It amazes me that we have so many god haters on these posts. Nothing like a little self righteousness to make people think of themselves more highly than they ought. Jesus could not have been more accurate when He stated that the Light came into the world but men loved the darkness more than the Light lest their deeds be exposed.

People mock the church when it is tiny and seemingly irrelevant and get hostile when churches like Hillsong and the like have a influence on society. The author should know that even if all Christians were like mother theresa you would still have the scoffers and mockers. Thank God that throughout the earth His church is very healthy and growing!

...and even in a society of Saints , there would be deviants ...!!

Amanda,

Your words were lovely to read; a 'spark' of brilliance, in amongst a dung heap.
Thanks

We will see some Australian martyrs when the microchip/mark on either the right hand or forehead of Revelation 13:16-18 and 14:9-11 comes to our fair shores (hopefully it might stay in Europe where I expect it to come from). The initial propaganda for this global financial/ID system ("no one can buy or sell without the mark") is beginning to appear in the media even as I speak. The great pickle for committed christians is to refuse the mark/ID microchip, the size of a grain of rice and get exluded from the world financial systems or take it an suffer the consequences spoken about in 14:9-11. The mark is attributed to the "beast", the coming world antichrist, whose appearance will herald in the Bibles endtimes. Two choices have we as christians. If we align ourselves with the new system, monitoring daily people movements via satellite, we also align ourselves with satan and his new Adolf Hitler. Interesting days coming... this is for sure. Want to conduct further research click on mark of the beast. As for me and my household, we will resist the new system for The Lords sake.

Peter is concerned about values, morals, caring, love for one another. He is trying to engage us in the big question about the meaning of life. He does this through the eyes of a Christian believer. I am happy enough to hear this. But I do worry about the amount of rationalization and sophistry that is consumed by Peter's need to cling to some kind of acknowledgement of the virtues of Christianity. Peter, join the club, join the host of secular humanists who would like to make the world a better caring place and who struggle to realise that we are mere specks in the universe.

Fencepost.

Gawwwwwwd, Peter, who painted your portrait with that red clown's nose and the lolly coloured sky background?

It never ceases to amaze that there are individuals who have been infected by this teddy mind virus that is so well designed to the point that many victims cannot detect their presence so won't know it and may even vigorously deny it but seek to make it a truth.

Peter's articles are becoming increasingly depressing. Here again we can observe this serious delusion at work where "teddy" virus writers and cheerleaders should be allowed authority to maliciously hack in on the vulnerable (e.g. young children in schools) and penetrate all bases by disabling mechanisms essential to human functioning. This is not active love but the promotion of mindless worship with control masquerading as friendship ..... a journey into a tragic, psychotic, twisted, imprisoned world.

There are no solutions in pure selfishness and ignorance.