Bird of Paradise

We who have been granted The Urantia Book and seek to comprehend its revelations have some idea what lies ahead of us after physical death. If we so choose, there will be a glorious eternal future of everlasting growth and service for each one of us. How would our global society be transformed if this truth were widely accepted? The goal of studying this revelation should not be to totally understand every concept; rather each of us should constantly strive to live its truths to the best of our ability; allow them to expand our spiritual awareness by everyday living these teachings, making them the core of our being. The goal of this blog is to help realize a greater spiritual awareness among sisters and brothers; to spread these teachings of love and brotherhood.

But what is the life goal for any individual human being? The vast majority of our brothers and sisters have no eternal goal for their existence, they feel alone in creation; cosmically friendless. They do not know every thinking human being has within them a fragment of God, a divine and personal pilot gently guiding them into eternity. The goal of our existence should be to find God, the infinite creator of all things and beings. We begin this eternal journey by choosing to do God’s will, then communicating with and finally fusing with our inner spark of God; that is our certain entrance into eternity. The goal of our earthly life in the flesh must be to actively seek communion with our inner spark of God.

Choosing an Eternal Life

We begin this quest for spiritual growth by making a definite choice to do grow spiritually. For most of humanity this has not been a conscious choice; it should however be a determined choice for us to do God’s will and seek to become more like Him.

Our lives are beset with choices; every moment of our existence we make choices. Most of them seem innocent and unimportant, but in the long term there always will be consequences of any choice; in the moment we never know which of our choices will be significant to our eternal future. Every choice has to be treated as being vital to our eternal future. Every one. The nature of our choices indicates what we wish to become. Do our choices say we are selfish or sharing, materialistic or spiritual, living in the moment or seeking eternal life? By your choices you shall be known. Eternally.

A related aspect is how we choose to respond to difficulties; when something unpleasant happens are we going to shout something emotional or are we going to deal with the situation? These reactions must be natural; anything forced would not be effective. An emotional outburst may feel satisfying in the moment, but it does nothing to improve anything. Such a reaction might seem to be automatic, but these responses are the culmination of countless other choices. Our ordinary everyday choices truly determine the nature of, or even the existence of, our eternal future. By your choices you shall be known.

In our most mundane and earthly choices our desires become apparent. These choices appear as a result of our innermost longings; they arise as a result of our striving toward a specific goal. Without such a goal we are without any purpose in life; a ship in a storm without a rudder. What is your rudder?

Goal of Life

Before starting anything we need a plan leading toward any goal. If we are going to grandmother’s house we must know what we need to take and what route to follow. If we want a vacation there are plans and reservations to make. Certainly if we are building a house there are a multitude of plans with the goal of producing a pleasant, comfortable home. But what about our life? We cannot achieve what we want out of life if there is no plan, no goal. Having our goal of life gives us a purpose in life; this is vital.

The vast majority of brothers and sisters have no such plan. We are fixated on material goals which are of importance in the moment but after this mortal existence ends they are as ashes in the wind.

What should our goal be? Consider this:

Seek the greater thing, and the lesser will be found therein; ask for the heavenly, and the earthly shall be included. The shadow is certain to follow the substance.^[1]

There can be no greater goal for any Earthly mortal than to seek our Heavenly Father who is the ultimate in substance. Having chosen to do the will of God, our Goal of Life must be to communicate directly with our internal spark of God, our Thought Adjuster. Seeking and eventually finding our Heavenly Father is the goal of goals.

Even though we continually have our life goal in mind we need to deal with each and every physical difficulty that will confront us. Everyday chores and extraordinary events are a part of life on Earth. Each of them has to be swiftly and lovingly taken care of while above these daily mortal events, our goal of life is always uppermost in our being.

Our Goal of Life is to find God within.

Eternity

It would take a large book indeed to adequately describe our journey into eternity; this is an ultra-condensed version. For a more complete version, see The Urantia Book.

After physical death we awaken in the resurrection hall on high to begin our journey into eternity. When we become conscious we will be exactly the same as we are here on Earth, except we no longer have a physical body; instead we will have one that is part physical and part spirit. Our growth from a mostly physical form to a true spirit being is long and gradual. It may take millions of years before we leave the evolutionary realms of time and enter the perfect, eternal, central portion of creation.

At the center of creation are one billion eternal and perfect worlds circling Paradise and its 21 satellite worlds. These perfect worlds circle in seven circuits and we must spend considerable time on each circuit. Once we fuse with our Thought Adjuster we have become eternal beings, time is no longer an issue; we have all the time we need to pursue worthy goals. We spend the necessary time on each circuit before proceeding inward to the next level. At last we proceed to Paradise and are able to literally stand in the presence of the creator of all things and beings: our Heavenly Father. Once on Paradise there is much more to learn as we interact with many types of spirit beings; our eternal future will always be filled with growth and finding new levels of awareness. We will finally be entered into the Corps of Finality for further service.

As members of the Corps of Finality we will go forth to serve in the currently inhabited region of space. There is a requirement that we serve in other regions of creation before receiving permission to return to the world of our nativity. At all times we will be assisting others to grow spiritually. True service to others is always the key to spiritual growth.

That is the current known destiny for the Corps of Finality. When astronomers use powerful telescopes to peer into the skies, they see billions of galaxies, the vast majority of which are uninhabited. This brings the question: what will be our task in these outer space regions when they become inhabited? Nobody knows, but it is certain there will be many types of interesting ways to serve the future inhabitants of this vast region

This glorious future is available to everyone; all we need do is choose it by affirming this Goal of Life.

