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And in doing so you would be dead wrong. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that Christ is the only begotten SON of God, but not God Himself. That would make them non-Trinitarian. That would NOT make them non-Christian, as Christianity does not require Trinitarianism as a core belief.

On another day, on another thread I might argue with you about what defines Christianity and whether the JW's fit into that classification but this is not that thread. It's irrelevant to the nonsense which is occurring at St. Matthew's. I used the JW's as an example of judging a credo as being in error without the need to judge people, which is what you were suggesting. (FWIW, rejection of the divinity of Christ is a serious and insurmountable obstacle to the claim of Christian, in my opinion. If Christ is not God, then essential elements of the redemptive mission of Jesus are lost).

Do you know what syncretism is? It is the attempt to reconcile all types of religious belief and it was specifically condemned by Pope Pius XI in 1928. Nobody and no persons were condemned. Just a heresy. It is possible to identify error and condemn it without judging men.

Most assuredly I will check it out for myself, as it is on my TO DO: list. I intend to meet all the social agencies in Auckland, as time permits, as a part of my work with the Guardian Angels.

So you're open to the possibility of becoming a JW?

Really?

For my part, I try to go and see the uglier parts of life and often wish that some of these inner-city denizens could Christianize themselves, even a little bit, because they surely need it. As do we all — the difference between us and them is that we know it and are trying to do something about it.

Sure, but we don't want them to embrace just another form of error, right? We don't want them to swap one crazy belief system for another, do we? We want them to know the truth.

NZ is a country of compromise. The ultimate evil in NZ is to condemn something as evil. There is no black and white, just different shades of gray. It's a utilitarian, go-along-to-get-along, sort of a place. An ersatz, homogeneous society where standing out in a crowd is frowned upon and people are paralyzed by the fear of being different. Being a "good bloke" (as secular society defines it) is the limit of peoples' ambitions.

This mentality has likewise infected the Church in NZ, especially the Catholic Church which is the one with which I'm most familiar. Political correctness has completely neutered its ability to preach the Gospel as it should to young, urban Polynesians and as a result, people like you are left to deal with the results. The Maoris are lost. They urgently need to be evangelized with the Christian Gospel but that would require confronting their pagan beliefs and ancestor worship. A big no-no. The "racism" word would have to be confronted. The Church has put that one in the "too hard" basket. Instead, the Church has adopted pagan Maori symbolism and terms and is bending over backwards to try and be seen as pushing the cause of the "tangata whenua", which is really nothing more than a materialistic drive for land rites. I could go on but you get the picture. The Church has dropped the ball and is on a collective guilt trip along with the rest of the Pakeha as a result of Maori agitprop. They've reached the point of almost apologizing for being in NZ.

In the midst of this we have liberal, goofy theology being preached at places like St. Matthew's. It's a part of the problem. If you're looking to places like this to solve the problem, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

> So you're open to the possibility of becoming a JW?

No, I've been down that path many years ago when I dated a JW, and rejected it outright for reasons of doctrine. Perhaps I misunderstood you: I intend to visit with the groups at St Matthews (including the LGBT group) as meeting community social support groups is a part of my brief as a Guardian Angel.

> (FWIW, rejection of the divinity of Christ is a serious and insurmountable obstacle to the claim of Christian, in my opinion. If Christ is not God, then essential elements of the redemptive mission of Jesus are lost).

There are many, many Christians who would agree with you — primarily they would be Trinitarians (the majority of Christianity). However, it is not necessary to be Trinitarian to be Christian. For some folk, though, it helps to be.

> Do you know what syncretism is? It is the attempt to reconcile all types of religious belief and it was specifically condemned by Pope Pius XI in 1928.

Which is of vital importance to Catholics, but of no importance to anybody else. I am considering Catholicism, and I was studying it (need to get back to that) but as of this moment I am not a Catholic and, while the views of the Popes are interesting, they aren't a conclusive argument with me yet. That said, I tend to agree: not all beliefs can be reconciled.

(I'm also a Freemason, which may prove problematic to the Catholic Church. Obviously plenty to think about.)

> NZ is a country of compromise. The ultimate evil in NZ is to condemn something as evil. There is no black and white, just different shades of gray. It's a utilitarian, go-along-to-get-along, sort of a place. An ersatz, homogeneous society where standing out in a crowd is frowned upon and people are paralyzed by the fear of being different. Being a "good bloke" (as secular society defines it) is the limit of peoples' ambitions.

That, in a nutshell, defines New Zealand rather well and quite accurately. Aspects of that are changing, but it is slow.

Your assessment of the Catholic Church here is right in many areas: it does pay to shop around, as markomalley suggested to me, to find a Catholic Church where doctrine matters.

> In the midst of this we have liberal, goofy theology being preached at places like St. Matthew's. It's a part of the problem. If you're looking to places like this to solve the problem, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.

I have done a fair bit of work with these people as a Guardian Angel, mostly providing Patrol services for their Christian Youth events. They aren't aligned with any particular church, but they are aligned with the Maori Party and the Harawira family. I think their ministry to Maori and Polynesian youth is excellent: Ezekiel 33 Trust