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Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book: April 2009



Thursday, April 30, 2009

Playing for Change Peace Video

This is a great music video produced by Play for Change - peace through music.


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Monday, April 27, 2009

Why is life running so fast?

Q: Why is life running so fast? please can you tell something comforting?

A: Why is life running so fast? I'm sure it would be more comforting to us all if the pace of life slowed down. There have been periods of hundreds of thousands of years in human history where there was little if any personal, cultural, or societal change and today we experience more of those changes in just one year than most of humanity ever experienced in a lifetime.

Perhaps these extracts from The Urantia Book will provide some clarity:

Nature is a resultant of two cosmic factors: first, the immutability, perfection, and rectitude of Paradise Deity, and second, the experimental plans, executive blunders, insurrectionary errors, incompleteness of development, and imperfection of wisdom of creatures, from the highest to the lowest. Nature therefore carries a uniform, unchanging, majestic, and marvelous thread of perfection from the circle of eternity; but on each planet, and in each individual life, this nature is modified, qualified, and perchance marred by the acts, the mistakes, and the disloyalties of creatures; and therefore must nature ever be of a changing mood, whimsical withal, though stable underneath. (4:2.3)

Human life is an endless change unified by the stability of the unchanging personality. (112:5.20 )

When men pray for providential intervention in the circumstances of life, many times the answer to their prayer is their own changed attitudes toward life. (118:10.21)

Remember that the order of progressive evolution is subjected to sudden and unexpected periodical changes in both the material and the spiritual worlds. (170:4.4)

In terms of material and spiritual progress we have a long way to go in order to enter that more enlightened age that's destined to evolve. The accelerated pace of change that we're experiencing is an indication that that evolution is underway and even at this rapid rate our arrival at that state of relative peace and calm will be far into the distant future. As the quote above indicates, prayer is the best action for helping us accept the circumstances of life and for finding happiness during our fast-paced and tumultuous lives.

Finally, here is another reference that may be of help to you, as well as an inspiration for weathering these changes of modern life- Religion and Social Reconstruction.

Among other things in this section, we learn that "Mankind is on the march toward a new and unrevealed planetary destiny."

Thank you for the question...

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Did Jesus take away the sins of the world?

Q: Did Jesus take away the sins of the world?

A: The belief that Jesus came to earth in order to "take away the sins of the world" is as old as Christianity, but it is not the gospel of Jesus.

The belief in the concept of "original sin" is also an age-old idea, but has no basis in fact.

(194:2.1) Jesus lived on earth and taught a gospel which redeemed man from the superstition that he was a child of the devil and elevated him to the dignity of a faith son of God.

Jesus taught that human nature is not inherently sinful. He taught that sin is the deliberate choosing of a path or an action that is in direct opposition to God's will. We all still have that ability to choose between good and evil, so the possibility of sin is ever-present, even since Jesus came here.

Jesus' real mission on earth was to establish the Kingdom of Heaven in the hearts of mankind - to proclaim the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, which are the cornerstones of this heavenly kingdom. By entering into this kingdom by faith, we are then fortified with a new purpose, and a new motivation to overcome sin through determination and personal responsibility to the ideals of the good, the true and the beautiful.

The whole idea of Jesus' purpose on earth as an atonement for the sins of mankind is set to rest once and for all in the teachings of The Urantia Book, and this is very good news for all of humanity. Please go HERE for a further exploration of the atonement doctrine.

For further study and inspiration about what really happened as a result of the Crucifixion, please see this reference regarding the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross.

And thanks for this very important question.

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Is it wrong to want to acquire material wealth and possessions?

Q: Is it wrong to want to acquire material wealth and possessions?

A: It is not wrong to want material wealth or possessions. Nowhere did Jesus teach that we have to renounce material success in order to be his followers; only to his apostles, and those who would be his apostles, did he counsel a renunciation of material possessions in order to live in spiritual community. It is one's inmost motivation that matters in this regard.

Here are some Urantia Book references that will give you more information about Jesus' attitude towards wealth, and those who possess it. Click on the links to read more:

After Jesus had counseled the rich young man, Matadormus, Jesus and Peter had this exchange:

(163:3.3) As they went off by themselves, Jesus was grieved that Matadormus did not remain with them, for he greatly loved him. And when they had walked down by the lake, they sat there beside the water, and Peter, speaking for the twelve (who were all present by this time), said: "We are troubled by your words to the rich young man. Shall we require those who would follow you to give up all their worldly goods?" And Jesus said: "No, Peter, only those who would become apostles, and who desire to live with me as you do and as one family. But the Father requires that the affections of his children be pure and undivided. Whatever thing or person comes between you and the love of the truths of the kingdom, must be surrendered. If one's wealth does not invade the precincts of the soul, it is of no consequence in the spiritual life of those who would enter the kingdom."

