Monday, October 31, 2005
Is the Catholic church the original, and the one true christian faith?
Q: Is the Catholic church the original, and the one true christian faith?
A: Since Jesus did not establish a religion the first Christian religion sprang from the teachings of the Apostles and from that the Catholic Church originated, so it is the oldest Christian religion. Is it the one true Christian faith? No. Other Christians established other Christian denominations to better encompass truth as they understood it -- that was the cause of the Protestant reform and the development of other Christian denominations.
The only true faith is that which you personally experience -- and we all experience faith differently. For some a particular church or temple or mosque fulfills their spiritual need, but we're all different and no one religion fills that for everyone.
The Urantia Book is one of the most inspiring works on religion and spirituality that you're ever likely to come into contact with. May I suggest you consider studying this marvelous book; it answers most of life's most perplexing questions like no other. You may also wish to consider subscribing to our Quote of the Day which will give you daily thoughts from the pages of The Urantia Book along with an inspiring image. It's a free service available from the upper right corner of our home page.
Thank you for your questions,
Larry Watkins
Truthbook.comLabels: Catholicism, Christian, experience, faith, Jesus, Larry Watkins, Protestant
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Which religion is perfect?
Q: which religion is perfect? Hinduism, Christianity or Islam?
A: There's a distinction between religion and spirituality that should first be made, spirituality being the personal relationship you have with your creator, and religion being the social form you choose for expressing your spirituality. Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam are different forms of expression of the spiritual and religious drive within us -- they're sustained by social participation, spiritual experiences, by history and tradition, and by religious authority. When any particular religion meets the needs of one's inner life it's spiritually beneficial and when it doesn't it's time to find something that may more closely match one's spiritual development, because we can evolve spiritually during this lifetime.
There are thousands of religions practiced in the world today -- you've named 3 but along with Judaism and Buddhism you could have also included: ancestor worship, Brahmanism, Confucianism, Jainism, mysticism, paganism, Pantheism, polytheism, Shinto, Sikhism, Yoga, and Zoroastrianism to name a few of the others.
Which religion is perfect? None. They each have spiritually beneficent teachings and practices mixed with time-worn traditions. Although spiritually inspired, religions are man-made institutions and are therefore imperfect. That doesn't deny their spiritual value or what can be accomplished through them for personal and social good.
In the Bible we learn that "God is no respecter of persons" meaning that God doesn't show favoritism and that in God's eye we are all equal. The same would be true of religions -- none is more blessed in God's eye than any other. What's most different among religions is the truth they contain and the truths they teach.
Following is a sample of The Urantia Book's teachings on religions and the truth they contain:
P.1012 - §4 The many religions of Urantia (earth) are all good to the extent that they bring man to God and bring the realization of the Father to man. It is a fallacy for any group of religionists to conceive of their creed as The Truth; such attitudes bespeak more of theological arrogance than of certainty of faith. There is not a Urantia religion that could not profitably study and assimilate the best of the truths contained in every other faith, for all contain truth. Religionists would do better to borrow the best in their neighbors' living spiritual faith rather than to denounce the worst in their lingering superstitions and outworn rituals.
The Urantia Book contains the most objective and inspiring analysis of religion versus spirituality that you're ever likely to come into contact with. May I suggest you consider studying this marvelous book; it answers most of life's most perplexing questions like no other. You may also wish to consider subscribing to our Quote of the Day which will give you daily thoughts from the pages of The Urantia Book along with an inspiring image. It's a free service available from the upper right corner of our home page.
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Thank you for your question,
Larry WatkinsLabels: God, Larry Watkins, relationship with God, religion, spiritual growth, spirtuality, truth
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Thursday, October 27, 2005
The Death Penalty
Q: Is the death penalty wrong?
A: There are few social pronouncements in The Urantia Book, so a ready answer to your question isn't addressed there. What it does teach is that life is a bestowal by deity and it is therefore sacred. We should do everything we're capable of to respect the life of others, to follow the Golden Rule, to love one another as brothers and sisters, sons or daughters, fathers or mothers.
