Penal substitutionary atonement (PSA) was the first to go. When I began to express my doubts about it to others, one woman involved in mystic and mentoring groups emailed me, saying I was trying to take away ‘the cornerstone of her faith’. She was serious and angry at me because she wanted to hold onto PSA as the cornerstone of her belief.
I told her that if that’s where she wanted to remain, that was her choice, but I was moving on. Naturally, that upset some people, but many others resonated with the idea that it didn’t make sense for God as Father to kill or punish His Son. And when you investigate further, you find that PSA is actually a doctrine that only emerged in the tenth century…
I’m not going to go far wrong if I interpret everything through love. I might get some minor things a bit mixed up or twisted, but the bottom line is that love won’t lead me too far astray if I lean that way. On the other hand, if I lean towards judgment, condemnation or other negative interpretations, I’m stepping beyond the scope of love.
I don’t go there any more.
It took a long time for my mind to be deprogrammed from my religious upbringing and the programming of evangelicalism, along with the other pillars of my thinking. He asked me if I wanted him to remove these pillars from my mind. About six of them were religious, as I was brought up very religiously, and three were cultural or scientific, influenced by an education that included cultural relativism and similar ideas.
All those people who say they have been in hell for ten minutes, or whatever, are framing their experience through their theological understanding of hell rather than the truth. They see what they expect to see. That is the problem. We can be confirmation-biased and create our own scenario around what God is really trying to show us.
This is why we need to let God renew our minds and trust him in that process, rather than resisting him. At the same time, we should not be naive enough to think that everything we are thinking is already correct, because we are all still in the process. Even so, I would rather err on the side of love in everything I think than lean towards anything else. If I interpret everything through love, I will not go far wrong.
So between 2005 and 2010, I had a number of experiences which I described at the time as hell-like, simply because I had no other reference point in my life. I thought I had encountered hell, and so my framework for understanding was the usual concept of hell. That’s what I believed the experience meant, because I couldn’t see it any other way; I had no other frame of reference.
Once I actually encountered God and encountered love, I was able to revisit those experiences and see what he had really been showing me through them. I came to realise that I had completely misunderstood and misinterpreted what had happened, just as many others do when they claim to have been in hell for a few minutes. They are framing their experience through their theological understanding of hell.
We’re all in a process of having our minds renewed so that we won’t be moulded and shaped by the upbringing, conditioning and programming we’ve received. Our minds are renewed so we’re not pressed into that mould, but instead transformed into who He said we were from the beginning.
That process is relational. By experiencing Him, our minds are changed. We can’t make it happen by trying to use the Bible as a tool, since misunderstanding it was what created the problem in the first place. Our minds are changed when we let Him do it, as we submit ourselves to the relationship He gives us—always weighing everything with love as our measuring stick.
We should weigh the things that we feel and what we think God has said. We should weigh them. We shouldn’t just accept them carte blanche. We should weigh it.
What do we weigh it with? How do we measure it? I measure it with love. Is this loving? Is this going to help people experience God and experience His love? So I’m measuring it against that.
So I know that if I thought God told me to do something which was contradictory to love, I know it couldn’t be Him. And people say, but you’re now saying that God can’t do something! Yes, I am. He can’t contradict Himself as being love, and he wouldn’t ask us to contradict himself and contradict what love is either.
So whenever something we think God said is not aligned to true love – true unconditional love – then we’ve got to question it.
We are following a book which has been translated by people with an agenda and a preconceived confirmational bias, rather than out of relationship with Jesus. Yet Jesus said he would speak to us and that we could follow him. We have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, within us. We do not need another teacher.
So why are we telling people they must follow a book, when they can be guided by the Holy Spirit and through Jesus, who is the Truth? Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible is not the Word of God. The problem is that we have been taught otherwise. I hear people say, “We are going to read the Word.” But they are reading a book, half of which was never intended for them, the other half written for people in the first century preparing for the end. We are not those people.
That does not mean God has not used the Bible. He has used it in my life, but it has also caused huge confusion. I was deceived into believing things simply because I was taught that was what the Bible said. Now, I go with what Jesus says. I will not live by an interpretation of a book; I will follow a person in relationship. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Bible is not. Even if someone had never read a verse, never seen a Bible, they could still encounter Jesus and through him engage the Father.