(163:2.10) Riches have nothing directly to do with entrance into the kingdom of heaven, but the love of wealth does. The spiritual loyalties of the kingdom are incompatible with servility to materialistic mammon. Man may not share his supreme loyalty to a spiritual ideal with a material devotion.

Further, Jesus said:

(165:4.5)" ... it is not a sin to have honorable wealth; but it is a sin if you convert the wealth of material possessions into treasures which may absorb your interests and divert your affections from devotion to the spiritual pursuits of the kingdom. There is no sin in having honest possessions on earth provided your treasure is in heaven, for where your treasure is there will your heart be also. "

Jesus spoke further on wealth and its uses and drawbacks in his parable called Dividing the Inheritance .

And, Jesus did offer a good deal of advice to his followers regarding the proper use of material wealth, if we should chance to acquire it.

In the study of the above links, you should be able to clearly see the attitude that a spiritually inclined soul should have towards the desire for material wealth and possessions.

Thank you for this important question.

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How can I improve my prayer life?

Q: I am a born again Christian and lately I can't pray, Every time I try to pray there are no words I can say and sometimes I feel so empty inside and I can't even understand what I am saying when I pray. How can I improve my prayer life?

A: When I read your question, this quote from The Urantia Book immediately came to mind:

(91:8.12) Words are irrelevant to prayer; they are merely the intellectual channel in which the river of spiritual supplication may chance to flow...God answers the soul's attitude, not the words.

If you want to improve your prayer life, try to just BE in the presence of God for a while without saying any memorized prayer words. Reach out to God with your inmost soul, and he'll surely help you to know what to do about your concern. Just doing that will possibly help you to feel better connected to God.

I think we all go through dry spells in our spiritual life - at least I do. It is uncomfortable to say the least, when we feel as though we are not able to talk to God as we once could; worse, that perhaps we are not being heard. We feel that emptiness so deeply. Refuse to yield to anxiety over this issue, but know that there is a light at the end of this tunnel that you are in...try to relax. God knows your desire.

Here are a couple of Urantia Book quotes to help you through this time in your life.

Jesus' Discourse on Prayer This link will inspire you to look at prayer as Jesus did.

And THIS is a link to a section of The Urantia Book which has always been of help to me with my prayer life. It deals with praying and the "alter ego," that part of us that comes into play when we "talk to ourselves..." Maybe it will be helpful to you right now.

In addition, you might go to our topical study on Prayer for more advice and inspiration from The Urantia Book.

Don't give up. I will agree with you right now in prayer that you'll turn the corner soon.

Thanks for this great question...

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Tuesday, April 21, 2009

What is the Pursuit of Beauty?

Q: I read about the pursuit of Truth, Goodness and Beauty in the UB. I can conceptualize the pursuit of Truth and Goodness, but what is the Pursuit of Beauty?

A: This is some of what The Urantia Book relates about beauty:

its discernment is the discovery and integration of reality;
art consists of harmony in unity;
beauty implies the presence of an appreciative mind and the recognition of the synthesis of diversity stemming from oneness;
beauty is always triumphant over ugliness.

To apply the above definitions to one's life would constitute a pursuit of beauty; to disregard them would not. For example, some people think tattoos and piercings are beautiful, some splash paint on canvas and call it beautiful, some make noise and call it beautiful. It doesn't take much of a stretch of the imagination to realize that nearly anything disorienting or unreal can be considered beautiful by a mind out of touch with reality. The pursuit of harmony and unity will produce a reality response that resonates with the source of true beauty.

I hope this reply helps; in any case, feel free to post any time.

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What does the UB say about sin? Homosexual relation?

Q: What does the UB say about sin? How can an individual know if something is a sin? Are homosexual relations a sin?

A: Here are a few Urantia Book quotes that will help you to understand what sin is, as contrasted with evil, error and iniquity:

(67:1.4) There are many ways of looking at sin, but from the universe philosophic viewpoint sin is the attitude of a personality who is knowingly resisting cosmic reality. Error might be regarded as a misconception or distortion of reality. Evil is a partial realization of, or maladjustment to, universe realities. But sin is a purposeful resistance to divine reality—a conscious choosing to oppose spiritual progress—while iniquity consists in an open and persistent defiance of recognized reality and signifies such a degree of personality disintegration as to border on cosmic insanity.

Error suggests lack of intellectual keenness; evil, deficiency of wisdom; sin, abject spiritual poverty; but iniquity is indicative of vanishing personality control.

(148:4.4) [Jesus said:] "Sin is the conscious, knowing, and deliberate transgression of the divine law, the Father's will. Sin is the measure of unwillingness to be divinely led and spiritually directed."

