Urantia Book Commentary and Articles

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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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, 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 potentialities of men and women, caused him to proclaim the existence of the most basic relationship of the universe: The Kingdom of God. The fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man are the basic foundations of this spiritual kingdom. This loving relationship is established within the heart and mind of each person, and brings the greatest freedom and joy which finite man can experience. The two indispensable requisites for entering this spiritual kingdom, are the sincerity of faith, and the hunger for truth. Jesus taught that truth perception is the heart of spiritual experience. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (1796) Over six-hundred rules dominated the religious life of the Jewish people of Jesusâ€™ day, and controlled every aspect of their lives. The kingdom of God establishes true spiritual freedom. Followers of the religion of Jesus, live by the timeless spiritual principles of the universe, rather than custom-conditioned religious rules. Or, as St. Augustine phrased it, "Love God and do as you like."

As we place the spiritual priorities of the kingdom first in our lives, other things follow creatively. The inner leading of the spirit enables us to discover and actualize abilities and activities which make us effective sons and daughters of God.

The well known English writer, A. J. Cronin, began his professional career as a physician, but always, in the background of his mind, was the urge to write a novel. At the age of thirty-three, he developed a gastric ulcer, and was told he must take six months complete rest in the country on a milk diet. One day, weeks later, bored by enforced idleness, he stood on the desolate shore of a Highland loch, and raised his voice in a decision of frustration, "By heavens! This is my opportunity. Gastric ulcer, or no gastric ulcer, I will write a novel." For months, he struggled and agonized over words, phrases, and sentences. When he was half way through the novel, he paused to read what he had written. He was appalled. Never, had he read such nonsense. No one would read it. Furious with the futility of all of it, he bundled up the manuscript, went out, and threw it in the ash can.

With sullen satisfaction, he went for a walk in the drizzling rain. Half way down the loch shore, he came upon the old Scottish farmer who was his host, laboriously digging a patch of heath. When he told the old farmer what he had just done, his weathered face slowly changed; his keen eyes scanned Cronin with disappointment and a queer contempt. The silent man eventually spoke: "My father ditched this bog all his days, and never made a pasture. Iâ€™ve dug it all my days, and Iâ€™ve never made a pasture. But pasture, or no pasture, I canna help but dig. For, my father knew, and I know, that if you only dig enough, a pasture can be made here."

Cronin understood. He returned to the ash can, retrieved his manuscript, and before the six months were over, he finished it. The novel, Hatterâ€™s Castle was selected by the English Book Society, dramatized, serialized, translated into nineteen languages, and has sold millions of copies.

Our lives are made meaningful, and the most useful, when we follow the inner leading of the will of God. When we are following these spiritual priorities, we do not change them simply because we become discouraged, meet opposition, or do not find the results we would like. Sometimes, generations of digging are necessary to turn some evil bogs into pleasant pastures.

Next to placing complete trust in the loving sovereignty of God over all of life, the second major emphasis in the religion of Jesus, is that faith and confidence in the spiritual realities of the kingdom, is the foundation of sonship with God. Faith is the only requirement for sonship and salvation. If your life is to be strong and productive, you need to distinguish between belief and faith. Belief is an intellectual assent, which may, or may not be lived. A psychological state of mind attains faith levels only when it dominates our life style, with our wholehearted consent.

Belief is limiting and circumscribed; faith is expanding, releasing, and growing. Belief tends toward dogmatism; faith tends toward openness and freedom. Belief can be second-hand, and a group possession; faith must be personal. Spiritual faith is unconquerable. It causes us to grow and progress in spite of our desire for ease, and the urge of the lower level animal tendencies. It generates courage and confidence despite adversities, reverses, and defeat. Faith, working through individuals, undergirds the continued survival of justice and altruism, in spite of human selfishness, social antagonisms, industrial greeds, and political maladjustments.

We are living in a culture experiencing a crisis in faith. There is a "credibility gap", a decline of public trust in all our social institutions. Theologian Richard Rubenstein in After Auschwitz, says: "We stand in a cold, silent, unfeeling cosmos, unaided by any purposive power beyond our own resources." Our secular society is nearing the brink of what Baptist theologian Carl Henry calls: "â€¦the absolute autonomy of man, who does not need God, either to know the truth, or to do goodâ€¦whether he wishes to walk on the moon, cure cancer, or bring peace on earth." Mass education has failed to produce an enlightened society, or curb greed and violence.

In such a world of confusion and disharmony, to exercise living faith in the religion of Jesus, requires spiritual vision and moral courage. One of the most noble exponents of this faith was Toyohiko Kagawa of Japan. This modern St. Francis of Assisi was the son of a philandering businessman, and a concubine. He was raised by an embittered stepmother and stepgrandmother, who took turns beating the boy. Only when when he was sent away to school, did he learn that there was love and tenderness in the world. Two Christian missionaries took the lonely boy into their hearts and homes, and taught him that all people are created by a God of love; and that any person devoting himself or herself to serving their fellowman, can work tremendous changes for good. The religion of Jesus inspired in Kagawa a lifelong passion to lift the down trodden, love the loveless, and serve the oppressed.

Later, when he started studying for the Christian ministry, he plunged into his studies so furiously, he developed tuberculosis. Friends sent him to the seashore for a year, where he wrote a novel on assorted scraps of paper. Kagawa, driven by an obsession to live, in spite of racking hemorrhages, returned to his studies in Tokyo. He completed his studies, and following graduation, moved his few possessions into a six by six hut in the slums of Shinkawa, where he was to live and work for fifteen years. Here, in Shinkawa, he developed the ideas and service programs which made him world famous, and where he wrote most of his more than one hundred books.

Beggars of a baser sort took advantage of his Christian faith. One asked Kagawa for his shirt, and when he got it, demanded also, his coat and pants. When he complied, a reformed prostitute brought Kagawa a womanâ€™s kimono, which he wore about the streets. Ruffians demanded money, and wen he had no more to give, they assaulted him, and knocked out his front teeth. He took a job as a chimney sweep at $5.00 a month, to provide more rice for the destitute. When visitors called him a fool, he proudly amended it to "Christâ€™s fool."

In 1914, he began to promote social reform. When thousands of Kobe dock workers asked for his leadership, he responded by organizing them into Japanâ€™s first labor union, with the condition that they use non-violent methods. The police seized him, beat him, and dragged him off to jail. The day he was released, 35,000 men armed with bricks and crowbars, set out on a march to destroy the shipyards. There were no guards to stop them, but standing on a narrow bridge over which they had to pass, was a solitary figure. The mob came to a halt. Kagawa did not speak; he stood praying silently. The men, ashamed, turned, and went home. Largely because of his influence, in 1925, the law forbidding unions was repealed. It was also because of the co-operatives which Kagawa organized, that communism was uable to get a major foothold in Japan.

Following Pearl Harbor, Kagawaâ€™s pacificism frequently landed him in jail; but, following the war, it was this pint-sized man who had spent his life stalwartly living the religion of Jesus, that Emperor Hirohito asked to come and tell him how he might become a man of the people. The audience lasted three times as long as the time for which it was scheduled. Finally, Kagawa opened a battered Bible and read: "Whosoever will be great among youâ€¦shall be the servant of all." He added: "A rulerâ€™s sovereignty, Your Majesty, is in the hearts of his people. Only by service to others can a man, or a nation, be godlike."

It is this quality of faith that changes lives and nations. It is not where society is now, or where you are now, which is important. The all important thing, is the way in which you are facing. When Jesus and Ganid brought the two women of the night in Corinth to Justusâ€™ wife, he was not concerned about their mistakes in the past, but in helping them get a start on a new and better way of life for the future. It is our mind-set which controls our destiny. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Even now, we can use the mind of Jesus to augment our weak and often unstable minds. His Spirit of Truth is ever present in our own minds to strengthen, guide, and lead us into thoughts of wisdom and power. This mind and soul-force of the kingdom may start in our lives, from mustard seed beginnings, but it grows from within to take charge of our lives, and make us powerful and efficient instruments for truth, beauty, and goodness.

