Q: Does the "law of attraction" actually exist or somthing like it ?( i.e what we set our minds on to our wants and needs can be attainable even if it seems impossilbe to get or reach)
A: The "law of attraction" does function on material matter because of material gravity and on spirit substance because of spirit gravity; those are the only two real laws of attraction, but that's not what you're asking about. You want to know if you want and wish for things focused and strongly enough if they'll be granted to you, a popular new age concept along similar lines to karma, and the answer to that is no; magic does not uphold reality even as much as we may desire that would be the case.
It is always to our benefit to entertain a positive outlook even in the face of disappointment and struggle, to believe that the best is available to us if we do our best, to set goals and strive to achieve them, to direct our lives along positive lines. If that's our life's outlook then the seemingly impossible can and sometimes does become our reality. Remember the concept that "God is no respecter of persons." This means that God (or fate) does not show favoritism to those who set their minds on wants and needs as opposed to those who have no such focus. Life on an experimental evolutionary world always poses rewards and defeats -- it's your attitude toward these vicissitudes that makes the overall difference in the quality of your life.
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 a facinating 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 another 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.
Q: Is God more like male or female? If neither, then is God like a universal being for all worlds?
A: Male and female are the two expressions of material beings, similar to positive and negative being the two expressions of electricity. It takes both for completeness. God is neither male nor female -- those terms apply to material beings and not spirit -- God is complete. And yes, there is one God for all of creation and that God has a presence within you. The only gift you can offer to God is your will to do God's will.
Q: What does this quote mean? "When the end of mortal life comes, hesitate not to forsake this body for a more fit and beautiful form and to awake in the realms of the Supreme and Immortal, where there is no fear, sorrow, hunger, thirst, or death. To know God is to cut the cords of death"
A: This quote comes from the section in The Urantia Book (131:4.7) describing the religious doctrines about God and his relations with us as they were expressed during Jesus' time and this quote is from the Hindu religion. It means that when one knows that a higher power exists in the universe than oneself that one has the opportunity to participate in eternity.
Q: Why are we not allowed to see God or Jesus?
A: The evidence of God is all around us -- which you can see any time you desire. But as material beings we're so far spiritually removed from the actual presence of God that we will have to wait until we've become pure spirit beings in the far distant future to stand before him. Until that time, you'll still be able to see the evidence of God's existence any time you desire.
Why can't you see Jesus? Like God, the evidence of Jesus is all around us and you can see or experience it any time you desire. Jesus doesn't live here now, except as the indwelling Spirit of Truth. Jesus is a spirit being but you can make contact with Jesus through prayer and through the desires of your mind.
Q: God wrote the ten commandments who gave them to Moses. Moses told the followers. That is what my catholic religion taught me.
A: Thank you for your note to Truthbook.com. We agree that your Catholic religion has taught you that: "God wrote the ten commandments who gave them to Moses. Moses told the followers. That is what my catholic religion taught me."
It's our belief that God has more to say to us than just what we may have been given in the past and that if such additional information meets our standards for truthfulness and goodness, for being logically consistent, and for spiritual fragrance then that too should sincerely be considered. That's why we study The Urantia Book and why there are people from all walks of life, Christians - like Catholics, Baptists, Mormons and Presbyterians, agnostics and atheists, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, lay persons and clergy - people such as these who study the Urantia revelation. No one religion is "right" or "wrong" -- they each contain truth; students of the Urantia revelation find that study of the book augments their religious heritage, provides new insight and answers the questions they may have that aren't answered to their satisfaction by that religion.
Just What Is Your Belief? Is The Urantia Book A Reference Work?
Q: I look at parts of your site and couldn’t find any reference to the Bible. The part that I read is speaking more or less toward Jesus being who we believe he is but not being into your book any deeper that I am I wonder just what your belief is based on?
I do believe that if a person is Born Again By Jesus Blood he can pretty much understand (being led by the Holy Spirit) the ole fashion word of God.
There is nothing wrong with reference books that provide help for believers and I trust that your book is nothing more that just that (a Help) for believers.
I do like the name of your book TRUTHBOOK because we know that the truth shall set you free but in this day and age there are wolves walking about in sheep’s clothing seeking whom they may devour turning the Truth into a lie.
A: Our site is dedicated to the teachings of The Urantia Book, which does contain over a thousand references to and quotes from the Bible. The Urantia Book is not intended to substitute for the Bible, the foundation upon which Western culture rests, nor to substitute for any particular religion. What it does do is provide insight into the Bible’s unique position in history and most students of The Urantia Book come to a deeper appreciation of the Bible through their study of the UB. So if you’re comfortable with and confident in your understanding and interpretation of the Bible then there may perhaps be nothing for The Urantia Book to offer you since it speaks to those who did not find the answers afforded by science, religion, or philosophy sufficient to satisfy their inquiring nature.
One significant difference between the Bible and The Urantia Book is that the Bible contains but a brief account of the life and teachings of Jesus — although brief it has been sufficient to float the Christian religion for two thousand years and to give an understanding of Jesus to countless seekers. But, all told, there are fewer than 100 pages in the Bible relating to Jesus. The fourth section of The Urantia Book is about 700 pages in length; it recounts his matchless life and teachings from before birth through his death and resurrection — no missing years. Students of this book rely upon Jesus’ spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, to lead and guide them as they follow Jesus’ admonition to "Fear not!"
Your impression that The Urantia Book is a reference book is quite accurate — it’s an unsurpassed reference to Jesus, the meaning of his life and teachings to all of humanity. It is also considered to be a reference book for cosmic citizenship since it recounts in great detail the nature of God, the nature of creation, the history of the world, and our place in it and how we fit into the grand scheme of it all. But rather than being more than "a help for believers" The Urantia Book is a help for non-believers, those who lacked belief, those who were searching for God but didn’t seem to find Him. Believers have already found God — The Urantia Book is a living handbook for those who are seeking.
Why do we regard watching pornography as sinful and watching a murder action trailer as morally neutral?
I think your question is pretty subjective. I was brought up to think of pornography as sinful. Maybe you were, too. But, obviously, not everyone feels the same these days. Pornography is an industry, and is one of the largest and most profitable in the world. There's no shortage of it, but we do, as a society, seem to keep it under wraps more than we do violence, which is also pervasive - especially in entertainment. We are a violent species, just beginning to discover that we may be able to create peace. And yet we are seem to be still in love with war and killing, unfortunately, and seem to be less in love with one another.
Pornography is natural love taken to a licentious extreme, and violence is the extreme of human conflict. Neither one is desirable or uplifting, in my opinion. As for sinfulness, that may be a matter between the individual and God, although it is hard to imagine that either of these extremes would be pleasing to our loving Heavenly Father.
It may be that there is less a sense of "sinfulness" about many things in our society than there once was. There is a coarseness about much of our entertainment, and both of these extremes bleed into each other. Violence in film is but a reflection of our society, and pornography is simple license in my opinion - pornographers take advantage of weak-minded people who see no reason to control themselves. As well, pornography can be seen as a type of violence against women.