So, we can see that sin is a conscious choice to "oppose spiritual progress" and a "deliberate transgression of the divine law, the Father's will." In other words, one must know that what one is doing is a clear violation of the principles of truth, beauty and goodness, and then decide to do it anyway. This constitutes sin.

The ability to recognize sinful behavior is tied up with the development of a strong character. Here are some passages that illuminate this topic:

(140:4.8)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.

(160:1.2) 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.

(184:2.12) 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.

As for homosexual relations, this is an issue that The Urantia Book says nothing about. Although it does extol the value of friendship between same-sex persons, there are no guidelines in the book either for or against sexual relations in such a loving friendship, or the morality of such relations. Unlike the Bible, The Urantia Book is not specific about many of the social issues we face today, and it does not make blanket claims about specific behaviors. These "mores" are determined age to age by the prevailing sentiments of society. Having said that, I would also say that the teachings of The Urantia Book do exalt the man-woman relationship, along with marriage, children and family life, as the highest ideal of relationship. In all inter-personal relations, unselfish love - the desire to do good to others - should be the primary concern.

And regarding the sex urge, consider this quote:

(82:1.10) No human emotion or impulse, when unbridled and overindulged, can produce so much harm and sorrow as this powerful sex urge.

Ideally, spiritually-seeking people can look forward to a stage of development in which they are less bothered by matters of sexuality and physical conflict, and more towards a time when they can transcend these kinds of matters through spiritual identification. I might suggest that you take a look at The Spirit and the Flesh.
In it, we read the following, which is a very positive and encouraging passage - and a very good reason to stay on the spiritual path:

"Those God-knowing men and women who have been born of the Spirit experience no more conflict with their mortal natures than do the inhabitants of the most normal of worlds, planets which have never been tainted with sin nor touched by rebellion. Faith sons work on intellectual levels and live on spiritual planes far above the conflicts produced by unrestrained or unnatural physical desires. The normal urges of animal beings and the natural appetites and impulses of the physical nature are not in conflict with even the highest spiritual attainment except in the minds of ignorant, mistaught, or unfortunately overconscientious persons. "

I would invite you to interpret this reply and the above quotes with your highest, most spiritual thinking while deriving a personally meaningful answer to this question.

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Are the Thought Adjuster and Personality alien to each other?

Q: The Urantia Book speaks as though the Thought Adjuster and Personality are alien to each other, yet they both come from God-Father. Why would God play such a game with Him/Her self ?

A: I guess it might seem like some sort of a game that God is playing, but somehow, I don't think that is the case. To me, it is a very interesting, but also very logical thing he does...far more than a mere "game," it is an amazing opportunity that he gives to his mortal and finite children of time.

Mortal beings are endowed with personality, but Adjusters are not - they are designated "pre-personal," indicating that they have personality potential. But while Adjusters do not possess personality, they do possess divine "identity," while the mortal does not, except as potential in the evolving soul. And so, the eventual fusion of the pre-personal Adjuster and the personality of man constitutes the creation of a new kind of being altogether - one with the characteristics and the identity of both the human and the Divine.

In order for the human to achieve this divinity, s/he must make those kinds of decisions and choices throughout life that constitute "spirit-identification," by allying the self with the will of God. These kinds of decisions result in the growth of an immortal soul; it is this immortal entity that is able to eventually fuse with the pre-personal Adjuster. In this way, the Adjuster achieves fusion with that aspect of personality which was once bestowed upon the mortal, and with which that mortal was able to effect those decisions to be like God. In turn, the mortal becomes eternally God-identified. The two become one - a whole new creature capable of completing the Paradise ascent - the return to the Paradise Father who bestowed both of these components. Unless this happens, the mortal creature cannot make this supernal journey.

Far from being alien to each other, these two components of God do - with the consent of the mortal of their indwelling - conspire and cooperate in this amazing creation of a being of eternal status and dignity. The personality and the Thought Adjuster - both gifts of God to evolving mortals - are really the closest of associations in potential. It is the decision of the freewill mortal that activates and completes this liaison. By taking advantage of this opportunity, we can progress from the lowest of the low, to the highest of the high.

As an aside, you might enjoy this intriguing section about the Universal Father as The God of Personality.

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Two questions: Is it cheating to use medications to increase ones control of emotions?

Q: Our degree of self-control is the measure of our soul. Is it cheating to use medications to increase ones control of emotions like anger, sexual lust, anxiety or any other emotional unbalance?

A: It may be a measure of a person's soul that they think enough of themselves and other people to want to do whatever they can to get help if they feel out of control in the way of harmful emotional states. These states can be due to so many things - environmental, inherited, or simple imbalance, some of which can be addressed through medications. Sometimes people are not thinking of anything but relief from their symptoms...getting that relief may help them in their spiritual life.