The third major emphasis of the religion of Jesus, is that love and service are the highest motives for living. These are the "Being" values which fulfill the deepest needs of human nature, and bring happiness into our lives. When the lawyer of the Pharisees asked Jesus to state the first and greatest commandment of life, Jesus replied: "There is but one commandmentâ€¦â€™you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strengthâ€™â€¦and the second commandment is like the firstâ€¦â€™You shall love your neighbor as yourself.â€™ There is no other commandment greater than these; on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (1901)

The empirical and scientific wisdom of man has arrived at the same conclusions. The psychiatrist, Dr. Fisher, in his book Some Buttons Missing, says that if all of the wisdom which psychiatrists and psychologists have garnered over the years were boiled down to the meat, leaving out the parsley, and if this meat were written by the worldâ€™s best poets â€“ you would have a lesser facsimile of the worldâ€™s greatest message of love, "The Sermon on the Mount." The anthropologist, Ashley Montagu, in On Being Human says: "The [human] organism is born with an innate need for love. Whatever is opposed to love, to goodness, and to co-operation, is disharmonic, unviable, unstable, and malfunctional â€“ evil."

When Mozart was a small boy, he was visited by an eminent man of wisdom, Gottfried von Jacquin. Mozart was already well known as a child prodigy. Gottfried von Jacquin wrote these memorable words in Mozartâ€™s album: "True genius without heart, cannot exist â€“ for neither high intelligence, nor imagination, nor both together, make genius. Love! Love! Love! â€¦is the soul of genius."

Jesusâ€™ religion of love even appeals to most of those who reject institutional Christianity. Bertrand Russell, Nobel Prize winner, distinguished philosopher, and author of Why I Am Not a Christian, lectured at Columbia University in November of 1950. His brilliant mind traced the impact of science on contemporary society. In the first lecture, Philosopher Russell, rather thoroughly, dismissed the formulations of Christian theology. Yet, his last lecture ends with a rather strange conclusion. He is enumerating the things and conditions which are necessary if our scientific age is to be relatively happy and stable. He says: "The root of the matter is a very simple and old-fashioned thing; a thing so simple that I am almost ashamed to mention it, for fear of the derisive smile with which wise cynics will greet my words. The thing I mean â€“ please forgive me for mentioning it â€“ is love; Christian love; compassion. If you feel this, you have a motive for existence; a guide in action; and a reason for courage."

Love is the most powerful attitude of man. Harry Emerson Fosdick relates a story which occurred during the Armenian atrocities. A young woman and her brother were pursued down a street by a Turkish soldier. Finally, they were cornered and the brother was brutally slaughtered. The young woman, while her brother was being slain, dodged down an alley, leaped a fence, and escaped. Later, being a nurse, she was forced by the Turks to labor in a hospital. One day, to the ward she attended, came the Turkish soldier who had slain her brother. He was desperately ill, and the slightest inattention would have ensured his death. No one would have ever known. But, she did all within her power to restore him to health. He recognized her, and one day asked her why she had not let him die. She replied: "I am a follower of him who said: â€˜Love your enemies and do good for them.â€™" For a long time, the soldier was silent. Then he said: "I never knew that there was such a religion. If that is your religion, tell me about it, for I want it."

Service is the hallmark of all who live the religion of Jesus. We are told by a Mighty Messenger that: "Service â€“ more service, increased service, difficult service, adventurous service, and at last, divine and perfect service â€“ is the goal of time, and the destination of space." (316) "Every man feels, instinctively,â€¦", James Russell Lowell points out, "â€¦that all of the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single, lovely action." Any one who has experienced a dynamic personal relationship with God, and had dedicated himself to the demands of this relationship, must do something about it. "True religion must act." (1121)

Such service is possible even for those who are destitute and seemingly have nothing to give. George Washington Carver was such a person. He was born in Missouri of slave parents whom he never knew, because they were carried off by slave raiders when he was a baby. The white planter, Moses Carver, who raised him, was so poor, the Carvers were unable to send him to school. So, George went on his own; slept in barns and haylofts, worked for his food, at whatever jobs turned-up; took in all of the learning which the one-room school house had to offer.

He was admitted by mail, to the University of Iowa, but later rejected when they learned that he was a negro. George washed, scrubbed, and house-cleaned his way through three years at Simpson College and four years of agricultural studies at Iowa State College. There, his genius with soils and plants, won him, on graduation, a place on the faculty. But down in central Alabama, Booker T. Washington, the president and founder of Tuskegee Institute, was dreaming of economic emancipation for the negro farmer. He saw young Carver as the key to realizing this dream. When Carver arrived in Tuskegee in 1896, he had nothing to work with. He built a laboratory from material salvaged from trash piles; and transformed his sixteen-acre experimental sand farm into one of the most productive pieces of land in the South.

George Washington Carver became the first and greatest chemurgist in America. His research was the foundation of multi-million dollar agriculture enterprises. Thomas Edison invited him to join his staff at $50,000 a year. But, Carver had a formula for life which kept him at Tuskegee: "Start where you are, with what you have; make something of it; never be satisfied." Spiritual resources were at the heart of George Washington Carverâ€™s service. He had two favorite scripture verses. His "light" passage was Proverbs 3:6: "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." His "power" passage was Phil. 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me."

Service is not only related to the big and important things in life. It includes the small and semingly insignificant things. "Most of the really important things which Jesus said and did seemed to happen casually, â€˜â€¦as He passed byâ€¦â€™" (1875) This can be true of our lives, also. In the midst of the depression, when Ted and Dorothy Hustead were barely able to suvive in their Wall, South Dakota drug store, they noticed that travelers in the hot and dusty climate, were always thirsty when they entered the store. They posted signs along approaching highways, "Free Ice Water, Wall Drug Store, Wall, South Dakota." Soon, thirsty people were showing up, and signs were placed farther and farther East, all the way to the coast. Eventually, the Wall Drug Store was hiring twenty-eight employees to serve an average of 5,000 glasses of water a day.

Sometimes, the kind and thoughtful little things we do are long remembered, and have far-reaching consequences. Fred C. Kelly tells howâ€¦late one night, many years ago, the manager of a small hotel in Philadelphia, happened to be behind the desk when a middle-aged man and his wife from New York came in. The wife was ill, and they had been unable to find lodgings, because a large convention of some kind was in the city, and all of the hotels were crowded. They were polite, and didnâ€™t make any demands, but asked the advice of the manager about how they might obtain a place to sleep. "Every guest room is filledâ€¦", the manager said, "â€¦but," he added, "Iâ€™ll give you my own room."

The manager hadnâ€™t even learned their names, and didnâ€™t expect any special reward for his courtesy. He just did it as an act of decency. But, it made a great impression on the man and his wife. They noticed that the hotel was well managed, and that much attention seemed to be paid to small details, for the comfort of the guests. The next morning, the husband called upon the manager and said: "Youâ€™re the kind of hotel manager that should be at the head of a really great hotel. Iâ€™d like to build one for you. If that interests you, please get in touch with me some time." The guest was William Waldorf Astor. And the hotel man was the late George C. Boldt. As manager of the old Waldorf-Astoria, that Astor provided for him, Boldt became known as the greatest hotel man of his time.

