Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book

Q: I am devastated when children are abducted and murdered. Please tell me that they are not alone in their last hour. It saddens me while a child is being tortured the world continues and unaware of their pain.

A: All humanity suffers when children are mistreated and murdered. It is an outrage that touches all of us very deeply...

I don't know if I can ease your heart through this pain you feel, but I can tell you that our God is a loving and kind Father to all his children. In life and in death, none of us is ever alone. I do not know for sure, but I like to think that there is some sort of mechanism in the brain that, at some point, shields a victim of such suffering from feeling the full brunt of the pain and fear of such an experience.

Here is a passage from The Urantia Book that may help ease your mind somewhat:

(39:5.11) ...During moments just prior to physical death a reflective phenomenon sometimes occurs in the human mind, and this dimming consciousness seems to visualize something of the form of the attending angel, and this is immediately translated into terms of the habitual concept of angels held in that individual's mind.

We can only hope that a youngster undergoing such a terrible experience may be blessed with such a vision of peace and loveliness. I suspect that the ministering angels do attend these young ones, and ease their passing in ways that we cannot know. And once the child has passed on the the next world, their eternal journey of adventure and joy will begin, despite the terrible circumstances of their death. For this, we can be grateful.

Remember how much Jesus loved children? He was always sensitive to them, and advised all of us to become like children in order to really be able to receive his tender mercies. Knowing this, I am sure that any child who suffers a hard death in this way has a special dispensation of mercy as they pass into his everlasting arms. I can't say for sure, but I prefer to think it is true, since there is no proof to the contrary...

It saddens me as well, to think of the terrible things that happen on our world - not only to children, but to innocent men and women in all kinds of circumstances. Many people are caught in situations all the time that stagger our imaginations and leave us feeling sad and powerless when we dwell upon them. If we were aware of each instance of suffering and pain that occur on our world, none of us could carry on. This does not mean that we are not sympathetic, though. Anyone who hears of such things is saddened and upset by them.

We have a choice though...we can choose to allow ourselves to become paralyzed by sadness and laden with sorrow over these kinds of crimes against humanity, or we can activate our highest mind, and pray for right thinking and a knowledge of God to spread over our world. We can selflessly love the children that we do know, and teach them to love others, and to love God. We can join, or contribute to groups that work to alleviate the suffering of innocent victims. We can put our energy to work in positive ways that serve others. These are activities that we CAN control, and positive action has a ripple effect on our world.

I know that my reply may not give you the kind of relief that you desire, but I do hope that you will open your heart to God and allow him to speak thoughts of peace to your soul. Staying close to God is a sure cure for these times when we feel overwhelmed by events that are out of our control, but which touch our hearts so acutely.

Finally, if you are not already signed up, please take advantage of our free service - Quote of the Day. Each day, you will receive a Urantia Book quote to help lift you up and inspire you to reach your highest spiritual goals.

Thanks for writing. Please feel free to write back any time...

Labels: angels, children, God, Jesus, love, service, Sorrow, The Urantia Book

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Friday, October 16, 2009

I Will Be Here

For all who love - each other, Jesus, and God - this is a lovely tune and a lovely sentiment.

Labels: God, Jesus, love, music, Steven Curtis Chapman, video

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Sunday, June 07, 2009

If God is always with us then why are people making mistakes?

Q: Why did God create us? What was the reason to create this world? Why can't every person can't see God? If God is always with us then why are people making mistakes?

A: These are questions that many people ask. The Urantia Book gives us answers, and so I am glad that you wrote.

Why did God create people? Because God is love, and love craves love in return:

p21:2 (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."

All people have it within their power to know God. God is knowable, and he is not in hiding:

p25:3 (1:3.3) The Universal Father is not invisible because he is hiding himself away from the lowly creatures of materialistic handicaps and limited spiritual endowments. The situation rather is: "You cannot see my face, for no mortal can see me and live." No material man could behold the spirit God and preserve his mortal existence ...But it is not necessary to see God with the eyes of the flesh in order to discern him by the faith-vision of the spiritualized mind.

So, we see that it is only with "faith-vision" that we can see the Father. But this is entirely possible, because God has sent each mortal being a piece of himself - a "pilot light" - to dwell within their mind, helping each of us through our lives to be successful in finding him, and "seeing" him with our spiritual senses.

But we have to choose to find God. It is our freewill choices that sometimes get in the way of our finding God, and doing his will in our lives. God always respects our freewill and does not interfere with our choices. As a result, we often make mistakes, we do the wrong things and sometimes, we sin.