Whether or not such a person is "cheating" because they may be getting help with harmful emotions seems a very subjective and personal matter which is none of my business. If it helps people to navigate in this world a little better for awhile, where's the harm? And why pass any kind of judgment?

Is it cheating to take a tranquilizer to keep from getting an anxiety attack? Drugs are drugs; some are intended to normalize abnormal behavior. To not use them when they're available and intended to correct a particular behavior pattern would be ignorant.

Jesus taught us that self-mastery is an ideal worth striving for. Those of us who are lucky enough to have this Revelation know that true self-mastery is a spiritual achievement which can be had through perseverance, determination, faith, trust, and prayer. But even so, just because a person takes medication to help them through a rough time in their life does not mean that they are failing at self-mastery. Seeking help may, in itself, be evidence of self-mastery. And spiritual work can surely be done even with medication.

How you get to self-mastery not be not the important thing - THAT you get there seems more important.

Q: I fully understand that some people HAVE to use medications to be calm, like those in psychiatric asylums. Though I was wondering whether it is a spiritual achievement to get self-control, when you are chemically under control through administered medications. I heard, as an example, about this dude who almost lived in celibacy, though his celibacy was a result of medications....not supreme self-control. If a person then buys anger-, sexual management pills to become more spiritual, is the result then spiritual or is it almost a pathetic attempt to cheat God?

A: So, to rephrase that - just so we're clear: Someone knows that self-control is a spiritual achievement. They want that spiritual achievement, so they buy pills to control their behavior chemically, hoping to become more spiritual as a result of the control because they can't control themselves any other way...?

I can't speak for God, or anyone else, but if their desire is truly spiritual growth, it'll probably work out - maybe not that way, but some way. God knows the heart, and I am sure he judges on that alone.

To cheat God? Spiritual achievement occurs when will power is used to overcome compulsions or desires. If one has no overriding sexual impulses or no predilection toward anger because they have been deadened through medications, then being celibate or placid have no spiritual components.

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Friday, April 10, 2009

Randy Pausch - The Last Lecture reprised

This is a very inspiring presentation. It is a reprise of a lecture given by Randy Pausch, a very learned man, both mentally and spiritually, who was facing imminent death at the time of this talk. The original talk was given to his students, and this one is a condensed version from the Oprah Show. Good lessons for life!



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How is it possible for a first time personality to even be mature enough, wise enough to make eternal decisions?

Q: The Urantia Book describes the process by which we will eventually become one with our Thought Adjuster through "cooperating", submitting our will to God's will; making decisions, choices etc.... How is it possible for a first time personality to even be mature enough, wise enough to make eternal decisions?

A: It may not be possible to make eternal decisions in this earth life, although we can certainly make decisions that contribute to our eternal life. Like the process you describe in your question, we can choose to cooperate with our Thought Adjuster, we can decide that God's will is what we want in our lives, and we can reinforce those basic decisions with the every-day kinds of choices that we all face. By doing this, we grow our soul - the immortal part of us that will survive the death experience. And that is the eternal part of us that will eventually fuse with the TA. Even if we haven't made the "final decision" here - still, by contributing to our soul's growth, we are just that much better able to eventually make that decision when we are really ready.

Here's an abbreviated quote that might be helpful:

p449:4(40:8.1) ...practically all surviving mortals are fused with their Adjusters on one of the mansion worlds or immediately upon their arrival on the higher morontia spheres...

And this:

p538:1(47:8.3) This is a brilliant age for ascending mortals and usually witnesses the perfect fusion of the human mind and the divine Adjuster. In potential, this fusion may have occurred previously, but the actual working identity many times is not achieved until the time of the sojourn on the fifth mansion world or even the sixth.

For me, it is enough of a hope that my faith is sufficient to ensure that I will survive to wake up on the Mansion Worlds, and I think that is the best that most us can wish for at this juncture in our lives. And that's pretty good news! The Urantia Book teaches that fusion with the TA may be a long way off, even after we survive. That kind of decision is not made lightly, even though we may feel that we want it while we are here. As far as I know, only Enoch was able to achieve it here on Urantia, when he went up in a "flash of fire." The Urantia Book says that he was "the first," so maybe there have been others since then, but I don't know...Through our continuing purification, spirit identification, and education on the Mansion Worlds, we can hope to become far better equipped to make that kind of eternal decision when the time is right.

Just for interest, you might like to read about Death and Translation on the Spheres of Light and Life. I think we here on Urantia are going to be waiting a long time before that becomes a reality, but someday...

Thanks for this interesting question!

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Is God Playing Games?

