Urantia Book Commentary and Articles

Truthbook did not produce this video, but only offers it for your interest...

We [not Truthbook] made this video about the Big Bang because the theory is important and amazing, but often misunderstood.

This video was produced without any funding from any outside sources. It was put together with donated creative time from a group with a desire to further public cognition of science.

Science has many amazing stories to tell, this is the first. The Big Bang Briefly.
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Story Teller: Janna Levin
Director: Keith Olwell and Elizabeth Kiehner
Producer: Keith Olwell and Elizabeth Kiehner
Animation Studio: Thornberg & Forester
Director of Animation: Justin Meredith
Editorial: Proton Studio
DP: Luke Geissbuhler
Music: Copilot
Color: James Long

In the interest of advancing revealed cosmological truth from The Urantia Book we also offer the following collection of quotes taken from our new study of Evolution. They may help in addressing some of the issues brought up in the video.

________________
In The Beginning...

"In the eternity of the past...," The Urantia Book reveals, God the Spirit - the third person of the Trinity - came into existence. He is the God of Action

The stage of universal space is set for the manifold and never-ending panorama of the creative unfolding of the purpose of the Universal Father through the personality of the Eternal Son and by the execution of the God of Action, the executive agency for the reality performances of the Father-Son creator partnership.(8:1.3)

The Perfect Worlds of Havona are Created. This is center of the universe of universes.

The God of Action functions and the dead vaults of space are astir. One billion perfect spheres flash into existence. Prior to this hypothetical eternity moment the space-energies inherent in Paradise are existent and potentially operative, but they have no actuality of being; neither can physical gravity be measured except by the reaction of material realities to its incessant pull. There is no material universe at this (assumed) eternally distant moment, but the very instant that one billion worlds materialize, there is in evidence gravity sufficient and adequate to hold them in the everlasting grasp of Paradise.(8:1.4)

Gravity, Spirit and Personality in Relation to the Perfect Creation of Havona

There now flashes through the creation of the Gods the second form of energy, and this outflowing spirit is instantly grasped by the spiritual gravity of the Eternal Son. Thus the twofold gravity-embraced universe is touched with the energy of infinity and immersed in the spirit of divinity. In this way is the soil of life prepared for the consciousness of mind made manifest in the associated intelligence circuits of the Infinite Spirit.

Upon these seeds of potential existence, diffused throughout the central creation of the Gods, the Father acts, and creature personality appears. Then does the presence of the Paradise Deities fill all organized space and begin effectively to draw all things and beings Paradiseward. (8:1.5)

This is the one and only settled, perfect, and established aggregation of worlds. This is a wholly created and perfect universe; it is not an evolutionary development. This is the eternal core of perfection, about which swirls that endless procession of universes which constitute the tremendous evolutionary experiment, the audacious adventure of the Creator Sons of God, who aspire to duplicate in time and to reproduce in space the pattern universe, the ideal of divine completeness, supreme finality, ultimate reality, and eternal perfection.(14:0.2)

Havona is the home of the pattern personality of every mortal type and the home of all superhuman personalities of mortal association who are not native to the creations of time. (14:6.34)

In brief, the Infinite Spirit testifies that, since he is eternal, so also is the central universe eternal. And this is the traditional starting point of the history of the universe of universes.(8:1.9)

From the Infinite to the Finite - The Time-Space Creations, and the "Growth Cycle"

When the perfect worlds of the Central Universe have been created, there remains the creation of the worlds of time and space - the finite creations whereon mortal beings have their existence by the freewill choice of the First Source and Center.

Finite possibility is inherent in the Infinite, but the transmutation of possibility to probability and inevitability must be attributed to the self-existent free will of the First Source and Center, activating all triunity associations. Only the infinity of the Father's will could ever have so qualified the absolute level of existence as to eventuate an ultimate or to create a finite.

With the appearance of relative and qualified reality there comes into being a new cycle of realityâ€”the growth cycleâ€”a majestic downsweep from the heights of infinity to the domain of the finite, forever swinging inward to Paradise and Deity, always seeking those high destinies commensurate with an infinity source.

These inconceivable transactions mark the beginning of universe history, mark the coming into existence of time itself. To a creature, the beginning of the finite is the genesis of reality; as viewed by creature mind, there is no actuality conceivable prior to the finite.(105:5.6)

The universe response involved an activation of the architectural plans for the superuniverse space level, and this evolution is still progressing throughout the physical organization of the seven superuniverses. (105:6.3)

Enjoy the show...

Labels: astronomy, Big Bang, cosmology, God, Janna Levin, science, the universe, The Urantia Book, video

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Friday, October 17, 2008

What Is The Urantia Book?

This video is the result of interviews conducted with various Urantia Book readers, who explain in their own words what The Urantia Book is. In heartfelt and inspiring fashion, "What Is The Urantia Book?" helps others understand why this Revelation is such an important source of truth, beauty and goodness, and how it has impacted some of those whose lives it has touched.

Labels: God, interviews, readers, searching, The Urantia Book, truth, video

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Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Religion makes people helpful and generous -- under certain conditions

Lorraine Chan

University of British Columbia
Religion makes people helpful and generous -- under certain conditions: UBC researchers

Belief in God encourages people to be helpful, honest and generous, but only under certain psychological conditions, according to University of British Columbia researchers who analyzed the past three decades of social science research.

Religious people are more likely than the non-religious to engage in prosocial behaviour â€“ acts that benefit others at a personal cost â€“ when it enhances the individual's reputation or when religious thoughts are freshly activated in the person's mind, say UBC social psychologists Ara Norenzayan and Azim Shariff

Their paper "The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality" appears in the October 3, 2008 issue of the journal Science.

The two-part paper first reviews data from anthropology, sociology, psychology and economics. Norenzayan and Shariff then go on to explore how religion, by encouraging cooperation, became a factor in making possible the rise of large and stable societies made of genetically unrelated individuals.

To date, says Norenzayan, the public debate whether religion fosters cooperation and trust has largely been driven by opinion and anecdote.

"We wanted to look at the hard scientific evidence," says Norenzayan, an associate professor in the Dept. of Psychology.

The investigators found complementary results across the disciplines:

* Empirical data within anthropology suggests there is more cooperation among religious societies than the non-religious, especially when group survival is under threat
* Economic experiments indicate that religiosity increases levels of trust among participants
* Psychology experiments show that thoughts of an omniscient, morally concerned God reduce levels of cheating and selfish behaviour

"This type of religiously-motivated 'virtuous' behaviour has likely played a vital social role throughout history," says Shariff, a Psychology PhD student.

Shariff adds, "One reason we now have large, cooperative societies may be that some aspects of religion â€“ such as outsourcing costly social policing duties to all-powerful Gods â€“ made societies work more cooperatively in the past."

Across cultures and through time, observe the authors, the notion of an all-powerful, morally concerned "Big God" usually begat "Big groups" â€“large-scale, stable societies that successfully passed on their cultural beliefs.

The study also points out that in today's world religion has no monopoly on kind and generous behaviour. In many findings, non-believers acted as prosocially as believers. The last several hundred years has seen the rise of non-religious institutional mechanisms that include effective policing, courts and social surveillance.

"Some of the most cooperative modern societies are also the most secular," says Norenzayan. "People have found other ways to be cooperative â€“ without God."

Labels: Ara Norenzayan, Azim Shariff, generosity, God, Lorraine Chan, prosociality

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Monday, September 29, 2008

God, science and other dark thoughts

Miranda Devine
September 27, 2008

This is the first of a two-page article. As you may know, John Templeton, for whom this lecture is named, was a champion and supporter of the effort to harmonize science and religion. Again, this is an article which shows how the revolutionary new discoveries in space science and physics are slowly but surely helping scientists look even further for the Truth of creation. The truth of The Urantia Book's revelations are slowly becoming known...

Please click on "external source" for the complete article.

In a lecture theatre on the second floor of the Physics Building at Sydney University on Wednesday, an American professor in jeans and sandshoes bounced around the seven blackboards, scribbling formulas, talking of quarks, gluons and multiverses, drawing chalk pictures of expanding galaxies and workshopping a few little mysteries of the universe.

What caused the Big Bang? What is dark energy? Does God exist?

Known as the "rock star of physics" for his lucid language and peppy style, Lawrence Krauss, 54, a theoretical physicist and best-selling author from Arizona State University, was briefly in town to present the Templeton Lecture at Sydney University and a small workshop for students the next day.

In the past decade a series of discoveries about the universe has prompted a revolution in scientific thinking, of which the average person is probably blissfully unaware.

Krauss is one of those scientists at the forefront of this new cosmological understanding - and of a corresponding renewed battle between science and religion. "The last 10 years have changed everything," he said in an interview after Wednesday's workshop. "Our ideas of what the universe is made of have changed â€¦ That's why physicists have gone so crazy."

For instance, we now know that the universe is flat (although we don't know if it has an edge). And we have discovered that 70 per cent of the energy of the universe is in empty space. But we don't know how that can be.

"The dominant part of the universe is dark energy - the energy associated with empty space. That implies something," he says. "Why is the universe driven by the energy of nothing?"

What's more, dark energy is "gravitationally repulsive", so it acts to push the universe apart. "The expansion of the universe is speeding up, but dark energy is constant â€¦ That is the biggest mystery in the universe."

Why is the energy density of all matter in the universe almost exactly equal to the density of dark energy today?

It is the great cosmic coincidence: we humans exist at the precise point in the life of the universe when those two numbers coincide. Physicists call it the "coincidence problem".

"The fact we happen to be close to the time when the two values are the same is absurd," says Krauss. "It's absurd. It drives me crazy."

The accepted explanation for how the universe began is the Big Bang theory, first proposed in 1927 by the Belgian mathematician and priest Georges Lemaitre, which holds that the universe expanded 13.7 billion years ago from a single dense point and has been expanding ever since. More recently came the discovery that the rate at which the universe is expanding is speeding up.

Labels: Big Bang, dark matter, God, gravity, Lawrence Krauss, Miranda Devine, physics, religion, science, space, Templeton Lecture

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Faith and Reason

Faith and Reason

My friends made a big fuss when their Mom predicted her death. Well, itâ€™s not everyday Mom says she is going to die. Their Mom did succumb to lung cancer later that day. We sat and they talked about what a great person she was and reminisced on old times long gone. But they kept coming back to Momâ€™s recent prediction. They found great meaning in this event. Much of it seems to have come from their faith in Momâ€™s organizational abilities. Planning her end was consistent with the way she lived her life. Thus in their minds the prediction was an extension of who she was and not some random expressed thought that just happened to come true.

The faith of many in God is also connected to this process of finding meaning in the seemingly random events of life. The current emotional explosion in Muslim dominated countries reflects this search for meaning through the connection of theology and random events. The Danish consulate in Lebanon was burned to the ground by a mob because of a cartoon in a Danish newspaper. There doesnâ€™t seem to be a way of rationalizing this event. There is no obvious connection between the newspaper and the government of Denmark. There is no obvious connection between a worldwide religious movement and some guy doodling on a piece of paper. And yet the protestors define the meaning of the event as being an â€œinsult to our faithâ€�. Despite the difficulty in rationalizing violence as a religious faith response, the protestors put all of the pieces together and went on the attack. The problem is that many faith responses â€“ and this one in particular â€“ appear to be functioning outside of the bounds of reason.

The Urantia Book says that religion is â€œwholly rational insight which originates in manâ€™s mind-experienceâ€� (1105.2). When the book speaks of insight it is talking about that learning which comes from the spiritual forces which are influencing us to be more Godlike. When the book speaks of rationality it is talking about the reasoning abilities inherent within the human mind. In other words â€“ true religious experience involves both spiritual guidance and human reasoning. The book says that religion is reasonable, rational and logical. It also says that even though spiritual truth is beyond reason, reason is an important part of our growing experience of Godâ€™s presence. And so, religious concepts should always be able to withstand the scrutiny of human reason. God wants us to use our minds as well as our hearts when developing the highest human concepts of our Father in Heaven.

The continuing world-wide violence in the name of religion shows that our world needs to reject religious ideas which do not stand up to reasonable examination. The search for meaning cannot be held hostage by the mixing of random events with age old traditions. Too many people are locked into belief systems which make no logical sense in our quickly advancing world culture. The ideas of The Urantia Book, which I believe are the most reasonable and logical of any and all religious concepts to date, need to be promoted to the fullest extent. It isnâ€™t enough to urge someone to read the book. The concepts within the book need to be promoted as much as the book itself. Unquestioned belief systems need to be replaced by the reasonable concepts that were given to us through revealed truth. It is these truth concepts stimulating the inherent logic of our minds in concert with the always present spiritual forces that will move the search for meaning ever higher.

God bless you,

William Whitehead

Â© 2006 All Rights Reserved

Labels: faith, God, meaning, Muslims, reason, religion, The Urantia Book, violence, William Whitehead

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Thursday, March 06, 2008

The Dynamics of Inner Spiritual Guidance

The Dynamics of Inner Spiritual Guidance

Meredith J. Sprunger
October 1984

Contents
Basic conditions which facilitate the reception of spiritual guidance
How do we test the validity of spiritual guidance?
Questions for thought and study

I. Basic conditions which facilitate the reception of spiritual guidance.

Seeking to recognize and follow spiritual guidance is the most important aspect of human life. It is central to the teachings of Jesus and the great religious prophets of history.

A. Wanting to do the Father's will more than anything else.

1. A categorical will decision to dedicate one's life to God.
2. The source of an all-pervasive motivation for our lives.
3. Learning to discipline and master our minds--we need to control, guide, and direct our thinking as it is the key of all personality development and growth.

a. Develop a habitual spiritual frame of reference.
b. Eliminate the garbage and emotional poisons from our thinking.

B. Take short retreats for relaxation, thought clarification, and recharging the spiritual resources of our soul.

C. Engage in prayer and worship. It is important to understand the essential principles of creative prayer and worship.

1. Prayer and worship are complementary. Prayer has an element of self or creature interest and concern. Worship in the contemplation of God and is an and in itself. Prayer may lead to worship and be an aid to worship.
2. Prayer is communion with God which expands insight. It is both a sound psychological practice which augments self-realization and an effective spiritual technique to expand the soul.
3. Prayer is not a technique to escape life's difficulties but a way in which we can learn to face conflict and suffering meaningfully and courageously. Prayer does not change God's mind but it may change the person praying.
4. Primitive and immature prayer attempts to plead or bargain with God for health, wealth, power, or preference. Prayer, however, cannot be used to circumvent universe laws and the limits of time and space. The spiritual level of people is revealed by the nature of their prayers; however, the more mature should not criticize or ridi cule the naive and the immature.
5. Words are not important in prayer; God responds only to the true and sincere attitudes of the mind and soul. We should pray for divine guidance to solve human problems, not for some cosmic, miraculous solution.
6. To pray effectively we must face reality honestly and intelligently, attempt to solve problems creatively through spiritual guidance with the resources which we have, be dedicated to doing the will of God, and have living faith. Efficacious prayer should be: unselfish--not alone for oneself, believing--according to faith, sincere--honest of heart, intelligent--according to our insight and knowledge, and trustful--in submission to the Father's all-wise will.
7. Only prayers which are rooted in spiritual reality and sustained by faith are answered in the frames of reference of the petitioner. Prayers are answered in terms of true spiritual needs. We should not attempt to use prayer as a substitute for human ingenuity, and action; it cannot be used to escape reality. Some prayers because of their visionary aspirations and all-encompassing nature can only be fully answered in eternity.
8. Prayer is a vital and indispensable factor In spiritual growth, Even immature and presumptuous prayers expand the soul's potential. Prayer is a major resource for the achievement of human self-realization, effectiveness, and inner peace, Prayer also has great social repercussions and is an antidote to personality isolation.
9. Worship is spiritual communion with God; it is the part identifying with the Whole. It should not be confused with psychic or mystical experiences. God-consciousness is humanity's greatest opportunity and challenge.
10. Worship is the most creative activity of personal growth. It renews the mind, stimulates soul growth, eliminates insecurity and personality isolation, and greatly increases the total resources of the individual. Worship should alter with service; it is ancestor to the highest joys of humankind.

D. Making decisions and taking action--grappling with specific life opportunities and problems.

1. The clearest spiritual guidance comes through experience, not theoretical contemplation.
2. Spiritual guidance is especially communicated through the process of service to our fellow human beings.
3. The spirit of God can most effectively adjust, guide, and direct when we are engaged in the concrete activities of human life--when there is something tangible to guide and direct.
4. The feed-back of human experience is the most substantial and reliable channel of receiving spiritual wisdom, direction, and vision.
5. The spirit of God indwelling each of us has a plan for our lives. Our greatest adventure in life is discovering and actualizing that plan.

II. How do we test the validity of spiritual guidance?

A. First we must realize that our minds are quite capable of deceiving us. If we do not critically examine our inner leadings, it is easy to mistake our own subconscious will for the will of God (superconscious direction). Even genuine spiritual guidance can be distorted--often leading to half-truths and fanaticism.

1. Spiritual guidance is often on the unconscious level. God's leading is so benign, subtle, and unimposing, so admixed with the ordinary things of life that we often cannot be certain whether our inclinations have their source in our subconscious motivational needs or our superconscious value direction.

a. We hear naive, fundamentalistic Christians glibly declaring "God spoke to me..." or "God told me to do this or that." Even as a small boy when my parents attended one of these emotional groups I had some doubts about the 20/20 spiritual vision of some of the statements I heard.
b. The phenomena of voices heard by the mind's ear and visions seen by the mind's eye have been relatively frequent in religious experience. Such unusual events are impressive to the person experiencing them; however, we should not over-react but apply to them the same tests for validity that we give to the "inner leadings" of our every day life.

2. Who can say for certain that the coincidental circumstances which seem to focus meaning or value in our lives are of divine direction or are merely the chance happenings of experience?

a. Usually our first response to an inclination, leading, or idea is intuitive. We "feel" it is right, wrong, good, or questionable. Many of our decisions are made at this intuitive level.
b. Over the years as one observes these "meaningful coincidences" and ponders their precise timing one begins to suspect and then often believe that some kind of spiritual planning and guidance must have been involved in the production of such meaningful juxtapositions of events.
c. Since so much of our spiritual guidance seems to be associated with the common experiences of every day life, one suspects that the presence of God is a matter of using circumstantial manipulation as a communication technique.

3. Following our intuitive reaction to inner leadings, we need to use our common sense and logical thinking to evaluate our inclinations. We ought to be particularly wary of those leadings which logically could have origins in our conscious or subconscious fears and anxieties or those which reinforce our egocentric psychological needs--pride, selfishness, security, justification, importance, prestige, etc. It is dangerous to uncritically accept our own human desires and needs for divinely inspired direction. Conversely, if we have a tendency toward guilt and self-punishment, we ought not reject leading simply because they contribute to our fulfillment as sons-and daughters of God.

B. All of this subjective difficulty in evaluating and testing spiritual guidance points to the need for some objective standards by which we can assess our inner orientation.

1. We should apply objective criteria to complement our subjective evaluation.

a. Is it harmonious with the highest teachings of The Urantia Book? Is it something Jesus would approve?
b. Is it harmonious with the highest values and thinking of human religious culture?
c. Is it contrary to scientifically verified facts and the best scientific orientation?
d. What do the people whose judgment I most respect think about it? The approval of others is not of paramount importance but listening to the wisdom of others may be helpful to our discernment.
e. How does time and experience affect this leading or sense of mission? We need to "sleep on it," to allow days, weeks, and months to see how inner convictions look over a period of time.
f. After we are confident in our thinking that the idea or action contemplated is good and consistent with the highest and best that we know it is time to get experiential validation--we need to act.

2. After taking the leap of faith-in action, service, and living what does this experience reveal? How does it measure up to the following seven-fold pragmatic experiential test?

a. Does it improve one's physical health?
b. Does it improve one's mental functioning?
c. What social effects does it have -- does it promote love and unity or fear, anger, and disharmony?
d. Does it contribute to the spiritualization of one's every day life?
e. Does it enhance one's appreciation of truth, beauty, and goodness?
f. Does it conserve one's most basic and highest values?
g. Does it increase one's God-consciousness?
h. Does it help bring God to humankind and lead humankind to God?

3. The feedback of experience will give us information and wisdom which thinking and theory cannot reveal. In this testing of our "inner leadings" through thought and action, and altering our behavior on the basis of the feedback of experience we have exhausted our human evaluative capacities. We then must live in faith and inner conviction that we are following the will of God for our lives because we are living and acting on the highest and best that we know. Our lives are then enhanced by the power of the Spirit.

Questions For Thought and Study

1. Why do all people--unbelievers, evildoers, and psychotics-- seem to have "inner guidance?"
2. Is our "conscience" a reliable guide to spiritual reality or synonymous with the will of God in our lives?
3. Are strong feelings and emotions a reliable guide to the will of God?
4. In our prayers should we ask God for things which would alter universe laws for our benefit?
5. Does God have to be pleaded with or persuaded to do good things for us?
6. Do our prayers ever change God's mind or purposes?
7. Why do sincere and dedicated people come to such different views regarding the will of God on such issues as abortion, genetic engineering,euthanasia--or even about smoking, drinking, and wearing jewelry?
8. Should we give more weight to guidance if it comes through "hearing voices" or "seeing visions?"
9. Is it common or rare that we human beings mistake our will for the will of God? What are the results of such confusion?
10. Does the state of our health, wealth, or happiness have any relationship to God's love for us? Is health or wealth a sign of God's special blessing?
11. Why are we human beings often victimized by naive, simplistic views of God and his ways in our lives?
12. How important is intelligence or formal education in determining our capacity to receive spiritual guidance, develop spiritual insight and wisdom, and achieve spiritual growth?

Labels: experience, God, Inner guidance, intuition, Jesus, Meredith J. Sprunger, prayer, questions, spirituality, The Urantia Book, validity

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Sunday, January 27, 2008

Safeguarding the Symbols of Urantian Faith

David Kantor
February 2001

This essay is based almost entirely upon ideas found in
theologian Paul Tillich's book, "Dynamics of Faith."

1. The Meaning of Symbol
The authors of The Urantia Book comment at 100:6.1 (p 1100) that, "Religion is not a specific function of life; rather is it a mode of living. True religion is a wholehearted devotion to some reality which the religionist deems to be of supreme value to himself and for all mankind." In his theological writing, Paul Tillich uses the term "ultimate concern" to symbolize what The Urantia Book is referring to as "wholehearted devotion."

Tillich contends that our "ultimate concern" must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate, which we can experientially know (through worship) as being far beyond word or description. This statement demands explanation in several respects. In spite of the manifold research about the meaning and function of symbols which is going on in contemporary philosophy, every writer who uses the term â€œsymbolâ€� must explain his understanding of it.

Consider the comment made by the revelators at 112:2.7 (p 1228): "As mind pursues reality to its ultimate analysis, matter vanishes to the material senses but may still remain real to mind. When spiritual insight pursues that reality which remains after the disappearance of matter and pursues it to an ultimate analysis, it vanishes to mind, but the insight of spirit can still perceive cosmic realities and supreme values of a spiritual nature. Accordingly does science give way to philosophy, while philosophy must surrender to the conclusions inherent in genuine spiritual experience. Thinking surrenders to wisdom, and wisdom is lost in enlightened and reflective worship."

The symbol may be understood as that which occupies mind as it begins to make the transit from thought to worship. In various cultures these sacred symbols may take an almost endless variety of forms from ritual dancing to passages contained in a sacred text. The symbol mediates the presence of the divine to the mortal mind, but the symbol is transcended once consciousness embraces the reality to which the symbol points.

Symbols have one characteristic in common with signs in that they point beyond themselves to something else. The red light at the street corner points to the order to stop the movements of cars at certain intervals. A red light and the stopping of cars have essentially no relation to each other, but in common usage they may be united as long as such a convention is maintained by participating persons. The same is true of letters and numbers and sometimes even of words -- they point beyond themselves to sounds and meanings. They are given this special function by convention within a nation or by international conventions, such as agreement regarding mathematical signs. Sometimes such signs are called symbols; but this is unfortunate because it makes the distinction between signs and symbols more difficult. Decisive is the fact that signs do not participate in the reality of that to which they point (stop signs), while symbols do (a mandala or the cross of Christianity). Therefore, signs can be replaced for reasons of expediency or convention, while symbols cannot. The second characteristic of the symbol then, is that it participates in that to which it points by evoking a response from deeper levels of mind, as contrasted with a sign which merely asks us to recognize a socially contrived convention.

The third characteristic of a symbol is that it opens up levels of reality which otherwise are closed for us. All arts create symbols for a level of reality which cannot be reached in any other way. Music, a painting or a poem may reveal elements of reality which cannot be approached scientifically or through logical deduction. In the creative work of art we encounter reality in a dimension which is closed for us without such works.

The symbolâ€™s fourth characteristic not only opens up dimensions and elements of reality which otherwise would remain unapproachable, but also unlocks dimensions and elements of our soul which correspond to the dimensions and elements of reality. A great play gives us not only a new vision of the human scene, but opens up hidden depths of our own being. Thus we are able to receive what the play reveals to us in reality. There are within us dimensions of which we cannot become aware except through symbols, such as those which are brought into consciousness by certain melodies and rhythms in music.

The fifth characteristic of sacred symbols is that they cannot be produced intentionally. They grow out of the individual or collective unconscious and cannot function without being accepted by the unconscious dimension of our being. Symbols which have an especially social function, as political and religious symbols, are created or at least accepted by the collective unconscious of the group in which they appear.

The sixth and last characteristic of the symbol is a consequence of the fact that symbols cannot be invented. Like living beings, they grow and they die. They grow when the situation is ripe for them, and they die when the situation changes. The symbol of the â€œkingâ€� grew in a special period of history, and it died in most parts of the world in our period. Symbols do not grow because people are longing for them, and they do not die because of scientific or practical criticism. They die because they lose the power to produce a particular response in the group in which they originally found expression.

These are the main characteristics of every symbol. Genuine symbols are created in several spheres of manâ€™s cultural creativity. We have mentioned already the artistic realm. We could add history, politics, religion and, in the case of Urantians, symbols given as a gift by revelation.

2. Religious Symbols and Spiritual Life
We have discussed the meaning of symbols generally because, as we said, manâ€™s ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically! One may ask: Why can it not be expressed directly and properly? If money, success or the nation is someoneâ€™s ultimate concern, can this not be said in a direct way without symbolic language? Is it not only in those cases in which the content of the ultimate concern is called â€œGodâ€� that we are in the realm of symbols? The answer is that anything which is a matter of unconditional concern becomes a god in the life of the person whose life is oriented toward that particular concern. If the nation is someoneâ€™s ultimate concern, the name of the nation becomes a sacred name and the nation receives divine qualities which far surpass the reality of the being and functioning of the nation. The nation then stands for and symbolizes the true ultimate for that person, but in an idolatrous way.

In this context it should be kept in mind that one's ultimate concern is, by definition, that central concern relative to which all other values and meanings of both the personal and social life are made subordinate. The extent to which one's ultimate concern is the preservation of a social role, a belief system, an ideology, or a even a community is the extent to which one's faith has become idolatrous -- simply because that which should be the transcendent nature of one's ultimate concern has become embodied in something finite.

These insights of Tillich's are expressed in The Urantia Book at 100:6.2 (p 1100) where the revelators comment that, "The accepted supreme value of the religionist may be base or even false, but it is nevertheless religious. A religion is genuine to just the extent that the value which is held to be supreme is truly a cosmic reality of genuine spiritual worth."

Economic, political or institutional success as ultimate concern is not the natural desire of Adjuster-indwelt personalities. Rather does such an ultimate concern demonstrate mortal readiness to sacrifice all other values of life for the sake of a position of power and social predominance. The anxiety about not being an economic or professional success is an idolatrous form of the anxiety about divine condemnation. Success becomes viewed as grace; lack of success, ultimate judgment. In this way concepts designating ordinary realities become idolatrous symbols of ultimate concern.

It is important to appreciate that the true ultimate transcends the realm of finite reality infinitely. Therefore, no finite reality can express it directly and properly. The language of faith is the language of symbols. God is the fundamental symbol for that which concerns us ultimately.

In the idea of God we must distinguish two elements: the element of ultimacy, which is a matter of immediate spiritual experience and not symbolic in itself, and the element which is taken from our ordinary experience and symbolically used to represent this experience in thought and conversation. The person whose ultimate concern is a sacred tree has both the ultimacy of concern and the concreteness of the tree which he uses to symbolize his relation to the ultimate. The person who glorifies Jahweh, the God of the Old Testament, has both an ultimate concern and a concrete image of what concerns him ultimately. For many Urantians, The Urantia Book itself has become such a symbol, representing an ultimate concern even for individuals who do not grasp very much of its content as well as mediating access to the divine for many who take the time to explore its conceptual landscape. But The Urantia Book can also become the focus of idolatry when values demanded by loyalty to deity are sacrificed to temporal objectives related to the book as a source of material, social and religious power.

God is the primary symbol of faith, but not the only one. All the qualities we attribute to him -- power, love, justice -- are taken from finite experiences and applied symbolically to that which is beyond finitude and infinity. If faith calls God "almighty," it uses the human experience of power in order to symbolize the content of its ultimate concern. So it is with all the other qualities and with all the actions, past, present and future, which we attribute to God. They are conceptual symbols taken from our daily experience, and not necessarily information about what God did once upon a time or will do sometime in the future. Faith is not the belief that such stories are literally true; rather is faith the acceptance of such stories as symbolic expressions of our ultimate concern in terms of divine actions.

Another group of symbols of faith are manifestations of the divine in things and events, in persons and communities, in words, documents and books. This whole realm of sacred objects is a treasure of symbols. Holy things are not holy in themselves, but holy in a human sense because they point beyond themselves to the source of all holiness, that which is of ultimate concern.

3. Symbols and Myths
The symbols of faith do not appear in isolation. They are united in "stories of the gods," which is the meaning of the Greek word "mythos" -- myth. In Greek mythology the gods are individualized figures, analogous to human personalities, sexually differentiated, descending from each other, related to each other in love and struggle, producing world and humanity, acting in time and space. They participate in human greatness and misery, in creative and destructive works. They give to man cultural and religious traditions, and defend these sacred rites. They help and threaten the human race, especially some families, tribes or nations. They appear in epiphanies and incarnations, establish sacred places, rites and persons, and thus create a cult. But they themselves are under the command and threat of a fate which is beyond everything that is. This is mythology as developed most impressively in ancient Greece. It is the world of the myth, great and strange, always changing but fundamentally the same: Man's ultimate concern symbolized in divine figures and actions. Myths are symbols of faith combined in stories about divine-human encounters.

It is interesting to note in this regard that The Urantia Book, in its presentation of a theology of interpersonal relationships, develops its mythology around the relationships between the gods and the activities repercussing in the time/space domains as a result of those interpersonal relationships. In our mythology, these relationships between the gods become archetypal elements within the minds of those mortals actively pursuing the goal of cosmic citizenship through service relationships with their fellows.

Thus the concentric circles symbol provided by the Urantia revelation is integrated with and expressive of the core content of the revelation. It is a symbol which allows us to integrate our understanding of Michael's bestowal, his universe government, and the overcontrol of the Paradise Trinity in the processes of Supremacy -- our growing relationships with each other and with God.

4. Urantian Symbols
If we accept the idea that one of the primary purposes of the fifth epochal revelation is to revitalize spiritual life and religious living on our planet, we can look at the revelation and ask, "What tools have the revelators provided in order to help us realize this purpose?" Given what we know about the mythological and symbolic content of religious expression, there are three gifts contained within the revelation which can support Urantian religion. These are:

1) The remembrance supper
2) The prayers in Paper 144
3) The concentric circles symbol

In visiting groups of readers all over North America and in a number of foreign countries, these three elements of the revelation always seem to emerge naturally in readership communities as symbolic touchstones of shared commitment to the teachings of the revelation. The remembrance supper is engaged in as a "symbolic rendezvous with Michael." The prayers in section 5 of Paper 144 are often used for liturgical purposes. The concentric circles symbol is invariably used in the form of a banner or large poster at the front of rooms in which meetings are held. It is also used in a manner similar to the fish symbol of early Christianity to guide people to places where meetings are being held -- on signposts in parking lots or along walkways.

The preservation of these religious treasures which have been given as gifts to us from the revelators are honored when we use them for the religious purposes for which they were provided. They are desecrated when used for secular purposes, such as the attempted use of the concentric circles symbol to designate commercial goods and services or a business plan.

Because of the religious nature of these symbols, the responsibility for their protection cannot lie anywhere else than with the readership -- a readership which has the choice of using these symbols to represent the realities to which they relate in the revelation, or to allow their spiritual and symbolic power to be destroyed by using them as mere commercial signs. The spiritual power of these symbolic tools with which future generations of Urantians might facilitate the appearance of a new age of religion on our world depends upon choices which each of us make in our daily lives -- choices as to how we will use and understand the sacred symbols of the fifth epochal revelation and the degree to which we are willing to tolerate their misuse.

Labels: concentric circles, David Kantor, God, myths, Paul Tillich, religious symbols, remembrance supper, spiritual life, The Urantia Book

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The Urantia Book has a Message for You...

Sue Tennant
Couchiching Urantia Society of Ontario's Annual Conference Sunday June 10th, 1990

The Urantia Book is a great book about religion (among other things) - but it is not and should never be misunderstood to be a religion in itself.

I think religion, at least organized religion, should be thought of as a cultural thing, even a manmade affair - something that is continually evolving as a result of what a group of people believe about a higher reality and how they try to connect with it. Religion is important because it's so much a part of our culture and values and it has inspired some of our best human thoughts and actions. But regrettably, it has also imprisoned the human mind and oppressed the human spirit. Religion is notorious for its complexity, confusion and inconsistency. Fortunately, the Urantia Book is not a product of any cultural religious tradition on this planet - it is rather a neutral and entirely objective commentary about life that inspires a sense of unity and clarity amidst such religious diversity.

The reason I mention this is, as far as the Urantia book is concerned, it makes absolutely no difference what religious culture you have been raised in or are what you now leaning towards. You will find that the Urantia Book will ultimately support your individual faith in whatever religious setting you feel most comfortable. Whether you are a Jew, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Buddhist, B'Hai, Muslim or Hindu or whatever, this book will offer you a tremendous gift quite apart from any religious tradition. I think this gift that the Urantia Book offers, is as important as anything you'll receive in your entire life.

What is this fantastic gift? It is an eternal and everlasting gift of a profound personal status not only in this world, but in the vast universe and the unlimited cosmos, science is just beginning to fathom. It is an uplifting and challenging gift that will make you feel very special, very proud and very fortunate to be born on this particular planet at this particular time in history. It is a gift that will give you a sense of personal dignity that will simply amaze you - because it has the power to transcend any serious negative hold your environment might have had on you. It is the extraordinary gift of healthy self-esteem, deep rooted self-respect, the dawning comprehension of who you really are -your one true identity. You are a son or a daughter of the Universal Father God himself and you will be humbled by the astounding realization of what tremendous value and relevance you have as a human being in this universe.

If you dare to acknowledge this wondrous relationship with the Universal Father, you will eventually recognize that what is true for you, is also true for every other human being whether they realize it or not And so all other human beings, regardless of their obvious differences from you, are entitled to transcendent respect Self-respect and respect for others is the foundation of tolerance, and tolerance coupled with unselfish service approaches love. Love is the absolute law of our universe to which we are all inextricably bound.

You have an extraordinary career ahead of you! You will soon discover that for you, there are no limits in time or space, that can separate you from the good spiritual things God has to offer you. Not only does God give his life to you by living in your mind, he teaches and guides you and blesses you with infinite patience and mercy. He desires to live in and through you to create good. And what does this really mean? It's means something so wonderful, we can barely fathom it. It means our purpose in life is nothing less than to co-create with God himself and we do this by thoughtful prayer and faith-action.

"In liaison with God, nothing, absolutely nothing, is impossible!" For you, the creative possibilities will be endless. Expect to succeed in this life, regardless of appearances. Expect to do good, regardless of appearances. Expect to change this world for the better, regardless of appearances. Have faith in yourself and the Creator, because together, you are in charge. And, eventually you will see, if not in this life than in the next, the supreme and spectacular result of your trusting faith-adventures with God! Never be afraid. God is always with you.

This to me, is the great message of the Urantia Book and I'm pleased to have had a chance to share it with you.

Labels: God, message, religion, Sue Tennant, The Urantia Book

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Thursday, January 10, 2008

Letter to a Friend: The Atonement Doctrine

Preston Thomas
From the Fall 1996 Spiritual Fellowship Journal

Dear B. J.:

At Thanksgiving our original discussion centered around the "blood of Jesus." As you know, my son and the girl he planned to marry broke up over this issue. She felt that as long as he did not believe that Jesus died for our sins they had no future. She believed this even though they shared a belief in God, Jesus, and basic Christian values. So this is an important issue and one I would like to discuss with you and make a clear presentation of my beliefs.

Historic Background

Let me begin with a short discussion of the historical beliefs and attitudes that led to the atonement doctrine. The early Hebrews believed that "without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin." (Heb. 9:22) They accepted the primitive idea that God could not be appeased except through blood sacrifice. Moses made a distinct advance in that he forbade human sacrifice and substituted instead the ceremonial sacrifice of animals.

This concept of ceremonial sacrifice was preserved, in principle, by the apostle Paul as the doctrine of atonement for sin through the sacrificial death of Jesus. Paul, however, went beyond Moses and the Jewish teachers in that he expounded theories of original sin, hereditary guilt, and innate evil. Paul was a great man; he more than anyone else was responsible for bringing Jesus' teachings to the world. But he also injected a number of his own ideas which were not taught by Jesus, and indeed, were at variance with the teachings of his Master.

I emphasize that human teachers such as Paul were not only fallible but made a serious blunder in promoting the atonement doctrine. I believe we need to make a fundamental distinction between the teachings of Jesus and those of the human followers of Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man and his life and teachings are a divine revelation. Therefore, I believe that we should look to Jesus first, and judge all other teachings by their harmony with his life and teachings.

A Loving Heavenly Father

Accordingly, the first reason I would cite in defense of my belief that the atonement doctrine is in error is that it is not harmonious with Jesus' revelation of God as our loving heavenly Father. While the ancient Jews taught the necessity of sacrifice, Jesus, in his life and teachings, revealed a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness. The Old Testament prophets and the New Testament teachers recognized God but not with the insight, clarity, and perfection of Jesus. Although Jesus' God is just and righteous, it is love -- the heavenly Father's perfect love for his human children -- that is the defining characteristic of his teachings. This concept of God as our loving heavenly Father was the only concept, besides acknowledging God as a spiritual being, that Jesus ever taught. He said, "God is love," and in his teachings God's love is supreme over justice and all other divine attributes.

The ancient Jews had conceived of God as a harsh king-judge. They believed that the only approach to God was through fasting and sacrifice. They felt that racial guilt had separated them from God and that sacrifice was necessary to appease his divine wrath. Paul's atonement doctrine grew out of these beliefs.

But such a God sounds little like the God of Jesus. He taught that God's attitude toward us is that of a Fatherly affection -- he loves us as his sons and daughters. This fatherly affection is the dominant characteristic of the God revealed by Jesus. God's loving forgiveness is always open to us; we must only seek it and be forgiving of others. Jesus revealed this in the prayer he taught his apostles: "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." God's love is not held hostage to an inflexible justice that cannot forgive until a totally innocent Son is sacrificed in remission of sin.

This brings me to the second problem I find in the atonement doctrine. It assumes a lower conception of God than is presented by Jesus' life and teachings. Indeed, the conception of a father who will not forgive his erring children until an entirely innocent elder brother dies as a human sacrifice sounds barbaric. We would expect more even from a human father. This conception is a relic of ancient times and primitive beliefs, ideas, and practices which Jesus came to free us from. He brought a new and higher revelation of God; and in his life he sought to free believers from the Jewish system of ceremony and sacrifice.

The last argument I would advance in opposition to the atonement doctrine is that it was not taught by Jesus. Isn't it reasonable to assume that if Jesus' purpose in living his bestowal life on our world was to die on the cross for our sins, he would have emphasized this doctrine? But Jesus did not teach the necessity of sacrificing himself for man's sins; instead he consistently focused on the Kingdom of God.

