Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book

Q: How can we connect the prophecy of Isaiah when he said that ".....Truly, it was for their sins that he was killed....." and later said that His soul was made an offering unto death. How do you/we understand these things in relation to the meaning of the atonement in the Urantia book?

A: How do I understand these things? I choose to believe what Jesus taught about his mission, and it had nothing to do with his sacrificing himself as an atonement for the sins and guilt of mankind, regardless of what Isaiah said in these passages. Jesus never presented himself in this way - in the Bible, or in The Urantia Book. Further, The Urantia Book explains to my full satisfaction that our heavenly Father is not a vengeful and strict god who needs to sacrifice his sinless son as some sort of ransom for the sins of mankind. I much prefer - and love - the God who I discovered within its pages. And my personal experience with this loving God validates my belief.

Jesus did not believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures, and neither do it, so it is not an important issue for me. Jesus picked and chose only those Scripture passages that supported his mission on earth, which was to procliam the loving Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. I don't worry about connecting the Bible with The Urantia Book, except as a point of reference. Since finding The Urantia Book, I have been drawn to the Bible as never before, but simply as a valuable, and often inspirational reference work.

Isaiah is covered quite well in The Urantia Book, and it is explained that there were in actuality, two Isaiahs - the earlier and the later. You can read more about these two Isaiahs and some of their beautiful quotations about God HERE. Even the second Isaiah "never ceased to proclaim this "God of love."

If you choose to believe these isolated passages of Isaiah, rather than what Jesus revealed of himself while on the earth, and now, through the revelation of The Urantia Book, that is up to you. If you think that they have to be connected, I disagree. I regret that can't help you to reconcile this issue.

Labels: atonement, Bible, God, Isaiah, Jesus, The Urantia Book

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Sunday, July 19, 2009

Please help me understand this...

Q: Please help me understand this, Jesus said "That which you see going on about this temple is the way in which your fathers sought to symbolize the bestowal of the divine spirit upon the children of faith, and you have done well to perpetuate these symbols, even down to this day". It tells me that Jesus did not criticize their symbolising the spirit bestowal on all mankind as the gift of Father. what is the spiritual meaning therefore of their symbolising the forgiveness of sins by the sacrificing of a spotless lamb, upon which all their sins were confessed, and the blood sprinkled on them for the forgiveness of sins. Which part of Jesus' life fulfilled this ceremony of the jews?.Thank you.

A: Thank you for writing to us here at Truthbook. In the quote which you cite, Jesus is speaking to a group of believers who were with him at the Feast of Tabernacles. During the course of the harvest feast, live animal sacrifices were made and water was outpoured to symbolize the divine spirit. Just for clarity, I will quote the entire passage that you cite in your question:

At the conclusion of this early morning service Jesus continued to teach the multitude, saying: "Have you not read in the Scripture: `Behold, as the waters are poured out upon the dry ground and spread over the parched soil, so will I give the spirit of holiness to be poured out upon your children for a blessing even to your children's children'? Why will you thirst for the ministry of the spirit while you seek to water your souls with the traditions of men, poured from the broken pitchers of ceremonial service? That which you see going on about this temple is the way in which your fathers sought to symbolize the bestowal of the divine spirit upon the children of faith, and you have done well to perpetuate these symbols, even down to this day. But now has come to this generation the revelation of the Father of spirits through the bestowal of his Son, and all of this will certainly be followed by the bestowal of the spirit of the Father and the Son upon the children of men. To every one who has faith shall this bestowal of the spirit become the true teacher of the way which leads to life everlasting, to the true waters of life in the kingdom of heaven on earth and in the Father's Paradise over there."(162:6.3)

It is true that Jesus never criticized the religious practices of the sincere religionists of his day - he always respected the honest efforts of those who desired a closer walk with the Father and a deeper understanding of God.

Clearly, in the last sentences of the passage, Jesus foretells of the Spirit of Truth which was bestowed on all mankind on the day of Pentecost; this Spirit of Truth is now a fact in the inner life of all believers.

