The "cultural captivity of Christianity : The Poisoning of the church" was a liberal re-writing of history by the theologian Marcus Borg with some pertinent points that Christianity should be for the common good. However, this should not be at the expense of  individual repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ.

Repentance is not individualistic as implied by Borg rather we can only repent when we are humble and could not reach heaven by our own efforts. We can only save ourselves when we loose ourselves. Religion is not necesarrily about love but about making our own way to heaven by our own means through adherance to a series of religious laws and customs.

Man and humanity in general is naturally sinful and not inherently good. There is of course much good in mankind but the core of our being is broken and poisoned by the fall.

Sure, we are made in the image of God at creation, but corruption and evil came in through Satan. We can't redeemed ourselves. We have a tendency to be hypocrites placing our sins on others, exemplified by Christians placing their sins of adultery, and abortions on gays.

The image of God in the "other" cannot save us or be the light to save others for our eyes are dimmed. What we see and do is evil mixed with good. We care only for ourselves to the detriment of others. We can't help it.

The alleged "cultural captivity" of the church by the Roman culture was not culture per say, but sin, at its crudest form common to all cultures of power, wealth, and control. It was what Satan offered to Jesus at the desert. Hence, when Ceaser became the de-factor head of the Roman church, the poison entered to her veins.

The poison entered the very soul of the church. Instead of proclaiming salvation to a lost world, it focused on saving the church and maintenance of the church hierachal of power, wealth and control until the church owned 2/3 of Europe at one stage.

Even today, the catholic church is given billions each year by the governments of Europe. The recent sacking of a Bishop of Germany highlights the grave concern of the negative public feedback hence endangering the golden goose.

The redemption of the poison of the inward soul is not self sacrifice and cleansing to be more holy as practised by the right wing of the catholic church, nor is it the Jesuit redemption of outward good works for the common good to make a new man made heaven on earth. Both are carnal and vanity.

Real change can only happen from the inward, from a position of humility and acknoweldgement of our sinful nature, and the need of salvation in Jesus Christ.

We can only change by the wave upon waves of God's grace in our lives through Jesus Christ, totally undeserved and unmerited.

It is not a vague kind of metaphysical spirituality to an unknown universal God of common love, but salvation is found in Jesus Christ alone who was and is God, in truth and grace.

The problem with the evangelical protestant church was that it never got out of Rome. Soon after their salvation by faith alone, they somehow returned to the law based theology personified by their anti-gay aggenda.

But the Holy Spirit of God came in the start of the 20th century after being sidelined after pentecost by a poisoned church and begin rebuilding a remant based on the five fold ministries of the apostles, teachers, pastors, evangelists and prophets.

The liberal protestant and the fundamentalist came as a reaction (and both are still with us), but the move of the spirit continued on to the charismatic evangelical movements of the 60s to 80s, now the mega churches and the tele-evangelists. 

But they too are entangled by the self-righteous law based tendencies, trapped by their anti-gay aggenda. As their self righteousness took over, sin abounded and we begin to see the incredible corruption to the hundreds of millions in the name of prosperity theology. This is again vanity. The more they preached the outward conformance to the ten commandments and the righteousness of their compliance, the more sinners and hidden sins they store up.

A friend of mine was so perturbed that Pastor Kong Hee of City harvest talked so much about not lying and being of integrity, when there is so much sin. When we are law and sin conscious instead of grace focused, we tend to focus on the sin of others. The current attempt by Love Singapore to be moral defenders in their anti-gay Christian crusade, will only store up dead skeletons in the closets of the church to be exposed one day.

There is a call for a theology based on grace, and the truth of redemption in Christ. The only sin that Jesus condemned was unbelief in Him as the bridge to God.

When the waters and blood of cleansing comes in through grace, when right believing comes in, right action follows whether inward morality or outward love works making this world a better place to live in for the common good.

People need the Lord, the incarnate Jesus to come into their lives, to bring them into the throne room of heaven. They don't need people to tell them to be more holy in their morality, to be more loving and fight for a better world. People need to know that God is good, and is a loving God whose hands and feet touches us in Christ Jesus.

The Roman Church became the church hierchal where we could no longer go God directly, when Jesus had already become our high priests and king that in Christ, we have a heavenly abode and access to God.

We are captive not by culture, but by our self righteousness, and our disdain of the supernatural and blood redemption of Jesus Christ, resulting from us being far away from God even though we thought we were near and God everywhere.

For God is near, for Jesus is present for those who seek Him and call Him as friend, no longer as a master but a friend and a Saviour because the Cross has brought us one with Him and as joint heirs with Christ. As Christ is so are we. Let us be intertwined and be of one spirit and friendship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit of God.

God wants us to be gay, lying at Jesus bosom. When Jesus died, only John was left. Surely it was same sex marriage, in giving your mom to the care of your dearest friend. We are married to Jesus. Expect God's grace and blessings in your life for God is good to the Gay community.