spiritual.

By this they mean idealistic and non-materialistic.

This is sometimes revealed on the internet with activist sites and environmental groups.

They express their repressed goodwill by supporting internet campaigns.

To keep your job you will tell your employer what he or she wants to hear.

Privately you may feel the exact opposite.

But this cannot be expressed in any official way.

Our politicians are cynical and pragmatic - as materialist as big business.

There is no room in our official culture for any idealism.

Idealism is a dirty word to business.

So we don't admit to any ideals.

But the internet sites that fight causes are growing every day.

Some politicians have caught sight of this but no one is prepared to take the risk.

So we have a stalemate.

Young people's real personalities, however, appear on the internet, so idealism will win out in the end.

My Father.

As for my biological father, I now think of him more as a brother than a father.

It has been said that you become an adult when you realize that your parents are people just like you.

When I came to this understanding I realized that my father had done the best he could with a difficult upbringing and a sensitive nature.

For years I had blamed him for not showing us enough love and affection, but I realized that he was not loved as a child and was incapable of loving us in the way that we needed.

I forgave him.

Now he is to me another fellow human being on the journey of life.

"'And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father - the one in heaven.'"  Matthew 23:9 (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.]

Homosexuality and Spirituality.

Most people seem to think that homosexuality and spirituality are not compatible - that one cancels out the other.

This is caused by prejudice regarding homosexuality - that homosexuals are in some way more sexual or promiscuous than heterosexuals.

This is not the case.

Homosexual sexual activity is the same as heterosexual sexual activity.
The only differences are due to prejudice and stereotyping.

Homosexual people are as spiritual or otherwise as heterosexual people.

Being homosexual does not preclude you from a spiritual life.

For male homosexuals the image of God as a loving Father (in many cases the loving father they never had) is very appealing.

I feel quite comfortable with this image of God.

The practices of devotion to God and trust in God which derive from the Christian mystical tradition and reflect Islamic Sufism appeal to me and are compatible with my image of God.

Practices of non-violence and pacifism combine with prayer and contemplation to love God and draw near to God.

Once contact has been made we can develop our relationship with God - growing closer in love and trust.

Paradoxically this brings us closer to the people around us as we realize that all are our brothers and sisters.

"'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'"  Matthew 25:40 (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.]

Homosexuality.

The reason why I have not addressed the subject of homosexuality to any great extent is because I have reached the final stage of identity development where homosexuality is second nature to me.

It is just one aspect of my personality and does not dominate my life.

Others have studied the subject in detail and written about the Bible passages and doctrines which refer to homosexuality.
I concur with their findings that the brief references to homosexuality have been taken out of context and misinterpreted.

Needless to say I believe that God does not condemn me because of my homosexuality.
To the contrary I believe that God is using me as a gay man to make peace between His Church and the gay community.

My experience of God is that He does not harp on matters of sexual morality.
We saw this with Jesus and the woman taken in adultery.
He drew in the sand and would not condemn her.

This is a striking contrast to the Church which is obsessed with sex and sexual morality.

Homosexuality is much more of a problem for God's Church than it is for God.

God loves me.
His presence is with me.
He speaks to me.

I Am.

In the Gospel of John Jesus says:

"'I am the bread of life.'"  John 6:35 (NRSV)
"'I am the bread that came down from heaven.'"  John 6:41 (NRSV)
"'I am the living bread that came down from heaven.'"  John 6:51 (NRSV)
"'I am the light of the world.'"  John 8:12, John 9:5 (NRSV)
"'I am the gate for the sheep.'"  John 10:7 (NRSV)
"'I am the gate.'"  John 10:9 (NRSV)
"'I am the good shepherd.'"  John 10:11 (NRSV)
"'I am God's son.'"  John 10 :36 (NRSV)
"'I am the resurrection and the life.'" John 11:25 (NRSV)
"'I am the way, the truth, and the life.'"  John 14;6 (NRSV)
"'I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.'"  John14:10 (NRSV)
"'I am the true vine.'"  John 15:1 (NRSV)
"'I am the vine, you are the branches.'"  John 15:5 (NRSV)

There are at least 7 different metaphors for Jesus.

Unfortunately this is mixing your metaphors.
It is excessive and confusing.