As to the second part of your question: "what is the spiritual meaning therefore of their symbolising the forgiveness of sins by the sacrificing of a spotless lamb, upon which all their sins were confessed, and the blood sprinkled on them for the forgiveness of sins:"

The people of Jesus' day were practicing their faith and religion in the best way that they knew up to that time. Their religion was evolved through centuries of civilization, and much of it was still tinged with the remnants of the primitive ideas of sacrifice as a necessary part of placating and appeasing a mysterious Deity who inspired dread and awe. The rituals of the sacrificial killing of a spotless animal satisfied this requirement of appeasement - it was the way things had been done for time out of mind, and was the religious standard for generations before Jesus arrived on the scene to proclaim a better way. For individual believers, I am sure that it may have held significant spiritual power for them, and there is no reason to think that God was displeased at the sincere devotion of an individual who believed this was the right thing to do. This belief has even persisted to our 21st century times, in the form of the atonement doctrine, which is one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith - namely, that Jesus is now the embodiment of the olden ritual of blood sacrifice - by his death, he has atoned for all of the sins of mankind, and it means a lot to the people who believe it. But, it is a belief grounded in fear - fear of a punishing god. Even in our supposed superior civilization, the "traditions of men" have presumed to keep mankind in the shackles of unnecessary ritual and belief, lest they be punished by God; but this was not the teaching of Jesus. That is a religion of men - a religion of authority...

You ask: "Which part of Jesus' life fulfilled this ceremony of the jews?"

The Christian church has put Jesus in the role of atoner, the role that once was held by a lamb or a bullock. But is this what Jesus intended? The Urantia Book - and more specifically the Life and Teachings of Jesus restated within its pages - tell us a different story - a story that belongs to ALL people, and not just to the Christian church, who claims to represent him.

Jesus revealed a loving heavenly Father - a Father who does not require sacrifice to gain his love, or for the forgiveness of sins - a Father who forgives his children even before they have need of forgiveness - a Father who does not ask that an innocent child be killed to atone for another child who has sinned. Christianity has long held that man is a sinful creature, in need of redemption, but Jesus' teachings say otherwise. Jesus says that although man may have evil tendencies, he is not inherently sinful. This was a new revelation in Jesus' times, and it is still a shocking truth to modern-day mankind, who remains persistent in believing in a God of retribution and vengeance.

There is no "original sin;" there is no inherent badness in man that has to be washed away through atonement by the taking of an innocent life. And so, Jesus' life was never meant to become a fulfillment of these kinds of ceremonies. Jesus established a new kind of religion. He stated clearly that man is a child of God, and through this shared sonship with the Father, that all people are related in the spiritual sense, and part of the larger brotherhood of mankind. He elevated man to a faith-son of God. He taught that faith is the one and only requirement for entrance into the kingdom of heaven and survival into eternal life. Most importantly, Jesus taught and LIVED a new kind of religion - the religion of personal spiritual experience - which effectively liberates the spiritual captives, and frees the souls of human beings to live lives of originality and freedom before God. No more does mankind have to live in cowering fear of God, but instead, can live in joyous co-creation with God, whose will for man is only goodness. You can read more about this religion of Jesus HERE.

The teachings of The Urantia Book reveal anew that man is indwelt by a fragment of the loving heavenly Father - that this indwelling spirit is there as a guide, and - along with the Spirit of Truth - this indwelling spirit, and the religion of Jesus, can help mankind to reach a new level of spiritual understanding and a new level of spiritual development. This understanding and development is what is sorely needed in the tumultuous times of the 21st century, and is one of the reasons that this amazing revelation has been given to us at this time.

And finally, The Urantia Book states: "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." (196:1.3)

Through this knowledge - this amazing revelation of the Master's life - mankind can finally be delivered from the olden ideas of atonement and sacrifice into the new and progressive religion of the Spirit - the religion that Jesus himself lived while on earth.

Thank you so much for this very interesting and thoughful question...!

Labels: atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, forgiveness, God, Jesus, sin, Spirit of Truth, The Urantia Book, water of life

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Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Four Questions Re: The Urantia Book, The Bible, and Jesus

Following are several questions submitted in one request. Two of our Truthbook team (L) and (M) have given their answers in reply.

Q: Do you follow the teachings of the Urantia Book only?