We are spirit beings at our core, but we live in the world, and the world can make a lot of noise - there are a lot of distractions that we all deal with, so it is important to make times of quietness and try to listen to the "still, small voice" of God that is there for us when we really desire to hear it.

Jesus said: "You are in this world, but your lives are not to be worldlike..." So, even though we live in the world, we have to make the effort to go apart from the world on a regular basis - to remember our spiritual identity and to connect with the Source of that identity, which is God. Remember, God is always as near as a thought, for he dwells within your mind.

It can be frustrating to realize that not everyone wants to do the right things, and not everyone desires to know God. We all pay the price for the misdeeds of others at times, but the good news is that each individual person can choose to do good, and to find God within themselves. Sometimes, that is the best any of us can do. And in this way, we can help others by our example. When we, as God's children, do make that effort to stay close to God, we naturally become more like God, who is our spirit-Father. Like Jesus, we can learn to "go about doing good," and this is a powerful way to live a happy life in spite of the troubles that we see around us.

And finally, here's a bit of encouragement from The Urantia Book:

p2097:1 (196:3.30) Be not discouraged; human evolution is still in progress, and the revelation of God to the world, in and through Jesus, shall not fail.

Thanks for this great question. I hope that you will decide to subscribe to our free service - Quote of the Day - which will help you on a daily basis to stay on your own spiritual path. And please feel free to explore the many other features of our Truthbook.com site which will help inspire you to live your best life with God.

Labels: free will, God, love, spirituality, The Urantia Book

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Testify to Love

This is a video featuring "Testify to Love" by Avalon. We hope that you will enjoy it.

The refrain:

For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love.
I'll be a witness in the silences
When words are not enough.
With every breath I take,
I will give thanks to God above.
For as long as I shall live,
I will testify to love.

"Devote your life to proving that love is the greatest thing in the world"

Jesus, The Urantia Book p2047:5 192:2.1

Labels: Avalon, Jesus, love, music, video

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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Playing for Change Peace Video

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

Labels: God, love, music, peace, playing for change, war

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Wednesday, January 07, 2009

How liberal can we be with sexual activity?

Q: How liberal can one be with one`s sexual activity, and when does sexual activity become sinful, or even iniquitous?

A: In sexual activity, as in all other forms of human interaction, LOVE must be the rule of living, as Jesus has said. Jesus exhorted us to always do nothing to others that we would not want done to us, and more positively, to do unto others that which you desire others to do to you. In the sexual union, one would want to have mutuality of consent, and loving intentions above all. As long as there is that bond of love (ideally that of marriage or commitment), and a mutual desire, then there would certainly be room for a good bit of "liberality." What that might mean would have to be determined by the parties involved.

It seems to me that any activity, including sexual activity, becomes sinful only when it violates this rule - when it is purely selfish, or when it is harmful to another, either mentally, physically, or spiritually. And of course, if one persists in selfish or hurtful ways, then such activity would eventually meet the requirements of iniquity.

Read more about The Rule of Living

Thanks for this important question.

Labels: gospel of Jesus, iniquity, love, rule of living, sex, sin

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Is Mating a Divine Instinct?

Q: I was wondering. Is there some kind of spiritual aura that attract two of the opposite sex together? Many, if not all humans have this drive to find that special one, who God destined them to find and live with. Is that a divine human instinct?

A: I am enclosing a link which will take you to a section of The Urantia Book titled: The Mating Instinct.

Among other things, this section explains that this powerful instinct is an "innate propensity."

I believe that what adds an element of "the divine" to it is the quality of selfless love and devotion. These excellent qualities of love ennoble the simply primal sex urges to the highest possible outcomes - marriage, home and family.

Does God ordain a "special one" for each of us? I am sure that when we do find a person with whom we can share our lives, when such a relationship becomes infused with devoted love, understanding and tolerance, then we certainly can imagine that it is "destined," which further increases our desire to do all we can to make it the best relationship possible. This addition of "the divine" encourages us to develop persistence, tolerance, trust and purpose, especially when times are hard. We ennoble such relationship by marriage, and we create special rituals to mark such a relationship with religious meaning. This helps to further raise the mating instinct to those high levels of divine meaning and value that make life so very worthwhile, and which help to soften the rigors of living. All relationships are an end unto themselves, and this wonderful relationship of man and woman united in marriage remains one of the most precious, and the most sought-after.

