NUMBERS OF FUNDAMENTALIST EVANGELICAL PROTESTANT "TRUE CHRISTIANS" GLOBALLY

Fundamentalist evangelical Christians like to state that they are members of the largest religion in the world and imply that the 2.1 billion global Christians all think the same as they do and that Christianity is rapidly growing. That is clearly incorrect.

In Australia, of the roughly 64% identifying as Christian in 2006, the largest proportions were either Roman Catholic (25.8%) or Anglican (18.7%), with the third largest group being the 5.7% affiliated with the Uniting Church in Australia. Baptists account for 2.5% of the total Christian population. The National Church Life Survey found about 8.8% of the Australian population attended a church in one of the covered denominations in a given week in 2001. That means that 91.2% of the population didn't attend church. Australia is thus hardly a Christian nation but one of the most secularised nations in the world.

Church attendance in civilised Western countries countries is falling as are the number of people calling themselves Christian.

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"many scholars around the world are noticing how the trend of Christianity is losing its light in the West but rising as the new light in Asia, Africa, and Latin America." - the less educated countries. ""In Western Europe, we are hanging on by our fingernails. The fact is that Europe is no longer Christian."

Found in http://www.christianpost.com/news/scholars-find-decline-of-christianity-in-the-west-19971/
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" American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS 2008)

Prior to 1990, the popularity of Christianity had been stable in the U.S. About 87% of adults identified themselves as Christians. The country then experienced a major change. Significant numbers of American adults began to disaffiliate themselves from Christianity and from other organized religions. By 2008, the percentage of Christians had reached 76% and is believed to be continuing its decline.

The ex-Christians do not seem to have joined new religious movements (NRMs) or other world religions; they mostly left organized religion entirely.

Since World War II, this same process had been observed in other countries, like the U.K., other European countries, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Found http://natureorgod.lefora.com/2010/08/10/decline-in-christianity-world-wide/
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Other links confirming this:

http://root48.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/new-york-times-on-christian-decline/

http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=13462

http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/1992/aug1992p3_759.html

http://www.whychurch.org.uk/trends.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Europe

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2719604/Christianity-in-Global-Context-Trends-and-Statistics

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/rel_chu_att-religion-church-attendance

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For statistical purposes: Groups which self-identify as part of Christianity include (but are not limited to): African Independent Churches (AICs), the Aglipayan Church, Amish, Anglicans, Armenian Apostolic, Assemblies of God; Baptists, Calvary Chapel, Catholics, Christadelphians, Christian Science, the Community of Christ, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("Mormons"), Coptic Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches, Ethiopian Orthodox, Evangelicals, Iglesia ni Cristo, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Local Church, Lutherans, Methodists, Monophysites, Nestorians, the New Apostolic Church, Pentecostals, Plymouth Brethren, Presbyterians, the Salvation Army, Seventh-Day Adventists, Shakers, Stone-Campbell churches (Disciples of Christ; Churches of Christ; the "Christian Church and Churches of Christ"; the International Church of Christ); Uniate churches, United Church of Christ/Congregationalists, the Unity Church, Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, Vineyard churches and others. These groups exhibit varying degrees of similarity, cooporation, communion, etc. with other groups. None are known to consider all other Chrisian sub-groups to be equally valid. David Barrett, an Evangelical Christian who is the compiler of religion statistics for the Encyclopedia Britannica and the World Christian Encyclopedia, includes all of the groups listed above in the worldwide statistics for Christianity.

from http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Christianity

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Obviously most in this list think that the others are "not true Christians".

If one looks at the numbers in each denomination one finds that of the 2.1 billion Christians on the face of the earth 1.2 billion are Catholics and only 670 million are Protestants. Protestants say that Catholics are "not true Christians" so, to be truthful, fundamentalist conservative evangelical Protestants should only count their 670 million as "true Christians" and from that number subtract all Mormons, Jehovah's witnesses, liberal Christians and other Protestant groups they think are "not true Christians". This puts fundamentalist conservative evangelical Protestants who are "true Christians" a little less in numbers than traditional Chinese religion (ranked 5th).

The numbers of total Christians (which include those whom Christians think are "not true Christians") does not reflect the very small number of Christians they think are "true Christians". So Christians include those whom they think are "not true Christians" when it comes to global numbers that are beneficial to them but exclude those same "not true Christians" in daily practice. It's called hypocrisy and double standard.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations_by_number_of_members

There are massive differences between Catholic and Orthodox theology compared to Protestant theology and even greater differences when it comes to comparison with the small minority of fundamentalist conservative Protestant Christians.

See http://christianityinview.com/comparison.html

World Christian Database as of 2007 estimated the growth rate of Christianity at 1.38%. This is far from "considerable". Compare this to other religions:

2000-2005

1.94% - Islam
1.70% - Bahá'í Faith
1.62% - Sikhism
1.57% - Jainism
1.52% - Hinduism
1.38% - Christianity

Source: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2007/05/13/the_list_the_worlds_fastest_growing_religions

Christianity is lagging behind those other religions.

Then , of course, there has been the growth of atheism. The figures released in 2007 of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census figures on religion demonstrates no-religion has increased by a marked 3.2% - that is 239.89% of the growth rate of Christianity.

See http://evolutionspace.wordpress.com/2007/05/03/worldwide-atheism-trend-and-pattern-a-summary/

Often quoted by evangelical Christians is the great numbers of Christians in the Sahara.

" the Christian share of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has soared over the past century, from 9% to 63%. Meanwhile, the think-tank says, the Christian proportion of Europeans and people in the Americas has dropped, respectively, from 95% to 76% and from 96% to 86%."  - http://www.economist.com/node/21542195

The article at  http://pewforum.org/Christian/Global-Christianity-africa.aspx  states "The majority of Christians in sub-Saharan Africa are Protestant (57%), ... About one-in-three Christians in the region (34%) are Catholic. Orthodox Christians account for about 8% of the region’s Christians, and other Christians make up the remaining 1%." - 

Evangelical Christians like to say that Catholics, Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons are "not true Christians" in ordinary everyday practice but when it comes to global numbers of Christians they are suddenly their best buddies. Nothing so wonderful as Christians counting heretics in their numbers.

Should we now mention how Christian belief has plummeted over the past 100 years in the West? " Europe now accounts for only 25.9 percent of the global Christian population, down 40 percent from a century ago."... While the majority of Christians lived in Europe in 1910, by 2010 only about one in four Christians live in Europe.” Europe accounted for 66.3 percent of the world’s Christian population in 1910. Today, it represents 25.9 percent. The proportion of European Christians has dropped from 94.5 percent of the population to 76.2 percent in 100 years.... The researchers used a broad definition in determining the number of Christians worldwide, with a sociological purpose rather than a theological one. “We are attempting to count groups and individuals who self-identify as Christian,” the report states. “This includes people who hold beliefs that may be viewed as unorthodox or heretical by other Christians. It also includes Christians who seldom pray or go to church.” ... Christianity has remained roughly one-third of the global population (35 percent in 1910, 32 percent in 2010), calling it a “picture of relative stability” as world population has grown.
- http://cnsnews.com/news/article/reporteurope-no-longer-epicenter-christianity
 

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 “Growing churches continue to grow and declining churches continue to decline,” according to the National Council of Churches’ 2011 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. What many of these reports do not say is that the churches that are growing, are simply picking up the members of those leaving the declining churches. ...