Q: The Urantia Book speaks as though the Thought Adjuster and Personality are alien to each other, yet they both come from God-Father. Why would God play such a game with Him/Her self?

A: I guess it might seem like some sort of a game that God is playing, but somehow, I don't think that is the case. To me, it is a very interesting, but also very logical thing he does...far more than a mere "game," it is an amazing opportunity that he gives to his mortal and finite children of time.

Mortal beings are endowed with personality, but Adjusters are not - they are designated "pre-personal," indicating that they have personality potential. But while Adjusters do not possess personality, they do possess divine "identity," while the mortal does not, except as potential in the evolving soul. And so, the eventual fusion of the pre-personal Adjuster and the personality of man constitutes the creation of a new kind of being altogether - one with the characteristics and the identity of both the human and the Divine.

In order for the human to achieve this divinity, s/he must make those kinds of decisions and choices throughout life that constitute "spirit-identification," by allying the self with the will of God. These kinds of decisions result in the growth of an immortal soul; it is this immortal entity that is able to eventually fuse with the pre-personal Adjuster. In this way, the Adjuster achieves fusion with that aspect of personality which was once bestowed upon the mortal, and with which that mortal was able to effect those decisions to be like God. In turn, the mortal becomes eternally God-identified. The two become one - a whole new creature capable of completing the Paradise ascent - the return to the Paradise Father who bestowed both of these components. Unless this happens, the mortal creature cannot make this supernal journey.

Far from being alien to each other, these two components of God do - with the consent of the mortal of their indwelling - conspire and cooperate in this amazing creation of a being of eternal status and dignity. The personality and the Thought Adjuster - both gifts of God to evolving mortals - are really the closest of associations in potential. It is the decision of the freewill mortal that activates and completes this liaison. By taking advantage of this opportunity, we can progress from the lowest of the low, to the highest of the high.

As an aside, you might enjoy this intriguing section about the Universal Father as The God of Personality.

I hope this answer has been helpful....

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There is at this time a man in Brazil INRI CHRISTO...There is at this time a man in Brazil INRI CHRISTO ...

Q: There is at this time a man in Brazil INRI CHRISTO. He has founded the new church of Christ SOUST. What can you tell of him, is he the Christ among us of the second coming?

A: Just to be sure, I googled the name that you gave me, and came across a YouTube video of this man. Within a few seconds, I knew he could not be Jesus, as he was talking about demonic possession. From the time of Pentecost, there has been no such thing as demonic possession, and the devil is not an "energetic body," as this man claims; instead, the devil is the fallen one-time Prince of this planet. Jesus, when he walked the earth, vanquished this deceiver, and has taken his place.

Jesus did promise to someday return to the earth, and we can rest on that promise. But as to the hour or the day, no one can say.

Jesus said: "But the times of the reappearing of the Son of Man are known only in the councils of Paradise; not even the angels of heaven know when this will occur. However, you should understand that, when this gospel of the kingdom shall have been proclaimed to all the world for the salvation of all peoples, and when the fullness of the age has come to pass, the Father will send you another dispensational bestowal, or else the Son of Man will return to adjudge the age. p1915:2 (176:2.5)

I think you can be quite sure that this man is not who he claims to be.

As to your second question: who is inri cristo?

I think this is simply a mortal man who has delusions of being Jesus. I would not put any faith in such a person; instead, you would do well to visit our site and read about the REAL Jesus. Please go HERE for much more information about Jesus. Or go HERE to read the complete life and teachings of Jesus as presented in The Urantia Book, a Revelation of truth, beauty and goodness for the entire planet. This will serve you far better than putting your faith in pretenders

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Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Rick Warren Interview

Rick Warren (REMEMBER HE WROTE 'PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE') also he did the debate with McCain and Obama.

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having 'wealth' from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren.

'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven...

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into an other one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life...

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems...

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,'which is my problem, my issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy...

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease .

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD...
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
God's Blessings on you today.

What a good way to use your money, I'm sure it is one of the ways Jesus wants us to us it. You know you can't take it with you, you most certainly can't buy eternal happiness, and it seems no one is ever satisfied with what they have - they keep wanting.

____________

Please visit our new page dedicated to GOD

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Saturday, April 04, 2009

Does TUB discuss any hitherto unknown human senses or abilities?

Q: Does The Urantia Book discuss any hitherto unknown human senses or abilities?