This is precisely the reason that spiritual values are so very important. An eternal spiritual perspective, and the knowledge that one is part of a Universe family and is loved dearly as an individual would fill so many needs that we have which are now satisfied only by increasing violence and more intense stimulation of the physical senses.
Thanks for this question. I hope this reply has been helpful to you.
If God created the heavens and earth, my question is (and I have not found a pastor who could answer it) where did God come from?
A: God didn't "come from" anywhere...God is entirely self-contained. God has always "been," and there would be no reality without him. If there was "something" before God, then that something would be God. God is the First Source and Center - the Uncaused Cause. It is difficult to wrap our minds around this concept of the eternal and infinite God, but The Urantia Book helps a great deal. God is indeed mysterious, but much about him can be comprehended by human beings:
THE UNIVERSAL FATHER is the God of all creation, the First Source and Center of all things and beings. First think of God as a creator, then as a controller, and lastly as an infinite upholder. The truth about the Universal Father had begun to dawn upon mankind when the prophet said: "You, God, are alone; there is none beside you. You have created the heaven and the heaven of heavens, with all their hosts; you preserve and control them. By the Sons of God were the universes made. The Creator covers himself with light as with a garment and stretches out the heavens as a curtain." Only the concept of the Universal Father—one God in the place of many gods—enabled mortal man to comprehend the Father as divine creator and infinite controller. (1:0.2)The myriads of planetary systems were all made to be eventually inhabited by many different types of intelligent creatures, beings who could know God, receive the divine affection, and love him in return. The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. "God created the heavens and formed the earth; he established the universe and created this world not in vain; he formed it to be inhabited." (1:0.3) The enlightened worlds all recognize and worship the Universal Father, the eternal maker and infinite upholder of all creation. The will creatures of universe upon universe have embarked upon the long, long Paradise journey, the fascinating struggle of the eternal adventure of attaining God the Father. The transcendent goal of the children of time is to find the eternal God, to comprehend the divine nature, to recognize the Universal Father. God-knowing creatures have only one supreme ambition, just one consuming desire, and that is to become, as they are in their spheres, like him as he is in his Paradise perfection of personality and in his universal sphere of righteous supremacy. From the Universal Father who inhabits eternity there has gone forth the supreme mandate, "Be you perfect, even as I am perfect." In love and mercy the messengers of Paradise have carried this divine exhortation down through the ages and out through the universes, even to such lowly animal-origin creatures as the human races of Urantia.
This quote is from the very first Paper of The Urantia Book. I would suggest to you that you read it through. You will find it by clicking "The Urantia Book" and then "English version." It is Paper #1: The Universal Father. It may help you to understand better the immensity and also the loving personality of the Universal Father. And if you have not already done so, please feel free to subscribe (free) to Truthbook's Quote of the Day service.
Thanks for this question. I hope you will take advantage of our online Urantia Book, as well as the many helpful features of our site, and fully satisfy your curiosity about God.
Thanks for this question. I hope you will take advantage of our online Urantia Book, as well as the many helpful features of our site, and fully satisfy your curiosity about God.
Sometimes the night was beautiful Sometimes the sky was so far away Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon Sometimes the day could be so hot There was so much work left to do But so much You'd already done
Oh God, You are my God And I will ever praise You Oh God, You are my God And I will ever praise You I will seek You in the morning And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me And I will follow You all of my days
Sometimes I think of Abraham How one star he saw had been lit for me He was a stranger in this land And I am that, no less than he And on this road to righteousness Sometimes the climb can be so steep I may falter in my steps But never beyond Your reach
Well the moon moved past Nebraska And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills And angels danced on Jacob's stairs Yeah they danced on Jacob's stairs There is this silence in the Badlands And over Kansas the whole universe was stilled By the whisper of a prayer The whisper of a prayer And the single hawk bursts into flight And in the east the whole horizon is in flames
Chorus: I feel thunder in the sky I see the sky about to rain And I hear the prairies calling out Your name
I can feel the earth tremble Beneath the rumbling of the buffalo hooves And the fury in the pheasant's wings And there's fury in a pheasant's wings It tells me the Lord is in His temple And there is still a faith that can make the mountains move And a love that can make the heavens ring And I've seen love make heaven ring Where the sacred rivers meet Beneath the shadow of the Keeper of the plains
Repeat chorus
From the place where morning gathers You can look sometimes forever 'til you see What time may never know What time may never know How the Lord takes by its corners this old world And shakes us forward and shakes us free To run wild with the hope To run wild with the hope The hope that this thirst will not last long That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
Repeat Chorus
And I know this thirst will not last long That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain I feel thunder in the sky I see the sky about to rain And with the prairies I am calling out Your name
Why is there so much addiction in the world? Does God give us an answer?
Q: Why is there so much addiction in the world? Does God give us an answer?
A: Since The Urantia Book offers no specific information regarding the word "addiction," I turned to an online dictionary to gain a starting point for our discussion:
The American Heritage Science Dictionary : A physical or psychological need for a habit-forming substance, such as a drug or alcohol. In physical addiction, the body adapts to the substance being used and gradually requires increased amounts to reproduce the effects originally produced by smaller doses. See more at withdrawal. A habitual or compulsive involvement in an activity, such as gambling.
I agree with you that addiction is running rampant in our world today. It seems important to discover just why people become addicted before we can discern whether God has an answer for us.
I have a bit of experience with this subject, as I spent many years in 12-Step programs. My overwhelming addiction was to food, and at one time, I weighed nearly 250 pounds as a result. I could not stop eating. Today, I understand that my overarching need for great quantities of food was a direct result of my feeling of emptiness inside. I tried in vain to feed that emptiness with food. It did help in the short term, but of course, it was a dangerous and ineffective fix. Others feed their particular emptiness (the "hole in the soul") with alcohol, drugs, gambling, shopping, rage, sex, or something else that ultimately proves to be a futile, and damaging, material answer to what I believe to be a spiritual problem. That empty feeling is evidence of the mortal creature's need for awareness of their connection to God.
Jesus said: p1766:4 159:3.8 The world is filled with hungry souls who famish in the very presence of the bread of life; men die searching for the very God who lives within them. Men seek for the treasures of the kingdom with yearning hearts and weary feet when they are all within the immediate grasp of living faith. Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. There is but one struggle for those who enter the kingdom, and that is to fight the good fight of faith. The believer has only one battle, and that is against doubt—unbelief.
In our modern world, there are countless ways in which one can divert oneself, and one's feelings of existential emptiness. But at the end of the day, no material substance can ever satisfy that hunger the way that God can - the way that religion can.
Many of our problems are a result of low self-esteem, childhood abuse issues, or just plain ingorance of the spiritual world, and the comfort and solace that can be found there. When one is in these states, one is not always able to see reason, and oftentimes, one relies heavily on one's own misdirected will to handle life's problems (the self-will run rampant). This is pretty normal, but not particularly sane - certainly not effective, if one is relying on one's limited understanding, which may be tainted by the above issues.