Add to these John 4:10 "'he would have given you living water.'" and John 7:38 "'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'"

What did Jesus mean by these statements?

In all cases Jesus is saying that he embodies something which is essential for life - bread, water - or something which is essential for salvation - the light, the gate, the vine.....

I am conscious of mixing metaphors myself.

Aquarius is the Water Carrier.

What could the enigmatic waters in the jar be?

In my neighborhood there is a garden which is bordered by a street which begins as Water Street and ends as Love Street.  This street takes a turn about half way down where Water Street becomes Love Street.

My experience of the Water Carrier is like this street.

As you draw closer to God you begin to see.
This is the spiritual knowledge which the waters of Aquarius are said to represent.
And it is all about Love.

The epigram for Aquarius is the Egyptian hieroglyph for water.
The hieroglyph for the jar is ab or the heart.

"'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.'"  John 7:38 (NRSV)

This can only be Love.

No further metaphors are needed.


[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.]

Witchcraft.

Female rock stars use witchcraft as a source of female power.

They will lie or even pray in order to whitewash their image.
But they are just whiting their sepulchers.

They will pose as saviors, even saints.
But they are false messiahs.

They may support gay rights but this is just for popularity.
They are insincere and deceitful.

Their prayers are blasphemy and profanity.

Don't be fooled.

They serve the one who deceives the whole world.

They would harm you even to death.
And they would lead you into hell.

They believe that in exchange the devil will give them fame and fortune.

But there is no devil in reality.
Their dream is an illusion.
Their malice is for nothing.

Fame and fortune follow talent and work not some illusory contract with the devil.

So look beneath the surface and you will find evil intentions.

Don't give them your money.
And don't follow their lead.

Pray to God and listen to classical music.

You will be the better for it.


Photo Credit: Crysco Photography Flickr via Compfight cc

The Facts.

No matter what you beliefs or your worldview, sooner or later you will be confronted by the facts.

Fundamentalists will be confronted by the fact that there is no hell.
God does not punish us.

Satanists will be confronted by the fact that there is no Satan, only God's Love.

Corporate bosses will be confronted by the fact that God treats us equally.

God is real and He loves us.

Those are the facts.

Alienation.

The epidemic of our time is alienation.

This is caused by the coldness of society, scientific mindsets, and the breakdown of relationships.

The number of one person households is at an all time high.
The older generation are almost all divorced and the younger generation are almost all cautious of commitment.

There is no community.

Individuals are expected to look after themselves.

This is good for the economy but disastrous for society.

Our scientific education teaches us that all around us is dead matter, God is absent, and life has no meaning.

Add to this the negative effects of Satanism in the media and entertainment, especially rock music to which the young are tuned in day and night, and you have a very bleak picture indeed.


The New Paradigm is teaching us that all life is interconnected.
We are not alone.
Even if we are isolated and lonely we are still connected to all the life around us.

The New Paradigm also teaches that God is immanent - within everything.
We are surrounded by Love.

Add to this that God wishes us to open our hearts and give love to others and you have a very warm picture indeed.


Alienation is fear.
Fear of others.  Fear of strangers.  Fear of authority.  Fear of society.....

The New Paradigm teaches us that God is our Father and all people are our brothers and sisters.

Once we realize this the fear leaves us and we are able to live again.

The Dawn.

It has been said that the darkest hour is just before the dawn.

And when the sun rises it sheds light on both evil and good.

You will see evil and corruption.

But you will also see the goodness of God.

And the good news:

That all are forgiven.

Peace on earth and goodwill to all.

The Darkness.

It has been said that God returns with a new revelation when the world is at its darkest.

It is dark now.

Satanism dominates the popular culture.
The official culture of the world is secular economic materialism, which is corrupt.

The Churches are failing and their leaders are blind.
Their cathedrals are full of violence and abuse.

War rages on.

It is dark indeed.

The Earth.

If we insist on characterizing nature as feminine and re-animating the dead matter of science with female sexual energy, we run the risk of excavating an ancient sexual cosmology which is riddled with dangers.

Not the least of these is the problem of homosexuality.
Where does homosexuality fit into this heterosexual system?
It leaves no place for the homosexual.