This is why I would never encourage a new believer to start with the Bible. It will only confuse them, as they are faced with conflicting interpretations and even two seemingly different versions of God. But it was always just people’s limited view of God, not who he truly is. Relationship is what matters. I can walk in relationship even with those I disagree with, because I do not need to prove them wrong. My faith is grounded in personal experience and testimony, not in the teaching of a book.
I use the Bible only as a frame of reference, because that is how people have been taught. Yet I can count fewer than five times when the Father or Jesus has actually quoted a Bible verse to me. When they did, it was revelatory. For example, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden…” was spoken to me when I was striving to be good enough and keep a behavioural standard. It showed me why I was weary and how I could come into his rest. The principle was what mattered, not the verse.
Jesus is quite capable of saying directly, “Follow me and enter rest.” He does not need to quote Matthew 11:28. People can and do go astray, but many have also gone astray while following the Bible. History shows how it has been used to persecute, to endorse slavery, the Inquisition and Christendom itself. The Bible is not safe. Only Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as the Way, the Truth and the Life, keep us on a safe path. If you use love as the plumb line, you will not go far wrong.
This is what God showed me when he challenged my views of the Bible. He brought me back to the relationship I had with him, and how he speaks directly. He weaned me off my need for Bible confirmation. I know many still need that, but their thinking must eventually shift. They were told “the Bible says this,” but that has to be undone if they are to truly follow God.
Some quote verses about people falling away from sound teaching in the last days. But those last days were AD 66 to 70, when many fell away under persecution. That does not apply to us in the same way today. And this is the issue.
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God loves people and takes a genuine interest in their lives. If we fail to show any interest ourselves, how will they ever believe that God is truly interested in them? Demonstrating care means asking about their situation and engaging with their story. It is not about forcing a single message upon someone, insisting that they must receive it whether they want to or not.
Instead, it is about recognising that God personally meets each person in their own circumstances. He cares, He desires to help, and He longs for them to discover who they truly are. In doing so, they can understand that God already loves them. This is a very different approach, one that treats each individual as unique rather than as a commodity, project or statistic.
Meeting People Where They Are
In the past, many forms of evangelism tended to focus on strategies and techniques. Courses often emphasised how to deliver a message and how to ensure that people listened. Yet this approach often missed the point. Evangelism should not be about ticking boxes or securing conversions. It ought to begin with real interest in people themselves—the realities of their lives and the struggles they face.
Rather than asking, “How can I insert this message into a conversation?”, we should be asking, “How can I develop a genuine relationship with this person, one that may open the door for them to encounter God for themselves?”
A Personal Approach
People need to meet God in us. They need to see and sense something of Jesus expressed through our lives. This may not always be conscious on their part, and sometimes it may not even be conscious on ours, yet God shines through us all the same. In this way, we carry His presence into every encounter.
As Scripture explains, Jesus was the clear image of the Father, revealing to those around Him what God was really like. Many have no true idea of God’s character until they encounter Christ.
Treating Individuals as Unique
In the same way, we are called to be ambassadors of reconciliation. Our role is to represent God’s heart faithfully and to help others to see that He has already done everything needed to restore their relationship with Him.
Summary: When our lives reflect His presence, others can begin to sense His love and discover for themselves the truth of who they are in Him. By treating people as individuals rather than commodities, we embody the message that God cares deeply for them. Evangelism then becomes not about delivering a formulaic message, but about relationship, love and presence.
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Buddhism is more a philosophy of life than a religion, really—because essentially, they are not worshipping Buddha. They know Buddha died. It is a teaching philosophy, and actually, it contains a lot of similar teaching to Jesus: love one another, the golden rule, treat people the way you want to be treated.
I was in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand in March (2025), and I found it very interesting looking at the Buddhist temples, the philosophy, the culture—looking at how they did things and why they did them. I was not approaching it negatively. I did not go over there with an agenda. I was simply interested: what was this really about?
Seeing truth as truth
Now obviously, Jesus is not at the centre of it. But that does not mean there is no truth contained within it. In terms of meditation—how you focus, how you come to a place of rest—using music, using certain sounds or frequencies, those things can be helpful. But we are not applying Buddhist philosophy as Buddhists. We are seeing truth as truth, and applying that truth as it comes from Jesus through Jesus—not through a Buddhist principle or system. That is the difference.