Unfortunately, it is only when the addict begins to understand that s/he is out of control, and begins to suffer more from the addiction than from the underlying problem, that healing can occur. This is one reason that 12-Step programs are so helpful, for the number one step is an admission of one's powerlessness over the addiction. After that, one learns to accept the possibility that there is a power greater than oneself, who can retore our sanity. And the third step is that leap of faith that says "I believe."
The Urantia Book is clear about this point - p43:4 2:7.11 Health, sanity, and happiness are integrations of truth, beauty, and goodness as they are blended in human experience.
And what is true, good and beautiful? Only God, and the things of God, fit this description. And the integration of these qualities, found only in the spiritual experience of finding God, is the secret for treating, and ending, addiction. It is the secret to a happy life.
I am not here to tout the advantages of the 12-Step program - only to share with you my personal experience with it. Any mind-set which produces the spiritual experience will be effective - that mind-set that surrenders one's need to know all the answers into the hands of one's spiritual Parent. When once the addicted individual begins to recognize, and accept, the Presence of God in their own experience, unhealthy addiction of any sort can be healed. The hole in the soul is filled, self-esteem and sanity are restored, and the person can begin to rebuild their life on a solid foundation.
No matter how insignificant we may feel at times, this musical reminder of the fact of our sonship with God can give us an inspirational boost. Enjoy!!!
Q: Some people these days are opting for euthanasia and suicide - the terminally ill and people who feel they have lived past their use- by date. How does this action sit with God?
A: Thank you for this interesting question. It is true that people today are beginning to question whether they want to stay on the earth while they have diseases that may rob them of a quality of life that they desire. They make these decisions not only on an individual level, but also begin to question whether laws can be made to assist others when they feel that their life has reached a point of unsustainability without extreme medical intervention or discomfort of other kinds. Physical pain is a big factor - money or availability of resources may be a factor as well. The Urantia Book does not specifically address these questions, although suicide is mentioned, most meaningfully in this quote:
p1773:2 (160:1.5) Suicide among men testifies that such beings have emerged from the purely animal stage of existence, and to the further fact that the exploratory efforts of such human beings have failed to attain the artistic levels of mortal experience. Animals know not the meaning of life; man not only possesses capacity for the recognition of values and the comprehension of meanings, but he also is conscious of the meaning of meanings—he is self-conscious of insight.
From this quote we can see that suicide is not a good choice because it fails to address the issues of living a life that includes pain of some kind. All mortals experience pain of one kind or another, but we are called to address those issues, and reach, with God, a means of living a good life in spite of our mortal troubles. And this kind of life is possible when we go in partnership with God.
The issue of euthanasia is a bit thornier, but this issue comes down to whether one person, or group of persons can make the decision for another whether to continue a life or end it. In some cases - the one that comes readily to my mind is that of the woman a few years back, who was on a life-support machine - the issue seems somewhat clear. In this woman's case, she was being kept alive by artificial means when her brain had ceased to function, yet some of her relatives were determined to keep her body alive, in a vegetative state. The husband eventually won, saying that he knew from her when she was functioning, that she did not desire this kind of intervention. And so, her machine was disconnected, and she died soon afterwards. Was this murder? Or was it compassion?
God seems silent on this issue, and I certainly cannot presume to speak for God, but I think we can use our reasoning minds to make some conclusions about euthanasia. And to do so, I will speak only for myself. I have a directive in my will that instructs my loved ones to let me go when my brain has ceased to function, and not to keep me alive with artificial means. We learn in the Urantia Book that, once the brain has ceased to function, the Thought adjuster leaves, and the only mechanisms that are left are those keeping the physical body alive - the heart beating, the lungs taking in air, etc. When there is no brain function, there is no longer a reason to have a breathing body, in my opinion. In such an extreme circumstance, there is also no consciousness, and life loses any meaning for the one inhabiting the body.
I certainly cannot support euthanasia for a person who has potential for life and spiritual progress, no matter what the ailment may be. In our modern life, when we have so many medical miracles, and life-sustaining methods, we will surely be confronted with more of these kinds of ethical questions. But for me, the issue is pretty clear. Once the mind is demonstrated to be non-functioning, and the person has lost the ability to think and reason and is in a life-support situation, I see no moral problem with pulling the plug and letting that person go to God, where they can continue their upward ascension. Again - I cannot presume to say that this is what God wills. In these kinds of situations, there are social mores that come into play, and these change from generation to generation. But I do believe that God wants us to live as long as we can - to be productive, to be able to love him and receive his love in return, to contribute to our world, and serve our fellows. I do not believe that he means for us to just be a breathing body, and that that is a good enough reason to be alive. Since God indwells each of us at the level of mind, the evaluation of that mindal function has to be the final determiner as to whether euthanasia can be a valid and moral act.
Has anyone told you today that you are loved? Has anyone made you feel appreciated and let you know how special you are? If not, then please let me be the one. A powerful motivational clip to help enlighten your day.
(You'll need to cut and paste the URL into your address bar)
Q: Do you believe that Jesus was the son of God? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins? If not, then this is not Christianity.
A: Yes, students of The Urantia Book do recognize that Jesus was the Son of God as well as being the Son of Man. Which of these two qualifications is more meaningful? Each of us is a son of God -- that was one of Jesus' primary teachings, the value of the individual, and that while God is no respecter of persons, we're each equally important to our Father in heaven. Christianity tends to emphasize the teaching that Jesus was a Son of God, neglecting the equally valuable realization that Jesus was also a Son of Man and neglecting to emphasize that we too are sons of God, not in the same sense that Jesus was but in a sense that is equally as cherished and loved by God the father.
By Jesus taking on the role of Son of Man he acknowledged that he would live a life in the flesh just as we mortals do. Although having a pre-existent divine existence before becoming a mortal, he accepted status as a mortal of the realm, was subject to the same vicissitudes of life that mortals are subject to, lived life as we do. Jesus was human as well as divine.
Students of The Urantia Book do not believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins; we do not accept the Christian atonement dogma that proposes that God required a human/divine sacrifice in order to be appeased. We hold the Father in heaven in much higher regard than such a primitive anthropomorphized opinion casts. As the Son of Man, Jesus submitted to torture and a barbaric death, not because God willed it but as a way of making the continuity of life after death undeniable. Not only did he teach that death was not the end of existence, that in his Father's house are many mansions where he has prepared a place for us, but he manifested this teaching by returning from death. This, and not that he died for sins, is the great gift Jesus has given to humanity for all time that has been lost to much of Christian theology.
You concluded by saying "If not, then this is not Christianity." Exactly. The Urantia Book is a new revelation of truth, not an amplification of Christianity nor of any other religion on earth. The Urantia Book does not claim to be Christian; it does claim to be Jesusonian — to be an accurate restatement of Jesus' life and teachings devoid of religious dogma.
