The mistake that the New Age Gurus make is to try to create wealth and worldly success.
Jesus said, "You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:13b (NRSV)
In running after worldly success and money the New Age Gurus gain plenty of followers but it never really works.
This is because they mistake the purpose of life.
Life is not about achievements and money and possessions.
They will not make you happy.
Life is about Love - our relationships, and our relationship with God.
They are blind.
They call their methods spirituality but spirituality has nothing to do with achieving goals or accumulating wealth.
Spirituality is about developing spiritual qualities like love, compassion, charity, gratefulness, courage, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, harmlessness, gentleness, kindness, and faith.
Jesus said that the way of the world was evil.
"You cannot serve God and wealth." Luke 16:13b (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.]
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
Monday, 6 May 2013
Ideation.
The bane of Christianity has been negative ideation.
The notion that sex is a sin creates the most unpleasant feelings: it is cold, it is hard, it is bad, there is fear, there is shame.....
Another negative notion is suffering.
This, unfortunately, is associated with the sacred heart of Jesus.
If you look closely at the depictions the heart is surrounded by thorns and pierced by daggers.
These notions actually create pain and suffering in the unsuspecting practitioner.
So it is important to practice positive ideation.
Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
Original blessing.
Sex is natural.
Life is a combination of pleasure and pain, joy and suffering, good and bad experiences. Pain and suffering are bad, they are not a means to a reward in heaven. They can develop compassion in the sufferer but that does not make them good or desirable.
Excessive pain and suffering should be alleviated so that everyone can live happy lives here on earth.
Guilt serves no positive purpose.
Shame is self-destructive.
The theology which grew up around the suffering and death of Jesus is a perversion of the truth. It seeks to make of a failure a victory. And makes of something which is inherently bad something good (Good Friday).
Therefore, because it is not facing the failure of Jesus' mission it creates aberrant theology.
Original Sin, Substitution Theology, The Blood of the Lamb, Universal Condemnation, Penance, and Atonement are all false doctrines because they do not face the failure of Jesus' mission on earth.
Can God fail?
Yes.
Pentecost is the aftermath but it never reaches the heights of Jesus' ministry.
The interpretations and beliefs of Peter and Paul are never quite as accurate as Jesus'. The disciples did not have Jesus' experience of God. They were always making mistakes, misunderstanding what Jesus said. And they continued to make mistakes after Pentecost.
Mainly Peter sought to encourage people to believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecies.
But Jesus does not always resemble the Jewish messiah - which is a military ruler and conqueror in some prophecies, a suffering servant in others.
Jesus was the tutelary spirit of the Age of Pisces rather than the savior for all time.
Look at the Piscean symbolism in the New Testament: fishermen, (shoes), fish, nets, water, lake Galilee, washing feet, spirits, the Holy Spirit, prayer, healing, forgiveness, dreams, vines, wine, vineyards, compassion, washing away sins, a House of Prayer, Jerusalem, faith.....
But it is Jesus' teachings - the teachings of love and compassion - that count.
The notion that sex is a sin creates the most unpleasant feelings: it is cold, it is hard, it is bad, there is fear, there is shame.....
Another negative notion is suffering.
This, unfortunately, is associated with the sacred heart of Jesus.
If you look closely at the depictions the heart is surrounded by thorns and pierced by daggers.
These notions actually create pain and suffering in the unsuspecting practitioner.
So it is important to practice positive ideation.
Replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
Original blessing.
Sex is natural.
Life is a combination of pleasure and pain, joy and suffering, good and bad experiences. Pain and suffering are bad, they are not a means to a reward in heaven. They can develop compassion in the sufferer but that does not make them good or desirable.
Excessive pain and suffering should be alleviated so that everyone can live happy lives here on earth.
Guilt serves no positive purpose.
Shame is self-destructive.
The theology which grew up around the suffering and death of Jesus is a perversion of the truth. It seeks to make of a failure a victory. And makes of something which is inherently bad something good (Good Friday).
Therefore, because it is not facing the failure of Jesus' mission it creates aberrant theology.
Original Sin, Substitution Theology, The Blood of the Lamb, Universal Condemnation, Penance, and Atonement are all false doctrines because they do not face the failure of Jesus' mission on earth.
Can God fail?
Yes.