There are other problems with the atonement doctrine. In particular, it tends to mask Jesus' true teachings of the kingdom of heaven. In his message, the gospel of the kingdom, Jesus taught that God is our loving heavenly Father and we are his sons and daughters. We are called to live a life of faith in our Father's love and over-care, to trust in God as Jesus trusted God, to trust Him as a little child trusts his earthly father.

Jesus' emphasis was always on the kingdom of heaven -- the rule of God in the hearts of his sons and daughters. The prayer he taught his apostles reveals this central teaching: "Your kingdom come; your will be done." He identified the kingdom of God with the will of God and taught that we enter the kingdom by the inner submission of our will to God's will. It is this teaching that Jesus held supreme; he did not teach the atonement doctrine.

The Meaning of the Cross

Paul taught the atonement doctrine to help make Jesus more acceptable to the Jews, and to try to explain the seemingly inexplicable fact that the Creator (John 1:3, Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:2) of our universe was killed by his own creatures.

Jesus' death was significant; it was the final act of a life of love and service bestowed upon mortal man. The great thing about Jesus' death was the way he died, the magnificent spirit in which he met that death. His final prayer, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," is Jesus' final demonstration of the love and forgiveness of our heavenly Father.

In Gethsemane Jesus sought to avoid his death if this choice would be consistent with the Father's will. He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." But his purpose was to live the full human life of his earth creatures. And in a human life we cannot usually have our death avoided or taken away. So Jesus submitted himself to death on the cross, a death brought about by men -- not by God. It was God's will that Jesus finish his human bestowal, even though it included "drinking the cup" of death at the hands of his enemies.

Jesus' courage and selfless devotion to the service of man and God in his crucifixion inspires us onward. It was the final act of a life of service. "Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends." Jesus lived a life of service, revealing truth to humankind, and he courageously and selflessly submitted to the death that truth teachers must often face.

After Jesus had asked if the cup might be removed, he finished the prayer with the words, "Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done." This prayer -- not the atonement of Jesus -- is the key to our salvation. We are saved not by Jesus' death on the cross but by our faith submission to God's will. This is evident from the fact that believing in "the blood of Christ" will not save someone who does not faithfully choose to live in accordance with the Father's will. And such a choice of God's will over our own personal will can be made independently of the death of Jesus.

Although I believe it is incorrect to refer to Jesus as our redeemer, he is truly our savior. For even though the way to salvation was open before Jesus lived, he, in his bestowal life, did truly make the way of salvation more clear to humanity. His life and teachings are our lighthouse, our certain and infallible guide to salvation. Certainly we may gain much from the teaching of his well-meaning followers, but we must also recognize that they were human and fallible. Jesus is divine and his teachings are perfect; they are the touchstone by which all other teachings should be judged.

B. J., in this letter I have attempted to restate and organize what I said to you at Thanksgiving. I do sincerely appreciate your good hearted and sincere effort to help me better understand the apostolic teachings concerning the "blood of Christ." I am also delighted to have the opportunity to express my beliefs to you. I hope they have found some reception in your mind and heart.

Sincerely,

Preston Thomas

Labels: atonement, God, Heavenly Father, Hebrews, Jesus, Paul, Preston Thomas, sacrifice, the cross, The Urantia Book

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Presentation On Spiritual Healing (Summary)

Summary Of The Presentation On Spiritual Healing
Mr. Henry Begemann
March 4, 1977

Spiritual Healing could be viewed as one factor of the vast process of supremacy, spirit dominance over mind and mind over matter, pattern caused to appear.

(See p. 1274, 6,4-7 and 1275, 7,5-9 - titles to be counted as paragraphs)

The ordination -- mandate, p. 1570, 4.1;

A. proclaim liberty to the spiritual captives
B. proclaim joy to those in the bondage of fear
C. heal the sick, in accordance with the will of my Father in heaven

p. 1590, 9.1-2 Jesus taught the twelve how to heal. What he taught is not communicated, only some clues:

p 1590, 9.2-4 "... the whole man..." p. 1591, 2 & 3: Diseases of the flesh, Troubled minds. (Giving clues for really interested students is an often practiced method of the authors of the Urantia Book).

The whole man:
1. the material energy system
2. the mindal energy system
3. the spirit energy system (different from the indwelling spirit)
4. personality
a. true personality, changeless
b. identity, (personality identifying itself with a living organism to get self-knowledge through experience).
On our level, and throughout the local universe-career the I, or ego, or self, is not yet centered in the spirit-energy system, but in the mind-energy-system.
5. The Thought Adjuster, the indwelling spirit, not yet really a part of man.
6. Soul, born of two parents, mind and Adjuster, the embryonic morontia-mind including a potential/actual new self, reborn man. (the Biblical concept of "the old man" and "the new man")

Relationship between "the whole man" and disease:
P484, 1.1 "The spirit is the architect, the mind is the builder, the body is the building."

A. The architect can be inactive or "captive;" The mind can be without director and in error; The body can exemplify and manifest the error of mind.
B. Purely physical disease. 57, 6 (...the mis-thinking) the collective mind influences nature and creature.

The healing-process indicated by ordination-mandate.

A. Liberty for the Spiritual Captives... The spiritual energy-system is non-active through the overpowering tendencies, convictions, and fears of the ego, that is centered in mind. Reversion of truth: matter dominates mind, (material) mind dominates spirit.

Living, experienced, TRUTH causes the mind-center, the self, to strive for spirit -- (real value) domination. Then the creative nature of spirit manifests itself. This is liberty -- sonship. Intellectual "truth" is insufficient for spiritual healing.

When the captain of the mind-ship listens to the advice of the pilot, he steers his ship free from the shoals, into the open sea of spirit. page 1217, 5.1

The liberated spiritual energy-system regenerates the mindal and material energy systems.

B. Joy for those in bondage of fear.... Fear is an attitude of the mind. Mind, lacking the creativity of the spiritual energy-system, is in bondage of its concepts of material reality. page 140, 2.2-4.

Mind, innately creative, thus creates fear images, which can become obsessions. Fear is a strong factor in the collective mind also. According to Jesus, the remedy for fear is joy. The BEAUTY of life is the basis and reason for joy. Life, as the Universal Father meant it for his children, is beautiful. When we experience the love of our Father, this love casts out fear, through the liberated creativity of the spiritual energy-system.

Experienced values create their channels of expression. Fear is a concomitant of illness. Jesus often began his treatment with "Be not afraid." Fear often expresses itself in the material body as some form of disease accordant with the special form of the fear. (Mind dominating matter).

Every Thought Adjuster brings with him an individual plan of life for his subject.

42, 8.4-7 "Happiness ensues from the recognition of truth because it can be acted out; it can be lived...."

C. "I send you forth ... to heal the sick in accordance with the will of my Father in Heaven."

Two meanings:
1. healing is in accordance with his will;
2. our healing work should be done in accordance with his will.

Both interpretations seem valid. What is the will of God? On the personal, spiritual level the Thought Adjuster is called the will of God. On the physical level, pattern is called the will of God. Mind (with the self-center) is confronted with mystery above and below. p. 1223, 6.2:

"Why do you not allow the Adjuster to strengthen you with Cosmic Power while you wrestle with the temporal difficulties of creature existence?"

On p. 3, 4.3 power is mentioned as a disclosure of divinity on impersonal levels. Conclusion: personality has not power. Power is not personal.

p. 10, 4.4: "That quality of ... personality by virtue of which pattern is caused to appear may be attributed to God - Deity ..., to the co-existence of personality and power."

Though personality has not power, there exists a relationship between personality and power. This relationship The Urantia Book mostly calls "Sonship with God."

page 2097, whole second par., is very enlightening for the "Sonship with - God" - consciousness. It is more than God-knowingness, more than embryonic soul-consciousness, more than the faith-experience of Sonship, it is the actual experience of the divine presence, "equivalent to the integration of the self with the universe, and on its highest levels of spiritual reality." It is actually participating in the process of Supremacy.

But physical healing not only implies dedication to doing the Father's will as expressed by the indwelling presence, it also requires recognition of the Father's will as pattern. We need an enlightened and unshakable faith and pattern is the basis for that.

Pattern, like personality, is an unfathomable mystery because the Universal Father is the source of both.

But there are some essential aspects of pattern which our book has revealed and which we should remember:

1. Pattern is perfect, absolutely or relatively, depending on the level on which it has been projected. Its gravity-debt has already been paid p.3, 3.4.

2. Pattern does not control energy, like gravity does. In this respect it more resembles love. Pattern is the GOODNESS of the Universal Father, who "fills all things." Pattern should be accepted in living faith. Pattern constitutes the validity-basis for the divine command: "Be ye perfect as I am perfect." In final analysis the Universal Father himself has paid the gravity-debt. More directly the Creator Sons and their subordinates have paid the gravity-debt for us by projecting pattern. The perfection of pattern is already here.

God's GOODNESS is not the same as God's mercy. God is good because he shares his perfection with us as the ever-present, perfect pattern, waiting to be activated. He is merciful because he knows that the realization of perfection is a process in time. Even the realization of relative perfection as manifested in healing is, in most cases, a process. Jesus' healings were instantaneous, because his faith was so much stronger and more enlightened than ours. As a Creator Son he was above time, but it is not clear if, or in how far he acted as Creator Son, when healing. Anyway, he taught his apostles how to heal.

Our healing mostly is the result of a faith struggle between the spiritual mind and the material mind. And this struggle can only be won through the help of the indwelling spirit, our Father-friend within.

A Divine Counselor summarizes it on p. 43, 5.4 as follows: "Health, sanity, and happiness are integrations of truth, beauty and goodness as they are blended in human experience. Such levels of efficient living come about through the unification of energy systems, idea systems, and spirit systems."

And on page 42, 8.4: "Happiness ensues from the recognition of truth because it can be acted out..."

Spiritual healing is a privilege, not a "must." It belongs in the category mentioned on page 1866.

Medical science has its place in evolution.

Labels: disease, fear, God, Gospel of Jesus, healing, Henry Begemann, Mind, pattern, spiritual healing, The Urantia Book, Thought Adjuster

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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Fundamental Patterns of Reality

by
Chris M. Halvorson

http://urantiabook.org/archive/readers/halvorson_patterns.pdf

Labels: Chris M. Halvorson, God, I AM, personality, reality, The Urantia Book, unity

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Friday, August 24, 2007

Learning to Teach

by Ken Glasziou

Sooner or later Urantia Book readers are going to need to heed the calls put out by its revelators. One such is on page 43:

"The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness."

A high priority is assigned to bringing Christianity back from its present status of authoritarian religion to what it was always meant to be--a religion of the spirit centered on the relationship between the individual, the Spirit of Truth, and the Father Spirit within. This priority is emphasized in at least ten paragraphs in the Papers, such as:

"Christianity has indeed done a great service for this world, but what is now most needed is Jesus. The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth in the experience of spirit-born mortals who effectively reveal the Master to all menâ€¦."(2084)

Those Urantia Book readers who have already taken this task seriously have learned a lot about what is unlikely to achieve much in the way of long term success.

One historian remarked that the amazing rapidity in which Pauline Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire was because of the incredible relief it brought to people suffering from overwhelming guilt and the fear of punishment for sin. Apparently this syndrome was endemic and particular so among the many followers of Mithraism.

Today it persists in the form of the atonement doctrine. It is held so strongly that few clergy will risk the close to hysterical reaction that they know would follow if they even cast doubt on that doctrine.

Almost all Christians who are strong on atonement make no connection between what it may say about a God who is love and a God who demands the death of his Son before he will forgive his earthly children for their sins. They live happily with the contradiction that God is perfect love and that Jesus demonstrated God's love by dying as a propitiation for our sins.

So what can Urantia Book readers do to aid Christians to recover a religion of the spirit? A good start is to take notice of what Jesus told us:

"And this was his (Jesus) method of instruction: Never once did he attack their errors or even mention the flaws in their teachings. In each case he would select the truth in what they taught and then proceed so to embellish and illuminate this truth in their minds that in a very short time this enhancement of the truth effectively crowded out the associated error; (1455)

This instruction was later repeated to the apostle Simon:

"Jesus answered: "Simon, Simon, how many times have I instructed you to refrain from all efforts to take something out of the hearts of those who seek salvation? How often have I told you to labor only to put something into these hungry souls? Lead men into the kingdom, and the great and living truths of the kingdom will presently drive out all serious error." (1592)

So telling Christians where they are wrong does not appear to find favor with Jesus and is best laid to rest for good.

Jesus gave us an alternative, "Let the Spirit of Truth do his own work." (1932)

Another failure is to approach Christians with a new revelation. Whereas it may work for a tiny minority, experience has shown it is not the way to go. There may be a multitude of reasons, prominent among them being that Christianity has been satiated with false messiahs, prophets, visionaries, and charismatic would-be leaders. And certainly the warning of dire penalties in the Book of Revelations for changing any biblical teaching does engender wariness about embracing new revelation.

So what can we do? First we must have patience, tolerance, humility, and be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves--all these recommendations come directly from Jesus.

The switch to a religion of the spirit demands, as a first essential step, the establishment of a personal relation of the individual and the Father-Spirit within.

There are more than twenty New Testament verses that tell of our indwelling by the Spirits of the Father and the Son. Some of these are:

John 14:23...if a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

John 14:26. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father shall send in my name will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.

Luke 17:21....for the kingdom of God is within you.
Matthew 10: 20. For it is not you that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.

1 John 4:12. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us.

1 Cor. 3:16. Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Galatians 4:6. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

This means we do not even need to mention The Urantia Book nor the Thought Adjuster. In any case the latter term has acquired unfortunate connotations since the Papers were received because of the use of "brain washing" and "thought control" as instruments for controlling the citizens of countries with totalitarian regimes .

At this stage it would appear to be far better to follow Jesus:

"Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired. The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness. The extent to which you have to go with your message to the people is, in a way, the measure of your failure to live the whole or righteous life, the truth-co-ordinated life." (1726)

"Christianity has indeed done a great service for this world, but what is now most needed is Jesus. The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth in the experience of spirit-born mortals who effectively reveal the Master to all men." (2084)

Note that the emphasis is on us living the God-like life as revealed in Jesus' life and perhaps handing out a Urantia Book after truth seekers are drawn to us. Unless we at least attempt to do that, we make a mockery of the revelation if we identify ourselves as Urantia Book readers.

The phase in which our principal task is to help Christians to become aware of their indwelling may last for hundreds of years. Hence there is little reason to be anxious about what comes next. And in any case we have relevant advice from Jesus:

"You must, in all such matters, wait upon time. Time alone will ripen the green fruit upon the tree.

Season follows season and sundown follows sunrise only with the passing of time. I am now on the way to ..., and that is sufficient for today. My tomorrow is wholly in the hands of my Father in heaven." (1499)

Labels: atonement, Christians, God, Jesus, Ken Glasziou, New Testament, teachers, techniques, The Urantia Book

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Friday, June 29, 2007

Living the Religion of Jesus: The Creation of Destiny

by Paul Snider6/26/76

In his Alexandrian appearance following the Crucifixion, Jesus said that we are to proclaim this gospel of love and truth by the lives which we live in the flesh. He said: "You shall love one another with a new and startling affection, even as I have loved you. You will serve mankind with a new and amazing devotion, even as I have served you. And when men see you so love them, and when they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven, and they will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your lives, to the finding of eternal salvation." (2044:3)

Jesus was not talking about unity in this statement; he was telling us how to become really effective as believers and teachers. But there is something in what he said which seems to hold the secret of unity for all of us in the Urantia movement, and eventually for mankind as a whole. The clues are in the adjectives. Do we know what it means to love with "startling" affection? Do we know how to reach "amazing" levels of devotion? Wasn't Jesus asking us to love not in the mere ordinary sense, but rather to attain a very special quality of love? Like none the earth had ever seen?

In a spiritual sense we already have unity. All of us are seeking to find the Father in Heaven, to become more and more like him. All of us desire above all else to do the Father's will, to share our inner life with him, to seek our greatest sense of personal fulfillment in a life of service. We are united in our spiritual purpose. But there is a tremendous difference between having unity and experiencing unity. Experiencing unity means living in an ever-enlarging family relationship with our fellow man. And there is no other way to do this, no way at all, except through those extraordinary levels of love Jesus called us to achieve, and which in other teachings he described as fatherly love.

Jesus expects us, as his followers, to strive to be like God, to begin to look upon our fellow man as God looks upon his creatures, and therefore to begin to love men as God loves them, to show forth the beginnings of fatherly affection. He expects us to love each other even as he loves us.
Fatherly love is relaxed. It's a comfortable, friendly love. It always looks for the best in the other person, just as a true father always looks for the best in his child. Fatherly love means we are willing to accept other people where they are, where they're coming from, without reservations or qualifications or hidden agendas for their lives. This kind of love never insists that other people follow our will for them, only that they follow God's will according to their highest comprehension, living ever more fully as the sons and daughters of God, which they are.

And when our brothers and sisters stumble into error, as all of us do from time to time, fatherly love means we take delight in returning good for the evil that is done to us. Jesus asked us, and expects us, to reach heights of compassion, mercy, peace, and loving-kindness far beyond the range even of brotherly love. A father's love can attain levels of devotion that immeasurably transcend a brother's affection.

What Jesus wants us to do is very clear, but his message has been lost for almost 2,000 years. The Urantia revelation has brought it back to us. And I think the time has come to begin the quest, with each other, for these startling and amazing levels of love and devotion. "The time has come to affirm the transforming power of the living God who dwells within us. I think the time has come to show the world -- through the lives we live -- what mankind will look like in the golden ages to come. We are the new disciples of Jesus, the torchbearers of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. And we know with certainty that unity is our destiny.

We can help create that destiny. To the extent to which we actually live the religion of Jesus, we are assisting in the creation of the most powerful unifying influence the world has ever known.
But its unifying influence must begin with us. It must begin with the unification of believers into a true and living fellowship of the divine spirit. Before we can begin the transformation of the world, we ourselves must be transformed. We have to spend a lot of time with God.

Only twice in the entire Urantia Book are we given the words of Jesus' personal prayers. And I believe it is significant that one of those prayers included a prayer for the unity of his followers.
It was in the hours just preceding the betrayal and his arrest. A little before midnight. They had finished the last supper and returned to their camp at Gethsemane. And Jesus led the Apostles up on Olivet, a short distance above their camp. And in full view of Jerusalem, he asked them to kneel on a large flat rock in a circle about him as they had done on the day of their ordination. And then, as he stood there in the midst of them, glorified in the mellow moonlight, he lifted up his eyes toward heaven and he prayed. And part of his prayer was this (1964:4):

"And now, my Father, I would pray not only for these eleven men, but also for all others who now believe, or who may hereafter believe the gospel of the kingdom through the word of their future ministry. I want them all to be as one, even as you and I are one. You are in me and I am in you, and I desire that these believers likewise be in us; that both of our spirits indwell them. If my children are as one as we are one, and if they love one another as I have loved them, all men will then believe that I came forth from you and be willing to receive the revelation of truth and glory which I have made."

Paul Snider (6/26/76)

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Labels: devotion, God, Jesus, love, Paul Snider, The Urantia Book, unity

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Fear And Growth

Helena Sprague
The Urantian Journal of Urantia Brotherhood
Winter, 1977

A major component of human development is fear, both the instinctive responses coming out of the dim ages of the struggle for physical survival, and the learned reactions of our cultural endowment, particularly psychosocial, intellectual, and sometimes spiritual. The URANTIA Book teachings about fear and growth are both profound and practical. They can be considered from four viewpoints.

First, fear is a universal experience of the creatures of time and space. There are racial variations: Adamic children are not so subject to fear as the children of evolution. Personal experience confirms the universality of fear; no one has been free of it. Simple scrutiny turns it up in all arenas of human activity, among them business, politics, economics, family, the arts, recreation, international relations. In some human behavior fear may be subtle. Take elitism, for instance: it is not popular to be "elitist"; most of us react negatively to this, yet I submit some would find the array of personalities in the universe- sovereigns and princes and staffs and workers elitist. There is a simple and complete difference between mortals and supermortals in reaction to a pyramidal organization chart: their response involves no fear.

Second, certain fears are destructive. Fear girds us for fight or flight (if we are healthy), and inherent in these is the considerable chance of poor decisions. "A false fear of sacredness has prevented religion from being safeguarded by common sense. Fear of the authority of the sacred writing of the past effectively prevents the honest souls of today from accepting the new light . . . " (*1768:6)

"The Jewish leaders were increasingly blinded by fear and prejudice.... When men shut off the appeal to the spirit that dwells within them there is little that can be done to modify their attitude." (*1672:6)

About our seraphic guardians: "The only emotion actuating you which is somewhat difficult for them to comprehend is the legacy of animal fear that bulks so large in the mental life of the average inhabitant of Urantia. The angels really find it hard to understand why you will so persistently allow your higher intellectual powers, even your religious faith, to be so dominated by fear, so thoroughly demoralized by the thoughtless panic of dread and anxiety." (*1243:3)

The third viewpoint is that fear is ultimately constructive. One of the inevitabilities asks, "Is hope-the grandeur of trust- desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties." (*51:7)

Fear was the entering wedge into man's consciousness for the development of his spiritual nature. "Ghost fear was the fountainhead of all world religion." (*961:3)

A Brilliant Evening Star tells us that ghost fear led to recognition of higher types of spirits, later to dual spiritism, (good and bad spirits), then to supermortal forces that were consistent in behavior. He emphasizes that " . . . this was one of the most momentous discoveries of truth in the entire history of the evolution of religion and in the expansion of human philosophy." (*961:7)

The same Evening Star of Nebadon writes: "Primitive religion prepared the soil of the human mind, by the powerful and awesome force of false fear, for the bestowal of a bona fide spiritual force of supernatural origin, the Thought Adjuster. And the divine Adjusters have ever since labored to transmute God-fear into God-love." (*957:3)

Fourth, the antidote for fear is faith. "The feelings of insecurity arising from the fear of personality isolation in the universe should be antidoted by faith contemplation of the Father and the attempted realization of the Supreme." (*1616:5)

Dealing with our fears which are personal, often private, sometimes lonely experiences, requires effort, overt action. "The Thought Adjusters would like to change your feelings of fear to convictions of love and confidence; but they cannot mechanically and arbitrarily do such things; that is your task." (*1192:4)

Jesus' whole mission really related to faith; his revelation of God to man a gift to make man's faith more possible for spiritually immature beings; his revelation of man to God an inspiring example of practical ways confused humans might relate to Deity.

Jesus knew no fear; he was prudent, and though fearless, he was not willing to take unproductive risks. " . . . courage was the very heart of his teachings. 'Fear not' was his watchword . . . " (*1582:2)

For us to translate this directive into action, The URANTIA Book gives practical recommendations: ". . . forthwith, will this faith vanquish fear of men by the compelling presence of that new and all-dominating love of your fellows. " (* 1438: 1)

And, "In executing those decisions which deliver you from the fetters of fear, you literally supply the psychic fulcrum on which the Adjuster may subsequently apply a spiritual lever of uplifting and advancing illumination." (*1192:4)

All decisions can be evaluated by whether they are fear or faith inspired, because fear and faith are two fundamental techniques by which we deal with reality. Both are necessary for survival.

God is the greatest human experience. He is within us disclosing all that we can absorb, and the limit of this comprehension is contingent upon the quality of our faith, that quality which is measured by our desire to comprehend.

Our Universal Father gives us all that we have, all that we are and all that we may become. He asks of us growth toward perfection, growth to be nurtured by faith and actualized in the Supreme.

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Labels: faith, fear, God, growth, Helena Sprague, Jesus, love, The Urantia Book

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Revitalization And Transformation Within The Family

Sally Schlundt
A Presentation given at the 1981 conference of Urantia Brotherhood Snowmass, Colorado
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Introduction

I prefer the title of this talk being the revitalization and transformation within the family instead of the revitalization and transformation of the family because it places the emphasis and responsibility of improvement on the family itself. I believe that for any transformation to take place the initiative has to come from within--not as the result of outside forces. In order to adequately understand how we can revitalize and transform the family we need to understand first just what family is -- assess its function and value. Along with this we need to take a look at the current sickness that's plaguing the family and discuss the possible causes. Note that I refer to it as a sickness because that's exactly what I believe it to be--not a demise. Family is in a state of transition and we need to redefine it -- come to understand it in the light of a new era -- and answer to the challenge and responsibility required to fulfill its function in today's world.

Family, what is it? Dr. Charles Stinnette at the Graduate Seminary of Philips University in Oklahoma defines family in the following way, "It is a world of persons, a cosmos of meanings and common understanding which provides a center for unity and conflict, for meeting and withdrawal, for the shaping of identity and for the birth and nurture of our essential humanness.

The mode in which family is a whole, and yet provides for diversity is the heartbeat of healthy living. Further, the family is a social organism which is propelled, not alone by physiological function, but most importantly by inter-personal events. Here is the foundational cornerstone for adequately understanding the family."

In reinforcement of that statement, The Urantia Book describes the universe as a huge growing arena that is set up in such a way that it unerringly activates our individual growth--resulting mainly from the interaction of other beings--through the socialization process. We start small at first (we couldn't handle anything bigger) and gradually work our way up to larger and more diverse associations. Thus the smaller manageable unit-the family--is the primary social medium in our lives through which we grow and extend the learning it facilitates. On page 1776 we read, "Marriage, with its manifold relations, is best designed to draw forth those precious impulses and those higher motives which are indispensable to the development of a strong character." (*1776:1)

Growth requires encounters with people. Evidently we wouldn't grow much on our own, if at all, so we need the stimulation of continually bumping up against other people. And characteristically growth doesn't occur without conflict. And families, due to their intense degree of intimacy, provide the necessary rich soil. Contrary to how many of us feel and think, we're not here to simply get along smoothly, we're here to grow vigorously and deeply. That's God's chief objective in having us here and that doesn't occur in environmental ease (as The Urantia Book so aptly puts it). In fact The Urantia Book describes the partnership between man and woman as basically antagonistic--a pairing of opposites both complemental and necessary. It's symbolic of nature's way to capitalize on differences --to utilize and benefit from the union of diversity.

Also found in The URANTIA Book: "The enforced associations of family life stabilize personality and stimulate its growth through the compulsion of necessitous adjustment to other and diverse personalities." (*942:2)

Family Undervalued

Ironically, though, in view of all this importance and along with being the oldest and most prevalent institution in our lives, family remains a most grossly undervalued institution.

Parenting is the most important job on this planet and yet it is the least prepared for and the least appreciated profession of all. Even so, family is the most influential institution in our lives--shaping us and as a consequence, in turn, shaping through us the society in which we live. The family is our primary learning institution, where we learn about life, about the universe, and about the very nature of God. To the point: "The family is the fundamental unit of fraternity in which parents and children learn those lessons of patience, altruism, tolerance, and forbearance which are so essential to the realization of brotherhood among all men." (*841:8)

It is frightening, however, that although family is essential for the over-all benefit of individuals and society, we are witnessing what appears to be a general tide of family disintegration and with it a great deal of society's moral fiber. Why is this happening? There are many opinions but usually they only scratch the surface. For the problems of the family are not exclusive to the family but rather symptomatic of an all-pervasive cultural problem.

The single most important influence on our contemporary culture -our lives--has been the dawning of industrialization with all of its consequent effects upon every aspect of life, from science and technology through economics, education, politics, and religion. We have time to focus on only a few key factors. It has been through the advances of science and technology that the basic function of the family has been altered in its very nature, and so its stability shattered. Not only has technology provided us with the inventions making it possible to travel farther and therefore extending our sense of personal territory, but it has also given us less reason to stay and work together.

Families had largely been cohesive because they were functional and necessary for society, controlled in turn by social norms and mores. But the functions that held families together and gave them meaning are no longer pertinent in today's culture--science and technology have largely taken care of that, cutting families free from their original or traditional working responsibilities. We, as families, are not in the same symbiotic relationship with society we once were.

All this new-found freedom is of little comfort because we're losing our sense of significance, and instead of society depending upon families any more we find families and their members hopelessly dependent upon society's larger, less personal institutions. As the family has become less and less necessary for the physical well-being of the society the individual suffers. Probably the most disastrous effect industrialization has had on the individual is this diminishing sense of significance--it's one of our greatest human needs--if we don't have that, we have little reason for existing.

Although society has largely controlled the individual, it is nonetheless an invention of the individual--an extension of self-perpetuation. Society is a tool devised by the individual to assure survival; institutions were devised to fulfill certain specialized functions. In the past, all institutions, including the family, were engaged in common reciprocal serving --the family served the other institutions and the institutions, in turn, served the family. This interdependence, this healthy symbiosis, has been broken as other institutions have loomed ever larger, resulting in the family becoming irrelevant as well as powerless. Since much of the family's function has been replaced an unhealthy imbalance has been created. Rather than the individual being a necessary part of a viable institution any more (whether that be a family or a small business in the community) his chief means of contributing has been reduced to that of a consumer. He has become depersonalized as institutions have grown into depersonalized giants--his own particular selfhood and personal skills unimportant.

However, industrialization itself is not the culprit. Rather we are victims of ourselves, in how we handle the new advances. For example, one invention that has radically changed the face of the family day-to-day lifestyle is the television set. It has been blamed vehemently for interfering or replacing intimately shared family activities. Howard Steing, Clinical Professor of Medical Psychiatric Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma, considers the use of the TV a symbolic expression of American culture. He maintains that TV is as much a person in the household as any real person--a person that captures our attention so totally that it obliterates reality going on around us. This is no accident, for he asserts that we actually engage TV to replace close personal contact, to escape from the commitments and sorrows existing with real associations. TV is the optimum and ideal friend, filling the void, giving us a sense of living and personal contact, willingly giving all and asking nothing in return. He maintains that in the sense that TV actually isolates us from real contact--separating us from real socialization--it's an addiction every bit as harmful as alcoholism or drug abuse.

Since TV has become a cultural norm it offers one the luxury of having the ultimate sanctioned distraction. These norms make self-indulgence--rights without responsibility--convenient and justifiable. Sadly, the irony of it all is that TV both fills the emptiness and serves to perpetuate it; it is symptomatic of the very isolation we use it to overcome, and so symbolic of a vast range of depersonalizing influences. "TV, though," he goes on to say "doesn't create or destroy relationships--it is not the villain--it is a matter instead of how the television is used in the relationships." Instead of disrupting family intimacy, for instance, it can be used as a means for family sharing -- used as an extension or means of socializing." He notes: "Long before TV existed, there was plenty of generational segmentation, role specialization, fragmentation, and compartmentalization in the American family; TV simply was placed in the service of these tendencies, further disrupting inter-personal ties that were already fractured."

Looking more deeply, then, the problem has little to do with actual by-products of industrialization but rather its associated values. In an essay written by Dr. Peter Kountz and Rev. Douglas Peterson, entitled, Marriage, Career and Disintegration of the American Dream, the point is made: "The work/career component is the greatest danger to the American way of life--not liberation or the failure of the church to provide adequate moral guidance. With technology came a new set of values; speed and efficiency came to be valued as work was moved from home to the office and factory in order to bring workers and materials together in the most efficient way. . Because of its astonishing growth and development through technology, contemporary American society has come to value progress and upward mobility as well as efficiency, productivity, and technical expertise. Americans have in this way become almost exclusively committed to the values of the technological, work-oriented American Dream -- (ironically though) it is precisely the American Dream that continues to confuse and frustrate 20th century American culture and its primary institutions. It is a lure enticing us into the belief that its attainment will bring joy and pleasure. Like the fish that takes the bait, our frenzied pursuit of the lure turns into bitter disappointment, mistrust and frustration." And they make clear the effect this pursuit has on the stability of the family: "The value of family staying and playing together has been shattered by the dozens of individual interests that scatter the family members to the four corners of their community."

In the past, functional, economic, and social reasons provided the necessary cement that held families together, giving them meaning and justifying their existence. But today these reasons are no longer relevant and consequently family is floundering. It has been set free from its original purpose and is presently at a loss.

Today mores, values, and ethics are all designed for the maintenance and perpetuation of the industrial complex. Industrial survival is society's primary concern, leaving the individual and family expendable. So the active values in our times are personally disabling. They encourage uniformity rather than individuality, dependency rather than self-maintenance or self-motivation. Corporate institutions have values other than human values. In our increasingly depersonalized society, market values or profits come before people. We have become victims of our own Frankenstein monster.

In order to offset this direction the family must once again become a viable contributor; a balance needs to be restored so that family is serving society again and in a way that only family can. The positive side of industrialization is that in many parts of the world basic survival needs are largely being taken care of by industry, leaving the family free to contribute in a new way. The stage is now set for a higher evolutionary contribution, therefore family is at a point where it has the opportunity to find deeper reasons for existing--to be as functional as yesterday's family was to an earlier era.

But the problem and solution are a matter of values and presently we lack a viable value system -- what value systems we do have are either hopelessly out-moded, irrelevant, or corrupt. We are presently experiencing moral confusion. The fast pace of a radically changing world has given us little time to adjust and redefine our purpose. Consequently, we're at a point in history where we've gained freedom and don't know what to do with it; we've been socially regulated for so long that we don't know what to do on our own responsibly. Many of the standard moral codes have broken down.

Margaret Mead in Culture and Commitment, explains that we are suffering a crisis of faith--we have lost faith in religion, political ideology, and in science, and are therefore deprived of every kind of security. She maintains that this is a world-wide problem because of what she calls the electronic network--that combined with air travel connects everyone together finally--leaving no one in cultural isolation. Everyone is now exposed to other beliefs, other norms, and mores. We are no longer limited by our small cultural scope. Our old standards and values are undermined by the awareness of other standards and values --we don't just believe blindly anymore.

Freedom with Responsibility

Today we need a new ethic. We need an ethic centered around human values again, one to counter the dehumanizing values of an industrial era--values we've adopted that interrupt genuine human relating. An ethic, though, that moves forward to basics, not back, because it's a new world today and we need values based on a design suitable for today's world. Our boundaries have extended beyond our families, our communities, our cities, and even our nations. Carl Sagan, in his book Cosmos, points out the importance of adopting a global perspective today, that is, "of broadening the circle of those we love. . . to include the whole human community." We need to become a world community based on a stance of cooperative unity dedicated to the over-all benefit of all humanity. For instance, Virginia Satir, in her book Peoplemaking, suggests that we use power with a different aim in mind. She writes, "I need to use my power for my growth and your growth. This kind of use of power doesn't exclude human values; it enhances them." We need an ethic that enables and frees people to themselves and one another--utilizing skills for the benefit of all society--of all the world. An ethic both respectful of the needs for personal freedom while at the same time affirming each individual's responsibility to the whole.

Eric Hoffer, the well known longshoreman philosopher, understands the nature of this new ethic needed today: "As things are now, it may well be the survival of the species will depend upon the capacity to foster a boundless capacity for compassion." Family, because of its close intimate associations, is the primary institution to embody this new ethic. The family is the most competent institution capable of activating a capacity for intimacy and sensitivity which in turn provides for the rounded development of character and personality. Only family generates intimately-caring individuals; it's the only institution looking out for truly individual concerns.

Ultimately it's the family that's capable of freeing people to themselves, one another, and to God. In effect, other institutions are depersonalized. It's the only institution that can create love. To quote my husband, "institutions cannot love--only people love." The family institution is the sole exception, for when it functions as it should it alone fosters deep intimate, personal love!

I'm convinced that the main problem of the family today (and therefore our culture) is simply that the family doesn't appreciate itself--its importance--and fails to notice the enormity of its influence. According to The Urantia Book, the family is far from being insignificant; it earns the lone distinction, in fact, of being ". . man's supreme evolutionary acquirement and civilization's only hope of survival." (*943:2) Ironically, on the very institution that is least understood and appreciated rests to a very large extent the solution to the manifold problems that plague the world today. The family and its capacity for growth and change is the ultimate educator in society and finally the universe. Families are the teaching centers of real education and models for all social structures. It is the family from which we learn or don't learn individual responsibility, cooperation, love and caring, fairness, justice, compassion, forgiveness, and grace. It is from the family that we learn how to regard and finally treat our fellow man. As found in The Urantia Book, the family is absolutely essential for revealing the true character of God.

"The relationship of child and parent is fundamental to the essential concept of the Universal Father. ." (*516:3)

Jesus regarded the family so highly, in fact, that "the family occupied the very center of Jesus' philosophy of life--here and hereafter." (*1581:1) Jesus never under-estimated the value of family--he saw family as representative of the highest levels of existence --referring even to the kingdom as a divine family. Jesus said: ". . (the) Father has directed the creation of male and female, and it is the divine will that men and women should find their highest service and consequent joy in the establishment of homes for the reception and training of children, in the creation of whom these parents become copartners with the Makers of heaven and earth." (*1839:5) By what he said and how he lived Jesus elevated the union between man and woman and the subsequent family to a level far exceeding its status of that era and even today's era. He gave meaning to the statement that, "The family is man's greatest purely human achievement. . . " (*939:3)

Families are not only educational institutions for the members that comprise them but also educators of society. Families are essential as carriers of culture and instruments of change. In The Urantia Book it's emphasized how all-important this function is: "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." (*931:2) Family is basic for passing on the cultural torch, giving continuity to social evolutionary patterns. Families are the carriers of society, without which society would stagnate. In The Urantia Book it reads, "Almost everything of lasting value in civilization has its roots in the family." (*765:5)

Dr. Charles Stinnette highlights and summarizes this all-important function of family: "(Family), it is both a conservator and mediator of human value and a prophetic center which translates a cry of distress into a summons for help and change. The family is destroyed from within whenever it ignores either of these mandates. Its function as a center for prophetic change gives meaning and import to its function as the nurturing center of civilization."

Yes, far from being insignificant, the family's responsibility is indispensable. How, then, do we proceed in this vital reconstruction? Family building is at an all time low --it's becoming less and less an attractive venture for people. In their combined book Here's to the Family, Betty and Joel Wells analyze the dilemma this way: "The husband and wife who enter into familyhood--that is, have children--are offered little by way of preparatory education or professional training for what is surely one of the most complex and challenging jobs in the world. Nor are they offered the same sort of support which surrounding institutions used to provide. To get married, stay married, run a household, raise healthy, well-adjusted children to the point of incipient maturity is not the easy, automatic, natural thing it was once supposed to be. In fact, not very many people, when you take the population at large, are able to do it. Yet when they are successful, there's no Nobel or Pulitzer prize awarded; no cover story in Time to celebrate the achievement in the face of odds that grow longer each year."

Parenting, no doubt, is a thankless task today. Family is no longer regarded with unquestioned respect -- no longer considered the pace-setter and upholder of right but, instead, is blamed for everything--blamed for the ills of both the individual and society. For that matter, Aldous Huxley, in Brave New World, forecasted a world where family would be entirely obliterated due to its supposed negative and immoral influence on people. We are understandably apprehensive about entering parenthood any more. Thanks to psychology we've been made aware of the risks. We are conscientious about parenting now in a new way--having been made aware of the damage parents can inflict. We truly want to do the right thing, our intentions are right but we find ourselves so overwhelmed by the constant onslaught of diverse viewpoints on child-rearing that we end up numb by the sheer confusion and ineffective by the inevitable guilt!

To complicate matters further, parental authority is increasingly being undercut today by the intervention of other institutions. We hear today of the rising apathy among parents, that increasingly parents are shirking their responsibility. I believe there are such instances but I also believe strongly that most parents are interested, extremely interested, in their children and if anything, they feel at a loss--they doubt their own competence as parents. I feel parents have to like themselves again and, therefore, like their role. "Parent" has become a four letter word in our society and that has to change. Furthermore, no one is more fitting for the job.

Other institutions only know a portion of the child's over-all needs. It's the parents who must take their rightful place again as the chief experts in the raising of their children. In The Urantia Book we read: ". . .any attempt to shift parental responsibility to state or church will prove suicidal to the welfare and advancement of civilization." (*941:8) Moreover, on a neighboring planet, as a positive example, children are under full control of their parents.

What this means is that today, parents need to retrieve their full responsibility and authority once again, responsibility mainly as teachers. In The Urantia Book we find that teaching and child-rearing are in fact inseparable. Education today, unfortunately, is regarded as only occurring in certain specified places and by certain specified people. Actually, though, learning is no more a consequence of organized education than religion is a consequence of organized religion. Learning is a part of life--it is life, in fact.

