Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Where do animals go after death?
Q: Where do animals go after death?
A: Here's a quote from The Urantia Book:
The life bestowed upon plants and animals by the Life Carriers does not return to the Life Carriers upon the death of plant or animal. The departing life of such a living thing possesses neither identity nor personality; it does not individually survive death. During its existence and the time of its sojourn in the body of matter, it has undergone a change; it has undergone energy evolution and survives only as a part of the cosmic forces of the universe; it does not survive as individual life. The survival of mortal creatures is wholly predicated on the evolvement of an immortal soul within the mortal mind.
Page 404 (36:6.5)
Many people who have owned pets or have had a close relationship with an animal have found this statement to be difficult to accept, particularly because it says that animals don't possess identity or personality. The problem stems from taking the term out of context. When used by The Urantia Book the word personality is given a different interpretation from what we commonly use it for. We all know our cat or dog has personality – that's why the pet becomes special to us. But what TUB is relating is that the eternal evolutionary course for creatures of free will intent (human beings) is separate and different from what becomes of other forms of life.
When our beloved pet dies the life force that made it special and unique to us is absorbed back into the Supreme Being. When we die we go on to the mansion worlds where we will encounter even more appealing forms of plant and animal life to associate with.Labels: animals, death, personality, soul, Supreme Being, The Urantia Book
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Friday, November 18, 2005
When I die and go to Heaven, how can I be happy when I realize that someone I love is not in Heaven with me?
Q: When I die and go to Heaven, how can I be happy when I realize that someone I love is not in Heaven with me, but suffering in hell?
A: Your question reminds me of a similar question I asked myself some 34 years ago when I was just 16 and studying the Bible with a group of religionists. While these folks did not believe in Hell, they did believe in Armageddon. Their doctrine was that at Armageddon, God would destroy everyone on earth who was not a part of their church.
At the time, I met a woman (whom I'd never seen before nor since) and I was talking to her about the teachings of this group. She told me something I never forgot. She said, "Paula, you have the ability to know the truth in your own heart. If something grinds against your own natural and logical beliefs don't except it as being true." I felt then that this made a great deal of sense, in fact it actually rang as truth to me, so I took it to heart.
Shortly after that, I went to study with the woman who was helping me learn the church's doctrines, which adherents of this church simply called "The Truth." I had been studying with her for about 6 months at the time. She told me, "Paula, if you don't convert your parents to 'The Truth' God will have to kill them at Armageddon and it will be your fault."
Well, here was a perfect example of something posed as "truth" that most certainly did "grind against my own natural and logical beliefs." I unequivocally balked at her audacious statement, and replied, "Are you saying that God is going to kill my parents?!"
To which she replied, "Well, yes, he will have to dispose of anyone who is not in The Truth."
I thought for a moment and then said, "My parents are the most loving people I know. They are kind and loyal and trusting and sincere. They are truly good, even wonderful people and you say that God is going to kill people like them just because they don't belong to your religious group?"
Again, she vainly tried to explain to me how God would have no choice but to do such a thing.
I then told her, "You may think it would be Heaven to live forever on earth in peace, where the lion lays down with the lamb, etc., knowing that God had killed your loving parents. But that wouldn't be Heaven for me, that would be Hell."
At this point she was aghast, and she exclaimed, "Oh you can't feel that way!"
I simply said, "I'm sorry but I do feel that way and I can't study with you anymore."
I left her standing there with her mouth open. As I walked alone the twelve blocks to my house, I talked to God. I said, "God, you may just as harsh and unforgiving as they say you are. Perhaps you are willing to kill good people because they don't follow one religion or another and if you are that way, I'm sorry but I can't worship you." Then, after a moment's reflection I thought, "Somehow God, I just can't believe that you are that way.
But if you want me to know who you really are, you are going to have to reveal yourself to me because I'm not getting involved with anymore religions." I felt good in my heart about that declaration and I left it at that.
Four years later, during the worst crisis of my life, The Urantia Book came into my life. It claims to be a revelation of God to humankind. Well, I asked God to reveal himself so my mind was open to such a thing. Imagine my joy when I found the God that was so loving, so merciful, so just, so perfect that I joyfully worship him with every fiber of my being.
Here are three great quotes from that wonderful book that I hope will reassure you that God, our truly loving Heavenly Father, takes no delight in causing any harm to any of his children.
P.39 - §1 It is wrong to think of God as being coaxed into loving his children because of the sacrifices of his Sons or the intercession of his subordinate creatures, "for the Father himself loves you." It is in response to this paternal affection that God sends the marvelous Adjusters to indwell the minds of men. God's love is universal; "whosoever will may come." He would "have all men be saved by coming into the knowledge of the truth." He is "not willing that any should perish."
P.2017 - §3 When once you grasp the idea of God as a true and loving Father, the only concept which Jesus ever taught, you must forthwith, in all consistency, utterly abandon all those primitive notions about God as an offended monarch, a stern and all-powerful ruler whose chief delight is to detect his subjects in wrongdoing and to see that they are adequately punished, unless some being almost equal to himself should volunteer to suffer for them, to die as a substitute and in their stead. The whole idea of ransom and atonement is incompatible with the concept of God as it was taught and exemplified by Jesus of Nazareth. The infinite love of God is not secondary to anything in the divine nature.
P.60 - §3 The barbarous idea of appeasing an angry God, of propitiating an offended Lord, of winning the favor of Deity through sacrifices and penance and even by the shedding of blood, represents a religion wholly puerile and primitive, a philosophy unworthy of an enlightened age of science and truth. Such beliefs are utterly repulsive to the celestial beings and the divine rulers who serve and reign in the universes. It is an affront to God to believe, hold, or teach that innocent blood must be shed in order to win his favor or to divert the fictitious divine wrath.