That having been said, our destiny here on earth is to be ruled by laws until the time in the far distant future comes when humans will be self-reliant and naturally do the right thing, actually live the Golden Rule. Without laws and social boundaries we are less than civilized. One of the primary functions of society and of government is to protect its citizens otherwise it's the will of the strong oppressing the weak and those who disregard the rule of law overshadowing those who will abide by them.
Our laws aren't foolproof and the problem with the death penalty is that it's irreversible if it's determined later that a mistake was made. But as we progress we're getting better and better at determining responsibility.
From a spiritual standpoint whether we live out a long and productive life here before we die or we die prematurely, our destinies follow similar courses on the mansion worlds -- a bit more time may be required to get those who die prematurely back on track, but it's not a race we're running and time is not of the essence. We may possibly be doing the criminal a favor by removing him sooner from a dismal life here for the beginnings of a glorious life in the spirit.
You would probably find thoughtful people on either side of your question -- I'll offer my personal opnion. I believe that the death penalty is not wrong. I also don't believe it's a deterrent to crime or that it's a form of retaliation or vengeance by the wronged against the accused -- I see it more as a final way to remove someone who is a danger from society. It needs to be applied with care and caution and once the sentence has been made I would like to see justice carried out more swiftly.
Below is an relevant quote from The Urantia Book on the words of comfort Jesus had for a condemned criminal:
"My brother, you have fallen on evil times. You lost your way; you became entangled in the meshes of crime. From talking to you, I well know you did not plan to do the thing which is about to cost you your temporal life. But you did do this evil, and your fellows have adjudged you guilty; they have determined that you shall die. You or I may not deny the state this right of self-defense in the manner of its own choosing. There seems to be no way of humanly escaping the penalty of your wrongdoing. Your fellows must judge you by what you did, but there is a Judge to whom you may appeal for forgiveness, and who will judge you by your real motives and better intentions. You need not fear to meet the judgment of God if your repentance is genuine and your faith sincere. The fact that your error carries with it the death penalty imposed by man does not prejudice the chance of your soul to obtain justice and enjoy mercy before the heavenly courts." P.1476 (133:4.12)Labels: death penalty, government, Jesus, law, society, The Urantia Book
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Saturday, October 22, 2005
Material concerns and spiritual growth
Q: Does spiritual growth and progress depend on purely material concerns like what we eat or wear?
A: Free will through experience is aligning with the Father's will, led into alignment by the indwelling spirit of God, prodded into transformation by angelic and spiritual helpers in a divine conspiracy. In the inner life we realize that God is real and personal, in fact God is inextricable from our daily existence, except when we ignore God. Where we live, what we wear, whom we love, and what we eat seem to be within the realm of personal choice.
Our conscious choices, even mundane choices, create the future in some measure. We mature in mind as well as body. Soul growth arises as we become more real, more aware. When that personal realm is uplifted by awakening to the presence of God's Spirit within, the range of choice begins to implement factors of discernment, penetrating insight into outcomes resultant from our choosing. The whole realm of physical health, energy, stamina, even courage, seems tied to choices of when and what we consume or take in. We also appear to be called to make choices about what to eliminate, to overcome, to forgive, and even to forget.
There is the self, yet everywhere there are others whose need for altruistic help brings us into relationships, not merely the magnetism of sexual attraction or romantic love. The authors of The Urantia Book even suggest that economic necessity will lead eventually to brotherhood. We have the power to lend a hand, if we choose. Families and friendships grow stronger and deeper as worship and wisdom are brought into daily existence. Devotions and meditation season the tough realities of our contemporary civilization, making a place for insight into "the wholeness of events."
Our world poses us the most exquisite choice panorama. Diet, health, religion, sexual and affectional preferences, political philosophy, personal discipline, labor or profession, and altruistic service all call to us to engage in living fully, utilizing our God-given power of choice for that which is true, beautiful, and good.
