Thursday, May 01, 2008
Why would someone choose NOT to survive? And are there really "swines" among us?
Q: I have more questions that after reading the UB has made me wonder how or why a personality would chose to NOT survive death and NOT to go on to a career in eternality. Do you know of such reasons other than genetic make-up or the self-destruction of the body so it can no longer function for thinking and reason?
Additionally, are there truly "swines" out there that UB tells us to not cast pearls upon? And if so, how do we know this or when do we know when to stop casting pearls? I always have hope that a grain of sand will perhaps reach into the soul of this so-called "swine" and lodge there like such as does in an oyster. The oyster tries so hard to throw off the grain of sand and in its struggle, it develops the beautiful pearl itself.
A: Thank you for your post and for your questions. I'll answer as best I can.
About choosing not to survive -- there are a number of different opinions about what transpires here because The Urantia Book is not very specific and this is a topic we're all interested in and concerned about. It is my opinion that relatively few, if any, people can actually choose not to survive death while in this life -- others disagree and think many people don't make it to the mansion worlds. In any event, we can see the results of some pretty atrocious people doing very bad things but I don't know that any of that equates to personality extinction; the angels know and understand our motives better than we do. The whole ascension scheme of surviving death to awaken on the mansion worlds, the remedial work and the 570 different levels of morontia life we experience while there, fusion with our adjuster, and the beginning of our paradise ascension career as spirit beings is so thorough and complete it doesn't seem to me to be designed for only a few ascenders. Each personality is unique -- we each will contribute to the unfolding of the Supreme -- so every personality that is extinguished leaves a void. So it's my interpretation that here on earth this non-survival concern is not something to worry about -- particularly since our world has had so much happen to knock it off course and we're experiencing the results of those abnormalities.
When the time does come to be able to make a full and informed choice about eternal personality survival only those spirit beings who no longer relate to reality would be candidates for non survival. That occurs when a being first begins to reflect upon themselves, starts to idolize their own personality, feeds their own ego, disengages spiritually from the cosmos -- as exemplified by Lucifer.
Yes, there are "swines" among us -- usually we won't recognize them but I'm sure they stood out in Jesus' eyes. Your analogy of a grain of sand is a good one and one worth striving for, even with difficult people. The world is full of difficult people who would be redeamable if the right circumstances were presented to them -- they can always have the opportunity for redemption on the mansion worlds however. Probably the best concept for what "swine" would be is that there are people who through faulty genetics or accident or bad personal choice no longer function with human will dignity -- their connection to the higher adjutant mind spirits has been cut off. They look human and talk human but are really very high grade animal beings -- they'd be sociopaths -- and there's probably little if anything any of us could do that would be of value for them; it never hurts though to try to place that grain of sand that can become a pearl.
Becoming perfect is an ideal -- good to hold before us in consciousness but unattainable on earth. The last perfect person was Jesus and before that was Eljah as far as we know. I think our Father in heaven wants us to become the best mortal being we're capable of during this life. We're not spirit beings -- we're so far from that state it's nearly incomprehensible -- we're material beings with a spirit impulse. We have this one material life to live and experience before we're off to a new level of experience that is closer to the spiritual existence but still far removed. We do well if while here not attempting to renounce our nature or to assume the cloak of being spiritual but if instead we work at being the best material being we can be, knowing that the more spiritual is our purpose.
Good that you're sticking with reading The Urantia Book -- like peeling an onion. It's a life-time journey of adventure and discovery. Yes, it certainly can be confusing, but that's not because it doesn't make sense, it's because we don't yet understand, and rereading improves comprehension and understanding. There's nothing else like it for the seeker.
There are my opinions and I hope they help provide some answers.Labels: ascension scheme, casting pearls, survival, The Urantia Book
Permalink
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Some Urantia Book Questions
I've read the book a total of 4 times since 2001 and every time I read it I find new
answers. According to The Urantia Book, once we die and we accept the Paradise Career we move forward to the mansion worlds. It says that spirits don't remain on
the planet as ghosts or demons. True?
Do you think anyone in the history of our planet has ever denied the Paradise
adventure?
Would it be ok for me to write a fantasy-like story about God and what I gathered from the Urantia book concerning him and his divine plan so that I can draw people toward the book and its teachings?
A: Yes, every time The Urantia Book is read it offers up new insight — your thought patterns improve whenever you spend time with the book and new interpretations of the concepts will always come to mind. That's why studying the book can become a life-long endeavor — it never gets old.
Once we die, whether we accept the Paradise career or not, there's no return to earth. Should a choice be made before death not to survive, at death there's nothing to continue on. "Those who go to the mansion worlds are not permitted to send messages back to their loved ones. It is the policy throughout the universes to forbid such communication during the period of a current dispensation." (112:3.7)
There's always been an interest in unexplained phenomena; that's why shamans and medicine men and witch doctors had so much power during the long evolutionary development of humanity and that's why conjurers, psychics, magicians, and slight of hand street performers are still popular today. Under the right circumstances our minds are quite easily deceived and focusing on the paranormal is an excellent example of deceiving oneself.
The easiest way to answer this quandary about paranormal events or any other quandary is to ask yourself what makes more sense, the full range of the logically defined cosmology laid out by The Urantia Book which, in the case of paranormal events includes replete explanation of the soul, its development and rebirth on the mansion worlds, or a convoluted system of beliefs devised in an attempt to explain these otherwise difficult to explain occurrences? Without hesitation I put my trust in the straight forward teachings of The Urantia Book — it makes logical sense to me. Just because paranormal events seem to exist doesn't mean that they actually do — there are other and better explanations for what may otherwise appear to be real.
