Dear Jane,

One of the “features” of churches is they tend to present one version of many interpretations as if it was the one and only truth, and Revelations is a good example. The “Left Behind” series served to scare the shit out of everyone and help convince us that Jesus is about to return any day now. What the churches do not tell us is that Futurism is only one of three ways of dealing with Revelation, and that there is also the Literary theory and the Praeterist Theory.

Praeterism (for example) says that Revelation was all (or almost all) fulfulled within the generation that lived with Jesus. The disciples asked “when will these things happen” and Jesus answered “some of you will not taste death … this generation will not pass away before ..” What did he mean? I could argue very effectively that the return of Jesus happenned in AD70 when “Jeruslaem was surrounded by armies.” Of course the modern church does not teach this because they do not want to upset the masses or be shown that they could have been so grossly wrong (and risk losing a big chunk of their tithe-giving clientele).

Chuck Missler is just one more fear-monger dressed up in sheeps pseudo-intellectual clothes but is really doing nothing more than building his own Christian book-selling speaking-engagement business. His biggest crime – and he really does know better – is only presenting a “modern church friendly” version of “the truth” and conveniently missing out a big lot of other stuff that is nowhere near as cut and dried black and white as he makes it appear (just like YWAM!)

It upsets me to see beautiful people like you sucked into the shallow modern day christian theology when there is so much more richness of thought out there.

Jon

I had a conversation recently where  I was asked this question.

I didn’t like being forced to respond in a binary yes/no fashion which is overly simplistic, so instead  I responded, “Yes I do, but differently from you.”

I’ve been thinking about this idea advanced by some Christians of “Intelligent Design”, where the basic thought is that because we appear to be designed we must be the product of a designer. Seems like a sensible enough idea, and supports the Christian idea of a Creator and a Creation.

As I reflect on this idea, my question is “Who designed the Designer?”

If Christians reply to this question with “No-one, God is outside of time and space and simply IS”, then I could just as easily say this reasoning could apply to everything, including the known universe.

If I remove the duality and simply view everything as being part of All That Is, then “the Designer” and “the Designed” become one and the same and the question dissolves into nothing (or everything!).

Works for me.

A few years ago I decided that I was going to become what I termed back then as “an opportunist”. My thinking was that as we are making our way through life, at certain points opportunities just seem to appear and each time they do we have a choice to respond. Most people decline, usually through fear of failure.

Now, several years later, I want to write here how my ideas on this have “evolved”.

I believe that the process is initiated by us first creating movement. For instance, we phone a friend, we visit someone, whatever it is we actually decide to get up and do something. This movement creates change, and part of that change is opportunity. Now recognise the opportununities for what they are and seize them with both hands, knowing that doing so creates more movement, more change, and more opportunities.

There you have it.

Now for most people this doesn’t work, and for the silliest of reasons. Most people just sit there. Same job. Same church. Same TV shows. Same beer. Same conversations. Same whatever. They bemoan the fact that life is so boring, such a dead-end street. But they do not see that they do not create movement, and so do not even get off the starting blocks.

Others create movement, actually get off their arses and get out there. Strike up a conversation. Talk to someone they don’t know. Sit at a different table for lunch. Whatever. But then when opportunity is created from this movement they shrink back into their shells. “Oh no”, they say, “oh no, I couldn’t possibly do that.” And they will come up with a thousand good reasons why that opportunity is not for them. They are paralysed with fear, fear of failure.

A very few seize that opportunity, seeing it for what it really is. These people see success as seizing an opporunity and running with it as far as it can go. That is the measure of succes: A path to more movement, more opportunity, more growth, more experience, more life. How that living like that ever be anything other than successful?

I don’t care how strong your convictions are about what people should or shouldn’t do, you are just going to have to learn that you can’t legislate morality. If you think people should not do this or that, you cannot repeat cannot stop them from doing it simply by making it illegal. All that will achieve is make them aware, as they continue doing whatever they are doing, that they are violating your rules. And do they care? Not a jot. And why? Because each person who lives and breathes does what they believe to be good for them. All of us. No exceptions. Do we need a law to forbid people from drinking sulphuric acid? Of course not, because why would anyone do anything that is so obviously bad for them? Do we need a law that says you must breathe every few seconds? Of course not. People do what they do because theyare utterly convinced that it will benefit them in some way. So if you try and stop that through some law or rule, one thing is for certain – they will not stop. Why would they?

“Yesterday’s high-spirited mood keeps the fun going today, but without incurring any penalties. You will be in an irresistibly charismatic mood, which bodes well for your relationships. Attached Pisceans can look forward to a cozy evening, while singles can look forward to a buzzing one! “

I’ll admit that I’ve never been a great fan of horoscopes. During my Christian years I viewed them with deep-seated suspicion for their clearly demon-inspired error, and nowadays as a free thinking New Ager with nonchelant indifference.

BUT ….

(and please humour me if you have already figured this out for yourself) I have discovered a rather handy way to use my horoscope. Rather than viewing it as a predestined prophecy of how my day will be, I see it as a possible reality that I can create for myself should it so appeal to me.

There you have it.

This afternoon we visited a school function and I found myself chatting with a couple I had never met before. After discussing one thing and another the subject of the church came up and they asked me if i was a member. I offered a brief answer that I had been a member of the church for a good number of years, but was now no longer involved.

However, the observation that interested me most was that not only did I feel neither a need nor desire to justify or explain why I had left Christianity, but also that I felt neither a need nor desire to justify or explain my new “New Age” beliefs. I was content to simply let it be.

Its a wonderful freedom to simply be, to allow others to be, to bless that which you do not choose, and to have nothing to sell.

Yesterday we all went along to the opening ceremony of the new church building extensions at my parents church, a small presbyterian community of mostly older people.

The building is to be used not just for chuch meetings, but also for a variety of community activities like indoor bowls, girl guides and the like.

I liked the idea they had embraced that the building was open to use by any group that “shared our values, not necessarily our beliefs.”

I wonder how diffferent the world would look if world leaders were smart enough to make the same distinction.

A group of people were blind-folded and asked to compare the taste of a normal strawberry yogurt, and compare it with a new, improved strawberry yogurt. Almost all of them agreed the new strawberry yogurt was better. When the blindfolds were removed, they discovered that the new strawberry yogurt was actually chocolate!

Similar studies have been done with swapping cheap and expensive wines, and even simply adding red food colouring into a white wine and passing it for red.

These results show that our expectations actually determine the outcome, that our reality is produced by our expectation of what is going to happen.

Before you decide to “become a christian” there’s a few things you might like to think about:

There are lots of religions in the world – what makes you think christianity is the only right one?

There are lots of holy books in the world – what makes you think the bible is the only right one?

Your teachers tell you that God gives us free will – but what kind of free will is it when choosing one thing over another brings condemnation?

Your teachers tell you that Jesus prayed for unity, yet over the years there have been hundreds of different “denominations” that cannot agree on the most basic common ideas and – worse still – fight amongst themselves.

Your teachers use fear – the antithesis of all they say that God is – to gain your assent to their petty teachings. “Believe as we say or Perish!”

Over the ages, the christian church – both protestant and catholic – has been responsible for the murder of countless thousands of people (witch hunts, crusades, inquisitions, hugenots)

Believe what you like, but think it through!