The great challenge of every life is to find and dedicate oneself to a meaninful life-plan. God has a purpose for your life, and one of your greatest opportunities is to find and follow that plan. Millard Fuller, director of Habitat for Humanity, an ecumenical service project with headquarters at Koinonia Farm, near Plains, Georgia, thought he had found the key to American success in his twenties. As a law student, his part time entrepreneurial projects made him more money than the president of the university was making. After graduation, he put his money making abilities into high gear. Soon, he and his business partner owned a publishing business, and 2,000 acres of farm land. Millard was a millionaire before he was thirty. He and his wife, Linda, had plans on the drawing board for a $150,000 home on a twenty-acre lot, in a plush new sub-division just outside of Montgomery, Alabama. Then his world, rich in things, fell in.

One day, he came home and found a note from Linda saying she had gone to a hotel in New York to think about whether their marriage was wroth saving. Millard decided he needed to do some thinking of his own. After a week of soul searching, he realized that his entire life was headed in the wrong direction; his priorities were wrong. Millard went to New York, and together with Linda, they turned their lives, along with their possessions, over to Christ. Later in this year of 1968, they retreated to Koinonia Farm, founded by Clarence Jordan, and there, with a small band of dedicated Christians, they created the concept of Koinonia Partners, and the Fund for Humanity, to go into partnership with God, to do his work in the world.

They saw the tremendous need for decent housing among the poor people of the world, and so the Habitat for Humanity project was born. Durable and efficient houses were designed, co-operatively built, and sold to families with no profit or interest added. They were given twenty years to pay for the houses, so that payments would be low enough for them to afford. As a result of this dedicated housing, and learning first-hand about the religion of Jesus.

Finally, the religion of Jesus calls for fidelity and courage. Courage was the very heart of His teachings. "Fear not", was his watchword; and patient endurance his ideal of strength of character. The teachings of Jesus constitute a religion of valor, courage, and heroism." (1582) "No armies of the worldâ€¦", he declared, "â€¦have ever displayed more courage and bravery than will be portrayed by you and your loyal successors, who shall go forth to all the world proclaiming the good news â€“ the fatherhood of God, and the brotherhood of man." (1608)

Anyone who follows and grows in the religion of Jesus is almost certain to meet with opposition. Selfishness and greed always resist the leaven of love; egocentric pride and self-righteousness ever strive to limit the creative expression of others; and stereotyped religious dogma is eternally prepared to do battle with the enlarged insights of the Spirit of Truth. Jesus taught that nothing can ultimately defeat those sons and daughters of God whose lives are spirit directed. We should live fearlessly and rejoice in being pioneers of truth, beauty, and goodness. The march of truth cannot be stopped by those who only kill the body.

Jesus could have escaped the cross if he had conformed to the religious dogmas and institutional authorities of his day. Socrates would not have been forced to drink the cup of hemlock, if he had agreed to stop teaching young people in Athens. Giordano Bruno would not have been executed if he had disavowed belief in the new astronomical universe described by Copernicus. Savonarola would not have been hanged if he had stopped preaching about reforms needed in the church and civil life. John Huss could have escaped being burned at the stake if he had refrained from teaching liberal ideas. William Tyndale would not have died a martyr had he not published an English translation of the Bible.

So it is, that scores of valiant followers of the religion of Jesus have had the courage to live and witness to their faith, so that truth, beauty, and goodness â€“ the rule of God in the hearts of men and women â€“ might grow and prosper on our planet. This is the price of progress. "Happy are they", said Jesus, "â€¦who are persecuted for righteousnessâ€™ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven." (1570) The Master assures us that this is only the beginning of triumphant living. They who endure the test and trials of spirit-centered living in the here and now, will find on the mansion worlds on high, a continuation of thrilling adventure and fulfilling accomplishment!

Here, then, is the unsurpassed and living religion of Jesus â€“ his profound trust in the Fatherhood of God; his absolute faith in the kingdom of God as the relationship in which the best in human life is actualized; his grateful response in living a life of love and service toward God and his fellowmen; and, his stalwart courage in following the divine way in any and all of the circumstances of life. When these four basic principles of the religion of Jesus become the ruling tenets of your life, you have the resources for mastering all of the personal and material problems of life. These are the foundations of confident and creative living.

Jesus is the greatest person who has ever lived on our world. The faith by which he lived is yours for the taking. The abundant life which he experienced may also be yours. He is longing to guide you in this life of spiritual growth, fulfillment, and power. Jesus stands, in spirit, at the door of our hearts, and knocks. He wants to lead you into meaningful living; he wants to make your life significant through divine partnership. But only you can let him in; only you can give him all that you have, and all that you are. May I assure you that when you give him all that you have, then will be make you more than you are! (1285)

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THE LIVING RELIGION OF JESUS
(A bare-bones outline around which you can arrange your own illustrations.)

Intro: 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 Father.

First of all, Jesus taught that God controls the universe, and loves man as a Father loves his children.
1. He assures us that God is our loving heavenly Father.
1. We have nothing to fear.
2. The resources of the universe are on our side.
1. He had a high regard for human nature, and saw man as a son of God with great potential.
2. He inaugurated the Kingdom of God, the rule of the spirit of God in the heart of man.
3. He taught that truth perception is at the heart of spiritual experience.
1. Brings true personal freedom.
2. We live by spiritual principles, rather than by religious rules.
3. As we place spiritual priorities of the kingdom first in our lives, other things follow creatively.

Second, Jesus taught that faith and confidence in the spiritual realities was the foundation of life and sonship. It is the key to salvation.
1. Faith is the only requirement for salvation. It is not where you are now, but the way you are facing which is the important thing.
2. Utilize the "mind of Jesus", the Spirit of Truth for inner guidance. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Our mind-set controls our destiny. Growth is always from within.

Third, Jesus taught that love and service are the highest motives for living.
1. The two great commandments: Love of God and man. Love integrates all of the positive and constructive capacities of man. Love is the most powerful human capacity.

Labels: AJ Cronin, courage, faith, God, GW Carver, Jesus, Kingdom of God, love, Meredith Sprunger, purpose, religion of personal experience, self-respect, service, sonship, spiritual power, Toyohiko Kagawa

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Saturday, January 28, 2006

The Future Of The Fifth Epochal Revelation

Meredith J. Sprunger

In October of 1955 The Urantia Book was published with great enthusiasm. The newly organized Urantia Brotherhood visualized organizing thousands of study groups and gradually chartering well grounded societies. The specific nature of these societies was ambiguous. Most of the founding members regarded the Urantia Brotherhood as a religious or quasi-religious organization. Dr. Sadler clearly saw societies developing as bona fide religious groups. The leaders of the Forum who developed the Brotherhood Constitution did not take the time to structure it directly from the teachings of The Urantia Book but used and adapted the ready-made constitution of the Presbyterian Church for this purpose. Under Sadler's leadership, the Brotherhood Constitution provided a key place for ordained teachers. Following the publication of the book, Dr. Sadler started a school to train and ordain teachers. On numerous occasions Dr. Sadler and I discussed the nature of this new religious organization and its future development.

As the Brotherhood grew, a quite different view soon surfaced. The majority of the early members of the Urantia Brotherhood had a pronounced anti-church and anti-institutional bias. There was a marked uneasiness regarding the use of prayer and group singing at Brotherhood meetings. To guard against moving in the direction of a religious institution, we removed the term "ordained teacher" from the constitution. It was made clear that we were not interested in starting a new religion. If anyone identified us as a cult, we were irritated and defensive. We defined ourselves as "an educational-social organization with a religious purpose."

We were enthusiastic about introducing religious, educational, and political leaders to The Urantia Book Illusions of grandeur about initiating a spiritual renaissance on our planet invigorated Urantia Conferences.

Gradually, evolutionary reality began to change the picture. Religious and political leaders were not impressed. The book was succinctly dismissed as a contemporary Gnostic document or politely ignored.