While it is true that the patriarchal religions have led to a desecration of the earth the answer does not lie in feminizing nature.

During the second millennium B.C. the patriarchal gods displaced the earth mothers as the dominant deities.  This is typified by Marduk's slaying of the female monster Tiamut (nature) and the founding of Babylon (the archetypal city = civilization).

In the Bible God says to the newly created Adam and Eve, "'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have domination over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.'"  Genesis 1:28 (NRSV)
This passage has resulted in humans "subduing" nature.  It has been tragically acted out, especially by western Europeans, as an injunction to dominate and control nature, resulting in the present ecological crisis.  Western industrialists plunder the earth for profit.

The Indian yogis characterize all human sexual energy as feminine (shakti) and God's energy as masculine.
This is a strong structural element of homophobia in India - homosexuality is considered unnatural.

Once again we are projecting a human trait - male or female sexuality - onto God.
Once again we are generalizing things into dualistic thinking.

Rather than characterizing the sky god as male and the earth god as female we need a model that represents the diversity of sexualities in nature.
God is much more than male and female.

The only homosexual cosmology in the Bible is in the second creation story where the sole male, Adam, loves his Father and God.

Jesus love for his Father is homosexual but it is noticeable that when the disciples created a Church it was given a female nature because God was male.

Once again humans are projecting their own characteristics - in this case male and female sexualities - onto God and His Church.

So are all the male priests and ministers in homosexual relationships with God?

You can see the problems this kind of cosmology creates.

God is all sexualities and more.
It is foolish to restrict God to male or female.

Suffice to say that we don't know.

God's nature is too vast and diverse to characterize as male or female, or even androgynous.

For the moment it is a mystery.


[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.]

Aboriginal Reconciliation.

Were there to be reconciliation in Australia between the white Europeans and the Aboriginal people, not only would some of the wealth and ease of Australian white culture need to be transferred to the Aboriginal people but some of the white cultural conventions that cause Aboriginal (and indeed many white people) to feel alienated, isolated, and alone would also need to be reconsidered.

I am talking about such things as profit motive, consumerism, materialism, pragmatism, cynicism, work-ethic, and the nuclear family.

These are the things which cause our society to be cold , especially to outsiders - immigrants and Aboriginal people.
Our society is cold, hard, tough, and exclusive.

This process can be brought about by listening.
Listening to the stories and experiences of Aboriginal people.
Hearing their cries for help, seeing their tears.

We must see value in Aboriginal people.

Perhaps their wealth lies in their spirituality - something which is not highly valued in Australian or any other western culture.

Hearing their cries of disconnection from the land, as indeed they are in our cities, is a beginning.

Perhaps such things as architecture and town planning need to be looked at in regard to green spaces, native flora, and communal spaces.

This would not only benefit Aboriginal people but white people also.

When do our bear feet touch the red Australian earth?
Only sand at the beach.

When do we hear the silence of the bush?
Only on holidays.

We are surrounded by things of our own making: radio, T.V., stereo, movies.....
There is constant chatter to distract us.

We are afraid of silence.
It makes us feel alone.

We are afraid of nature.
We try to tame it and control it.

Aboriginal people try to commune with nature.
This is the dreaming.

Nature is not their enemy but their mother.
They feel loved and nurtured by nature.

This is their connection to the land which has been reversed by the white colonialists.

Perhaps a return to mother nature may help with the process of reconciliation.

White men and women live in an alien landscape which is why their cities and towns resemble Europe.
Europe is their home, not Australia.

So while we live our lives in our little boxes with our manicured gardens of European flowers and trees we cannot be truly Australian.

We have to place our bear feet on the red Australian earth to become truly Australian.

Alive.

The aboriginal describes the presence of God in nature.

We look at our own environment: neat, sculpted gardens; paved streets; tarred roads; steel and glass skyscrapers; houses like little boxes.....

Our first impression is that it is dead (scientific thinking) but if we look at it from the aboriginal point of view - we seek to impose our will on nature - hence everything is controlled, organized, ordered according to our will, our needs.

But it is not dead.

Each item from nature has been fashioned according to a human being's creativity and is therefore alive - in its essence from nature.
                                                      - infused with creative energy.