How May I Come To Trust The Urantia Book As Truth?
Q: How may I come to trust the Urantia way as truth? In what ways can I know this truth?
A: That's a good question and one we each have to face, whether it's in regard to The Urantia Book or any other scientific finding, philosophical ideal, or religious belief. How do you know what's real or true versus what's a figment or false? Happily God has provided all we need in this regard.
First, we're endowed with a mind and with free will. These allow us to consider the things that come into our consciousness, to think them over, try them out, see how they feel. We have an in-born conscience that helps us decipher right from wrong. We're also endowed with an ability to think logically and to make deductions from what we already know or understand. If something doesn't make logical sense then either you need more knowledge before making your decision or the thought is erroneous.
The next test is, do you believe that Jesus lived here and taught what is important for us to know? If so then you'll recall that Jesus has said for us to "fear not" -- that can also be applied to concerns about what's true and what's not. You can ask Jesus for guidance in helping you make right decisions and choices. Also recall that Jesus left us his spirit, the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth. This is an actual spirit presence for your benefit to help you know right from wrong, good from evil, truth from error. Ask for guidance -- while humans may lead you astray, Jesus won't. Trust Jesus. If you don't believe in Jesus then making right decisions and knowing the truth can be more difficult -- reading The Life and Teachings of Jesus as found in the fourth part of The Urantia Book will be a blessing to you.
Our main problem is that too many of us are timid about relying upon our own decisions. We look for authority to come from outside. We seek religions of authority, clergy of authority, traditions of authority, teachers of authority -- none of these can substitute for the authority of your own mind and your own thoughts and decisions. You ultimately answer for all of your choices and decisions and beliefs -- the responsibility for them rests with you and no one else can substitute.
It's not necessary to trust and believe The Urantia Book -- some people read it and decide it's not for them. But if you're a truth seeking person, looking for deeper answers then you owe it to yourself to read and to study this amazing book. It's a gift to humanity from deity -- if you're sensitive to truth then its teachings will ring true to you.
May I also recommend that if you're not already signed up that you consider subscribing to the Quote of the Day. It's a free service from our site that offers a daily quote from the incomparable teachings of this marvelous book with an audio clip and a beautiful and inspiring image, a great way to start one's day as well as to begin to understand the teachings of the book.
This short video features Mother Theresa at her best - she relates the importance of some of Jesus' most enduring mandates: forgiveness, humility, and forgetfulness of wrongdoing...a tall order for some, but so very necessary. An inspiring and uplifting message for all...
Q: 1. What is the source of the Urantia book? Who wrote it and where did the extra-biblical information come from? 2. What is the means by which a person enters into relationship with God? Is it automatic for everyone, or is there something that a person must believe or do? 3. Who is responsible for authorititively interpreting the teachings in the Urantia book? Is there an individual or group who is responsible?
Thank you for your post to Truthbook.com. Yes, this can be confusing on first contact -- I'll see if I can help.
For background, The Urantia Book speaks for itself; it claims to be the next (the fifth) revelation of truth to the world following on the heels of Jesus and as such it proclaims that nothing that has transpired in the intervening 2000 years is of the epochal significance it presents to you personally. There are organizations that publish the book and handle administrative tasks related to the shepherding of the revelation but there are no official pronouncements about the book's contents other than those the book makes regarding itself. As a new revelation of divine truth it is written specifically to you, not to any one culture, group, religion, race, but to each of its individual readers. It is a revelation of truth in book form with no authorized human spokesperson.
With that background the answer to your first question is -- the authors of the 196 Papers (or chapters) of the book plus its foreword are listed and described within the text of the book -- we'd call them celestial beings because they do not live here (on Urantia) -- they were tasked with a divine mandate to present the new knowledge and spiritual insight that are contained in the book. This occurred in the 1930s and was completed by the early 1940s; the book was first published in 1955. Some of the celestial beings either are, or are in close contact with, the angels administering life on this world -- the extra-biblical information you mention comes either from previously published or written records, or, when those were inadequate, it and other revelatory material comes from the records the angels keep.
Your second question: an excellent and insightful question. There is no teaching, no philosophy, no religion that is required in order to enter into a relationship with God. Teachings, religions, philosophies can help, can provide stepping stones and bridges to know and understand our heavenly Father, but any human being, even one born and raised in the jungle, can have a personal relationship with God -- God resides within every human being (in the Urantia revelation this divine fragment of the heavenly Father is named the adjuster, thought adjuster, mystery monitor). God is right here within us, we each have an inborn urge to seek God in whatever manner we may and if we do so a connection is made. Meditation may help, prayer and worship may help, a tragic or life-altering event may help or the connection may just come naturally. However natural this connection may be, it isn't automatic or automatically experienced because many people don't recognize its existence. God reaches down to us but we are required also to reach up toward God in order for that connection to occur.
Your third question -- who is responsible for authoritatively interpreting its teachings? You are. No one else is. The book is written to you -- your challenge is to read it. If it rings true your life will be transformed. If it doesn't then it would be your duty to refute its teachings -- that's something many attempt to do without reading the book or understanding its message so such criticisms are irrelevant. There are thousands of students of The Urantia Book who would be willing to discuss their understanding of its teachings with you but the only way to know the truth is to taste and experience if first hand.
Q: I had a good friend pass away at 41 unexpectedly. How does God decide when is your time to pass away? When she died, did she go to sleep right away? Do their souls stay around for awhile?
A: Thank you for your question. According to The Urantia Book God is the infinite controller and sustainer of all creation but God does not micromanage. God loves us so much he has conferred free will which means how we live, the choices we make and consequences we receive, and how and when we die are not decisions God takes part in -- we can always ask for guidance, but we are the captains of our souls.
One of the consequences of living on an imperfect material world is that each of us has challenges to face that are imposed by our heredity, the family environment we grow up in, the decisions we make as we grow, and the just plain accidents that occur when living in such an unpredictable environment. We tend to become so wrapped up in our daily drama that we lose sight of the bigger picture -- that we're here for only a short while and then we begin in the less material realms right where we leave off here and that there is a grand spiritual adventure before us -- this life is a stepping stone for what's to come.
Losing someone near and dear is always a shock and is cause for reflecting on the lives we live and the meaning of it all. Peace be with you as you confront your friend's unexpected death but it was not God's doing, it's part of the normal process of material existence.
When she died she lost consciousness just like happens in deep, dreamless sleep. When she is awakened on the mansion worlds she will remember who she was and will begin the new life there. The sadness of losing a loved one is experienced by those left behind -- the joy and freedom of experiencing the continuation of life after earthly death is transcendent for the one awakening.
At times you may experience your friend's presence even though she is no longer here -- her life has affected the world around us to some degree -- but the real "she" is in a better place and is not present here and does not return or visit.