“If the current decline in church attendance were the medical case history of a hospital patient, the diagnosis would read: “Chronically ill; resistant to change; on life support; likely terminal.” The church itself is the one institution most in need of the very thing it proclaims to the world — salvation.”

from http://www.stevemcswain.com/blog/2011/12/the-decline-of-the-church-will-2012-be-more-of-the-same/
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COMBAT THE WAR ON NEW YEAR'S DAY - KEEP JANUS IN JANUARY

Combat the WAR ON NEW YEAR'S DAY. Keep Janus in January as the tradition of over 2000 years states.

January 1 was the day was consecrated to Janus since it was the first of the new year and of the month (kalends) of Janus.  it was customary to exchange cheerful words of good wishes on that day.  Everyone devoted a short time to his usual business exchanged dates, figs and honey as a token of well wishing and gifts of coins called strenae. Cakes made of spelt (far) and salt were offered to the god and burnt on the altar.   Shortly afterwards, on January 9, on the feria of the Agonium of January the rex sacorum offered the sacrifice of a ram to Janus

CHRISTIAN CHURCH CRISIS - DISCONNECT BETWEEN UNIVERSITY AND PULPIT

"Why is there such a disconnect between what is being taught in universities, divinity schools, and seminaries across the country, and what is being taught every Sunday from the pulpit? ... three possible explanations.

The first is that some ministers, though they learned about the conclusions and debates within Biblical scholarship while in college, never really bought into much of it. ...

The second possible explanation is simply that ministers don't want to alarm their congregations by consistently talking about the historical-critical method of Biblical scholarship. Since congregations are made up of lay-people, they might have their faith shaken if they learn that, for instance, we don't actually know who wrote most of the books of the Bible, Church tradition of authorship notwithstanding.

The third possible explanation is that pastors want to keep their jobs. ... if ... , a pastor is constantly barraging his congregation with historical scholarship instead of feel-good sermons reinforcing theirfaith, not only will he start losing members, he might even put his own job in jeopardy."

from http://www.freak-search.com/en/thread/634368/the_academy_and_the_pulpit_a_disconnect_2010

CHRISTIANS, WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO?

This is a whopping 69% of Christians' tithes, offerings and love gifts spent on Staff  Wages, Facilities and Administration costs. That leaves a mere 31% for everything else.  Why aren't churches taxed?

The figures for Australia are much harder to get because of their tax free exemption as a "charity". There is no public reporting of income and expenditure.

Need I remind people that churches across the world regularly say that the you are giving "for the Lord's work". Apparently the Lord's work mainly includes paying clergy and staff and upkeep on the building. You'd think the Lord (Jesus Christ Superstar) would have better things to work on such as feeding starving children in third world nations or giving us the cure for cancer. The Lord Jesus works in mysterious ways.

LET'S PUT THE FIRST CHRIST BACK INTO CHRISTMAS

I'd like to bring the first Christ back into Christmas.

The Hebrew word for Messiah is: Mashiaẖ מָשִׁיחַ and means ANOINTED, or Anointed One, and comes from the Hebrew verb Mashah, meaning “to anoint”, or even more generally, to “spread a liquid” – here, in the context of the role and function of Messiah, this liquid is OIL and the purpose of this anointing is to Sanctify/Make Holy/ Set Apart SO...METHING or SOMEONE for a specific purpose in the worship of the Creator God YHWH.

In the book of Genesis Jacob pours oil on top of the rock he used as a pillow in a ceremony of sanctification:

“And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and POURED OIL upon the top of it….”And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that you shall give me I will surely give the tenth unto you.’” [Gen. 28:18, 22]

In Genesis 31:13 God recognizes this Pillar as having been ANOINTED:

“I am the God of Beth-el, where you did ANOINT (Mashachtah) מָשַׁחְתָּ a pillar, where you did vow a vow unto Me.”

So the very first Christ was a rock.

Let's put a stone back into Christmas.

Homosexuality - A message to Christians regarding love

Why are Christains spending so much time attempting to discriminate against homosexuals when Jesus never stated a single word about it? Loving your neighbour, as Jesus commanded, includes loving your homosexual neighbour. Negating basic human rights for homosexuals is not loving your homosexual neighbour. Why be so concerned with what two people who love each other do in the privacy of their bedroom and not be concerned with what Jesus did state about love?

Think about 1 John 4:20. How can you love your homosexual neighbour if at the same time you have the following dictionary meanings associated with homophobia:
- contempt of
- hatred for
- apprehension of
- prejudice against
- aversion to
- discrimination against

homosexuals / homosexuality?

Utterly impossible! Your love must be shown in your actions for faith without works is dead (James 2:20). Therefore you must clearly demonstrate the antonyms of the above if you truly love your homosexual neighbour:
- admiration, affection, approbation, approval, endorsement, love, regard, respect, sanction
- agreeability, calmness, contentment, enjoyment, good nature, happiness, joy, peace, pleasantness
- assurance, calmness, composure, confidence, peace, quietness, repose, security
- fairness, justice, regard, respect, tolerance
- affection, attachment, care, fondness, kindness, like, liking, love, sympathy
- fairness, tolerance

Australian same sex marriage & homophobic Christians numbers game

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From http://www.smh.com.au/national/gay-rift-deepens-for-alp-right-20111201-1o9ad.html

"the Australian Christian Lobby and the Australian Family Association presented a petition of 90,000 signatures to right-wing delegates opposed to same-sex marriage."

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According to http://www.australianmarriageequality.com/wp/2011/12/02/140285-signature-strong-petition-shows-australia-says-i-do-to-marriage-equality/

GetUp and Australian Marriage Equality present a 140,285 signature petition supporting gay marriage. That is another 50% more than the homophobic Christian petition.

Will homophobic Christians allow the majority of citizens to have their way? Probably not. They don't care about democracy and majority public opinion.

This is just another statistic indicating the decline of Christainity in the West. The vast majority of Christians are out of touch with the society in which they live. When Christianity becomes a small minority grouop some time in the future - as will surely happen - will Christians want their basic human rights denied in the same manner that Christians have denied basic human rights for others?

It appears that the church thinks it perfectly moral to marry divorced people in church though Jesus forbad divorce in one gospel. It is also seems perfectly moral for the church to marry a greedy banker who makes a living usury that is forbidden in the bible. (The greedy banker is probably on the church board and never gets criticised for his usury.) It also appears perfectly moral for the church to marry heterosexual couples who have lived together "in sin" for several years. Unfortunately no Christian is advocating slavery today though both Old and New Testraments advocate it. Nor is any Christian lobbying for the right to commit genocide though the book of Joshua advocates it. Christians also opposed the abolition of slavery, equal rights for coloured people and the ordination of women clergy - and used bible verses for their opposition. Christians have a history of denying people their basic human rights. Christians are very selective in which bits of the bible they want to follow. It is dictated by the prejudice they already hold.
 