You can take classes in developing your psychic ability — it's a teachable capability. Some people come by it naturally, others can be taught; it's just another function of mind that can be developed. It's also a venture not sanctioned by TUB nor an avenue that Jesus followed — access to the psychic realm is not a requisite for spiritual advancement.
About whether anyone in history has ever rejected the Paradise adventure — that's a hard one to speculate upon. It doesn't seem very likely that anyone would willingly choose not to participate but TUB does say that the choice not to survive can be made during this life so I expect that some actually have made and do continue to make that choice. If no soul growth has occurred during a life there's nothing to pass on to the mansion worlds.
Is it all right to write a story about God and what you gather from your study of The Urantia Book? Absolutely. That's one of the primary reasons for having this kind of expanded understanding, so that we can pass it through our own consciousness and help others see things in a new light. It's not even necessary to say "This is what I've got from The Urantia Book" any more than it's necessary to say "This is what I learned in the third grade when we studied Luther Burbank." All knowledge comes from outside sources, it's just how we connect the dots and put ideas together that makes them seem new. However if someone asks where your ideas come from then you'd want to acknowledge that they're from your study of the book so they can investigate for themselves.Labels: fiction writing, Mansion Worlds, Paradise, paranormal, psychics, survival, The Urantia Book
Permalink
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
How does a person forgive a mother's wrong?
Q: How does a person forgive a mother's wrong (adultery)?
A: Perhaps it isn't up to you so much to forgive as it is to learn to accept the weaknesses or wrongs of another. God forgives; we must learn to let go and to accept things as they are.
Here are several paragraphs from The Urantia Book that may be of help to you – the links will take you into the text of the book.
God is inherently kind, naturally compassionate, and everlastingly merciful. And never is it necessary that any influence be brought to bear upon the Father to call forth his loving kindness. The creature's need is wholly sufficient to insure the full flow of the Father's tender mercies and his saving grace. Since God knows all about his children, it is easy for him to forgive. The better man understands his neighbor, the easier it will be to forgive him, even to love him. (2:4.2)
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. (91:4.3)
A wise man is occupied with the search for truth, not in seeking for a mere living. To attain the perfection of Heaven is the goal of man. The superior man is given to self adjustment, and he is free from anxiety and fear. God is with you; have no doubt in your heart. Every good deed has its recompense. The superior man murmurs not against Heaven nor holds a grudge against men. What you do not like when done to yourself, do not to others. (131:9.4)
It has been said that if one TRULY repents, one will be forgiven. BUT, we often times make the same mistake, even though we know the things we do are wrong and ask forgiveness again. Are we forgiven as many times as needed? OR are we forgiven once. I cannot seem to reconcile that. How many chances do I have before I'm given up on?
Your concerns seem to be based upon your understanding of the judgmental and wrathful God portrayed in the Bible. Other religions see other facets of God and in The Urantia Book we learn of the God that Jesus came to disclose to the world, a loving heavenly Father.
We're not divine beings, we're human beings, the lowest rung on the ladder of free will creatures. As such, we're prone to learn by making mistakes - in fact, we're expected to make mistakes. And in making mistakes we're not condemned because of them - sin and error are simply part of the makeup of being human.
God forgives our errors and our sins as we acknowledge them and ask for forgiveness. God never gives up on you. Jesus mentions forgiving the wrongdoer seventy times and seven - not many of us would commit the same mistake that many times without acquiring the lesson behind it so you can expect that you have more chances than you will ever use up.
The real question you've asked though is how bad can you be yet still be assured of everlasting survival. The Urantia Book makes it clear that our eternal survival is assured so long as we have a flicker of faith, have some measure of desire to do God's will, and choose to survive of our own volition. Even very bad people here on earth can meet those requirements. Those choosing to live bad lives will have most unhappy life experiences here although ample opportunity is provided for making amends once we've passed beyond this life.
One other aspect of your question comes to mind: what you're seeing as mistakes may or may not actually be mistakes. Differing cultures around the world judge the same action in various ways so what may be perceived as a mistake in one could be perceived as perfectly natural in another. What you may want to do, rather than condemn yourself, is to attempt to see your actions from God's perspective before judging yourself.Labels: adultery, forgiveness, God, Jesus, prayer, survival, The Urantia Book
Permalink
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Being saved
Q: If you’ve been saved before is it alright to be saved again?
A: The issue of being "saved" is a Christian Church issue with various denominations having their own interpretations. I expect though there's no church that would object to one being "saved" any time the opportunity was presented.
The theology of The Urantia Book explains that human beings have always been "saved" – from the times of the earliest cavemen, through the hundreds of thousands of years of history up to the time Jesus lived here, and for the two thousand years since then. It's not one's beliefs that determines one's "saved" status; whether one is an atheist, pagan, Christian, Buddhist, agnostic, Hindu, Muslim, Jew – these are humanly devised paths for relating to our creator and are meaningless where our eternal survival (being "saved") is concerned. The determining factors for establishing the groundwork for eternal survival while here on earth are through the birth of the soul and for cultivating even a small flicker of faith that life has meaning beyond the obvious.Labels: Christian, faith, Jesus, salvation, survival, The Urantia Book
Permalink
Xerpi