L: Basically, students of The Urantia Book are individuals coming from all manner of background; they do their own thing. Some feel they're escaping organized religion and seek refuge in the teachings of TUB. Others are grateful for their religious heritage and continue on in it. Some have no tradition of religious belief before finding TUB. There are Urantia Book readers who are pastors, ministers, priests, nuns, rabbis, preachers of every Christian denomination, Jews, Muslims, Hindus... The teachings of TUB are not "a" religion; they clarify, augment, emphasize and uplift what is best "in" religion. There are no rules for readers/students/believers -- it's a book; it's a superlative education; we read it and are edified and uplifted by it.

M: The Urantia Book is unique in that it contains many, many truths gleaned from many different established religions, and at the same time, encourages us to develop what Jesus called the religion of personal spiritual experience; it is this revealed teaching that inspires me to find the best in any religion, and to nurture and grow that personal experiential relationship with God in whatever I do. So, in that sense, I do follow the teachings of The Urantia Book, but the experience leaves me free to follow the truth wherever I find it.

Q: What is your viewpoint on the King James Bible?

L: Students of The Urantia Book have no orthodox viewpoint. Some readers are Bible scholars. Some readers hardly know the Bible at all. Personally, I like the King James better than any of the more modern versions, but I think you're asking do Urantia Book readers view the Bible as the infallible word of God and the answer to that would be a pretty unanimous no although most Urantia Book readers appreciate and take comfort in the Bible.

M: I personally prefer the New Jerusalem Bible, which is in common, everyday language. To me, other Bibles are difficult to read because the language is so stilted. I never had much interest in the Bible before I found The Urantia Book, but now I use it pretty regularly as a reference work. Jesus quoted scripture quite often in his life, and I have read many of those parts of the Bible. I do not believe it is inerrant, but like Jesus, I do find much in it that is quite valuable and worthwhile.

Q: Who is Jesus to you?

L: Again, a personal reply -- I didn't understand Jesus before I became a student of The Urantia Book and, in fact, it was my desire to know Jesus better that led me to become a reader of the book 35 years ago. To me, Jesus is Lord. He's the maker and administrator of this world. He's my guide as a human being and he's my nearest goal when I become a spirit being. He's who I turn to when I need help or comfort or wisdom or advice. His spirit is here to help me discern and sift truth from error. I trust Jesus.

M: I knew Jesus from my early childhood as a Catholic, and he always seemed to me to be quite real; however, I also found that the Church was full of inconsistencies regarding Jesus and his words, and I had a hard time separating Jesus from the hypocrisy I experienced. I left the church in my 20s, but I never abandoned Jesus completely. Once I freed myself from the authority of the church, I started to see Jesus differently; however, I did not seriouly think about Jesus for awhile after that. When I discovered The Urantia Book many years later, I was thrilled and deeply moved to rediscover the Jesus that I always loved as a child, and SO much more. Today, Jesus is once again my friend, my companion, my brother, and my Divine pathway to the Father. I believe in him and trust him, and I love him.

Q: Do you believe him to be the son of God who died for mankind's sins?

L: I believe Jesus to be a Son of God of a special order -- The Urantia Book guides us away from the tendency to believe that our race or religion, or in this case, world, is the most important one and that its aspects are superior to any others. Jesus came for all the peoples of this world, not just Christians, of which there were none until some time after he died. He also came for all the worlds of his dominion -- we're not the only one but we are nearly the most barbaric and that's partly the reason he chose to come to this place. So yes, "a" Son of God, a divine being, a creator not a creature like us. Did he come to die for mankinds sins? Again, among students of The Urantia Book, the answer to that would be a pretty unanimous no. We hold God the Father in too high regard to relegate him to human purposes and emotions. God is not vindictive, retributive, jealous, or any of the other human-like attibutes he's so often described as having. God is love and does not condemn his children, neither the divine ones nor the mortal ones, to pain and suffering and sacrifice. Jesus understood this and tried to teach it to a world that didn't understand him or his heavenly Father.