Internal disillusionment have compounded the evolutionary picture. The licensing agreement controversy, the Clayton incident, the Foundation-Brotherhood schism, the proliferation of lawsuits, and the wide-spread interest in channeling have sobered our naive idealism. Most of us now realize that the Fifth Epochal Revelation has been launched on the troubled and turbulent seas of evolutionary struggle.

In recent years, spiritual seeking has emerged on an unprecedented scale, accompanied by a disenchantment with contemporary religious institutions. There has been an increasing longing in the Urantia movement for a "religious community" which goes beyond the usual study group, one that furnishes a sense of "spiritual family" and communion, along with worship and a community identity. There is a growing sense of need for spiritual nourishment from birth to death. Study groups and societies, which are primarily intellectual-social groups, can't fulfill all of the functions of traditional religious institutions, although they may serve as preliminary steps toward such religious organizations.

I believe the single most important activity in the Urantia movement at this time is to focus on the development of resources which may help actualize new religious institutions. Hopefully, such institutions will serve as vehicles through which the Fifth Epochal Revelation can be carried out into the world. We need dedicated students of The Urantia Book researching "Appropriate Symbolism and Socio-religious Expression of the Fifth Epochal Revelation."

I'm confident that sooner or later such new religious institutions will evolve in the Urantia movement. There have been several aborted attempts to do this already. When this does happen, there is a danger that these religious institutions may be extemporized, without adequate time and consideration to formulate organizations that best reflect the truth-insights of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. A wiser approach is for competent teams of interested people to evolve a body of resources before the pressure of necessity fashions religious organizations without such help.

There is a great need for institutions to serve on the growing edge of spiritual development in our world--religious institutions which will appeal to the highest spiritual aspirations of humankind. This was a concern of Rabbi Abraham Heschel, who, in a conversation with Robert Greenleaf shortly before his death, asked, "Why do so many of the great religions which have their origins in the mystery [of spiritual power] come ultimately to be social service agencies, or in their religious life to be preoccupied with form and concerned more with the container than the content?" To which Greenleaf replied, "In the face of these conditions, one simply builds anew. We are called to listen to the prophetic voices who have the-rebuilding message for these times so that we can support and encourage them." (Servant Leadership, P. 255)

We must evolve religious institutions which will bring spiritual nourishment to hungry souls, within which we can achieve personal-spiritual significance and a level of service and worship heretofore not possible by individuals working singly, in study groups, or in outmoded religious institutions. With the Father's guidance, they will become social-religious vehicles carrying the Fifth Epochal Revelation throughout the world. This, I believe, is the most important challenge of our times!

Principles Inherent in the Development of Religious Institutions

There are a number of principles inherent in the development of new religious institutions which we should keep in mind, such as:

1. The idealist in many of us who have been inspired by the Urantia Book has a vision of the Fifth Epochal Revelation upstepping all of the religions of the world and uniting humankind in a common spiritual fellowship. We are turned off by the parochialism and rigidity of contemporary religious institutions and feel that the last thing we need is another religious institution. But the lessons of history and the teachings of the Urantia Book tell us the most effective social agents of spiritual change are new religious institutions embodying larger spiritual truths. The Supreme works from the grass roots up, not from the top down. This approach is not as romantic as our idealistic vision, but it is the only realistic process that builds the foundation for social and spiritual growth in the culture.

2. New religious institutions are not "designed"--they evolve. The authors of the Urantia Book remind us, "Man cannot cause growth, but he can supply favorable conditions" (P. 1097). We should establish this "conditional" type of research. There will be many types of new religious organizations stemming from the Fifth Epochal Revelation. Research teams need to prepare materials for possible use by such new religious organizations. Numerous people have asked me for such help in the last ten years; they may or may not find this research helpful. The assumption is that resources compiled over a period of time by mature students of The Urantia Book will provide helpful insights and wisdom which might not otherwise be available.

3. We should be aware of the larger spiritual context in which a religious institution functions. The brother/sisterhood of all people, the kinship of all humanity, takes place in the realm of the Supreme. A genuine spiritual fellowship, which is the basis of a religious institution, has its inception in soul consciousness. The soul bears the imprint of its divine-human creation and originates a second or ancillary mind consciousness. As we grow in the Supreme, our personal identity is increasingly transferred from the material mind to soul consciousness. More and more, we operate out of our "soul-mind." This fellowship of souls is the foundation of a bona fide religious institution. But human beings are much more than disembodied souls. We have unique material bodies and material based minds. We integrate our lives with dissimilar personalities and function in diverse social groups. A sound and serviceable religious institution, therefore, must have the spiritual depth and theological-social flexibility to serve a wide variety of human beings. Its polity needs to embody the highest experiential wisdom.

4. Personally, I do not think the Fellowship should be organically or officially connected to this research or any religious institutions stemming from it. Many students of The Urantia Book are still uncomfortable with institutional religious activities. The Fellowship has a place in coordinating all types and levels of activity associated with The Urantia Book. It might encourage or even facilitate these religious activities without being organically involved with them. Hopefully, the Fellowship can establish cooperative relationships with many diverse organizations while remaining organizationally independent from them.

5. Ideally, there should be a number of teams doing different types of research. Even if they should engage in similar studies, the diversity of materials will enrich the resource pool available to all.

A New Religious Institution

Even though I have always assumed the most important channel for carrying the Fifth Epochal Revelation to our world was new religious institutions, in my own personal ministry I have sought to follow the example of Jesus, who first went to the dominant religious institution of his society. I have sought to introduce the most progressive segment of mainline Christianity to The Urantia Book We have organized a modest Clergy Network and publish The Spiritual Fellowship Journal. But it is clear that the majority of even the most progressive religious leaders of our time are afraid to risk their reputation and livelihood by seriously examining and evaluating the teachings of The Urantia Book.

While we are not abandoning or giving up on mainline Christian clergy, thirty-five years of experience has taught me that anything purporting to be new revelation is not within the boundaries of current theological-institutional respectability. In the main, Christian clergy will require a longer time frame to discover the Fifth Epochal Revelation. Since the power structures of the Christian clergy have treated The Urantia Book with deliberate and benign indifference, it is now time to initiate the next step in creating the social-institutional foundations for the outreach of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. It is time to promote research in discovering "Appropriate Symbolism and Socio-religious Expression of the Fifth Epochal Revelation "

In addition to eventually leavening the most progressive elements of the current world religions, I believe the future of the Fifth Epochal Revelation lies in two basic directions:

1. New religious institutions need to be initiated that will establish congregations and churches with a formal trained clergy similar to the churches and synagogues of Western Civilization.

2. New religious organizations need to be intentionally evolved whose teachings and structure are not centered around a professionally trained clergy and formal liturgical rites. These groups might have a structure similar to the Bahai religion. Such organizations are needed because many people identify with a more informal religious expression not dominated by clergy and formal worship services.

The key to initiating these new religious institutions or organizations is leadership. To develop the more formal religious institutions, we need research teams with input from people who have professional religious training as well as laypersons with extensive experience. Laying the foundations for the development of the more informal religious organizations needs leadership from teams dedicated to establishing a viable religious lay movement.

A Socio-religious Expression of the Fifth Epochal Revelation

The authors of The Urantia Book recognize that every epochal revelation stimulates the creation of new religious institutions and declare that "the restatement of the religion of Jesus must develop a new and appropriate symbolism." In various places, such as on pages 966 and 1092, they suggest the basic qualities essential to these new religious congregations.

Underlying these key spiritual qualities is the primary purpose of all religions: to provide a personal and social context in which their members may apprehend the presence of God and express their faith and devotion to the divine reality in their lives. To accomplish this basic objective, a religious organization must enunciate certain faith affirmations and structure ways of expressing these faith convictions.