When we evolve toward transformation, we seem to be opening to the destiny that God desires us to implement, to the benefit of our world in its painfully uncertain cruise upon the waters of environmental and social destiny. May our loyalties to high ideals, tempered by our realistic appraisal of opportunities and liabilities, aid us in moving our troubled world one more step toward Light and Life.
Stephen ZendtLabels: free will, material existence, spiritual growth, Stephen Zendt, the future, The Urantia Book
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Contacting God
Q: How do we make direct contact with the thought adjuster?
A: How do you contact God? Through prayer and through your inner life. How do you make direct contact with God? By soul-fusion with your adjuster. How do you do these things? You don't do them -- you live and experience and grow and eventually, far into the future, it happens but it's not a task to be performed. We're give this one opportunity to experience a material existence and the rest of eternity to experience a spirit existence. Enjoy being human, it won't happen again, and enjoy it to the fullest using the Golden Rule and the teachings of Jesus as your guide -- what can be better than this?Labels: experience, God, Jesus, prayer, Thought Adjuster
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Thursday, October 20, 2005
Lucifer
Q: Is Lucifer the same as the EGO in A Course in Miracles?
A: You'd get an answer better related to the ACIM perspective from the ACIM site. Many students of The Urantia Book also study ACIM although there are students of The Urantia Book who believe the two books are incompatible and the issue of ego is one of the areas where the concepts presented by the two books appear radically different.
Every human being is gifted with ego. ACIM sees the ego as a force to be struggled against, subjugated, overcome, and abolished. TUB explains that the ego is a natural part of the human makeup, that it's to be accepted and its impulses are to be controlled. Ego is part of what makes us us and contributes to making us unique.
Lucifer, on the other hand, is an individual being and personality, just like you and I are individual personalities. Lucifer holds no sway over your thoughts or actions, in the way ego does, unless you desire him to. This may not be so clearly put in ACIM as it is in TUB and so the confusion.Labels: A Course In Miracles, ego, Lucifer, The Urantia Book
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Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Being saved
Q: If you’ve been saved before is it alright to be saved again?
A: The issue of being "saved" is a Christian Church issue with various denominations having their own interpretations. I expect though there's no church that would object to one being "saved" any time the opportunity was presented.
The theology of The Urantia Book explains that human beings have always been "saved" – from the times of the earliest cavemen, through the hundreds of thousands of years of history up to the time Jesus lived here, and for the two thousand years since then. It's not one's beliefs that determines one's "saved" status; whether one is an atheist, pagan, Christian, Buddhist, agnostic, Hindu, Muslim, Jew – these are humanly devised paths for relating to our creator and are meaningless where our eternal survival (being "saved") is concerned. The determining factors for establishing the groundwork for eternal survival while here on earth are through the birth of the soul and for cultivating even a small flicker of faith that life has meaning beyond the obvious.Labels: Christian, faith, Jesus, salvation, survival, The Urantia Book
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Thursday, October 13, 2005
The Religion of Jesus
Q: You question the use of the term “religion of Jesus.”
Jesus came here as an ambassador of The Kingdom of Heaven. The assumption that he was a divine being, a Son of God, would lead us to believe that he existed before coming here. He was not a Christian; Christianity arose around the fact of Jesus’ life on this world. Neither was he a Jew. He was raised as a Jew but had he been a devout Jew (in the sense of the Jewish beliefs and practices of his day) he would hardly have been crucified as a heretic and law-breaker. The Urantia Book defines religion in many ways but I like this one, “In its true essence, religion is a faith-trust in the goodness of God.” The religion of Jesus, then, is his whole life, his philosophy of living, the way he lived and the way he treated others with love, respect and dignity. He showed us how to live in grace and in accordance with God’s will. He showed us the real meaning of devoted and religious living. Religion is so much more than just the church you organized religious sect you belong to. To understand what is meant by “the religion of Jesus” one must expand one’s own concepts of the word “religion.”