M: I do believe Jesus to be a divine Son of God. As pointed out above, The Urantia Book teaches us that Jesus is one of many Sons, just as there are many inhabited worlds, and many universe systems throughout God's vast creation. Jesus did indeed come to our earth - he chose us especially - and he did die here, but I do not believe that he died as a punishment from God, or as a sacrificial lamb to atone for mankind's sins. His mission was to establish the kingdom of God in the hearts of mankind, to proclaim the good news of the Fatherhood of God and the resultant brotherhood of mankind, and to live and die as a true man among men (and women). He was to portray to mortal eyes the love of the infinite and invisible God who is his, and our, Father. The fact that he died in such a cruel way was not the will of God, but as the consequence of the fears and prejudices of the times in which he lived. His new religion of the spirit was terribly threatening to the religions of authority of his day and time. He was killed by men - not by God. But he did die a "natural" death, and as a result, he did complete that part of his mission, to resurrect victoriously on the 3rd day. He showed all mortals of all worlds in his universe how to live as a "son of God."

Labels: atonement, Bible, God, Jesus, King James, kingdom of heaven, religion, The Urantia Book

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Monday, April 27, 2009

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.

Labels: atonement, gospel of Jesus, Jesus, Jesus' mission, sin, the Cross

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Monday, October 08, 2007

Is Jesus The Son Of God? Did He Die For Our Sins?

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 â€” to be
an accurate restatement of Jesus' life and teachings devoid of
religious dogma.

Labels: atonement, Christianity, divinity, God, humanity, Jesus, the Cross, The Urantia Book

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Friday, October 27, 2006

What was Jesus mission to the world?

Q: What was Jesus mission to the world?

In todayâ€™s world, and for centuries before this, the general understanding of the Christian churches regarding Jesusâ€™ mission has been that Jesus came to earth to act as a sacrificial lamb â€“ that his death on the cross was a necessary event in order for man to be ransomed from the â€œevil 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 â€“ and his subsequent resurrection on Easter morning.

The children of God â€“ human beings â€“ 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 â€œthe atonement doctrine.â€�

The Urantia Book gives us a picture of God the Father which is far different from that of the Old Testament â€“ 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 atonementâ€”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 oneâ€”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 â€¦â€œ 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 "â€¦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 â€¦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. Rememberâ€¦that a good and true father not only loves his family as a wholeâ€”as a familyâ€”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 Jesusâ€™ death and resurrection over his actual life, which in itself was a revelation of the Fatherâ€™s love to all mankind â€“ even to the inhabitants of the universe in which we live.

So â€“ one might ask â€œWhat about Jesusâ€™ 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 creatureâ€™s desire to do the will of God. This following section may be helpful for you to understand the importance â€“ even without the atonement doctrine â€“ of the Cross of Jesus.

The Meaning of Jesusâ€™ 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 natureâ€”the tendency toward evil-doingâ€”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.

p2017:3 188:4.8 When once you grasp the idea of God as a true and loving Father, the only concept which Jesus ever taught, you must forthwith, in all consistency, utterly abandon all those primitive notions about God as an offended monarch, a stern and all-powerful ruler whose chief delight is to detect his subjects in wrongdoing and to see that they are adequately punished, unless some being almost equal to himself should volunteer to suffer for them, to die as a substitute and in their stead. The whole idea of ransom and atonement is incompatible with the concept of God as it was taught and exemplified by Jesus of Nazareth. The infinite love of God is not secondary to anything in the divine nature.

p2017:4 188:4.9 All this concept of atonement and sacrificial salvation is rooted and grounded in selfishness. Jesus taught that service to one's fellows is the highest concept of the brotherhood of spirit believers. Salvation should be taken for granted by those who believe in the fatherhood of God. The believer's chief concern should not be the selfish desire for personal salvation but rather the unselfish urge to love and, therefore, serve one's fellows even as Jesus loved and served mortal men.

p2017:5 188:4.10 Neither do genuine believers trouble themselves so much about the future punishment of sin. The real believer is only concerned about present separation from God. True, wise fathers may chasten their sons, but they do all this in love and for corrective purposes. They do not punish in anger, neither do they chastise in retribution.

