The water of Aquarius [an air (mind) sign] relates to our concepts.
Concepts are either true or false.
Satan is a concept that was invented to explain why bad things happen to good people.
Satan is a false concept.
Rewards and punishments (from God) for good or bad behavior are concepts invented by man to satisfy his concept of natural justice.
Rewards and punishments from God are false concepts.
Unconditional love is a concept that we intuitively attribute to God.
Unconditional love from God is a true concept.
We live our lives according to our concepts, but not all our concepts are true.
Judgment and hell are concepts attributes to God after death.
These are false concepts.
We live in fear of things that are not there.
This is darkness.
The light that comes from God dispels the darkness.
No longer will we live in fear.
Darkness hides things (lies).
Light reveals things (the truth).
Aquarian minds enter a meditative state which is like a reverie. In this state we intuitively answer the big questions.
It is cool rather than hot.
It is clear (like crystal).
it is transpersonal.
It is mutual.
John Bodycomb called it, "A great stream of thought, spreading like flood waters across a plain, reaching into every corner as it goes."
It will touch everyone and everything.
It flows - like a stream of consciousness.
Water flows around and over things and levels out like a spirit level.
Everything is equal.
Concepts like non-violence, truthfulness, gentleness, goodness, self-discipline, charity, even-handednesss, and love surround the divine.
But the key is Love.
Love God and love your neighbor, who is God.
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Saturday, 30 March 2013
The Dark Side.
If people choose hatred, revenge and violence then, no matter what their religion, they choose the dark side and do evil in the world.
God is unconditional love, compassion, and forgiveness, He does not punish us or use violence or force.
This is good news.
God is unconditional love, compassion, and forgiveness, He does not punish us or use violence or force.
This is good news.
Friday, 29 March 2013
Love is a Verb.
The presence of God comes and goes.
As David attests.
David prays for God to destroy his enemies.
Jesus prays for his enemies to be forgiven.
God leaves a space for us to move into to act out the revelations we have received.
Love is a verb.
But it is not the verb to do.
It is the verb to Love.
Photo Credit: Jordi Cucurull Flickr via Compfight cc
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Healing?
1. Should we believe that the healing narratives in the New Testament are merely efforts to prove that Jesus is the Messiah by fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies?
Or should we take them at face value?
2. Should we place the miracles in the category of events that take place "'while the bridegroom is with them'" Mark 2:19a (NRSV), i.e. while Jesus is alive?
Or should we believe that Jesus healing power transcends death?
3. What expectations should we have of prayers for people who are sick?
(a) No expectation.
(b) Total faith of a cure.
(c) Hope without expectation.
(d) Healing without cure.
(e) Coping.
One possible answer to the mystifying questions of prayers for healing is that prayers will not be answered if your attitude or ideas are wrong.
This would create a false impression of God.
God works to create the maximum possible good for the maximum number of people.
The overall impression created by His response to our prayers will be the maximum positive effect for the maximum number of people.
This may be healing or silence.
The healing which took place when Jesus prayed for the sick can be seen as an endorsement of Jesus' teachings.
The silence which followed the fundamentalists prayers for healing of their friend can be seen as a disendorsement of their approach.
A prayer from the heart is more important.
(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.)
Or should we take them at face value?
2. Should we place the miracles in the category of events that take place "'while the bridegroom is with them'" Mark 2:19a (NRSV), i.e. while Jesus is alive?
Or should we believe that Jesus healing power transcends death?
3. What expectations should we have of prayers for people who are sick?
(a) No expectation.
(b) Total faith of a cure.
(c) Hope without expectation.
(d) Healing without cure.
(e) Coping.
One possible answer to the mystifying questions of prayers for healing is that prayers will not be answered if your attitude or ideas are wrong.
This would create a false impression of God.
God works to create the maximum possible good for the maximum number of people.
The overall impression created by His response to our prayers will be the maximum positive effect for the maximum number of people.
This may be healing or silence.
The healing which took place when Jesus prayed for the sick can be seen as an endorsement of Jesus' teachings.
The silence which followed the fundamentalists prayers for healing of their friend can be seen as a disendorsement of their approach.
A prayer from the heart is more important.
(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.)
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Palestine/Israel.
God is the God of the Jews.
God is the God of the Arabs.
Two brothers fighting.
God is their Father.
God's wish is that they live together in peace.
Side by side in Palestine/Israel.
Neither attacking nor oppressing the other.
God is also the God of Christians.
God's wish is that all His children live in peace.
Without attacking or retaliating.
This is what it means to turn the other cheek.
And to pray for your enemies.
Do not retaliate but do good to those who attack you in the hope that they may see the light of God's peace and experience God's grace.
God is the God of the Arabs.
Two brothers fighting.
God is their Father.
God's wish is that they live together in peace.
Side by side in Palestine/Israel.
Neither attacking nor oppressing the other.
God is also the God of Christians.
God's wish is that all His children live in peace.
Without attacking or retaliating.
This is what it means to turn the other cheek.
And to pray for your enemies.
Do not retaliate but do good to those who attack you in the hope that they may see the light of God's peace and experience God's grace.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
Interconnectedness.
With the advent of globalization and world financial markets we are becoming more aware of how we are interconnected.
Increasingly we are all in this together.
We are brothers and sisters.
As this happens the inequalities between us are coming to the surface.
For example: land deals in third world countries by first world companies and governments,
exploitation of labor in the same way.
As these hidden supports of western wealth are revealed the shame and stigma associated with them will force the first world (who consider themselves good and pure) to change their policies.
