Jesus' Teachings.

Some would say that if you don't believe in Original Sin, the Virgin Birth, Salvation through the blood of Christ, the Second Coming, the Judgment, and Eternal Damnation then you don't believe anything and cannot call yourself a Christian.

But I would assert that Jesus' teachings of love and forgiveness, mercy, compassion, and faith are the heart of his message, not the doctrines and dogmas which grew up around the figure of the Christ.

So, far from not believing anything, what we believe is the heart of Jesus' teachings which lead to his vision of the Kingdom of God on earth.


Photo Credit: Darladirladada (Film) Flickr via Compfight cc

Visionary.

I believe in Original Blessing.
We are all part of God's good creation.

I believe that everyone has a divine spark within them.
But this spark is not in the mind, it is in the heart.

I believe in an afterlife for everyone.
Not heaven and hell but some other realm where the learning process continues.

I believe that God is one.
A holistic entity that is more than the sum of His parts.

I believe that God is our loving Father.
We are all His children and He will not reject us.

I believe that Jesus was the guiding spirit of the Age of Pisces.

I believe that we are now entering the Age of Aquarius.
The New Paradigm of Progressive Christianity is the model for the Age of Aquarius.

Heretic.

I don't believe in Original Sin.
The myth of Adam and Eve was created to explain why men toil and women suffer in childbirth.

I don't believe in the Virgin Birth.
Jesus had a mother and father like everyone else.

I don't believe in the Divinity of Jesus.
Jesus was a normal human being who made close contact with God.

I don't believe in the Second Coming.
Jesus will not return to judge everyone.  He refused to do so in life so why would he do so in the future?

I don't believe in The Judgment.
God judges no one.  And the son follows the Father.

I don't believe in hell.
Hell is totally out of character for a loving God.

I don't believe in Satan.
Satan was invented as an explanation for why bad things happen to good people.

Damage.

Each generational group has signs of the zodiac in common.
These house the generational planets - Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.
And the signs that they fall in are the generational signs.

Satanists in the popular culture, especially in the music industry, use the negative attributes of these generational planets and signs to sabotage the development of each successive generation.

This is astrology backwards.

They hope that the negative behavior they inspire will lead to damnation.

God will not punish us for behavior instigated in this way.
In fact God will not punish us at all.

So don't follow your rock stars and sporting heroes, the damage they do is astronomical.

Looking for Jesus.

"'I am the way, and the truth, and the life.'"  John 14:6 (NRSV)

My generation - the baby boomers - rejected the moralistic teachings of the Church in favor of a more liberal philosophy.

The result, however, has been that we are imprisoned in the world, held captive by darkness and fear.

In fact my generation is looking for Jesus.

Which Jesus?

The Jesus that inspired Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jnr..


[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.] 

Damnation.

We are surrounded by Satanists in our popular culture.

What they do is take over the driver's seat, steer you left until you are transgressing, then move the right hand of God against you.
Resulting, they hope, in damnation.

But this will not happen.
There is no hell to go to.

The religious right, however, is all too willing to damn people who have been led astray in this way, especially if they are their political opponents.

And the damage done by negative suggestion and temptation remains.

So don't follow the lead of your rock stars and sporting heroes, they may just be trying to damn you.

Fear and Faith.

If we accept that fear is the motivation for people who accumulate wealth then it is by addressing these fears that we can bring about a more just world.

And if we accept that God will provide then it is by increasing people's faith that we can make s difference.

These two things - fear and faith - are at the heart of all human problems.