And I know people will say, “Ah, yes, but if the root of it is evil, then you cannot use it.” But who says the root is evil? Why would it not be possible that Jesus, who is the Truth, might deposit truth in all sorts of places—so people could discover it and ultimately discover Him? There is even a story in Hinduism of a god who was crucified and wore a crown of thorns. Where did that come from? Well, I believe Jesus deposited something there—so that when people in that context later heard the story of His crucifixion, they might be drawn toward Him.
What we are doing is engaging with Jesus, the Truth. We are not embracing the whole of any other philosophy. If there is music that helps us focus or rest, we are engaging it with our own intention. Our use of it can cleanse it. We are choosing it for our good.
Eat the meat
This is not unlike the situation Paul addressed regarding meat sacrificed to idols. Some believers were afraid of being polluted by it. But Paul said, “The idols are nothing—they are just stone and wood.” Maybe there was something demonic behind them—but the meat itself? It was just meat. If you ate the meat, you were not worshipping a false god. You were just eating food. And Paul was trying to help them see—there was no power in it unless you gave it power. If you thought it was wrong and went against your conscience, then it became a problem for you. But the thing itself had no power unless you empowered it.
So Paul was saying, in effect: do not be in bondage to these things. If you want to eat the meat, eat it. If you do not, then do not. But either way, it is not going to harm you—unless you give it that power. The same principle applies to things like frequencies, sound bowls, music, intention. There is a lot of excellent Christian material out there too—music that has embedded intention, that carries a frequency of truth and peace and love.
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Positive intention
I do not really listen to music that way myself, but I know Samuel—who is part of our ministry—writes and composes music with positive intention built in. That is what we often use for activations and meditations. And I know those are good, life-giving pieces of music. So if you are in any doubt, use something you know has come from a good source. If you are concerned, that is the safest thing to do.
But I do not necessarily believe you need to be concerned. Someone might say, “But what if the composer of the music intended something negative?” Well, yes, they might have—but that does not mean you will be affected by it, because you carry a higher truth. You can choose to cleanse something. You can choose a different intention. If the embedded goal of that music was negative, you do not have to receive that. But I would say this: if you are not in a place to know how to handle that—do not listen to it. Do not go there. Choose something else that you know is safe. Find some Christian music you trust. Use what you know carries positive intention. Because for those who are mature, these things may not affect you. But if you feel vulnerable, then avoid it—because your belief about it could actually empower it to affect you negatively.
So it comes down to what you believe. That is the key.
Would I buy into the whole of Buddhist philosophy? No. Because I do not believe in reincarnation. I do not believe we come back in another body to have another go. I believe we get one life—and we should make the most of it. And that life continues beyond death. In fact, I do not believe we even have to die—but that is another topic.
So we just need to take a view of everything through Jesus the Truth. That is our plumb line. Does it carry the right frequency? That is how I always check. Does it carry the frequency of love? If it does, then I know that God is love—and that will be aligned with Him. Whatever the source, if it resonates with God, I do not have a problem with it.
Because truth is truth. Love is love. Not eros or emotional love—but real agape, God love. That is the measure we use to discern what is good, and what is not.
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Nothing can change God. He is love. He will never, ever be anything other than love. That love is always unconditional—it is never-ending, and totally unconditional.
So, if what you read about God—whether in the Old Testament, New Testament or anyone’s writings—appears to contradict or fall short of love, then either what is written is wrong, or your understanding of it is flawed. Most likely, it is the result of. This goes beyond religion—it is rooted in how different cultures have understood and presented God. Religion has twisted concepts like holiness and righteousness—true characteristics of God—so that they seem to trump grace and mercy. But they do not. They are equal. God’s grace and mercy are expressions of unconditional love.
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No guilt, no shame.
God is a righteous judge, and therefore He is a God of true justice. The problem for many is that religion has conditioned them to believe that judgment and justice mean wrath and punishment. But judgment, made by God our Father, is not based on human ideas of justice. It is grounded in loving kindness and in the fact that He has already reconciled the world to Himself, not counting anything against anyone. Every accusation against us has been nailed to the cross.
Judgment is a verdict, a decision—not a punishment. And the Father’s verdict is always made in love. That verdict is: not guilty. Innocent. You have been declared not guilty—innocent of all charges and accusations made against you. So if you hear accusing thoughts, reject them. They either come from your own mind, or from another source that thrives on guilt and condemnation. If you believe you are guilty or condemned, and not innocent, you will live a lesser life than the one God intends.