Who is Jesus?
Jesus came forth directly from the Father. He is a perfect representation of the Father. Many times he said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Do you say that Jesus is not the Father? The Urantia Book says that Jesus is as a Father/Brother to humanity. Always he pointed to the one true God, the Father of all and always did he tell us that the kingdom of God was within us.
Does God really exist?
What The Urantia Book points out is that if you are not already inclined to believe in the existence of God, there is nothing, no scientific experiment, or anything that anyone can say or do to convince you that he does exist. Only a personal experience of faith can do that. Carl Baugh already believes in God and so he is going to feel his evidence is irrefutable. Scientist that don’t already believe in God feel quite the opposite about Carl’s conclusions, and this is the point. Here is the entire quote: “The existence of God can never be proved by scientific experiment or by the pure reason of logical deduction. God can be realized only in the realms of human experience; nevertheless, the true concept of the reality of God is reasonable to logic, plausible to philosophy, essential to religion, and indispensable to any hope of personality survival.”
Are angels real?
The Urantia Book says that all humans have angels who watch over them but that not all have “personal guardians.” Some Angels are assigned to groups of mortals but a personal guardian is assigned only to those mortals who have reached a certain level in their spiritual growth. It is absolutely true that God is not respecter of persons, and any person can potentially have their very own guardian angel if the work diligently to grow in spirit. The creation of God is fair and just, God rewards those mortals who willingly strive to know him and be like him. This is, in part, what Jesus meant when he said, “To him who has, more shall be given, while to him who has not, even that which he has shall be taken away.”
Is there only one way to heaven?
It is true that no person will come to the Father except by Jesus. The Urantia Book suggests that this is a literal truth. In your journey inward and upward to Paradise you literally will not advance except that Jesus will be the one to send you on. Literally, not one being in this universe will get to God, except through Jesus. Christians use this too often as a condemnation to Jews and Muslims and Buddhists, teaching that unless one accepts Jesus, now, as the only way to God, they are doomed. Jesus is the way shower to God, but every human who bears the fruits of the spirit and who loves God and values the ways of God, truth, beauty and goodness, has a equal opportunity to advance. Christians do Jesus and mankind a great disservice when they presume to judge (by their own imperfect scriptural interpretation) who has eternal value and who does not. “You can only judge men by their acts, but my Father looks into the hearts of his children and in mercy adjudges them in accordance with their intents and real desires." Anyone can say anything, God looks into the heart.
Your quote: 'And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or lo, he is there; believe him not. For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.'
Jesus himself was accused of being false. He was the one who also chastised the religious leaders of his day for persecuting and killing the prophets of God. Too often folks use this passage as an excuse to discount anything that disagrees with their cherished beliefs and interpretations of scripture. It was Jesus who said, “The old things are passing away, behold, all things are becoming new.” I think he was referring to our religious beliefs as much as anything else.
Thanks for writing and be of good cheer!
PaulaLabels: angels, Christian, God, heaven, Jesus, kingdom of heaven, Paula, religion
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Tuesday, October 11, 2005
How does God feel about homosexuality?
Q: How does God feel about homosexuality? Are all humans innately bisexual? Is sex even a moral issue? Is it only for procreation? Is it wrong to enjoy?
A: Since it's not humanly possible to speak for God we have to do the best we can with our own intelligence. Unlike the Bible, The Urantia Book is not specific about many of the social issues we face today.
There is a wide gulf separating sexual desire, inclination, and motivation from sexual involvement, activity, and interaction -- the difference between leading a chaste, even celibate life versus leading a more self-centered, promiscuous one.
I know of no accepted scientific study that indicates that humans are innately bisexual. That again would seem to be purely a matter of choice. Is sex a moral issue? Sex is probably THE moral issue to be faced at this time in this culture.