This will gradually cause the world to become more just and equal.
But it is a slow process and the first world powers - corporations and governments - do not want their secrets revealed.
This will effect the wealth of the west.
It is our task to see that this is done justly and compassionately.
Not just by market values which are so brutal.
Not just at the expense of welfare and the social safety net.
Unfortunately the rich own the media. Therefore they control what we see. They will whitewash the west and the wealthy and demonize foreigners and the poor.
As the British Empire concealed its crimes.
The rich do not want their domination challenged and will fight to maintain it.
This is fear.
But they will only do what they can get away with.
They cannot survive shame or legislation.
There will be demonstrations and boycotts.
Occupy Wall Street is the beginning of this.
People do not want to be ruled by the rich (plutocracy) but by the state (democracy).
Increasingly we are all in this together.
We are brothers and sisters.
As this happens the inequalities between us are coming to the surface.
For example: land deals in third world countries by first world companies and governments,
exploitation of labor in the same way.
As these hidden supports of western wealth are revealed the shame and stigma associated with them will force the first world (who consider themselves good and pure) to change their policies.
This will gradually cause the world to become more just and equal.
But it is a slow process and the first world powers - corporations and governments - do not want their secrets revealed.
This will effect the wealth of the west.
It is our task to see that this is done justly and compassionately.
Not just by market values which are so brutal.
Not just at the expense of welfare and the social safety net.
Unfortunately the rich own the media. Therefore they control what we see. They will whitewash the west and the wealthy and demonize foreigners and the poor.
As the British Empire concealed its crimes.
The rich do not want their domination challenged and will fight to maintain it.
This is fear.
But they will only do what they can get away with.
They cannot survive shame or legislation.
There will be demonstrations and boycotts.
Occupy Wall Street is the beginning of this.
People do not want to be ruled by the rich (plutocracy) but by the state (democracy).
Monday, 25 March 2013
The Koran.
God: the Compassionate, the Merciful.
The Koran would appear to be constructed in a similar way to the Bible.
In the Koran Mohammed criticizes the Jews (the People of the Book) for falsifying scriptures. He accepts, however, that the Torah contains revelations from God, but claims that the Jews do not obey their own revelations (the prophets).
Mohammed also criticizes Christianity for claiming that Jesus is a begotten son of God. He recognizes that Jesus is a prophet but claims that Christians have departed from his message.
These claims are similar to the beliefs of Progressive Christianity:
1. That many of the words of the Old Testament were put into the mouth of God.
2. That the Christology which grew up after the death of Jesus is a false doctrine.
Here, however, the two approaches depart:
- Islam returns to the harsh rewards and punishments of the Old Testament.
- Progressive Christianity refutes rewards and punishments in favor of unconditional love.
Progressive Christianity is more like Sufism (Islamic mysticism) which is based on the Love of God and trust in Him.
Mohammed is right when he says that God loves goodness, honesty, and charity.
He is wrong, however, in saying that God punishes evil doers and unbelievers.
Islam is a religion of success, i.e. our fortunes on earth reflect God's favor or disfavor. This is clearly refuted in the Book of Job in the Bible. Not many Christians would believe that these days.
The Koran supports retaliation but says that God does not love the aggressor.
Mohammed also uses We.
It is not clear whether he means Islam and its leaders or God Himself.
It is upon these passages that Shariah law is based.
The Koran also justifies terror: it says to strike terror into the unbelievers.
The Koran should be read in a similar way to the Bible. You should be highly selective of which passages you read. Many passages reflect a philosophy of violence which is offensive and should therefore be ignored. But, as Mohammed himself says, these writings also contain the light of revelation, and as such should be respected.
The Koran says that whoever believes in God and does what is right has nothing to fear or regret.
The Koran would appear to be constructed in a similar way to the Bible.
In the Koran Mohammed criticizes the Jews (the People of the Book) for falsifying scriptures. He accepts, however, that the Torah contains revelations from God, but claims that the Jews do not obey their own revelations (the prophets).
Mohammed also criticizes Christianity for claiming that Jesus is a begotten son of God. He recognizes that Jesus is a prophet but claims that Christians have departed from his message.
These claims are similar to the beliefs of Progressive Christianity:
1. That many of the words of the Old Testament were put into the mouth of God.
2. That the Christology which grew up after the death of Jesus is a false doctrine.
Here, however, the two approaches depart:
- Islam returns to the harsh rewards and punishments of the Old Testament.
- Progressive Christianity refutes rewards and punishments in favor of unconditional love.
Progressive Christianity is more like Sufism (Islamic mysticism) which is based on the Love of God and trust in Him.
Mohammed is right when he says that God loves goodness, honesty, and charity.
He is wrong, however, in saying that God punishes evil doers and unbelievers.
Islam is a religion of success, i.e. our fortunes on earth reflect God's favor or disfavor. This is clearly refuted in the Book of Job in the Bible. Not many Christians would believe that these days.
The Koran supports retaliation but says that God does not love the aggressor.
Mohammed also uses We.
It is not clear whether he means Islam and its leaders or God Himself.
It is upon these passages that Shariah law is based.
The Koran also justifies terror: it says to strike terror into the unbelievers.
The Koran should be read in a similar way to the Bible. You should be highly selective of which passages you read. Many passages reflect a philosophy of violence which is offensive and should therefore be ignored. But, as Mohammed himself says, these writings also contain the light of revelation, and as such should be respected.
The Koran says that whoever believes in God and does what is right has nothing to fear or regret.
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