According to statistics the majority of Aussies support gay marriage (60%). Homophobic Christians are in the minority (37%). http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8145152/australians-back-gay-marriage-poll . Jesus never spoke about homosexuality so it can't be an important issue. Christian homophobic fear mongering is far in excess to the percentage of time Jesus spent on the matter. The contemporary church appears to be homophobic and to have forgotten how to love their neighbour which includes homosexual couples. Homophobic Christians are trying to deny two homosexual people made in God's image and in love the basic human right to marry. Homophobic Christian rants on the matter use the same type of arguments that racist Christians used against integration and sexist Christians used to deny women the right to be clergy.

Arguments for same-sex marriage include those which are based upon what is regarded as a universal human rights issue, mental and physical health concerns, equality before the law, and the goal of normalizing LGBT relationships.

Homophobic Christians are discriminating against a group of people and denying their basic human rights based soley on homophobic prejudice regarding their sexuality. The statistics in other countries also plainly show that none of theose countries now have people advocating marrying multiple partners, or animals or anything else negative raised by the homophobic chorus of Christians in Australia.

In Atlanta 1964 Martin Luther King spoke about how few of the white churches supported him in the quest for basic human rights for negroes: "Too much of the white church is timid and ineffectual, and some of it is shrill in its defense of bigotry and prejudice. In most communities the spirit of the stus quo is endorsed by the churches." The same could be said about the church and its homophobic stance against same sex marriage.

It should also be noted that homophobia is turning people off church in Australia.  I quote from http://www.samesame.com.au/news/local/7592/Homophobia-turns-Aussies-off-church.htm

"New research into Christianity in Australia has revealed that religious intolerance to homosexuality is a key reason why people reject the church.Almost 30% of those surveyed by Christian media group Olive Tree Media say the stance of churches on homosexuality blocked them from engaging with Christianity".  Do you Christians want more people in your church? Try getting rid of yopur homophobia.

Homophobic Christians do not have the right to force their minority opinion on the majority of the population. In the future those that have opposed same sex marriage will be looked upon in the same way we now view racists, sexists and slave owners. The only question is when same sex marriage will become law.

HOW TO WRITE A SERMON - THE CLERGY'S SCAM

How is a sermoan prepared?

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1. Choose the Preaching Portion.
2. Read and Study Entire Context of Preaching Portion.
3. Read Repeatedly Through Preaching Portion – Perhaps as Many as a Dozen Times.
4. Outline the Passage.
5. Check Key Words and Phrases in the Original Language.
6. Discover the Theme of the Passage.
7. Consult Commentaries and the Writings of Others.
8. Discover an Angle for the Sermon.
9. Formulate a Proposition.
10. Write the Sermon Outline.
11. Write the Sermon Draft.
12. Choose a Title.
13. Revise, Tighten, and Reword Where Necessary.
14. Get the Final, Printed Copy to the Church Secretary for Distribution to Absentees, Deaf Ministry, Shut-ins, etc.
15. Preach Message. Distribute Tapes and Printed Copies.
16. Repeat This Process, at Least in Part, for the Evening Service. Start Over Again on Monday.

Adapted from http://preacherstudy.com/time3.html

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Exactly like a teacher does in every classroom worldwide:
- reflecting on subject matter
- consulting reference material
- consulting curriculum / institution guidelines
- considering age and ability of students
- preparing material
- delivering material
- getting feedback from students via assessments / tests
- evaluating effectiveness of material and delivery for each student
- remediating if necessary
- repeat for every class

Absolutely no different at all and exactly the same process - only a teacher does far more. No clergy sets an assessment or test. No clergy does sermoans every day of the working week.

No sermoan is is complicated. No sermoan is geared above a person of average intelligence. No sermoan goes into great detail. No sermoan is a literary masterpiece. They are also simple monologues geared to Stage 3 or lower in Fowler's Stages of Faith and using language and vocabulary of an average 10 year old.

I offered to write a full year's sermoans for one famous Aussie clergyman and do it in one day - for the cost of his yearly salary. I even told him how it could be done.

You pick out special days and look at bible verses that related to them - Mother's Day, Father's Day, Australia Day, etc. You do a month each on Easter and Christmas. With those five items mentioned you already have 11 different week's material - almost a quarter of the year. You only use the most popular bible verses found at http://www.topverses.com/ and fill in the rest of the year using those bible verses. You consult sermon outlines to pinch material from such as that from http://sermonoutlines.org/
 
You make three simple points for each sermoan such as the areas of:
1. Meaning
2. Application
3. Evaulation

Dead easy and simple to do. It is a simple creative writing exercise. I can do a year's sermoans in 24 hours and my offer is still open to any clergy who want to test me. My fee is the clergy's complete yearly salary (including love gifts, fees for speaking engagements as a visiting minister and at seminars and retreats, sale of dvds & books, perks, etc.)
Paying clergy a salary for a 20 plus hour writing of a sermoan is a scam that requires exposing.

For a related article see http://www.stufffundieslike.com/2011/11/how-to-write-a-sermon/ I quote from that link: "No good sermon should ever take more than 20 or 30 minutes to write. If you’re spending more time than that, you’re doing it wrong and should probably just use the sermon that you heard a guy preach at that conference that one time."

Fundamentalism - A C Grayling

From A C Grayling " Ideas That Matter". My comments in *[ ... ]



Someone who believes in the literal truth of a religious holy text is a fundamentalist of the religion in question.  By extension, people with very strong religious commitments which they believe to be close to the founding intentions of their religion are also described as fundamentalists even if they allow some interpretation of their scriptures. *[ It is thus utterly impossible for me to be a fundamentalist as I hold no commitment to a literal interpretation of any religious text nor any strong religious commitment to the founding intentions of any religion .] ... Fundamentalism's manifestations have taken sometimes horrifying forms ... In every case fundamentalists ... are opposed to democracy, liberal pluralism, free speech, and equal rights for women.  They reject the discoveries of modern science in the fields of physics and biology, and assert the literal and unrevisable truth of their ancient holy writings. *[An example is creationsim / Intelligent Design.] All the major fundamentalisms are determined to take control of the states in which they exist, and to impose their view of things on them. *[This should be a worry to every citizen.] ... what kind of ethics would be imposed by, say, a fundamentalist Christian government in the United States, if such came to pass. *[ I shudder to think! For a start, homosexuals would be persecuted, art banned, science destroyed, history rewritten and Islam banned.  The bible would be the standard for all law including stoning rebellious sons, no work on the Sabbath and rigid blasphemy laws. ] ... a religious morality imposed by enthusiasts would controvert almost every tenet of liberal views about tolerance, openess, personal autonomy, and choice, and would impose instead a harsh and limiting authority on behaviour and opinion, and doubtless even on dress and entertainment. *[In other words, a return to the Dark Age.]