So each item - a wall, a road, a telephone pole - has a history of being taken from nature and fashioned according to an individual's creativity - reflecting that individual's ideas and feelings.

We are co-creators with God.

Our creativity can make beauty that we can see, hear, or feel.
It can be wise or compassionate, uplifting, or revelatory.
It can also be depressing, even violent if it is expressed in a negative fashion.

Like the Indian God Siva whose energy can be creative or destructive.

The Quest for Human Fulfillment.

When we first set out on the quest for human fulfillment we think this means the realization of our desires.

So what is essentially a spiritual quest becomes a search for pleasure.

When we realize that pleasure does not always bring fulfillment we begin to see a deeper perspective to life.

The things that are really fulfilling are the things of love - relationships, family, children, friends.....

Work and achievement, creative activity - all pale into insignificance when compared to Love.

Fulfillment comes from being unselfish, not personal but communal or other oriented action.

(N.B. This is related to the American Dream - "the pursuit of happiness" - which ironically comes not from pleasures or possessions but from Love.)

Holism.

Holistsic - emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.

Eg: Holistic medicine - treating the whole person rather than analysis of parts - body, mind, spirit.....

Were we to think of the universe holistically what would that mean?

The universes are parts of a whole.
These parts are interdependent.
Stars and black holes are not the only parts.
There are clouds within which new stars are formed from the dust of older stars.

Everything is alive - there is no dead matter.

God is within everything.

The attractive force which causes the stars to form is Love.

There are no dark forces.

Everything is interdependent, ecological, symbiotic.....

Even isolation is caused by interdependence.
It is the fear and insularity of others that causes an individual to feel isolated.
Prejudice and stereotyping cause isolation.

If God is our Father then everyone is my brother or sister.
The fear leaves.

If one of the organs of the body is not working properly it can affect the whole organism.

This is true of society - each individual has his or her own job to do (according to their gifts).
If they are not doing their job then the whole society suffers.

We are all parts of a whole - parts of society, parts of humanity, parts of the environment, parts of the earth, parts of the universe.....parts of God.

Like the fish in the water.

Dualism.

We see dualistic thinking in science.
Theories of anti-matter, black holes etc..

Perhaps we are looking at it the wrong way.

Religious dualism is false.
There is no Satan, no dark forces.
There is only one God and He is good.

God is everything and everywhere and more.

There is dualistic thinking in the Bible , especially in the Gospel of John.
It appears in most religions.

What would it mean if we thought holistically?

God (good) would be everywhere and everyone.
Man, as part of what God has made, would be good.

Evil is a generalization, a label.
It covers the truth.

That there are reasons for everything.

Suffering is caused by sin.
Sin is caused by fear.
So everything (everyone) is forgiven.

Life.

Sex is the consummation of love.

Sex leads to the creation of new life.

This new life forms in the womb and is then born as a separate entity into the world.

This new entity then grows until about the age of 26 when he/she is fully formed.

From then on the individual matures - grows stronger, more self-assured until the age of 60.

After the age of 60 he/she begins to age - become wiser, more stable, more perspicacious, the sexual passions diminish allowing the individual to become more peaceful.

As he/she nears the end the soul begins to prepare for the life to come.

Death is a door from one life into another.

Entropy is a scientific fiction.

It is looking at things the wrong way round.

It is the trap of dualistic thinking.

The mistake is to conceptualize the negative and then objectify it as a fact.

But the universe is holistic.

There is one God.

Life is abundant, irrepressible.

God is immanent - within everything.


Photo Credit: Kristoffer Trolle Flickr via Compfight cc

The White Light.

The White Light  descends.

Hope springs.

Faith grows.

Truth shines.

The Water flows.

Open your hearts.

Let your hearts bloom like the Rose.

Love God.

Love your brothers.

Love your sisters.

"Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."  Amos 5:24 (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.]

Photo Credit: Philipp Zieger - www.philippzieger-photographie.de Flickr via Compfight cc

The Wattle.

In what sense am I and my writing Australian?

My writing is intensely anti-authoritarian - a noted Australian character trait.
It is rebellious and revolutionary - the wild colonial boy.
I do have a tinge of red in my beard - this is Irish - I have some Irish ancestors.

My writing is Christian with references to the Bible - Old and New Testaments.
This is British or European - my ancestors again.