The history of religion demonstrates that when strong spiritual ideals and aspirations inspire people, and where there are insufficient intellectual and social structural foundations to guide the in the expression of these spiritual aspirations, all kinds of irrational beliefs and actions are likely to appear; such as: visions of angels, channeling, speaking in tongues, attempting miracles, and doomsday predictions.

Such emotional and psychic phenomena almost always occur in an unstructured social-spiritual atmosphere. The most effective way to establish rational order, stability, and spiritual identity, along with creative service, and outreach, is to evolve an appropriately structured socio-religious expression of the Fifth Epochal Revelation.

The central objective of people interested in initiating such a new religious organization should be to create a polity with maximum flexibility, one that would function with small groups or large congregations, utilize lay leadership and/or ordained ministry, have cross cultural adaptability, and broad theological inclusiveness. Robert Greenleaf, in his book Servant Leadership, has a vision of such an institution "as a gathering of persons who have accepted a common purpose, and a common discipline to guide the pursuit of that purpose, to the end that each involved person reaches higher fulfillment as a person, through serving and being served by the common venture, than would be achieved alone or in a less committed relationship" (P. 237).

Research Purpose

There are many appropriate areas of research for those interested in building resources to use in initiating new religious organizations. These materials should not be seen as definitive, but serve as stimuli for creative thinking whereby these groups may be helped to make their own carefully considered decisions.

The organization of dedicated research teams to search for "Appropriate Symbolism and Socio-religious Expression of the Fifth Epochal Revelation" will, hopefully, prepare the soil for the advent of grass roots religious institutions which will become the channels of spiritual power, bringing the Fifth Epochal Revelation to our troubled and spiritually hungry world--Christ Michael's gift and saving guidance to our confused planet.

Study groups and Urantia Societies are simply not adequate to meet the religious needs of most individuals. They are self-contained and limited communities which have the potential of being forerunners to the religious institutions which are necessary to enculturate human society. The future of the Fifth Epochal Revelation rests upon the spiritual and evangelical dynamics of new religious institutions which will carry it to the four comers of our world. I believe the birth of such religious institutions is a necessary step in fulfilling the mission of the Urantia movement.

Labels: evolution, Forum, institutions, leadership, Meredith Sprunger, religion, research teams, The Urantia Book, Urantia Brotherhood

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Urantia Book Deviations from Traditional Christian Theology

Meredith J. Sprunger
February 22, 1995

Introduction

The great majority of the teachings of The Urantia Book reinforce and enhance the insights and truths of traditional Christian theology; however, it is sometimes good to point out the most controversial aspects of a new paradigm to sharpen its distinction from a traditional paradigm and thereby stimulate critical thinking.

The Urantia Book presents a rich source of religious information and insight. In its more than 2000 pages it covers a wide spectrum of topics. But even more challenging, it projects a new vision of the cosmos. Just as Jesus brought a new paradigm to the religion of his day, while at the same time reinforcing the best spiritual insights of the Old Testament, The Urantia Book brings a new paradigm to the religion of our day, while simultaneously enhancing the basic spiritual concepts of contemporary Christianity and other world religions. Epochal revelation always upsteps the best teachings of evolutionary religious development. Even though it enhances the old spiritual verities, considerable time is required for religious institutions and culture to critically examine and adjust to a new spiritual cosmology.

It may be possible to expedite this process by examining some of the major deviations of the new paradigm from the old frames of reference. Following the historic normal curve of change, some of us feel more comfortable with the traditional theological forms, while others are energized and inspired by the new vision of reality. The challenge of creatively evaluating enlarged spiritual concepts and values requires courage, balance, and open-mindedness.

Revelation

In the Christian faith, we believe that God inspired certain individuals with spiritual truth. These inspired prophets shared this message with their fellows. Over the years these teachings were edited numerous times and eventually were evaluated by church councils and made a part of the scriptural canon. The Urantia Book speaks of two basic types of revelation: (1) epochal revelation which is periodic, successive, and evolutionary; and (2) continuous revelation insofar as the indwelling Spirit of God reveals truth to individuals.

The authors of The Urantia Book acknowledge difficulty in translating spiritual realities into human concepts and language. They say that thousands of human concepts and statements have been used to facilitate comprehension and communication. The authors also tell us they are rigorously restricted, and are not allowed to anticipate developments in the future. The science and cosmology of the book, we are told, are not revelatory, and will soon be in need of revision.

Knowledge must be achieved by evolutionary discovery, but it is integrated and given spiritual value orientation by revelation. This saves much time in eliminating the errors and distortions of evolution. Revelation is never too far removed from the thought process of the age in which it is given. It is rooted solidly in evolutionary foundations. It can only be validated by experience, and is never complete until we meet the Universal Father on Paradise.

Deity and Reality

The Christian conception of Deity is centered in the doctrine of the Trinity. We have had problems understanding how three persons can exist and function as a monotheistic entity. The Urantia Book clarifies the concept by describing the unique functions of each person of the Trinity as well as affirming their absolute unity. This concept is further enhanced by pointing out that there is a nonpersonal Trinity reality which has universe functions.

The Urantia Book picture of Deity and Reality is a much more complex reality structure than the Christian concept of Deity. In addition to the Trinity, The Urantia Book describes Absolutes of potentiality and an evolutionary aspect of Deity, called God the Supreme. The Supreme grows as the personalities in the evolving universes attain Godlikeness. This evolving Deity Reality is very close to contemporary concepts in the writings of Jung, Tillich, Tellhard de Chardin, and Whitehead. Process Theology speaks of "the consequent nature of God" which is similar to the image of the Supreme in The Urantia Book and essentially the same as the immanence concept of God in traditional theology. There are other aspects of Deity and Reality in The Urantia Book which further augment the complexity of the God-concept in the universe of universes. As humanity is beginning to learn more of the immense diversity of the microcosmos and the macrocosmos, it should not surprise us that a more mature concept of God will also reveal an expanded complexity of Reality.

Spiritual Cosmology and Universe Order

The Christian faith has lived with a rather simplistic spiritual cosmology. Heaven, supposedly, was a place of perfection with "pearly gates" and "golden streets," populated by angels and other spiritual beings. Mainline theologians have grown increasingly skeptical about angels, and have had very little to say about eschatology. In the meantime, knowledge of our material astronomical cosmology has exploded by light-years, picturing an almost unlimited cosmos. Some of us have been acutely aware of the inadequacy of our Christian spiritual cosmology. The Urantia Book presents an enlarged view of spiritual cosmology which is commensurate with our gigantic material creation. Along with it is given an overview of a vast array of spiritual personalities that function in a hierarchical system of ability and power. Such a universe of super-mortal personalities must exist if we are to make any sense of the spiritual cosmos.

In the center of all things is the Isle of Paradise, the residence of the Paradise Trinity. Surrounding this enormous Isle are concentric levels of astronomical creations. The first of these universe levels is composed of the perfect pattern worlds of the Central Universe, Havona. This universe of perfection is in many ways similar to Plato's vision of the "perfect pattern" of Ultimate Reality and the conception of heaven in traditional Christianity.

Paradise and the Central Universe are encompassed by seven evolutionary universes with their countless astronomic galaxies and teeming inhabited planets. Each superuniverse is composed of local universes, and the local universes are made up of constellations, systems, and inhabited planets. The basic administrative unit of the seven superuniverses is the local universe. Our planet, Urantia, resides in a local universe whose Sovereign is Christ Michael.

Adam and Eve

The traditional Christian view of Adam and Eve as the first human beings on earth has been relegated by Biblical scholarship to the realm of folklore. Theologians now refer to the creation story as a religious myth-a narrative conveying important spiritual truth, but not actual history. The Biblical record itself reveals that a civilization existed before the advent of Adam and Eve. The Urantia Book presents a fascinating, story of the origin of the human race and the development of civilization which is broadly harmonious with current scientific views.

