Fornication.

The word fornication does not appear in the Old Testament.

Jesus uses the word once in the context of what defiles a person.

The rest are in Paul's letters.

But in Genesis 1 God says to the first couple: "Be fruitful and multiply."  Genesis 1:28 (NRSV)

This is God's blessing on human sexuality.

There is no mention of marriage or even faithfulness.

But a man will sow his wild oats in his youth and then settle down with one partner.

This is the way it is designed.

And this is exactly what happens in the gay scene. 

Men experiment with several partners before settling down with one person.

So objections to homosexual activity on the grounds of fornication are largely irrelevant especially in the context of modern de-facto relationships.

[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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God 2.

When we are young we are presented with a God that is a harsh judge and punisher of bad behavior.

Later in life we encounter the powers of the world which enforce the imperatives of materialism.

Neither of these gods represents the real God.

The real God is on the side of the losers. 

He is with the poor, the marginalized, the oppressed.

He does not judge or punish us.

He loves us like a Father.

His love is constant.

And His mercy is infinite.

It is inevitable that we will make mistakes.

But God will forgive us.

He is considerate and understanding.

He knows us.

And He wishes to be in relationship with us.

Like a Mother.

The real God is all the things we wish were in the world but aren't.

Once we realize this we are Home at last. 

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God 1.

Satanists in our popular culture will tell you that God is punitive, judgemental, harsh, cold, tyrannical, anti-sex, and irrational.  

They have internalized the image of God which the Church has traditionally taught.

But this is not the true image of God.

God is merciful, forgiving, reliable, trustworthy, constant, compassionate, considerate, and loving.

In fact love is the inmost nature of God.

We have nothing to fear from God.

There is no devil in reality.

So Satanists in rock music and sports are wasting their time.

Their apostasy is based on a false premise.

But because this false premise was created by God's Church they will be exonerated.  

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Honest John.

"He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.  With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."  Luke 1:16.17 (NRSV)

This was the prophecy of the Archangel Gabriel to Zechariah the father of John the Baptist.

"And the crowds asked him, 'What then should we do?'  In reply he said to them, 'Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.'  Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, 'Teacher, what should we do?'  He said to them , 'Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.'  Soldiers also asked him, 'And we, what should we do?'  He said to them, 'Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusations, and be satisfied with your wages.'"  Luke 3:10-14 (NRSV)

So John's message, which was to prepare the people for the coming Messiah, was one of basic honesty and charity.

People were not to hoard things for themselves which could be shared with others who had nothing.

And people in positions of authority were not to extort money from others by stealth or threats.

John's message was one of equality and integrity.

Obvious qualities which could be emulated today.

We have lost sight of basic honesty in this winner take all world.

Money and profit justify anything.

All's fair in love and war.

The end justifies the means.

And corruption is in the interests of the shareholders.

We are living in a time of intense darkness.

Darkness hides greed, corruption, and murder.

The time has come to turn to the Light.

To expose the evil practices of the fathers.

And to turn their hearts to their children - their workers and employees.

Not to treat then as the enemy but to love them and provide for them as if they were their own children.

We must abandon all notions of superiority.

We must reject all dishonest practices.

We must overcome our fears.

And open our hearts to God and to the people.         

[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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Education.

Since the 1980s education has been considered job training.

But education is so much more than that.

Education is the development of a discriminating intelligence.

It is awareness of the history of thought.

It is enrichment through culture.

It is enlightenment.

The time has come to return education to its rightful place.

And imbue our young people with its riches. 

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Business.

The right-wing political philosophy involves stimulating business activity by deregulation, financial incentives, tax cuts, and union bashing.

This, they say, will create jobs and lead to prosperity.

And this does happen to some extent.  It creates jobs but the prosperity generated is for the few.

The problem is that it creates huge disparity between rich and poor as businesses pursue greater profits and force wages down.

It also lowers the quality of life for the majority as corporations pressure governments to cut welfare and social programs.

And now we are seeing corporations pushing to sue governments if they pass laws causing them to lose profits. 

So now we are powerless.     

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Obstruction.

The right-wing reactionary forces in our society are blocking any attempts to change the Status Quo.

A Status Quo which now sees the greatest disparity between rich and poor in history.

Any incentives on climate change, tax reform, gun control, social welfare, foreign aid, asylum seekers etc. are being deliberately obstructed.

Google foreign aid for example and you are inundated with articles telling you that foreign aid is bad for everyone.

Try gay and you will encounter numerous articles by Fundamentalist Christians telling you that homosexuality is evil.

All of these things, plus propaganda in the news media, are obstructing any positive changes.

And it is history now that Republicans have repeatedly blocked legislation on gun control in America.

So be more discriminating if you want things to change.

We are being brainwashed.     

  

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