A: Thank you for your succinct question to Truthbook.com. There is only one paragraph in The Urantia Book that mentions abortion which is found in the paper titled "The Dawn of Civilization" and that is:
"Many races learned the technique of abortion, and this practice became very common after the establishment of the taboo on childbirth among the unmarried. It was long the custom for a maiden to kill her offspring, but among more civilized groups these illegitimate children became the wards of the girl's mother. Many primitive clans were virtually exterminated by the practice of both abortion and infanticide. But regardless of the dictates of the mores, very few children were ever destroyed after having once been suckled--maternal affection is too strong. "(68:6.9)
However there is considerable material in the book describing the spiritual foundation of life and we know, for example, that when the life of a human being ends here they begin on the mansion worlds where they left off relative to spiritual development. Explanation regarding the mind circuits we use during our life here indicates that at conception a fertilized egg is connected with the mind circuits of both parents and remains so until about the age of 16 when the youth becomes a full-fledged individual separate and apart from their parents and no longer attached to their parents mind circuits. That leads one to believe that any aborted eggs or potential infants will again become the responsibility of the parents once both are on the mansion worlds where they can resume their parenting responsibilities.
In the overall scheme of things God has provided for the full development of every personality despite whatever the vicissitudes of life on a material world may bring. However, the guilt associated with an abortion will more than likely color the thoughts and dreams for the lifetime of those involved here.
Q: When will Urantia be free from the quarantine, and when/where will Lucifer's judgement take place?
A: The judgment of Lucifer occurs in the spiritual realm, not in the physical material creation. The quarantine is also a spiritual event and has little if anything to do with material creation. Therefore there is little likelihood that we will know, need to know, or experience anything once it has transpired.
Although this world has experienced great spiritual loss due to the effects of the Lucifer rebellion we as individuals haven't suffered because of it -- God still loves us personally and individually, we still have our ministering angels, the Spirit of Truth and the Holy Spirit still connect with us, we each have an adjuster and we still participate in the ascension career; and we have the gift of the life and teachings of Jesus to guide us.
You may have heard from psychics that the Lucifer rebellion has been adjudicated and that "the circuits are open." Such a claim is intended to justify channeling and other psychic activity and give channelers credibility. But, as you may be aware, The Urantia Book does not support psychic activity as a method of spiritual development and warns against pursuing such mental activity, particularly since psychic activity stems from the subconscious mind and spiritual contact is through the superconscious mind. So what seems real to the psychic may be of some value to that psychic but is of little spiritual benefit to anyone else. It is best to ignore "the circuits are open" claims and to participate in the material life of this planet as a "normal" human being. There are no "inside tracks" to perfection.
Q: Do you feel there is hope, as far as the war goes? If God is Love,why should we fear him? How can I fight for diplomacy to rule?
A: Thank you for your note to Truthbook.com. Your assessment of the book is as ours is -- it is so superior. Reading it slowly is the best way to extract its full meaning but if you've not had the opportunity to read it clear through I would recommend that you read it front to back rapidly, not being concerned for understanding it all -- that way you have an overall picture of the teachings and then when you go back to read it slowly your comprehension will be on a different level.
Regarding the war and coming wars; they're unfortunate and bring loss, sorrow, sadness to the world but at the same time, as the angels relate, there are positive benefits as well, all is not lost. The war on terror is just more of the same -- we're told in The Urantia Book that wars will be with us until we have all absorbed Jesus' message. We can't outlaw wars or wish them away -- they will disappear when our hearts have changed and that appears to be well into the distant future; it's a one person at a time transformation. Sometimes diplomacy will prevail, other times it will take guns and bombs.
Is it wise to fear God? In the Biblical sense of the word to fear God is to honor God, not to be afraid of God, so yes, it is wise to fear God.
God is much more than the loving caress -- God is the maker and upholder of reality.
How can you fight for diplomacy? There's little you can do in regard to international politics unless that's the sphere in which your work lies. Otherwise you're fighting for something over which you have no control and that leads to frustration. You can fight to improve the things where you have personal influence, which is what we all are called to do.
Q: In the Bible it says to forgive and forget. What if a person gives you a lifetime of pain, not only to you, but everyone in your family and countless others as well? I have had substance abuse problems due to this. I cannot find it in my heart to forgive this person. Am I wrong?
A: From the sound of your letter, I would say that you are carrying a big load of anger and hurt, as well as some confusion. You already know that God tells us to forgive and forget, and in your heart, you believe it, but in the present circumstances, you are finding it next to impossible to carry out this act of forgiveness.
It is so difficult when one person can cause so much heartache and distress to others. I have had experiences like this in my own life, and I know it is not easy to forgive. If it was, we would likely never have wars, murders, divorces, or all the other miseries that one person can inflict upon another. Forgiveness is an act practiced by those who want to be Kingdom-dwellers - who want to rise above "the world," where we are told that "revenge is sweet" and discover the true sweetness of taking the high road.
Forgiveness is VITAL to your well-being. I am not going to tell you that you are wrong for not wanting to forgive, but I don't think you would have written such a heartfelt question, with so much anguish, if you did not believe that your heart needed a reason to change. I believe you want to forgive, but your hurts and angry feelings are clouding your mind and judgment right now.
One thing I want to tell you is that the act of forgiveness is NOT for the offender. By forgiving, we don't justify the offenses of the person, we don't excuse their behavior, but we release them from our own judgment, and by doing so, we release ourselves from the terrible burdens of anger, pain and disappointment. And I think you would agree - these terrible heavy feelings ARE burdens of the worst sort.
It might be that this person is beyond help, is blind and deaf to the misery that they place on their friends and family. It might do no good at all even to forgive them to their face. You may want to cut this person out of your life altogther (and that might be a good idea, from the sound of things). Just because we forgive, it does not mean that we have to make ourselves available for further abuse. If you can, find ways to distance yourself from this situation.
Forgiveness is not for THEM. It is for YOU...
Right now, this offending person has a great deal of power over you. You are angry and confused. You are doubting yourself, and using substances to relieve this pain. And you may feel that you are unable to do what God has asked of you - all because you have given over control of your feelings and emotions to be manipulated at the whim of this person. Can you see that?
There will never be a sure way for you to change the behavior of the person who causes such pain, but there is one person that you can control, and it isYOU! Forgiveness is an "inside job," and it will effectively restore your power where it belongs - in your own inner life, doing what YOU know to be best.
It happens inside of you - in your mind - and it causes a change of heart when done by an act of the will, especially when we know that it is God's will that we do so. This is true freedom - to have control over our own emotions and our own responses to the actions of others.
When we wholeheartedly align our will with the Father, we can expect a very good result.
This will take a full surrender on your part - surrender to the goodness and the mercy of God - knowing that he will make all things right, in his way and in his time. Surrender your feelings of anger and pain to God, and ask that he sanctify your heart and wash it clean. Lay your burdens upon him, and lay this offending person at his feet. Then, leave them there.
I don't promise that this is easy, but I do promise trhat it is the right thing to do. It could be that you may have to do this more than once or twice - particularly if this offending person is still in your life. But with every effort, you will gain strength and you will experience victory over this problem.