The authors describe the dynamics of evolution as a process that eventually exhausts its inherent natural potentials. At this juncture in human evolution on inhabited planets, a higher order.of material son and daughter, an Adam and Eve, is sent from the local universe system to upstep the human race. They are required to establish a large population of their progeny, the violet race, before any mixing with the native peoples is allowed. Because of the isolation of our planet, due to the Lucifer rebellion in our system in which our Planetary Prince participated, the tasks of Adam and Eve on our world was particularly difficult. The so called "fall" of Adam and Eve was the result of their well intentioned decision, secretly promoted. by our rebellious Planetary Prince, to start this genetic mixing prematurely.

Christology

While the expanded spiritual cosmology of The Urantia Book is breathtaking, its Christology is the most radical deviation from Christian theology. From a planetary point of view, the life and teachings of Jesus harmonize with and enhance traditional orthodox theology: Jesus was truly human and truly divine, and the mediator between God and humankind. But from a universe frame of reference, the view is quite different. The authors of The Urantia Book tell us that because of our limited view of universe cosmology, we have assumed that Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. This, they assure us, is an understandable misconception. The authentic historical picture, we are informed, is much more complex.

After the Trinity brought the Isle of Paradise and the Central Universe into being at, the dawn of eternity, they instituted a delegated creation plan for the finite, evolutionary creation centering in local universes. The Universal Father and the Eternal Son gave origin to Paradise Creator Sons of the order of Michael who are empowered and ordained as creators of the local universes and their worlds of time and space. Our Creator Son is known as Christ Michael and is both the creator and savior of all in our universe. (The prologue of John, Paul in Col. 1: 15-16, and the writer of Hebrews 1:2 speak of Christ as creator, which has always puzzled Christian theologians.) Each Creator Son is accompanied by a daughter of the Infinite Spirit, designated the Universe Mother Spirit whose spiritual presence is known as the Holy Spirit.

Each Creator Son is unique in nature and personality; each is the "only begotten Son" of their universe. A Michael Son is the local universe personification of the Universal Father and the Eternal Son in his universe. All who go to the Father in his universe proceed through his benevolent ministry. Each Creator Son must earn his sovereignty by incamating in the likeness of the various orders of created beings in his universe. Jesus of Nazareth was Christ Michael's seventh and final bestowal in which he achieved sovereignty in his universe and, in principle, terminated the Lucifer rebellion. ("I, when I'am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself," (John 12:32) and "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me," (Matt. 28:18) are gospel passages 'suggesting this sovereignty.) Following Christ's ascension his Spirit of Truth was bestowed on our planet.

Eschatology

The tradional Christian view of life after death has been simplistic, and in the view of many, naive-we go to heaven and are received by Jesus and made perfect. Here problems and suffering are nonexistent. This instant perfection does not make sense to many thinking people and Christian theologians have had very little to say about life after death

"The Urantia Book describes an eminently reasonable picture of life after death. Our spiritual growth continues just where we left off in our mortal existence. We are resurrected on the "mansion worlds" of our local system with a "morontia" body, which is part material and part spiritual, and gradually acquire a more spiritual existence. The entire spiritual universe is a great educational university of learning and achievement where we are prepared for future service. On our ascending journey, even as on Urantia, we meet with many trials and frustrations. But long before reaching Havona, these ascendant children of time have learned 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. Long since, the battle cry of these pilgrims became: 'In liaison with God, nothing -- absolutely nothing -- is impossible'." (U. B. p. 291)

We proceed through the local universe, the superuniverse, the central universe, and graduate to the Isle of Paradise where we meet the Universal Father, and are conducted into the Corps of Finality in preparation for greater service in eternity. You humans have begun an endless unfolding of an almost infinite panorama, a limitless expanding of never-ending, ever-widening spheres of opportunity for exhilarating service, matchless adventure, sublime uncertainty, and boundless attainment. (U. B. p. 1194)

Reflections

This greatly simplified presentation of the major Urantia Book deviations from traditional Christian theology is neither adequate nor convincing of its quality; but it may help those unfamiliar with the book to focus their reading and thinking on areas most critical to the adoption of a new paradigm of spiritual reality.

Since The Urantia Book purports to be the Fifth Epochal Revelation authored by supermortal personalities, it is important to have a clear understanding of the philosophic criteria of truth necessary in evaluating such a claim. First of all, claim of authority is not a valid philosophical criterion of truth. Secondly, knowing the origin and/or authorship of the book may give some helpful insights, but is also not a reliable philosophical criterion. Whether supermortals or human beings wrote the book, it must be evaluated by its content, not by who may have written it.

The central objective in evaluating The Urantia Book is to assess the quality of its spiritual insight. This must be done by individuals using all their resources for evaluation developed and tested through experience. Is the spiritual quality and insights of the book inferior to, equal with, or superior to our traditional sources of spiritual truth? During this period of testing, a consensus will gradually evolve regarding its quality. If that opinion is negative, the book will fade into obscurity. If the consensus is positive, continued evaluation will eventually determine the level of its spiritual value. Is it just another useful resource, or does it have the quality of genuine revelation? My hypothesis is that if it has the spiritual quality of revelation, its influence will continue to grow.

My personal view, after thirty-five years of study and evaluation, is that the book is of superior quality in at least four categories:

1. Its comprehensive view of Deity and Reality, including the Paradise Trinity.

2. Its presentation of an enlarged spiritual cosmology which is commensurate with our gigantic material astronomical cosmology.

3. Its overview of a vast array of spiritual personalities that function in a hierarchical system of ability and power, which must exist if we are to make any sense of the spiritual cosmos.

4. And finally, its greatly expanded presentation of the life and teachings of Jesus, which is solidly rooted in the New Testament realities. Even if one does not think the expanded spiritual cosmology of The Urantia Book is reasonable, you will find the 700 page section on the Life and Teachings of Jesus, if only read as a historical novel, to be the most inspiring and spiritually uplifting account of Jesus' life and teachings in print.

Labels: Adam and Eve, Christianity, Christology, cosmology, Deity, eschatology, evolution, Jesus, Meredith Sprunger, new paradigm, reality, Revelation, The Urantia Book, universe order

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The World Mission of The Urantia Book

By Dr. Meredith J. Sprunger
11/4/88; Revised 10/6/96

Civilization changes course when new views of reality shift the thinking of humanity into different channels of growth. We appear to be on the edge of one of these concept transformations. Our society may be on the verge of another revolution in the way we view our world and the universe. The modern era began around the middle of the 17th century when the old scholastic authority system began to break down under the impact of empirical science. Soon even the common person came to realize that we live in a world where things obey scientific laws. For hundreds of years the scientific-techniological frame of reference has shaped Western Civilization. We have made significant achievements in scientific development. But in the midst of our electronic wizardry, computers, and space travel something has gone awry; there is a great confusion of values and a wide-spread sense of meaninglessness.

The Search for Spiritual Authenticity

A hunger for spiritual authenticity is moving our society toward new religious frontiers. Institutional religion is groping for a new understanding of the various expressions of our historic faith. Evangelical Christianity is unfreezing the dogmatic rigidities of fundamentalism while at the same time attempting to rediscover the spiritual verities which gave stability and power to our forbearers. Mainline Christianity is discovering the limitations of rational thought and political activism and is searching for creative spiritual growth. Our secular society has largely rejected the outmoded dogmas and anti-intellectual emotionalism of conservative churches and the sterile scholasticism and ideological doctrinaire preoccupations of liberal churches. Many of these people are seeking living faith and spiritual substance in other channels. The Spirit of God is at work in these and many other influences preparing us for a new spiritual era.

