Urantia Book Commentary and Articles

War, huh, good God yâ€™all, what is it good for â€“ absolutely nothing.

This is a song from my childhood â€“ and because it was in a recent movie my kids walk around the house singing it. Things get much weirder as we get older.

They think the song is funny, because the movie was a comedy, but for me it brings up memories of Vietnam and the era of war protesters. Since I was a kid I have vague memories of those days; protests on TV, images of the war, Nixon resigning, arguments at school (I was a loyal Republican in 5th grade). Today I have a better understanding of what went on. Several people I have met over the years served in Vietnam. Russ talked about terrifying helicopter rides, midnight rocket attacks and endless rain. The thing that impressed me the most from Russ was his powerful hatred of the Vietnamese. Twenty years removed and he still called them gooks. He was unashamed in his disgust for an entire people. If this is the result of war then I think that the song is true â€“ what is it good for â€“ absolutely nothing.

The Urantia Book says that war is part of the normal development of all worlds like ours. Nations form and seek security (576.8) and self preservation. I think that the writers of the book would defend the necessity of going to war as the United States did after attacked in 1941. However, the necessity of the current Iraq war is less clear and therefore it has raised questions concerning the legitimacy of this fight and the legitimacy of war altogether.

What is clear within The Urantia Book is the idea that war will disappear from the planet sometime in the future (630.1). In fact war must be abandoned if our civilization is to continue to advance (785.14). And so even though war is a necessary part of our planetâ€™s development, humanity needs to find ways to eliminate it in order to advance to higher levels of civilization. War may not be good for nothing, but it will hold us back as we strive to develop a world culture that is more in line with the vision our Father in Heaven has for us.

That vision includes peace on earth, good will towards men. Does the book give us an idea as to how we can help bring this about? It sure does, and I think we readers can help these ideas work themselves into mainstream society. The Urantia Book says that the ideas that support the need for war need to be replaced by less violent strategies for resolving national conflicts (786.10). A recent example of this is economic boycotts. Though they too cause suffering, the damage to the innocent citizens of a country is not as great as all out warfare. In my mind lobbying for economic means for conflict resolution over military means is a step in the right direction. But The Urantia Book argues for a more radical development that readers should think seriously about promoting.

Universal government is the future of our world. The Urantia book says that war will not end until â€œunlimited national sovereigntyâ€� ends (1487.9). Individual states under a single world wide government is the key to bringing peace to our troubled world. The book uses the example of the formation of the United States. The original government of the independent thirteen colonies was a confederation which had little or no power to control the local states. This system was quickly abandoned as the thirteen states formed a strong national government while keeping the identity of the local states intact. The Urantia Book argues that this example can be expanded to the whole world (1489.4). I feel that readers of the book should be lobbying to change the minds of the people around us in an effort to make this a reality. We can be part of a small but crucial process of bringing peace to our troubled world.

Bringing peace will not be quick or easy (597.3). I donâ€™t think I will live to see a peaceful world. The book says that the following steps also need to occur and it sounds like a daunting challenge: globalization of contacts, a common language and interracial living (597.4); increased knowledge of all cultures (597.5); growth of morals of ethics (597.6); political wisdom (598.1); continued spiritual growth (598.2). I donâ€™t have any illusions that I will wake up one morning and everyone will be transformed. But I do believe that all of this will happen one day and that I can play a small part in Godâ€™s wonderful plan for our world.

What continues to amaze me is the repeated message that changing ourselves and our world for the better is in our hands. God has given us the responsibility, the opportunity and the resources to make miracles happen. God is certainly helping us with a cosmos of spiritual forces at work furthering the development of all people. And yet, God has placed the crucial elements of social and spiritual growth with you and me. God has ordained that we have the ability to change our world. And so I can do something to bring peace on earth â€“ I can talk to the people around me about the concepts that The Urantia Book promotes. And slowly, person by person, with Godâ€™s help, things will change and the nations wonâ€™t make war no more.

God bless you,

William Whitehead

Â© 2006 All Rights Reserved

Labels: war. peace. The Urantia Book, William Whitehead

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Thursday, March 20, 2008

Faith and Reason

Faith and Reason

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

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

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

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

God bless you,

William Whitehead

Â© 2006 All Rights Reserved

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