Ian,

<<So the term God was used to mean goodness, positivity, benevolence and the like, and in the process has taken on an identity which masks the fact that the word is a method of easy summation, rather than a complex defining of the nature of what is being examined.

Personalising of an abstract has resulted in conversation, sometimes in the form of prayer, between a believer and an imagined being>>

That sure reads like your own creative imagination at work in creating an image of a god.

Could your creation be an idolatrous invention?

Terry Barnes (The Spectator) reckons Morrison made an "error of judgement" when he allowed TV cameras in to show him happy-clapping, swaying and singing at his Pentacostal church on Easter Sunday. He thinks that most Christians in the community believe that their faith is a private matter, and not to be advertised in this way. I have a fair idea what atheist and anti-Christian voters would think of his antics. Morrison is better known through TV for his beer drinking habit than his religion. Not sure that would go down too well with his fellow Pentacostals. In all, probably a big mistake as Barnes says.

david f,

<<Some people believe in God. Other people don't believe in God. It is nothing to get excited about.>>

One minute after your last breath, that will not be your position. Why?

"People have to die once. After that, God will judge them. In the same way, Christ was offered up once. He took away the sins of many people. He will also come a second time. At that time he will not suffer for sin. Instead, he will come to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:27-28).

ttbn,

<<Terry Barnes (The Spectator) reckons Morrison made an "error of judgement" when he allowed TV cameras in to show him happy-clapping, swaying and singing at his Pentacostal (sic)church on Easter Sunday>>

Barnes wants Morrison to replicate what happens with people attending mainline churches. Take a look at the numbers diminishing in such churches. They are being white-anted from within. See: http://www.spectator.com.au/2019/04/backwards-forwards-happy-clappy-happy/

I encourage ScoMo to express his vibrant brand of Pentecostal Christianity for the world to see.

Jesus did not regard 'religion' as a personal, private thing. He did not restrict His message to Calvinistic, born-again fundamentalists. Jesus told Nicodemus, a Jewish leader, 'I assure you, EVERYONE must be born again. ANYONE who is not born again cannot be in God’s kingdom' (John 3:3).

Jesus didn't make it an issue for Calvinists only but for the whole world of evangelical Christians. It is a requirement for EVERYONE who wants to enter God's kingdom. Then he told the disciples: you must GO and make disciples of all nations.....' (Matthew 28:19). That's hardly a personal, private matter.

True Christianity is a Go-Go faith.

Why would anyone want to keep the gospel of Jesus' salvation private when it is such Good News for the present and the future?

To his credit, ScoMo didn't make 'an error of political judgment’; instead he stood for the truth of what he believes in - energetic Holy Spirit ministry centred on God's praise.

May his tribe of politicians increase as they stand up for their faith in the public square

While everyone is quoting words from questionable sources, here is mine for Easter:

"It has served us well, this myth of Christ“ One from a former Pope amongst others.
Galen

To Galen,

Do you believe that Jesus never existed? I thought the world had moved on from that rhetoric, and onto another persuasion of doubt. That Jesus probabley existed, but not as the bible records him. (Hence the invention of the term the "historical Jesus." Utter rubbish of people trying to make history fit their own views without any collaborating evidence). If there is any myth of Jesus it is the secular muths that are made up so no one has to change their views or change their minds.

As for the knowledge of Jesus (regardless if you think of Him as a myth or not), I agree it has served the world well. Search it and you find the truth of God's message, His hope, and the salvation of mankind. Something for anyone to hold to but especially those who need that hope and that strength. Search the knowledge more and you have teachings of how to be and get along in the world. Ideas that are not just for your own sake but for the sakes of the community around you as well. Ideas like love your neighbor and forgive others if you want to receive forgiveness. I would argue that most historical moments that people went back to what Jesus taught, are the times when that society that had that influence get better again. Yes it has served the word well. But Jesus is no myth.