When two people of like spiritual leanings find each other in mutual attraction, it certainly can lend a "spiritual aura" to that relationship. And, when God is added as a "third" in any relationship, it certainly will raise that relationship's potential to one of eternal value.

Thank you for writing to us with this great question.

Labels: God, instinct, love, marriage, mating, The Urantia Book

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Love in The Urantia Book

A short video featuring some of the best Urantia Book quotes about love.
This video was produced by JoseAlbertoWonsover, and can be found on YouTube.

Labels: JoseAlbertoWonsover, love, The Urantia Book, video

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Christian The Lion

Human beings are supposed to be the highest life form on this planet, right? We are supposed to know all about things like Love. Certainly, more than mere animals, who are said not to have the ability to self-reflect, to make value judgments, etc.

Yes, well, don't be so sure...

Watch this. And if this doesn't tear you wide open with joy and smiles from ear to ear, then you are among the Walking Dead.

Believe me....I would not put this before you if I did not think it was worth every second your time. You GOTTA WATCH THIS.

What would it take for us to show that kind of love to every human being on the face of the earth? And what kind of planet do you think we would have if we did?

What IS love, anyway, except remembering who we really are? Isn't that all that is happening here? Isn't that what this video is all about?

When I see things like this I wonder again out loud about a violent, angry, and vindictive God -- the God that is talked about by so many people in our world who claim to have an Inside Track on who and what God is, and about What God Wants.

Labels: animals, God, lion, love, Neale Donald Walsch, video

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Saturday, July 12, 2008

I Know What Love IS

This article was written by a member of the Truthbook Chat Room, which you can find on the left-side menu. Anyone may join. It is such a lovely tribute to the Master that we at Truthbook felt it should be shared.
Thank you to Mr Shakita
__________________
Do you ever feel struck by loneliness? Are you like an island amidst a sea of man-eating predators? Does there exist in the heart of man goodness, kindness, sympathy and love? Would not these very things be the cure for what ails us?

Sometimes in this lonely world we may feel that there is no hope for changing human hearts of stone to ones that are as malleable as clay. But what we perceive to be impossible becomes possible through sheer force of will.

Can we be rescued by someone that points out our faults and condemns us as a result? Are we not already our own worst critics? Do we not already chafe and wither at the insults and criticisms of others?

The actions of one man though perceived as insignificant can cause mountains to rise, deserts to bloom and the hearts of men to burst open with new life.

A man named love alit upon this earth with a golden glow that melted the hearts of men, women and children. He came, not to criticize, condemn or insult. He came not to harshly judge. He came to tell us about our inheritance. Little did we know that we were, all of us, richer than we could possibly imagine.

Love showed us that we were like gleaming emeralds of high value. Would any of us ever toss away a precious gem of high value because it had become soiled? Suppose we searched high and low for our lost gem. Then we find it, hidden away in a lonely place, covered in dirt and grime. Would we not cry out with rejoicing and gladness? We would be reunited and our hearts would once again be at peace.

When we find our heads bowed low, jostled about by the heartlessness of men, we find solace in a love that will neither leave us or betray us. We are not loved because of something that we did or because of having adhered rigidly to some hard and fast rule. We are loved simply because we exist. Even before we took our first breath. Even eons ago when we were just an idea, potential was loved. An idea that was loved became a vibrant, radiant being of life .

In my darkest hours, I see, in my minds eye, the Lord of a universe descending to a small rock in space to become a man. His actions did just not effect this small sphere in Orion's arm. I feel his love touching my heart and radiating out beyond our earth and beyond our solar system.

His love begins like a ripple in our hearts and travels across the cosmos. It is like a powerful tidal force that overpowers everything in its path. It is an irresistible and compelling force that gathers all within reach into its wake.

In my darkest hours when the pain and anxiety of this world buries me, I feel a tidal swell surge within my heart. Is it possible that one solitary man can change the course of human affairs? Like a streak of golden light that penetrates the darkness, a swirling beacon lands at my feet. There once was a man, descended from on high, that showed us without doubt that we could rise above our angst and develop the beauty and creativity which is our birthright. Thank you to the man called love, for because of you, I know what love is.

Love,
Mr. Shakita

Labels: Jesus, loneliness, love

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Sunday, May 18, 2008

Campaign for Love and Forgiveness

Please cut and paste this flash movie into your browser, and enjoy.

http://www.loveandforgive.org/popup_video.php?flv=http://www.ikshare.com/1.00.02/flv/love_and_forgiveness.flv&jpg=&bgcolor=bfc689&autoplay=true

And after you do that, cut and paste this address into your browser so that you can visit The Campaign for Love and Forgiveness.

http://www.loveandforgive.org/

You'll be inspired and cheered by these positive happenings in our seemingly hopelessly violent world.