PROOF OF SANTA'S EXISTENCE

From Rachel Held Evans "Evolving in Monkeytown" (Zondervan: 2010) pp. 32-33

Skeptic:

How do you know that Santa is real? Have you ever seen him?

Me:

No, I haven't. But Santa leaves enough evidence of his existence to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Every year I find presents from him under the tree and little crumbs all over the kitchen table where I left his plate of cookies. I might not see Santa himself, but these things point to him, as bending trees point to the existence of wind.

Skeptic:

How come there's a different Santa in every department store?

Me:

Those are Santa's helpers, who, with his permission, disguise themselves as Mr. Claus in order to more efficiently compile a list of what the children across the world want for Christmas.

Skeptic:

Everyone knows that reindeer can't fly. How does Santa get around?

Me:

Yes, it is true that most reindeer cannot fly. However, reindeer empowered by the Holy Spirit can do anything God tells them to do, and those are the kind of reindeer Santa owns. For a prototype, read the story of Balaam's donkey in the book of Numbers.

Skeptic:

How can one person make it to every rooftop in the world in just one night?

Me:

Who says Santa is a person? Although Saint Nick is not mentioned by name, the Bible clearly points to the existence of supernatural angelic beings whose primary directive is to protect, inform, and bless humans. If Santa is an angel on a mission from God to reward the good children of the world, he's likely to boast supernatural strength and speed.

Skeptic:

What about those kids who say they saw their parents sneaking presents under the tree on Christmas Eve?

Me:

Unfortunately, these kids may be telling the truth.  You see, the scope of Santa's power in our lives is ultimately dependent upon our willingness to accept it. Parents who choose not to believe in Santa forfeit the blessing of his visits forever, and so they must rely on their own methods for supplying kids with presents at Christmas.

Skeptic:

Why do bad kids still get presents?

Me: Why, grace, of course.

Why people are leaving church

Why does no church ask why you have left church? Christians seem to make up their own reasons why people leave church but never ask the people who have left what the real reasons are. It's as if Christians intentionally do not want to know because they may have to change.

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"Although many Australians identify themselves as religious, the majority consider religion the least important aspect of their lives when compared with family, partners, work and career, leisure time and politics. This is reflected in Australia's church attendance rates, which are among the lowest in the world and in continuing decline."

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irreligion_in_Australia

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"Our survey found that about a quarter of people leaving the Church expressed a change in beliefs or simply lost interest in religion. Of that group of people, 62% stated that they had stopped believing in organized religion altogether."

from http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/138855-coming-home-why-people-leave-the-church-and-how-to-bring-them-back.html~

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No one knows the reason for the overall attendance drop, but three possible explanations are:

Worshipers attend less frequently. ...

Aging constituencies. Mainline churches have a disproportionate number of mem­bers age 65 and older. ....

The other side of this dilemma is the failure of churches to reach younger persons. .....

Lack of interest in religion. Adding to the challenge of reaching younger people is the fact that the age group in which self-identified adherents of "no religion" are found most is 25-34. Additional indicators of decreasing interest in church life are found in the General Social Survey 2008: fewer people report going to church "several times a year" and more people report going "once a year." Fewer report going "less than once a year" while many more report going "never." In fact, the attendance category that has grown the most since 1990 is "never."

from http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2010-09/no-shows

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

.. In the past when life had fewer distractions people measured Church attendance on a weekly basis, but today regular Churchgoing is often measured as those that go at least once a month. ... through the negative experience of Church, nearly all of these de-churched people are closed to invites to Church. ... So far nothing the Church leaders have done seems to have brought about any change in the decline that started in the 50's. ... The decline for attendance forecasts a 55% fall from the 1980 level by 2020. ... even amongst the membership the Church in general struggles to attract people to services. The rate of decline in buildings is significantly less than that for membership, suggesting that congregations are on average getting much smaller with many more nearing the point when they will cease to be financially viable. ... the Church in the UK is one that fails to attract four people groups:
1.Christians
2.men
3.young people
4.the poor ....

from from http://www.whychurch.org.uk/trends.php

Critique of Richard Rohr and his "cosmic Christ"

A critique of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LYQQO5uFtA  - Fr. Richard Rohr - Cosmic Christ.

Richard Rohr reinvents of the historical Jesus of Nazareth as the mythical Christ of faith and calls him the "cosmic Christ". It is merely Marcus Borg's post-Easter Jesus. http://www.aportraitofjesus.org/compare.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pre-Easter Jesus  / Post-Easter Jesus

4 B.C.E. to 30 C.E. / 30 C.E. to present
Corporeal, human being of flesh and blood / Spiritual non-material reality
Finite and mortal  / Infinite, eternal
Human / Divine
A Jewish peasant / King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Figure of the past / Figure of the present
Jesus of Nazareth / Jesus Christ
Monotheistic Jew / Becomes the second person of the trinity, "God with a human face"
Galilean Jew of the first century / "The Face of God" (metaphor based on 2 Cor. 4:6 Beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is mythical and not historical. It is based in mysticism (4:45 ff) and not rationality. He confuses Jesus with God. There is no "cosmic Christ"in reality. A Christ is one anointed BY God and therefore can never be God Himself and certainly a messiah / christ is never infinite.

One does not require Jesus for the concepts that he is talking about. Substitute his "cosmic Christ" with Thor, Woden, Zeus or any other god or being and it works just as well.

Rohr borrows much from other Christian mystics like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (19:20 ff) and primarily from "The Phenomenon of Man". See http://www.teilharddechardin.org/ I don't find Rohr saying anything new or startling that differs from such past Christian mystics. His "dualistic mind" (22:28) and thinking "both / and" about Jesus and the mythical Christ of faith confuses the two completely different entities and is both irrational and illogical. Rohr wants you to believe the two are exactly the same but they are vastly different as Marcus Borg explains. His "contemplative mind (23:30) merges everything as one and leaves no room for discernment of very important differences. God gave you a mind to use and that means using discernment, logic and reason. 

CHRISTOPHOBE - a new insult used by Fundamentalist Christians

Christophobe

An insult used by Christian fundamentalist extremists against anyone who disagrees with their twisted, hateful interpretation of scripture, and the homophobia, sexism and racism that it implies. Part of a greater sentiment among Christians that they are persecuted, despite the fact that Christianity is the most powerful and publicly accepted religion in this country, most government officials are Christian, including the President, as well as most notable figures in the media. Some fundamentalist Christians want a world in which public schoolchildren are forced to pray to Jesus Christ, homosexuals are actively persecuted, non-Christians are second class citizens and women with unwanted pregnancies end up bleeding to death from self-administered abortions. Anyone opposed to this twisted fantasy of what would in actuallity be a hellish and depressing future is labeled a "Christiophobe."

