Young Gays.

My greatest concern is for young gays who only ever hear negative messages from the Church.

Whenever the issue of gay rights comes up the media set up a conflict between gays on the one hand and Christians on the other.

This means that the only message that young gays hear from the Church is condemnation and damnation.

There are Churches which accept gays and affirm their rights but unfortunately they will not speak up in the public domain.  They are never invited to air their views in the media.

I have also written several letters to the gay press outlining my message of acceptance and love from God, but none of the publications involved would publish them

It is as if they don't want them to know.

So to any young gays who may read this post - know that you are loved by God and accepted as you are, and that you will enter into heaven when you die.


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Tears.

As the day dawns

in subtle splendor,

I remember

your tears.


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Inhumanity.

What is the cause of man's inhumanity to man?

Rather than ascribing this to some kind of evil, I believe that the cause is fear.

This may not be immediately apparent, but the ultimate motive of violence and oppression is fear.

This is the kind of fear which hides behind a mask of toughness and strength.

It is the fear of being dominated which makes people dominate others.

It is the fear of violence which makes people violent.

It is the fear of being humiliated which makes people humiliate others.

This is the law of the schoolyard.
It is the playing field of bullies.

And it extends into the realm of international politics.


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Iris.

God's art

can be seen

in the flowering Iris.


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Good and Evil.

The problem with categorizing things (or people) as good or evil is that one immediately has to win out against the other.

No good person is entirely good and no evil person is entirely evil.

So to begin a war between good and evil is to condemn us to perpetual battle.

This is the cause of much of the violence in our world.

Better to say that those we call evil are motivated by fears that have been learned or inherited.

Those who choose evil are usually those who have internalized the violent, vindictive God of the Old Testament and rejected God on false grounds.

These ideas about God are projected fears.

So, rather than battling against them, we should seek to liberate them from these fears.

And offer them the true image of a loving God.

There are only two things in the world - Love and Fear.

Where we find evil if we do the calculus we will find fear.

What motivates them?
Who told them?
And why did they tell them?

Blind guides motivated by fear.
Beginning and ending with the fear of God.

But we have nothing to fear from God.
God punishes no one.
He wishes the best for everyone.

Only good comes from God.


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The Collective.

In nature everything is interconnected.

Humans were not meant to live within walls.

Humans are tribal.

We live in an extended family.

So little wonder that we are connected

at a deeper level

in the collective unconscious.


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The Standards of the World..

From the time of our birth we are taught to aspire to success.

This, however, is to judge life by the standards of the world.

We watch sports to see the winners and read books about high achievers.

We watch T.V. and read newspapers which constantly tell us to get more an better things

We praise the winners and abuse the losers.

But God's way is different.

God is on the side of the losers - the nobodies, the weak, the poor.....

No one teaches us to value these.

But God values them.

They are equal in His sight to the rich and powerful.

Cry out to God!

And He will deliver you.


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Walls (2).

Walls were invented by human beings

to separate what's mine from what's yours.

There are no walls in nature,

everything is interconnected.


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Walls (1).

There are no walls in nature.


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Hearts.

In the Bible and other religious texts you will often find references to good and evil hearts.

For example the New Testament talks about good or evil treasure in the heart.

But my contention is that the heart is for love alone.
Evil comes about because of fears which lock up the love in our hearts.

These fears are mostly located in the subconscious mind and may have been learned or placed there by others acting according to their own inherited fears.

So to overcome our deepest fears is to set free the love that dwells in our hearts.

To love God is to be set free from fear.

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love."  1 John 4:18 (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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A Pool.

"In my heart there is a garden

and in that garden there is a pool

where I come with you to drink....."

- Ankhesenpaaten
(Wife of Tutankhamun)



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Do You Love Me?

On that last night Jesus asked Peter, "Do you love me?" three times.

Peter replied that he did then Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him three times before dawn.

The significance of this passage cannot be overlooked.
For it was love that Jesus taught them.

But it is one thing to hear the message and another to put it into practice.

Jesus knew that people accepted the message and then did not put it into practice.

So he asked Peter, "Do you love me?" three times.
As if to query whether he had heard the message to love one another and was putting it into practice.  Because if he could not love Jesus how could he love others?

Do you love me?


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