I wanted to embed the movie. I could not do it, but the information is worth the trouble to cut and paste.

Labels: Campaign for Love and Forgiveness, Fetzer Institute, forgiveness, love

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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Does God Forgive Adultery?

Q: Does God forgive adultery? I was truly in love with this man, still am, although I am no longer in the relationaship. I know it was wrong, regardless of my love for him, and am profoundly sorry and overwhelmingly ashamed and terribly guilt ridden.

A: Let me put your mind at rest, if I can. God forgives ANYTHING, from what I understand of his loving and merciful nature. God has forgiven you even before you know you need forgiveness. What a great Dad he is!!!

I am not going to presume that your experiences with adultery constitute sin - it sounds as if you might have already made that judgment upon yourself. But adultery is certainly a violation of accepted mores. You say that you felt great affection for this man, and those feelings seemingly justified your, and his, actions. Even though you may have known that it was wrong, you did it anyway because it felt so right to love as you did. Of course, there are far-reaching consequences to such actions, and maybe you also experienced some of those, or saw them in the other people whose lives were affected by your decisions.

Love in its purest sense is the desire to do good to others - but real love must encompass all of our brothers and sisters, not just a special one here or there. Real, honest love will never be consciously selfish or hurtful to another - and that includes the spouse and family of the married man.

Maybe you'll be comforted by this quote of Jesus from The Urantia Book:

p1861:5(170:2.19) "Jesus taught that sin is not the child of a defective nature but rather the offspring of a knowing mind dominated by an unsubmissive will. Regarding sin, he taught that God has forgiven; that we make such forgiveness personally available by the act of forgiving our fellows. When you forgive your brother in the flesh, you thereby create the capacity in your own soul for the reception of the reality of God's forgiveness of your own misdeeds."

In order for you to feel forgiven you must now proceed with the business of forgiving all of those in your life who may have wronged YOU. This is no small task for most people, but it can be easily accomplished with the right frame of mind. It may include forgiving your former partner, as well.

Learn to look for God's will in all of this, and try to see a bigger picture. Get your mind off of yourself, and try to see in others the same kinds of personality foibles that created your own misdeeds, be they pride, greed, arrogance, or selfishness. Remember how easy it was for you to fall prey to these, and it may be much easier to see how another could err in the same way you did - maybe not by doing what you did, but in other ways. Then, forgiveness becomes easier. Eventually, you will find God's forgiveness in your own heart, if you open that heart to real sympathy with others and the trials they experience. Set everyone free from your own judgment.

The fact that you are remorseful is a good sign that you may now think more carefully about it if you are ever again faced with such a possibility. You know by its consequences in your, and other's lives, that what you did was not good, not Godly, and you can amend your life in accordance with that knowledge - and also, maybe help others who may be tempted to fall into the same trap. And I think you'll agree that it was a big trap.

We all make mistakes, and we all fall short of our highest ideals. It is the human condition. But the important thing to remember is that in every moment, we can make a new start, and we can change our ways of looking at things so that we don't repeat those mistakes again. The consciousness of guilt and remorse is the way we know we have done the wrong thing, and it speaks well of you that you are taking that to heart, rather than continuing to justify your actions.

But also I would add that you must forgive yourself. Stop dwelling on those feelings of regret, stop beating up on yourself, wipe the slate clean and start fresh with your life. This might be a good time to re-assess what love really means to you...? With God's help, fearlessly address the personal shortcomings that created the mental atmosphere in you in which you felt justified to proceed with your acts, and ask him for healing in those areas. It may not happen ovenight, but it will happen if you remain sincere of heart.

Most importantly, remember you are a beloved child of God - stand firmly on that solid truth - and he will never forsake you when you ask him for his help and mercy.

Labels: adultery, forgiveness, Jesus, love, remorse, The Urantia Book

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Adultery

Q: What says The Urantia Book about adultery? Is it a mistake to love a married man?

A#1: Adultery is not treated very extensively in The Urantia Book. It is mentioned only a handful of times, and then, mainly only in the context of evolution, where it had to to with ownership of women and property. There are a few mentions in the later portions of the book, and then, there is this event from Jesus' life:

Jesus was confronted by an angry crowd who had a woman in custody for being an adultress. They wanted Jesus to approve stoning her to death, which was the custom of the day, but it was a situation where the woman had been ill-treated by the husband, and coerced into selling her body for money for the husband. Jesus knew, of course, the whole story, and through his superb discernment, de-fused the entire situation, and the woman was set free. Jesus had no words of condemnation for this woman.

