Stand now and be blessed

Such a message is a message of fear, and has no place where courage and hope are required. This harassment can be particularly painful for some people who are already dealing with issues such as loss or loneliness.

I feel quite ashamed sometimes for having put psychological pressure on others to believe or continue believing the Christian “way”, during the time I was involved in Christian groups. It's an incredibly selfish thing to do. People in pain are particularly vulnerable, and need comfort and a listening ear without the religious message.

Children and teenagers are also very impressionable, as they grow up trying to work out what this world is all about. I knew many who have been convinced by church groups of the most outlandish things.

One of the most damaging perhaps is the belief that there is a constant war between demons and angels raging around us all the time. I've seen kids being told that a demon is sitting just behind them or on their shoulder. What effect might that have on their mental health? Another pastor once told me “God is going to lift the words of death that have been placed upon you”.

What is a teenager meant to make of such a statement? I'm sure many other people have had similar experiences while they were growing up, and also as adults.

What of the more “conservative” believers then? At the Church of England Christian military school I went to we had to march rank and file into the church hall every week to the sound of war drums. The idea of service in a military sense was completely blended with the idea of serving God. Much of the imagery is taken directly from the Old Testament battles and mythology.

To me it would make as much sense to talk about Apollo and Athena the Greek Gods, for example. Why not, considering all the science, philosophy and language passed on to us by the ancient Greeks and Romans? Or the Australian Aboriginal dreamtime stories, such as the one about Tiddilik the Frog who greedily kept all the water to himself while the other animals went thirsty?

Isn't that as plausible as Noah packing all the world's species of animals onto a Bronze Age boat (there are tens of millions of insect species alone), or Moses parting the Red Sea? Given the shortage of water across most of Australia, I reckon the story of Tiddilik is more useful.