My writing is socialist with roots in the French Revolution and Marxism - I have some French ancestors.

My theology is universalist with relevance to any culture.
The mind, the heart, the body - all these things are universal.

But in what sense am I Australian?

Australia is an old country - the oldest place on earth.
Our mountains are worn down by millennia of wind and rain.
Our land is flat and vast.  Our rivers are old and slow.
Our trees are evergreen.  Our animals are marsupials - unique and strange.

But our society is new, post-enlightenment, modern.
We live in cities where the earth is covered over and the trees are European - deciduous and colorful.
Our culture was British, now it's American - a sitcom culture full of dark shadows and violence, superficial and glib.

The wattle is yellow - bright and profuse.
Our wildflowers are small but abundant.
Our trees are old and wizened, tall and strong, their roots go deep into the earth.

In Aboriginal spirituality the spirit sinks down into the ground in true antipodean fashion.
European spirits rise up to the sky and God is above.

Aboriginal art shows the ground as seen from above with a strong inward dimension.
This can be expressed as within like the Hopi Indians of America.
Aboriginal spirituality goes deeper, deeper within, and deeper into the earth.

The only Biblical reference that might be of help is when Moses encounters God on Mount Sinai.
God tells Moses to take off his shoes because he is walking on holy ground.

This relates closely to Aboriginal spirituality with its sacred sites.
The feet are also important to Aboriginal people.
When dancing they stamp their feet - as if to penetrate deeper into the earth.

Is post-modernism in Australia a sinking into the earth - a descending into the unconscious?
A strong sense of the bush and the sacredness of the wilderness is typically Australian.

The Australian colors are green and gold - the colors of the wattle.
Gold is the color of the sun or light, green is the color of chlorophyll which absorbs the light.
They are solar and life-giving.

The eucalyptus in the gum trees is an intoxicating drug.
Australians are known for being laid-back - "She'll be right mate", "No worries".

It is the opposite of European angst or British stiff upper lip.  
The antipodes again.

Australians are very impatient with anyone who pussyfoots around or procrastinates - "Have a go you mug", or with anyone who is not "True blue".
(The working man's singlet is blue.)

But an Australian man and his mates can be quite intolerant of anyone who is different - immigrants, homosexuals, aboriginals.....and he can also be misogynistic.

The dominant western culture is male, secular, and materialistic.
The media - dominated by an Australian - is violent, negative, and biased.
The language is brutal and glib.

The plutocrats aspire to be a kind of democratic aristocracy.
Their culture is cynical, pragmatic.  It is criminal until they are caught and then they blame some underling and claim ignorance.

And we all work for them.

They own everything.

But somethings gotta give.
We can't go on this way.

A new idealism is appearing on the internet - organizations dedicated to social reform and international justice.
They are independent and supported by thousands of donors.

This is the idealism of Aquarius beginning to manifest.
It is bubbling up from within and no one can stop it.

It is international and immediate, fraternal and altruistic.

It challenges politicians and plutocrats.

And it is growing quickly.

Every day there are more - more websites, more supporters.

The plutocrats are powerless to stop it.

The politicians are almost relieved to bow to their ideals.

This is revolutionary global change.

It begins.....

Magic.

In schools young people are being taught maths and sciences without the humanities: languages, history, art and literature.....

This is combining with our oppressively rationalist (left-brain) society to repress the imaginative (right-brain) nature altogether.

Young people's repressed spirituality is at present being expressed as a fascination with magic and witchcraft.

Unfortunately this can lead to negative spiritual states and may even lead them to the dark side.

Many books are available which teach people these practices.
This may lead to dabbling in black magic and Satanism which is rife in the music and entertainment industries.

If they succumb to the dark side the Satanists will claim their souls and try to cast them into hell.

So we should be ready to rescue them if this happens.

The likelihood of this happening is tempered, however, by the fact that God does not damn people for things that are not entirely their fault.

Even if they sell their souls they cannot go to hell because there is no hell to go to.

And in the end there is no Satan only God's Love.

Astrology.

Before you say, "We are Christians we don't believe in astrology" it may be profitable to look at the Bible and the New Testament in particular.