We have the example of the Master, who gave his very life at the hands of muderers and betrayers, and yet, he was able to say, "forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do." He was dogged for all the years of his ministry by people who hated him and wished evil on him - people who plotted against him and sought his ruin. And yet he still forgave - even while in the act of dying at their evil hands. I think it's safe to say that he understands what you're going through. Trust him to help you through it and over it.
Jesus said, What you believe I would do to others, do likewise."
One last thing - and this comes from my own personal experience: Over a period of time, we can establish patterns of behavior with troublesome people, and it may take some time and distance for you to reclaim yourself through forgiveness. Then, when and if you decide to re-connect, you can begin to establish better boundaries and healthier patterns of behavior with this person, so they will know you mean business, and that you no longer are at their mercy. No more will they be able to manipulate you. You will have risen above their misery, and your own - and you may then even be able to provide a good example for others in your life who have been likewise affected.
It will be of great help to you if you can stop seeing yourself as a victim. You can only be victimized if you allow it. Up til now, maybe you didn't know this. Now you do. Take charge of yourself. Ask God to help you, and he will.
Remember - forgiveness is for YOU, not them. Do it for yourself. Pray for the offender, leave them with God, but know that by forgiving them, you are raising YOURSELF up to where you ought to be - where God wants you to be.
Thanks so much for writing, and sharing this difficult problem.
Q: How do I know for sure if I have made contact with my Thought Adjuster? Sometimes I feel very connected to it and other times I think I am making too many presumptions. How does one know for sure?
A: That's a good question, and I'm glad you asked. As you know, your Thought Adjuster is God within you — the Father permeates everything but even so, resides within you as your Thought Adjuster. You don't make "contact with" your Thought Adjuster; your Thought Adjuster contacts you. You can't force or promote or encourage or instigate contact; the Thought Adjuster is the pitcher that pours, you are the vessel that receives; the vessel doesn't produce the pouring.
Relax. It's a journey and a process, not a competition or a race and your thought that you may be making too many presumptions is may in fact be the Spirit of Truth acting in your mind. The best you can "do" is to open yourself to new possibilities through prayer and meditation, both of which are passive, "not doing", listening.
Jesus left by saying "My Peace I leave with you." Accept peace. Fear not -- life proceeds naturally. Perhaps a zen poem is in order:
In the landscape of nature, There is neither better nor worse. The flowering branches grow naturally, Some long, some short.
Q: I have been told that the sins of the fathers are paid by the children for up to 7 generations. Where does this appear in the Bible? Thank you.
A: Here are some references to sins of the fathers:
Exodus Chapter 20 (5) You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. For I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me, (6) and showing mercy to thousands of those that love Me and keep My commandments.
Numbers 14 (18) The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation.
Deuteronomy Chapter 5 (9) You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them. For I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, (10) and doing mercy to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Jeremiah Chapter 32 (17) Ah, Lord Jehovah! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and stretched out arm. Nothing is too great for You. (18) You show loving-kindness to thousads, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their sons after them.
SINS OF THE FATHERS -- Euripides (c. 485-406 B.C.), Phrixus, fragment 970: "The gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children."
Also: "For the sins of your fathers you, though guiltless, must suffer." - Horace, "Odes," III, 6, l. 1.
"The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children." - Shakespeare, "The Merchant of Venice," act III, sc. V, l. 1
So it looks like God smites for up to 4 generations and not 7 -- that's much more comforting isn't it.
Let's look at some of what The Urantia Book has to say regarding this:
The Father's love follows us now and throughout the endless circle of the eternal ages. As you ponder the loving nature of God, there is only one reasonable and natural personality reaction thereto: You will increasingly love your Maker; you will yield to God an affection analogous to that given by a child to an earthly parent; for, as a father, a real father, a true father, oves his children, so the Universal Father loves and forever seeks the welfare of his created sons and daughters. (2:5.9)
Of Jesus it was truly said, "He trusted God." As a man among men he most sublimely trusted the Father in heaven. He trusted his Father as a little child trusts his earthly parent. His faith was perfect but never presumptuous. No matter how cruel nature might appear to be or how indifferent to man's welfare on earth, Jesus never faltered in his faith. He was immune to disappointment and impervious to persecution. He was untouched by apparent failure. (100:7.7)
Though many of the temple rituals very touchingly impressed his sense of the beautiful and the symbolic, he was always disappointed by the explanation of the real meanings of these ceremonies which his parents would offer in answer to his many searching inquiries. Jesus simply would not accept explanations of worship and religious devotion which involved belief in the wrath of God or the anger of the Almighty. In further discussion of these questions, after the conclusion of the temple visit, when his father became mildly insistent that he acknowledge acceptance of the orthodox Jewish beliefs, Jesus turned suddenly upon his parents and, looking appealingly into the eyes of his father, said: "My father, it cannot be true--the Father in heaven cannot so regard his erring children on earth. The heavenly Father cannot love his children less than you love me. And I well know, no matter what unwise thing I might do, you would never pour out wrath upon me nor vent anger against me. If you, my earthly father, possess such human reflections of the Divine, how much more must the heavenly Father be filled with goodness and overflowing with mercy. I refuse to believe that my Father in heaven loves me less than my father on earth." (125:0.6)
Jesus was baptized at the very height of John's preaching when Palestine was aflame with the expectancy of his message--"the kingdom of God is at hand" --when all Jewry was engaged in serious and solemn self-examination. The Jewish sense of racial solidarity was very profound. The Jews not only believed that the sins of the father might afflict his children, but they firmly believed that the sin of one individual might curse the nation. Accordingly, not all who submitted to John's baptism regarded themselves as being guilty of the specific sins which John denounced. Many devout souls were baptized by John for the good of Israel. They feared lest some sin of ignorance on their part might delay the coming of the Messiah. They felt themselves to belong to a guilty and sin-cursed nation, and they presented themselves for baptism that they might by so doing manifest fruits of race penitence. It is therefore evident that Jesus in no sense received John's baptism as a rite of repentance or for the remission of sins. In accepting baptism at the hands of John, Jesus was only following the example of many pious Israelites. (136:2.1)
"The divine riches of God's character must be infinitely deep and eternally wise. We cannot search out God by knowledge, but we can know him in our hearts by personal experience. While his justice may be past finding out, his mercy may be received by the humblest being on earth. While the Father fills the universe, he also lives in our hearts. The mind of man is human, mortal, but the spirit of man is divine, immortal. God is not only all-powerful but also all-wise. If our earth parents, being of evil tendency, know how to love their children and bestow good gifts on them, how much more must the good Father in heaven know how wisely to love his children on earth and to bestow suitable blessings upon them. (131:10.3)
One of the purposes of the Urantia revelation is to provide a more meaningful understanding of the personal relationship we have with our heavenly Father -- many beliefs are archaic and grounded in superstition and fear and are well in need of updating.