Parenting Opportunity

Family is the arena for personal and interpersonal development. Family is a combination of elements that we require to grow. Even Jesus had to experience being both child and parent in family. We read: "No surviving mortal, midwayer, or seraphim may ascend to Paradise, attain the Father, and be mustered into the Corps of the Finality without having passed through that sublime experience of achieving parental relationship to an evolving child of the worlds or some other experience analogous and equivalent thereto. The relationship of child and parent is fundamental to the essential concept of the Universal Father and his universe children.

Therefore does such an experience become indispensable to the experiential training of all ascenders." (*516:3) We need the opportunity to parent, not just for our children's sake but for ours as well. We need the addition that children bring to an intimate association.

It's common in our society to exclude children from our adult lives, to see them as a becoming, a "future," as Maria Montessori puts it, and therefore we segregate ourselves from them.

Children, though, provide us with a necessary balance, something we wouldn't have otherwise. Children are not merely a becoming, but part of our very essential and necessary socialization process. Maria Montessori further points out that by cutting ourselves off from children as we do, we are consequently severing ourselves from a necessary part of ourselves and ultimately our society. We are only functioning and growing at half our potential capacity. She explains it as follows, "There is in us, finally, a peculiar emptiness, a blindness we have built into our spirit and our civilization. Something like a blind spot in the depths of the eye, this blind spot is in the depths of life." Dave, my husband, once said, "Children are incredibly precious because of their relative rarity in the total ascension career--but in our society they are largely cast aside. They should be our teachers; as God learns from us, so we learn from our children."

There's a beautiful book entitled: Whole Child Whole Parent, written by Polly Berends. Here is what she has to say about the education of parenthood: "It's an existential fact that most of us need our children. There are few people walking this earth who learn the arts of motherliness and fatherliness without children, and they are very wise. But most of us benefit from the big push our children give us toward the discovery of these qualities-- qualities which are absolutely necessary to our fulfillment and of more lasting value than most of the lessons of childhood. We learn them for the sake of our children, but they benefit us most of all. Once we have learned to be truly motherly and fatherly (we need of course, to become both) we will always be much happier.

The gain is not the having of children; it is the discovery of love and how to be loving. The foundation of love is the knowledge of goodness. The qualities of this love are receptivity, patience, innocence, humility, trust, gratitude, generosity, understanding, and the desire to be good for goodness' sake." The most moving insight was when I read the following statement: "Parenthood is just the world's most intensive course in love."

Not only do we disclose the true nature of our Father's love to our children as is so aptly pointed out in The Urantia Book but it's within the family that we learn love. We really don't understand the full nature of love until we've had the opportunity to parent.

A perspective of love is basic, any method (for instance in child-rearing) is secondary and inconsequential to love; if you don't have love, any method in the world won't work, and by the same token, if you do have the love any method in the world will work. This was the wonder behind Jesus as parent; it wasn't his technique per se -- his technique was love-based, love-expressed. In addition we read, " . .the entire religious experience of such a child is largely dependent on whether fear or love has dominated the parent-child relationship." (*1013:6)

The ultimate goal of parenting should be to free the individual to himself and to God; to allow him to teach himself, actually, to learn from life like we all do, through the instrument of experience; to formulate his own truth. Polly Berends added a dimension to the well-used quote by Jesus: ". . .except you become as a little child you shall never enter the kingdom." She goes on, "He wasn't talking about cute or little or helpless or ignorant: he was talking about the child's most outstanding ability, the ability to learn." It's the child's wide-eyed and open receptivity to the ongoing and ever-revealing truth that makes him a virtual sponge for truth. It's this condition of always questioning that characterizes the child so well.

I read somewhere that adults are collaborators in life with children--not experts--but fellow learners, because learning occurs always, everywhere and with everybody. Our role has to do with "...assisting the child to win the battle of life." (*941:7) Everyone in a household as equal participant, working in collaboration with one another, each empowered with his own personality and sense of responsibility is what true freedom is all about --it's the way of the universe. Jesus' family was so designed. It is true with the Father's family.

In asking ourselves how best to parent, we need only look to God as our model parent. In his silent leading he offers himself as a patiently gentle guide striking a perfect balance of involvement. Always is God present but never overwhelmingly so. And by never imposing his will he sets and nurtures the conditions for the development of true inner discipline.

In conclusion, even though this is a time of great insecurity for the individual and the family, I see this as a magnificent opportunity for all humankind. One way to view it is to see ourselves being weaned from an outer social control, to an inner greater control.

This current narcissitic period we're witnessing is not only understandable but maybe even necessary before we discover something else. It's like being weaned from the bottle and resorting to our thumb for awhile. We're in a period of self-discovery--of finding our separateness. After all, that's where God ultimately finds us--alone--he relates to individuals, not groups as such. The challenge now is greater than ever before and that's really what's scary about it; the control is no longer out there--it's up to us now--we have to find the answers and direction within ourselves.

And what does this say about family? People as single individuals functioning autonomously, acting out of personal decisions motivated by choice, are far more cohesive and advantageous for the good of the group than the old family group based on necessity alone and controlled by society. Our families and therefore society is many times more solid and effective when people are committed to each other out of choice and governed by their own set of values born out of a personal relationship to God. This is what the age offers us. The Urantia Book is a book of this new age--a vision of the idea of God-control.

"Families and societies are small and large versions of one another. Put together all the current existing families and you have society," says Virginia Satir in her book Peoplemaking. Because of this fact any changes occurring in the family have a direct influence on society. Families today have the opportunity of revitalizing with a new significance by transforming into small model communities, communities of individuals committed to growth. What a marvelous and different world we would have if everyone in it were committed to growth -- People choosing to be together--embracing involvement with one another again but for higher reasons--based on the principles of dynamic growth.

Families are being called forth to be in the business of building the kingdom right here on earth. To develop and improve human quality and to act as spawning grounds by which the world learns the essential values of the kingdom. On page 1777 we read: "And thus, if you can build up such trustworthy and effective small units of human association, when these are assembled in the aggregate, the world will behold a great and glorified social structure, the civilization of mortal maturity. Such a race might begin to realize something of your Master's ideal of 'peace on earth and good will among men.' While such a society would not be perfect or entirely free from evil, it would at least approach the stabilization of maturity." (*1777:2)

And finally, family is not an end in itself but a pattern, a fundamental pattern of human relating that needs to be realized increasingly right up through the planetary family towards universe family. Families are tiny microcosms of human relationships reflected on all universe levels--on page 369 we read of it being a reflection of the very universe structure itself. Family as pattern is the only institution that covers the entire range of evolutionary reality even to Paradise--the trinity for instance being the primary family. Its feet are in the earth but its head is in Paradise--no other institution can claim that!

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A Service of The Urantia Book Fellowship

Labels: balance, conflict, crisis, faith, family, God, growth, industrialization, Jesus, marriage, parenting, responsibility, Sally Schlundt, society, The Urantia Book, TV

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The Second Mile: The Challenge, The Message, The Way

By Dorothy J. Elder

The Challenge

What unifies us today is our awareness that the dawn of a new and enlightened spiritual era on Urantia is here, and we have enlisted as pilgrims of its progress. Just as the light of dawn disseminates across the horizon on a world of space, so must the dawn of a new spiritual era be disseminated across the horizon until it encompasses the whole of humankind.

Evolution and revelation are partners in this process. Revelation is evolutionary, and its mission is to sort and censor the successive religions of evolution. But if it is to exalt and upstep religion then these upsteppings of revelation must not be too far removed from the thought and reactions of the age in which they are presented. Thus must and does revelation always keep in touch with evolution. Always must the religion of revelation be limited by manâ€™s capacity of receptivity. (1007)

Herein lies the paradox:

The nature and content of this sweeping Fifth Epochal Revelation seems to contradict the statement on page 1007 regarding the progression of revelational upstepping.

The key word here is sweeping. The question is not why did we receive the revelation, buy why such an extraordinary one? It is clear to all of us why we received it. On our historically beleaguered and quarantined planet, science is rapidly advancing, evolutionary religion is stalled, and manâ€™s attempt at coordinating these two domains into a logical philosophy has failed. Revelation is needed to illuminate evolutionary religion and to aid man in constructing a new and logical philosophy whereby he can arrive at an understanding of his sure and settled place in the universe.

But why is The Urantia Book so revealing in its extent of universal truth? Why is it "out of step" in its upstepping? I believe that modern Agondonter man has been given a unique challenge, and itâ€™s not what youâ€™re thinking - live The Urantia Book teachings in our lives, disseminate the book - itâ€™s much more than that.

Letâ€™s go back for a moment to the Bestowal Commission. Remember what Immanuel said to Michael in the final words of the bestowal charge:

"Your great mission is to reveal God to man, and "....exhibit in your one short life in the flesh, as it has never before been seen in all Nebadon, the transcendent possibilities attainable by God-knowing humans during the short career of mortal existence; and make a new and illuminating interpretation of man and the vicissitudes of his planetary life to all superhuman intelligences of all Nebadon, and for all time."(1328)

On the morning of April 7, AD 30, two thousand years ago, as he stood before Pilate, Jesus did just that.

He raised us all up in the eyes of his universe. He demonstrated that man on a backward planet could champion all his vicissitudes. He validated for eternity the Fatherâ€™s ascension plan. He exhibited once and for all, that faith-children of the realms are undauntable. His life exemplified that all of humanityâ€™s transcendent possibilities are attainable when man goes in partnership with God. Two thousand years later, The Urantia Book is our wake-up call to that partnership.

And, it is Jesusâ€™ illumination of manâ€™s maximum human potential that beckons us to our task.
We are now in partnership with God in a unique and unprecedented plan for the spiritual and social reconstruction of the planet. Itâ€™s the biggest deal ever made, and we need a universe perspective to understand our partnership role.

Look at the missions of the divine sons on an average plant. The great social achievement of the Planetary Prince Age is the emergence of family life. Next, the culminating development of the following era, the Adamic Age, is universal interest in true philosophy, and the crowning achievement of this age is Social Brotherhood. Then, with brotherhood flourishing, the Magisterial Avonal Sons arrive to begin their work of spiritual uplift. Anywhere from 25 to 50 thousand years they work to bring the planet to its highest ethical standard and to a fullness of a great spiritual awakening. And when the planet is ripe for spiritualization, a Bestowal Son arrives to demonstrate "the new and living way." (Paper 52)

The established plan is always social brotherhood first; and then comes the spiritualization of humanity. On our world the plan fell into disarray and modern man is now floundering in his predicament of intellectual progress hindered by spiritual stagnation. So in our case, we are going to have to do it the other way around. On Urantia it is the upstepping of the spiritualization of humanity which will lead us to the next required evolutionary goal which is universal social brotherhood.

Thatâ€™s the purpose of our task.

The challenge, from on high, is that this tremendous task has been given to Agondonters.
Can we, the early receivers of the Urantia Revelation, collectively in the next century and progressively during the next millennium, harness our potential and successfully broadcast the new teachings for the advancement of all evolutionary religions and for the spiritual and cultural enlightenment of all mankind? Will we be the men and women who will presage the eventual flowering of a new and universal philosophy on earth? That is not to say we are to become philosophers. Our role is to be the teachers of expanded truth. "Religion needs new teachers who will dare to depend solely on Jesus and his incomparable teachings."

The quickest way to realize the brotherhood of man on Urantia is to effect the spiritual transformation of present-day humanity.(597)

"Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustments, moral quickening and spiritual enlightenment. And if Christianity continues to neglect its mission, then the spiritual renaissance will await the coming of these new teachers of Jesusâ€™ religion. And these souls will quickly supply the leadership and inspiration for the social, moral, economic and political reorganization of the world."(2082)

Weâ€™re also told that this new and oncoming social order will not settle down for a millennium, and that these progressing changes in the upstepping of social relations can result in lasting brotherhood only by the ministry of religion. (1086)

In the drama which is about to unfold, the cast of characters does not include superhuman personalities. Thousands of lead parts have been handed out, freely given to any outstretched hand. And, with confidence from unseen directors, we have been given blank scripts.

Dissemination plans were not part of the revelation. Itâ€™s up to us to chart a wise course.

Let us start out with the understanding that in the modern era we must be the evangels of new and advanced spiritual truth which will pave the way to the universal acceptance of the golden rule. Regarding the future, we canâ€™t revive primitive Christianity, but we can baptize the world with a new revelation of Jesusâ€™ life and illuminate mankind with the spiritual truths of his gospel.

We are told that it is not the first mile of compulsion, duty or convention that will transform man and his world, but rather the second mile of free service and liberty-loving devotion that betokens the Jesusonian reaching forth to grasp his brother in love and guide him toward the higher and divine goal of mortal existence.

The Message

In delivering his Epochal Sermon, Jesus concluded by stating: "I declare to you that I have come to proclaim spiritual liberty, teach eternal truth and foster living faith." On that day he inaugurated the final, spiritual phase of his gospel: Divine Sonship, Spiritual Liberty, Eternal Salvation.

Teachers of expanded truth, with leadership and inspiration, are called to carry forward the restatement of this triune message of Jesus with new meaning and power.

In preparation, we would do well to review Immanuelâ€™s Bestowal charge to Michael:(1328.5)

"Function largely as a teacher; first, give attention to the liberation and inspiration of manâ€™s spiritual nature; next, illuminate the human intellect; heal the souls of men, emancipate their minds from age old fears; set rebellion segregated man spiritually free."

These particular words of counsel should be taken to heart by the teachers of advancing spiritual truth. We are to so conduct ourselves that the effect we have will be to illuminate, liberate, and inspire all those we come in contact with.

The Way

"...with leadership and inspiration..."(2082)

We know that when religious groups form, that act of formalizing often destroys the very values for the promotion of which the group was organized. This can be significantly minimized if the religionist remains socially fragrant. A group of socially fragrant religionists working together can illuminate their objectives so long as their leadership is motivated by unselfish and loving social service.

Teachers/leaders need to consider the words of advice on page 1089: "Transition Difficulties." It points out that, for man, the difficulty is in forsaking the religions of fear without immediately grasping the revelatory religion of love. For the world, the difficulty lies in the confusion which presently exists as Urantia struggles with its many contending philosophies of religion.

The prerequisite for going forward is to start out with wise leadership, consisting of inspired and socially fragrant religionists, who understand that the way forward requires character in the face of difficulty.

These words of Jesus, issued to his apostles, must be our charge:

"Your mission to the world is founded on the fact that I lived a God-revealing life among you; the truth that you and all other men are the sons of God; and it shall consist in the life which you live among men, the actual and living experience of loving men and serving them, even as I have loved and served you." (2043)

"Go preach this salvation of sonship with God; remember that salvation is a free gift and those who have willingly received this gift will immediately show forth the fruits of the spirit in their loving service to their fellows.(2054)

With the foregoing in place, the way is truly simple:

Know the Message: Teach the new spiritual brotherhood of Jesus:

Divine Sonship
Spiritual Liberty
Eternal Salvation

Know the Goal: Planetary Social Brotherhood

Do it with spiritual fragrance, as we pass by; show forth the fruits of the spirit
Do it with inspired leadership

Armed with the message and nourished by the fruits of the spirit for the way ahead, let us take up the challenge and go forward as true soldiers of the circles towards the goal of a spiritually inspired, socially transformed human society where man loves his brother and calls a loving God his Father.

Labels: challenge, Dorothy Elder, evolution, God, humanity, Jesus, partnership, religion, Revelation, spiritual era, teachers, The Urantia Book

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Freedom And Religion

http://www.austinproject.net/truefreedom.html

Labels: Austin project, freedom, God, Mitch Austin, religion, Thought Adjuster

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An Introduction to The Urantia Book for Conservative Christians

Meredith J. Sprunger5/7/82

This document examines the nature of Divine revelation as related to the Bible and draws parallels to the spiritual experience of readers of The Urantia Book.

Contents:How We Got Our Bible
Recognizing New Revelation
The New Fulfills and Enhances the Old
The Human and the Divine
An Enlarged Spiritual Universe
Saviour of Mankind
On Approaching New Truth

Many devout Christians of conservative or fundamentalistic background have read sections of The Urantia Book and recognized the superb quality of its spiritual insights but have been troubled by the revelatory claim of the book or positions taken which differ from some of the literalistic doctrines of fundamentalism. These people over the years have written to ask questions, express perplexity, seek help, or challenge statements.

This paper seeks to speak with constructive understanding to these questions and spiritual anxieties. In many ways it has been the Christian fundamentalists who have maintained the vibrant spiritual emphasis of religion in America. Our intent is not to contend with fundamentalistic beliefs but, rather, to set these spiritual truths in a larger frame of reference which, hopefully, will enable those who hold to a conservative theology to more adequately understand that we subscribe to the same spiritual realities and are brothers in Christ.

Most people who accept the Bible as revelation do not do so because some one demanded obedience to this belief. They accept the Bible as the word of God because they recognize its spiritual truths. Your approach to The Urantia Book should be made the same way. Before you read The Urantia Book you should not regard it as revelation. Only after you have read it are you in a position to begin to consider whether or not it may have been inspired by God. Faith and conviction must come from honest and sincere inner leading and not from external authoritarian claim or demand.

How We Got Our Bible

In thinking about the entire question of revelation it may be helpful to know how we got our Bible. Theological schools devote entire courses to this question and dozens of books are available on the subject. But you can get a short; synoptic knowledge of the Bible's origin by going to the Public Library reference shelf and getting a copy of Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. Look up the term "canon," which means "officially accepted standards or books" and read about how we got our Bible.

You will find the Old Testament evolved in three main stages over thousands of years of history. It was edited periodically by many scholars. The entire canon of the Old Testament was not decided until around 90 A.D. at the famous Council of Jamnia where Hebrew scholars finally determined which books should be included in the "official" scriptures of Judaism. The process and the conclusions are much more complex and extensive than this brief description might lead you to believe.

The New Testament began in the early Christian Church as a series of papers and letters written by numerous people. These papers were circulated among believers, edited, combined, and added to by many early scholars and church leaders. The names of apostles were often attached to the better papers so that they would have more authority for church members.

From around 144 A.D. to 367 A.D. various scholars and bishops drew up their own lists of books which they thought should be canonical or officially recognized books. Finally, Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, wrote an Easter letter to the churches of his diocese in the year 367 in which he discusses the books which he considered canonical. This is the first list which includes all of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament as we now have it. His list, however, was in a different sequence than our current New Testament. At various church councils in the years that followed, Athanasius' list was widely adopted and in this way we got our New Testament.

In Athanasius' pastoral letter he wrote with all of the authority of a bishop, "let no one add to them (his list) or take away aught of them." Such authoritarian exhortations were considered necessary to protect the purity of revelatory teachings; and statements like the admonition in Rev. 22:18-19 "I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book..." were common. In the same way the revelatory commission of The Urantia Book requested that the book be published under international copyright protection so that the purity of these teachings could be safeguarded. These precautions are not meant to imply that God ceases to enlarge the revelation of himself and spiritual truth to succeeding generations. The history of the Bible shows that God does progressively reveal larger truths to a developing world. Early religious leaders used authoritarian warnings and admonitions frequently to protect the latest prophetic messages.

Once you understand how the content of the Bible was accumulated, edited, adopted, and officially approved, you realize that revelation is validated by centuries of experience. Many people recognize revelation immediately because the indwelling spirit of Got confirms what they hear or read but it takes many people over a long period of time to establish a social tradition of revelation such as the Bible. This tradition along with the authority and prestige of the institutional church results in a cultural conditioning which largely determines how the average person thinks and acts.

Recognizing New Revelation

The Urantia Book being very new must be evaluated by the indwelling spirit of God working in the mind and heart-of each individual. You should accept nothing in The Urantia Book or any other book unless it passes this inner test of truth. I am confident that a thousand years hence, we will have a solid social tradition witnessing to the revelatory quality of The Urantia Book.

Revelation is always the product of the action of God in the life of man. God has an infinite number of ways to do this. In Jesus of Nazareth he used both genetic-physical and spiritual means to bring revelation to us in the form of a person. In the writings of Paul he used spiritual inspiration in the mind of Paul to bring us revelation in the form of brief letters to churches. In John's book of Revelation he used a vision to the mind of John to bring us revelation. In The Urantia Book he used high spirit personalities to bring revelation in the form of a book. God could use an infinite number of channels and manifestations to bring revelation to his mortal children. It is God's wisdom which determines the time, place, method, and form of revelation. We might speculate on why God uses certain channels and forms but this would only be an educated guess.

The spirit of God is always active in the world and in this sense revelation is continuous - usually through inner guidance to individuals who share these prophetic insights with their society. Periodically epochal revelations occur - such as the coming of Jesus. Epochal revelations naturally have a much greater effect on our world than the continuous forms of evolutionary revelation. A study of these epochal revelations show that each succeeding one enlarges and enhances the earlier spiritual understanding.

Revelation must always be given in the language, forms of knowledge, and philosophical concepts which are meaningful to the people given this revelation at the time in which it is given. As human knowledge expands revelation uses these more advanced concepts to convey its spiritual message. This is a never ending process.

The New Fulfills and Enhances the Old

Just as the New Testament fulfills and upsteps the Old Testament, The Urantia Book confirms and enlarges the truths of the Bible. Most people have a much greater appreciation of the Bible after reading The Urantia Book. The Bible and The Urantia Book are companion volumes. Not to recognize this close supportive relationship is to repeat an ancient error. Early in the Christian Church a wealthy ship-owner by the name of Marcion headed a movement to eliminate the Old Testament from Christian literature. The church wisely rejected his views. Any reader of The Urantia Book who took this same attitude toward the Bible, in my judgment, would be making this same mistake. There are many people, in fact, who have not been interested in the Bible until after they have read The Urantia Book.

Because of the natural suspicion conservative religionists have toward any claim of new revelation, a rather common reaction which well meaning fundamentalists have toward The Urantia Book is that it could be a work of Satan. This is an understandable attitude of people who do not have a scholarly background in religion and who have been taught to zealously defend the Bible. It is also interesting to recall that this was the same possibility raised in connection with the message of Jesus. Jesus' response to this accusation, I think, is as good as can be made. He said he should be judged by the fruits of his life - "How can Satan cast out Satan?" The Urantia Book should be judged in the same way. You will find it supports the mission and message of Jesus and refutes the intentions and message of Satan. Epochal revelation will probably always meet the same reception given the message of Jesus. The leaders of traditional religious institutions are likely to oppose it; but, in time, the common people will receive it gladly.

The Human and the Divine

A careful study of the life and teachings of Jesus reveals there is no contradiction between the spiritual teachings regarding Jesus found in The Urantia Book and the Bible. Certain physical and cosmological facts or assumptions are corrected and Jesus' entire life and teachings are enlarged by The Urantia Book; but the essential spiritual truths do not change.

For instance Christian theologians generally affirm that Jesus was both a human and a divine personality but the majority of scholars in mainline churches have long recognized that the story of the immaculate conception and virgin birth were added by the early church to make his divine nature more believable for the church members of those times. An interesting observation is that today, except for the most unlettered people, this story is generally a stumbling block to belief in the authenticity of the Biblical record of the divinity of Jesus. If the virgin birth is a historical fact, the reverse argument is a much sounder philosophical position. That is, since God could have used any method he desired to incarnate his son, the fact of the divinity of Jesus makes the virgin birth a possible option of the divine plan.

The reason most mainline church theologians do not accept the virgin birth story is that only two of the four gospels record it and no where else in the New Testament is it referred to The earliest gospel, Mark, and the latest gospel, John, do not mention it. Such an important event one would expect all of the gospel writers to highlight. Secondly, there are many instances of supernatural conception and virgin birth recorded in the annals of religious history. It was the characteristic method by which ancient peoples designated the divine origin of their prophets and leaders. Paradoxically, the Biblical account traces the lineage of Jesus back to David through the ancestry of Joseph, not Mary. Finally, modern Christian scholars reject the virgin birth story because it is observed that God usually uses the natural laws of his creation to work his purposes in the world.

The spiritual truth regarding the nature of Jesus is that he was both human and divine. This The Urantia Book strongly affirms. The book does not even mention the immaculate conception and virgin birth doctrines. It is assumed that the Father could incarnate his son as a mortal on our world through the natural process of conception and birth. The ancient legend is quietly ignored while the spiritual truths regarding the nature of Jesus are substantiated and enhanced.

An Enlarged Spiritual Universe

The writers of the various books of the Bible had a comparatively simplistic universe cosmology. They visualized a flat earth in the center of creation encompassed by the vault or "firmament" of heaven. This limited astronomical knowledge naturally conditioned their interpretation of spiritual realities and personalities. Basic spiritual truth, therefore, had to be revealed to the Biblical authors in prescientific frames of reference.

The revelators of The Urantia Book present a cosmology which, while in essential agreement with our present astronomical knowledge, goes far beyond our contemporary science. They also clarify our knowledge of the Paradise Trinity, the prebestowal personality and universe status of Jesus, and the functional relationships of spiritual beings in general. Although the Bible does not speak of the Trinity per se, Christian thinkers have developed the doctrine of the Trinity and naturally assumed, without specific Biblical confirmation, that the preincarnate Christ was the second person of the Trinity. The fact that the prologue of John speaks of him as the actual creator of our universe was more or less regarded as a poetic "Logos" doctrine since theologians regarded God the Father as the creator. The authors of The Urantia Book, however, tell us this Biblical description (also stated in Col. 1:16 and Heb. 1:2) of the pre-existent Christ is literally true. He is both the creator and saviour of our universe.

Each Creator Son of a local universe is a unique creation of the Universal Father and the Eternal Son and is known as "the only begotten son" in his universe and all who go to the Father in this universe go through the ministry and means established by this Creator-Savior Son. Even though Jesus is not the second person of the Paradise Trinity, his presence and power are exactly the same as that of the Eternal Son, the second person of the Trinity, if he were acting in the place of Christ in our universe. After Jesus' bestowal on our confused planet, the Father, as recorded in Matthew, placed "all authority in heaven and earth" in his hands; and he has promised one day to return to this world of his crucifixion experience. Here, again, we see The Urantia Book, while correcting assumptions made due to our very limited universe knowledge, confirms and reinforces the basic spiritual truths of the Bible.

Saviour of Mankind

All Christians look to Jesus as the mediator between man and God and regard him as the saviour of mankind. It is in the explanation of this salvation that they differ. Theologians of mainline Christian churches see salvation as the gift of God through faith in Jesus emphasizing God's love for humanity and full acceptance of them as his mortal sons and daughters. The theologians of Christian fundamentalism regard salvation as the gift of God through faith in Jesus because he offered himself as a blood sacrifice demanded by God the Father as the price for forgiving the sins of mankind. This is known as the blood atonement doctrine in which Jesus is seen as the redeemer of humanity from the condemnation of a just and holy God.

The only Christian belief which the authors of The Urantia Book vigorously criticize is the blood atonement theory. They do so because this doctrine distorts and slanders the great love which the Universal Father has for his mortal sons and daughters. It is completely incompatible with Jesus' teachings about the nature of God the Father. God's love is not subordinate to his righteousness or holiness. Love is the Universal Father's primary attitude toward all persons. Jesus is, indeed, the saviour of mankind but not a redeemer.

The blood atonement theory has its origin in the conceptual language of Paul. Coming out of the Jewish tradition and writing with Jewish people in mind, Paul used the symbolic idea of Jesus as the "final sacrifice" in their sacrificial system as a missionary approach which made sense to those with a Jewish background. New Testament scholars today recognize that Paul did not hold a God concept which would be compatible with a literal blood atonement doctrine. He used this sacrificial language because it was the only frame of reference which would be acceptable to the Jews of his day. It was a missionary attempt to relate to the thought patterns of the Jews.

Most ministers in mainline Christian churches have long since abandoned this retributive concept of God. The Bible commentary most widely used in America today is The Interpreter's Bible published by Abingdon Press. In volume VIII, p. 510-11, the writer in commenting on John 3:16 says, "Some of the past explanations of the gospel are not overhelpful to us now. Most of us are not at home in the Jewish sacrificial system; and metaphors drawn from it can be confusing rather than illuminating. And some of the interpretations, popular in the Middle Ages, are to us incredible, and even monstrous. So do many, with the Gospels in their hands, appear to see in them a lesser God giving himself to save us from the implacable fury and resentment of the great God, slow and hard to be appeased, and demanding his pound of flesh from someone. That is hideous heresy; and the blasphemy of blasphemies. It was in the eternal plan of God the Father that Jesus Christ lived out in fact: 'God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself' (II Cor. 5:19), not standing sullenly aside, and needing himself to be reconciled.

We should recognize that most of those who still accept a literal blood atonement theory in our day probably do so out of misunderstanding and with no intent to deny the loving nature of God. To believe that God the Father cannot or will not love man until his innocent son is brutally executed is a cruel distortion of the loving nature of the Heavenly Father Jesus revealed to man. But The Urantia Book does affirm the positive spiritual values associated with the crucifixion and man's salvation which are important to fundamentalists as well as other Christians.

It was the Father's will that Jesus allow the Jewish leaders to dispose of him as they desired. God does not arbitrarily interfere with the premeditated intentions of man. Jesus' death on the cross demonstrates the profound love he and the Father have for man even when they were torturing and executing him. He refuses to use divine power to save himself or punish these misguided evil doers. This great love is the most powerful saving act the Father and the Son could bestow on self-willed man in this situation to eventually deliver him from his ignorance, evil, and sin and cause man to recognize God's transcendent love and accept sonship. Salvation is something which God in Christ makes possible for man. Finite man cannot save himself but through faith he may accept this gift of eternal life. Christ is the way by which all mortals in our universe go to the Father.

On Approaching New Truth

New truth is always challenging and often threatening to traditionalists. This is both natural and good. The tried and true values of historical experience cannot and should not be easily replaced by the new and untested. But these historic truths are periodically upstepped by prophetic vision. Such growth is usually a traumatic experience for individuals, the church, and society.

Every prophet in the history of the Old and New Testaments has met with unbelief and opposition. The priests of society have regularly stoned its prophets. Then their sons of another century build monuments to honor the prophets persecuted by their fathers. It: is good to be cautious and critical; it is helpful to doubt and carefully evaluate. But we need to be open and objective enough to allow the spirit to lead us to larger truth. Jesus told his apostles that he would send the Spirit of Truth through which he would lead them to greater truths in the future. We must be sensitive to this Spirit of Truth. We need to learn to recognize truth in its many forms and varying appearances.

You will find that The Urantia Book will stand the test of critical examination. It is rooted solidly in the traditional spiritual verities of the Christian faith which have endured for centuries. Reading and studying The Urantia Book will give you a deeper and larger vision of this saving faith and help you become a part of a spiritual renaissance which is dawning on our world.

A Service ofThe Urantia Book Fellowship

Labels: Bible, Christians, conservative, divinity, fundamental, God, humanity, Jesus, Meredith Sprunger, Revelation, The Urantia Book, tradition, truth

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The Effects Of The Lucifer Rebellion In Modern Times

http://www.urantiari.org/essays/effects_of_lucifer_rebellion_in_modern_times.htm

Labels: biology, Caligastia, Christ Michael, equality, evil, evolution, free will, God, intellect, James Perry, Jesus, liberty, Lucifer, Manifesto, mortals, problems, races, sin, The Urantia Book

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Understanding Evil in Human Experience

Meredith J. Sprunger12/25/85

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The ultimate mystery in theism is the problem of evil. How can one reconcile belief in an all-wise, all-good, and all-powerful God with the destructiveness of nature, the seemingly unjust and arbitrary suffering of people and animals, and social evils like Dachau, Auschwitz, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki?

The history of religion is replete with attempts to answer this question. All of these theodicies have more or less failed. Finite attempts to understand such incongruities we recognize must go beyond our limited knowledge and find resolution in a transcendent leap of faith or voice the frustration of existential meaninglessness. Nevertheless, deep within human nature is the imperative to probe the mystery of ultimate questions century after century. Periodically, with the advent of new knowledge, past answers are glaring in their inadequacy.

We are entering the Space Age where new frames of reference are giving enhanced perspectives to ancient dilemmas. Traditional religious answers to the problem of evil are rooted in a geocentric and pre-scientific understanding of the nature of the universe. These prophets and seers of the past perceived great spiritual truths but understood them in terms which today are, at best, simplistic and at worst, erroneous in fact.

Carl Jung observes that human beings can suffer anything if they know its meaning. When contemporary humanity contemplates the cosmic picture now available to the growing edge of twentieth century planetary vision, there will be a far greater understanding and appreciation of the meaning of evil and suffering. Through the insights brought about by a more comprehensive view of universe reality we also intuit an enhanced perspective of the great truths and eternal purposes of an all-wise, all-good, and all-powerful Creator. As we discover that the imperfections of the finite universe are indigenous to the divine plan for evolving unique, experience-tested mortals with unimaginable potentials rather than some incapacity or deficiency of God, our entire conceptualization of imperfection and evil is transmuted into a life view of glorious opportunity and intriguing possibility.

Before we can comprehend the authentic meaning of human experience we need to understand the basic nature and methodology of reality. Without a view of the underlying dynamics of universe phenomena, the immediate experience and events of life may be grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted. The part gains true perspective when it is viewed in relation to the whole.

Our understanding of experience begins with an examination of the sources of knowledge. We have three basic sources of information: the perception of the material world, the awareness of our own inner consciousness, and the realization of values. Psychologically, therefore, we experience reality in three categories or forms: matter, mind, and value or spirit. We must know the nature and operational dynamics of these reality manifestations if we are to comprehend what is happening in our lives.

Our knowledge of the material world has exploded in modern times. We no longer live in the circumscribed, provincial, geocentric universe of our forefathers where the basic elements were thought to be earth, air, water, and fire. The cosmos in which we live is extensive beyond human imagination where distance is measured in millions of light years. There are billions of suns in our local Milky Way galaxy and billions of such galaxies exist in outer space. The microcosmic world of the molecule, the atom, and the quark is equally incomprehensible. Each breath we take contains a trillion trillion atoms and each atom is a complex universe of its own. Our astronomical-nuclear, material-energy continuum made up of physical materials and living organisms is billions of years old and is directed, controlled, and integrated by countless material-physiological mechanisms operating in an overall ecological system. As we look at this complex, many-faceted universe observing its many interacting laws and principles, one basic dynamic appears to dominate the entire cosmos: the evolutionary process. Whether we look at the formation of galaxies, the development of organisms, or the events and struggles of human society, evolution appears to be the key modus operandi of the universe. Nothing in universe function or human experience can be adequately understood apart from this underlying, indigenous dynamic conditioning all things.

How can we understand mind in which we psychologically live and move and have our being? Our knowledge of mind is still in its primitive stages. We must, therefore, understand it largely from the standpoint of experience and function. Although mind activity is related to electro-chemical activities, its universe function is all-encompassing. In the broadest sense the term "mind" can be applied to any control and guidance function which operates in things, mechanisms, organisms, or persons. Mind activity in the inorganic world is that energy function which produces the regulative behavior of matter. Those aspects of the nucleus of an atom which causes it to capture one electron (hydrogen) or ninety-two electrons (uranium) and to behave in a chemically characteristic manner is due to some regulative or mind characteristic of matter.

In the organic world, mind is that energy function which produces adaptive behavior. Here we see mind operating in differential levels of complexity starting with one cell organisms, proceeding through plant life to lower animals and reaching its highest expression in man.

Human mental activities culminate in self-consciousness, rational and creative thought, superconscious insights, and God-consciousness. These descriptions of mind function are, of course, abstractions because in nature mind and matter or body activities are inseparably linked.

While our scientific knowledge of mindal reality is in its infancy, our understanding of values and spiritual reality consists almost entirely in experiential discovery and philosophic conjecture. We are material beings endowed with minds through which we perceive truth, beauty, and goodness. We have a limited awareness of cosmic realities of a spiritual nature; we are lured and guided by a subliminal God-consciousness which at times focuses into conscious awareness to direct and transform our lives.

Faith must always transcend our knowledge if we are to grow and progress. We now stand at a moment in history when our creative future depends on our courage to follow the larger vistas of truth opening to us and leave behind the naive and provincial conceptions of spiritual reality held by most of our forefathers. The old simplistic three-story cosmology of heaven-earth-hell is hopelessly outdated in our contemporary astronomical universe. Experience suggests that there is a parallel between material reality and spiritual reality; the cosmos appears to be designed in an integrative, unifying manner. We must begin to conceptualize spiritual cosmology along the lines of our expanding knowledge of the celestial universe of astronomy. This spiritual cosmos must be perceived as even more limitless than our material universe and the substance of spiritual reality must be infinitely more complex and powerful than the microcosm of the atom.

If the spiritual universe has any meaning for human experience, there must be an analog in spiritual cosmology for the billions of galaxies of outer space. Just as we conjecture in our scientific hypothesizing that there are millions of inhabited planets, so must we assume the spiritual cosmos is populated with countless creations and myriads of intelligent beings and personalities with capacities and abilities quite beyond human imagination.

The integrative dynamics of such a material-mindal-spiritual cosmos appears to be structured and controlled by an overall operational system in which matter is ultimately subject to mind control and mind is eventually directed by spirit purposes, all functioning in the context of the evolutionary process. These, then, are the universe realities in which human experience takes place. To more adequately understand the suffering, ambiguities, and mysteries of the human condition, it is not only necessary to view our lives in the context of these realities but we must also deduce some conceptualization of the spiritual purposes for human destiny and the divine methodology for achieving those objectives.

We see from the nature of man that it was God's plan to create with intelligence, including truth, beauty" and goodness perception integrated by personality. Although we are conditioned by biological heredity factors, environmental conditions, and social-personal experience, basic in the purpose was to create mortals who had free will in value decisions and were autonomous in spiritual identity and destiny determination. To accomplish this objective we observe that God initiated an indigenous, creative evolutionary process involving physical mechanisms, biological organisms, and ecological systems which eventually produced intelligent beings of free will dignity and spiritual development potential. All of this evolutionary creation, although broadly directed by spiritual overcontrol, is entirely the outworking of natural laws, mechanisms, and processes.

The culmination of the divine plan was to provide for the inner motivation, the environmental stimuli, and spiritual guidance whereby these free and independent mortals, these material sons and daughters, could evolve immortal souls-- supermaterial or spiritual reality identies--which could survive the death of the material body and the chemical-electrical brain-mind. By following inner spiritual guidance these children of time through free will decisions and actions predicated on their sincere understanding of truth, beauty, and goodness (spiritual reality) may evolve living souls and transcend their material animal origins. This endogenous divine-human partnership factualizes the supermortal soul which at death can abandon the physical body as the cocoon is left behind by the emerging butterfly.

God's methodology in actualizing these creative purposes coincides with the world of human experience. Both the finite limitations of human nature and the imperfections of the material universe which serves as the stage of this divine-human drama are so structured because of the wise and perfect plan of the Universal Father, not because of any limitations or imperfections in the divine nature. God has established the conditions for fashioning a unique quality of universe personality--a being which could only be created by mortals of free will capacity participating in their own growth toward perfection. Such persons will be quite different and have many potentials not possessed by beings arbitrarily created perfect.

Evolving such indigenous and innate qualities of character requires certain inevitabilities of environmental conditions. If evolutionary mortals are to develop courage, then must they live amid surroundings that necessitate struggling with hardships and danger in order to survive and effect favorable conditions for living. If hope is to evolve in human consciousness, then must man be constantly confronted with insecurities and uncertainties. In order to establish the love of truth in the human heart one must live in a world where error is present and the evils of falsehood experienced. Unselfishness is acquired in human experience when we repeatedly discover the unhappiness brought about by an ego continually clamoring for pleasure, honor, and recognition. Humankind would be unable to develop the spiritual qualities of love and service unless the evils of hatred are experienced and there were the anxieties and emptiness of the egocentric life to forsake. Evolutionary man must live in an environment of relative and potential evil to experientially be certain about and indigenously acquire the higher spiritual realities of the universe through personal freedom of choice.

In addition to these environmental stimuli of imperfection the Creative Process inculcated into human motivation a hierarchy of developmental values" insightfully described by Abraham Maslow. Beginning with the biological and safety needs, proceeding through the social, self-esteem, and independence deficiency needs to the self-actualizing and transcending meta needs, human nature is dominated by the urge to grow toward spiritual reality achievement: truth, beauty, and goodness identification.

Capping and guiding this broad-based environmental education and motivational directionalization the Universal Father has placed his own Spiritual Presence in the superconscious mind of man. With all of these potentials for transcending our animal heritage we are given sufficient freedom to shape our own destiny. Through personal decision and action in this human-divine partnership we have the opportunity of evolving souls or reality identities which will no longer need the material scaffolding mechanism which brought it into being.