Fundie: "Stop gay marriage! Homosexuality is evil! Homosexuals are EEEVIL!!!"

Non-fundie: "That sounds, oh, I don't know, kind of hateful and mean, don't you think?"

Fundie: "Christophobe!! You are going to hell!"

From http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Christophobe

The beginning of Christianity in Australia

Adapted from Roger C Thompson "Religion in Australia: A history" (Oxford Univeristy Press: 1994) pp 1- 11.

- Laws in England enforcing compulsory attendance at Anglican Church services repealed. Many, especially working class people, stop attending church.

- 1788 - Lieutenant-Govenor Arthur Phillip ordered to 'enforce a due observance of religion and good order among the inhabitants of the new settlement, and that you do take such steps for the celebration of publick worship as circumstances will permit'

- First chaplain to Australia, Rev Richard Johnson, influenced by Anglican Evangelicals. Also appointed as magistrate. His main goal was converting the white and native inghabitants to Christianity. He had little success. Johnson and other following clergy had less success with Aboriginals than with whites. None had any respect for Aboriginal culture or religion.

- Rev Samuel Marsden appointed to assist Johnson and then becomes successor. Hands out savage flogging sentences. Marsden opposed the appontment of any Roman Catholic clergy to the colony. Appointment of Anglican clergymen as magistrates continued until 1827.

- Governor Macquarie orders compulsory church attendance for convicts in government service and enforces laws prohibiting publicans to trade during hours of worship. He prohibited Marsden's move to introduce a new version of the psalms and ordered government notices be read in worship services.

- 1821 - Govenor Thomas Brisbane (and his successor Ralph Darling) gave the Anglican church land grants, clergy salaries and support for their schools. Government supported Anglican schools provided the majority of education.

- 1825 - London Missionary Society's Lancelot Threkold began a mission to Aboriginals of the Awabakal people of Lake Macquarie and documents "a war of expiration" against Aboriginal people to which most of his fellow clergy had closed their eyes. Marsden opposed the mission and influenced the London Missionary Society to withdraw its support.

- 1830 - First Anglican Bishop in Australia, Willian Broughton, told Govenor Darling that there were church seats for less than half of Sydney's Protestant population, and many of those were empty at Sunday worship services. In particular, working class people showed 'little disposition to attend'. Frequent comments were made by clergy that Sundays were treated by colonists as a day for entertainment or idleness rather than church attendance.

- 1836 - NSW Church Act providing for financial assistance for ministerial salaries and building subsidies of the four main denominations though Anglicans receive the greatest share.

- 1840 - Broughton seeks the banning of sporting events and the sale of meat on Sundays (not passed as law).

- Drunkeness was one of the clergy's greatest complaints.

Molly Morgan - Founder of Maitland, NSW, Australia

My newest song is about Molly Morgan. 

Molly Morgan is the founder of Maitland, NSW, Australia. When you first come to Maitland you are instantly told about the boxer Les Darcy and the Maitland flood of 1955. Molly Morgan is completely ignored. As far as I can tell this is the first song in the world about Molly Morgan. There is also a scarcity of information about her on the net. The three sites I have found are:
http://www.mollymorgan.com/index.php?page=mollymorgan
http://www.mollymorganmi.com.au/Legend-Molly-Morgan.htm
http://www.convictcreations.com/history/mollymorgan.htm

I wrote this song after reading an article in the Maitland Mercury about Les Darcy. I also asked the Editor of the Maitland Mercury what she thought the essential aspect of Maitland was after she commented at Morpeth Men's Shed that the newspaper should reflect the community. All we ever hear about is Les Darcy and the 1955 flood. Molly Morgan is much more interesting.

She was born Mary, the daughter of a ratcatcher and labourer in the village of Diddlesbury, Shropshire , England. At 16 she was sent to work as a nursemaid for a local farmer, and some time later bore a child out of wedlock, rumoured to be his. The girl was named Mary, like her mother.

William Morgan, an apprentice wheelwright met Molly Jones and they married on June 25th, 1785, with Molly bringing her daughter Mary to live with them. A son, James, was born in the next year.

In 1790 she was caught stealing hemp from a linen factory. Both Molly and William were arrested. William escaped, leaving his wife to bear the brunt of the charge and Molly was found guilty and sentenced to death. She lobbied for transportation, and was granted a term of 14 years in one of the British colonies. Molly was boarded onto the 'Neptune', part of the notorious Second Fleet, departing England in January 1790.

Only five years into her sentence, she became friends with a Captain Locke from the ship Resolution and managed to get a free passage back to England . So well did she endear herself to the captain, he supplemented a luxurious return journey with a wedding proposal.

She arrived back in London safely, collected her children and eventually entered into marriage with Thomas Mare, a wealthy brassfounder from Plymouth. (as William Morgan had finally been caught and transported to Australia himself). However Mare later accused Molly of burning down their house after a domestic squabble where Molly said that he was disrespectful, then she was accused again of stealing in 1803 and sentenced to 7 years transportation.

Molly became friendly with an army captain who acquired for her some land and a few head of cattle. Molly proved herself to be a more than capable farmer as her herd multiplied in size at rate never seen before. It was then discovered that Molly's ingenious farming practice was to brand Government cattle as her own.

This time Molly's charms were of no use and she was sent to sent to the Newcastle Penal Colony, a place reserved for the most wicked of Convicts.

The Convict labourers assigned to her proved themselves to be particularly productive workers. It seems Molly's management technique was to supply them with liquor as a bonus for hard work.

Molly set up residence with an Officer of the Settlement she and negotiated her ticket of leave (parole); was part of a select group settled at Wallis' Plains; was promised a grant of 159 acres by Governor Macquarie; and later had this honoured in 1825. Today this land forms most of Maitland's CBD - the region's largest city.

At age 61, she married for the third time to Joseph Hunt - aged 31.

She also received what is believed to be the first liquor licence in NSW, which she and Joe opened up their famed watering hole, Maitland’s 'Angel Inn' near the site of modern Maitland's New Vine church, High Street. She rapidly evolved the asset into chain of taverns along the river ports and bullock tracks of the Hunter Valley .

In 1827 'The Australian' published a letter praising Molly Hunt (formerly Molly Morgan) for her drive and donations towards the building of the school and church, visiting the sick, running her own home-made hospital, aiding settlers upon their arrival, helping in times of flood and taking a special interest in the welfare of convicts.

She died aged 73 in 1835 and is often referred to as "Queen of the Hunter Valley".