Thank you for your question. Larry Watkins Truthbook.com
Q: Do you think there will ever be a time when there is only one united true religion on this earth?
A: It is planetary destiny that eventually all human beings will be united under one umbrella of religious philosophy.
Will it be Christian? Will it be Moslem? Will it be Jewish? Yes and no.
God loves us as individuals, not because we belong to a particular religion, sect, or group. As individuals we each approach God in our own way. Some people will want to express themselves through a Hindu orientation and others through a Buddhist one. But eventually when there is one united religion all religions will have the same philosophical umbrella defining who we are as children of God and who God is as our heavenly Father. We will have learned to appreciate one another for our differences and see one another as spiritual brothers and sisters -- the methods we use to relate to God will be of little importance.
This may be somewhat difficult to understand at this point in our development. That's one of the purposes of the teachings of The Urantia Book -- to provide an enhanced vision of the past and a bigger vision of what the future has in store.
Q: Part 1: Does Urantia consider the possibility of rebirth or reincarnation? Part 2: Is there life on other galaxies and do we continue to learn after death?
A: The Urantia Book is a revelation -- it claims that distinction and those of us who have read and studied it to determine if the claim is unfounded have arrived at the conclusion that it is what it claims to be. Revelation will substantiate some long-held beliefs but it will also give new and often startling insights that can unsettle cherished opinions.
The theory of reincarnation is appealing for several reasons: it seems to offer an explanation for the inequalities of life, it can offer hope for those who desire a continuation of life and meaning beyond the lives we presently find ourselves in, and it's an indication of a plan that overrides and controls our very existence. But the theory of reincarnation addresses these concepts in meager and very unsatisfactory terms and at best one is left with only hazy ideas of how and why it all fits together. Still, it would be difficult to give up a belief in the theory unless there was something much better in place to substitute.
The Urantia Book goes into all the ramifications of these musings in great detail and with exquisite definition and lays out a plan of so much greater satisfaction, logic, meaning than any teachings of reincarnation attempt. Actually, reincarnation is but a hazy reflection of a grand concept of the mortal ascendant career that we enter into once our life here is through, a concept disclosed long ago in the early days of human history that has since been misinterpreted to mean repeated lives here on earth.
Regarding life on other galaxies and continuing to learn: creation isn't the simple mechanistic forces that produce matter in the fashion described through science. True there is energy and matter but there is also spirit and it is spirit for which creation was made. The material universe is creation put into motion by God for the expression of spirit and personality.
Galaxies exist for the purpose of expressing personality. Not all stars support planets nor do all planets support material life but so many do that the numbers are nearly limitless. The purpose of material will-creature life is that it is the starting point for personality expression on a long and glorious ascendant career, where knowledge and understanding continue to be our eternal goal.
May I recommend that if you're not already signed up that you consider subscribing to the Quote of the Day at our site. It's a free service that offers a daily quote from the incomparable teachings of this marvelous book along with a beautiful and inspiring image, a great way to start one's day as well as to begin to understand the teachings of the book. To subscribe go to the upper right corner of our home page, click on Quote of the Day and follow the instructions. And of course I would recommend that you test for yourself the teachings of The Urantia Book to find out if they ring true. It's available at most book stores and libraries or can be purchased on-line through our site.
Q: My mother and father are gone and I was their only child. I'm worried if they will remember me and that I'm still here on Earth when their resurrected, will they remember me while I continue my test here on Earth?
A: The Urantia Book offers us a great wealth of information and comfort regarding the process of death and the experience of mortal resurrection. More importantly, it also offers us assurances that on our eternal journey through the Father's realms, we will always "...know and be known - remember and be remembered by, our onetime associates in the short but intriguing life on Urantia."
This quote is from the section titled "Survival of the Human Self," p1232. It is part of Paper112 entitled "Personality Survival."
As to whether your parents remember you now, while you still are on earth...they surely do, just as you remember them. Not only that, but they remember only the best of times that they shared with you. All experiences that you shared that were less than wonderful will have been forgotten, but the love that they feel for you is still as real now as it was when they were with you here on earth. The loving relationships that we establish on earth are eternal relationships, and can never die, for they have eternal value.
Quoting from the same section as above, "...mortal memory of personality relationships has cosmic value and will persist."
And when you yourself pass over into the Father Mansions, you will be given an opportunity to reunite with your loved ones. I know it will be a joyous time for all of you! The fact that you still hold your parents in your heart means that they have not really gone from you - their physical presence is gone, but that love is so real that it will remain with you for the rest of your days, and beyond. The teaching that they gave and the way they raised you have made you the person you are today, and you carry them in your heart and mind because of it. And I am sure that you had an equally profound effect upon them.
Do your parents remember you today as you remember them? They do. Just as in our earthly life, those with whom we have love ties are always connected to us. Time and space are no barriers to this connection. Even if we don't think of each other every minute, we know our loved ones care for us as we care for them. And when we need them, all we need to do is think of them, remember them and their love, and their "love presence" is upon us in an instant. That is the reality of love, and God is the source of the comfort that it gives, since he is the Author of Love itself.
You are so correct to describe this life as a "test." This earthly life is a testing time, and part of that test for us is to grow a living faith in the Father's goodness, and the promise of Jesus, who said, "If you are the faith sons of my Father, you shall never die; you shall not perish." When you are having hard times in your life, I hope you will remember your parents, and trust that they are remembering you as well. Trust in God, hold Jesus's hand, and be of good cheer. In God's universe, love is just about the most important thing there is.
Q: What was Jesus mission to the world? In today’s world, and for centuries before this, the general understanding of the Christian churches regarding Jesus’ mission has been that Jesus came to earth to act as a sacrificial lamb – that his death on the cross was a necessary event in order for man to be ransomed from the “evil one -" saved by the shedding of innocent blood, much like the ancient rituals of slaughtering lambs, rams, goats and so forth at certain times of the year.
This understanding has been predicated upon the belief in a God who is all-powerful, but also jealous and quite vengeful. And since information regarding the actual LIFE of Jesus in the Bible and elsewhere is so scanty, practically all of the emphasis has been placed on the facts of his terrible and shocking death on the cross – and his subsequent resurrection on Easter morning.
The children of God – human beings – have been portrayed as sinful and lost, and the only way that we can be redeemed is through the blood of Jesus which was shed on the cross. This is known as “the atonement doctrine.”
The Urantia Book gives us a picture of God the Father which is far different from that of the Old Testament – a picture that is consistent with the actual teachings of Jesus, as revealed in Part IV of the book. Jesus showed us a loving father, a faithful upholder, and not a vengeful judge. Following are a few Urantia Book quotes which expand upon the atonement doctrine, its ancient beginnings, and its unfortunate repercussions:
63:6.4 Very early the Andonic peoples formed the habit of refraining from eating the flesh of the animal of tribal veneration. Presently, in order more suitably to impress the minds of their youths, they evolved a ceremony of reverence which was carried out about the body of one of these venerated animals; and still later on, this primitive performance developed into the more elaborate sacrificial ceremonies of their descendants. And this is the origin of sacrifices as a part of worship. This idea was elaborated by Moses in the Hebrew ritual and was preserved, in principle, by the Apostle Paul as the doctrine of atonement for sin by "the shedding of blood."