Here are some quotes from The Urantia Book relating to character that you may find meaningful:
Remember: While inherited urges cannot be fundamentally modified, emotional responses to such urges can be changed; therefore the moral nature can be modified, character can be improved. In the strong character emotional responses are integrated and co-ordinated, and thus is produced a unified personality. Deficient unification weakens the moral nature and engenders unhappiness. (140:4.8)
No human emotion or impulse, when unbridled and overindulged, can produce so much harm and sorrow as this powerful sex urge.
(82:1.10)
Human life consists in three great drives--urges, desires, and lures. Strong character, commanding personality, is only acquired by converting the natural urge of life into the social art of living, by transforming present desires into those higher longings which are capable of lasting attainment, while the commonplace lure of existence must be transferred from one's conventional and established ideas to the higher realms of unexplored ideas and undiscovered ideals. (160:1.2)
It requires a great and noble character, having started out wrong, to turn about and go right. All too often one's own mind tends to justify continuance in the path of error when once it is entered upon. (184:2.12)
And The Urantia Book has this to say about pleasure:
Let man enjoy himself; let the human race find pleasure in a thousand and one ways; let evolutionary mankind explore all forms of legitimate self-gratification, the fruits of the long upward biologic struggle. Man has well earned some of his present-day joys and pleasures. But look you well to the goal of destiny! Pleasures are indeed suicidal if they succeed in destroying property, which has become the institution of self-maintenance; and self-gratifications have indeed cost a fatal price if they bring about the collapse of marriage, the decadence of family life, and the destruction of the home--man's supreme evolutionary acquirement and civilization's only hope of survival. (84:2.12)
For more on this topic, visit our FAQ listed on the top right navigation of Truthbook's home page.
Sincerely.....LarryLabels: art of living, bisexuality, homosexuality, Larry Watkins, procreation, sex, The Urantia Book
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Saturday, October 08, 2005
Changing your inner self
You asked how you can change your inner self and I submit to you that the fact that you desire such a change is an indication that it is already happening.
Each human being is absolutely unique. The Urantia Book says it this way;
The love of the Father absolutely individualizes each personality as a unique child of the Universal Father, a child without duplicate in infinity, a will creature irreplaceable in all eternity.
Ponder that for a moment and really let it sink in. You are a child without duplicate in infinity, irreplaceable in all eternity! Now, ponder the fact that a piece of the Father's ultimate perfection lives in you. It only makes sense then that all significant personal change occurs from the inside out and this process is greatly facilitated if we do not resist it but accept and even embrace it.
You expressed some regret about the mistakes that you have made.
I can assure you, there will come a time when you realize that your mistakes and experiences have been your greatest teachers. Our patient and loving Heavenly Father expects us to make mistakes. In fact, he set that scenario up. He wants us to strive for perfection, but he knows (better than anyone) how far away from that lofty goal we are. His desire is only that our intentions are turned toward that goal and that we are mindful of it and working on it. The pain you feel about your mistakes is good because it suggests that you are conscious and moral.
These comforting words of Jesus always help me through a dark night in my soul:
"Do not become discouraged by the discovery that you are human. Human nature may tend toward evil, but it is not inherently sinful. Be not downcast by your failure wholly to forget some of your regrettable experiences. The mistakes which you fail to forget in time will be forgotten in eternity. Lighten your burdens of soul by speedily acquiring a long-distance view of your destiny, a universe expansion of your career."
You asked what you can do to make your mistakes right.
A Native American friend of mine says, "When you make a wrong turn you must make two right turns. One to correct the wrong turn and one just for growth."
I love this simple kind of wisdom.
You wondered "where exactly" you are going.
You are headed into eternity to become perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.
It's a journey that he has prepared for you, but it is your choice whether or not to take it. He has provided all you will need for the journey and even more, he has given you a piece of himself to live in your heart and mind and act as your personal guide. All this, to ensure your safe arrival home to Him where he actually dwells at the Paradise center and source of all that is. This is your eternal destination but getting there will also be sublime.