Pentecost is the aftermath but it never reaches the heights of Jesus' ministry.
The interpretations and beliefs of Peter and Paul are never quite as accurate as Jesus'. The disciples did not have Jesus' experience of God. They were always making mistakes, misunderstanding what Jesus said. And they continued to make mistakes after Pentecost.
Mainly Peter sought to encourage people to believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecies.
But Jesus does not always resemble the Jewish messiah - which is a military ruler and conqueror in some prophecies, a suffering servant in others.
Jesus was the tutelary spirit of the Age of Pisces rather than the savior for all time.
Look at the Piscean symbolism in the New Testament: fishermen, (shoes), fish, nets, water, lake Galilee, washing feet, spirits, the Holy Spirit, prayer, healing, forgiveness, dreams, vines, wine, vineyards, compassion, washing away sins, a House of Prayer, Jerusalem, faith.....
But it is Jesus' teachings - the teachings of love and compassion - that count.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
Two Masters.
You cannot succeed in the world and serve God as well.
You will compromise your principles to achieve success.
Or you will sacrifice success to serve God.
"'No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.'" Luke 16:13 (NRSV)
It is very rare for a person to achieve a high position in society and still be faithful to God.
They will be seriously flawed like David or John F. Kennedy, who was killed like his brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jnr., as were Gandhi and Anwar Sadat.
The only godly man to survive is Nelson Mandela, and he did not challenge big business.
Barak Obama is in constant danger because he is challenging the powers of the world - big business and conservative religion.
Ang San Su Kyi has been under house arrest and is always in danger.
Instead our leaders compromise with big business and conservatives.
In this way they survive but nothing changes.
Big business owns the media.
They use it for their own purposes.
To threaten political leaders and activists.
To promote those who serve their interests.
The world has no respect for the messenger of God.
He has no position.
He has no letters after his name.
He has no power.
So why should the world listen to him.
They will take what suits them.
And ignore the rest.
The ultimate purpose of God is to enlighten us.
And to enlighten us is to open our hearts.
Love is the ultimate purpose of life.
We learn to love.
And to do this we must overcome our fear.
Fear motivates the world
It triggers violence, stirs hatred, wants revenge.....
But God does none of these things because there is no fear in Him, only Love.
If we can address the fear which lies at the root of all evil we will find Love.
The covenant with God is a bond of Love.
Love God and love your neighbor.
God does not judge evil people because He understands what makes them evil.
And He forgives them.
So, "'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)
This is understanding.
[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.]
You will compromise your principles to achieve success.
Or you will sacrifice success to serve God.
"'No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.'" Luke 16:13 (NRSV)
It is very rare for a person to achieve a high position in society and still be faithful to God.
They will be seriously flawed like David or John F. Kennedy, who was killed like his brother Robert and Martin Luther King Jnr., as were Gandhi and Anwar Sadat.
The only godly man to survive is Nelson Mandela, and he did not challenge big business.
Barak Obama is in constant danger because he is challenging the powers of the world - big business and conservative religion.
Ang San Su Kyi has been under house arrest and is always in danger.
Instead our leaders compromise with big business and conservatives.
In this way they survive but nothing changes.
Big business owns the media.
They use it for their own purposes.
To threaten political leaders and activists.
To promote those who serve their interests.
The world has no respect for the messenger of God.
He has no position.
He has no letters after his name.
He has no power.
So why should the world listen to him.
They will take what suits them.
And ignore the rest.
The ultimate purpose of God is to enlighten us.
And to enlighten us is to open our hearts.
Love is the ultimate purpose of life.
We learn to love.
And to do this we must overcome our fear.
Fear motivates the world
It triggers violence, stirs hatred, wants revenge.....
But God does none of these things because there is no fear in Him, only Love.
If we can address the fear which lies at the root of all evil we will find Love.
The covenant with God is a bond of Love.
Love God and love your neighbor.
God does not judge evil people because He understands what makes them evil.
And He forgives them.
So, "'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)
This is understanding.
[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.]
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Fragments of Light.
After Jesus' death the disciples interpreted the scriptures and the signs.
This was an inferior interpretation.
During his life Jesus was constantly telling the disciples that they had misunderstood him.
After his death they continued to misunderstand.