In another event, Jesus mentions adultery in this vignette involving a young man who wanted assurance of eternal salvation:

...as Jesus was going for a walk, [a] young man accosted him and said: "Master, I would know from you the assurances of eternal life. Seeing that I have observed all the commandments from my youth, I would like to know what more I must do to gain eternal life?" In answer to this question Jesus said: "If you keep all the commandments--do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your parents--you do well, but salvation is the reward of faith, not merely of works.

Since there is such a scarcity of real advice on this subject in The Urantia Book, I am going to try to answer your quesiton, but from my own perspective, tempered by my years of study with The Urantia Book, and with life...

It is never a mistake to love another person - but we must make the distinction here between love and sex. They are not necessarily connected, nor should they be, if in doing so, you cause harm to another. That is what adultery is - not just LOVING a married man, but allowing that love to cross the line into a sexual connection. And such an act CAN cause harm, and almost always DOES cause harm.

Fortunately, adultery is no longer treated as a capital crime, warranting death. But, I believe that any thinking and feeling person can discern that there is something not right about it - in priciple, if not in fact. There may be factors which contribute to a person's thinking that they are justified in having sex with another person's spouse. But in the final analysis, it is not a physically healthy, or morally correct thing to do.

We can certainly love whomever we please, but that love should not cross the line into adultery. Aside from the health aspect, there are the other spouse's feelings to consider. In its simplest form, adultery appears to me to be motivated by selfishness. And since true love is not selfish, it would also seem that adultery is neither loving nor uplifting for either party - certainly not for the betrayed spouse. And this does not even address the issue of children who may be involved, should this behavior jeopardize their relationship to either of their parents.

Here are a few Urantia Book quotes regarding love:

"Love is the outworking of the divine and inner urge of life. It is founded on understanding, nurtured by unselfish service, and perfected in wisdom."

"Love is the secret of beneficial association between personalities."

"Love is the desire to do good to others."

It appears to me that a person who is thinking about a liaison with a married man is thinking less about real, heartfelt, and honest love, and more about a selfish need for this person's affection, or attention. It bespeaks an ulterior motive that may not be healthy. And that is not love, but something else entirely, and not entirely good.

Again, this is my opinion, but I would think that since the taboo against adultery is one of the original ten commandments, one might be wise to avoid it.

Sincerely,

MaryJo
Truthbook.com

A#2: MaryJo has already provided an excellent reply from her perspective; I've made presumptions but I hope that you will find my reply providing additional insight.

Is it a mistake to love a married man? Certainly not, if you're his wife; most assuredly so if you're not, particularly if he has a family.

Even more than adultery The Urantia Book speaks forcefully for the importance of devotion to the family. So the focus for you would be not the love, but do you or does he have a family?

Consider Jesus' words relating to adult/child relationships:

"...But whosoever causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea." Children require stability, peace, and a loving home environment in order to develop their potential.

"We know that any child can best relate himself to reality by first mastering the relationships of the child-parent situation and then by enlarging this concept to embrace the family as a whole. Subsequently the growing mind of the child will be able to adjust to the concept of family relations, to relationships of the community, the race, and the world, and then to those of the universe, the superuniverse, even the universe of universes." (8:1.11)

"Society itself is the aggregated structure of family units. Individuals are very temporary as planetary factors--only families are continuing agencies in social evolution. The family is the channel through which the river of culture and knowledge flows from one generation to another." (84:0.2)

"Marriage is not just an individualistic ideal; it is the evolving social partnership of a man and a woman, existing and functioning under the current mores, restricted by the taboos, and enforced by the laws and regulations of society." (83:8.8)

Character issues: Did this man profess vows when he married? If so is he not breaking some of them now? What could that indicate about his character and his sincerity? Can anyone really admire and respect someone who exhibits such character flaws? What does this indicate of your own character if you're willing to disrupt the lives of a man and his wife for personal gratification?

One of the attributes that distinguishes humans from animals is that animals only learn through experience, they have no ability for discrimination. Humans don't need experience in order to learn or to discover consequences -- we can determine beforehand what the consequences will be. Over time you will find this fruit to be bitter indeed.

