Journey of a Lifetime

I am now 80.
I created a web site 16 years ago that became the foundation of subsequent blogs.
I walked away from an Anglican church in the UK in the early 1970’s.
Over the last 12 years I have been in touch with over 2,000 people, including several Anglican and Evangelical pastors and former pastors as part of the emerging, emergent and house church scenes.
I recently wrote “Where am I now – May 2016” – giving something of the background of what must be a unique journey.
I had intended re-launching my blog in the autumn simply to support and encourage others who may be on similar journeys.

But then in September as a result of a discussion on Facebook, I saw a link to “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle (an author I was not then familiar with). After reading the first two chapters I had a sudden awareness of a link between Ego and what I have long understood about Human Nature and the place of Original Sin and the traditional teachings of Hell that I have never accepted. This is something that I hope at least a few others will enjoy exploring with me.

My story temporarily starts here.

Causes of Poverty?

Now that I have ‘finished’ updating the foundation of my blog I’m looking forward to sharing some of those thoughts that have been put aside for some time. This seems to be a good starting point – if anyone has several minutes to spare.

As a 15 year old English lad I got into serious trouble at school when I dared to suggest that the British Empire had been built on greed and selfishness. That was in 1950, long before the stories of companies like The British East India Company and the wealthy owners became general knowledge.

Last year I came across an article entitled, “3 Ways Humans Create Poverty” that suggested that it is impossible to solve an entrenched problem like mass poverty without understanding how it came into being, and that there’s every reason to believe we can overcome poverty, if we take the time to understand and learn the lessons from how it is created.
The authors effectively traced the causes back to colonialism and slavery. I found myself wondering how much blame for this could be placed on misguided Christian missionary zeal.
I know that’s a very unorthodox suggestion, but if you have the time please read the article and the link to the Bill Gates Foundation and see what you think.