Jesus once told a Chinese merchant, "...we shall meet again in the worlds of light where the Father of spirit souls has provided many delightful stopping-places for those who are Paradise-bound."
Quoting the book again:
Love of adventure, curiosity, and dread of monotony--these traits inherent in evolving human nature--were not put there just to aggravate and annoy you during your short sojourn on earth, but rather to suggest to you that death is only the beginning of an endless career of adventure, an everlasting life of anticipation, an eternal voyage of discovery.
Quoting from Jesus again:
"You may be surrounded with small enemies and be retarded by many obstacles, but the big things and the real things of this world and the universe are on your side. The sun rises every morning to salute you just as it does the most powerful and prosperous man on earth."
My thoughts and prayers are with you. May the golden white light of Christ enfold you in healing and peace.
Blessings always.....PaulaLabels: God, humans, inner life, Jesus, mistakes, Paula, regret, The Urantia Book
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Thursday, October 06, 2005
How would Jesus vote?
Q: How Would Jesus Vote?
A: I think this is a great topic and it's understandable that people who love Jesus would ponder this at election time.
I have gotten some interesting insights when considering this question of how Jesus would vote. In the first place, I don't think Jesus would ever allow his political position to be known. Jesus fully understood his own power. One of the greatest powers of all is the power of influence. Knowing that humans would take the easy path of having Jesus make all of their decisions for them without thinking these things through for themselves, I think he would keep his political opinions to himself. I'm not suggesting that most of us should do that, but I think that the Pope, for instance, should keep his politics to himself. Religious leaders should never endorse political candidates; this whole election has really driven home for me the wisdom of the separation of church and state.
Clearly, Jesus calls us to learn how to think not what to think. When we all become adept at independent cosmic thinking we will naturally come to more Godlike conclusions and be able to make more Godlike decisions. That is, decisions which create the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people for the greatest amount of time.
These scientific, moral, and spiritual insights, these cosmic responses, are innate in the cosmic mind, which endows all will creatures. The experience of living never fails to develop these three cosmic intuitions; they are constitutive in the self-consciousness of reflective thinking. But it is sad to record that so few persons on Urantia take delight in cultivating these qualities of courageous and independent cosmic thinking.
The Urantia Book, P.192 - §5
We know from his life and teachings that Jesus deliberately avoided making pronouncements on political issues. The closest he came was "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God's." We could write a novel on what he meant by that. But suffice to say, it doesn't give us much to go on at election time. However, I think we can look at his life by example and infer some definite qualities to look for in a leader. Here are some things I have thought of:
He was honest and sincere. He said what he meant and meant what he said. He spoke the truth even when the truth hurt. He was loyal to the highest principals in the highest sense of the word. He would be righteously indignant of the false and malicious political spin and negativity that we have become accustomed to.
He was courageous. He was willing to put himself on the line even to the point of direct contradiction with the powerful religious rulers of his day.
He was fair. He never would have thought only of the interest of his people (the Jews) or his nation (Israel). There was no self-interest in him. Everything he did was for the greatest good for all. From my point of view, the most powerful man in the world should also be a good world citizen. A true leader would want to lead mankind, not just America, into a new and better way of life. As Jesus said, "When you once begin to find God in your soul, presently you will begin to discover him in other men's souls and eventually in all the creatures and creations of a mighty universe. But what chance does the Father have to appear as a God of supreme loyalties and divine ideals in the souls of men who give little or no time to the thoughtful contemplation of such eternal realities?"
P.1733 - §1
He was wise. He understood human nature well enough to know how certain people would react in certain situations.
He was patient. He waited for the right time to act and chose his battles and his opportunities very carefully.
He was respectful and trusting. He believed in men because he knew that God is in them. He empowered men to decide and act and supported the wisdom of the group. When the group made a decision he honored it.