*[Compiled from various sources named above]

Tripartite nonsense and the lack of a functioning Christian mind

From Strong's Concordance at http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html

1. GREEK

SPIRIT pneuma ..... the RATIONAL spirit, the power by which the human being FEELS. THINKS .... SOUL

SOUL PYSCHE (The SAME term psychologists use for the mind) ... SOUL ...DIFFERS FROM THE BODY and is NOT DISSOLVED BY DEATH

2. HEBREW

SPIRIT

nshamah - INTELLECT ... SOUL, SPIRIT.

ruwach - ... MIND ... SPIRIT ...

ruwach (Aramaic) - MIND, SPIRIT

SOUL:

nshamah - INTELLECT .... SOUL, SPIRIT.

nephesh - MIND ... SOUL

THEREFORE

The BIBLICAL user of SPIRIT / SOUL (GREEK & HEBREW) means (from above)

SPIRIT = RATIONAL spirit, FEELING. THINKING part, SOUL, MIND, INTELLECT
SOUL = INTELLECT, SPIRIT, human VITALITY, MENTAL activity, GHOST, HEART,MIND

SO ..................

SOUL = SPIRIT
SPIRIT = SOUL

SOUL / SPIRIT / MIND / PSYCHE ARE ALL THE SAME!

Although the concept of mind is understood in many different ways most agree that minds are constituted by conscious experience and intelligent thought. Common attributes of mind include perception, reason, imagination, memory, emotion, attention, free-will and a capacity for communication.

Many Christians think the mind is carnal, evil, of the flesh and should not be used at all. It definitely shows. Christianity is in a rapid decline due to this continuous dumbing down. Such Christians often quote Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." If you don't go by your own understand then whose understanding do you live by? They live the by man-made dogmatic understanding of the man-made bible and how that is subjectively translated in their particular church denomination. You let someone else do your thinking for you as your brain hurts every time it attempts to think. Some Christians erroneously call this brainwashing and abrogating of self management "having the mind of Christ".

What do such Christians use rather than their God-given mind? They use a tiny little bit of the right-brain called intuition and think that is the voice of God and / or their spirit talking to them. It isn't. It is merely a part of self-talk. In the majority of people the mind is used for decision making and problem solving. Such Christians have no need for use of their minds in such activities. They have a bible that they call "God's word" which is "life's instruction manual written by God". You just pick a bible verse that you happen to like and follow it. No use of the mind required. There are so many contradictory bible verses that it is easy to do.

If this man-made bible is "God's word" then God must be senile as he contradicts himself so often in it. He also gets much historic fact completely wrong and doesn't know much about science. It is no wonder that zombies are all the rage in popular culture at the moment. They are obviously based on many church attenders who have no minds of their own. A sort of living dead crying out to eat the blood and flesh of Jesus in the form of a miniscule dry cracker and a thimble of grape juice. As they don't use their minds they cannot tell the difference between this and real flesh and blood or, for that matter, real bread and alcoholic wine.

Being a mindless Christian does have its advantages. You can live as a happy idiot never having to think about anything for the rest of your life. Blissful ignorance.

My Top 25 Books That Every Christian Should Read

Julia L. Roller edited the book "25 Books every Christian Should read". I have read most of those books and didn't think that they were that good.  The only books remotely interesting were :
5. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
18. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
20. The Poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins
 
My list of the Top 25 Books Every Christian Should Read (For some of my favourite authors I have only suggested a main book.):

- Amy Jill Levine "The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the scandal of the Jewish Jesus"
- Anthony Venn-Brown "A Life Of Unlearning"
- Bart Ehrman "Forged"
- Dante Alighieri "The Divine Comedy"
- David J Garrow "Bearing The Cross: Martin Luther King Jr and the Southern-Christian Leadership Conference"
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer "Letters and Papers From Prison"
- Don Cupitt "The Sea Of Faith"
- Elaine Pagels "The Origin Of Satan"
- Frank Schaeffer "Crazy For God"
- Funk, Hoover & The Jesus Seminar "The Five Gospels"
- Fyodor Dostoevsky "The Brothers Karamazov"
- George M Lamsa "Idioms in the Bible Explained & A Key To The Original Gospels"
- James W Fowler "Stages Of Faith"
- Jewish Publication Society "Tanahk"
- John A T Robinson "Honest To God"
- John Dominic Crossan "The Historical Jesus: The life of a Mediterranean peasant"(Alternatively the short version of this book "Jesus: A revolutionary biography")
- John Shelby Spong "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism"
- Karen Armstrong "A History Of God"
- Leo Tolstoy "A Confession & Other Religious Writings"
- Louis Ginzberg "The Legends of the Jews"
- Paul Tillich "The Shaking of the Foundations"
- Paul Tournier "The Person Reborn"
- Peter Cameron "Heretic"
- Robert Crumb "Book of Genesis"
- Soren Kierkegaard "Fear And Trembling"

Turning Advance Australia Fair Into Jesus Jingle

Christian schools re-write Australian national anthem

by: Laura Speranza from:The Sunday Telegraph October 02, 201112:00AM

THOUSANDS of schoolchildren are being forced to sing an alternative version of the Australian national anthem that installs "Christ" as the country's head of state and removes any reference to the Southern Cross.   

In a move that outraged parents' groups have labelled "disrespectful", some 50 Christian schools of mixed denominations have replaced the second verse of Advance Australia Fair with the lyrics, which begin, "With Christ our head and cornerstone, we'll build our nation's might", for school assembly renditions.

The contentious version was penned 23 years ago by Sri Lankan immigrant Ruth Ponniah, 75, who now lives in Sydney, as part of her local church's bicentennial celebrations and is now sung in schools including the Penrith Christian School, St George Christian School, Westmead Christian Grammar School and Bethel Christian School in Mt Druitt.

Federal Education Minister Peter Garrett has admonished the unauthorised words, saying that under national protocols the anthem should not be modified and that the alternative verse had no place in the state's educational institutions - regardless of their religious affiliations.

"Alternative words should not be used and schools should be teaching students to sing the two authorised verses," he said.

But the Australian Parents Council, representing the parents of independent school students, wants Mr Garrett to go further and ban Ms Ponniah's lyrics.

"If you're singing the national anthem, it should be the national anthem you are singing," said executive director Ian Dalton.

"There are many opportunities to express pride in your faith, but the national anthem is not one of them. It shouldn't be tampered with."

Federation of Parents and Citizens' Association of NSW president Helen Walton backed the APC push, saying it was "disrespectful" of schools to endorse a different version of the anthem.

"The national anthem is the national anthem of all Australians regardless of religion," she said. ...

From http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/god-save-us-from-a-religious-chord/story-e6freuy9-1226155189544

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As one who has worked in Christian schooling I think that this has to be one of the most stupidest actions Christian Schools have ever taken (besides banning and censoring art works).

The lyrics of the invented verse in this Jesus Jingle elavator muzak include:

" With Christ our head and cornerstone
We'll build our nation's might
Whose way and truth and life alone
Can guide can guide our path aright
Our lives a sacrifice of love
Reflect our master's gift
With faces turned to heaven above
Advance Australia Fair
In joyful strands then let us sing
Advance Australia fair"

The lyrics tell lies. Australia does not have Jesus as its foundation. We began as penal colony. Jesus is not the only person who can guide Australia properly - he's also dead. There is a masochistic element of blood, gore and guts sacrifice mentioned that they wish to brainwash children into. Heaven is not above in the blue sky somewhere. Jesus said that the kingdom of God was within you.