A: The authors of The Urantia Book tell us that our average sense endowment numbers twelve. Now, I am only aware of the usual five sense - sight, smell, taste, feeling, and hearing, so, it gets one to thinking... They call these twelve sense "physical-sense endowments," and I wonder if at least one of them could be connected to the legacy of animal fear that we have inherited. Fear can be a very visceral reaction. I also wonder if one of our senses could be connected to discernment of the passage of time or our ability to discern the presence of another personality - or non-personality. Additionally, our bodies possess an innate ability to heal themselves. Perhaps memory is considered a "sense." And then, there's always the "sense of humor and the "sense of fairness," or the "sense of right and wrong." Or, it could just be that our senses simply fall below what is considered "average" when taken in total against all humans in the cosmos. It is an interesting subject to think about, right?

Here is a quote:

The average special physical-sense endowment of human beings is twelve, though the special senses of the three-brained mortals are extended slightly beyond those of the one- and two-brained types; they can see and hear considerably more than the Urantia races. p564:5(49:4.3)

I find it interesting to conjecture whether we would have developed keener senses had Adam and Eve not defaulted, and we had had the benefit of their superior life plasm. Consider this quote:

Both the physical and spiritual visions of Adam and Eve were far superior to those of the present-day peoples. Their special senses were much more acute, and they were able to see the midwayers and the angelic hosts, the Melchizedeks, and the fallen Prince Caligastia, who several times came to confer with his noble successor. They retained the ability to see these celestial beings for over one hundred years after the default. These special senses were not so acutely present in their children and tended to diminish with each succeeding generation. p851:3(76:4.5)

I say it is a pity, for I would love to be able to see our friends in the spiritual realms.

We can look forward to some extra- and enhanced senses once we pass through the portals of death and assume our morontia existence, as in this quote:

The morontia senses are seventy, and the higher spiritual orders of reaction response vary in different types of beings from seventy to two hundred and ten.p154:5(14:2.3)

And to give you an idea of how inadequate our physical senses are in discerning spiritual reality, consider this quote about the central universe and Havona:

None of the physical beings of the central universe would be visible to Urantians. Neither would any of the physical stimuli of those faraway worlds excite a reaction in your gross sense organs. If a Urantia mortal could be transported to Havona, he would there be deaf, blind, and utterly lacking in all other sense reactions; he could only function as a limited self-conscious being deprived of all environmental stimuli and all reactions thereto. p154:6(14:2.4)

Finally, as to special abilities, I think that mortals are variously gifted with many different abilities - in art, music, writing, mathmatics, science, etc. Some people have amazing abilities that no one even understands - like savants in math or music or memory who are otherwise seemingly mentally retarded. Some of these folks are an endless source of wonder for us all.

Here's a quote that helps illuminate some of this for us:

There are three possible sources of special human ability: At the bottom always there exists the natural or inherent aptitude. Special ability is never an arbitrary gift of the Gods; there is always an ancestral foundation for every outstanding talent. In addition to this natural ability, or rather supplemental thereto, there may be contributed the leadings of the Thought Adjuster in those individuals whose indwelling Adjusters may have had actual and bona fide experiences along such lines on other worlds and in other mortal creatures. In those cases where both the human mind and the indwelling Adjuster are unusually skillful, the spirit artisans may be delegated to act as harmonizers of these talents and otherwise to assist and inspire these mortals to seek for ever-perfecting ideals and to attempt their enhanced portrayal for the edification of the realm. p507:7 (44:8.2)

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Do please wake up

Q: Do you honestly believe that a woman can give birth to 63 children (your story about Adam and Eve)? What sort of process does your brain go through in order to deny the scientifically possible to believe this nonsense? Do please wake up.

A. Thank you for your note to Truthbook.com and yes, it does sound pretty preposterous doesn't it? You didn't mention the fact that Adam and Eve were supposed to be close to 8 feet tall when the native population was under 6 feet tall -- that would seem pretty preposterous, too. Also, that it's recounted that their bodies gave off a slight aura of color that could be seen with normal vision. If you want to pick at preposterousness then the recounting of the story of Adam and Eve is a great place to begin.

I think you'd have to understand a bit about what else The Urantia Book relates before being able to pluck the story of Adam and Eve from it and have it make much sense. Let me supply a bit of background for you.

Primarily, reality isn't material only; it's both material and spiritual although our relationship with the spiritual is tenuous at best -- we are, after all, the lowest form of free-will and personality endowed creatures in the universe and are intended to be living a nearly totally material existence here. Notwithstanding our ignorance, there is a spiritual overcontrol and administration that is ultimately in control of all material reality; it's responsible for, among many other things, seeing that each inhabited world receives an Adam and Eve at the appropriate time.

Adam and Eve are actually special creations called Material Sons (sometimes Material Sons and Daughters). The Urantia Book contains considerable information about these Material Sons, you can read a bit about them here...and here...

Feel free to further your critique once you've read the material.