He was merciful. He understood the human condition and was forgiving of human frailty. However, he abhorred deliberate wickedness, he said that more was expected of the Master than of the servant, and in the end he did not tolerate the corruption of false leaders.
He was sympathetic. He had real insight into the human heart and the human condition. He had real compassion for humanity and wanted all people to "have life and have it more abundantly."
He was truly kind. I don't think he would ever have resorted to harming anyone or allowing anyone to be harmed. He once said that he would not defend himself against harm unless he discerned that God was not present in the person who sought to harm him.
Clearly, we can't expect a leader, even one with as much power as a US president, to possess all the wonderful qualities that Jesus did. There were many powerful men in Jesus day that had no respect for Jesus and thought him foolish and weak. There are many powerful people today, even those who profess to follow Jesus, who would never endorse his non resistant and non violent ways. Many who think that, although Jesus ideals are truly good, they're not practical and they won't work.
Sadly, at this point in time, we are stuck with the reality of always having to choose between the "lesser of two evils." That is, two mortal men who are anything but perfect. We can take the easy way out and vote along party lines, trusting that at least our basic political philosophies will be upheld, or we can look at each man and try to discern their true character.
I personally admire men who have had to overcome a good deal of adversity in life. I think adversity and affliction build a strong and balanced character. Therefore, in the end, I believe that Jesus would vote for the man whom he perceived had the most character.
Blessings always.....PaulaLabels: character, ideals, Jesus, politics, religion, The Urantia Book
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Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Angry at God
Q: I have a friend who's husband is really, really angry at God for the terminal cancer that his brother-in-law is facing. His brother has two small children, and it seems so unfair to him. Do you have any insight as to how to address this - to give her (my friend) some words of wisdom that she might be able to help her husband with?
A: The most important thing I would tell someone who was angry at God for the illness and impending death of a loved is that everyone dies. There is nobody on earth that doesn't die sooner or later. This is a fact of our existence and to some degree the only variable is how we will die. There are some blessings involved in dying with an illness that allows everyone time to assimilate the reality of it, take care of business and say their goodbyes. It's much harder when someone dies accidentally and leaves many things undone. Even so, death happens to everyone and it will happen to this woman's husband too.
From God's point of view, death is not an end but a beginning and it helps to try to get people to look at it that way. Death is really just another birth in an endless cycle of life. The analogy of birth really helps me a lot. Before a person is born they have everything they need. They are in a warm and nurturing environment. Then suddenly the same environment that sustained their being is now totally rejecting them. It must be terribly traumatic. Soon they go from a very small closed environment, where everything is provided rather automatically, to a huge open environment where nothing is provided except when they cry. No wonder they cry so much. But think of the loving hands and warm smiling faces that greet new babies.
Emergence into the next world is no different. Perhaps your friend can get her husband to imagine the joy on the other side when a newly born soul arrives over there. Imagine the joy of reunion for those loved ones who have already passed over and the joy of God and the angels to welcome this beloved child to the shores of the next phase of their ongoing existence. Also, there is the indescribable personal joy of the one who dies but then makes the awesome discovery that there really is no death.
She can remind her husband that because God is the perfect loving parent he feels our pain and is afflicted with us, just as her husband would be afflicted by the pain of his own children.
Some human suffering is unavoidable. God does not dole out death and suffering, these things are brought about by life on the material worlds. However, trust in the goodness of God does give us the comfort and hope that gets us through these difficulties.
Also, comfort your friend with the simple reality that God understands why we humans get angry at him but truly experiences nothing but love for us. Anger does not exist in God. He knows that, compared to eternal viewpoints, human viewpoints are as limited as the vision of a new born baby. Her husband will come to peace in time, anger is part of a grieving process and most people move beyond it, sooner or later.
The Life After Death Magazine helps to comfort many people.
Love.....PaulaLabels: anger, death, God, illness, Paula, suffering, trust
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Xerpi
