When I was giving a Mind-power workshop in a small Queensland town, a woman told me that her two children had been killed in a car crash. Seeking comfort in her terrible grief she turned to the Minister of her Church for help. He told her that God was punishing her for her sins.

The worst thing the Christian Church ever did was to incorporate the old Jewish Testament with the new Christian Testament in the 'Holy' Bible, for they are diametrically opposite in their concepts of that which man calls "God".

That Minister held the Old Testament belief that God was vengeful. Yeshua bar Yoseph (Jesus) knew that God is the essence of unconditional love. Utterly, totally forgiving. The primary purpose of Yeshua's teachings was to break through the terrible concepts his people had of the Source of all life and consciousness. He knew that Mankind imitates its concepts of God, and by changing that concept could lead us into being loving, and wise and filled with compassion.

How are we doing?

Well, we still elect governments that lead us into war. We put 'nationality' before 'God'. Nationality is based on separation and fear, not love. There are still many "God-fearing" modern Pharisees who mouth obscenities like "God is punishing homosexuals and prostitutes by inflicting them with AIDS".

Is he punishing the children?

An illness is a reflection of mind and emotions. As long as society continues to make judgments and to make their brothers and sisters feel guilty about their sexual preferences and activities, that guilt will manifest in strong, physical terms. As soon as we find a chemical 'cure' for a sexually transmitted disease another disease will replace it. This will continue as long as there exists collective guilt about sex. This will continue as long as we continue to exaggerate our sexual preferences to the point of saying "This is what I am". And it will continue as long as we keep on debasing love. You will either understand that or you will not.

The latter day Pharisees say "God is Love" and yet hold the terrible belief that God would ever inflict suffering upon the human family by means of plague. No God of compassion, let alone unconditional love, would inflict illness upon anyone at all; not even the common cold.

How can we hope to heal AIDS if we step aside and blame it on a deity?

If you believe you are deserving of punishment, and if you are carrying a load of conditioned, social guilt then that is the problem you face.

Not the illness itself.