Human evolution on an inhabited world proceeds along a normal evolutionary course and human beings naturally evolve up to an apex of physical, mental, and spiritual capacity. In order to develop beyond this limited natural apex an infusion of superior DNA is required, again a normal but rather spectacular event on a planet. This is done by these specially designed beings, the Material Sons, often called biologic uplifters, coming in person. Here's a bit more detailed write-up about this event if you're interested, which appears to scientifically verify this preposterous appearing event having occurred at the exact time in ancient history where The Urantia Book places it.

However, to address your point specifically; the purpose of an Adam and Eve when they are bestowed upon a planet, is to have children. Childbirth is not painful for Eve, it's her primary function and purpose for being here and she can and does have children one after another. So, yes, we do honestly believe that a superhuman woman such as Eve can give birth to considerably more than 63 children. The process our brain goes through is to understand what and why The Urantia Book relates the wealth of significant material it does. We don't deny what is and what isn't scientifically possible, and not only have woken up because of our study of The Urantia Book, we hope to assist everyone who can intelligently assess this material to wake up as well.

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When did Catholicism begin?

Q: When did Catholicism begin and where can I find a book to read about the beginnings of Catholicism

A: I am not sure that you are aware that you have asked your question at a site dedicated to the teachings of The Urantia Book...? The Urantia Book is the most recent revelation of God to mankind - the previous revelation of this magnitude was the mortal incarnation, life, and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, over 2000 years ago. The Urantia Book includes in Part IV a complete restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus - perhaps that is how you came to believe that you could get your questioned answered, since our site is also dedicated to spreading the good news of Jesus' gospel...? I just want you to be aware that The Urantia Book is not connected to either the Catholic Church, or any other church. It is not a religion, in and of itself, but promotes the religion of personal experience, which is the religion that Jesus established when he was on earth. This religion differs in some fundamental ways from traditional Christian, or Catholic beliefs. But The Urantia Book is quite clear on Jesus' Divinity, so it is consistent in belief with all traditional churches in that regard.

The Catholic Church dates its beginnings to the confession of Peter - the occasion upon which Jesus asked the Apostles "Who say you that I am?" to which Peter replied, "You are the Deliverer, the Son of the living God." Following this declaration by Peter, the other eleven apostles agreed that Peter had spoken for all of them.

It was supposedly said by Jesus that "Upon this rock [Peter] I will build my church," making Peter the first "Pope," according to Catholic dogma. And so, throughout all of these centuries, every pope of the Catholic Church is said to be the representative of Peter, and the leader of the Church.

Since you have asked this question about the Catholic church at our site, I feel it might be of interest to you to know the differences between the Catholic Church, which is a religion ABOUT Jesus, and the actual religion OF Jesus, as presented in The Urantia Book. Please bear with me, if you will. I hope your mind is open enough to entertain some new information.

In The Urantia Book, we are given a detailed, almost day-by-day account of the life of Jesus. And this account includes the story of this conversation with Peter and the apostles. It was a very important occasion, as it was the first time that the apostles finally understood, and openly declared, that Jesus was not only a great teacher and a holy man (the Son of man), but that he was in truth, the actual Son of God as well, God-made-flesh.

I am providing a link HERE, so that you can read for yourself the account of this momentous occasion in The Urantia Book. Jesus established that day, not a church, but a living spiritual reality called the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Urantia Book teaches us that Jesus did not come to earth to establish a formalized church, even though many churches did spring up in his name following his death and resurrection. Instead, Jesus came to proclaim the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man; he came to establish the Kingdom of Heaven in the very hearts of mankind, so that man could know for certain that God is his Father, and so that every human being can have personal spiritual relations with that loving Father, as Jesus himself did.

Many churches claim that theirs is the "one, true church." Catholicism is one of them. One feature of any such church is dogma - theological teachings that must be embraced and rules that must be adhered to, lest a person suffer damnation, supposedly at the hands of a judgmental and jealous God. Jesus himself was raised in orthodox Judaism, and was also taught that he must adhere to Jewish dogma, principles and rituals so that he would stand in favor with God. As you know, he rebelled against that very strict upbringing.

Jesus preached against the establishment of any religion that would try to imprison the Truth and he became a great threat to the authority of the church leaders, who had him killed for his original and life-saving ideas. Jesus taught us that there is a true freedom of religious expression that can only be found through personal relations with God, who dwells within every man. It is through progressive and willing identification with this indwelling Spirit that man is able to achieve communion with the Father. Jesus was not in favor of any priest, rabbi, or other supposed "holy men" standing between man and God. He taught that we can live lives of spiritual freedom and originality with only our inner Spirit as our infallible guide.

Since you came upon our site, and took the time to ask a question of us, I hope that you will stay awhile, and read a bit more from The Urantia Book.