I hope this helps.
Blessings.....Paula
Another view from Larry:
A: There would probably be no way in heaven that you could be happy if that were the case. I suspect that you are a Christian -- you may be interested to know that not all Christian sects promote a belief in hell. And, as you put it, if there were a hell wouldn't it seem contradictory for you to be happy in heaven?
The Urantia Book provides an exalted vision of God, that God is as Jesus saw him and described him, a loving heavenly Father even so much better than an earthly parent. And Jesus asked, if a loving earthly father would not exhibit wrath and retribution toward his own children why do we choose to believe that the heavenly Father of us all would treat us even worse than a human parent? That seems contradictory too doesn't it.
If you've not already done so, may I recommend subscribing to our Quote of the Day. It offers daily inspirational and meaningful quotes from The Urantia Book along with a great picture. It's an easy way to become familiar with the teachings of this marvelous book and is available from the upper right corner of our home page.
Thank you for your question.
Larry Watkins
Truthbook.comLabels: Armageddon, atonement, Christian, God, heaven, hell, Jesus, Larry Watkins, love, Paula, religion, revelation, The Urantia Book, truth
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Is masturbation wrong?
Q: What does the Urantia Book say about masturbation, and is it wrong?
A: The Urantia Book doesn't speak directly about masturbation or the rightness or wrongness of most things – this is left up to our own understanding. Here are two quotes from the book that may help to provide some insight:
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. (84:8.7)
Someday man should learn how to enjoy liberty without license, nourishment without gluttony, and pleasure without debauchery. Self control is a better human policy of behavior regulation than is extreme self denial. Nor did Jesus ever teach these unreasonable views to his followers. (89:3.7)Labels: masturbation, pleasures, self-control, self-denial, self-gratification, The Urantia Book
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Thursday, November 10, 2005
Why do so many people feelingly experience re-incarnation as a spiritual reality?
Q. Why do so many people feelingly experience re-incarnation as a spiritual reality?
A. Buddhists and Hindus experience reincarnation as a spiritual reality because it is an integral part to their view of the life and death cycle and most believers in any one particular religion tend to accept all the doctrines of that religion. Others accept reincarnation as valid because it seems to provide a logical answer to the age-old questions of why do some people seem to be blessed while others face lives of struggle. And still others accept reincarnation because they believe they've been given proof through past life regression, deja-vu, or psychic experiences that appear to point to its validity as a belief system.
Perhaps one of the main reasons people accept the theory of reincarnation is because deep down they realize that there's more to existence than this one short life can provide and because they have not been given another satisfying or more complete explanation of the breadth and scope of the adventure that awaits upon departure from this life in the flesh while a belief in reincarnation seems to answer that call. As you may be aware, The Urantia Book makes it clear that this is the first and only physical experience required to cause the soul to be born and that from this point onward our existence will be one of increasing spiritual awareness and development. The Urantia Book describes in exquisite detail the universe career we embark upon after physical death, what we will experience as heaven and beyond. This ascension plan is so full and all-encompassing that what the theory of reincarnation offers pales and seems dull and tedious in its wake. So until the time comes that there's a more complete understanding of God's plan for us the theory of reincarnation will continue to hold a place in the beliefs of many.
Thank you again,
Larry WatkinsLabels: Buddhism, Hinduism, Larry Watkins, reincarnation, spiritual growth, struggle, The Urantia Book
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Are crystals beneficial to healing?
Q. Are crystals beneficial to healing? If so, how?
A. What are crystals but solidified water and we know that water is a great conductor of energy. Jesus referred to the spirit as "the living water" many times. In fact, water seemed to be his material metaphor of choice for spirit.
The Urantia Book teaches that on the Mansion Worlds the angels touch down and take off from one huge "receiving crystal" known as The Sea of Glass. It also says that the Universal Broadcasts happen from there and that millions of ascending beings gather around The Sea of Glass to witness these broadcasts. From the point of view of science we know that crystals have amazing properties to tune in and amplify energy in watches and high-end electronics. Crystals have definite powers to amplify energy of all sorts, so why not healing energy? It should not be surprising if someday humanity discovers how incredibly diverse and powerful crystals really are and finds new and life-altering ways to use them for things like the promotion and amplification of healing.Labels: crystals, energy, healing, Sea of Glass, The Urantia Book
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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Questions About Angels
Q: Who was the first angel?
A: I guess that's something you're going to have to wait to have answered in the mansion worlds. Since we're in a small area of just one of the superuniverses that orbit around paradise and since the other superuniverses were inhabited before ours was, the first angel would have been created for the first free will creatures of the first superuniverse long before where we reside was even created.
You'll have more success in trying to learn who the angels of your supervision are – they'd be of more importance to you.
Q: Can it be possible to talk to you guardian angels and get a response back?
A: Rather than just saying no it would be better to say anything is possible; it's just very improbable that you will ever actually talk to your guardian angels or even know for certain they're there. They're called guardian angels because they watch over you; it's not in their job description to convince you that they're there, to make life easier for you or to talk to you, however much you may desire it. Just knowing they're there and that you're loved is blessing enough.
Q: Are angels only men?
A: Angels aren't sex creatures like we are but they do have positive or negative energy attributes similar to masculine or feminine traits. The angels we encounter in the Bible tend to have masculine names like Michael, Gabriel and Emmanuel but those beings weren't really angels in the strict sense – they're beings of a different order from the angels who actually minister to us. The ministering angels tend to work in positive and negative energy pairs – both masculine and feminine.
You may enjoy browsing through the angels section on our site and in our gallery – you'll see that much of classical art has historically depicted angels as feminine.Labels: angels, creatures, feminine, free will, guardian angels, masculine
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Xerpi