p2017:6 188:4.11 Even if God were the stern and legal monarch of a universe in which justice ruled supreme, he certainly would not be satisfied with the childish scheme of substituting an innocent sufferer for a guilty offender.

p2017:7 188:4.12 The great thing about the death of Jesus, as it is related to the enrichment of human experience and the enlargement of the way of salvation, is not the fact of his death but rather the superb manner and the matchless spirit in which he met death.

p2017:8 188:4.13 This entire idea of the ransom of the atonement places salvation upon a plane of unreality; such a concept is purely philosophic. Human salvation is real; it is based on two realities which may be grasped by the creature's faith and thereby become incorporated into individual human experience: the fact of the fatherhood of God and its correlated truth, the brotherhood of man. It is true, after all, that you are to be "forgiven your debts, even as you forgive your debtors."

You can see how important Jesusâ€™ death on the cross is to our understanding of Jesus life lived as an obedient child of a loving Father. Jesus did not have to die in this fashion. His mission of revealing the Father was completed before the terrible events of the Passion, but he chose to go through the agony and humiliation of death on the cross in order that he might complete his earth life the way all mortals do - by actually dying. The fact that his death was caused by wicked men was not God's plan. It was planned by men, but Jesus chose to accept his fate, rather than to escape the cross - which he could have done, had he so wished.

Thank you for this most important question.

MaryJo
Truthbook.com

Labels: atonement, God, Jesus, love, the Cross, The Urantia Book

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Monday, March 27, 2006

Did Jesus die for the sins of mankind?

Q: Did Jesus die on the cross for the sins of mankind? Did God send Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins so we could go to heaven?

A: Did Jesus die for the sins of mankind? In the Frequently Asked Questions section, upper right corner of our home page - Truthbook FAQ - listed under the heading "About Jesus" you'll find answers to "Do you believe Jesus died to save us?" and "What does The Urantia Book say about Jesus being the Saviour?" which will give you a more detailed answer than this one, but basically, no, God doesn't require the shedding of innocent blood in order to win his favor or to divert fictitious divine wrath.

The concept of original sin, as well as the doctrine of blood atonement are contrary to the idea of a loving Father-God. This is completely covered in The Urantia Book within the first five papers, which reveal to us the exact nature of God, and his relationship to us mortals, his created beings. The Cross of Jesus acquires new and deeper meaning in this light, and again, this subject is well-covered in Part IV, the papers that deal with the life, teachings, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.

There's also a good section in the center of our home page titled "There is Life after Death" that describes in vivid detail heaven and the life we experience once this life is over. In addition, there is a flash movie titled "After You Die," which you might find quite illuminating in light of your questions.

Labels: atonement, death, heaven, Jesus, sin, the Cross, The Urantia Book

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Friday, November 18, 2005

When I die and go to Heaven, how can I be happy when I realize that someone I love is not in Heaven with me?

Q: When I die and go to Heaven, how can I be happy when I realize that someone I love is not in Heaven with me, but suffering in hell?

A: Your question reminds me of a similar question I asked myself some 34 years ago when I was just 16 and studying the Bible with a group of religionists. While these folks did not believe in Hell, they did believe in Armageddon. Their doctrine was that at Armageddon, God would destroy everyone on earth who was not a part of their church.

At the time, I met a woman (whom I'd never seen before nor since) and I was talking to her about the teachings of this group. She told me something I never forgot. She said, "Paula, you have the ability to know the truth in your own heart. If something grinds against your own natural and logical beliefs don't except it as being true." I felt then that this made a great deal of sense, in fact it actually rang as truth to me, so I took it to heart.

Shortly after that, I went to study with the woman who was helping me learn the church's doctrines, which adherents of this church simply called "The Truth." I had been studying with her for about 6 months at the time. She told me, "Paula, if you don't convert your parents to 'The Truth' God will have to kill them at Armageddon and it will be your fault."

Well, here was a perfect example of something posed as "truth" that most certainly did "grind against my own natural and logical beliefs." I unequivocally balked at her audacious statement, and replied, "Are you saying that God is going to kill my parents?!"

To which she replied, "Well, yes, he will have to dispose of anyone who is not in The Truth."