As we view this finite universe of designed imperfection, with spiritual overcontrol, we see that it is fashioned to operate largely as a closed educational system whereby human beings have the opportunity to evolve a quality of being which is supermaterial. Here through identity formation and action spiritual realities such as truth, beauty, goodness, love, and righteousness become the dominant aspects of being. When this takes place we become more God-conscious and more real and effective as persons.

This transformation, usually so gradual that it is unconscious, takes place in the, so called, natural world. The old religious dichotomy of the natural and the supernatural is an illusion resulting from a lack of knowledge of how God acts in the finite universe. It may be meaningful to speak of material, mindal, or spiritual reality but anything which the creative action of God precipitates in any of these categories is an indigenous, lawful, or "natural" event. In the finite and material cosmos God maintains an immanent, endogenous presence and control. We sense his presence largely by the inference of faith insight. Even in the one place where we have a direct and personal experience of God, our inner consciousness, his presence in our superconscious minds is an immanent presence. All spiritual ministrations to finite beings must be a downstepped or immanent type of ministry. This is the essence of the incarnation message.

All this means that God does not relate with us as a cosmic puppet master nor as an anthropomorphic trouble shooter that we must call on or plead with to change the realities of creation and experience or shield us from problems and suffering. The design and purpose of finite creation is to encourage and enable us to meet and cope with the problems, frustrations, and tragedies of mortal experience. God's purpose for our lives is to help us evolve into the spiritually mature type of beings that are stimulated by perplexities, frustration, and suffering and who believe that in partnership with God all things eventually work together for good.

Between the hammers of anxiety and suffering and the anvil of necessity God is helping us to develop into strong and resilient personalities who can cope with imperfection and evil through our own resources as his finite sons and daughters. This requires a life predicated on courage, invigorated by hardships, and inspired by divine fellowship and guidance.

In view of these universe realities and divine purposes for human existence, we see that our traditional use of prayer in the hope of escaping evil or suffering has often been simplistic and immature. While such childish use of prayer may comfort the human mind and sensitize it for the reception of spiritual truth, twentieth century humanity would do well to engage in more intelligent forms of prayer.

Prayer is not a technique of magic nor a way to enlist divine help to alter nature or arbitrarily shield us from suffering and evil. Divine supplication cannot be used to escape facing the hard realities of human experience and soul growth or avoid expending rigorous effort in facing the problems of life. Since God has chosen to relate in a personal way with man almost exclusively in the realm of mind and consciousness, praying for the change or delivery of material things is not reality oriented. Human life is lived in the context of a natural world order which is not ordinarily miraculously modified as the result of prayer. The divine purpose of such a seemingly closed natural system is to require man to grapple with the problems of survival and the opportunities of soul growth through the use of his own resources.

Prayer, rather, is a mighty psychological-spiritual aid in developing such resilient, effective, and spiritually mature personalities. Communion with God is a major resource for struggling with and eventually mastering the planetary human situation. Through prayer we establish a fellowship with the Indwelling Presence of the Universal Father which undergirds, sustains, and inspires us as we wrestle with the problems and challenges of life. Since the Spirit of God is resident in the human mind we not only develop a partnership in our soul evolving adventure but when our human resources are exhausted in this struggle we can and should seek divine insight, guidance, and direction in finding a way to solve our human dilemma.

When we are courageous in facing reality, have exhausted our human resources and make a wholehearted decision to follow the Father's will and way such living faith prayers are reality oriented and efficacious. In these situations when we experience our existential finitude and impotence and yet do not surrender to spiritual doubt and despair unusual things happen. We discover fresh sources of comfort and inner peace which sustain us in the midst of chaos and tragedy. At times when the human situation looks bleak and foreboding fortuitous events happen, inexplicable contingencies take place, the form of reality changes. These experiences are always mysterious. Were they simply chance happenings or the result of spiritual ministry? They defy objective analysis and elude logical and rational explanation.

With this view of universe reality as a background, let us focus on some of the aspects of the problem of evil in human experience. We see the divine plan designed the finite universe as an imperfect creation which is, in the main, a closed evolutionary system where indigenous laws and mechanisms operate instead of direct Deity control. This self-limitation of God is basic to the actualization of a great and good universe plan to evolve in mortal man a unique quality of being. Through rigorous experience, often involving trial and error learning, we are making decisions and creating life styles which are evolving souls that are sui generis in the universe.

Man is actually participating in his own creative growth toward spiritual maturity. Starting at the bottom of the universe and experiencing growth from the lowest form of life having truth perception to the eventual perfection of human potentials, we will possess an experiential appreciation of reality, a functional wisdom, impossible to any beings created perfect.

Experience is a finite quality which always adds to and alters all other forms of universe reality.
Through the educational process encountered in the vicissitudes of human experience the creative evolutionary process is forging out of man the beginnings of a noble, strong, and thoroughly experienced being whose potentials transcend our fondest dreams. Human anxiety and sorrow, our trials and suffering, are just as much a part of a wise divine plan of universe education as the lessons of childhood, the rigors of school days, and the psychic suffering of adolescence are necessary in developing character in our contemporary family life. There is historical, scientific, and experiential evidence which gives considerable support to this purposeful view of the problem of suffering and evil.

Nonetheless, many troubling questions remain unanswered regarding catastrophic and irrational aspects of the problem of evil. Why do the innocent suffer? How does one make sense out of mass destruction and horrendous pain which, in themselves, seem to serve no constructive purpose? These are problems to which theists down through centuries have, in the main, failed to find rational answers. Probably the closest we can come to discovering a meaningful answer to this enigma is to again refer to the reality picture previously presented.

God has a glorious plan for lowly man that required the creation of a finite universe of imperfection which operates largely as a closed system. Such self-limitation by God eventuates inevitable evil and involves great risk. The Universal Father in his great love and desire to share as much of himself with other beings as possible initiated the finite creation in perfect wisdom knowing its wonderful culmination and supremely confident that his immanence and over-control in the evolutionary universe would eventually overcome all breakdowns and catastrophies which might beset the divine plan.

Let us look at some of the risks which such a self-contained finite creation involves. First of all the creation of limited atomic and molecular, matter in an imperfectly balanced ecological system of this evolutionary universe results in periodic upheavals of nature. The inherent balance and control forces and mechanisms take aeons to consolidate their effect. Built upon the limitations of matter, living organisms exhibit similar characteristics of imperfection. Gradually through the trial and error randomness of biological phenomena such as mutations organisms with survival capabilities proliferate. This slow evolutionary development produces biological disharmony, destructive bacteria and organisms, as well as harmonious adjustments and interrelationships. Centuries and centuries of time are required for the indigenous integrative and synergistic influences to become dominant

Even after intelligent beings of a human order evolved their imperfection coupled with a degree of free will inevitably results in decisions and actions which precipitate evil. This evil is socially compounded resulting in brutalities like Dachau and Auschwitz and wars with the mass destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over and above the imperfections of planetary phenomena and the evil perpetuated by human error and sin the divine plan is also thwarted by the misadaptations and rebellion of supermortal beings who are native to the finite universe.

The traditions of the Lucifer rebellion and the Adamic default suggest catastrophies of major proportions in which the divine plan was abrogated.

When we contemplate the pervasive openness and uncertainty of universe phenomena along with the colossal problems actuated by evil (imperfection) and sin (knowing rejection of truth, beauty, goodness: God), we begin to catch a glimpse of the enormous forbearance and love of the Universal Father and the infinite resources he has for salvaging and saving his wayward children. And this he does by methods which are in harmony with his perfect plan of autonomy and self-determination for the finite creation. Through immanent techniques such as incarnation into the human condition, periodic epochal revelation and indwelling the mortal mind, his loving ministry is slowly but surely winning the struggle with evil and sin without violating man's complete spiritual independence. God's creativity in the evolutionary cosmos begins at the lowest levels but is destined to achieve the highest ends.

We have seen that the divine plan for the finite universe is to create beings of a unique spiritual quality through evolutionary experience. This requires an environment of imperfection in which the principles of reality are immanently present in the material-mindal world of experience.

Here man can discover the spiritual verities in daily living, taste the bitterness and suffering of evil and sin, and repeatedly verify the fulfilling and synergistic character of truth, beauty, and goodness. In this educational atmosphere we are free to make our own value decisions and evolve immortal souls.

The unsurpassed educational character of planetary experience is the reason that even in the face of intense, widespread, and irrational suffering accompanied by seemingly hopeless international confusion the Universal Father does not arbitrarily "step in" to alter his evolutionary methodology for overcoming evil and sin. Error and spiritual rebellion are more clearly seen for what they are they are allowed to run their evolutionary course. More good will accrue in individuals and society by this experiential process than would occur through forced, arbitrary, or revolutionary solutions.

The final answer to the problem of evil for the individual resides in the Spirit of God which indwells the human mind. Although we live in a world where Immanent Intelligence is detected by inference, where knowledge of God is mediated through all reality, we know him personally only through inner experience. By faith and spiritual fellowship we establish a God-consciousness and a living partnership with the Universal Father. As we then face the problems and perplexities of life we are aided by divine wisdom. When suffering and tragedy enter our experience and we have exhausted our own ability to cope, an augmented inner peace, a new understanding, a fresh combination of resources undergird our life. Those who establish this inner relationship are invulnerable to life's most crushing blows. They are learning "to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable. They are discovering that "in liaison with God, nothing--absolutely nothing--is impossible." (The Urantia Book, p. 291)

Labels: divine plan, evil, experience, faith, God, humanity, information, knowledge, Meredith Sprunger, praying, The Urantia Book, tradition

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Monday, June 11, 2007

The Inner Conversation: Unbroken Communion With God

Author: Marvin Gawryn,
Boulder, Colorado

The Urantia Book asserts that the heart of religion is a living relationship with God. Such communion must not be limited to religious services or peak experiences. It should be habitual, an ongoing moment-to-moment process of inner sharing. One of the revelation's most startling pronouncements is that such Father-child communion can be constant. Continuous communion is attainable. Indeed, it is a methodological key without equal, a "secret" of great spiritual leverage.

"The secret of his [Jesus'] unparalleled religious life was this consciousness of the presence of God; and he attained it by intelligent prayer and sincere worship â€”unbroken communion with Godâ€”. . ." (*2089:1)

"... the divine bestowals may flow to the hearts and souls of those who thus remember to maintain unbroken communion with their Maker through sincere prayer and true worship." (*2066:1)

The method is remarkably straightforward. While it takes persistent effort to form the habit, it involves simply an ongoing conversation, an internal dialogue with the Father. In every situation we can "talk" continuously, inwardly, with the very best listener. And we in turn can listen â€” pause to be attentive to the Father's constant communication to us, his nourishing love and wise guidance. When we are conversing with God, it is easy to remember that he is actually present.

One of the most effective proponents of the spiritual value of habitual inner conversation was Brother Lawrence, a Carmelite monk living in France in the late 1600's. A little volume of his thoughts, The Practice of the Presence of God, has become a devotional classic. The book's preface comments, "No conceited scholar was Brother Lawrence; theological and doctrinal debates bored him, if he noticed them at all. His one desire was for communion with God."

Brother Lawrence suggested "that we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity. That we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him at every moment." He was adamant about the remarkable power of the method. "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it. Were I a preacher, I should, above all other things preach the practice of the presence of God; and were I a director, I should advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it, and so easy, too."

Brother Lawrence was quite correct in placing such singular emphasis on this practice of "conversing" with God. The Urantia Book indicates that the doing of the Father's will is synonymous with such inner communion.

"The doing of the will of God is nothing more or less than an exhibition of creature willingness to share the inner life with God. . ." (*1221:3)

The more we fellowship with the Father, the more our lives can reflect his will. We grow God-like through such constant inner contact.

"Sooner or later we all become aware that all creature growth is proportional to Father identification." (*1174:8)

Perhaps we can best accomplish Father identification â€” doing God's will â€” through the communion of inner sharing. Unbroken communion is a habit. It takes persistent effort at first to develop it, but eventually it becomes automatic and relatively effortless.

Brother Lawrence observes, "In order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must first apply to Him with some diligence; but after a little care we should find His love inwardly excites us to it without any difficulty . . . We should not wonder if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavors, but at last we should gain a habit, which will naturally produce its acts in us, without our care, and to our exceeding great delight . . . Thus, by rising after my falls, and by frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was at first to accustom myself to it."

This is good news. While we may have to work at developing an inner conversation with the Father, eventually it flows effortlessly, affording us great joy and comfort in the press of life.

Rodan observes, "These practices are difficult and time-consuming at first, but when they become habitual, they are at once restful and timesaving. The more complex society becomes, and the more the lures of civilization multiply, the more urgent will become the necessity for God-knowing individuals to form such protective habitual practices designed to conserve and augment their spiritual energies." (*1777:4)

Perhaps Rodan and Brother Lawrence would agree that living in constant communion with God is the paramount spiritual habit. While it can be habitual, inner conversation with God is varied, creative, and ever-experimental. If mortals can communicate in a thousand and one ways, then the shadings of inner dialogue possible between God and man must be well-nigh infinite. Prayer, worship, thanksgiving, reflection, adoration, inspiration, guidance, contemplation, support, and clarification are but a few of the communication paths which wind their way through the vast inner regions of companionshipwith God.

Brother Lawrence describes the options with such sweetness. "God requires no great matters of us: a little remembrance of Him from time to time; a little adoration; sometimes to pray for His grace, sometimes to offer Him your sufferings, and sometimes to return Him thanks for the favors He has given you, and still gives you, in the midst of your troubles, and to console yourself with Him the oftenest you can. Lift up your heart to Him, sometimes even at your meals, and when you are in company; the least little remembrance will always be acceptable to Him. You need not cry very loud; He is nearer to us than we are aware of ... Accustom yourself, then, by degrees thus to worship Him, to beg His grace, to offer Him your heart from time to time in the midst of your business, even every moment, if you can."

The most important step in developing the habit of unbroken communion is to begin, and begin often. Start expressing yourself inwardly at every opportunity. You will forget repeatedly; but each time you recollect, plunge in again. Speak simply, as a child. Ask questions and listen inwardly for response. Share the events of your life with the Father, from the large and pressing questions and challenging relationships, to the small happenings of the day. Pause; allow him to show you his view of them.When you are alone, it is often helpful, at first, to talk out loud to God; it aids in developing the mental focus necessary for effective inner dialogue. Practice maintaining the inner conversation while in the midst of outer activities, and even during conversations with others. Life activities and relationships take on a new shine, a value lustre, when you share them inwardly in unfolding friendship with the Father.

The URANTIA Book is clear in stressing the priority of developing our inner relationship with God. "I cannot but observe that so many of you spend so much time and thought on mere trifles of living, while you almost wholly overlook the more essential realities of everlasting import, those very accomplishments which are concerned with the development of a more harmonious working agreement between you and your Adjusters. The great goal of human existence is to attune to the divinity of the indwelling Adjuster. . ." (*1206:3)"

The great challenge to modern man is to achieve better communication with the divine Monitor that dwells within the human mind." (*2097:2)

Brother Lawrence, in his humble, human way, utters the same call. "Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone.You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you; why, then, must God be neglected? Do not, then, forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this the glorious employment of a child of God. In a word, this is our profession; if we do not know it, we must learn it."

Labels: Brother Lawrence, communication, God, inner life, Marvyn Gawryn, religion, Rodan, The Urantia Book

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Monday, June 04, 2007

Letter to a Friend: The Atonement Doctrine

Fall 1996 Spiritual Fellowship Journal

Dear B. J.:

At Thanksgiving our original discussion centered around the "blood of Jesus." As you know, my son and the girl he planned to marry broke up over this issue. She felt that as long as he did not believe that Jesus died for our sins they had no future. She believed this even though they shared a belief in God, Jesus, and basic Christian values. So this is an important issue and one I would like to discuss with you and make a clear presentation of my beliefs.

Historic Background

Let me begin with a short discussion of the historical beliefs and attitudes that led to the atonement doctrine. The early Hebrews believed that "without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin." (Heb. 9:22) They accepted the primitive idea that God could not be appeased except through blood sacrifice. Moses made a distinct advance in that he forbade human sacrifice and substituted instead the ceremonial sacrifice of animals.

This concept of ceremonial sacrifice was preserved, in principle, by the apostle Paul as the doctrine of atonement for sin through the sacrificial death of Jesus. Paul, however, went beyond Moses and the Jewish teachers in that he expounded theories of original sin, hereditary guilt, and innate evil. Paul was a great man; he more than anyone else was responsible for bringing Jesus' teachings to the world. But he also injected a number of his own ideas which were not taught by Jesus, and indeed, were at variance with the teachings of his Master.

I emphasize that human teachers such as Paul were not only fallible but made a serious blunder in promoting the atonement doctrine. I believe we need to make a fundamental distinction between the teachings of Jesus and those of the human followers of Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God as well as the Son of Man and his life and teachings are a divine revelation. Therefore, I believe that we should look to Jesus first, and judge all other teachings by their harmony with his life and teachings.

A Loving Heavenly Father

Accordingly, the first reason I would cite in defense of my belief that the atonement doctrine is in error is that it is not harmonious with Jesus' revelation of God as our loving heavenly Father. While the ancient Jews taught the necessity of sacrifice, Jesus, in his life and teachings, revealed a God of love, mercy, and forgiveness. The Old Testament prophets and the New Testament teachers recognized God but not with the insight, clarity, and perfection of Jesus. Although Jesus' God is just and righteous, it is love -- the heavenly Father's perfect love for his human children -- that is the defining characteristic of his teachings. This concept of God as our loving heavenly Father was the only concept, besides acknowledging God as a spiritual being, that Jesus ever taught. He said, "God is love," and in his teachings God's love is supreme over justice and all other divine attributes.

The ancient Jews had conceived of God as a harsh king-judge. They believed that the only approach to God was through fasting and sacrifice. They felt that racial guilt had separated them from God and that sacrifice was necessary to appease his divine wrath. Paul's atonement doctrine grew out of these beliefs.

But such a God sounds little like the God of Jesus. He taught that God's attitude toward us is that of a Fatherly affection -- he loves us as his sons and daughters. This fatherly affection is the dominant characteristic of the God revealed by Jesus. God's loving forgiveness is always open to us; we must only seek it and be forgiving of others. Jesus revealed this in the prayer he taught his apostles: "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." God's love is not held hostage to an inflexible justice that cannot forgive until a totally innocent Son is sacrificed in remission of sin.

This brings me to the second problem I find in the atonement doctrine. It assumes a lower conception of God than is presented by Jesus' life and teachings. Indeed, the conception of a father who will not forgive his erring children until an entirely innocent elder brother dies as a human sacrifice sounds barbaric. We would expect more even from a human father. This conception is a relic of ancient times and primitive beliefs, ideas, and practices which Jesus came to free us from. He brought a new and higher revelation of God; and in his life he sought to free believers from the Jewish system of ceremony and sacrifice.

The last argument I would advance in opposition to the atonement doctrine is that it was not taught by Jesus. Isn't it reasonable to assume that if Jesus' purpose in living his bestowal life on our world was to die on the cross for our sins, he would have emphasized this doctrine? But Jesus did not teach the necessity of sacrificing himself for man's sins; instead he consistently focused on the Kingdom of God.

There are other problems with the atonement doctrine. In particular, it tends to mask Jesus' true teachings of the kingdom of heaven. In his message, the gospel of the kingdom, Jesus taught that God is our loving heavenly Father and we are his sons and daughters. We are called to live a life of faith in our Father's love and over-care, to trust in God as Jesus trusted God, to trust Him as a little child trusts his earthly father.

Jesus' emphasis was always on the kingdom of heaven -- the rule of God in the hearts of his sons and daughters. The prayer he taught his apostles reveals this central teaching: "Your kingdom come; your will be done." He identified the kingdom of God with the will of God and taught that we enter the kingdom by the inner submission of our will to God's will. It is this teaching that Jesus held supreme; he did not teach the atonement doctrine.

The Meaning of the Cross

Paul taught the atonement doctrine to help make Jesus more acceptable to the Jews, and to try to explain the seemingly inexplicable fact that the Creator (John 1:3, Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:2) of our universe was killed by his own creatures.

Jesus' death was significant; it was the final act of a life of love and service bestowed upon mortal man. The great thing about Jesus' death was the way he died, the magnificent spirit in which he met that death. His final prayer, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," is Jesus' final demonstration of the love and forgiveness of our heavenly Father.

In Gethsemane Jesus sought to avoid his death if this choice would be consistent with the Father's will. He prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." But his purpose was to live the full human life of his earth creatures. And in a human life we cannot usually have our death avoided or taken away. So Jesus submitted himself to death on the cross, a death brought about by men -- not by God. It was God's will that Jesus finish his human bestowal, even though it included "drinking the cup" of death at the hands of his enemies.

Jesus' courage and selfless devotion to the service of man and God in his crucifixion inspires us onward. It was the final act of a life of service. "Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends." Jesus lived a life of service, revealing truth to humankind, and he courageously and selflessly submitted to the death that truth teachers must often face.

After Jesus had asked if the cup might be removed, he finished the prayer with the words, "Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done." This prayer -- not the atonement of Jesus -- is the key to our salvation. We are saved not by Jesus' death on the cross but by our faith submission to God's will. This is evident from the fact that believing in "the blood of Christ" will not save someone who does not faithfully choose to live in accordance with the Father's will. And such a choice of God's will over our own personal will can be made independently of the death of Jesus.

Although I believe it is incorrect to refer to Jesus as our redeemer, he is truly our savior. For even though the way to salvation was open before Jesus lived, he, in his bestowal life, did truly make the way of salvation more clear to humanity. His life and teachings are our lighthouse, our certain and infallible guide to salvation. Certainly we may gain much from the teaching of his well-meaning followers, but we must also recognize that they were human and fallible. Jesus is divine and his teachings are perfect; they are the touchstone by which all other teachings should be judged.

B. J., in this letter I have attempted to restate and organize what I said to you at Thanksgiving. I do sincerely appreciate your good hearted and sincere effort to help me better understand the apostolic teachings concerning the "blood of Christ." I am also delighted to have the opportunity to express my beliefs to you. I hope they have found some reception in your mind and heart.

Sincerely,

Preston Thomas

Labels: atonement, God, Jesus, loving God, Paul, Preston Thomas, the cross

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Saturday, February 24, 2007

Einstein and the Revelation: Inventing the Universe

RICK WARREN, USA

Albert Einstein would have reveled in the Urantia Papers. They offer what he craved to discover: a plausible unifying explanation for all things and beings, a theory that encompassed everything. Alas, he searched only in the material realm for the greater part of his life, but toward the end he did appear to have the glint of God in his seasoned eyes.

If he were again to attempt to uncover the unifying principle of the Universe, this time in the light of the revelation, he might find that he could, in simple terms, define the physical universe as it hangs on three God-created elements: ultimatons, space, and gravity (169:1). Of course he would say it in the language of mathematics and with the metaphor of symbolic equation.

If Albert Einstein agreed with the scientific and spiritual revelations of The Urantia Book, he would rejoice in the connectedness of the physical, the mental, and the divine (102:1). Of course the reason he didn't reach philosophic or religious climax is because mathematics is only a minor and impersonal revelation of the vastly greater whole. But you must admire the quality of his thinking, if not his unremitting persistence. How many of us are able or willing to devote our thinking to one subject for decades?

Imagine what thoughts he could have conjured as a result of embracing the Urantia revelation!
The physical universe is elegantly simple on its surface; ultimatons manifest in space and gravity begins its work (465:2). The ultimatonic â€œhuddlingâ€� [478:4] tendency pulls them into masses (eventually with direction from the physical controllers) that gravity faithfully crushes. This creates heat and pressure which breaks down matter (463:12), and that causes light to be released. Light goes out in all directions, and this light fuels plant life which propels
animal life, which is needed for spirit life to begin the journey back to where the ultimaton beganâ€”Paradise (169:1).

But in between nascent light and eternal life lies a mystery: How can ultimatons, gravity, and space make heat and light which make planets of 100 elements? (541:6) One cannot see the planetary elements in the original three elements of physical universe construction, but they are inherent. How does God do that? And how can the elements show such blindingly diverse properties? (467:4)

We and old Albert are confronted with a question of quintessential significance regarding the mysteries of the physical universes. How can 100 elements display so many odd, unique and eccentric qualities? If the material universes have only three ingredients, how do the Gods transform ultimatons, space, and gravity into star-stuff, light, and planets so that beings may take up bodies to experience life and soul growth in the presence of these 100 elements? (399:7) How can copper come from the same ultimaton that hydrogen comes from?

Mysteries aside, the universal machine does create a magnificent variety of materials by forcing ultimatons to go through different processes. Subject an ultimaton to space, let gravity pull it together with other ultimatons, let the nuclear fire be lit, and voilÃ , implanted vegiforms consume the fireâ€™s light, and preplanned people eat the plants to evolve, and souls use
the bodies to act and grow, and the three great Gods enjoy the show (most of the time) (468:2).

Instead of three inanimate elements, we now have five: matter, space, gravity, heat, and light. Add the crowning two, planets and life, and that makes seven. It's a model that's served Father for eternity. But the story of the â€œInvention of the Universeâ€� (1276:2) is a little more complex where personal will is distributed (53:5) carte blanche, willy-nilly, and apparently, helterskelter.

Underneath lies serenity, however.

In the beginning, there you are in utter harmony, the I AM (6:3); you are infinitely wise and limitlessly capable. You decide to create a Universe where there are beings like yourself, who have free will (71:7). You want them to be sovereign in their world, as are you in infinity. First you divide yourself, becoming a team of three (108:2). You three build a permanent residence
(7:10) and work to hardwire all creation with the basics for independent free will (70:5). Youâ€™ll need material, Mind, Spirit, and Personality circuits (1286:5).

After you create a personal family and a proper home for you and your perfect helpers, you call it Paradise (7:10). (I wonder what symbol Einstein would use for Paradise? Zero?) Then you send ultimatons out in a wide circle (473:1). And with the help of your â€œchildrenâ€�, you start the vortices that pull the ultimatons into aggregations. These clumps of matter are acted on by your gravity, which pulls them into definable masses, and then heat, caused by gravity working on ultimatons, begins to make suns (465:1).

The solar process then gives rise to the 100 elements through the variable use of more heat, then cold and sometimes pressure, which form the diverse planets from cooling solar matter (473:5).

The stage is now set for life. Life is the greatest mystery in the universe aside from the appearance of the I AM. No one can essay to pontificate on life, whence it came, how it came to be (399:6) or where it will take us in ultimate Eternity, save for God (347:5).

The I AM divides himself so that by the time he manifests at our level (638:4), he has forgotten his origin. He has accomplished self-forgetfulness; he has differentiated his consciousness into trillions upon trillions of relatively freewill beings scattered over
vast fields of ultimatonic constructs (2018:4).

God weaves the physical universe on three irrepressible threads: ultimatons, gravity, and space.

What a simple concept! It is not so hard to accept that matter, when gathered into a starâ€™s intense gravity pull, should begin to heat and then radiate light for billions of years as solar engines on which hang the lives and experiences of man and beast (125:4).

What is hard to understand, and maybe Albert would have trouble with this too, is how ultimatons, after becoming grist for the mill of divine creation, develop such diverse properties and amazing powers of cohesion (169:1). Metals are bound in well-nigh indissoluble links and can withstand enormous forces.

Gases are compressible, yet water, made of two gasses, is not compressible, unless it is in the form of steam. The oddities, idiosyncrasies, and the outright diversity of chemical properties are far more than astonishing, they are stupefying!

Water, a compound of two common elements, has within it several odd properties that can be used as a material suggestion for spirit (1795:5), since spirit can flow in any direction, can freeze, and can expand.

Spirit is used but nothing is used up (76:1). Spirit sustains all living beings (1155:4), and without it there is only the barren desert. But without a desert, there will be no place for spirit to flow and no oases of creativity. No oases, no Alberts, no you or me. It all started â€œrelativelyâ€� simply. Einstein would have genuinely enjoyed knowing of the simplicity and elegance of the unified theory of everything, as complex as it finally is. It is simple complexity, mixed with a mystery and driven by a dream.

Albert would have embraced it.

Labels: Albert Einstein, God, gravity, Paradise, Rick Warren, space, the universe, The Urantia Book, ultimaton

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Friday, February 09, 2007

The Twenty Most-Asked Questions

The Twenty Most-Asked Questions

by Duane Faw and Mo Siegel

The Questions

1. Why is there suffering in the world?
2. Will there ever be a cure for all diseases?
3. Why is there evil in the world?
4. Will there ever be lasting world peace?
5. Will man ever love his fellow men?
6. When will the world end?
7. What does the future hold for me & my family?
8. Is there life after death?
9. What is Heaven like?
10. How can I be a better person?
11. Who am I?
12. Why Am I Here?
13. Is there a Deity? Who, or What, is God?
14. Can I communicate with God?
15. Why does the Universe exist as it is?
16. What is Religion?
17. Do Science and Philosophy conflict with Religion?
18. What is the proper role of Organized Religion?
19. What is true Justice? Is it attainable?
20. Are There Extra-Terrestrial Beings? What are They?

Introduction to Some Answers

All thinking persons ask similar basic questions about themselves: who they are, where they came from, why they are here, why they have difficulties and problems, and where they are going ? Whatever answers they receive reflect the religion and cosmology of the day, and raise new questions about who or what is God, how they relate to God, and how they relate to the universe. The most-asked questions fall into three major clusters.

The first cluster contains questions having to do with Deity and the cosmos. They seek to know of first causes, divine purposes, and ultimate destinies. They inquire as to the reality of Deity, the nature of God, the purpose of creation, and the role and function of mankind in the universe. They delve into the proper relationships between mankind and God, and mankind and the universe. They explore mankind's future in the cosmos. We may call these "Questions about Deity, Mankind and the Cosmos."

The second cluster has to do with the individual self and relationships with others. Once one grasps the idea of "self" and "other," one becomes self-conscious. This raises many questions about identity: who I am, why I am here, and the purpose of my life. Also about proper relationships with my family, society and Deity. And about the future of one's self and one's family, what happens when I die, etc. We may call these "Questions about Self."

The third cluster has to do with the general human condition, and reflects a desire to know why unpleasant things happen to them and others. These questions probe the source, nature and function of all forms of evil: sin, injury, disease, poverty, injustice, war, death, etc. They seek ways to prevent these things from occurring, to avoid them when they occur, and to remedy (suppress or cure) them after they occur. We may call these "Questions about Evil and its Consequences."

Some questions overlap two or more clusters; however, the best way to consider any specific question is to explore the common threads which hold the cluster together and then add that which is necessary 'co answer the particular question.

Religion, science and philosophy have contributed useful answers to many specific questions over the years; but seldom are they universal or final. As more and more becomes known about the universe, about ourselves, and even about God, these answers change or become less satisfactory.

Whether or not The URANTIA Book* is a new and epochal revelation, it certainly provides new and useful paradigms against which philosophers and theologians alike can project new answers to old questions. It adds to the richness of answers provided through the Bible. This paper proposes "answers" to the world's most-asked questions in accordance with the teachings of The URANTIA Book and the Bible.

I. CLUSTER ONE: QUESTIONS ABOUT DEITY, MANKIND AND THE COSMOS

A. IS THERE SUCH THING AS DEITY? IF SO, WHAT IS IT?

Man has long believed in a power higher than himself. This power is personalized as God. But personalization, itself, is a limitation. It omits the non-personal, pre-personal, sub-personal, super-personal, post-personal, etc. It is useful to find a word more all-inclusive than "God" to call this higher power. Such a word is "Deity." Deity is both all-inclusive and flexible: it contracts or expands to encompass the entire spectrum of quantities, qualities and values which one may ascribe to the "higher powers." People can agree that Deity exists without agreeing as to its characteristics.

Deity is used here in its broadest sense. Deity includes all those characteristics, both personal and impersonal, attributed to a higher power, regardless of name. Further definition is unnecessary.

The cosmos is "the universe considered as a harmonious and orderly system." Divinity is that unifying and co-ordinating quality which is characteristic of Deity which converts the universe into the cosmos. Divinity is seen as perfection, as completeness, as unity and as harmony between the creator and the created. Mankind glimpses divinity as justice, power and sovereignty, as love, mercy and ministry, and as truth, beauty and goodness. That which has the qualities of divinity is said to be divine. Deity is the source of all that is divine.

Deity is not a synonym for God. "God," as used here, focuses upon the Personal aspects of Deity, and upon the ability of mankind to relate to Deity in any fashion. See Part I.B. below.

1. DO SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY CONFLICT WITH RELIGION?
SCIENCE AND DEITY

Science is systematized knowledge derived from observation, study and experimentation. It is concerned with facts provable by systematic observation under established principles. By its nature it is limited to the material realm, and has no disciplines for the spiritual or supernatural realms.

Deity can be postulated by science both as an a Priori force and a first cause, but cannot be confirmed by science because the phenomenon cannot be quantified, qualified, reproduced, duplicated, measured or otherwise proved by scientific methodology. Deity is not a mathematical equation, a chemical formula or a physical law. Science is concerned only with matter, energy and life, and is limited by time and space. Science may trace the universe back to the "big bang" (the beginning of time), but it has no method of determining its cause, where the "banged" matter came from, how the laws governing the behavior of matter in time and space were devised, or why the whole thing happened in the first place. Even scientists recognize that there are realities beyond the province of science. For example, science understands much about the brain, an electro-chemical organism, but it cannot explain mind. It understands paint and color, but not art.

Many scientists accept a theory that Deity exists as a master planner, a first cause, and an over controller;; but they cannot prove it. It remains for philosophy and religion to prove the actuality of any truth or reality beyond the physical universe as revealed, or to be revealed, by the observations and laws of science; to confirm or deny the existence of Deity.

2. PHILOSOPHY AND DEITY

Philosophy is the love of wisdom: it seeks knowledge about all things from all sources. Unlike science it includes disciplines for theology, metaphysics, etc. It can reach conclusions sustained by logic without formal scientific proof.
The philosopher looks to both reason and information to support his conclusions. Many philosophers postulate, out of pure reason, that there must have been a reality before the beginning of time and space; that there must have been a first cause of everything material; and that nothing could exist--even time and space themselves--without some primal act of mindful creating. This produces a concept of Deity.

When the philosopher ponders the sheer orderliness and harmony of the universe as revealed by science, he reasons that superlative qualities of mind and vast quantities of power were necessary to create such a harmonious entity, and he attributes these to Deity. The unique characteristics and circumstances of the cosmos lead many philosophers to conclude that the material universe, with mankind in it, must have been mindfully created for a specific cosmic purpose. Logic, alone, does not reveal the function and objectives of creation; but mankind is seen as a significant clue to the puzzle, and Deity as its source.
Philosophy recognizes realities outside the province of science. The fact that science has not confirmed a proposition does not deter philosophy from recognizing its accuracy. Philosophers consider input from religion, and find some proposals of religionists as to the function and objectives of creation to be supported by logic. Even without the testimony of religionists, it is highly probable that most philosophers would conclude that there must be some form of Deity.

3. RELIGION AND DEITY -- WHAT IS RELIGION?

"Religion is the revelation to man of his divine and eternal destiny...a purely personal and spiritual experience..." (2075:333/4), "the relation of man to God." (1421:6-7) As used here, religion means the general subject of man's relationship to God. A religion is a social organization of people holding similar ideas about their relationship with God. (See Part I.E) A religionist is one who believes that there is a God and that he or she enjoys a personal relationship with God.

The religionist looks to his own personal experiences to verify the existence of Deity: personal contacts with the supernatural which are as real to him as experiences with the natural. He has "felt" a reality that defies all scientific explanation. He knows of realities which science cannot confirm, quantify or qualify; for example: love, beauty, mercy, justice. His experiences are therefore seen as revelations of something greater than his material environment. Millions of religionists, over many centuries, claim to have come into intimate, intelligent, loving and meaningful contact with a power higher than self, and to have experienced modes, forms and degrees of revelation which they attribute to a source and power other than natural: to Deity. Unless they all are mistaken or lying, there is a reality we may call Deity. See also Part I.B,, below.

On the other side of the ledger, the content often differs from one revelation to another. Recorded traditions of each religion reflect truths revealed to its leaders, yet each record contains some things which differ in content from all others. Assuming that Deity must be consistent and revelation perfect, these apparent conflicts are cited as reasons to discount the existence of Deity. This makes about as much sense as saying that because one day is revealed as being sunny in California and as being rainy in Chicago, the day did not exist.

This argument that revelation must be consistent overlooks the limitations on revelation. Excessive revelation would destroy free will. Most religious experiences are a one-on-one confirmation only that the individual has come into personal contact with Deity. There are more ways than one to contact Deity. It is a mistake to assume that, because a person has found Deity under one set of circumstances, one has found the exclusive path. Revelation is always incomplete and partial, as God seldom reveals more than is needed or more than the human mind can absorb. Instead of magnifying the differences let us focus on the commonalties: in every instance, these countless personal experiences can be seen as successful efforts of Deity to confirm to mankind its existence.

At times, revelation is intended for many. These, too, suffer from human misunderstanding and misapplication. For example, the revelation of God to man by Jesus Christ was so advanced and extensive that it may be called "epochal." The full import of that revelation has not yet been fully understood or absorbed. All of these revelations point the religionist to the conclusion that some sort of Deity exists.

It is sometimes proposed that science and religion conflict with each other, but this is not really possible. Both disciplines were made by the same Creator as part of the same cosmos, therefore they must harmonize together. At times some science appears to conflict with some theology to some people. When a scientific fact is supported by ample evidence, it is the differing theological belief which is suspect. Science offers no evidence that Deity does NOT exist.
What is Deity like? Both logic and revelation provide a long list of characteristics of a superlative nature attributable to Deity. They are classic. You are welcome to provide a list of your own.

B: WHO, OR WHAT, IS GOD? DOES GOD REALLY EXIST?

It is assumed that everyone knows who, or what, is God. God is GOD and, like the President of the United States, needs no further introduction. This assumption is incorrect, and leads to much confusion. "God" is a characteristic, a description, a title, and not a common name. There is only one commonly-accepted President at a time; but there is no common acceptance of who, or what, God "is."

Relatively few people have the same mental image of God. They see different names for God, different characteristics of God, and different "do's" and "don'ts" of what God desires of them. For example, note the differences in the identity of God. Some say there is one God and his name is Allah; others say there is one God and His name is E1, or Father; others say there is one God of three persons, or a sevenfold God; some see Jesus as God, or as the Son of God, or a great prophet; etc. Every different religion and sect sees God in a separate light.

In order to avoid seeing God as a theological prescription written by one religion or sect, let us look at God as a generic term. In this manner we can get the full benefit from discussing God without concern about names, doctrine, etc. There is a simple, generic definition of God with which everyone agrees: "God" is Deity personified.

As used here, "God" is a person, and means "that part of Deity with which one may have a personal relationship." "God" does not refer to any particular manifestation of Deity, such as Yahweh, Allah, Krishna, Jesus, Father, etc. You may feel free to substitute any name of God as you see fit. It is only by freeing ourselves from any hassle over the correct name or attributes of God that we can proceed with an unemotional treatment of many meaningful issues.
Now, viewing God as a personification of Deity, does God really exist? This is another way of saying: is there really a component of Deity with which men and women can have a personal relationship?

Since we have defined God as a component (all or part) of Deity, if there is no Deity, there is no God. In Part I.A, above, we said that there is, in truth and reality, such a thing as Deity. Those who disagree and hold that there is no Deity are called "atheists." If the atheists are correct, there is no Deity, therefore nothing with which to have a personal relationship; and, ipso facto, no God.

Logically, it is possible for there to be Deity, yet Deity could either (1) have no personal component with which to relate, or (2) have a personal component so remote and aloof that mortal man cannot have a "personal relationship" with it. Those taking either of these views are called "agnostics." Agnostics concede that Deity may exist, but hold that mankind can never have a personal relationship with it. If they are correct, there may be Deity, but no God.

It is the testimony of religionists which provides the most persuasive (and only unequivocal) evidence that there exists a personal component of Deity to which mankind can, and does, relate: a God. They claim to have actually experienced a personal relationship with God. This cannot be true unless Deity (1) contains a personal component, and (2) mankind is able to have a personal-relationship with it. Revelation comes from no other source than personal contact with Deity. See Part I.A.3, above. Unless all who testify to a personal experience with God are either mistaken or lying, there IS a God.