Do Christians have no ethics? Would Christians like Muslims changing the Australian National Anthem to include verses about Mohammed and Al-Lah? Of course not! they wouldn't tolerate it.

Would Christians like someone to change their hymns and insert Satan instead of Jesus? Maybe people should be singing this in protest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-cbpQqqRBo

Satan loves me, this I know
For the Christians tell me so
Fame and wealth to him belong
Fuck the weekend and be strong

Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
The Christians tell me so

Do it if it hurts no one
Don't hold back, have lots of fun
Don't waste time of God's great plan
Favor yourself all you can

Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
The Christians tell me so

Don't lie to yourself all day
Wisdom is great Satan's way
Love those who deserve your love
And to ingrates, give the shove

Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
The Christians tell me so

If someone has done you wrong
Get revenge and you'll be strong
Honor those who keep their deals
Those who don't just want free meals

Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
The Christians tell me so

No man is an animal
He's in fact above them all
Things the Christians call our sins
Lead us to all of our wins

Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
The Christians tell me so

Satan has been the best friend
Of the church from start to end
With his help it has for years
Ruled our lives with guilt and fears

Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
Yeah, Satan loves me
The Christians tell me so

A Hebrew Christians' conversation with G-d.

A Hebrew Christians' conversation with G-d. (from Marcus Levi )

I wrote this the other day:

A Hebrew-Christian was very confused in his faith so decided to go to G-d directly and ask him if Jesus was really G-d. G-d said ok, how can i prove it to you and will you believe my answer?
...
The Christian said L-rd just tell me and I will believe you but make it clear and not be ambiguous I beg of you L-rd.

Then G-d said, ok then I will be clear, hear me and hear me well:
I am the L-rd your G-d, who brought you out of Egypt, and of the land of slavery. You shall have no other G-ds before Me. Exodus 20:2-3

The Hebrew Christian said: Yea L-rd I hear you but Jesus was part of the trinity with the Holy Spirit you see so he is one with you, although you have 3 separate personalities.

Then G-d Said:
You are the ones who have been shown, so that you will know that G-d is the Supreme Being, and there is none other besides Him! Deuteronomy 4:35

The Hebrew-Christian Said:
I know L-rd there is non beside you but what does that really mean?

G-d Said:
See, now, that I, I am He -- and no G-d is with Me . . . . Deuteronomy 32:39

The Hebrew-Christian said:
Can G-d come down to earth as a man? I mean why not?

G-d said:
To whom then will you liken G-d? To what likeness will you compare Him? Isaiah 40:18

"To whom then will you liken Me, that I should be his equal?" says the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25

"God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should repent. Number 23:19

Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the L-rd, He is G-d in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other! Deuteronomy 4:39

The Hebrew-Christian said:
Ok I hear you so that’s a definite no?

G-d said:
For will G-d indeed dwell on the earth? Behold the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee…… I Kings 8:27a

The Hebrew-Christian said:
Ok L-rd but most of the world believes in Jesus as G-d!! Are they all wrong?

G-d said:
You shall not follow other G-ds, any of the G-ds of the peoples who surround you! Deuteronomy 6:14

The Hebrew-Christian said:
L-rd I see but what about what they say Jesus was our savoir our rock and is setting next to you in heaven. Is it not proper for a Jew to believe this?

G-d said:
"You are My witnesses," declares the L-rd, "and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no G-d was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the L-rd, and besides Me there is no Savior." Isaiah 43:10-11

This is what the L-rd says, Israel's King and Redeemer, the L-rd Almighty, "I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no G-d! Who then is like Me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare it and lay it out before Me . . . . Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are My witnesses. Is there any G-d besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." Isaiah 44:6-8

The Hebrew-Christian said:
So are you really alone? The New Testament says that Jesus was also the creator!

G-d said:
You alone are the L-rd; You made the heavens, the heavens of the heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them, and You give life to all, and the heavenly host bow down before You. Nehemiah 9:6

G-d said again:
Listen Hebrew-Christian remember your fathers how they worshiped One G-d:

Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, if you would listen to Me! Let there be no strange G-d among you; nor shall you worship any foreign G-d. Psalm 81:8-9

The Hebrew-Christian said:
Jesus said: me and the Father are one.

G-d said:
Remember the first things of old, that I am G-d and there is no other; I am G-d and there is none like Me. Isaiah 46:9

. . . and My honour I will not give to another. Isaiah 48:11

The Hebrew-Christian said:
Without the sacrifice of Jesus how can I be saved? Jesus said: Joh:3:18: He that believeth on him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

G-d said:
. . . Who announced this from before, who declared it from the distant past? Is it not I, the L-rd, and there is no G-d apart from Me, a righteous G-d and a Savior; there is none but Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am G-d, and there is no other! Isaiah 45:21-22

I am the L-rd your G-d, Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no G-d but Me, no Savior except Me! Hosea 13:4

The Hebrew-Christian said:
The New Testament said: "For by him (Jesus) all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by him and for him. 17And He is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16-17

G-d said:
Thus said the L-rd, your Redeemer, the One who formed you from the womb, "I am the L-rd Who makes everything, Who stretched forth the heavens alone, Who spread out the earth by Myself." Isaiah 44:24

I am the L-rd, and there is no other; besides Me there is no G-d . . . . I will strengthen you . . . in order that they know from the shining of the sun and from the west that there is no one besides Me; I am the L-rd and there is no other! Isaiah 45:5-6

The Hebrew-Christian said:
It is interesting L-rd how you keep on saying how alone you are and there is No One beside you or with you while the teaching of the Trinity clearly says that G-d the Father, god the Son and god the Holy Spirit are one but with three separate personalities. Having said that the New testament says that Jesus is at your right hand and your on the thrown so I guess however you look at it Jesus is simply not You!

G-d said:
There is none holy as the L-rd. There is none beside Thee; neither is there any Rock like our G-d. I Samuel 2:2

To whom shall you liken Me and make Me equal and compare Me that we may be alike? Isaiah 46:5

I am the L-rd, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images! Isaiah 42:8

The Hebrew-Christian said:
Its interesting also L-rd that you should say that you will Not give your glory to another. I read in the New Testament when Jesus said: "All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Matthew 11:27

G-d said again:
I am the L-rd, that is My name, and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images! Isaiah 42:8

So that all the nations of the earth may know that the L-rd is G-d and that there is no other! I Kings 8:60

You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the L-rd your G-d, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed. Joel 2:27

The Hebrew-Christian said:
What more can I ask of you L-rd and how clearer can you be, how stupid and blind would I be not to believe you and believe others, should I believe the New testament or You, should I believe Paul or You, should I believe my fellow Christians or You….. Well I choose you and the faith of our fathers since time eternal you are One.

I will sing with King David “Whom have I in heaven but You? The earth has nothing I desire besides You. Psalm 73:25” Not Jesus or anyone else.