According to the theory of precession of the vernal equinox the Old Testament was written in the Age of Aries.
There are many references rams, rams horns (the shofar), blood sacrifice, red, war, beginnings (Abraham)(Adam and Eve), Palestine, the head (anointing).....

But it is in the New Testament that we really find astrological symbols from the sign of Pisces (the Fish):
(The fish was an early symbol of the Christian community.)
Fish, fishermen, nets, water (baptism), the sea (of Galilee) Jerusalem, boats, feet (washing), wine, vines, vineyards, evil spirits, the Holy Spirit, washing hands (Pilate), faith, healing, prayer.....

Not only this but the sign opposite Pisces - Virgo - which forms a duality with Pisces is also featured:
The Virgin Mary, the virgin birth, earth parables (seeds, growth, harvesting), hair-splitting arguments (the Pharisees, schisms).....

So when I say that we are entering the Age of Aquarius and point out the prominence of the symbols from that sign:
Homosexuality, equality, freedom, socialism, revolution, Russia, Sweden, humanism, humanitarianism, altruism, charity, rainbows, rain, water, earthquakes, the new, the future, technology, space travel, the internet, mental illness, brain plasticity.....
I am justified in suggesting that God is working through these symbols in a new way.

Astrology itself is governed by Aquarius.

Aquarius Manifesting.

It has been said that God returns with a new revelation when the world is at its darkest.

The world is dark now.

The official culture of the world is secular rational economic materialism.

This is superficial. left-brain only, unsatisfying, and imposed.

Add to this the evil anti-currents from rock music and popular entertainments, including sports, and it is dark indeed.

The spirits of human beings will not allow this to continue.

A rear-guard action, rising from the unconscious, will force a crisis if the right-brain, imaginative, depth-dimension is not addressed.

Economic rationalism is a failure.

We must find another way.

It is at this point that, when the souls in the world are ripe, that God manifests among us.

God's hand is moving in the gay, progressive, activist, green, internet spirituality.

At this time there is no contact between the manifestations in the Christian Churches and the general public, although social justice is a meeting point.

This is Aquarius manifesting.

We must find a way for this to reach the surface.

The crisis in religion is symptomatic of this situation.

If the deep psychic needs of individuals are not met then negative manifestations will begin to appear - like the sexual abuse scandals in the Churches.

This repression is manifest as overwork and lack of creative outlets (no time).
Obsession with sports, celebrity culture, and shopping are negative symptoms.

These needs are to do with the imaginative, artistic, religious side of human nature:

A new spirituality.

This must be given official recognition or it will be forced down into the unconscious where it will cause psychosis and may manifest negatively as violence or anti-social activity (anarchy).

So the new spirit of freedom (symbolized by the internet) must find positive, sanctioned outlets in our society or Aquarius is doomed to fail.

If not a new Church then what?

Pleasure.

When we are young we experience pleasure and it makes us feel better.
We then assume that more pleasure will make us feel better still.

What actually happens is that our bodies and minds become addicted to pleasure and we experience ecstatic highs followed by bleak, depressive lows.  We are soon burnt out.

Rock music has been shown to stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain.
We become addicted to its pleasures.

Drugs have the same effect.

It is significant that a lot of rock music contains orgasmic guitar solos and crescendos.

Classical music has a completely different effect.
Much classical music puts the mind into an alpha state or meditative equilibrium.

Most of us spend our lives alternating between peak experiences and despairing troughs which we cure by inducing another episode of pleasure in order to experience that high once more.

This is the great illusion.
The answer does not lie here.

Yoga teaches us to practice detachment and it is through this practice that we are able to reduce the highs and lows and gain some equilibrium.

It is when we discover love, however, that the picture changes.

At first we crave love in a similar way to other pleasures.
Our moods are dependent on the presence or absence of the loved one.

When we discover that giving love is just as satisfying as receiving love we gain some control over our moods.
The more love we give the more love there is to give.

If we detach the love from the object of our love and expand the theater of our love to the whole of creation we experience a stable well-being.

Finally when, through the practice of prayer and contemplation, we make contact with the divine within us we discover that God is intimately involved with love.

At first this presence comes and goes as it does with David and the prophets.
But God withdraws in order to make a space for us to love into.

It is when we love those around us that we become established in this love and our anxieties diminish.