Yes, God exists, for Deity exists, and men and women can have a personal relationship with at least a part of Deity. But why take someone else's word for it. If you have had a personal relationship with God, then you already know that God exists. And if you have not, why not now? Every person can enjoy the comfort and joy of experiencing this warm personal relationship if they only try.

C. WHY DID GOD CREATE THE UNIVERSE AS IT IS?

This same question has haunted mankind as far back as records go. It began as "why did God create me?" As horizons expanded, it continued as "why did God create the world?" And with growing cosmic consciousness, it becomes "why did God create the universe?" Is the universe a cosmic firecracker? Is man a pathetic cosmic doodle?

Without pretending to know the mind of God, it is inconceivable that the material universe was created without purpose, that the earth supports life by sheer accident, or that mankind is the acme of material creation by mere chance. Unless we postulate a rather bungling Deity, we must reason that it was intended to create a massive universe, it was planned to place in this small segment thereof a life-bearing planet (earth), and it was designed that the development of life forms thereon terminate in the highest-known order of physical existence: homo sapiens. It may very well be that the entire universe was crested to produce and sustain such creatures. (See Part II B, below.) But why? To what end? Few sensible answers have been proposed.

Only during this 20th century has mankind developed a cosmology and a vocabulary sufficient to fashion acceptable answers to many "whys" about creation. Prior to this, the most sensible answer was in the Catechism: "Q: Why was I made?"--"A: To worship God."

In the 1930s, the URANTIA Papers revealed a reason for the existence of creation which makes great sense: that through the medium of a material time-space universe, Deity is doing things of eternal spiritual value to itself. Although these achievements are stated in anthropomorphic terms so men can understand them, the ideas are profound, exciting and revealing. They give new meaning to life, and go far to explain teachings of Jesus Christ preserved fragmentarily in the Bible.

1. The Grand Objectives of Creation.

Deity pre-dates time and space; it was neither created nor developed, it was "eventuated," it always was: perfect, complete and replete. Before time and space there were certain anthropomorphic qualities of which Deity was deprived. Among these were: (1) voluntary obedience and esteem (there was no free will below Deity level), (2) creature experience, particularly in overcoming evil (all creatures were eventuated in perfection), and (3) growth (Deity was complete and replete). Yet in a broader sense, attributes of Deity must allow for the possibility of obtaining these qualities, or else Deity would be subject to limitations. This appears paradoxical, yet really is not.

All beings living in such an environment, having been eventuated in perfection, lacked certain qualities obtainable only through the experience of undergoing a perfecting process. If Deity desired to add to this perfect environment beings having such qualities, it certainly had the potential to do so. It could originate beings somewhere else in imperfection and devise a strenuous perfecting process by which they could become perfected and then approach Deity.

It is proposed that Deity "desired" to obtain each of the three qualities mentioned above, and to populate its dwelling place with perfected beings. Consequently it conceived and designed a plan to achieve these ends. To implement this plan, Deity created time and space, the universe, and you and me.

a. To Obtain Voluntary Obedience and Esteem.

In a perfect environment, all creatures respond perfectly to the will of Deity; every element acts and reacts exactly as pre-ordained. If God desires to be sought, esteemed, obeyed, loved and worshiped, he can create beings who do these things perfectly, with no say or choice in the matter. In such a case, God is, in effect, loving and worshiping himself by surrogates of his own creation. He is not experiencing obedience and esteem generated voluntarily, that is, by creatures exercising their own free will who seek, obey, and esteem Him solely as a result of their own desire and initiative, born of a recognition of God's intrinsic goodness, loveliness and holiness.

If God desires to be sought, obeyed, and esteemed, by subordinate creatures voluntarily, on their own initiative, solely in response to observed attractive values rather than from automatic response, such creatures must have absolute freedom to respond to God as they will. They must have the option and power to ignore, disobey and hate Him, and must operate in an environment in which all options can be freely exercised without any coercion. This situation cannot exist in a perfect environment, one without the possibility of evil.

For God to receive voluntary obedience and esteem, He must provide a potentially imperfect environment in which both disobedience to the will of God (evil) and obedience to the will of God (good) are equally possible, and populate it with potentially imperfect beings who can exercise their "free will" to choose and do either good or evil.

Deity has created such an environment and such beings. You and I live in an imperfect environment in which choices between good and evil are constantly before us; and we are imperfect beings with the free will to do either. We have the ability to recognize or ignore the qualities and values of Deity (truth, love, justice, beauty, mercy, power, goodness, service, sovereignty, etc.) and the power to respond to them as we will: to pursue them, and seek to love and worship their source; or to ignore or reject both the values and their source. We are not coerced in our choice. See also discussion of this point in Part II.B.1, below.

The fact that our imperfect universe contains free-will creatures such as mankind gives strong logical support to the revelation that Deity does, in fact, desire voluntary obedience and esteem.

b. To Obtain Creature Experience.

Beings which are wholly eventuated have no creature experience because they are not creatures (they were not created) and,-existing in a perfect environment, they are greatly limited in experiences. They cannot experience, therefore Deity cannot experience through them, the exhilaration of victory in the mighty struggle between good and evil, for there is no evil. Nor the altruistic satisfaction of subjugating self-interests to the interests of others, for there is no temptation to favor self, and no free will. If Deity desires creature experience it must come from creatures who undergo experiences which Deity may share. The broadest range of experiences would come from creatures possessing absolute free will to choose between good and evil, between self interest and any greater interests of others, living in an environment in which evil and selfishness tempt them.

The URANTIA Book develops the fascinating truth that the Father desires to gain such creature experience. Paper 108 on Thought Adjusters says that God, prior to the adventure of time and space, was wholly existential and "infinitely inclusive of all things except evil and creature experience." (1185:16) In order for the Father to gain creature experience, His spirit (revealed to us as the Thought Adjuster) comes down to participate with us in "every bona fide experience of the ascending career.." (1185:20) By this process--by sharing our life's experiences--the potential of the infinite and existential God to obtain finite experience becomes an actuality.

The fact that the Father desires creature experience is further supported by a discussion of the Father's Eternal Perfection in Paper 2 on The Nature of God. Here it is pointed out that, although perfect, the Universal Father "actually participates in the experience with immaturity and imperfection in the evolving career of every mortal being of the entire universe." (36:30-32) Although potential evil is not a part of the divine nature, "mortal experience with evil and all man's relations thereto are most certainly a part of God's ever-expanding self-realization in the children of time..." (36:34-35)

The fact that you and I now live in an environment in which we face tremendous temptation to do evil and strong urges to accommodate self at the expense of others, is consistent with the revelation that Deity desires to gain creature experience through imperfect human beings.

The "desire" for creature experience is further developed in Parts II.B.2 and III.A.1.a, below.

c. To Obtain Spirit Growth.

Insofar as we know, an "eventuated" Deity, with no subsequent addition or development, does not grow. Growth requires addition or development. If Deity could not grow, this would be a limitation on Deity. Since Deity is not limited, it must have the power to grow. We usually see such growth as involving creative fiat or creative development and evolution.

It is a major theme of The URANTIA Book-that Deity is growing. Papers 115 through 118 discuss this growth. God is spirit (John 4:24; 139:26) and, for Deity to grow, there must be true increase in spirit. Spirit growth entails creating or enlarging that which is spirit by some means other than processing preexistent spirit material. The Biblical injunction to "be ye perfect" takes on a new meaning when considered in the light of spirit growth.

We suppose that God can create spirit either by fiat or by other procedures. Deity does not obtain growth by fiat, alone. One possible alternate procedure is to develop a creature who, in liaison with God, can co-create an embryonic spirit unit, and nurture and develop it into full spirithood. This would require making a being with power to co-operate with God in the original production of something of spirit value, and the will to co-ordinate with God in the process of perfecting it.

It appears that Deity has prepared such creatures, including you and me. The divine plan (discussed below) includes many things designed to achieve spirit growth through human co-operation and co-creation with Deity. The growth portion of the divine plan works this way. While in the flesh, mankind can contribute to spirit growth only by living faith. (1097:27-28) Mankind, has been given the power to work in liaison with God to give birth to his own soul, an embryonic spirit unit. Revelation confirms that the evolving soul, co-created by man, is of spirit potential and value. But it is by faith, alone, that we accept and act upon the word that our mind, soul and identity, in coordination with God, have the potential to become pure and perfect spirit, thereby adding to the totality and reality of Deity. As we, through faith, convert this potentiality into actuality, we actually become a living soul of spiritual value. This soul lives on for further development into pure spirit; ! thus the spirit component of Deity becomes larger as we grow spiritually. (1279:11-29)

Spirit growth is discussed in Part II.B.3, below. It is further addressed in Part III.A.1.b., below, in terms of developing perfected (as distinguished from perfect) beings to populate the cosmos. As such, we expect to be given tasks of great importance in the further expansion of the Kingdom of God. (See 131:28-32; 263:10-11)

d. To Evolve Perfected Beings.

Revelation indicates that that Deity desires to populate eternity with two types of beings: (1) perfect beings, and (2) perfected beings, created less-than-perfect but becoming perfect by some process. Perfect beings are either eventuated or created by fiat: spiritual, immortal, and completely responsive to the will of God. By contrast, perfected beings originate as physical (not spiritual), mortal (not eternal), free-willed (not God-directed) creatures, and must initiate and sustain their own "evolutionary" progression by virtue of their own wills rather than by fiat of God. Otherwise, the procedure is nothing more than an alternate method of creating perfect beings by fiat.

If we heed such revelation, the fact that you and I are physical, mortal and free-willed makes us candidates for the perfecting process. This is covered in more detail in Part III.A.1.b, below.

2. The Divine Plan for Creating.

Let us turn our mind's eye back to before the beginning of time and visualize the momentous decision to create free-will creatures in an imperfect environment. Let us postulate that Deity desired to attain the four grand objectives mentioned in Part I.C.1, above, and more. To do so, Deity devised an absolutely brilliant plan, sufficiently comprehensive to accomplish every end and purpose it desired. We can call this the Divine Plan for Creating. We are not privy to this plan, but from time to time we glimpse parts of it by observing what is going on and by revelation. What we learn is very stimulating.

Views of modern philosophy and theology concerning the method of creating are generally developed against a paradigm in which preexistent Deity created, by fiat, time, space and everything in them, and left them to run on or run down. This approach is terribly wrong. It visualizes a static or decaying universe, not a growing and dynamic one. And by focusing on the earth, it sees things as being out of Divine control.

It is more productive to use revelation, tradition and logic in an effort to reconstruct some of the controlling elements of the Divine Plan for Creating. I propose that it was founded upon, among other things, the following elements.

a. The Principle of Delegation.

Although Deity is omnipotent, it is not omnificent; therefore the plan entrusts most of the work to subordinate creatures, both celestial and human. In practice, Deity creates, develops and evolves as much as possible through subordinate creatures specially developed for the tasks they are to perform. Subordinate creatures are used not only as artists and artisans, but also as co-creators.

The practice of creating, developing and evolving things by means of subordinate creatures has one intended side effect of giving some creatures experience capable of being shared and absorbed by Deity. In a proper environment, it provides experience in dealing with evil. At least one class of creatures can be given free will to choose between good and evil, with the resultant opportunity to obey and esteem God voluntarily, solely because of the attractiveness of God and the values they see in doing so; not from robotic control or innate coercion to do so. And insofar as the process results in new spirit values, it results in the growth of Deity.

b. Balance between Fiat Creation and Evolution.

The plan employs both creation and evolution; with creation used only when necessary, and evolution used as much as possible.

Creation by Fiat: to truly create is to make something out of nothing. Fiat creating is done only as a last resort, when there exists no other way to achieve the objective. Fiat creating is reserved for Deity.

Creation by Developing and Evolving: to develop something out of something else, to evolve something desirable out of something undesirable, to work out something better from something good, and, ultimately, to achieve perfection in everything. Deity seems to accomplish as many things as possible by developing and evolving them. This technique is followed by subordinate creatures, including mankind.

In the beginning, Deity created time, space and basic matter, insofar as we know, by fiat. But since then, that which has occurred in time and space has been accomplished, largely, by and through countless subordinate beings exercising delegated authority, who control, process and develop basic matter until it "evolves" into the universe, as we know it, and all that dwells therein. The process is dynamic: continuing and growing.

c. Achieving Potentials.

The plan incorporates, as a fundamental technique, the converting of potentialities into actualities. (1261:15-16; 1263:18-19) As applied to us, Deity brings into existence our potentialities, and each of us is to convert his or her potentialities into actualities.

This technique both limits and challenges. Each creature is limited to his potentialities, and is challenged to attain them. But once one's potential is reached, new potentials are often provided for further growth and service. To obey and esteem God is a human potential offering ever-expanding plateaus as we advance toward Paradise. To experience victory over evil opens greater potentials for good. Insofar as we successfully actualize our spiritual potentialities, we become cocreators with God of something of spirit value, (1279:11-15) And as a result, Deity grows through us. (1265:28-31)

d. Reciprocal Reward.

Every time we humans contribute anything to Deity, Deity contributes something of greater value to us. The more we obey and esteem God, the more He rewards and loves us. For every experience of victory over evil which we provide to God, we receive high recompense in the growth of our soul. And as we add spirit values to Deity, we actually become the very spirit we co-create with Deity.
* * * * * * * *

Let us examine the cosmos (as we see it) to determine how well the divine plan for creating (as we understand it) provides a vehicle through which mankind can satisfy the above noted desires of Deity, the purpose of creation. Visualize the universe as being circular, with Deity in Heaven at the center, and men and women on earth on the outermost periphery. Deity is perfect. We believe that nothing imperfect can exist in its presence, and the farther from Deity, the greater the possibility for imperfection. If so, the place in the universe where the most imperfect conditions could exist is on its outer periphery, where earth is located. Yet even that is not necessarily so bad. Deity does not cause evil; it only provides an environment in which evil is possible. No place in which evil is possible is perfect. A universe with the above characteristics provides the ideal location in which to implement the plan.

Earth is located in an environment in which imperfection, evil, is possible. It is populated with human beings who have absolute free will to do good or evil. They have a mind to discern between the two. They are material, mortal and finite. This provides the ideal creature to execute the "creature" portion of the plan.

This situation provides the ideal circumstances described in Part I.C, above, under which each of the proposed desires of Deity could be best satisfied. This did not occur by accident.

D. ARE THERE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL BEINGS? IF SO, WHAT ARE THEY?

In order implement the Divine Plan for Creating, Deity created time, space, and the material universes. And, over the millennia since then, Deity has populated the universes with countless billions of beings of all sorts. The earth contains only a very small fraction of a percent of all such beings.

The vast majority of these are spirit and semi-spirit beings, wholly invisible to us. The universe is literally teeming with angels, of which earth has its fair share. In addition there are other orders of spirit beings other than angels in large numbers on this planet. Lucifer, Satan, Melchizedek, Adam and Eve, and Jesus are all extra-terrestrial beings who have visited earth.

We are told that, within the local planetary "system" there are over 600 planets which hold material beings comparable to mankind in the sense that they are material, upright-walking bipeds, sexually reproductive and have free will. The physical characteristics of these beings, together with the vast distances involved, make it highly improbable that any such beings ever visited this planet.

There is nothing in The URANTIA Book which tends to explain the phenomenon of UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects) reported in various parts of the world. They do not resemble Transport Seraphim.

E. WHAT IS THE PROPER ROLE OF ORGANIZED RELIGION?

Jesus came to earth to save people from bad religious organizations, not bad political organizations. He died in the attempt.

Organized religions result from socialization of persons with common religious experiences. They hold no ecclesiastical authority; yet God supports collective action in His behalf. (Matthew 18:20) They represent collective religious action.
Organized religions have been mixed blessings. They have preserved certain coals of spiritual truth which flame up from time to time, and even now may be rekindled; they have collected and saved writings, music and art reflecting the highest thoughts of mankind; they have maintained a popular awareness that there is a God to be reckoned with; and they have sheltered many saints who otherwise may have been destroyed. Yet, on the other hand, they have been fraught with hypocrisy and corruption; claimed status and authority which they did not possess, and used it to enslave millions; they have prostituted the banner of God before political and business causes; they have engaged in internecine warfare over minutiae of doctrine; they have repeatedly persecuted the saints; and--most important--they have stood in the way of individual spiritual progress by millions of truth-seekers.

There is no practical way by which the true worship of God can be expanded without some social organization behind it. Man is a social animal, and needs the company of others on all of life's journeys. Groups can always accomplish things which individuals cannot: maintain places and opportunities for group worship, provide literature and training; provide ministries and missions, etc. And, most important, they can create and support communities and environments in which the worship of God is encouraged.

It is great error for organized religion to become involved in politics. This is the evil which led to downfall of the Jewish kingdom and later, to the dark ages. God is a God of persons, not of causes. God loves each person on both sides of every controversy with equal fervor. For organized religion to become involved on either side is an unholy alliance. It stifles new-born faith and persecutes true believers.

To prepare for its proper role, organized religion should unburden itself of all ancient armor and armaments, all excess baggage, and come forth with the true soul-saving gospel of Jesus: that God is our Father, and we are his children; and that all men and women must learn to live as one spiritual family. In seeking Him to esteem Him, people also find themselves and feel good about it. And they become concerned about their neighbors.

Religion can, and should, create social communities of those with common religious experiences; to confirm the reality of their experiences, to reinforce their feelings of value, to encourage their continued efforts, to minister to the needs of the community, and to avoid feelings of isolation. Even religionists need social approval. And weaker and more timid souls need the shelter of some institution for early development.

Instead of destroying present religious organizations and forming new ones, we should focus upon the highest truths in each, thereby transforming them. We should build upon the foundations already laid. Existing religions have some good practices, talents and assets in place. All they need is proper direction. Religionists are better advised to work within responsive religious organizations to make them more fruitful rather than to abandon them and work alone.

II. CLUSTER TWO: QUESTIONS ABOUT SELF

A. WHO AM I?

Who am I? Conventional answers focus upon characteristics of a physical and social nature. Most people know their name, race, creed, ethnic group, nationality, occupation, family role, personality traits, social status, etc. They ARE all of these. Yet, knowing this, they continue to ask "Who am I?" There is something beyond their vital statistics and social data which people desire to know. It is as if they sense that they are part of something greater than their niche in the physical environment, and long to find out what it is.

There is not a biography in "Who's Who in America" which has a soul satisfying answer to this haunting question. All leave unanswered the identity of the biographer from a theological point of view, and leave unsatisfied the craving to know who we are in the universe or cosmos.

To discover who we are from a theological, universal or cosmic view, we must begin by exploring our characteristics which have theological, universal or cosmic significance. These should point toward who we really are.

As members of the human race, the highest order of animal life on earth, we share those characteristics held in common by human beings. If humans have any common characteristics of theological, universal or cosmic significance, then they also apply to you and me.

1. A Personality.

All who read this have one thing in common: each is a person. Persons have characteristics not shared by non-persons. These characteristics give us significant clues as to who we are.

Self-consciousness. Only persons can know that they exist as separate and distinct entities; can conceive of "I." This characteristic makes persons self-conscious: I am "I," every other person is "you," and every non-person is "it." Self-consciousness is absolutely essential to moral choosing.

Uniqueness, Individuality. No two persons are alike; each occupies a separate body and has different experiences. Each reacts differently to similar stimuli. "I" am unlike, to some extent, every other creature in the universe; and this makes "me" an individual: truly unique. (1225:37-1226:3) An understanding of this characteristic is essential to an assessment of human value. No one else can substitute for, or replace, a truly unique person.

Interpersonal Relations. Only persons have interpersonal relations.

Relationships between persons and non-persons are not interpersonal. Animals and inanimate objects, not being persons, cannot interrelate "personally" with us. God is a "person," and this characteristic allows persons to have a personal relationship with God.

Wisdom. Of all material beings, only persons are endowed with minds capable of distinguishing between good and evil. Not all persons have this capability at all times; however no physical creature other than a person has wisdom. This characteristic is essential to the ability to make a free-will choice between good and evil.

Worship. Persons are the only material creatures who have a tendency to (a "spirit of") worship. Only persons can perceive that there is reality beyond the material, sense that it is "personal" in nature, sincerely esteem it for its values, and crave to develop a closer personal relationship with it. This characteristic is essential to our love and worship of God.

The above characteristics form the basis of personality. Each creature endowed with these characteristics has a separate and distinct personality, and is a personality. Personality is the key to individuality. No two personalities are the same.

Science cannot explain where personality comes from. There is nothing in the laws of genetics or the theories of evolution to indicate that personality has a scientific basis. The URANTIA Book says personality is a gift of the Father (79:9-11 1225:18-19 1226:14-15); that it is personality which gives mankind the prerogatives of self-determination, self-evolution, and self-identification with Deity. (1301:12-14) Why do we have this gift? We have explored this in Part I.C, above.

I am the totality of that unique personality who conceives of itself as "I"; there is no other such creature in the universe. I will always be that personality. The personality who I know as "I" is constant and changeless. I am self-conscious: I know the difference between good and evil, and can choose to do either; I can foresee the social consequences of my acts. The cosmic status of my personality is affected by these choices.

2. Man. the Highest Animal. Material man is seen as the highest order of animal life, the acme of creation. He has been given dominion over all the earth. (Genesis 1:26-28) Where did man come from? What does this power signify?
Logically, man could have arrived on earth by one or more of four means: (1) evolved here by natural processes as a result of a colossal series of incidents, accidents, and coincidences; (2) created here as man by fiat of God; (3) created here by mindful use of principles of evolution and mutation; or (4) transported here from another place.

Pure science has no better answer than that man sprang from method (1), a colossal series of incidents, accidents and coincidences. The odds favoring production of mankind in such a manner are so infinitesimally small that most sensible people reject it as a viable theory. It is said that, under the laws of probability, if enough apes were set before enough word processors and given enough time, one of them would produce a photo-ready copy of The Encyclopedia Britannica. It is one thing to speculate, statistically, that the entire work can be reproduced in that manner, and quite another to propose that it was actually written in that manner. Those believing that the universe, with mankind in it, was actually produced by mindless, directionless phenomena of chance accept something far more implausible than that The Encyclopedia Britannica was accidentally written by an ape.

Fundamentalist Christian theology holds that man came to earth by way number (2), fiat creation by God. Whether or not this is a fact, it contains the essential truth that man appeared on earth as a creative act of Deity, which is theologically significant.

The URANTIA Book teaches that the basic human stock was placed on this planet by way number (3): creation by mindful use of evolution and mutation. (667:33-39) It was planned to up step the human race by interbreeding with material stock brought to earth by way number (4): transportation from another place (Adam & Eve, 583:8-10),however, relatively little benefit accrued from this effort because of the Adamic default. (736:30-35)

For all practical purposes, it is immaterial whether mankind arrived on earth as a result of way (2), (3) or (4), or by any combination thereof; the point is that man appeared--not by accident--but as a result of creation by Deity. Why would Deity create (by any means) "man in His own image" and give him "dominion over" all other physical creation? This is a significant question. Its answers give further clues as to who we are.

Let us postulate that the physical universe of galaxies, suns, planets, moons, etc., was created (by whatever means) to provide a physical environment within which to bring into existence various forms of life designed to support, and to culminate in, "beings" with the qualities of mankind. If so, the development of life forms not only would advance toward the desired end of producing mankind, but also would support him when he came into being. This is exactly what happened on earth; we can only speculate whether it happened elsewhere. If no higher form of physical creature appears, we can reason that the creative process was designed to culminate in, and support, mankind.

I am the capstone of physical creation. I, and those like me, have dominion over all the earth. But why? How does this help Deity? This is explored in Part I.C, above.

3. Free Will and Mandatory Choices.

Man is said to exercise free will; and so he does. But only to the extent that he can perceive options and understand their consequences. Wisdom is essential to free will. Civilized society does not hold its members criminally accountable for their misdeeds unless the culprit knew, or should have known, that the act was wrong. This is the basis for excusing the insane from criminal responsibility. Deity has at least as high a standard.

Out of all material creation, only man is aware of the qualities of his relationship with others, has the ability to foresee the consequences of his conduct in terms of impact on others. Only man is able to know the difference between good and evil. See definition of Evil in Part III.A, below. Therefore, only man has the ability to do evil.

There is another reason why man is the only material creature able to do evil: man, alone is able to overcome his animal nature. Animal behavior is governed by genetics and environment only; but man is able to overcome these by another behavior-regulating force: wisdom, and the free will to use it.

Lower animals always respond to a situation in accordance with their nature and training. A hungry tiger finding a lost child in the jungle acts in accordance with its nature, with no thought of any consequences. A starving man finding the child is instantly aware that a moral choice, if not a spiritual one, is involved. The tiger is absolved of moral blame if it eats the child; the man is not. Why this difference? The two reasons are: (1) because only the man could know it was wrong, if not evil, and (2) only the man had control over his own conduct: free will. These differences are of major theological significance.
The fact that man recognizes the difference between good and evil in any situation places upon him the inescapable burden to choose between the two. The more sensitive he becomes, the more differences he observes, and the more choices he must make. Most people constantly face such choices.

Choices between good and evil usually take the form of choices between self interests and (1) societal interests or (2) spiritual interests. Societal interests involve "right vs. wrong," sociological terms pertaining to morality. Spiritual interests involve "good vs. evil," theological terms pertaining to spirituality. This is an important difference. That which seems right may be evil. (Proverbs 14:12) Knowledge of good and evil is not the same as knowledge of right and wrong.

It is said that God provides no rewards or punishments; only consequences. God provides "consequences" only for free-will choices. He judges by the "heart:" the intent to do that known to be either good or evil. Good done accidentally or under duress has no spiritual value to the do-gooder. Evil done through ignorance or accident has no spiritual consequences upon the evildoer; but the choice of evil over good is sin, and the wages of sin is spiritual death.

Why did Deity enable mankind to ignore its animal nature? This quality of free will is given to man in order that he may perform important service to Deity, service which would be impossible without it. In Part I.C, above, four "desires" of Deity are proposed which are attainable through creatures with (1) the ability to ascertain the will of God and (2) the absolute power to obey or disobey it as they choose.

I AM an animal liberated from my animal nature and given both the wisdom to recognize the nature and con sequences of my acts and the free will to act as I choose. I therefore face constant choices of both a moral and spiritual nature. I have the power to ascertain the will of God if I seek to do so. I can increasingly gain knowledge of good and evil. (Compare Genesis 2:9,17; 825:39-40) Most knowledge comes from the Indwelling Spirit within me. (1457:40-43) Much comes from revelation, and some is portrayed in holy books. These provide the knowledge which makes me accountable for my subsequent acts.

The three human characteristics mentioned above do much to reveal who we are from a theological and cosmic point of view.

* * * * * * * *

Who am I? I AM a unique personality (by gift of God) having the ability to discern between good and evil, and the power to choose between the two. I AM a super-animal, in charge of a portion of God's material manifestation of Himself as physical creation. I AM a source of voluntary love and worship of God through faith. I AM a source of experience for Deity, itself. I AM a source of spirit growth of Deity. I AM potentially a Perfected being in the presence of the Father. And much, much more. I accomplish these functions by faithfully living out the physical "me" described in the first paragraph of Part II.A, above, and by faithfully developing my spiritual potential.

B. WHY AM I HERE?

Unless creation was mindless and frivolous, it must have something to do with implementing a grand design, a divine plan--to accomplish something which God either needs to have or desires to bring about. If so, then "I," as the acme of physical creation, must have a significant role in an important plan of God! This is a thrilling concept.

Mankind is the keystone figure in the Divine Plan for Creating. See Part I.C.2, above. He has a far greater role in cosmic development than is generally known.
Prevailing Western theology sees mankind as having been created by fiat in perfection, and as "falling" from that lofty status. The goal of most religions is a salvage operation, to keep people spiritually alive until they physically die, in the hope that God will mercifully restore them to their original status of perfection instead of justly punishing them for their sins. God is variously pictured as being angry with, and regretful over man; and as devising emergency plans to effect a cosmic rescue of his wayward children. The word "salvation" is not without significance. This traditional paradigm has prevailed in spite of numerous lofty, even brilliant, truths contained in most holy books. And it completely overlooks the reasons why man exists.

Man exists as a key element in a Divine Plan of Deity. His role and function are to assist Deity in satisfying several "desires" indicated above in Part I.C. These desires are for voluntary obedience and esteem, for creature experience, for true growth, and to evolve perfected beings. We human beings are deliberately designed and carefully tailored to fulfill each of these desires. And we are doing so.

1. To Provide Voluntary Obedience and Esteem.

Deity's "desire" for voluntary obedience and esteem is addressed in Part I.C.1.a, above.

Every normal human being exercises a free will to respond to Deity in any manner he chooses. There is no spiritual coercion. One can seek or avoid, obey or disobey, attend or ignore, hold in awe or contempt, love or hate, etc.: whatever attitude one holds toward God is one's personal choice. Whenever God is sought, esteemed, obeyed, loved or worshipped by a human, the act is voluntary. It results from the creature's seeing intrinsic values in Deity and desiring to identify with them. This constitutes the voluntary love and esteem otherwise not available to God.

Both logic and revelation indicate that you and I are here to provide important service to, and for, God by voluntarily seeking, finding, obeying, loving and worshipping him. In this endeavor, each of us is of equal value to God, and receives equal treatment from God.

2. To Provide Creature Experience with Evil.

Deity's "Desire" for creature experience is developed in Parts I.C.1.b, above, and III.A.1.a, below.

There is absolutely no doubt that humans undergo experiences with evil, some quite traumatic. Both the Old Testament and Jesus taught that God is with us throughout all of these trials, but the true significance of this teaching has only recently been revealed. Through the Indwelling Spirit of the Father, God actually shares our experiences; thereby gaining "creature experience." (29:21-32; 1185:1624) As we triumph over evil, God actually experiences the overcoming of evil through us. When we overcome evil with good, new spiritual values appear, and Deity experiences growth. These spiritual values become our immortal soul, and stay with us as we undergo the perfecting process to become Divine. Even when we fail and do evil, Deity has experiential knowledge of the phenomenon.

"I" am of importance to Deity as a vehicle through which God can (and does) gain experience: creature experience. No one else can provide these exact same experiences; and if I fail, they are lost to God forever.

3. To Provide Growth to Deity.

Deity's "desire" for growth was developed in Part I.C.1.c, above.
It is a mistake to view mankind as being created "a living soul" (Genesis 2:7) rather than as being a co-creator of his own soul. Man once believed that he was created by fiat. (838:30-31) We now learn that he was evolved out of pre-existent mater. (560:17-40) Even life, itself, was "initiated." (667:40-45) Man is made flesh, and given the power to become spirit. (343:3-9) It is in the first step toward becoming spirit that man is "born again," (1130:43-48) and thus actively participates in the creation of his own soul. (1478:24-44) During this spiritualizing process man contributes to totality of reality: to the growth of Deity.

Man has long been seen as a co-creator with God of physical progeny; but the more important creation of his soul--an embryonic spirit--is overlooked. Just as a caterpillar must weave its own cocoon if it aspires to become a butterfly; so must man develop his own soul if he aspires to become a spirit. This is why Jesus said "you must be born again, born of spirit." If man were "created spirit," spirit would already exist, and man could not give it "birth." Jesus made it plain that man was deeply involved in bringing about this "new birth" through the proper exercise of free will. (1602:40-46)

It is the supreme goal of this lifetime to be born of the spirit, to develop the human soul, and to survive as a spirit-potential being. Only the successful progress to other spheres (heaven) to become wholly spirit. Mankind, in the flesh, is but converted preexistent matter, (Genesis 2:7; 3:19) and adds nothing to Deity. Physical life adds nothing to Deity. Upon death, life terminates, and matter returns to older forms. Only that which is spirit is real and eternal. When a person, in conjunction with God, creates anything of spirit value, it adds to the totality of Deity (God the Supreme): it is spirit growth.

If this is correct, "I" am here to provide "spirit growth" to Deity both in the flesh and as I become more spiritual. "I" have the potential to become a perfected spirit-being with a residence on Paradise and an opportunity for important future service to God.

4. To Provide Perfected Beings.

Deity's "desire" to evolve perfected beings was discussed in Parts I.C.1.d, above, and III.A.1.b, below.

Of all the desires of Deity, this one is the most rewarding to us to fulfill. The Divine Plan for Creating contains an element of "reciprocal reward" by which Deity bestows on any faithful creature more than it receives from that creature. (Part I.C.2.d, above.) Reciprocal love from the Father is greater than any obedience and esteem we show Him. The experiences we share with Deity are ours as well as His. The growth we provide to Deity is our own growth. This "desire" is that we complete our growth by becoming perfect and standing in the presence of the Father in Paradise. The very "beings" which Deity desires to "become perfected" are YOU and ME. This is the ultimate consequence of faithful service, the best thing that could happen to us.

God has repeatedly told men and women to become perfect. (Genesis 17:1; Leviticus 19:2; Deuteronomy 18:13; Matthew 5:48; 21:30-31 + 12 other places) This is our goal and our destiny. The entire scheme of ascension to God is a perfecting process.

Only as perfected beings can you and I realize our potential to be full faith-sons and faith-daughters of our Heavenly Father. It is heart-warming to know that God desires us to dwell in His presence, and even become a part of total Deity.
I AM a potential faith-son or faith-daughter of Our Father. I can become a full faith-child by being a faith-ful child.

* * * * * * * *
Why am I here? To be "me," a unique personality. To seek and do the will of God; to grow to love and worship Him. To overcome evil with good. And by so doing, to contribute to the love, experience and growth of God. And ultimately, to stand in the presence of God a perfected being.

Both "I" and my missions are of profound significance and eternal importance. "My" role is to satisfy various desires of Deity. I was made for this Divine purpose. There are momentous consequences from my conduct on earth. No one can succeed but me. And no one else can fail. If I fulfill my purpose I will attain my destiny and inherit eternal life; if not, I will pass away forever.

C. WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF ME? HOW CAN I BE A BETTER PERSON?

Man has not been left uninformed of what God requires of him. To the contrary, all great religions contain truths about God's desires of men. Unfortunately, they also contain much misinformation. Along with its burdensome "laws," the Old testament contains the brilliant rhetorical question of Micah: "what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8) We may be more specific in three areas.

1. To seek and find God.

The one basic, and absolutely essential, requirement is to relate personally to God! It is not what one knows, but Who one knows, that "saves" one. Being good for goodness' sake rather than for God's sake achieves none of the objectives of Deity in creating mankind, and has no spiritual value. It elevates self-values over God-values, and constructively ignores God's existence. Spiritually, it results in being good for nothing.

The path to God is not the same for everyone. All do not start in the same place; but the focal point, the end of the journey, is always God. For most, the "way" is a process involving three functions: (1) to seek to know the will of God, (2) to attempt to do the will of God, and (3) to strive for a close personal relationship with God. These are most effective when done with enthusiasm by one who sees the beauty of God and eternal values in serving Him. Salvation depends more upon what one attempts than upon what one achieves. Sincere effort always results in success. We are taught that if we seek, we shall find. The process of God-seeking and God-finding always results, to some degree, in satisfying one or more needs of Deity.

2. To Overcome Evil with Good.

The most effective technique by which to do the will of God was voiced by Paul: "overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21) Jesus both taught and practiced this technique. The "other cheek" and "second mile" instructions are in point. Man cannot create by fiat; and the next two most significant methods of creation are by making something out of something else and by making something desirable out of something undesirable. The overcoming of evil with good does both. Man thus creates something of spiritual value, and becomes a cocreator with God. By faithfully practicing this technique, men and women can fulfill real needs of Deity and thereby live up to the purpose for which they were created.

Few people understand the full significance of the divine process of overcoming evil with good. Let us look at how it works in three different situations.

One's own Actions. When one chooses, and does, good instead of evil, good overcomes evil by preventing or replacing it. When one uses good to correct an evil already done, it may lessen or nullify the effects of the evil on the victim, and it always results in a positive good. In either instance the heart of the evildoer is good, and good has overcome evil.

Evil done to A Third Party by Another. When one does good to the victim of another's evil, it may reduce or eliminate the adverse effects of the evil, and it always produces a positive value for the person doing the good. The evil remains in the heart of the evildoer.

Evil done to you by another. Evil received from another may be overcome in two ways. First, return good for evil to influence the evil one to regret his evil. This was understood by Paul in Romans 12:20 where he wrote of heaping "coals of fire" upon the evildoer's head. Second, return good without regard for its influence upon the evildoer. If you return evil for evil, two evils exist. If you return nothing, there is still one evil. If you return good for evil, there is one good and one evil, and numerically they cancel out. If you return a greater good than the original evil, you have truly "overcome" the original evil, for quantitatively there is more good in the world than evil as a result of the exchange.

Here is a cosmic secret: when good is returned for evil, good always overcomes evil. Evil has no spiritual value; good does. Evil is cosmically unreal, and will cease to exist. Good is eternally real. Every person who returns good for evil has created a reality of spiritual value; it will live on as part of the soul. Even a little good in return for a great evil leaves something of value where nothing existed before. This is one principal process by which one builds his immortal soul.

3. To Love both God and Man -- Will man ever love his fellow man?

God requires us to love. At the human level, love is the desire to do good for others. One can be niggardly or generous with love of another; can limit love to one or a few, or can lavish it on many. There is no limit to the supply. God has so much of this quality that He is said to be love. God, as a person, can be loved as any other person.

Love does not occur as an applied philosophy nor an act of will. Love occurs from recognition of values, from understanding motives and sentiments. (1098:28-29) To truly love someone, whether God or man, you must really know them. The Divine injunction to love is equally a command to know and understand. Man will never love his fellow man unless and until he knows him better. This will take centuries.

Jesus said the two great commandments are both to love: love God, and love your fellow man; and that on these hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40) One who truly loves God will seek, obey and esteem Him. One who truly loves his fellow man will attempt to overcome all forms of evil with good. It is easier to love one's fellow man when one sees (and loves) God as his/her Father and views all neighbors as children of God. All men and women then become one's spiritual brothers and sisters in the family of God.

4. Other Requirements.

God has already come to you. He now desires that you come to Him. The path to God is an ages-long journey. One does not "arrive" in this lifetime; earthly victory is only a beginning. Progress evolutionary rather than instantaneous: take one step at a time. The adventure begins with a sincere decision to seek and find God. This is made upon faith, and nurtured by growing faith as we continue God-ward. Once begun, the journey requires fidelity and Perseverance. You must not turn back. The password is progress. You will know you are on the right path when there appear spirit fruits upon which to feast.
In this lifetime enjoy the experience of being human. Be the best human you can be. Whatever you undertake, do it well and with good cheer. Live life to the fullest, not as a passive mystic or colorless ascetic, but as an active participant in all life's routine affairs. Fulfill the double-responsibility of duty to God and duty to man at the same time, by the same acts. And be sincere. This produces spirit fruit, and makes you a "better person" in the eyes of both God and man.

D. CAN I COMMUNICATE WITH GOD?

It is inconceivable that Deity would place men and women on earth and leave them with no communications: no way to ascertain good and evil; no way to determine what God desires of them or has in store for them; and no way to express to their Creator the sincere thoughts of their minds, the deep longings of their hearts, or the joy of worship.

Communication is a two-way street; it is both incoming and outgoing. Incoming communications are largely sensed as thoughts or feelings; outgoing, are largely articulated as words, silently or aloud.

God continuously attempts to communicate with every human mind capable of moral choosing. Because of man's free will, He does not speak so strongly as to coerce. Since man must seek God, He does not speak so loudly as to impose. God does not compel anyone to listen. But always, as men and women face choices between good and evil, He displays the values of each alternative. God is not mute. Man's ability to receive communications from God depends more upon man's willingness to listen than upon God's ability to speak.

There seems to exist within the mind of man a fragment of Deity which examines every concept as it arises, and classifies it as true or false, beautiful or ugly, good or evil. There seems to follow a call, a request--not a command, to choose the true over the false, the beautiful over the ugly, and the good over the evil. It is as if a still, small voice whispers into one's spiritual ears the eternal values involved in every moral choice which one must make, and sometimes says "this is the way."

The voice is weak when one appears to benefit more from choosing the false, ugly or evil than by choosing the true, beautiful and good. It fades into oblivion as one repeatedly chooses the false, ugly or evil. But it seems to grow louder and clearer as one responds to it by choosing the true, beautiful and good. Hearing God gets easier as one becomes more spiritual.