I will say with the prophet “Have we not all one Father? Has not one G-d created us? Why should we betray, each one his brother, to profane the covenant of our forefathers? Malachi 2:10”

I heard you and I believe you no one else: “O L-rd, there is none like You, neither is there any G-d beside You, according to all that we have heard with our ears! I Chronicles 17:20”

The Times Are A Changing But Christians Aren't

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’

From Bob Dylan "The Times Are A Changin'" Copyright © 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991, 1992 by Special Rider Music

Western society has undergone dramatic changes in the past 50 years. Human rights have finally been granted to oppressed groups such as women, people of colour and homosexuals to name but a few groups. There is still a long way to go even within those groups as many areas are still denied them and prejudice is still alive an well on planet Earth. 

Christianity has always lagged behind what has happened  in society and is now currently feeling the changes that were made in the 60s. People are questioning their faith and the validity of their religion like no other previous time. The renewed search for the historic Jesus and the Jesus Seminar should be congratulated for bringing what was known about Jesus out of the universities and into public discourse.  Biblical scholars such as Bart Ehrman and Dale Martin are now accessible to the masses through the miracle of the internet. Never before has so much information been available to the average person.

In reaction, Christians are becoming more intolerant of other points of view. Churches are hotbeds of both Islamophobia and homophobia.  Despite a few attempts at bettering Christianity change has failed and Christians remain firmly embedded in 19th century dogma.  The Emergent Church turned out to be not much more than nice evanglicals. Interchurch dialaogue happens in a few places but doesn't change the participants. Eucemenical get togethers focus only on shared meanings. The church is resisting chhange. While some women clergy are allowed in some churces it is far from being universal.

The church has no-one to blame except themselves for the continuing decline in church attendance worldwide. The church service is irrelevant to the needs of most contemporary people savvy in computer technology where they can find information faster and in a format that they want. Time poor people don't want to waste time singing Jesus Jingles in church and paying tithes, offerings and love gifts for the privilege. Christians don't want to know why people are not attending their church services. In Australia only those within church are ever surveyed about their thoughts on church in the National Church Life Survey performed every 5 years.  It also does not include all Christian denominations.

I am confident that the Australian 2011 census will show a decrease in Christian belief from previous years. The waters are gathering and growing around Christianity. Christians will soon be drenched to the bone.  Meantime they just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.

The Strata of Christian Belief - Possible Ways Forward Part 2

Stages of Faith, by James W. Fowler (published in paperback by Harper Collins, 1995.)

Stage 1--Magical World

ages 2-6, perceives the world through lens of imagination and intuition unrestrained by logic e.g., lives in a magical world in which anything is possible

Stage 2--Concrete Family

ages 6-12, sees the world as a story - concrete, literal, narrative family of ritual and myth e.g., "In the beginning, God created the . . ."

~Stage 2 collapses when teenagers use newfound power of abstract thought to deconstruct previous understanding of the world e.g., risk of rejecting religious beliefs of parents, and identifying with surrounding secular culture

Stage 3--Faith Community *

teenager to early adulthood or beyond, sees the world through the lens of the peer community e.g., unconsciously "catches" faith, values, and way of thinking from peer group or subculture tends not to question the accepted ways of thinking e.g., "if the Bible says . . . it must be true" or "if some group says . . . it's the Truth" difficult dealing calmly and rationally with issues that touches on one's identity

Stage 4--Rational Constructs *

adulthood (if) traditional answers stop making sense e.g., beliefs previously unquestioned are called into account; develops the capacity to step back (usually for the first time) and examine beliefs with reason universe is reconstructed with self-chosen concepts might experience deep disappointment/anger on finding some beliefs did not stand up to investigation

Stage 5--Numinous (Supernatural/Mysterious) Universe

mid-life or latter (if) it seems we have run up against the limits of rational thought e.g., the search for certainty can end in feelings of failure/despair; we come to live in a spiritual universe of mystery, wonder, and paradox e.g., we might return to sacred symbol, story, tradition, liturgy, spiritual
community, but no longer captured in a theological box

Stage 6--Selfless Service **

rare stage for many; identifies deeply with all humanity, and spends themselves in service of worldwide issues of love, and justice e.g., Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, etc.

________________

(*) To those in stage 3 or higher, the next stage looks like a loss of faith, and the previous stage is repulsive. This can be seen when stage 3 engages in witch hunting, and stage 4 baits and taunts stage 3.

###################################

I have entered stage 5 and am interested in sacred symbol. There are many metaphors used for the mystery that is God such as light and wind.  I would like to explore the metaphor of music being life and God.

Suppose that all the music that had ever been composed was played one after the other. The melodies, harmonies, chords, scales, tone, timbre, rhythm, time signatures - everything that has to to do with melodic music is the physical universe that can be explored by empirical science. It is a grand art form. You are a short melodic phrase somewhere amongst the billions of melodic phrases - da-da da dum. That's you and your life. It is different form other melodic phrases because it is played at a different time and on a different instrument. Even if it is quite similar it is not exactly the same as to placement.  You melodic phrase finishes but the song cycle continues.

Suppose that all the percussion elements are God. God is the drums, triangle, tambourine, etc that give the melody its backbeat. Except for timpani they are usually not tuned to a specific note. They are about striking an object and about silence. Some music pieces have no percussive elements at all yet they do have a time signature and a rhythm. Scores for percussion are different to scores for melodies and harmonies. percussion instruments vary as much as melodic instruments and each has its own specific tone and timbre. 

This is about everything to do with God that is completely different to melodic elements of music.  Exploring melodic elements may give you some hints as to the percussive elements but it is quite vague and unsubstantial.  In the same manner exploring God through empirical science does not give understanding of a God who is completely different to anything physical and measurable. Nor can one only examine one elments of the percussive elemnts, say cymbals in a drum kit, and think that one knows all about the drums.  Cymbals by themselves may sound completely strange and chaotic compared to say a regular snare drum beat.  There is also the element of silence. Silence is as important as the striking in percussive elements.  Experience of the silence might lead you to believe that percussion does not exist.  Thus the percussive elements demonstrate a transcendence of silence but at other times an immanence of the striking.

If God is the Ground of all being then being is the melodic elements and the Ground is the perscussive elements. There are completely different and need to be explored in different ways.  One does not explore music by abandoning all melodic elements. They are importnat. However, equally important are the percussive elements. One does abandon all percussive elements in order to explore music.  Both melodic and percussive elements make up music. Music is the grand theory of everything. The explantion of all that is - both Ground and being.

The very big question is HOW we explore this percussive element when we mainly have tools only for exploring the melodic elements. We cannot explore percussion in the ame way as melody. New tools are required. WHAT are those tools?

My guess is that we explore the mystery of God through the tools of mysticism.  However, this tool is  a primitive tool much like we would now view a stone age axe.  It is not particularly precise.  It may be misused.  There are many inferior copies.  I have no answer. All I have is a possibility that may or may not work. It is a tentative step forward. Explore the mystery of God through possibilities.