2:6.5 Righteousness implies that God is the source of the moral law of the universe. Truth exhibits God as a revealer, as a teacher. But love gives and craves affection, seeks understanding fellowship such as exists between parent and child. Righteousness may be the divine thought, but love is a father's attitude. The erroneous supposition that the righteousness of God was irreconcilable with the selfless love of the heavenly Father, presupposed absence of unity in the nature of Deity and led directly to the elaboration of the atonement doctrine, which is a philosophic assault upon both the unity and the free-willness of God.
149:2.3 1. The effort to connect the gospel teaching directly onto the Jewish theology, as illustrated by the Christian doctrines of the atonement—the teaching that Jesus was the sacrificed Son who would satisfy the Father's stern justice and appease the divine wrath. These teachings originated in a praiseworthy effort to make the gospel of the kingdom more acceptable to disbelieving Jews. Though these efforts failed as far as winning the Jews was concerned, they did not fail to confuse and alienate many honest souls in all subsequent generations.
4:5.4 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.
p1083:6 98:7.1 A Creator Son did not incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh and bestow himself upon the humanity of Urantia to reconcile an angry God but rather to win all mankind to the recognition of the Father's love and to the realization of their sonship with God. After all, even the great advocate of the atonement doctrine realized something of this truth, for he declared that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself."
103:4.4 Jesus swept away all of the ceremonials of sacrifice and atonement. He destroyed the basis of all this fictitious guilt and sense of isolation in the universe by declaring that man is a child of God; the creature-Creator relationship was placed on a child-parent basis. God becomes a loving Father to his mortal sons and daughters. All ceremonials not a legitimate part of such an intimate family relationship are forever abrogated.
194:2.8 Jesus lived a life which is a revelation of man submitted to the Father's will, not an example for any man literally to attempt to follow. This life in the flesh, together with his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, presently became a new gospel of the ransom which had thus been paid in order to purchase man back from the clutch of the evil one—from the condemnation of an offended God. Nevertheless, even though the gospel did become greatly distorted, it remains a fact that this new message about Jesus carried along with it many of the fundamental truths and teachings of his earlier gospel of the kingdom. And, sooner or later, these concealed truths of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men will emerge to effectually transform the civilization of all mankind.
It might help you to understand even better to let the words of Jesus speak here:
165:3.8 …“ I came into this world to reveal the Father to you and to lead you to the Father. The first I have done, but the last I may not do without your consent; the Father never compels any man to enter the kingdom. The invitation ever has been and always will be: Whosoever will, let him come and freely partake of the water of life."
149:6.2 "…I have come to reveal the Father's love so that you will be attracted to the worship of the Eternal by the drawing of a son's affectionate recognition and reciprocation of the Father's profound and perfect love. I would deliver you from the bondage of driving yourselves through slavish fear to the irksome service of a jealous and wrathful King-God. I would instruct you in the Father-son relationship of God and man so that you may be joyfully led into that sublime and supernal free worship of a loving, just, and merciful Father-God.
On the subject of the Father's love for mankind, Jesus said:
142:2.2 …I come in the flesh to reveal the Father in new glory and to show forth his love and mercy to all men on all worlds. As the gospel of this kingdom shall spread over the world with its message of good cheer and good will to all men, there will grow up improved and better relations among the families of all nations. As time passes, fathers and their children will love each other more, and thus will be brought about a better understanding of the love of the Father in heaven for his children on earth. Remember…that a good and true father not only loves his family as a whole—as a family—but he also truly loves and affectionately cares for each individual member."
With a little bit of reflection, one can see that the idea of the atonement is an idea which is not conducive to establishing a loving relationship with our Creator Father. Modern religions emphasize Jesus’ death and resurrection over his actual life, which in itself was a revelation of the Father’s love to all mankind – even to the inhabitants of the universe in which we live.
So – one might ask “What about Jesus’ death on the cross? Is that not important? It is certainly important. The Urantia Book devotes much attention to the passion of Jesus, and the terrible events of that week. It was an unprecedented spectacle of cruelty and barbarity practiced on the Son of God. The cross is forever a symbol which we can embrace and use as an example of the creature’s desire to do the will of God. This following section may be helpful for you to understand the importance – even without the atonement doctrine – of the Cross of Jesus.
The Meaning of Jesus’ Death on the Cross
p2016:6 188:4.1 Although Jesus did not die this death on the cross to atone for the racial guilt of mortal man nor to provide some sort of effective approach to an otherwise offended and unforgiving God; even though the Son of Man did not offer himself as a sacrifice to appease the wrath of God and to open the way for sinful man to obtain salvation; notwithstanding that these ideas of atonement and propitiation are erroneous, nonetheless, there are significances attached to this death of Jesus on the cross which should not be overlooked. It is a fact that Urantia has become known among other neighboring inhabited planets as the "World of the Cross."
p2016:7 188:4.2 Jesus desired to live a full mortal life in the flesh on Urantia. Death is, ordinarily, a part of life. Death is the last act in the mortal drama. In your well-meant efforts to escape the superstitious errors of the false interpretation of the meaning of the death on the cross, you should be careful not to make the great mistake of failing to perceive the true significance and the genuine import of the Master's death.
p2016:8 188:4.3 Mortal man was never the property of the archdeceivers. Jesus did not die to ransom man from the clutch of the apostate rulers and fallen princes of the spheres. The Father in heaven never conceived of such crass injustice as damning a mortal soul because of the evil-doing of his ancestors. Neither was the Master's death on the cross a sacrifice which consisted in an effort to pay God a debt which the race of mankind had come to owe him.
p2016:9 188:4.4 Before Jesus lived on earth, you might possibly have been justified in believing in such a God, but not since the Master lived and died among your fellow mortals. Moses taught the dignity and justice of a Creator God; but Jesus portrayed the love and mercy of a heavenly Father.
p2016:10 188:4.5 The animal nature—the tendency toward evil-doing—may be hereditary, but sin is not transmitted from parent to child. Sin is the act of conscious and deliberate rebellion against the Father's will and the Sons' laws by an individual will creature.
p2017:1 188:4.6 Jesus lived and died for a whole universe, not just for the races of this one world. While the mortals of the realms had salvation even before Jesus lived and died on Urantia, it is nevertheless a fact that his bestowal on this world greatly illuminated the way of salvation; his death did much to make forever plain the certainty of mortal survival after death in the flesh.
p2017:2 188:4.7 Though it is hardly proper to speak of Jesus as a sacrificer, a ransomer, or a redeemer, it is wholly correct to refer to him as a savior. He forever made the way of salvation (survival) more clear and certain; he did better and more surely show the way of salvation for all the mortals of all the worlds of the universe of Nebadon.