Consider both the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments. Whether these are actually God's laws or not may not be so meaningful as the fact that they are proven essential laws of civilization and society. The Golden Rule exhorts us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Are you doing to this man's wife as you would wish another would do to you if you were in her place? For what reason would you think that the Ten Commandments contains the commandment that applies equally to men and women "Thou shall not commit adultery" ?

Thank you for your question and best wishes ...

Larry Watkins
Truthbook.Com

Labels: adultery, character, family, Jesus, Larry Watkins, love, marriage, Mary Jo, Ten Commandments, The Urantia Book

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Saturday, February 03, 2007

Difficult Forgiveness

Q: My father was a violent, abusive man, in every way possible and imaginable. He is 81 now, and while not physically violent anymore (although the threat is always there), he is still horribly verbally abusive. Not all the time, just most of the time. The damage done to me in childhood has been a central theme of my entire adult life. I have been in and out of therapy to try and sort it all out. I am just plain tired of giving so much of my energy to this man. I am not even angry anymore. I just want to move on. There are still things that therapy can and will help with, but it's not addressing the spiritual aspects.

I am truly torn about forgiving him. I have tried and even succeeded about some of the lesser evils, but it's not enough. But the big stuff is much harder. I love him, and I want to hurt him too; I want him to feel as badly as I do for what he did to me. I used to want to make peace between us, but it just isn't possible as he refuses to accept any responsibility. He claims nothing ever happened. So whatever peace is made will be one-sided, but that's what I want most anyway -- I want to find a way to put this to rest in my own heart and get on with my life before it's all used up.

The bible preaches forgiveness, I know that. And I know that it's for my own peace. But I just cannot let it go no matter how hard I try. Maybe I don't know how.
What does the UB have to say about such things?

A: The Urantia Book does have a lot to say about forgiveness but most of it relates to us asking for God's forgiveness. Here are 4 quotes though that come closest to addressing the problem you've described. The first quote, although talking about sin in a more cosmic sense, does present the attitude of the sinner which parallels what you've said about your father.

And when sin has so many times been chosen and so often been repeated, it may become habitual. Habitual sinners can easily become iniquitous, become wholehearted rebels against the universe and all of its divine realities. While all manner of sins may be forgiven, we doubt whether the established iniquiter would ever sincerely experience sorrow for his misdeeds or accept forgiveness for his sins. (67:1.6)
The second quote indicates that the idea of confession and forgiveness germinated in primitive religious concepts and rituals. If you're looking for something akin to "closure" you're bound to be disappointed -- there is no such condition. In true forgiveness, you give up the attachment, that link you've formed with the one you're forgiving such that it no longer exerts control over your thoughts and emotions even though the wrong remains real.

The idea of confession and forgiveness early appeared in primitive religion. Men would ask forgiveness at a public meeting for sins they intended to commit the following week. Confession was merely a rite of remission, also a public notification of defilement, a ritual of crying "unclean, unclean!" Then followed all the ritualistic schemes of purification. All ancient peoples practiced these meaningless ceremonies. Many apparently hygienic customs of the early tribes were largely ceremonial. (89:2.5)

The next quote indicates that in God's eyes your father is as worthy of love as you are. In the last sentence it suggests that your prayer may be most effective if it focuses on your own self-control.

In all your praying be fair; do not expect God to show partiality, to love you more than his other children, your friends, neighbors, even enemies. But the prayer of the natural or evolved religions is not at first ethical, as it is in the later revealed religions. All praying, whether individual or communal, may be either egoistic or altruistic. That is, the prayer may be centered upon the self or upon others. When the prayer seeks nothing for the one who prays nor anything for his fellows, then such attitudes of the soul tend to the levels of true worship. Egoistic prayers involve confessions and petitions and often consist in requests for material favors. Prayer is somewhat more ethical when it deals with forgiveness and seeks wisdom for enhanced self-control. (92:4.3)

This last quote is a partial synopsis of the core values of Jesus' teachings. It suggests that if you could love your father as Jesus loved, the forgiveness you seek would dispel the influence the sins of your father exert upon you and you would in effect be rehabilitated. Jesus is our model; we should seek to be more like him.