A New Vision of Reality

Thousands of balanced and perceptive people with diverse religious backgrounds believe the key to bringing about this new spiritual era is found in the teachings of The Urantia Book. Just as our world two thousand years ago was prepared for the advent of Christ, today we are experiencing another "fullness of time" in which our society is being prepared for The Urantia Book -- God's latest epochal revelatory gift to humankind. This new vision of truth confirms and integrates the best of all former revelations and enhances the spiritual truths of the traditional religions of the world.

Interfacing with World Religions

Pioneers of the Fifth Epochal Revelation must learn to relate positively with the peoples of all the world's religions. Philosophers of religion have long observed that the religions of the world have more in common than they have in exclusive uniqueness. The Urantia Book is the most inclusive revelatory picture of religion to appear on earth. It is appreciative and constructive in its attitude toward all religion and religionists.

As we prepare ourselves to relate to the peoples of the world and the religious backgrounds, we should become thoroughly familiar with the tenets of their various faiths. It is also important to remember that within and among all religious groups there are common polarities; the educated intellectuals versus the unlearned masses, the prophets versus the priests, and the rigid conservatives versus the flexible liberals. In each religious group the educated, prophetic, and open minded are the first to recognize and accept new truth. When we look at the world religions as total entities, it appears that Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism are best prepared to receive the teachings of The Urantia Book. Although Islam is one of the most defensive and reactionary religions, it accepts the prophets of other religions in its sacred scripture and its sufis are quite open to truth from outside sources.

Working in our Christian Culture

Although we should bring the good news of The Urantia Book to all of the world religions, Christianity is particularly prepared to receive its message. The Christian Church is the major evolutionary religion rooted in the teachings of Jesus. The authors of The Urantia Book express a special interest in upstepping the Christian Church. They refer to Christianity as the best of the religions of the twentieth century (2083), the best exponent of Jesus' lifework on earth (2085), one of the world's greatest powers for good (2085), the cocoon in which the kingdom now sleeps (1866), and, if enhanced by the Fifth Epochal Revelation, the greatest hope of the world (2086).

Establish Common Ground

There are basic approaches which we should keep in mind when relation to any religious group. We should always start by establishing common ground. All of the religions of the world have much in common with The Urantia Book. We need to emphasize the positive aspects of each religious faith and enhance those spiritual realities which people most need and desire. Be cautions and tactful in correcting errors when such negative communication cannot or should not be avoided. Highlight service and living faith rather than theology. Engage in fellowship dialogue with openness while avoiding unnecessary structure and rigidity. Stress spiritual truths and avoid economic, political, and moral involvement. Spiritual truths and principles are universal. The moral and social application of these principles is determined by many environmental and developmental factors.

Importance of Local Leaders

Outreach work is best conduced by indigenous people. Those who are members of a social religious group where interface is sought are the missionaries most likely to be effective. Work within the religious institutions of society when possible. Jesus taught within the synagogues of Judaism until he was barred from doing so. Paul was able in communicate meaningfully with the Jews of his day because he was a scholar of Judaism. Work at the point of psychological readiness and do not expect too much change in people. Allow the evolutionary process to determine their rate of growth.

Significance of Social Confrontation

Anyone familiar with the history of religious movements will appreciate the significance of social confrontation. A religious faith and philosophy does not become a force in a society until it enters a period of social challenge. No matter how loving and wise a new and advanced religious view of life may be, it does not achieve effective communication and viability in any community or nation until it experiences a time of social confrontation.

The Urantia Book is just beginning to enter this period. The evangelicals and fundamentalists are starting to write literature in which The Urantia Book is singled out as one of the modern heresies. Dr. Sadler used to say, "When the Catholic Church places The Urantia Book on its banned list, get ready to sell a lot of books." The Catholic Church recognized this reaction and discontinued its banned list. Social confrontation is basic to the testing of enlarged spiritual truth and accompanies the growth of all new religious movements.

Rather than fearing this time of evaluation and testing, we should anticipate and welcome it. The Urantia Book can stand the most rigorous examination! And there will be some serious challenges. It will not begin to serve the nation and the world until, in each local community, it enters this period of confrontation. This marks the beginning of its public service.

Laypeople are the Catalysts of growth

Historically religious professionals have been among the last to constructively recognize and respond to new revelation or major reform movements. For many reasons centering around personal security, institutional preservation, and professional training, ministers and priests will not read the entire Urantia Book or seriously examine it until enough lay persons in their churches or religious institutions are reading it. Although it is ethically important to introduce religious leaders to The Urantia Book early in our outreach ministry, we should realize that, in general, laypersons will be the first to recognize its quality. Laypersons have been the founders of virtually all of the major world religions. The majority of the great advances in spiritual growth on our planet have been spearheaded by those outside the power structure of religious institutions. Laypersons will also be the key facilitators and the dynamic force spreading the good news of The Urantia Book.

The Challenge of this Century

Pioneering ministry is never easy; it demands vision, courage, wisdom, and perseverance. Each of us has an unusual opportunity to shape the future of our world by introducing this new inspiriting revelation to our community and culture. Such a fortuitous opportunity comes to a generation only once in thousands of years. What a happy and challenging historical moment! We are standing on the threshold of one of the most promising and exciting eras of human history. I hope that each of us will respond to this challenge of spiritual destiny and, thereby, find fulfillment and joy in sharing the best "Good News" of this century!

Labels: civilization, common ground, interfacing, laypersons, local leaders, Meredith Sprunger, new vision of truth, pioneering ministry, social challenge, spiritual authenticity

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Introduction to The Urantia Book

by Meredith J. Sprunger

One of the greatest needs of contemporary society is to be inspired by a fresh and enlarged spiritual vision which will stimulate humankind to new spiritual growth. Such advances in spiritual enlightenment in the past have been initiated by pioneering personalities or were inspired by the vision of prophetic books.
It is my considered opinion, confirmed by more than twenty years of critical thought and experience, that we have in The Urantia Book such an epoch-making book. Like a mountain peak rising above the slumbering potentials of our contemporary scene, the book catches and reflects the light which signals the dawn of a new spiritual day. It seems destined to introduce unprecedented creative thought and action in the field of religion.

Such a claim surely will put a knowledgeable and responsible person on guard. Almost every generation produces a number of people who pose as bearers of a "new revelation." What is surprising about The Urantia Book is that it has almost nothing in common with radical or fanatical movements. It does not advocate a new religion. Its viewpoint builds upon the religious heritage of the past and present; yet, it is fresh, expansive, and profound.

The superior quality of the philosophical-religious insights of The Urantia Book is clear to anyone of discriminating mind who reads it. After a judicious and reflective reading of the book, one is impressed by the power of its own authenticity. It is a book, however, which cannot be adequately evaluated until one grasps its comprehensive universe cosmology -- its total religious picture. Just as students of the life of Jesus recognize the superlative quality of his character even though they may reject his divinity, so humankind will eventually recognize the unparalleled quality of the insights of The Urantia Book - even though they do not accept is as a new revelation.

Revelatory authenticity, however, is a secondary consideration. The basic challenge posed by this stimulating book is pragmatic. Does it have something creative and constructive to contribute to our modern religious- philosophic outlook? There is little question but that it can and will make a significant contribution to our religious thinking. Evaluated on the basis of spiritual insight, philosophic coherence, and reality- centeredness, it presents the finest world view of religion available in our day. It will profoundly impress those who are interested in progressive philosophical and religious thinking which has the potential of molding world destiny.

A Holistic Philosophical Orientation

The exceptional philosophical-religious qualities of The Urantia Book include an integrated and masterful concept of reality. The gap between monistic and pluralistic metaphysical concepts is bridged. Mechanistic and vitalistic interpretations of natural phenomena are integrated. Science and religion are seen as aspects of a larger unity. Concepts of deity ranging from that of a personal universal father to an impersonal absolute are so well unified that the holistic picture is harmonious.