This is the principal method by which God communicates to every normal human mind. For most of us, it is enough. Yet, at times, God has communicated more articulately and forcefully. The Bible recounts that, in the days of Abraham, God sent a celestial being (Melchizedek) to communicate with humans, including Abraham. The Bible also tells of angels and prophets as messengers of God, and of communications by vivid dreams. But the supreme method by which God has communicated with man is through Jesus of Nazareth, God incarnate, who spoke to mankind face to face. Jesus revealed, for the first time, that men and women can become faith sons and daughters of God.

How does man speak to God? We are taught that God knows our every thought and hears our every prayer. If so, all deliberate thoughts or prayers addressed to Deity are known instantaneously. But by whom? The Bible speaks of at least three "persons" in Deity. Are prayers heard by the correct "person?"

The dissemination of prayers is much like radio broadcasts. Think of prayers as being broadcast on a "prayer circuit" in which each "person" of Deity has a receiving station. Each station receives, records and acts upon only those messages which pertain to its Deity Personality. Thus, a prayer of pure praise goes to God the Father, a petition for intercession on earth goes Jesus as Creator-Son; etc. I doubt if the Deities are misled when a message is misaddressed.

But it is enough to know that God hears, and answers, all sincere prayers prayed in the spirit.

E. HOW SHOULD I RELATE TO MY FAMILY, CLAN, RACE & NATION?

Mankind relates to: (1) God, (2) his environment, and (3) his fellow man. The most important relationship is with God; this overrides all others. This is always a personal relationship, whether or not one realizes it. It is governed by one's attitude and intent toward God.

Paradoxically, our response to God is reflected more by our relationships with our environment and our fellows than by our relationship directly with God. God is spirit, and we are matter. We live in a material world, and whatever we do occurs in a material environment. There are few and limited ways in which material man can demonstrate or express his attitude toward a spiritual God other than through conduct toward his material environment, including--most significantly-his fellow man.

Deity intended it this way. The material universe, with the earth and all it's people, was created by Deity for a reason. God has a special interest in its care and nurture: it is His, and it is good. We are God's surrogate caretakers and our brother's keepers. We are here for that purpose, among others. Therefore, those things which God desires us to do are almost entirely directed toward caring for, and improving, our material environment; most particularly, toward improving our relationship with each other.

It is not by coincidence that the tenets of every great religion contain much about man's relationship to his fellow man. Of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament (Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21), four have to do with man's relationship with God and six have to do with man's relationship with man. Of the "two great commandments" in the New Testament (Matthew 23:37-40), one relates to God, and the other to "neighbor." It is therefore fair to say that God desires our love for Him to be demonstrated by our conduct toward our fellows.

Man is a social animal. It is not good for man to be alone. As the human race develops, it faces an ever-enlarging, ever complex, set of social circumstances to which it must adjust. The family, tribe, clan, state, race, nation, multi-national federation and ultimate world government, are but expanding social situations through which men and women are to develop spiritually by a process called "civilization." Civilization reflects the degree of human subjugation of individual self-aggrandizement to higher values found in the needs of society, a development of spiritual dimensions. Secular history is the story of how mankind has met these challenges; it also provides a barometer of spiritual development.

1. Family.

According to the Bible, the very first instruction given to man and woman by God was "be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth.." (Genesis 1:28) The basic values of civilization are developed and nurtured in the family. The blind trust of the child, the loving care of the parents, fraternal and filial love, the fidelity of parents to one another, the mutual support of the extended family, and the unifying influence of the patriarch and matriarch: these virtues form the foundation for all future progress in social development. The rise and fall of civilization has closely followed the rise and fall of the family.

Family virtues have spiritual value. The fifth commandment directs family obedience. When Jesus came to reveal God to man, it was the ideal family that he used to illustrate the Kingdom of Heaven: God is a loving Father, and our greatest contribution to the Father is to bring about the brotherhood of man, the social consolidation of His scattered and diverse material children.

How should I relate to my family? Bring the highest value into the position you occupy. As a child, trust and obey your parents, give and accept love. As a youth, assume your share of the obligations and love your brothers and sisters. As a parent, love, nurture and guide your children, and train them to assume their full role as adults, even if the training should require discipline. When children become of age, parents must let go, trust, and respond to special needs. As a wife or husband, love, be faithful toward, and cooperate with your spouse. And as grandparents (and beyond), hold the extended family together as a larger unit, mutually supportive of all other parts.

2. Clan and Tribe.

Individuals get along easier with people who are "like" them than those who are "unlike" them. Blood ties result in biological and social similarities which facilitate fraternization beyond the immediate family. This led to the development of the clan and tribe. But in modern Western society, the clan and tribe have little significance. Mobility and urbanization have diluted and displaced areas of clan autonomy, and almost eliminated tribal influence and authority.

The clan and tribe represent two stages of social advancement beyond the family. They have been replaced by local culture groups and larger communities of similar interests, or by local neighborhoods and larger city or county units, etc. Gangs, societies, tongs, etc., are social innovations replacing clans in some environments.

The social value of clans and tribes, and of their replacements, is that they influence people to socialize, to get along together, in groups larger than the family. They develop wider interpersonal commitment, broader internal loyalties and stimulate cooperative external competition. They are a necessary stage in social development.

Social dangers of clans and tribes, and of their equivalents, are that clan loyalties may inhibit broader social development, and competition may take destructive paths leading to various forms of mob action and intergroup warfare.

The wise individual uses clans, tribes, societies, teams, gangs, clubs, etc., as a means of developing self-commitment and group loyalties, of getting along with larger numbers of people, and of adjusting self-interests to the needs of wider groups. Yet, one does not stop there. The most practical way to develop an effective social structure beyond the clan and tribe is work through the group to influence it to become an integral part of a larger structure. But if any group refuses to grow into a larger society structure, abandon it and develop new relationships and commitments with the larger group representing the region, state or nation.

3 Race

Race focuses upon certain common physical characteristics. Although race originated through families, clans and tribes, it is no longer a social organization, as such. Yet race is a strong social force. The common characteristics shared by peoples of any race tend to bring them together. People of other races are seen as being "different," and this tends to set the races apart.

Belonging to any particular race, however, provides no spiritual advantage or disadvantage; all persons are equal in the sight of God. There is no race of "chosen people:" all are called; and those who respond--of all races--are equally "chosen."

Deity developed races in-order to give individuals the valuable experience of learning to socialize with people markedly different from themselves. Successful social integration in the past would have resulted in blended races containing the finer qualities of each strain. However, racial socialization has not developed as planned, and much important work needs to be done in this area.
One's relationship with people of different races should begin by ignoring obvious but irrelevant differences and observing the more significant commonalties. This calls for eliminating all personal racial prejudice and accepting every person upon the basis of his or her true social and moral development. Race should become irrelevant: neither an advantage nor a disadvantage to inter-personal relations.

Due to prejudice and mistrust, socialization among the races is unlikely to progress very far unless and until it is recognized that men and women of all races are equally-loved children of the same Heavenly Father. When the world sees all people as sisters and brothers--and treats each one accordingly--it will have attained one spiritual goal of the Creator in making the different races.

4. Nationality.

Nationality holds together the largest social organizations of lasting quality now on the face of the earth. Nations are far greater social organizations than families and clans, but still far smaller than the ultimate social achievement: a single world government. Nations come and go, grow and recede. Leagues, federations, and treaty organizations appear and disappear. All of these represent valiant efforts of mankind to get along in ever-enlarging groups until everyone can get along together.

Nationality is a unity based upon common interests within a particular geographical area. Some day man will learn that common interests know no geographic boundaries.

We are taught that nationality is the greatest cause of war; and if wars are to end, all people must yield their sovereignty to a single world government. (1489:24-30) Yet, this development must await its time: until the people of the world are ready for it. (804:40-44) Otherwise, it would actually precipitate war: a revolution.

Nations exercise power in accordance with the morals of those who govern them; both for good and for evil. Some permit their citizens more freedom and opportunity to follow the will of God than do others. Since the plan of salvation, the means by which mankind moves beyond the material toward the spiritual, calls for uncoerced personal choice of good over evil, nations which obstruct and inhibit such choice pose a problem of spiritual dimension. And attempts to extend their hegemony or sovereignty over non-consenting peoples pose further problems.

It is socially suicidal and spiritually debilitating to impose upon any nation a government contrary to the general will of its people. The maintaining of government by force always inhibits the development of social and spiritual values by the people governed. No truly self governing nation should become so divided or so weak as to allow this to happen.

On the other hand, continuously-escalating military forces are not desirable. They create as many tensions as they relieve. They make possible a greater catastrophe than they are designed to prevent. And they suggest that there is a military solution to a problem which is social and spiritual.

All citizens of a truly self-governing nation should support their national government in its effort to govern wisely. When a decision has been made by proper means, it should be accepted.

The nation may represent the best opportunity for individuals to participate in widespread social activities on a cooperative basis in
our day; yet one should not be selfish or exclusive about the matter. Mankind should look for ever-expanding horizons beyond which to expand the circle of truly self-governing peoples until the entire world is under one government, and nations are no more.

F. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR ME AND MY FAMILY -- WHEN WILL THE WORLD END?

The world is quivering on the brink of a bright new age. The URANTIA Book was given in 1929-1935, a hundred years before its time, "to prepare leaders." It takes little math to project that the "time" of the book is the second quadrant of the 21st century. The world is ripe for the visitation of a Magisterial Son (227:18-19) or Trinity Teacher Son (231:34-41), and it may occur at that time. The trial of Lucifer and his arch-rebels is under way. (611:23-25) Upon its completion and execution of judgment we can expect a return of the spiritual circuits and a lifting of the Norlatiadek quarantine. (529:11-15)

After the Lucifer rebellion, the Caligastia betrayal, the Adamic default and the untimely murder of Jesus Christ, it is difficult to see how anything worse could happen to our planet. Yet it is now physically possible for man to completely destroy all human life in a matter of days. I do not believe this will happen. The Most Highs, who rule in the kingdoms of men, have an observer on this planet, a Vorondadek Son, who has the power to seize the planetary government in times of grave planetary crisis (1253:20-45). I have faith in both the wisdom and the strength of our planetary government (augmented), and do not believe we would have been given a book "timed" for after 2025 if there would be no one around to read it at that time.

Barring cataclysmic accident, this planet is destined to be settled in Light and Life, a form of planetary "salvation." As such it would not undergo natural planetary decay. (621:20-23) There is no natural "end of the world" before the end of time. If a physical catastrophe should doom this planet, there is an emergency plan by which the evolving human race can be saved. (582:20-31)
Science is still outstripping religion, and philosophy suffers as a result of it. This situation will continue until the world discovers and follows the soul-saving teachings of Jesus (from The URANTIA Book or elsewhere), or receives a celestial visit from a high Son, or the spiritual circuits are reopened, or any combination thereof.

Our families probably will not observe much spiritual progress for the next three or four decades; but the foundation is being laid for the exciting events which will occur thereafter.

G. WHAT HAPPENS TO ME WHEN I DIE? IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH? IS THERE A HEAVEN OR HELL?

Death is cessation of life. That which has never lived cannot die. When life ceases in any organism, the physical structure remains to undergo natural decomposition, but the organism--as such--ceases to exist. That which ceases to exist is no more: it will never be again.

Animals and plants are material living organisms. They have once to live and once to die. Their seed may produce new life, but it is a new and different organism. Mankind is an animal, a material living organism. As such, mankind has but one material "life" to live, and that is terminated by death. (Hebrews 9:27)

But mankind is more than an animal. Each person thinks of self as something other than mere animal self, as having qualities and characteristics not shared by any lower animal. Both logic and revelation say that this portends a viability, a form of life, beyond and above the physical. This non-material substance is said to be spiritual in nature and is referred to as the soul. The spiritual soul is seen as a separate entity from the material body, not necessarily terminated by physical death. This view is generally correct.

1. Survival: Eternal Life.

"Eternal life" and "immortality" mean nothing more than "life which will not be terminated by death." That which dies does not enjoy eternal life. Material man is mortal. The word "mortal" means that he dies. The same life cannot be both mortal and eternal. Therefore, the concept of "eternal life" is inappropriate for man's physical body: it can only apply to the life of his developing "soul."
Jesus taught, and demonstrated, that there was some form of life beyond material death, and promised that those who obeyed his Father's commandments would not die, but have eternal life. This is the "life" which began with the "new birth" mentioned by Jesus to Nicodemus, a spiritual form of life. (John 3:1-7)

Our human identity need not die with the flesh; our personality will survive with our spiritual soul IF we cooperate with Deity and bring about this "new birth." The human mind is the womb of the embryonic soul. Following the "new birth", we contain a spark of immortality. The body then becomes the temporary dwelling place of the developing soul. The loss of this temporary abode does not result in death of the soul or the destruction of that which is spirit: when the body dies, they survive. That which is truly spirit is immortal; has eternal life.

Unfortunately, many people live their entire lifetime without the "new birth," without creating a soul or contributing to spirit. In such a case, there is nothing to survive. Confirmation of this circumstance by a "just" God represents the "judgment," after which occurs the equivalent of the second death, identity extinction.

Human beings have two deaths about which to be concerned: (1) physical death, and (2) spiritual death. Physical death terminates material life which began at birth (or earlier), and spiritual death terminates spiritual life which began with the new birth. This "second death" is referred to three times in The Book of Revelation. It has far more significance than physical death.

The second death, like the first, results in cessation of life: in this case, spirit life. Thereafter, since there is no living body and no living spirit, there is no life to contain identity, the deceased person is "as if he had never been." (See 1229:39-1230:5) Even after resurrection a person may choose not to advance, in which case there occurs the second death. (1218:45-1219:3)

2. Resurrection.

For those who believe in reincarnation, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that there is no such thing; the good news is that there is something better: resurrection. Reincarnation is defined as a return to a material body of flesh. All flesh is mortal. Resurrection, on the other hand means something quite different.

Upon physical death, all surviving non-material elements return to their components, and reside in the hands of faithful, loving celestial caretakers until they are reconstituted as the "personality" of the deceased at a different place in a more appropriate body. (1234:341235:7) Any spiritualized factors of mind, memory and creature personality are held by the Thought Adjuster; the evolving soul, containing creature mind-matrix and potentials of identity, is held by the Guardian Seraphim; there they remain until they are placed in a specially prepared "body" in the resurrection halls of the first Mansion world and re-constituted as the same personality who died on earth. This is the resurrection. (See 533:3-11)

Those who believe in karma, and who are disappointed that there is no reincarnation to experience karma, will be happy to learn that we take up our life upon resurrection about where we left it on death. (532:39-40) There are, however, several differences. We will have a new body. (2029:1317) And purely animalistic and wholly material mental associations will be left behind. (533:5-7) But our personality, and everything worth while in our memory, will be resurrected. (535:6-11) This is also true following numerous "translation sleeps" which occur thereafter. But we always go forward, never backward. In the early stages, failure to progress results in the "second death."

3. WHAT IS HEAVEN LIKE?

Shortly before His death, Jesus said: "In my Father's universe are many dwelling places (mansions),...I go to prepare a place for you...I will... receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also." (John 14:23) These "many Mansions" represent the places to which resurrected individuals go. The first of these has been referred to as "heaven," but it is not our ultimate celestial abode. (174:32-34) If we mean by "heaven" a better place to which we go after we die, there are countless of them. "Heaven" probably refers to the central universe of Havona. The ultimate "heaven" is the Isle of Paradise, the dwelling place of God.

The various "heavens" through which we pass on the way to paradise are beautiful, exciting and inspiring. They contain the superlative of art, music, literature, horticulture, and animal life. They are made of materials unknown to us. But in the end, they are all training spheres; for the universe is one vast school.

There is no such place as "hell" as it is popularly depicted: a place of eternal torment. It would take a cruel God to impose such a disproportionate punishment upon creatures who merely exercised their God-given powers. Furthermore, to experience a hell of eternal torment, the evil person being punished would need to exist, to have eternal life. The wages of sin is death, cessation of existence. Evil is a cosmic unreality, and always ceases to exist. It is enough punishment to lose an eternal life of growth and service leading to the Father in Paradise.

After physical death, all resurrected personalities begin a thrilling time-space journey to attain perfection and live as pure spirit with the Father in Paradise. They evolve gradually from the material to the spiritual, from the mortal to the immortal, from the imperfect into the perfect, and from the finite to the infinite. In the process they pass through heaven after heaven, but no hell. This is the destiny for which we were born. It can be yours if you are willing to pay the price of admission: steadfast faith, and good works bearing spirit fruit.

III. EVIL CLUSTER

A. WHY IS THERE EVIL IN THE WORLD?

Gadiah, a young Philistine interpreter, felt that the existence of evil in the world alongside the good was unjust. Gadiah asked Jesus: "How can God, if he is infinitely good, permit us to suffer the sorrows of evil; after all, who creates evil?" (1429:3-5) This question, in one form or another, has been asked by every generation.

Gadiah made the same false assumption commonly held since the dawn of history: that God creates evil. God did not, has not, and does not create evil! God is infinitely good. God is love. God does not, and cannot, "will" that evil befall anyone. Anything which God may "will" is "good" by definition.

Since God did not create evil, what is evil? How did it get here?

Definition of Terms. Before we proceed further, it is important to understand clearly the terms used here. They are defined as used in The URANTIA Book, particularly as used by Jesus.

Good: The doing of that which is in accordance with the will of God. Anything which God "wills" is good.

Evil: The doing of that which is NOT in accordance with the will of God. Anything which is NOT in accordance with God's will is evil, including all forms and degrees of evil: error, sin and iniquity.

Mere evil: Inadvertent or unintentional evil, not sin or iniquity. Anything is mere evil if it (1) is not in accordance with the will of God and (2) is done as a result of ignorance, mistake, etc., where God's will is not known and not knowingly transgressed. "Evil," in some contexts means mere evil.

Error: Mere evil which results from error. (See: mere evil)

Sin: The conscious, knowing or deliberate doing of that which is contrary to the will of God, or--upon knowing that the will of God may be involved--acting in complete disregard of any will of the Father in the matter. Anything which is consciously or deliberately done knowing it is, or may be, evil (as defined above) is sin.

Iniquity: The deliberate, continuing, willful, persistent or rebellious doing of that which is contrary to the will of God. Anything done in open, willful, repeated, persistent or rebellious defiance of the will of God is iniquity.

Possibility of Evil: A situation in which an intelligent creature exercising free will has a choice between good and evil: to do either that which is or is not the will of the Father. The possibility of evil, when in accordance with the will of God, is not evil, but good. It has the potential to become evil, but only when an intelligent "will creature" acts to bring it into existence contrary to the will of God.

NOTICE: Although "good," "evil," "error," "sin," and "iniquity" have been defined in terms of doing, the result--that which is done may also be properly called by the same term. For example: if one does evil, that which results is evil.
In Zebedee's garden Thomas asked questions similar to that of Gadiah. Jesus replied that Thomas' misconceptions were born of his misunderstanding of the Father and of his ignorance of the origin, nature and destiny of man. (1660:45-47) This suggests that we may know what is evil and why evil is in the world (1) by gaining better understanding of the Father and (2) by knowing more about the origin, nature and destiny of man.

1. How a Better Understanding of the Father helps us to Understand the Function of Evil.

The URANTIA Book supports at least two concepts about the Father which may explain why Deity created a physical universe in which there is the possibility of evil. Please note the significant difference between "creating evil" and "creating the possibility of evil."

a. Creature Experience.

The first concept is that the Father desires evil. to gain creature experience. This is developed in Parts I.C.1.b and II.B.2, above.

If the Father gains experience through his creatures, such gains are greatly limited if all such creatures are perfect and only do that which God programs them to do. He cannot experience voluntary obedience or esteem from such creatures, nor the exhilaration of victory in the mighty struggle between right and wrong. Creature experience, to be replete, must include making free-will choices to seek God or to ignore Him, to do God's will or one's own will: in short, to choose between good and evil. Creatures could exercise no such choice without the possibility of evil in their created environment. Thus, the possibility of evil is essential to the acquisition by the Father of a full spectrum of creature experiences.

b. Perfected Beings.

The second concept is that the Father desires to develop perfected beings, as distinguished from always-perfect beings, to share His dwelling place. This is developed in Parts I.C.1.d and II.B.4, above.

In order for any such perfecting process to be the most effective, it must include, as a very minimum, (1) the creation of less-thanperfect beings: physical, mortal and free willed; (2) the preparation of an environment which is less-than-perfect in which the possibility of evil exists; and (3) the perfection of a plan by which physical beings can become spiritual, mortal beings can become immortal, and free willed beings can become God-willed: put on the mind of God. The success of the entire plan hinges upon the complete freedom of each perfecting being to choose between good and evil, and to act accordingly. In order to act upon choice, one must have a choice. This is why the environment must include the possibility of evil: so evil can be chosen.
If these two concepts are correct, then the possibility of evil is brought into existence by Deity to help satisfy the above-mentioned two "desires" resulting from the very "nature" of the Father.

2. How a Better Understanding of the Origin, Nature and Destiny of Man helps us to Understand the Function of Evil.

Man is a material being of animal origin with the potential to become a spiritual being of Divine destiny. Man is mortal with the opportunity to attain immortality. Man's free will is ego-oriented with the possibility to become God-oriented, even God-like. Without being coerced, man must discover both himself and God, and must choose between the two. By choosing God, imperfect man can become perfect, and stand in the very presence of the Father. Or by choosing self, man can live and die as an animal on the planet of his birth. This choice belongs to every normal-minded individual.

Each person has been created for the very purpose of seeking and finding God, of embarking upon an ages-long journey toward perfection in the presence of God. Only misguided self-love can hinder this destiny. God has devised a plan and laid out a map, but no one is forced to follow it. Mankind has been given the matchless gift of free will: each person can say yes or no to anybody, including God. Man may opt to seek and follow God's plan, or follow a path of his own. Each person's ultimate fate is in his or her own hands. This summarizes man's origin, nature and destiny.

The destiny of man, to become perfected as a result of his own decisions instead of by Deity compulsion, would be unattainable without the possibility of wrong decisions: evil. See Part III.A.1.b, above. To be "perfected," man requires a less-than-perfect beginning: both a native ability to choose and to do that which is imperfect (evil), and an environment in which imperfection (evil) is permitted. Each of these demands the existence of the possibility of evil.

...The only evolutionary world without error (the possibility of unwise judgment) would be a world without free intelligence...evolving man must be fallible if he is to be free. 52:4-7

When man is given the free will to create or destroy, the potential exists for him to destroy. If man chooses destructively, he brings into existence various forms of evil, sin and iniquity. See 220:44-48

Note, only the possibility of evil is necessary to moral choosing, not its actuality. (1458:44-45) Man must be free to choose "evil" as well as "good." God does not will that any creature choose--or do-evil! The plan of perfecting salvation would work perfectly if every choice of every intelligent creature in the universe were for "good."

3. The Actualizing of Evil.

We know now that God does not create evil, but rather only the possibility of evil. Where does evil come from? Who converts the possibility into actuality?
The simple but profound answer is that evil is "really nonexistent until such a time as an intelligent creature wills..(its) existence by mischoosing the way of life." (1429:18-19) Thus, all evil comes from imperfect intelligent creatures who "create" it by acting contrary to the will of God--by making evil their choice. Evil choices are made from ignorance, immaturity, inexperience, mistake (error), unwise judgment and other deviations from perfect obedience to the Father's will. The knowing, deliberate, willful choice of evil is sin. The repeated, prolonged and habitual choice of evil is iniquity.

Only truth exists until an intelligent personality creates untruth, only fact exists until one creates falsehood, only beauty exists until one creates ugliness, only goodness exists until one creates badness, etc. All evil comes into existence through imperfect intelligent personalities; and always comes contrary to the will of God.

4. The Consequences of Evil.

Evil has dual consequences. The personal or internal consequences have to do with the development of the soul, and concern only God and the evil-doer. But the external consequences impinge adversely upon every person within the effective range of the evil.

Sin is never purely local in its effects. The administrative sectors of the universe are organismal; the plight of one personality must to a certain extent be shared by all. 761:911

Evil and sin visit their consequences in material and social realms and may sometimes even retard spiritual progress...Sin enormously retards intellectual development, moral growth, social progress, and mass spiritual attainment... 761:20-28

We live on a planet which has suffered more than its share of evil. Urantia is a decimal (experimental life) planet, and experiments resulted in the inadvertent development of parasitic bacteria which cause many distressful diseases. (736:22-29) This error would have been corrected by the immune systems of races blended with offspring of the Material Son and Daughter, but this was prevented by the Adamic default. (736:29-35) The Caligastia betrayal during the Lucifer rebellion led to the loss of 300,000 years' progress by the Planetary Prince and his staff.(761:4-8) During the last 200,000 years Urantia has been "under the spiritual ban of Norlatiadek" (578:26-28) and most system circuits have been cut off, (755:34-36) greatly hindering spiritual progress.

Because of the relative dearth of spiritual development, the natives of this planet have created more than their share of evil: disharmony, self-gratification, social strife, poverty, famine, pestilence, and war. But not one evil impulse or act was brought about by God.

5. Why does God Allow Evil to Continue?

Granted that God does not "create" evil; He certainly allows it to continue. Why? How does actual evil help to implement a Divine Plan?

a. To Preserve Free Will.

God allows the possibility of evil to continue for the same reason that it was permitted to begin with: it is essential to spiritual development and progress! God cannot prevent the choice (creation) of evil by his creatures without removing their ability to choose evil, without destroying free will. Such action would defeat the principal purpose of time-space creation.

This liberty to choose for oneself is an endowment of the Supreme Rulers, and they will not permit any being or group of beings to deprive a single personality in the whole universe of this divinely bestowed liberty... (615:22-25)

b. To Provide Opportunities for Greater Good.

There is another important reason why God permits evil to run its course: He has devised a plan whereby evil actually works for good in the overall scheme of things. "..(A)ll things (including evil) work together for good to them that love God..." Romans 8:28 (616:38-41) The formula is rather simple: good > evil.

Good (that which is in accordance with the will of God) is always a greater power than evil and can overcome evil. The greater the evil, the greater the good which overcomes it. Spiritual victory over large evil has more value than one over small evil. Those who win great victories over evil prepare themselves for higher service than would have been possible otherwise.

Each choice of good over evil prevents the non-chosen evil from existing, and thus "overcomes" evil. But once evil has been chosen and done, it cannot be undone, it can only be overcome. Good does not erase or cancel out evil; rather, it overcomes existing evil in two ways: (1) it limits the ill effects of evil by building a shield or a barrier against it; and (2) it creates positive new values which outweigh the negative values of the evil. The second of these is more important on earth. For example, the terrible toll of evil from the Lucifer Rebellion cannot be recouped, but it can be limited by way (1). And vast amounts of good have flowed from way (2) via those who have overcome its ill effects with good. We are told that the total good which has come from the Lucifer rebellion is far greater than the sum of the evil created by it. (619:34-36)

6. Our Blessings from Evil.

Rather than feeling sorry for ourselves, we should be thankful. Because of our plight, we enjoy the unique blessing of having been visited by a Creator Son on a bestowal mission. We can become Agondonters: evolutionary will creatures who believe without seeing, persevere when isolated, and triumph over insuperable difficulties even when alone. (579:2-4) See John 20:29. This gives us an opportunity for a destiny of higher service than would be possible otherwise. (579:11-14).

Once we have been truly reborn--born of the spirit--we can live our lives in the flesh viewing every evil as an opportunity rather than as a hindrance. Trouble will invigorate us; disappointment will spur us on; difficulties will challenge us; and obstacles will stimulate us. (1438:22-25) See also 291:21-26.

B. WHY IS THERE SUFFERING IN THE WORLD?

Thomas (1605:2-5), Nathaniel (1661:21-24) and John (1662:34-36) each asked Jesus, in effect, why the loving Father permits so many of his apparently innocent children to suffer from so many diseases and other afflictions. The following is essentially the response given by Jesus to these three apostles.

To Thomas, Jesus gave the most significant and profound response. After chiding Thomas for not listening with the "ear of the spirit," He pointed out that God's kingdom is spiritual, and said that he was teaching the apostles as spiritual children about spiritual matters. Their problem was that they took his words too literally, and thus were unable to separate the spiritual realities of the kingdom from literal social problems of the day. He urged them to listen for the spiritual message instead of the literal physical meaning. (1605:6-25) The evil which produces suffering originates in spiritual deficiency, and ultimately dies; the good which overcomes the evil causing suffering originates in spiritual sufficiency, and ultimately lives.

1. What is Suffering?

Suffering is the unpleasant feeling one gets when things go wrong, the personalized repercussion of evil. Suffering is not evil Per se. It is an inevitable physical consequence of evil. It sounds the alarm that evil has occurred. Suffering and evil are not equivalent. Alleviating suffering does not necessarily overcome the evil which caused it, nor does overcoming evil alleviate the suffering it caused. While evil remains in the world, there will be suffering. (See Part III.A)

2. Where Suffering Comes From.

Just as God did not create evil, He did not create suffering. Yet God did create the possibility of evil, which includes the possibility of suffering. Suffering, like evil, always enters the world through the evil, sin and iniquity, of a lower intelligent creature, and never by fiat of God.

Jesus and The URANTIA Book teach of four broad sources of suffering.

First, much suffering springs from devastating evil which came into existence through errors and sins of Jesus' own trusted Sons involved in administering the earth. (1632: 2S-27) Unexpected developments in the experiments of Life Carriers resulted in parasitic bacteria injurious to humans (736:25-29); sinful adventures of certain rebellious traitors (Lucifer, etc.) disturbed the natural order of progression on earth (1661:26-27); and the shameful default of Adam and Eve denied to humanity the genetic uplifting so beneficial to physical and spiritual development (851:32-33). These factors impacted adversely upon the conditions of man's temporal existence (1649:39-40) and made disease more prevalent (736: 25-35). It will be many ages before the losses caused by the errors and sins of lower celestial beings are attenuated and the world restored to normalcy. (1661:20-30)

Second, humans suffer from errors of their forebears. (1649: 28) We are reared in an environment greatly modified from its natural state by our ancestors. Some of this is good, some is bad. Modern industry provides many useful products, but also causes pollutants and toxins which impact upon health. Our moral and spiritual environments have been created largely by our forebears and their associates. Many now suffer from moral deficiencies as well as spiritual deficiencies in their environment.

Third, humans suffer from the evil of their contemporaries. Man is created a social animal. Each person is a part of numerous social units. Each individual in each unit enjoys the benefits and suffers the penalties flowing from relationships with others in the unit, and from the unit's relationships with other units. When a star player on a sports team has a bad day, the entire team suffers; when the team has a bad day, the star suffers. The individual and the unit move as a whole: the conduct of one affects all; the conduct of all impacts upon each one. We suffer from the evil of others within our community, church, school, state, etc. (138:41-49)

And Fourth, humans suffer the natural consequences of their own evil. They bring down upon themselves unnecessary afflictions by refusing to follow the divine will (1661:34-35), by wrong living (1649:26-27). Individuals reap what they sow. (Galatians 6:7) They should not blame God for the natural consequences of their own choices, nor complain about experiences which are common to life as it is lived on earth. (1661:42-45)

Whether one suffers from evil which is self-imposed, other-inflicted or environmentally-induced, it must be faced in some manner. It will be shown later that the best way to overcome evil is with good.

3. Where Suffering does NOT Come From.

For all too long men have looked upon God as a source of suffering. "The Father does not purposely afflict his children" (1661:33-34) or use affliction "as an arbitrary punishment for wrongdoing." (1661:40) Although all forms of affliction are potential in the possibility of evil, they become real only as a result of actual evil.

Nor does suffering, temporal adversity or lack of material wealth indicate a lack of divine favor. God is no respecter of persons, he loves the sick and well, the sad and happy, the rich and poor alike. (1662:45-47) These deprivations actually offer greater opportunities for spiritual development.

It is similarly wrong to attribute our afflictions to Satan or "the devil." True, the occasions upon which we suffer have been increased and the degree of suffering has been exacerbated by the Lucifer rebellion and Caligastia betrayal in which Satan took part. This is a general condition shared by the entire human race. These evil ones have no power to inflict individual suffering upon any person. (610:11-32)

Likewise, it is erroneous to attribute the origin of suffering to a "fallen" Adam and Eve. It is true that humanity suffers from loss of the biological and spiritual up stepping that would have occurred had Adam and Eve fulfilled their mission, but it is not true that their "fall" was the origin of evil and suffering in the world. (846:6-10)

4. How Suffering Fits into the Will of God.

Jesus said that John did not understand the "meaning of adversity or the mission of suffering" (1662:38-39) "It is the Father's will that mortal man should work persistently and consistently toward the betterment of his estate on earth." (1661:457-47) Primitive man is motivated to improve his condition only when suffering. In this sense, pain and suffering are essential to initiate mankind's progressive evolution. (951:15-19) On a spiritual level, the story of Job teaches that in great adversity man finds his greatest revelation and comprehension of God. (The Book of Job) (1662:38-1664:35)

Suffering, illness and disease play a significant role in the spiritual development of evolutionary man. In primitive man, the fear of the unknown and the dread of the unseen formed a scaffold of superstition around a void of ignorance on which later concepts of God can be built. As revelation constructs higher understandings of Deity in this void, the scaffolding is no longer needed, and may be removed. Superstition evolves into faith. Ignorance of causes evolves into a recognition of the true Cause.

There is no spiritual value in suppressing or relieving one's own suffering by physical means, alone. But to overcome the effects of suffering by creating a greater spiritual good is soul-building. This is the true office of suffering. See Part II.C.2, above. "When the suffering servant obtains a vision of God, there follows a soul peace which passes all understanding." (1663:13-14) See Philippians 4:7.

Physical man is created at the very bottom of the evolutionary ladder of will creatures. Both physically and spiritually, he must climb rung by rung, through an evolutionary process, to the very top of the ladder. Each individual has the opportunity to make this journey personally: through this life, through the mansion worlds, and beyond. But as the human race, the journey is made through evolution and revelation toward planetary settlement in relative perfection (Light and Life). Man's physical experiences are only the backdrop of the stage upon which spiritual decisions are made, both individually and collectively. Individual decisions lead to perfection in Paradise; collective decisions lead the planet both physically and spiritually to Light and Life.

Suffering, including illness, facilitates growth: in the individual, toward perfection; and in the planet, toward light and life.

In spite of the truth that God never deliberately inflicts pain or suffering upon his children, in fact Deity did create an environment in which His children may suffer. Suffering is an essential element in the plan to bring about good from evil after it exists. Under such circumstances it is not inaccurate to think of God as being somehow responsible for suffering. Jesus did not discourage this view. He quoted the following scriptures: "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction, for whom the Lord loves he corrects, even as the father corrects the son in whom he takes delight." (Pv 3:11-12) "There is correction in suffering." (Jb 5:17-18) "Affliction does not spring forth from the dust." (Jb 5:6) "The Lord does not afflict willingly." (Lam 3:33) "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now do I keep the law." (Ps 119:67) "Affliction was good for me that I might thereby learn the divine statutes." (Ps 119:71)

The Father uses suffering caused by others to demonstrate His deep concern for men and women. He comforts them. Jesus cited scriptures to demonstrate this point. "I know your sorrows." (Ex 3:27) "The eternal God is your refuge, while underneath are the everlasting arms." (De 33:27) "The Lord is also a refuge for the oppressed, a haven of rest in times of trouble." (Ps 9:9) "The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of affliction; the Lord will not forget the sick." (Ps 41:3) "As a father shows compassion for his children, so is the Lord compassionate to those who fear him. He knows your body; he remembers that you are dust." (Ps 103:13-14) "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Ps 147:3) "He is the hope of the poor, the strength of the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, and a shadow from the devastating heat." (Is 25:4) "He gives power to the faint, and to them who have no might he increases strength." (Is 40: 29) "A bruised reed shall he not break, ! and the smoking flax he will not quench."(Is 42:3) "When you pass through the waters of affliction, I will be with you, and when the rivers of adversity overflow you, I will not forsake you." (Is 43:2) "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to comfort all who mourn." (Is 61: 1-2) See 1662:12-31

C. WILL THERE EVER BE A CURE FOR ALL ILLNESS AND DISEASE?

Primitive man considered that healthy life was normal, that all diseases-and death itself--were due to activities of evil spirits. (989: 24-25) In more recent times a belief has prevailed that sickness is a punishment for one's own sins, or for sins of one's ancestors or associates, (990:15-18) and is indicative of divine wrath. (990:22) But as medicine has increasingly uncovered secrets of the cause, treatment, and cure of diseases, the more enlightened view is that all diseases stem from natural causes, having nothing to do with divine disfavor. (990:24-34; 1831:1-3))

We on earth are not alone. Evolutionary mortals on all normal worlds struggle with microscopic foes in their early development. But earth has more disease than is normal for a world inhabited for almost a million years by will-creatures. (564:34-36; 707:42-43) This results from the development of renegade bacteria during experiments of the Life Carriers (732:1-9; 736:25-29) together with a later failure to develop resistance to such bacteria through the biological upstepping of races by the offspring of Adam and Eve. (736:29-35; 851:27-33))

1. Why do Illness and Disease Exist?

Illness and disease result from evil, (see Part III.A, above) and cause suffering. (see Part III.B, above) They exist for the same purpose that evil exists. They cannot be eliminated without first overcoming the evil which is their root cause.

Even in this enlightened day and age, the onset of illness or disease is a major catalyst for individuals to turn to God. Some turn to God for aid and comfort while ill, and some for Divine assistance in overcoming the problem. Others are reminded of the uncertainty and frailty of life, and begin to think of the end. That which threatens to destroy a life may save a soul. This exemplifies how the Divine Plan produces good from evil.

2. When will Illness and Disease Abate or End?

As noted above, illness and disease are unlikely to end so long as evil remains in the world. Modern medicine is heavily oriented toward alleviating the discomfort and effects of illness. Great strides are being made toward extending the life of those who are ill or diseased. It is beginning to make headway toward preventing or curing many dread diseases, and can make even more progress (735:9-24). But it is far from preventing or curing all diseases. For reasons indicted below, we should not expect a major reduction in illness and disease until our planet begins its settlement in Light and Life.

Unfortunately, several factors hinder progress toward the development of a disease-free world. The laws of genetics are immutable, and form the physical cornerstone of evolution. At the present time mankind loses about as much progress as it makes by ignoring eugenics. Throughout the ages struggle and disease have destroyed weaker stocks and allowed only stronger stocks to survive and procreate. Even so, physical progress was slow. Civilization is reducing the purging effects of struggle, and modern medicine is preserving weak and disease prone human stocks to procreate, thereby creating a larger population of weaker and disease-prone individuals to suffer such diseases. The future of humanity depends, in part, upon the quality of genetic factors which dominate its populations. (585:25-28; 592:19-40; 899:19-22)

Ironically, the techniques used by modern medicine to increase the number of disease-prone individuals inadvertently followed the laws of genetics to create heartier breeds of diseases to attack them. Just as pesticides, by killing off weaker bugs, have created strains of superbugs (resistant to pesticides), so have antibiotics and other drugs created strains of super-germs and super-viruses resistant to conventional methods of destruction.

Industry, which provides food, shelter, clothing, transportation, etc., to preserve the weak and increase the quality of life for everyone, also adds toxins to the environment, which--in turn--cause more diseases, some of which are new.
The future portends some progress in retarding or curing many diseases in our lifetime. Some new diseases will appear. And we will certainly learn more about how to live longer with diseases.

D. WILL THERE BE AN END TO INJUSTICE, INJURIES AND WAR?

Like illness and disease (Part III.C.1, above), injustice, injuries and war are results of evil (Part III.A, above). But unlike illness and disease--injustice, injuries and war are mostly man-made.

1. WHAT IS JUSTICE? IS IT ATTAINABLE? JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE:

Justice is a man-made concept. It has to do with the appropriateness of the relationship between cause and effect. It is premised upon the belief that all persons are equal, and should be treated equally: no person should receive special favors (rewards), or suffer in any manner (punishments), without appropriate cause. Further, that all rewards and punishments be commensurate with the cause.

It postulates that all human conditions and circumstances are governed by law; that is, by rules stated in terms of "cause" (that which should or should rot be done) and "effect" (appropriate reward or punishment for doing or not doing that which is required). When an effect is inappropriate to antecedent cause because it does not follow the law or is not commensurate with the cause, we say it is "unjust." Thus it is unjust for an innocent person to be punished, for a guilty person to be unpunished, or for a punishment to be inappropriately lenient or severe.