I thought for a moment and then said, "My parents are the most loving people I know. They are kind and loyal and trusting and sincere. They are truly good, even wonderful people and you say that God is going to kill people like them just because they don't belong to your religious group?"

Again, she vainly tried to explain to me how God would have no choice but to do such a thing.

I then told her, "You may think it would be Heaven to live forever on earth in peace, where the lion lays down with the lamb, etc., knowing that God had killed your loving parents. But that wouldn't be Heaven for me, that would be Hell."

At this point she was aghast, and she exclaimed, "Oh you can't feel that way!"

I simply said, "I'm sorry but I do feel that way and I can't study with you anymore."

I left her standing there with her mouth open. As I walked alone the twelve blocks to my house, I talked to God. I said, "God, you may just as harsh and unforgiving as they say you are. Perhaps you are willing to kill good people because they don't follow one religion or another and if you are that way, I'm sorry but I can't worship you." Then, after a moment's reflection I thought, "Somehow God, I just can't believe that you are that way.

But if you want me to know who you really are, you are going to have to reveal yourself to me because I'm not getting involved with anymore religions." I felt good in my heart about that declaration and I left it at that.

Four years later, during the worst crisis of my life, The Urantia Book came into my life. It claims to be a revelation of God to humankind. Well, I asked God to reveal himself so my mind was open to such a thing. Imagine my joy when I found the God that was so loving, so merciful, so just, so perfect that I joyfully worship him with every fiber of my being.

Here are three great quotes from that wonderful book that I hope will reassure you that God, our truly loving Heavenly Father, takes no delight in causing any harm to any of his children.

P.39 - Â§1 It is wrong to think of God as being coaxed into loving his children because of the sacrifices of his Sons or the intercession of his subordinate creatures, "for the Father himself loves you." It is in response to this paternal affection that God sends the marvelous Adjusters to indwell the minds of men. God's love is universal; "whosoever will may come." He would "have all men be saved by coming into the knowledge of the truth." He is "not willing that any should perish."

P.2017 - Â§3 When once you grasp the idea of God as a true and loving Father, the only concept which Jesus ever taught, you must forthwith, in all consistency, utterly abandon all those primitive notions about God as an offended monarch, a stern and all-powerful ruler whose chief delight is to detect his subjects in wrongdoing and to see that they are adequately punished, unless some being almost equal to himself should volunteer to suffer for them, to die as a substitute and in their stead. The whole idea of ransom and atonement is incompatible with the concept of God as it was taught and exemplified by Jesus of Nazareth. The infinite love of God is not secondary to anything in the divine nature.

P.60 - Â§3 The barbarous idea of appeasing an angry God, of propitiating an offended Lord, of winning the favor of Deity through sacrifices and penance and even by the shedding of blood, represents a religion wholly puerile and primitive, a philosophy unworthy of an enlightened age of science and truth. Such beliefs are utterly repulsive to the celestial beings and the divine rulers who serve and reign in the universes. It is an affront to God to believe, hold, or teach that innocent blood must be shed in order to win his favor or to divert the fictitious divine wrath.

I hope this helps.

Blessings.....Paula

Another view from Larry:

A: There would probably be no way in heaven that you could be happy if that were the case. I suspect that you are a Christian -- you may be interested to know that not all Christian sects promote a belief in hell. And, as you put it, if there were a hell wouldn't it seem contradictory for you to be happy in heaven?

The Urantia Book provides an exalted vision of God, that God is as Jesus saw him and described him, a loving heavenly Father even so much better than an earthly parent. And Jesus asked, if a loving earthly father would not exhibit wrath and retribution toward his own children why do we choose to believe that the heavenly Father of us all would treat us even worse than a human parent? That seems contradictory too doesn't it.

If you've not already done so, may I recommend subscribing to our Quote of the Day. It offers daily inspirational and meaningful quotes from The Urantia Book along with a great picture. It's an easy way to become familiar with the teachings of this marvelous book and is available from the upper right corner of our home page.

Thank you for your question.

Larry Watkins
Truthbook.com

Labels: Armageddon, atonement, Christian, God, heaven, hell, Jesus, Larry Watkins, love, Paula, religion, revelation, The Urantia Book, truth