What is the Good News?

So what is the good news?

1.  We are not condemned.
The story of Adam and Eve is a myth that was created to answer the question - Why is life like it is?
It is not the only explanation for toil and suffering.
Rather we are blessed - "God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good."  Genesis 1:31a (NRSV)

2.  We do not have to take every word of the Bible as literally true.
The Bible was not dictated by God.
The Bible is a collection of writings over a long period of time by many different writers that records humanity's experience of the One God.

3.  God does not punish us.
Bad experiences in life are not evidence that God is punishing us.
Rather bad experiences are the result of the ignorant actions of human beings or the indifferent functions of nature.

4.  God will not judge us.
If God does not punish us then there can be no hell.
Hell is completely out of character for a loving God.

5. God loves us.
God is our loving Father and He does not punish His children.

6.  Jesus was not divine in any way that others are not.
Jesus was a human being like you or me who drew close to God through prayer, study, and love.

7.  Jesus' death was not required by God to atone for our sins.
Jesus was not a human sacrifice.
He was put to death by earthly authorities because he had become a threat to their power.

8.  Jesus will not return to judge us all.

9.  The Book of Revelation does not describe current events.
The so-called End Times predicted the fall of Rome, the end of the ancient world, and the establishment of Christendom.

10.  We have now reached the end of the Age of Pisces.
The next age - the Age of Aquarius - is beginning now.

11.  The Age of Aquarius will see a New Covenant with God.


[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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