The Urantia Book clearly states that:

One of the most important things in human living is to find out what Jesus believed, to discover his ideals, and to strive for the achievement of his exalted life purpose. Of all human knowledge, that which is of greatest value is to know the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it. p2090:4(196:1.3)

Please go HERE to our web page dedicated to Jesus, which contains many Urantia Book links, including a link to the story of Jesus' life and teachings (at the top of the page), as well as beautiful videos that you might enjoy.

And HERE to read about the beginnings of the Christian church, which bears Jesus' name.

As for books about the beginnings of Catholicism, I am sure you could find a wealth of selections at Amazon.com. They frequently have second-hand books at a great savings.

Thanks for hanging in with me this far. I don't know why you chose to ask your question of us, but I am glad that you did. Please write back any time...I hope you will take this gentle nudge, given in the spirit of brotherhood, to expand your knowledge and understanding of Jesus as presented in The Urantia Book. It is a book like no other, and a Revelation of God whose only equal is that of the Master, Jesus of Nazareth himself.

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Who is this spirit that came to Lourdes, and many other places?

Q: Mother Mary has had many visitations to the Earth since her "Assumption". Who is this spirit that came to Lourdes, and many other places? Was Mary a disciple of Jesus?

A: Marian visitations and apparitions have been going on for decades. I remember as a child in Catholic school, Fatima and Lourdes were very hot topics, and they were always quite a mystery to me...still are! As late as the 1960s, apparitions - supposedly of Mary - were seen for many months by some young girls in Garabandal, Spain and caused quite a stir in the Catholic community. These apparitions are often accompanied by warnings, many very dire, about coming disasters, chastisements, and so forth. I remember in the Fatima visitations, there was supposedly a miracle, where the sun seemed to descend upon many thousands of people. This is pretty well documented through eyewitness reports, but seems to have been somewhat subjective, as many - even believers - saw nothing at all.

Over the centuries since Jesus walked the earth, Mary has been elevated to the status of a virtual deity among Catholics. She is seen as an intercessor, pleading with mortals to mend their ways, lest her son wreak some sort of disaster upon humanity for its wicked ways. She is seen as almost begging us, implying that she cannot stay her son's hand forever, meaning that Jesus will punish us severely if we don't repent. It is interesting to note that all of these apparitions occurred to Catholic youngsters, primarily adolescent girls.

The Urantia Book offers no information that I can find about this sort of thing, although I wish that it did. Were these phenomenon purely subjective? Were they a case of mass hysteria? Was there really a good spirit communicating with young children, offering clues to the future? If so, who could it be? As far as I know, there are no documented corrobortions of the predictions of any of these visitations. Many, many people experienced healing of ailments, as at Lourdes, but was this a real case of miraculous healing, or was it the faith of the ailing person that cured them? We have evidence of this happening during Jesus' life, as in the case of the woman with the spirit of infirmity. Faith is a powerful adjunct to healing.

Unfortunately, I can offer no explanation for these events, and while I find them very interesting - even amazing - I have a hard time believing that they are Divine visitations. Our heavenly Father does not deal in fear and warnings, but in love and salvation. God works from within the individual heart and soul, and I think he would not need to use such dramatic means to call attention to himself. He waits for his children to come to him, and dwells as the "still, small voice," leading the way to his will. Having said that, I sometimes wish that there could be some kind of world-wide Divine event that would get the attention of people who need some proof of God, but so far, that has not happened. The truth is that we humans are engaged in a life that requires rugged faith and the religion of personal spiritual experience to produce any real spiritual progress - not apparitions and visitations by supposedly supernatural beings. Consider this Urantia Book quote:

Religion lives and prospers, then, not by sight and feeling, but rather by faith and insight. It consists not in the discovery of new facts or in the finding of a unique experience, but rather in the discovery of new and spiritual meanings in facts already well known to mankind. The highest religious experience is not dependent on prior acts of belief, tradition, and authority; neither is religion the offspring of sublime feelings and purely mystical emotions. It is, rather, a profoundly deep and actual experience of spiritual communion with the spirit influences resident within the human mind, and as far as such an experience is definable in terms of psychology, it is simply the experience of experiencing the reality of believing in God as the reality of such a purely personal experience.
p1105:1(101:1.4)

As to the second part of your question: Mary, the mother of Jesus was not strictly a disciple of Jesus. She was his mother; and throughout Jesus life, Mary was at various times loving, proud, perplexed, hopeful, and also bitterly disappointed as to the course that her son's life took. She was quite a normal human mother, with a normal mother's care and concern for her child's welfare. You can read more about Mary HERE

The "Marys" who were disciples of Jesus were Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the sister of Lazarus.

I wish I could have given you a better answer, but I hope this has been of some help to you...

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