God so loved the world that Jesus came to reveal love. But that love goes even deeper and further back than the cross. Jesus offered Himself before the foundation of the world, so that love would always win, so that love would overcome. The Father’s judgement—’not guilty’—was agreed before we were ever created. All accusations were nailed to the cross. Nothing is held against us.
Jesus, the Lion, fully identified with humanity as a lamb—because all of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each one of us follows our own way. He came to bring us back into relationship. We may be lost in our independence, but I believe the term “humanity” does not reflect the nature and character of God. It reflects a humanistic mindset that seeks to do everything in its own strength. But God, in Jesus, fully identified with us. Why? Because He loves us.
That “transaction”—figuratively compared to being slain—was a choice to identify with us so completely that He became one of us. In becoming us, He represented us entirely. He became not as Adam was, but as Adam became. He entered a fallen world and fully identified with our fallen nature. That is why He cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?”
But that cry was, in reality, a lie—because God never forsook Jesus. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. God never rejected or forgot us. It was only how we thought of Him, through our guilt and loss of identity, after we chose independence. He became us so we could be restored to who He always intended us to be. And now we live in a new age, under a new covenant. A covenant Jesus made with the Father—and all of mankind is included in it.
Jesus warned us of the religious and political spirit, likened to leaven, that would permeate the whole lump. In my own experience—through churches and movements I have been part of—my understanding of the new covenant was tainted by old covenant ideas.
Unconditional love does not require sacrifices or offerings. But an old covenant mindset always demands something: our obedience, our obligation, our duty. These are dead works. They carry no value before the Father. He does not require them—and, in truth, He never did. That may come as a shock to many. We must be careful not to operate under an old covenant, works-based, performance-oriented mindset towards God. It will exhaust us. We will never find rest if we think we must earn God’s love or favour.
There is no guilt, no shame, no condemnation in unconditional love. Those things are religious constructs designed to keep us coming back for more religion.
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No Law, no punishment
Hebrews 6:1-2 are often misunderstood—and I misunderstood them for most of my life. I even taught them as foundations of new covenant faith. But what Hebrews 6 actually says is: “Therefore, leaving the elementary teachings about the Christ, let us press on to maturity—not laying again a foundation of repentance…”
The old covenant was immature. The new covenant brings maturity—but only if we do not lay again the old covenant foundation: repentance from dead works, faith towards God, instructions about washings, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement. All of these are old covenant ideas. They have no place in the new. And yet these very things are what most churches teach as foundational. They were in our church’s foundational course too. But now I realise: these are the things we should not be laying again. There is no life left in the old system. It is dead. We have to move on.
That whole system was based on sacrifices and offerings, connected to the Law given through Moses—a law that was never God’s idea. I am not talking about the Ten Commandments, which actually describe what a good relationship with God looks like. They are not really “Thou shalt not…” They are: “You do not need to…” You do not need any other gods. You do not need to steal. You do not need to kill. Why? Because in this amazing relationship of safety and security, God provides everything. That was His offer.
But the people were afraid and sent Moses instead. So they set up a mediatorial system—the Law. It had 613 requirements they were supposed to keep. Jesus made it clear that it was impossible. Fail in one, and you fail in all. We cannot keep the Law. From the very beginning of the Church, there were attempts to drag people back under it. The religious spirit, working through the Judaizers—even within Jerusalem and the early Church—tried to impose the law of Moses once again.
John 1:17 says, “The Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
God never wanted sacrifices and offerings. People will say, “Yes, but He accepted them.” Isaiah 1:11 says, “What are your many sacrifices to Me?” says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams… I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats.”
Jeremiah 7:22 says, “I did not speak to your fathers or command them… concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.” So He never told them to make offerings. Yet they made a golden calf and sacrificed to it. Where did that come from? Their own understanding.
Of course God accepted sacrifices and offerings—because He accepts us. He also accepted their demand for a king, even though He was already their King. That does not mean it was what He wanted. But He works with us, even in our brokenness and our flawed position.
Psalm 40:6 says, “You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering… You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.” Then it says—prophetically of Jesus—“Behold, I have come… I delight to do Your will, my God; Your law is within my heart.”
And the law, when written in the heart, is not a ‘Thou shalt not’. It is a ‘You can’. Because when it is revealed from within, it gives permission to live as sons of God. Not ‘You shall not do this’, but ‘You can do all these amazing things’—as co-heirs and co-creators.
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Sons of Issachar 