The cross forever shows that the attitude of Jesus toward sinners was neither condemnation nor condonation, but rather eternal and loving salvation. Jesus is truly a savior in the sense that his life and death do win men over to goodness and righteous survival. Jesus loves men so much that his love awakens the response of love in the human heart. Love is truly contagious and eternally creative. Jesus' death on the cross exemplifies a love which is sufficiently strong and divine to forgive sin and swallow up all evil-doing. Jesus disclosed to this world a higher quality of righteousness than justice--mere technical right and wrong. Divine love does not merely forgive wrongs; it absorbs and actually destroys them. The forgiveness of love utterly transcends the forgiveness of mercy. Mercy sets the guilt of evil-doing to one side; but love destroys forever the sin and all weakness resulting therefrom. Jesus brought a new method of living to Urantia. He taught us not to resist evil but to find through him a goodness which effectually destroys evil. The forgiveness of Jesus is not condonation; it is salvation from condemnation. Salvation does not slight wrongs; it makes them right. True love does not compromise nor condone hate; it destroys it. The love of Jesus is never satisfied with mere forgiveness. The Master's love implies rehabilitation, eternal survival. It is altogether proper to speak of salvation as redemption if you mean this eternal rehabilitation. (188:5.2)

The citations at the end of the quotes will take you to the context of the quote.
A full and thorough examination of the life and teachings of Jesus can and does provide the best therapy for the heart, mind, and soul that we can experience here on earth. You can love your father, but you may not like him. You may forgive him but that does not absolve him of the pain he's caused you except that now your mind will no longer be compelled to dwell upon it.

Thank you for your question and may God bless you.

Larry Watkins
Truthbook.com

Labels: abuse, forgiveness, Jesus, love, prayer, The Urantia Book, violence

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Friday, October 27, 2006

Do my loved ones remember me in Heaven?

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.

MaryJo
Truthbook.com

Labels: Earth, God, love, Mary Jo, memory, the departed, The Urantia Book

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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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Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Was it God's plan for Jesus to be crucified?

Q: Was it God's plan for Jesus to be crucified? Is it the blood of Christ that saved us, or was it the resurrection?

A: It was man's plan that Jesus be crucified - God didn't set it up or intervene nor did Jesus; they let the circumstances unfold and play out much as they have done throughout history. Of course God or Jesus could alter the plans of men but divine intervention seldom is employed to interfere in the choices made by free will creatures. Additional examples of the non interference by deity into the affairs of men are the loss of our mission of our planetary prince and the loss of the influence of Adam and Eve. God could have fixed them, but God doesn't interfere.

The blood of Jesus is no different from the blood in your body - what's remarkable about the shedding of Jesus' blood is that by allowing himself to be murdered he exhibited divine love for his creatures, friend and enemy alike, and in so doing planted the seeds for a great world wide religion of love and hope to spring up around his life, death, and teachings.

Jesus' resurrection gave proof that there is life after death and gave hope of better things to come to earth bound mortals. It didn't take a blood sacrifice to appease God so that we can enter an everlasting spiritual existence. We are saved by our desire to do God's will, by having even a small flicker of faith that there is more to existence than what meets the eye - one doesn't have to be Christian or believe in Jesus for salvation.

Labels: blood sacrifice, God, love, religion, resurrection, the Cross

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

Surviving childhood abuse

Q: I am looking for information on how to deal with surviving childhood abuse

A: On a personal level, the only suggestion I can offer is that you simply learn to deal with it â€“ the likelihood that anyone lives a full life and departs without having been afflicted in some manner is about zero so we all are faced with two choices in how to deal with our predicaments: either to ruminate on them or to get over them. In the end it's all up to you; no one can do much more than offer advice.

From Urantia Book teachings there are several quotes that may help you get a different perspective and they are:

5. Difficulties may challenge mediocrity and defeat the fearful, but they only stimulate the true children of the Most Highs.
8. Effort does not always produce joy, but there is no happiness without intelligent effort.
12. The greatest affliction of the cosmos is never to have been afflicted. Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation.
16. You cannot perceive spiritual truth until you feelingly experience it, and many truths are not really felt except in adversity.
18. Impatience is a spirit poison; anger is like a stone hurled into a hornet's nest.
22. The evolving soul is not made divine by what it does, but by what it strives to do.

The Urantia Book has this to say about Jesus as a child:

Perhaps his most unusual and outstanding trait was his unwillingness to fight for his rights. Since he was such a well developed lad for his age, it seemed strange to his playfellows that he was disinclined to defend himself even from injustice or when subjected to personal abuse.

Jesus said:

Throughout the vicissitudes of life, remember always to love one another. Do not strive with men, even with unbelievers. Show mercy even to those who despitefully abuse you. Show yourselves to be loyal citizens, upright artisans, praiseworthy neighbors, devoted kinsmen, understanding parents, and sincere believers in the brotherhood of the Father's kingdom. And my spirit shall be upon you, now and even to the end of the world.