A sense of "justice" is a high and civilizing ideal. (1302:41-46) It is the basis for all civil government (1462:9) Yet, the concept always calls for some sort of judgment, a weighing of cause versus effect, which in turn requires a full knowledge of the cause, a full understanding of the effect, and an impartial evaluation of both.

The spiritual counterpart of justice is righteousness. God's laws of cause and effect are "right." God always acts within his own laws, therefore God is "righteous." (36:39) Those who refer to God's laws by man's standards see them as being "just," and therefore see God as being "just." But by any standard, God cannot be unjust.

Man cannot violate a law of God; he can only demonstrate it. The prescribed effect always follows the cause. With God, there are no rewards nor punishments: there are only consequences.

Some conditions of mankind are of celestial origin in the sense that man has not been placed in a perfect environment. Although this may result in unpleasantness, it is never unjust. In the divine plan of "perfecting" free-will creatures by evolution through matter, time and space, the quality of free will is given at man's beginning. The species is then given artificial stimulation and hedged about with limitations and restraints in order that it may gain experiential wisdom and coordinated growth. (1301:31-1302:28) This is why primitive man suffers discomfort, hunger and fear as motivating factors toward physical and spiritual development. As man evolves, he must develop higher forms of stimulation as he increasingly learns to overcome natural limitations and restraints. At this point societal restraints become necessary to protect him and his fellow man from each other. This is the civilizing process. The highest civilizing tendencies come from concepts of justice and ideal! s of brotherhood. (1302: 40-46)

It is a mistake to equate justice with equality. There is a Divine reason why people are spread over a spectrum of races, economic and social conditions, physical and mental capacities, talents, etc. Mankind has not reached the stage where he can develop without some natural motivations, limitations and restraints. Diverse racial, physical, social, economic, political, and spiritual conditions are essential to man's continued evolutionary progress. All of man's ills cannot be blamed on political misadaptation, social injustice, industrial competition, etc. (956:41-957:5) These are symptoms as well as causes.

God is no respecter of persons (1468:26-34; Acts 10:34; Romans 2: 11); He treats all alike. In God's eyes all individuals are equal, yet in physical form and circumstances no two are alike. No two face the same problems or follow the same spiritual path. There is an important reason why the divine plan calls for such diversity. If God is to gain experience from individual victories, it is much better to experience the overcoming of countless different problems than the overcoming the same problem countless times.

When a caring person looks at a situation in which another has a problem because of geography, race, economics, politics, sex, servitude, mental capacity, etc., without knowing it's antecedent causes, he or she may see it as an injustice when it is really a natural consequence of the orderly outworking of the divine plan. Yet it is precisely because one looks upon the situation as an injustice that one is motivated to do something about it. Such "caring" is of spiritual value: that which is done to improve the situation advances persons toward Paradise and humanity toward Light and Life. (956:41957:15)

Not all which man calls "injustice" stems from natural causes. Much injustice is man-made. God uses man-made injustice to produce high spiritual values in the same manner in which he uses stressful natural conditions: persons and nations grow spiritually by overcoming them.

Man's greatest opportunity for temporal and spiritual progress lies in his enlightened efforts to eliminate injustice. (956:47-957:5) This effort can be mightily assisted by a wider belief in universal brotherhood under the Fatherhood of God.

2. Injuries and Accidents.

Injuries come from two sources: (1) from accidents of time, the natural vicissitudes of normal living (1767:1-3), and (2) from inadvertent or deliberate acts of persons. Accidents and injuries are a result of evil, and never a mark of divine disfavor (1830:17-30), however, some celestial beings have the power to prevent human accidents under certain circumstances. (1361:39-43)
The frequency of accidents of time will slowly subside as mankind creates a safer environment; injuries from willful or negligent acts will recede only as men and women assume the necessary responsibility to prevent them. (957:4-5) Due to an increasing population, expanding industrialization, and greater mechanization of transportation, the outlook is not bright for greatly reducing accidental injuries in the immediate future.

3. War -- Will there ever be lasting peace?

War is a social disease, but natural to evolving man. The animalistic reaction to irritation and misunderstanding is to fight. War is group hostility. (783:19-30) In its early development war represented competition for scarce assets: food, women, slaves and territory. It became an instrument of group self-aggrandizement: for vanity, revenge and even recreation. Many wars were fought over religion. (784:11-31)

In spite of their horror and devastation, early wars had some redeeming evolutionary values. They promoted organization and efficiency by developing social orders requiring discipline, cooperation, and leadership, which ultimately developed into states. They developed personal characteristics such as commitment, fortitude, courage and self-sacrifice. They had a therapeutic effect by purging inferior human strains, thereby assisting in the evolutionary up stepping of the human race. And they promoted travel, cultural intercourse, and racial blending. (785:26786:32)

In modern times, with the development of many large nations armed with more lethal weapons, significant changes have occurred. War has become more a disease of national sovereignty and ideology than an exchange of personal hostilities in petty local contests. War involves greater numbers of humans than ever before. It kills off the fittest as distinguished from the unfit, and thus causes retrogression in the evolutionary process. For the first time in history, nations possess the weaponry to devastate the entire planet many times over and to inflict catastrophic damage to human evolutionary progress. Small wars still occur, but mainly among surrogates of the larger nations which seek to avoid all-out war by this form of localization.

The current threat of nuclear war presents the greatest crisis on this planet since the Lucifer rebellion, and a nuclear holocaust could be even worse than the rebellion in terms of loss of will-creatures originating on Urantia
The only antidote for war is to develop a moral climate that will not permit it to occur. At the practical level mankind must find and employ peaceful substitutes for all those things which war has heretofore provided: dispute resolution, sharing of assets, group cooperation, development of initiative and leadership, and venting of group frustrations. (786:29-49) At a higher level, all peoples of the earth must subjugate their parochial interest in national sovereignty to a higher global interest in all humanity. (1490:19-1491:31) World peace can come only as a result of world law, and world law can come only through world government of a democratic nature reflecting the sovereignty of all mankind. (1491:15-18) This political and social development is not likely to occur unless and until men and women, on a vast scale, recognize all other men and women as their peers. Such recognition can be greatly facilitated by a world religion in which all men and women are seen as brother! s and sisters because they are children of a common Father, even God. (1490:27)

The political sovereignty of representative mankind government will bring lasting-peace on earth, and the spiritual brotherhood of man will forever insure good will among all men. And there is no other way whereby peace on earth and good will among all people may be realized. (1491:32-35)

A Service ofThe Urantia Book Fellowship

Labels: death, disease, Duane Faw, evil, extraterrestrials, God, heaven, justice, love, Mo Siegel, peace, philosophy, religion, science, suffering, the future

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Saturday, January 27, 2007

Author relates God, science, personal responsibility to global peace

Jan 12,2007

With â€œGod Refined: A Proposal for Peaceâ€�, Robert Kezer answers what may be our most important question: Can the average person make a difference in the world, or are we destined to a future beyond our control -- one of increasing war, environmental destruction, and disparity between the rich and poor?

Today, many people feel religious strife is tearing us apart. Yet, rather than our spirituality destroying us, Kezer says it is what has stopped the carnage from getting worse: this, he offers, is a clue for ending the violence consuming our planet.

In God Refined, we are challenged to accept global change as personal responsibility. Drawing on the Urantia Revelation, he teaches the unified nature of creation, that our relationship with God is personal, and that all religions are considered equal under the umbrella of a single sovereign Creator.

On a planet becoming ever more violent, Kezer offers the tools we need to survive. His approach is simple, direct, and compelling: abolishing war is our responsibility, not that of our leaders. Believing that crisis creates opportunity, he visualizes a new era of global community -- one where women enjoy full partnership with men in all decision-making, from the family level to the world stage. Relating humanityâ€™s evolution to individual personal growth, we are presented with a path to a higher order of existence, one from which peace can have its first true chance.

God Refined: A Proposal for Peace is offered in paperback and in a Complimentary E-book edition for those people for whom the cost would impose a hardship.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kezer returned to college in 2002 pursuing a self-designed program in Peace Studies: he graduated in 2006 with bachelorsâ€™ degrees in International and Religious Studies from the University of Oregon. Working to become bilingual so he can also present in Spanish, he writes and speaks on God, religious tolerance, and our tools for abolishing war. Bob has one adult son and lives in Eugene, Oregon.

ABOUT THE BOOK: â€�God Refined: A Proposal for Peaceâ€� by Robert A. Kezer 2006. First Edition. 6 x 9; 60 pages. ISBN: 978-0-6151-3810-7. Available through bookstores and in paperback ($12.99 p&h), e-book ($6.98), and complimentary download at http://stores.lulu.com/bobkezer. Publication Date: 1 March 2007.

Labels: global change, global community, God, peace, personal responsibility, Robert Kezer, violence

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Friday, January 26, 2007

The Urantia Book and the Coming Transformation of Civilization

by Stan Hartman

The most important event of the twentieth century is the most important event of the past twenty centuries and most of the world still knows nothing about it.

For those unfamiliar with the huge, strange text that appeared on earth sixty-five years ago, what I have to say here may seem like science-fiction, but it is not. The truth, it turns out, is stranger even than science fiction. We've grown used to the discoveries of science being strange, but this truth, though in part scientific, goes much deeper than science, even into the incredible core of the human mind itself, the center of which is directly connected with the core of the universe. With that statement, I know I've already lost some readers, but I intend to begin here as openly as possible, to save the time of those who will find this story too much to believe. The appearance of The Urantia Book, though it's still largely unknown, will mark this century throughout all future generations, eclipsing even the splitting of the atom. The knowledge this book has brought us is destined to make nuclear power seem trivial, and rather than breeding the dread that atomic energy has bred, will illuminate the deepest, most ancient human ignorance, and make fear an anachronism.

This is the story of a book unlike any ever written, promoted for the most part by word of mouth for the past decades, quietly circulating throughout the world and changing the lives of those who understand what it means for more than forty years now, though it and the phenomenon that gave rise to it began even earlier, in the second decade of the century. The crisis I'll describe that's unfolding around it presently is both tragic and transforming, challenging the best in human nature to once again stand up against its shadows, command them to get behind, and move on into the incredible light ahead.

Those enslaved by tradition will find the book a threat unlike any they have ever faced, though it comes not to destroy but to reveal and clarify, to paraphrase a message from many centuries ago whose significance it illuminates as it has never been illuminated. Likewise, those caught up in the distractions and aimless frivolities of a materialistic culture will find the text, if not a threat, an irrelevant fantasy, too complex and weighty to be amusing.

For the generations to come, though, and for many living now whose life experience has prepared them to recognize it for exactly what it says it is, The Urantia Book marks a turning point in world history that there is no turning back from. Its true students will always seek to serve rather than battle the forces of fear and ignorance that are even now trying to invalidate and destroy the book, though sometimes their deep service may not be recognized as such and may hardly be what the bookâ€™s enemies want. For those who don't know what I'm speaking of, let me expand a little on the story I've been alluding to and have barely begun to tell, though even before I can I need to say more about what the book is.

Only very recently, in historical terms, has the consciousness of most of humankind evolved to the point where it is willing and even eager to embrace the idea that we are not alone in the universe. There are many religions, and the religion some make of science, that resist such an idea, but the mass of humanity has shown itself in the last decades to be prepared for and excited by the possibility of meeting beings from beyond the planet. True scientists, who refuse to confuse what they know with what they surmise, and who have willingly or unwillingly been placed in positions of leadership in the march of human thought, have asserted for many years now that we must not be alone, though they have found no way to understand how the vast distances they assume must separate us from other intelligent worlds can be traversed in a reasonable time by material beings.

Philosophers, however, whose study and expertise are not limited to material facts but also embrace values and meanings, have long understood that we ourselves are more than material beings. And psychologists open-minded enough to realize that the mind can't be explained by brain physiology alone have added to the philosopher's palette the new colors of intuition, insight, and so-called paranormal abilities, which seem to be attributes of mind itself, some of them evident in animals even more than in humans. All of this investigation has led to a revolution in human thinking, making it at times so open to new ideas that it's in danger of falling into delusion and fanaticism, against which scientific thinkers struggle to maintain order and some more fearful religionists become hysterically reactionary. For many centuries before our era, religion was a tyranny in human thought, finally crumbling before the successes and eventually new tyranny of the pseudo-scientific religion of scientism, which asserts that all relevant phenomena can be explained rationally and eventually measured and controlled. It's against this betrayal of the true scientific method, which would never make such claims, that the present uncentered and ungrounded openness of much human thinking has reacted.

In the midst of this century's growing turmoil of ideas, opinions, rigidifying fundamentalisms, wild speculations, actual breakthroughs, catastrophic wars, technology addiction, information explosion, raping of natural resources, ridicule of traditions, and general collapse of order, The Urantia Papers appeared in the following way to a prominent student of Freud who was famous for his work in exposing fraudulent or deluded psychic phenomena.

Here is Dr. William S. Sadler, writing in 1929, in the appendix to his work, The Mind at Mischief, before the text of The Urantia Papers itself began to arrive, and before he understood the true significance of what was happening:

"I have promised not to publish this case during the lifetime of the individual. I hope sometime to secure a modification of that promise and to be able to report this case more fully because of its interesting features. I was brought in contact with it, in the summer of 1911, and I have had it under my observation more or less ever since, having been present at probably 250 of the night sessions, many of which have been attended by a stenographer who made voluminous notes.

"A thorough study of this case has convinced me that it is not one of ordinary trance. While the sleep seems to be quite of a natural order, it is very profound, and so far we have never been able to awaken the subject when in this state; but the body is never rigid, and the heart action is never modified, tho respiration is sometimes markedly interfered with. This man is utterly unconscious, wholly oblivious to what takes place, and, unless told about it subsequently, never knows that he has been used as a sort of clearing house for the coming and going of alleged extra-planetary personalities. In fact, he is more or less indifferent to the whole proceeding, and shows a surprising lack of interest in these affairs as they occur from time to time.

"In no way are these night visitations like the sÃ©ances associated with spiritualism. At no time during the period of eighteen years' observation has there been a communication from any source that claimed to be the spirit of a deceased human being. The communications which have been written, or which we have had the opportunity to hear spoken, are made by a vast order of alleged beings who claim to come from other planets to visit this world, to stop here as student visitors for study and observation when they are en route from one universe to another or from one planet to another. These communications further arise in alleged spiritual beings who purport to have been assigned to this planet for duties of various sorts.

"Eighteen years of study and careful investigation have failed to reveal the psychic origin of these messages. I find myself at the present time just where I was when I started. Psychoanalysis, hypnotism, intensive comparison, fail to show that the written or spoken messages of this individual have origin in his own mind. Much of the material secured through this subject is quite contrary to his habits of thought, to the way in which he has been taught, and to his entire philosophy. In fact, of much that we have secured, we have failed to find anything of its nature in existence. Its philosophic content is quite new, and we are unable to find where very much of it has ever found human expression.

"Much as I would like to report details of this case, I am not in a position to do so at present. I can only say that I have found in these years of observation that all the information imparted through this source has proved to be consistent within itself. While there is considerable difference in the quality of the communications, this seems to be reasonably explained by a difference in state of development and order of the personalities making the communications. Its philosophy is consistent . . . . In fact, the case is so unusual and extraordinary that it establishes itself immediately, as far as my experience goes, in a class by itself, one which has thus far resisted all my efforts to prove it to be of auto-psychic origin. Our investigations are being continued and, as I have intimated, I hope some time in the near future to secure permission for the more complete reporting of the phenomena connected with this interesting case."

Instead, even this appendix was removed from later editions, as a veil of secrecy was drawn down over the proceedings until the one hundred and ninety-six papers that were delivered and recorded in 1934 and 1935 were compiled into the text called The Urantia Book and published in 1955. By then, Sadler had realized, skeptic though he was almost by profession, that the information was what it said it was, and he was as humbled and amazed as everyone else by what it meant.

The information the book presents is transforming the consciousness of all those who are open to it, many of whom feel that they were waiting for it to come to them but didn't know it until it did, as if something inside them had prepared them for its appearance in their lives. Public figures who are familiar with it - and there are many - usually make no public acknowledgment of it, perhaps because those who understand it know that it's the most important book in human history, leaving them uncertain at first about how to present that fact to others without sounding fanatical or seeming to undercut others' beliefs. They know the book marks the beginning of a new epoch unlike any that has come before it, an age which will focus not merely on itself or even on this world alone, but on our planet's place in the universe and the universal destiny of each individual.

It is a book which both diminishes and infinitely enlarges humanity's view of its own importance, promoting a deeper humility but at the same time a deeper dignity, and challenging many of the assumptions of both traditional religion and science. It has vital things to teach more than simply those now living, as parts of it are meant for the minds of generations yet to come, who will be better prepared to understand. It gives people on this world a view of human nature, history, and destiny which has never been presented before, perhaps because human consciousness has only recently evolved to the point where it can be expected to deal with what the book presents without losing its balance, falling into either slavish devotion and fetishism, or fear that would seek to destroy the book and all who openly value it. In fact, both extremes are still very possible and even in evidence already on this world. For the most part, though, those who find the book are freed by it in a way they had never imagined they could be freed, and overwhelmed with gratitude for that freedom, if also somewhat confused by the responsibility they know is inherent in it.

It is a book which reveals to us our true home, where our minds and hearts know they really belong. It opens our eyes to a love, security, and infinite adventure which we can't help feeling we were designed to live, if we recognize the book's greater-than-human integrity, consistency, and authority, which is never condescending, if sometimes uncompromisingly truthful. There is humor in it as well as the most profound gravity. One of its most insistent statements is that all the universe is mobilized to help humanity overcome its fears, both collectively and individually. Though it describes us as the lowest form of creature who can be given will and recognize the existence of God, it also clearly emphasizes that there is no apparent limit to our destiny.

It simply rings true, to those who approach it without fear, and its message of hope, forgiveness, love, and the universality of family - how the family of humanity is not limited to this world alone, and the family of personality is not limited even by space and time - will transform human civilization here as it has never been transformed, and inspire it to become what it was designed from its very beginnings to become, before the tragedy happened that sent us spinning off on our own without apparent guidance.

It shows us that we are not really alone and never have been, as individuals and as a species of self-conscious personalities trying to understand their place in reality. It shows us that the ageless yearnings and sufferings of humanity, infinitely far from being futile, have a value beyond imagination.

It is a book which is literally from beyond this world, as the true origins of life here are as well, as scientists have only recently begun to suspect. It is a message that we are one inhabited world in a teeming, peopled universe. Though we are on the edge - at the wilderness frontier, in a way - of the expanding civilization among the stars, the story it presents of our history is one of unending, invisible watchcare by those who have been with us from the beginning, guiding our evolution, though limited by our own decisions, toward the dynamic peace and perfection, both individual and cultural, that all inhabited worlds aspire to and one day attain, no matter what tragedies of ignorance and barbarism they endure.

With respect to such tragedies and the suffering they bring, the book also makes clear that there is a darker aspect of our relationship with the larger universe civilization that has watched us and invisibly cared for us, a tragedy beyond our world which we had no part in instigating but had to suffer the consequences of, as all members of a family suffer when one of its members goes astray. It is a tragedy which is only now coming to an end, it may be, and the end of which is being prepared for on this world by the book itself. This crime on the part of those who were supposed to teach and guide us has kept us in relative spiritual darkness for two hundred thousand years, though not all the darkness of this world can be blamed on it, and the suffering it has caused has given those who keep their faith despite it a strength that is far more valuable than the tragedy itself was destructive.

All those with open minds must know there is life beyond this world, but the abundance of that life, and its good will, have never been revealed to humanity at large until this book revealed it. Reading it, it is certainly not unreasonable to hope that one of its purposes is to prepare the way for even more direct communication, in the not-far-distant future, with our family, both human and transhuman, beyond this planet. Such communication has in reality been taking place far longer than our current ideas of history acknowledge there has been a human civilization, from as much as five hundred millennia ago, and the traces of that communication can be found in many sacred texts and other writings from the remotest antiquity. Clues to even more evidence of this are presented throughout the book, as are scientific facts and cosmology which humanity is incapable of discovering on its own, though the authors were not permitted to reveal all that we can discover on our own in the future and deprive us of the adventure and joy of such discoveries.

There may be a question in the minds of many, reading here, especially when aware of the fact that the book has been in existence for over sixty years, as to why its arrival has not been proclaimed from the rooftops. Why do we not see discussions of its implications on the evening news?

The answer to that involves in part the nature of the book itself, but also another tragedy of fear and duplicity that has already occurred in connection with its appearance.

The first great tragedy on this world, that I referred to above, involved a betrayal of trust on the part of some of the transhuman caretakers of the very beginnings of civilization. The present tragedy, though, is one of a betrayal of trust on the part of those all-too-human caretakers of the book itself.

In the beginning, those to whom the book was entrusted were naturally very concerned with its safety, for more reasons than are obvious, that can't be enumerated here. They went to great lengths to protect it and to keep the text inviolate. Fortunately, they also took what has proven to be the most protective action of all, publishing thousands of copies of it and distributing them.

If this were all they had done, they would have done well, but it was not. Failing to study the book itself deeply enough and read its warnings, the desire to protect it slowly evolved in the minds of these people into a desire to possess and control it, and they became a menace to its safety and the spread of its message to the world. They lied to obtain a copyright on it, stopped distributing it, and threatened those who challenged their policies. They appointed themselves its guardians for life, chose as some of their leaders men who are unbalanced if not psychopathic, and sought to destroy all organizations of its readers and believers who were not controlled by them. This is a drama unfolding on this world even at the present time, and one of the reasons why the book is not more prominent than it is, though the nature of the text itself can of course be threatening to many before they truly understand it.

These supposed caretakers of the book obtained and keep a fraudulent copyright on it, by going so far as to say that their predecessors were its authors (predecessors who would be aghast at such an assertion), and have been successful so far in convincing the courts of their claims because the unfortunate personality at their head has abundant resources to spend on legal stratagems, and because the courts have refused to take the real nature of the book seriously.

All in all, it has resulted in a pitiful spectacle, but one the like of which is unfortunately not rare on our planet and points to how barely ready for such a gift we are.

As with all such crises, though, it also presents an opportunity to those who refuse to be ruled by fear. Without an atmosphere of fear, all evil is impotent. To those who truly know and understand the book's teachings, the group that claims to own it now has made itself irrelevant, ridiculous, and unworthy of serious consideration. They deserve help, but not the kind they imagine. There are those, of course, who need some kind of human authority to guide them, who will, out of genuine but naive trust, or laziness, or fear, unthinkingly follow those who want to control them.

Most serious students of the text, though, who rely on the book itself for their guidance rather than their own inner fears or ignorant ambitions, know they have a responsibility to what they have been given, a responsibility to create a worthy foundation for the book's revelations to the world. This foundation is not so much a social and organizational matter, though that can be part of it, but a spiritual one, a challenge to live as the book shows in its final section that all of us can live, aware of a destiny much greater than ever imagined in recorded history. It is in essence the challenge to realize - to make literally real - the kind of human family all our evolution has been designed to achieve. It is a responsibility to create relationships that acknowledge and devote themselves to the kinship all of us share, not only with our human brothers and sisters on this world, but with all the personalities throughout the inhabited cosmos who care for us despite our childish barbarism and the distortions of our culture that have resulted from our isolation and ignorance. We have a responsibility to this greater family as well, those who gave us the gift of the book and now watch us to see what we will do with it.

The history of our world is in a way like Lord of the Flies. We have been left to our own resources on our little island long enough, and though the book is not the first appearance to us of adult authority, it is the latest and most important for our time, as is obvious to all who open it with openness. It doesn't seek to supplant all other systems of human thought or to disparage the evolutionary beliefs and truths we have struggled so hard to attain and maintain. It states very clearly that, though it is a revelation, it is not inspired. Its purpose is to awaken us to what we can't know except with help from beyond the reach of our understanding and imagination, and to help us integrate that new information with the uniquely human perspective we have evolved in such relative isolation.

It points us to our own inner depths as individuals at least as much as to outer, cosmic vistas. In the end, such inner and outer depths are connected, and work together to help us toward an indescribable destiny in this world and beyond, the awareness of which will transform our planet as surely as it transforms the individual minds that share such awareness.

In its depiction of our history and destiny, The Urantia Book focuses mostly on the ancient past and far-distant future, but it also says of our present time that we are "quivering on the brink" of one of our "most amazing and enthralling epochs."

Perhaps if people from all the nations of the world would unite enough to organize into a democratic world government that represented all humanity, we could authorize such a government to broadcast to the universe watching us a few small, sincere words, such as "Thank you. Forgive us. Please help us." - or some other first prayer of collective humanity. Perhaps because this request came as the duly-elected voice of all mankind, we would receive an answer that was not only invisible but also visible. Perhaps we would be freed from the quarantine that has isolated us for so long, and find ourselves connected, in ways our science has so far not dreamed of, with neighbors in space who may not be as distant as many believe.

Until we unite as one world under God, perhaps this will not happen. Is it so strange, though, or naive, to believe it can? In the light of The Urantia Book, it most certainly will happen, one day. If enough people sincerely desire it, what can prevent us from making that day our own?

Labels: destiny, Dr Willam Sadler, extraterrestrials, family, God, history, humanity, Mind at Mischief, religion, responsibility, Stan Hartman, the universe, The Urantia Book, tradition, tragedy, truth

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The Urantia Book: An Evaluation

The Urantia Book: An Evaluation
Jim Mills
1970

Introduction:

Ever since man first became conscious of himself, and of his environment, he has asked questions about both. Regardless of how the questions are worded, in general they can be reduced to a few simple queries. These are: "Why am I here?" "Where am I going?" "What is the meaning of it all?", and, "What am I?"

The answers to these questions have not been easy to obtain. Man, therefore, developed a technique of postulating answers to his questions, and then attempted to develop the means of testing these postulates under reproducible conditions consistent with his knowledge of his environment. Thus was the scientific method for the study of physical phenomena born and its success has changed the face of civilization.

No such success has accrued to the efforts of man in the areas of meanings (Philosophy) and values (Religion), for no valid method has ever been developed to test the postulates of philosophy and religion with the efficiencies available to science at the physical level of existence. The truth of meanings and values is something that must still be "felt" by the individual as a near-emotional experience. Consequently, individual judgment, with all its personal uniqueness and variety, is still a major testing procedure for new postulates in Philosophy and Religion.

However, history has taught us that many men and women who we have called "prophets" have periodically appeared with new and advanced postulates that have gained such acceptance that new religions have resulted therefrom which have had tremendous influence on the development of civilization. In this group we find Gautama Siddhartha (Buddha) in India; Lao-Tse and Confucius in China; Ikhnaton in Egypt; Zoroaster in Persia, all of whom mysteriously appeared about 2,500 years ago, almost as though by design; to be followed later by Jesus of Nazareth and Mohammed in Arabia. Scores of others, perhaps less well known, have appeared on the stage and have had their influence on the world.

The teachings of these "prophets" we have called "revelations", because each advanced a new concept of man in relation to ultimate reality â€“ they "revealed" new truths to man about himself and his relations to his environment, and in some degree, to his Creator. They have all had a strong impact because they provided contemporary answers to the questions asked above.

But no revelation, short of finding and recognizing ultimate reality, God, The Uncaused Cause, can be final. Revelation is time periodic, partial, and limited to the conceptual boundaries of manâ€™s intellectual universe of knowledge. As manâ€™s intellectual frontiers have expanded, and when the need for new revelations caused by this has grown to a point of great tensions, another revelation has always appeared.

Today our understanding of cosmology is growing with the use of the 200-inch telescope, and the radio-telescopes and receivers, aimed at space. Data already collected may not be analyzed and interpreted for many years. Men have actually walked on the Moon. Probes have gone to the planets Mars and Venus to record and return data, even photographs.

Slowly it is dawning upon us that even the physical size of the universe may be beyond our present capabilities to comprehend. So far we have been able to detect very little about physical universe organization beyond our present ideas about galaxies. We ask the questions: How are the starry heavens organized? Is there a pattern in cosmology such as we find in terrestrial nature? What is manâ€™s relation to all of this? Does he have a future out there? Are our ideas about the origin, age, and development of the universe valid? Are we being misled by our ability to observe only a small portion instead of the total phenomenon? And finally, again, why am I here? These questions contribute to a mounting tension.

In 1955, without fanfare or publicity, without preaching or promotion, there appeared in the city of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., a 2097 page book called The Urantia Book. Its name derives from the fact that within it our planet is called Urantia. Those who have read it seriously and in detail, and repeatedly, are generally convinced that it is the "revelation" for which contemporary society has so long been crying.

What makes this book a revelation? The true answer can only be found in reading it â€“ then studying it. However, some reasons are and can be given. Simply, because it presents a cosmology which is consistent with, and an extension of our present knowledge of cosmology. For example, it foretold Calcium 19 as being present in the sun. It was discovered there in 1964. (Time Magazine, May 29th, 1964, p. 80.) It presents a clear, understandable story about the nature and destiny of man. It teaches the religion of Jesus instead of a religion about Jesus. It recognizes the truths to be found in all religions. It recognizes evolutionary religion as separate from revelation. It stresses the importance of the individual regardless of origin and tells something about our supernal destinies. It differentiates between fact, meaning, and value: science, philosophy, and religion, and then unites them in a true integration.

The Urantia Book is divided into four parts.

Part One: Thirty-one papers. These depict the nature of deity and the reality of Paradise; discuss the cosmology of the Superuniverses, and portray some of their inhabitants by origin and function. They also discuss the organization and workings of the Central and Superuniverses.

Part Two: Twenty-five papers. These discuss the local Universe, an administrative subdivision, in terms of organization and administration complete with the personalities in authority. These papers also tell much about the career of the human personality after it terminates its stay on this planet, Urantia, by the death and dissolution of its physical carrying mechanism. They depict our first steps on new worlds and the tremendous program provided for our personal development which will sometime permit us to recognize God when we have, by our own efforts, aided by ever-present celestial help, grown and developed to that point where we have the conceptual capacity to see and recognize God. The challenge is immense and the help equal to it.

Part Three: Sixty-three papers. The history of our own planet, Urantia, from its origin in a sun (ours) thrown out by the now extinct Andronover nebula about 6,000,000,000 years ago to the present. Its geologic and life evolution (after implantation) is traced as well as the evolution of races, civilizations, customs, philosophies and religions. Many new insights found in hitherto unavailable sources are revealed. We learn much, previously forgotten and lost, about our own history and evolution. New and higher religious insights make their appearance.

Part Four: Seventy-seven papers. These record the life and teachings of that superb being known to us as Jesus of Nazareth. From hitherto unavailable sources, his pre-Urantian life is unfolded and the details of his own early existence here are told year by year. We learn details of his family life, his religious growth, the death of his father, Joseph, and much detail which was apparently withheld from his apostles. What actually happened when the so-called "miracles" were performed?

Presented in detail are the teachings of Jesus which even in the attenuated and compromised form know as Christianity have been the driving force behind Western Civilization. Reaffirmed is his great love for the individual, yet uncompromised is the high ideal of attainment he sets for everyone. Also presented is the real philosophy and religion of Jesus, and we learn how much evolutionary religion has diluted it and modified it in order to force it into the mold of passing contemporary doctrine and dogma. As presented, the religion of Jesus, and we learn how much evolutionary religion has diluted it and modified it in order to force it into the mold of passing contemporary doctrine and dogma. As presented, the religion of Jesus is dynamic, inspiring, uplifting, totally contemporary because it is timeless and worthy of lifelong study.

The writer once asked the late Sir Hubert Wilkins, who was a Urantia Book devotee even prior to publication, "What is your test of the validity of this work?" Sir Hubertâ€™s answer was a succinct classic. He said: "Its utter consistency with itself."

The writer has gained an outlook upon life and a personal philosophy solely from the study of this book that he has found in no other sources. Simply expressed, it is this. The Urantia Book has given me so many clues to the truths and realities that are to be found from the observation of life on this planet, that I desire to remain here to experience life and gain knowledge through the experience of living this life as long as my physical mechanism can be kept in working order. Knowledge distilled with experience produces wisdom, a commodity we all need. However, when my course is finally run, the day I die will be the most interesting day of my life.

J. C. Mills

Labels: cosmology, God, individual judgment, Jesus, Jim Mills, philosophy, prophets, religion, Revelation, scientific method, The Urantia Book

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Friday, October 27, 2006

"Jesus-Style" Meditation in the Urantia Book

by Peter Holley

Words Change Their Meaning

The URANTIA Book tells us that Jesus meditated - a lot! What it doesn't say is that the word meditation has evolved away from its original meaning during the years following the revelation's final inditing in the mid 1930s. Such evolution of words was, of course, anticipated by the revelators, who tell us that the expression of religion "must be restated every time the dictionary of human language is revised" (1). Likewise the meaning of each affected teaching needs to be renewed when necessary.

The problem with changed words is that they can give us an altered picture if we aren't careful. The fact that Jesus used and taught meditation as a means to communicate with one's Thought Adjuster makes it vitally important for us to understand what is meant, if as The URANTIA Book states on the last page, the "great challenge for modern man is to achieve better communication with the divine Monitor that dwells within the human mind."

A dictionary contemporary with the reception of the finalized Urantia Papers (as later originally published in The URANTIA Book) provides the following definition of the word meditation :

"close or continued thought, the turning or revolving of a subject in the mind, serious contemplation; mental reflection; often specifically, thought devoted to religious subjects." (2)

The type of meditation often associated with Eastern religions which requires an altered state of consciousness had not yet at that time migrated into the dictionary. It became a secondary definition of meditation sometime after Yogi Paramhansa Yogananda came to the West and brought about what has been called a religious revolution with the publication of his book Autobiography of a Yogi in 1946. Yet a look at a 1955 desk dictionary shows that the more intellectually passive type of meditation had not even appeared by The URANTIA Book's publication date. Neither is it included in my 1982 "College" dictionary. Some modern dictionaries, however, now place it as the preferred definition. The following definition of the intransitive use of the verb is from an online dictionary (3):

meditate:

1. A. Buddhism & Hinduism. To train, calm, or empty the mind, often by achieving an altered state, as by focusing on a single object.

B. To engage in devotional contemplation, especially prayer.

2. To think or reflect, especially in a calm and deliberate manner.

This is not to say, however, that the Buddhism and Hinduism style of meditation was unknown in the middle thirties in the West, or that the word "meditation" was never used to denote it. It was, but it appears to have needed qualification. Apparently the Buddhism and Hinduism type is what the revelators meant when they referred to "mystic meditation" (see also "mystic trances," "mystic communications," "mystic experiences," "mystic phenomena," "mystic communion," "mystic status," and "mystical state"). The root of "mystic" is a Greek term meaning "belonging to secret rites" or "priest of mysteries," and the word itself in the middle of the 1930s referred to things which were secret or obscure. The fact is that Buddhist and Hindu meditators at that time still kept their traditional techniques as highly guarded secrets, passing them on only to followers whom they considered to be qualified to receive them. And their meditative-techniques seemed even more "mystical" because they revolved around altered consciousness and brought about - to the Western way of thinking - extraordinary experiences. Some few Europeans living in the East had, however, submitted to yogis or to Buddhist masters and applied themselves to their esoteric teachings, and then, later, brought the practices back home with them.

One instance of such early, non-dictionary-defined use is found in a then-contemporary publication that is believed to have furnished the source for much of the Rodan material in The URANTIA Book (4). This example which is found in the book, Issues of Life, by Henry Nelson Wieman (5), demonstrates a need for the word meditation to be modified in order to indicate something akin to the Buddhism- and Hinduism-style technique. Wieman speaks of "a kind of worshipful, meditative waiting, in which one quietly hearkens until the call of the world and the deepest desire of his own heart merge into a single demand. Waiting before the Highest," he writes, "fosters inarticulate aspiration." (6) Rather than simply calling it "meditation," as many might today, Wieman had to coin the term "inarticulate aspiration" and link it to "a kind of worshipful, meditative waiting."

But what is most illustrative by this example, however, is the fact that the revelators took Wieman's passive "kind of worshipful, meditative waiting" and turned it into the dynamically active, reflective type of meditation in the above definitions, that is, the style of meditation that Jesus used and taught. The midwayer author of Part IV compared such deep-thinking meditators with "high-climbing souls" who reach a "mountaintop of intellectual thought" where they can "attain consciousness of the higher currents of spirit concept and celestial communication." (7). Elsewhere The URANTIA Book laments, however, that it is "sad to record that so few persons on Urantia take delight in cultivating these qualities of courageous and independent cosmic thinking." (8)

Rodan

Rodan gives us what is perhaps the best view in The URANTIA Book of the type of meditation that Jesus both taught and practiced himself. Rodan had "become a disciple of Jesus through the teaching of one of Abner's associates who had conducted a mission at Alexandria" (9). And Abner, of all of Jesus' disciples, apparently had the best grasp on Jesus' teachings. At least we are told that "during the later years of Abner and for some time thereafter, the believers at Philadelphia held more strictly to the religion of Jesus, as he lived and taught, than any other group on earth." (10) In any event the Rodan material certainly was not placed in The URANTIA Book to mislead us.

Rodan spoke of what Jesus "so consistently practices, and which he has so faithfully taught . . . the isolation of worshipful meditation . . . this habit of Jesus' going off so frequently by himself to commune with the Father in heaven." Jesus was, Rodan said, even as he spoke "out in the hills taking in power. . . ." (11)

Rodan went on to say that the "secret of all this problem is wrapped up in spiritual communion, in worship. From the human standpoint it is a question of combined meditation and relaxation. Meditation makes the contact of mind with spirit; relaxation determines the capacity for spiritual receptivity. And this interchange of strength for weakness, courage for fear, the will of God for the mind of self, constitutes worship." (12) He observed that on "every mountaintop of intellectual thought are to be found relaxation for the mind, strength for the soul, and communion for the spirit." And he indicated how the lower, egoistic thinking is to be overcome by higher thoughts:

"From such vantage points of high living, man is able to transcend the material irritations of the lower levels of thinking - worry, jealousy, envy, revenge, and the pride of immature personality. These high-climbing souls deliver themselves from a multitude of the crosscurrent conflicts of the trifles of living, thus becoming free to attain consciousness of the higher currents of spirit concept and celestial communication." (13)

The Greek philosopher-turned-disciple added:

"When these experiences are frequently repeated, they crystallize into habits, strength-giving and worshipful habits, and such habits eventually formulate themselves into a spiritual character, and such a character is finally recognized by one's fellows as a mature personality. These practices are difficult and time-consuming at first, but when they become habitual, they are at once restful and timesaving." (14)

Notice that for Rodan the relaxation associated with Jesus' dynamic, thinking type of meditation is a result of having reached the "mountaintop of intellectual thought" and "spiritual communion" rather than being part of the means to attain it - that is, a more or less stand-alone part of the technique - as it is in Hinduism and Buddhism (and in auto-hypnosis).

Rodan's most profound statement is, "Meditation makes the contact of mind with spirit." In other words, spirit is contacted by the actively thinking mind. And this is entirely consistent with what we are taught elsewhere in The URANTIA Book about the nature of the Thought Adjusters vis a vis the mortal mind.

Thought Adjuster

We are told quite clearly and in a number of ways that the Thought Adjusters dwell and interact within "the thinking centers of the individual's mind" (15):

"If one is disposed to recognize a theoretical subconscious mind as a practical working hypothesis in the otherwise unified intellectual life, then, to be consistent, one should postulate a similar and corresponding realm of ascending intellectual activity as the superconscious level, the zone of immediate contact with the indwelling spirit entity, the Thought Adjuster."(16)

"Human consciousness rests gently upon the electrochemical mechanism below and delicately touches the spirit-morontia energy system above. Of neither of these two systems is the human being ever completely conscious in his mortal life; therefore must he work in mind, of which he is conscious."(17)

Notice how closely this idea of "ascending intellectual activity" parallels Rodan's image of meditation being intellectual mountain climbing. Notice also that it is not the lower area of consciousness which is involved, but the upper "spirit-morontia energy system."