Both Unitarian and Trinitarian views are enhanced. These and other philosophic-religious diversities are integrated in such a way as to augment the essential truths in each of these positions. A marvelously organized astronomical universe is projected which includes millions of inhabited planets in all stages of physical, mental, and spiritual evolution. The book contains what is probably the most realistic and inclusive material-mindal-spiritual cosmology in the entire field of philosophy and religion.

Moreover, The Urantia Book presents an eminently reasonable picture of the conditions and nature of immortality. Survival is seen as dependent on the spiritual reality status of the individual - the result of the free choice motivation and decisions of the person toward truth, beauty, and goodness (God) as he or she sincerely understands these values. Nevertheless, evil, sin, and judgment are stern and sober realities in the universe. The interrelationships of body, mind, soul, and spirit are treated with much insight and originality. The central challenge to modern humanity is to make a-Balanced effort to achieve God-consciousness. Growth toward perfection is presented as the fundamental motivation of life. This growth is evolutionary, culminating, and virtually endless.

The Urantia Book also presents a superior understanding of planetary history, dynamics, and destiny. Evolution is seen as the key modus operandi of our planet. It integrates the mechanisms of the physical universe with the purposes of mind and spirit "overcontrol." An excellent summary of the development of religion and the growth of civilization is given with admirable conciseness and insight. The book's penetrating analysis of religion, culture, and the family is of exceptional quality. Its basic philosophy of the various forms of energy is that matter is ultimately subject to mind and that mind is eventually controlled by spirit.

The last section of The Urantia Book contains an extended version of the life and teachings of Jesus which is unsurpassed in theistic philosophical reasonableness, spiritual insight, and personality appeal. This superb presentation of the life of Jesus brings life to the sketchy New Testament story and with it a new authenticity. It is basically acceptable to all religions, emphasizing the religion of Jesus which is unifying as opposed to the religion about Jesus which tends to be divisive.

A Resource Not an Imperative

Although the message of The Urantia Book is solidly rooted in the perennial philosophy and religious experience of the past, it does present an enlarged view of the universe and God. Religious institutions usually find expanded knowledge and insight difficult to assimilate. Light can blind as well as guide. Truth which is presented prematurely brings frustration and rejection. The Urantia Book, therefore, may be disturbing to some people even though it is supportive and positive toward all people and all human efforts in the search for truth and spiritual understanding.

People are receptive to progressive spiritual values long before they are prepared to understand the origin and implications of these truths. Religious leaders, therefore, might best stimulate spiritual growth by translating the insights they discover in The Urantia Book into the idiom and reference frame of the people they serve. Even though The Urantia Book is among the most significant sources of spiritual guidance available to contemporary humankind, it is not an end in itself; nor is it a necessary means to spiritual enlightenment. Its potentials for individual and social growth, however, are so great it should be highly recommended to all who are interested in the creative possibilities of a spiritual renaissance in our society. Its message is balanced and profound. Its approach is open and benign. There are no threats or coercions to "believe." It seeks to work in and through the evolutionary process and within the social institutions of our world. During the years since its publication, this book, without advertisement or sales promotion, is being discovered by steadily increasing numbers of people. The overwhelming consensus among those who have discovered The Urantia Book is that it is destined for universal recognition on our planet.

The Fellowship

The Fellowship, founded in 1955 and originally named Urantia Brotherhood, is a fellowship of people from all walks of life and diverse philosophic-religious backgrounds who recognize the high quality of the teachings of The Urantia Book. These teachings are being primarily disseminated in a quiet, person-to-person manner. Many study groups are forming at the grass roots preparing the world for the time when the majority of men and women are ready for the enlarged spiritual vision of the Urantia Book.

The organizational building blocks of The Fellowship are Fellowship Societies, which emerge from stable and mature study groups and function with great autonomy. These Societies, when formally chartered by The Fellowship, elect delegates, who in turn elect 36 members to the General Council, the highest governing body of The Fellowship.

The overriding concern of The Fellowship is the spiritual regeneration and evolutionary advancement of humankind. Membership in other organizations, fraternal orders, churches, or religious groups is entirely compatible with membership in The Fellowship. During the early decades of its existence, The Fellowship has dedicated itself only to a spiritual and philosophic ministry. We believe this will always characterize The Fellowship's relationship to society.

The kingdom of God is an invisible and spiritual fellowship which is destined to become a living organism transcending social institutions. Contemporary religious institutions can and will serve as an adequate source of religious ministration for our society.

The Fellowship, therefore, seeks to avoid being seen as, or to function as, a "church," and eschews implications that it is promoting a "new religion." It strives, rather, to support, encourage, and strengthen all religious institutions toward the fulfillment of their unique potentials in ministering to the spiritual needs of humankind. The Fellowship's singular aspiration is to act as a leavening influence in the great and many-faceted religious heritage of our world. The Fellowship believes that the greatest contribution it can make to all individuals and institutions is to maintain a leavening ministry rooted in the spiritually inspiring teachings of The Urantia Book. Translating these teachings into specific social-institutional responsibilities remains the task of each of us as individuals and the institutions of our society.

Labels: cosmology, holistic, immortality, Jesus, Meredith Sprunger, planet earth, Revelation, spiritual growth, The Fellowship, the universe, The Urantia Book

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Thursday, January 26, 2006

Seven Urantia Book Historic Truth Affirmations

Meredith Sprunger
4/25/88

1. God is experiencable in human existence. All of us can experience God because we are all children of the Heavenly Father.

2. We will receive eternal life if we have faith and trust in God.

3. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. We are asked to love one another, as Jesus loves us.

4. The ministry of the Spirit is without measure and is efficacious. It is limited only by our receptive capacities.

5. We live in an orderly, intelligent, and progressive universe.

6. Human life has a divine purpose. There is meaning in our planetary history, values in our present situation, and hope for future generations.

7. The most important knowledge in the world is knowing the religious life of Jesus. The most important spiritual practice is living the religion of Jesus.

SEVEN URANTIA BOOK BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS

1. The material and spiritual cosmology of the universe is much greater and more purposefully organized than most scholars have envisioned. The number and diversity of spirit personalities and intelligent beings transcends our most imaginative speculation.

2. The finite universe in inhabited, and is a delegated creation composed of local universes which were brought into being by "Only Begotten" Creator Sons of the Universal Father. These Sons rule over their creations and all mortals who proceed to the Father are assisted in their pilgrimage by the benevolent ministry of these Sons. In this context the role of Jesus for our planet takes on additional significance and importance.

3. The universe is growth oriented and friendly. We must suffer the consequences for our misdeeds, but a literal "Hell" is a humanistic illusion.

4. Personal realities are dynamically interrelated; our mind bridges the dichotomy between matter and spirit; the Indwelling Spirit of God is our authentic self and has an ideal plan for our development; our soul is a divine-human creation which evolves as we make decisions harmonious with truth, beauty, and goodness; personality is a unique bestowal of the Universal Father which never changes and has unlimited potential to organize and integrate all present and future capacities and experiences.

5. The pathway to salvation and Paradise is evolutionary in nature. After death we take up our spiritual growth just where we left off I this life. We partiipate in our own growth toward perfection. The universe is a gigantic university, training mortals for a great and glorious future.

6. The idea that a sense of guilt, repentance, and self-examination are necessary for spiritual growth is replaced by the priorities of faith; self-forgetfulness; service; and self-mastery.

7. Religion is personal experience with God. Religious institutions are second order social creations. Truth is dynamic and cannot be imprisoned in creeds or dogmas; it is a spiritual reality which is living and growing.

Labels: cosmology, eternal life, God, Gospel of Jesus, love, Meredith Sprunger, Mind, personality, purpose, religion of personal experience, soul, Spirit ministry, the universe