One final quote:

The uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of existence do not in any manner contradict the concept of the universal sovereignty of God. All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities. Consider the following:

1. Is courage â€“ strength of character â€“ desirable? Then must man be reared in an environment which necessitates grappling with hardships and reacting to disappointments.
2. Is altruism â€“ service of one's fellows â€“ desirable? Then must life experience provide for encountering situations of social inequality.
3. Is hope â€“ the grandeur of trust â€“ desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties.
4. Is faith â€“ the supreme assertion of human thought â€“ desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe.
5. Is the love of truth and the willingness to go wherever it leads, desirable? Then must man grow up in a world where error is present and falsehood always possible.
6. Is idealism â€“ the approaching concept of the divine â€“ desirable? Then must man struggle in an environment of relative goodness and beauty, surroundings stimulative of the irrepressible reach for better things.
9. Is pleasure â€“ the satisfaction of happiness â€“ desirable? Then must man live in a world where the alternative of pain and the likelihood of suffering are ever present experiential possibilities.

Labels: abuse, adversity, affliction, childhood, Jesus, love, The Urantia Book

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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

How do you know that God loves you?

Q: How do you know that God loves you?

A: First, Iâ€™d like to apologize for the length of time itâ€™s taken to get an answer back to you â€” we usually like to have replies sent within a couple of days at least and this is an excellent question. Youâ€™ve asked how do you know so Iâ€™ll reply how I know by first referring to some quotes from The Urantia Book. Long ago when I first started to study this book I accepted its message as being valid and true to me and that is still the case so to me these words ring true. The links at the end of the quotes will take you into the book if you'd like to read more.

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, loves his children, so the Universal Father loves and forever seeks the welfare of his created sons and daughters. (2:5.9)

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 â€“ 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)

"John came preaching repentance to prepare you for the kingdom; now have I come proclaiming faith, the gift of God, as the price of entrance into the kingdom of heaven. If you would but believe that my Father loves you with an infinite love, then you are in the kingdom of God." (137:8.17)

"You well know that, while a kindhearted father loves his family as a whole, he so regards them as a group because of his strong affection for each individual member of that family. No longer must you approach the Father in heaven as a child of Israel but as a child of God. As a group, you are indeed the children of Israel, but as individuals, each one of you is a child of God. I have come, not to reveal the Father to the children of Israel, but rather to bring this knowledge of God and the revelation of his love and mercy to the individual believer as a genuine personal experience. The prophets have all taught you that Yahweh cares for his people, that God loves Israel. But I have come among you to proclaim a greater truth, one which many of the later prophets also grasped, that God loves you â€“ every one of you â€“ as individuals. All these generations have you had a national or racial religion; now have I come to give you a personal religion. (145:2.4)

"And now you should give ear to my words lest you again make the mistake of hearing my teaching with the mind while in your hearts you fail to comprehend the meaning. From the beginning of my sojourn as one of you, I taught you that my one purpose was to reveal my Father in heaven to his children on earth. I have lived the God revealing bestowal that you might experience the God knowing career. I have revealed God as your Father in heaven; I have revealed you as the sons of God on earth. It is a fact that God loves you, his sons. By faith in my word this fact becomes an eternal and living truth in your hearts. When, by living faith, you become divinely God conscious, you are then born of the spirit as children of light and life, even the eternal life wherewith you shall ascend the universe of universes and attain the experience of finding God the Father on Paradise. (193:0.3)

Putting the words of The Urantia Book aside there are many practical ways I know God loves me. First, I have the freedom to choose rightly or wrongly; the heavenly Father loves me enough to allow me to make my own mistakes. The heavenly Father loves me enough to have made me unique â€” I experience and react to the world around me in a different way from everyone else. I have firsthand experience that circumstances I would not have chosen for myself have nevertheless worked out for my good. I know that Godâ€™s ministers, the angels, have intervened and helped me when necessary. I live assured that God has a plan that is bigger than and extends far beyond this life â€” that God loves me enough to have made provision for my continued growth and experience when my life here is through. God loves me because of the inconsequential things that make life joyful â€” chocolate, butterflies, fireflies, tiger cubs, strawberries, ...

I imagine if I really got into it I could write for hours but I expect you know now why I know God loves me. How about you? Whatâ€™s your list like? How do you know? or if you're not sure, why not.

Labels: experience, God, guardian angels, Jesus, love, 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

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