"The chief difficulty you experience in contacting with your Adjusters consists in [your] very inherent material nature. So few mortals are real thinkers; you do not spiritually develop and discipline your minds to the point of favorable liaison with the divine Adjusters. The ear of the human mind is almost deaf to the spiritual pleas which the Adjuster translates from the manifold messages of the universal broadcasts of love proceeding from the Father of mercies. The Adjuster finds it almost impossible to register these inspiring spirit leadings in an animal mind so completely dominated by the chemical and electrical forces inherent in your physical natures."(18)

Here the assumption is that thinking both contacts and "hears" the Thought Adjuster, since nothing is being said about passive "listening." The Thought Adjusters do not speak to our minds but must use our minds to speak for them. They do this with our own thinking processes:

"The Thought Adjuster has no special mechanism through which to gain self-expression; there is no mystic religious faculty for the reception or expression of religious emotions. These experiences are made available through the naturally ordained mechanism of mortal mind. And therein lies one explanation of the Adjuster's difficulty in engaging in direct communication with the material mind of its constant indwelling.

"The divine spirit makes contact with mortal man, not by feelings or emotions, but in the realm of the highest and most spiritualized thinking." (19)

[The Thought Adjuster] "is the higher and truly internal spiritual stimulus of thought . . . ." (20)

"The Adjuster is not trying to control your thinking, as such, but rather to spiritualize it, to eternalize it. Neither angels nor Adjusters are devoted directly to influencing human thought; that is your exclusive personality prerogative. The Adjusters are dedicated to improving, modifying, adjusting, and co-ordinating your thinking processes . . . ." (21)

The divine indwellers adjust our thinking until it speaks for them, until the content of our thoughts coincides with higher truth and their translations of the universal broadcasts from the Paradise Father. What we experience in the perfecting of Jesus-style meditation is at the same time their thinking and our own! Also, Rodan likewise spoke of the need for the mental discipline found in the frequent repetition of the practice of worshipful, dynamic-thinking-coupled-with-relaxation, that is, Jesus-style meditation, in order to develop the mind for spiritual communication.

It is plain to see that in Jesus-style meditation the "worry, jealousy, envy, revenge, and the pride of immature personality" of which Rodan spoke are to be to be harnessed and used by us rather than being emptied from the mind at the start as both the yogis and the Buddhists do. It is we who must take our thoughts - as we find them - and aim them Godward. Jesus said:

"Be not constantly overanxious about your common needs. Be not apprehensive concerning the problems of your earthly existence, but in all these things by prayer and supplication, with the spirit of sincere thanksgiving, let your needs be spread out before your Father who is in heaven." (22)

At the same time Jesus exhorted "his believers to employ prayer as a means of leading up through thanksgiving to true worship" (23). And Rodan speaking of these same things wrapped up meditation, relaxation, and spiritual communion into the same ball of wax as constituting "worship" or "worshipful meditation." So from this we see that there is really only a difference in degree between all of this God-directed thought: prayer, cosmic thinking, thanksgiving, meditation, and worship. They are like different members of a family rather than different species. For instance, in some of its aspects meditation differs little from prayer, and in others it is the same as worship. It may, likewise, be productive of great outpourings of thanksgiving.

Prayer, The URANTIA Book reveals, is the only "technique whereby every man, regardless of all other mortal accomplishments, can so effectively and immediately approach the threshold of that realm wherein he can communicate with his Maker, where the creature contacts with the reality of the Creator, with the indwelling Thought Adjuster." (24) Also, "Prayer will lead the mortals of earth up to the communion of true worship." (25) But "meditation makes the contact of mind with spirit," and the "moment the element of self-interest intrudes upon worship, that instant devotion translates from worship to prayer" (26) Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the same is no doubt true concerning the higher and lower aspects of Jesus-style meditation. Its lower aspect is commonly a quest for knowledge and understanding of a subject or problem, a factual elucidation. The higher aspect Ã¢â‚¬â€œ transcendent, worshipful meditation Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is a type of self-forgetful cosmic thinking, and it is here that knowledge and understanding, or spiritual elucidation, is likely to be found.

"Thinking surrenders to wisdom, and wisdom is lost in enlightened and reflective worship." (27) "wisdom [is] meditative and experiential thinking" (28); "worship is self-forgetting - superthinking." (29)

Or restated:

"Ordinary thinking ascends to meditative and experiential thinking, and it, in turn, transcends into enlightened and reflective worship."

And again:

"Why do you not aid the Adjuster in the task of showing you the spiritual counterpart of all these strenuous material efforts? Why do you not allow the Adjuster to strengthen you with the spiritual truths of cosmic power while you wrestle with the temporal difficulties of creature existence? Why do you not encourage the heavenly helper to cheer you with the clear vision of the eternal outlook of universal life as you gaze in perplexity at the problems of the passing hour? Why do you refuse to be enlightened and inspired by the universe viewpoint while you toil amidst the handicaps of time and flounder in the maze of uncertainties which beset your mortal life journey? Why not allow the Adjuster to spiritualize your thinking, even though your feet must tread the material paths of earthly endeavor?" (30)

It was in this sense that Jesus told Peter:

"Let experience teach you the value of meditation and the power of intelligent reflection." (31).

Also Jesus-style spiritual meditation is an essential factor of spiritual growth:

"Habits which favor religious growth embrace cultivated sensitivity to divine values, recognition of religious living in others, reflective meditation on cosmic meanings, worshipful problem solving, sharing one's spiritual life with one's fellows, avoidance of selfishness, refusal to presume on divine mercy, living as in the presence of God" (32)

Jesus Meditating

In almost every instance of examples in The URANTIA Book wherein Jesus meditated, the context clearly shows that he was engaged in thought (see list below). In those few in which it is not abundantly apparent it may be assumed that he was since nowhere is any contrary notion maintained. In fact in The URANTIA Book the meditative doctrine of "thinking nothing" (along with "seeing" and "doing" nothing), which was derived from the teaching by Lao T'su on "nonresistance and the distinction which he made between action and coercion" (and which can still be found in the teachings of Buddhism) is called "perverted" by the revelators (33). And cultivation of the "mystical state" (or "trancelike state of visionary consciousness") which is described of consisting in part of a "comparatively passive intellect"- we are warned - should be in all circumstances shunned as a means of religious experience because it "gravitates consciousness toward the subconscious rather than in the direction of the zone of spiritual contact" (34), that is, toward the lower, animal level rather than the upper, morontia-spiritual level of consciousness. Whether or not this warning speaks directly to the meditation practices of Hindus and Buddhists is problematical (but see below). In the final analysis it is up to the devotees of the more passive intellect styles of meditation to make such discernments for themselves. Personally, as a follower of Jesus, I prefer to align my meditation practices with those of my Master and Elder Brother, Jesus of Nazareth:

1. As early as his eleventh year Jesus engaged in "profound meditation and serious contemplation." The content of this mental discipline, we are told, was his "thinking about how he was to carry out his obligations to his family and at the same time be obedient to the call of his mission to the world." (35)

2. When Jesus was thirteen he visited the temple in Jerusalem for the first time. When he first saw the throngs gathered together for Passover, he "strong>meditated deeply on how these Jews had assembled here from the uttermost parts of the known world." (36) During this visit his family stayed at Bethany and he spent "much of the time alone in the garden meditating." (37) And we are told that at least some of this meditation in the garden "was concerned with the contemplation of weighty problems." (38)

3. In Jesus fourteenth year "he made frequent trips to the top of the hill to the northwest of Nazareth for prayer and meditation." During this time he "would gaze upon Megiddo and recall the story (thought) of the Egyptian army winning its first great victory in Asia; and how, later on, another such army defeated the Judean king Josiah. Not far away he could look upon Taanach, where Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera. In the distance he could view the hills of Dothan, where he had been taught Joseph's brethren sold him into Egyptian slavery. He then would shift his gaze over to Ebal and Gerizim and recount to himself (thought) the traditions of Abraham, Jacob, and Abimelech. And thus he recalled and turned over in his mind (thought) the historic and traditional events of his father Joseph's people." (39) Notice that the revelators used almost the precise mid-1930s definition of "meditation": "the turning or revolving of a subject in the mind"!

4. When Jesus was fifteen, we are told that his "profound periods of meditation, his frequent journeys to the hilltop for prayer, and the many strange ideas which Jesus advanced from time to time, thoroughly alarmed his mother." (40) And again this is directly related to his thinking, although this is not quite as clear as in some other examples:

"Jesus was learning not to speak of all his thoughts, not to present all his ideas to the world, not even to his own mother. From this year on, Jesus' disclosures about what was going on in his mind steadily diminished; that is, he talked less about those things which an average person could not grasp, and which would lead to his being regarded as peculiar or different from ordinary folks." (41)

5. At the age of twenty-five, Jesus' "seasons of deep meditation were often broken into by Ruth and her playmates." And we are informed that the content of this deep meditation was, again, the "contemplation of his future work for the world and the universe" (42)

6. Immediately after Jesus' baptism he went into the hills for forty days because "he desired to be away for a season of quiet meditation so that he could think out the plans and decide upon the procedures for the prosecution of his public labors in behalf of this world and for all other worlds in his local universe." (43) During this period of meditation he went without food for two days because "he was so engrossed with his thinking that he forgot all about eating" (44). And the "results of this momentous season of meditation demonstrated conclusively that the divine mind has triumphantly and spiritually dominated the human intellect." (45). And it should likewise be the goal of our own Jesus-style meditation to identify ourselves more and more with our "divine mind," the mind of our Thought Adjuster, accepting its spiritualized version of our thoughts as being our own!

7. Sometime later Jesus spent a whole "night of meditation" on the shore of the Sea of Galilee "thinking, thinking until the dawn of the next day" (46).

8. Whether Jesus' season of meditation was over a month in length, overnight, or compressed into a fleeting moment, he was engaged in thinking: "And when Jesus had bowed his head a moment in silent meditation, he suddenly spoke, "Return to your home; your son will live." . . . this was not a miracle of curing physical disease. It was merely a case of preknowledge concerning the course of natural law, just such knowledge as Jesus frequently resorted to subsequent to his baptism." (47) Knowledge, of course, is indivisible from the thoughts and concepts which contain and express it.

9. And later we see Jesus sitting in an old boat where he "meditated on the next move to be made in the work of extending the kingdom." (48) Again, look at the content of his "meditation." It clearly implies thought.

We can be assured that in all of these instances of meditation (at least after he was grown) Jesus was engaged in transcendent thinking in his higher mind and/or with direct or indirect communication with his Thought Adjuster, or as Rodan put it, his "consciousness of the higher currents of spirit concept and celestial communication." Jesus meditated and came away with knowledge of the Father's will. And so can we all! That is Jesus-style meditation's most obvious purpose.

Hearing God

I have pointed out that it must not be assumed that thoughtful meditation is a one-way street. We "hear" our Thought Adjuster's communication within our minds by the very higher-level thoughts with which we access the area of mind in which the Monitor indwells. God speaks to us with what to all intents and purposes are our own thoughts:

"You are quite incapable of distinguishing the product of your own material intellect from that of the conjoint activities of your soul and the Adjuster." (49)

Here is the way that Jesus' Thought Adjuster communicated with him when he was thirteen:

"It was about the middle of February that Jesus became humanly assured that he was destined to perform a mission on earth for the enlightenment of man and the revelation of God. Momentous decisions, coupled with far-reaching plans, were formulating in the mind of this youth, who was, to outward appearances, an average Jewish lad of Nazareth. The intelligent life of all Nebadon looked on with fascination and amazement as all this began to unfold in the thinking and acting of the now adolescent carpenter's son." (50)

We are also told that "worship may be compared to the act of tuning in the soul to catch the universe broadcasts of the infinite spirit of the Universal Father" (51), and worship, as we have seen from Rodan, is part of the same ball of wax as meditation. Worship is defined in one place in The URANTIA Book as "superthinking," that is, egoless or "self forgetful" thought. And again reflecting what happens on Rodan's "mountaintop of intellectual thought," it is "effortless attention, true and ideal soul rest, a form of restful spiritual exertion." (52)

What happens is that somewhere along the line during worshipful meditation (after sufficient practice and personal growth - the need for this cannot be stressed enough) our own thought-producing effort more or less ceases and that of the Adjuster mind takes over and directs our thinking, providing a spiritualized counterpart. But as we have seen above, what we perceive in our mind cannot be in any way distinguished from our own thinking. It is in fact our own thinking! There is no real difference in this sense between what happens in worshipful meditation and what takes place during worship:

"The worship experience consists in the sublime attempt of the betrothed Adjuster to communicate to the divine Father the inexpressible longings and the unutterable aspirations of the human soul Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the conjoint creation of the God-seeking mortal mind and the God-revealing immortal Adjuster. Worship is, therefore, the act of the material mind's assenting to the attempt of its spiritualizing self, under the guidance of the associated spirit, to communicate with God as a faith son of the Universal Father. The mortal mind consents to worship; the immortal soul craves and initiates worship; the divine Adjuster presence conducts such worship in behalf of the mortal mind and the evolving immortal soul. True worship, in the last analysis, becomes an experience realized on four cosmic levels: the intellectual, the morontial, the spiritual, and the personal - the consciousness of mind, soul, and spirit, and their unification in personality."(53)

The distinction between prayer, worship, and Jesus-style meditation seems to be quite fine:

"Subsequent to the baptism of Jesus and the forty days in the Perean hills, it is hardly proper to speak of these seasons of communion with his Father as prayer, nor is it consistent to speak of Jesus as worshiping, but it is altogether correct to allude to these seasons as personal communion with his Father." (54)

And that was precisely how Rodan defined the meditation which Jesus "so consistently practices, and which he has so faithfully taught . . . the isolation of worshipful meditation . . . this habit of Jesus' going off so frequently by himself to commune with the Father in heaven."

"Silent Receptivity"

It is true indeed that "Jesus taught his followers that, when they had made their prayers to the Father, they should remain for a time in silent receptivity to afford the indwelling spirit the better opportunity to speak to the listening soul." (55) But in determining its relationship to meditation we should first of all note that this concerns a communication to the soul rather than to the conscious mind; the latter which is, of course, the goal of meditation.

Next, we should look at the broader context wherein Jesus taught this to his followers. At that time they hardly knew how to pray, let alone worship or meditate. And at that time Jesus also "deplored that so little of the spirit of thanksgiving was to be found in the prayers and worship of his followers." (56) A year earlier, in January of A.D. 27, Jesus had ordained his apostles. Six months later, in June, after Jesus teachings to them on the nature of prayer and worship, we are told that "the apostles grasped only a few of his teachings"(57). And around September of that same year, his apostles were still asking him for "a model prayer which they could teach the new disciples" (58).

Three months later, in January of A.D. 28 - one year after their apostleship had begun - the group which by this time also contained twelve of John the Baptist's former disciples, set out on their first preaching tour of Galilee. When they got to Jotapata, we are told that Nathanial expressed confusion "in his mind about the Master's teachings about prayer' (59). In response to his confusion Jesus gave the long and involved teaching in which the time of silent receptivity is to be found.

Jesus' "followers" to whom these teachings were directed were comprised of both his own apostles as well as those who had been with John The Baptist, plus a number of "disciples" who had attached themselves to the group and who were being instructed at least partially by the various apostles, who, themselves, for the first time Jesus permitted "to preach without restraint" (60). The unavoidable conclusion, when looked at in its full context, is that this time of silent receptivity which was to follow prayer was strictly meant for people who did not really understand what prayer and worship (or thanksgiving) should actually be. We are told that not many of his apostles "could fully encompass his teaching" on prayer and worship at Jotapata (61), so likely the whole body of "followers" to whom the silent receptivity teaching had been directed, understood even less!

The statement in The URANTIA Book which says " . . they should remain for a time in silent receptivity to afford the indwelling spirit the better opportunity to speak to the listening soul," is followed immediately by:

"The spirit of the Father speaks best to man when the human mind is in an attitude of true worship. We worship God by the aid of the Father's indwelling spirit and by the illumination of the human mind through the ministry of truth." (62)

Thus the statement does not stand alone but must be viewed in its relationship to worship, and by extension, to worshipful, Jesus-style meditation. And since such instruction requiring silent receptivity is given nowhere else in the entirety of The URANTIA Book's teachings, it most reasonably represents merely a stop-gap measure which Jesus designed to hold his followers in place after they had either recited their prayers or made totally inadequate ones. By allowing time for the Thought Adjuster to make some sort of registration on their soul - if only of their sincere motive to pray - unconscious growth would follow and they would in this manner move forward toward the actual techniques of "ethical prayer" (63), thanksgiving, worship and worshipful meditation whereby contact with their Thought Adjuster might eventually be made. In any event there is nothing to indicate that "silent receptivity" was meant to be either a type of or a part of meditation.

Dangers

The "great challenge" to communicate with one's Thought Adjuster, which I referred to at the beginning, demands a "well balanced and sane effort to advance the borders of self-consciousness out through the dim realms of embryonic soul consciousness in a wholehearted effort to reach the borderland of spirit consciousness - contact with the divine presence." Such balance and sanity is of primary importance:

"When the development of the intellectual nature proceeds faster than that of the spiritual, such a situation renders communication with the Thought Adjuster both difficult and dangerous. Likewise, overspiritual development tends to produce a fanatical and perverted interpretation of the spirit leadings of the divine indweller. Lack of spiritual capacity makes it very difficult to transmit to such a material intellect the spiritual truths resident in the higher superconsciousness. It is to the mind of perfect poise, housed in a body of clean habits, stabilized neural energies, and balanced chemical function - when the physical, mental, and spiritual powers are in triune harmony of development - that a maximum of light and truth can be imparted with a minimum of temporal danger or risk to the real welfare of such a being." (64)

"Even when they do find it possible to flash a gleam of new truth to the evolving mortal soul, this spiritual revelation often so blinds the creature as to precipitate a convulsion of fanaticism or to initiate some other intellectual upheaval which results disastrously. Many a new religion and strange "ism" has arisen from the aborted, imperfect, misunderstood, and garbled communications of the Thought Adjusters." (65)

Speaking of the "high-climbing souls" who are able by Jesus-style meditation to "attain consciousness of the higher currents of spirit concept and celestial communication," Rodan adds:

"But the life purpose must be jealously guarded from the temptation to seek for easy and transient attainment; likewise must it be so fostered as to become immune to the disastrous threats of fanaticism."

Mainly the dangers to be encountered during all attempts to achieve contact with the Thought Adjuster fall into one or both of two distinct categories: "subconscious delusions or superconscious illusions" (66). And this is because the unspiritualized or partially-spiritualized creative imagination is such a powerful force in the mind of individuals. Compare the following:

"Since this inner life of man is truly creative, there rests upon each person the responsibility of choosing as to whether this creativity shall be spontaneous and wholly haphazard or controlled, directed, and constructive. How can a creative imagination produce worthy children when the stage whereon it functions is already preoccupied by prejudice, hate, fears, resentments, revenge, and bigotries?" (67)

"Supreme and self-acting Adjusters are often able to contribute factors of spiritual import to the human mind when it flows freely in the liberated but controlled channels of creative imagination." (68)

"Most of the spectacular phenomena associated with so-called religious conversions are entirely psychologic in nature, but now and then there do occur experiences which are also spiritual in origin. When the mental mobilization is absolutely total on any level of the psychic upreach toward spirit attainment, when there exists perfection of the human motivation of loyalties to the divine idea, then there very often occurs a sudden down-grasp of the indwelling spirit to synchronize with the concentrated and consecrated purpose of the superconscious mind of the believing mortal. . . . To the extent that such psychic mobilization is partial, and in so far as such human-loyalty motivation is incomplete, to that extent will the experience of conversion be a blended intellectual, emotional, and spiritual reality." (69)

"While their mortal hosts are asleep, the Adjusters try to register their creations in the higher levels of the material mind, and some of your grotesque dreams indicate their failure to make efficient contact. The absurdities of dream life not only testify to pressure of unexpressed emotions but also bear witness to the horrible distortion of the representations of the spiritual concepts presented by the Adjusters. Your own passions, urges, and other innate tendencies translate themselves into the picture and substitute their unexpressed desires for the divine messages which the indwellers are endeavoring to put into the psychic records during unconscious sleep." (70)

"The great danger in all these psychic speculations is that visions and other so-called mystic experiences, along with extraordinary dreams, may be regarded as divine communications to the human mind." (71)

As an illustration of the power of the creative imagination; children at their "dawn of creative imagination . . . evince a tendency to converse with imaginary companions" (72), and in adults this same creative imagination has been responsible for the projection of gods which "are figments of the imagination, illusions of mortal mind, distortions of false logic, and the self-deceptive idols of those who create them." (73) This applies not only to cultural gods, but to our private perceptions of the divine as well.

"The philosophic elimination of religious fear and the steady progress of science add greatly to the mortality of false gods; and even though these casualties of man-made deities may momentarily befog the spiritual vision, they eventually destroy that ignorance and superstition which so long obscured the living God of eternal love." (74)

Unfortunately The URANTIA Book readers' private perception of the divine is seen in terms not only of the Paradise Father, but as one's Thought Adjuster. That is, the mind can easily create, as it were, a false thought Adjuster:

"But a human being would do better to err in rejecting an Adjuster's expression through believing it to be a purely human experience than to blunder into exalting a reaction of the mortal mind to the sphere of divine dignity. . . . In varying degrees and increasingly as you ascend the psychic circles, sometimes directly, but more often indirectly, you do communicate with your Adjusters. But it is dangerous to entertain the idea that every new concept originating in the human mind is the dictation of the Adjuster. More often, in beings of your order, that which you accept as the Adjuster's voice is in reality the emanation of your own intellect. This is dangerous ground, and every human being must settle these problems for himself in accordance with his natural human wisdom and superhuman insight." (75)

"Mortal man has a spirit nucleus. The mind is a personal-energy system existing around a divine spirit nucleus and functioning in a material environment. Such a living relationship of personal mind and spirit constitutes the universe potential of eternal personality. Real trouble, lasting disappointment, serious defeat, or inescapable death can come only after self-concepts presume fully to displace the governing power of the central spirit nucleus, thereby disrupting the cosmic scheme of personality identity." (76)

Whatever material that has been stored in the unconscious memory - including the teachings of The URANTIA Book - can become the costume wherein the creative imagination dresses up its hallucinatory subconscious delusions and superconscious illusions:

"Altogether too much of the uprush of the memories of the unconscious levels of the human mind has been mistaken for divine revelations and spirit leadings," (77)

"Certain abrupt presentations of thoughts, conclusions, and other pictures of mind are sometimes the direct or indirect work of the Adjuster; but far more often they are the sudden emergence into consciousness of ideas which have been grouping themselves together in the submerged mental levels, natural and everyday occurrences of normal and ordinary psychic function inherent in the circuits of the evolving animal mind." (78)

"The human mind may perform in response to so-called inspiration when it is sensitive either to the uprisings of the subconscious or to the stimulus of the superconscious. In either case it appears to the individual that such augmentations of the content of consciousness are more or less foreign." (79)

If these communications with the false gods created by our minds contain the highest truths which we have ever encountered (for instance the teachings in the Urantia Papers) they may prove to be altogether too believable. When subconscious delusions or superconscious illusions displace truth and are raised to the sphere of divine dignity and are believed to be genuine spiritual communications, fanaticism - or worse - is the likely outcome. It appears that it was for these reasons that the warnings in The URANTIA Book were given to us.

In apparent response to these very same illusionary/delusionary dangers, internationally recognized expert on herbal healing, reciprocal mind-body influence, and "Integrative Medicine," physician-author Andrew T. Weil, writes: "Zen masters warn their meditating students to ignore makyo-sensory distortions that often take the form of visions seen by mystics in rapturous states or hallucinations similar to those of schizophrenics" (80). And the Hindu Upanishads "prescribe external and internal purity, continence, non-stealing, truthfulness, not injuring any being either by words or deeds, [and] similar moral-ethical basic values to achieve the state of samadhi (e.g., "a state of altered consciousness, the state to which a person reaches or is expected to reach through spiritual disciplines of meditation and Yoga.") (81)."

Questioned privately, senior-certified Iyengar yoga instructor Sam Dworkis, told me (82)

"After due deliberation, my general response to your second email has to be simply based upon one sentence, to wit: 'Under no circumstances should the trancelike state of visionary consciousness be cultivated as a religious experience.

"When I was younger and when I was living a much more protected lifestyle, I did experiment with the more esoteric concepts of yoga. However now that I am older and living more conventionally, I do not enter into esoteric practices either in personal practice or teaching. Because my "work" is now predicated upon "maximizing potential and minimizing liability," and as a Westerner living in a Western body, I must reject using yoga to push into potentially dangerous territory.

"That is not to say I believe using yoga to alter consciousness is per se wrong, but I instead look at its implications as a normal westerner living a relatively normal western existence.

"That being said, if I were again living within the environs of in a "protected ashram," eating strictly vegetarian, and limiting the amount of external stimulation entering my nervous system, I might be inclined to push the boundaries of "visionary consciousness." However, since I am not living in such a protected environment, it is my considered opinion that it is dangerous to push such edges. Not wrong, but dangerous."

The URANTIA Book appears to warn us away from this particular altered state of consciousness altogether:

"Under no circumstances should the trancelike state of visionary consciousness be cultivated as a religious experience.

"The characteristics of the mystical state are diffusion of consciousness with vivid islands of focal attention operating on a comparatively passive intellect. All of this gravitates consciousness toward the subconscious rather than in the direction of the zone of spiritual contact, the superconscious. Many mystics have carried their mental dissociation to the level of abnormal mental manifestations." (83)

And it immediately follows that negative warning with positive instruction on what we should do instead:

"The more healthful attitude of spiritual meditation is to be found in reflective worship and in the prayer of thanksgiving." (84)

That is, the more healthful attitude is to be found in Jesus-style meditation!

Mysticism

For many readers, meditation in The URANTIA Book cannot be considered apart from mysticism. In spite of the many places that variations of the word "mystical" show up in its teachings in a less than favorable light, the revelators clearly tell us that mysticism, "as the technique of the cultivation of the consciousness of the presence of God, is altogether praiseworthy" (85). How is this apparent contradiction to be reconciled?

Notice that the passage speaks of only one special form of mysticism, that is, "the technique of the cultivation of the consciousness of the presence of God." That is entirely different from what this article has been discussing, which is primarily meditation as a technique of communicating with one's Thought Adjuster (one's indwelling fragment of God). It is quite possible to communicate with God without a "consciousness of the presence of God," and the act of experiencing that presence may be outside of the realm of communication per se. God communicates with us in our thinking processes, but we feel or sense God's presence.

Jesus taught that "God is love" (86), and we are told that a "human being can actually feel - literally experience - the full and undiminished impact of such an infinite Father's LOVE." (87) In fact we are informed that such an experience may encompass the acme of religious evolution:

"Evolutionary religion is born of a simple and all-powerful fear, the fear which surges through the human mind when confronted with the unknown, the inexplicable, and the incomprehensible. Religion eventually achieves the profoundly simple realization of an all-powerful love, the love which sweeps irresistibly through the human soul when awakened to the conception of the limitless affection of the Universal Father for the sons of the universe. But in between the beginning and the consummation of religious evolution, there intervene the long ages of the shamans, who presume to stand between man and God as intermediaries, interpreters, and intercessors." (88)

And if The URANTIA Book gives us a technique for attaining to this divine, experiential love, it is likely to be compressed in the following:

"When men search for God, they are searching for everything. When they find God, they have found everything. The search for God is the unstinted bestowal of love attended by amazing discoveries of new and greater love to be bestowed.

"All true love is from God, and man receives the divine affection as he himself bestows this love upon his fellows. Love is dynamic. It can never be captured; it is alive, free, thrilling, and always moving. Man can never take the love of the Father and imprison it within his heart. The Father's love can become real to mortal man only by passing through that man's personality as he in turn bestows this love upon his fellows." (89.)

There may be other ways of experiencing a consciousness of the presence of God, but we should not - again - in attempting to cultivate this experience mistake what is human for that which is divine. The scientific investigations of Michael Persinger have demonstrated that when magnetic "fields are applied to the right hemisphere (particularly the parietal/temporal regions) the most typical experience is that of a sensed presence, or entity." Persinger remarks that the subjective "details of the experience are strongly determined by the person's beliefs which are supplied by the culture," that is, a Buddhist will experience the presence of Buddha, and a Christian will experience the presence of Jesus or God, and so forth. Persinger adds, there "are also likely to be many different stimuli that can evoke the same or [a] similar electromagnetic pattern and hence experience. Our experimental procedure is one method." (90) In all likelihood this experience is entirely a "reaction of the mortal mind," or more particularly of the brain, to various stimuli, and we would do well either to ignore it or to believe it to be of human origin. Thus, "the steady progress of science add[s] greatly to the mortality of false gods."

Neither, in attempting the praiseworthy cultivation of this mystical experience, should we forget the warning against employing the "trancelike state of visionary consciousness." That prohibition applies in every circumstance, not just in "meditation" per se. Likewise we are to avoid "such things as: physical fatigue, fasting, psychic dissociation [apparently the primary factor in initiating yogic and Buddhist meditation], profound aesthetic experiences, vivid sex impulses, fear, anxiety, rage, and wild dancing," (91) which are said to initiate the "mystic" state, some of which are used by religionists to attain an altered consciousness, and all of which The URANTIA Book implies are dangerous to some degree.

Altogether praiseworthy or not, The URANTIA Book adds that "when such practices lead to social isolation [such as, perhaps, living in an ashram or monastery] and culminate in religious fanaticism, they are all but reprehensible." And elsewhere:

"There is great danger associated with the habitual practice of religious daydreaming; mysticism may become a technique of reality avoidance, albeit it has sometimes been a means of genuine spiritual communion. Short seasons of retreat from the busy scenes of life may not be seriously dangerous, but prolonged isolation of personality is most undesirable." (92)

But the word "mysticism" itself, as defined circa 1934, included "a view or tendency in religion which implies a direct communication between God and man through the inward perception of the mind," and that is almost a definition of Jesus-style meditation. And according to Rodan it is "a means of genuine spiritual communion":

"These high-climbing souls deliver themselves from a multitude of the crosscurrent conflicts of the trifles of living, thus becoming free to attain consciousness of the higher currents of spirit concept and celestial communication."

Growth and Service

Jesus-style meditation in conjunction with prayer, thanksgiving and worship seems to be the safest technique for achieving the goal of Thought Adjuster communication. First of all it does NOT require an altered state of consciousness. And, next, it is in no way a short-cut method, - or as Rodan put it, an "easy and transient attainment" - depending as it does first and foremost upon growth. Not only does habitual Jesus-style meditation "favor religious growth" (see above), but "genuine prayer adds to spiritual growth, modifies attitudes, and yields that satisfaction which comes from communion with divinity." (93) It appears to be only with Jesus-style meditation (including prayer and worship), operating in a circular (more accurately, an upwardly-directed spiral-like), hand-in-hand, feedback relationship with spiritual growth, that Thought Adjuster communication can be achieved in a healthful, sane and well-balanced manner:

"The Adjusters are always near you and of you, but rarely can they speak directly, as another being, to you. Circle by circle your intellectual decisions, moral choosings, and spiritual development add to the ability of the Adjuster to function in your mind; circle by circle you thereby ascend from the lower stages of Adjuster association and mind attunement, so that the Adjuster is increasingly enabled to register his picturizations of destiny with augmenting vividness and conviction upon the evolving consciousness of this God-seeking mind-soul." (94)

But there is an additional factor which is equally necessary that must be added to meditation and growth (or without which balanced growth is impossible). And that is service:

"The contact of the mortal mind with its indwelling Adjuster, while often favored by devoted meditation, is more frequently facilitated by wholehearted and loving service in unselfish ministry to one's fellow creatures. . . . Jesus often took his apostles away by themselves for short periods to engage in meditation and prayer, but for the most part he kept them in service-contact with the multitudes. The soul of man requires spiritual exercise as well as spiritual nourishment." (95.)

In Conclusion

Although the meaning of the word "meditation" has changed in the decades since The URANTIA Book was indited, a study of the context in which the word appears keeps the meaning clear and unmistakable. Jesus used active, dynamic thought to contact and communicate with his Thought Adjuster, and he taught this method to his followers. This form of meditation is not without its dangers and disciplines, and those of us who follow Jesus today will do well to take heed of both the instructions and warnings given in The URANTIA Book concerning Jesus-style meditation, and for all other forms of meditation or mysticism which we may choose to practice as well.

In this matter, as in most, we cannot go too wrong if we keep our eyes on Jesus:

"To "follow Jesus" means to personally share his religious faith and to enter into the spirit of the Master's life of unselfish service for man. 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." (96.)

FOOTNOTES
[All number entries below refer to Paper:Section.paragraph #list number in The URANTIA Book]
1. 99:1.6
2. Websters Universal Dictionary, Vol. II, World Syndicate Publishing Co., 193
3. http://www.dictionary.com
4. see http://www.squarecircles.com/matarticles/rodan/rodanparallels.htm
5. New York: Abingdon Press, 1930
6. p. 94
7. 160:3.5
8. 16:6.9
9. 160:0.1
10. 166:5.6
11. 160:1.10
12. 160:3.1
13. 160:3.5
14. 160:3.2
15. 34:5.6
16. 100:5.6
17. 111:1.5
18. 110:7.6
19. 101:1.3
20. 108:6.4
21. 110:2.3
22. 146:2.16
23. 146:2.15 #14
24. 91:6.7
25. 144:4.4
26. 5:3.4
27. 112:2.7
28. 85:7.3
29. 143:7.7
30. 111:7.2-3
31. 192:2.2
32. 100:1.8
33. ref., 94:6.7
34. 100:5.8-9
35. 124:3.10
36. 124:6.11
37. 125:4.1
38. 125:4.4
39. 126:1.1
40. 126:3.13
41. 126:3.14
42. 128:6.10
43. 136:3.3
44. 136:4.3
45. 136:4.4
46. 137:5.3
47. 146:5.2
48. 151:1.1
49. 110:4.2
50. 124:5.3
51. 144:4.8
52. 143:7.7
53. 5:3.8
54. 144:1.5
55. 146:2.1 #16
56. 146:2.1 #14
57. 143:7.9
58. 144:3.1
59. 146:2.1
60. 146:0.2
61. 146:2.2
62. 146:2.1 #16
63. see 91.4
64. 110:6.4
65. 110:4.5
66. 100:5.11
67. 111:4.9
68. 109:5.1
69. 100:5.4-5
70. 110:5.4
71. 100:5.6
72. 91:3.1
73. 160:5.9
74. 102:6.1
75. 110:5.5-6
76. 12:9.6
77. 100:5.7
78. 110:4.3
79. 91:7.4
80. (Weil also says, "Except for its voluntary and purposeful nature, meditation is not easily distinguishable from trance"). A Report to the Ford Foundation, THE DRUG ABUSE SURVEY PROJECT, STAFF PAPER 6: Altered States of Consciousness, by Andrew T. Weil, M.D. http://www.curezone.com/books/best/book.asp?ID=181
81. The writer, C. S. Shah, continues, "Another word 'mystic introversion' may be used in place of samadhi, but the use of word 'trance' is ambiguous and is, therefore, avoided." http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/asc1.html
82. Private email, published with his permission. Sam Dworkis may be contacted through his website at http://www.extensionyoga.com/
83. 100:5.8-9
84. 100:5.10
85. 91:7.1
86. 130:1.5
87. 3:4.6
88. 90:0.3
89. 117:6.9-10
90. see http://www.innerworlds.50megs.com/Persinger_replies.htm
91. 100:5.10
92. 100:5.8
93. 91:8.10
94. 110:6.5
95. 91:7.1-2
96. 196:1.

Bio-

Peter Holley discovered The URANTIA Book within weeks of a conversion experience attendant upon his having asked Jesus into his heart some 35 years ago. Presently he is experientially investigating the new, living, revelation of Jesus as revealed primarily in Paper 195, Sections 9 and 10, and in Paper 196, Section 1. Peter understands this new, living, revelation of Jesus as being the second part of Jesus' prophesied visitation of "an enlarged revelation of truth and an enhanced demonstration of righteousness" (176:2.3).

Note: Peter Holley graduated from Urantia a few years ago. I wish I knew all the details, but I do not...ed.

Labels: creative imagination, dangers, definitions, Eastern religions, God, Jesus, meditation, mysticism, Peter Holley, Rodan, service, silent receptivity, thinking, Thought Adjuster, worship

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Monday, February 06, 2006

The Living Religion Of Jesus

Meredith Sprunger
4/99/83

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 the greatest value is to know the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it. (2092)

Jesus founded the religion of personal experience in doing the will of God and serving the human brotherhood. (2092)

The living religion of Jesus is the most powerful force for shaping human destiny on our world. In less than two-thousand years, which is only a moment in anthropological time, it has influenced life on our planet more than all of the kings who have ever reigned; the armies who have ever marched; the navies who have ever sailed; and, yes, more than the advent of the atom bomb and atomic power! What was the key to this marvelous life which he lived among us?

Jesusâ€™ entire life centered around a consciousness of God, and all of the beliefs by which he lived, stem out of this relationship with the heavenly Father. His dynamic, living faith was the source of all of his teachings. Let us look at this transforming faith of Jesus. First of all, Jesus believed and taught that God is in sure and ultimate control of the universe and that God loves man as a father loves his children. Jesus assures us that God is our heavenly Father; and, therefore, we have nothing to fear. He told the fearful young man who fled to the hills with a crippling sense of inferiority, that he could free himself from this false self-image by realizing that he was a son of God. Living in this reborn image of the spirit, Jesus told him, "Trouble will invigorate you; disappointment will spur you on; difficulties will challenge you; and obstacles will stimulate you. Arise, young man! Say farewell to the life of cringing fear and fleeing cowardice. Hasten back to duty and live your life in the flesh as a son of God; a mortal dedicated to the ennobling service of man on earth; and destined to the superb and eternal service of God in eternity." (1438)

We have the resources of the universe on our side. Jesus was always aware of the power of spiritual leverage in solving the material problems of life. He said to the young man working with him in the Caesarean shipyard, who was grumbling about his cruel and unjust foreman, "Since you know the ways of kindness and value justice, perhaps the Gods have brought this erring man near, that you may lead him into this better way. Maybe you are the salt which is to make this brother more agreeable to all other menâ€¦Why not assert your mastery of evil by virtue of the power of goodness; and thus become the master of all relations between the two of you? I predict that the good in you could overcome the evil in him, if you gave it a fair and living chance." (1430)

Jesus never tired of reminding his fellowmen that they were sons and daughters of God, and that the spiritual resources at their disposal were more than adequate to cope with their human and material problems. Indeed, he had a very high regard for human nature, and understood its great potentials. He saw in Mary Magdalene, not the harlot of the streets, but the strong spiritual leader which she became. He perceived in Peter, not the impetuous man who spoke before he thought, or the coward who denied his Lord, but the spiritual rock and great evangelist, which he became. The confidence which Jesus has inspired in countless men and women over the centuries, has inspired them to actualize their potentialities, as has no person in the history of man.

Unfortunately, vast numbers of struggling people do not hear this life-giving message of Jesus. Dr. James Dobson, in a survey of young married women, found that their most difficult problem was low self-respect. The religion of Jesus is tailored to the needs of such people. Jesus declared that even the most lowly human being, is a son or daughter of God; and that when they recognize and accept this fact, they will develop a superb self-respect. Most of the debilitating problems in our lives are the result of a negative self-image, and its consequent negative view on life.

Dr. Morrison of :Pasadena, CA, contrasts the outlook of two people he knew. The first was a suicide note from a girl saying, "I am twenty-one. I have seen everything worth seeing. I know everything worth knowing. I donâ€™t like life â€“ itâ€™s cheap, dirty, and disappointing. Iâ€™ve had all I want."

The other was written by William Mulock, Canadian statesman and educator, on his ninty-fifth birthday. "I am still at work, with my hand to the plow, and my face to the future. The shadows of the evening lengthen about me, but morning is in my heart. The testimony I bear is this: The Castle of Enchantment is not yet behind me. It is before me still, and daily I catch glimpses of its battlements and towers. The best of life is always further on. Its real lure is hidden from our eyes somewhere behind the hills of time."

What is the real difference behind these contrasting views of life? It is their self-images. The one identifies with a sense of meaninglessness and the consequent worthlessness of life. The other is identified with the transcendent Reality behind the hills of time, and the consequent richness of a life of service. Both have the finite frailties of the human mind and body, which, like sand and water when mixed together, can be exceedingly weak; but to the one life, there was added the cement of spiritual reality, which transmuted these frail human elements into the concrete and permanent achievements of the soul.

The unconquerable faith which Jesus had in the loving rule of God in the heart of man, along with his confidence in the high