Paul saw only "in a mirror dimly" 1 Corinthians 13:12a (NRSV)
These are the fragments of light which the Kabbalah speaks of.
But we must filter out the fragments of light from the darkness that surrounds them.
This is what Progressive Christianity does.
It filters out the light from the darkness in the scriptures by studying the cultural and historical context of each passage.
The Old Testament God of punishment and wrath is projected by the prophets from their understanding of earthly authority, i.e. tyrants and kings.
This is darkness.
The God of love and mercy which Jonah saw is the light.
[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.]
This was an inferior interpretation.
During his life Jesus was constantly telling the disciples that they had misunderstood him.
After his death they continued to misunderstand.
Paul saw only "in a mirror dimly" 1 Corinthians 13:12a (NRSV)
These are the fragments of light which the Kabbalah speaks of.
But we must filter out the fragments of light from the darkness that surrounds them.
This is what Progressive Christianity does.
It filters out the light from the darkness in the scriptures by studying the cultural and historical context of each passage.
The Old Testament God of punishment and wrath is projected by the prophets from their understanding of earthly authority, i.e. tyrants and kings.
This is darkness.
The God of love and mercy which Jonah saw is the light.
[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.]
Friday, 3 May 2013
A Loving God.
The indication that an experience is a genuine spiritual experience is that it has a positive outcome.
God does not punish us.
Therefore hell is totally out of character with a loving God.
God does not even hate his own enemies.
He understands what motivates them to turn against Him,
(i.e. the testimony of the religious authorities who are the descendants of the Pharisees and Sadducees).
God loves His enemies and wishes them to be reconciled to Him.
God does not punish us.
Therefore hell is totally out of character with a loving God.
God does not even hate his own enemies.
He understands what motivates them to turn against Him,
(i.e. the testimony of the religious authorities who are the descendants of the Pharisees and Sadducees).
God loves His enemies and wishes them to be reconciled to Him.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Love for Hate.
Love for Hate.
Goodness for Bad Behavior.
Compassion for Cruelty.
Forgiveness for Revenge.
Charity for Materialism.
Faith for Doubt.
Honesty for Corruption.
Truthfulness for Lies.
Moderation for Excess.
Sobriety for Drink and Drugs.
Respect for Desecration.
Discipline for Indulgence.
Discrimination for Confusion.
Non-violence for Violence.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Change.
Everything is alright until you try to change things.
It's O.K. while it's all academic.
It's O.K. while you do good works that don't challenge the status quo.
It's O.K. while we pat each other on the back and say, "You don't do it for the thanks of course but....."
You can be as good as you like within the prescribed bounds, i.e. band-aids only.
But try to change things, try to address the reasons for poverty, injustice, and war and see what happens then.....
You won't be allowed to.
This is why the sanitized and spiritualized varieties of Christianity developed - so that nothing here on earth had to change.
The rich are still rich, the powerful are still violent, the poor are still helpless, the infirm are still destitute, the marginalized are still demonized.....nothing changes.
This, of course, is what happened to Jesus.
He talked about the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth, i.e. things would change.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18,19 (NRSV)
They crucified him for that.
And the world didn't change.
The status quo remained.
"Don't rock the boat."
"Play the game."
What now?
The motive is fear.
Fear of losing our privileges, our money, our possessions, our power.....
Pray for us to overcome our fears and allow things to change.
[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.]
It's O.K. while it's all academic.
It's O.K. while you do good works that don't challenge the status quo.
It's O.K. while we pat each other on the back and say, "You don't do it for the thanks of course but....."
You can be as good as you like within the prescribed bounds, i.e. band-aids only.
But try to change things, try to address the reasons for poverty, injustice, and war and see what happens then.....
You won't be allowed to.
This is why the sanitized and spiritualized varieties of Christianity developed - so that nothing here on earth had to change.
The rich are still rich, the powerful are still violent, the poor are still helpless, the infirm are still destitute, the marginalized are still demonized.....nothing changes.
This, of course, is what happened to Jesus.
He talked about the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth, i.e. things would change.
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18,19 (NRSV)
They crucified him for that.
And the world didn't change.
The status quo remained.
"Don't rock the boat."
"Play the game."
What now?
The motive is fear.
Fear of losing our privileges, our money, our possessions, our power.....
Pray for us to overcome our fears and allow things to change.
[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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