1. 1823.3; The Urantia Book in the formal page.paragraph. ↑

Checking Things Out

Checking Things Out

This posting is very short, but it addresses a question that has puzzled people for years. This question has finally been solved!

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

We begin by defining our terms. Chicken refers to a specific type of bird; it does not refer to an Ostrich or a Hummingbird. On the other hand, the term egg is general. An Ostrich or a Hummingbird may produce an egg but each is vastly different from a chicken-egg. Reptiles such as turtles and snakes also may produce eggs; again very different.

The appearance of the first chicken would be an evolutionary product. Science generally assumes evolution occurs gradually; exceptions, namely mutations, are considered mistakes which may or may not survive. The Urantia Book states evolution produces sudden changes.

From era to era radically new species of animal life arise. They do not evolve as the result of the gradual accumulation of small variations; they appear as full-fledged and new orders of life, and they appear suddenly.

The sudden appearance of new species and diversified orders of living organisms is wholly biologic, strictly natural. There is nothing supernatural connected with these genetic mutations.^[1] (Emphasis added)

When this happens for the chicken, we can imagine a chicken ancestor lays an egg, actually a chicken-ancestor-egg, and a true chicken emerges. The chicken, a specific species, came after the egg, a general term. When the question is posed we generally assume the question is: “Which came first, the chicken or the chicken-egg?” Such a proposition is an example of circular logic.

An egg came before the chicken. Case solved.

1. The Urantia Book 669:4-5; this refers to the one column edition in the format page:paragraph. ↑

Choosing Beauty

We use our mind every moment of our conscious existence; yet we are largely unaware of what an impact a stray thought may have on our mind and our potentially eternal future. This is where, without realizing it, we constantly make decisions that could have consequences into all future eternity. As a result of decisions we make in our mind our soul grows, becomes stronger. In a very real sense, our thoughts determine our future.

Material mind is the arena in which human personalities live, are self-conscious, make decisions, choose God or forsake him, eternalize or destroy themselves.^[1] (1216.4)

This posting is based on “The Mind Arena of Choice,” which is section 1 of paper 111 in The Urantia Book, starting at page 1216.

Mind

When we contemplate anything we must use our mind; for human beings our mind is the core of our being. This is where we observe, compare, analyze, plan, and grow or slide based upon our mental decisions. It could be said, especially for those having experienced little spiritual growth, mind is nearly all there is to our being.

Every thinking human being has within them a spark of God; every mortal literally has God within; this divine fragment works with our mind, gently guiding us Godward. Mind is the human soil from which the spirit Monitor must evolve the morontia soul with the co-operation of the indwelt personality. (1216.2)

Our soul, which will be eternal if we so choose, grows as a result of the guidance of our God Within working on our mind where we make decisions to cooperate, or not. Our mind is so important to the growth of our soul that it certainly is our soul’s soil. The nature of our soul soil depends on how we use our mind. Where are our thoughts directed? As evolutionary human beings on a planet in rebellion against universe authority, a significant portion of our thoughts are in response to outside events impacting us. But we must have a deep purpose guiding us through our personal trying times. If our mind is filled with materialism, greed, lust, hatred, or fear it will be poor soil indeed for our soul. On the other hand, if we are concentrated on following God’s will and accept love, brotherhood, and divine guidance, our soul’s soil will be rich indeed.

Thought Adjusters are a spark of God and therefore perfect, but if the soul’s soil is spiritually poor as a result of human choices, nothing can save mortals other than more spiritually based decisions; choosing to follow God’s will.

…it is by mind that you live or die. It is within this mind and with this mind that you make those moral decisions which enable you to achieve Adjusterlikeness, and that is Godlikeness. (1216.5)

Mind is our soul’s soil. This is where we grow our soul.

Choosing

Making choices is such an everyday thing we seldom pay any attention to the process. We choose what to eat, what to wear, whom we associate with, and how we react to difficulties. However, any decision may present complications. Suppose we are going home from work or the store and have two possible routes to choose from, one might be scenic while the other is quicker. We have no idea if there is a problem with either choice; there may be an accident or any kind of delay. We don’t always know what the consequences of any decision might be.

One class of decisions is especially important: moral choices. If someone insults us will we hit back or seek a peaceful reply? Frequently we respond to such a situation in the spur of the moment without considering what might happen, but this is precisely when careful thoughts are essential. We have to consider what affect each choice will have on our soul’s soil. That is vital. Choosing what to wear will probably not damage our soul soil but a moral choice will have an impact.

When we are making moral choices we are guided by our indwelling spark of God, our Thought Adjuster, acting gently on our superconsciousness. The mortal has to make the decision to follow the guidance of the Adjuster, or not. (1216.3)

Cooperating with our Adjuster is not a master-slave relationship; it is a true partnership. They are our wise advisor. This advisor cannot run the show for us; we must choose which aspects to follow and which to reject. (1217.3) We might ask how to know exactly what your Adjuster is recommending, but that is exactly the point; if the Adjuster shouted “DO THIS!” that would be compulsion not cooperation. When you honestly listen for guidance, you KNOW how to choose.

And it is not so much what mind comprehends as what mind desires to comprehend that insures survival; it is not so much what mind is like as what mind is striving to be like that constitutes spirit identification…. What you are today is not so important as what you are becoming day by day and in eternity. (1216.6) Our soul’s soil is enriched by our spiritual desires.

What we are becoming is the direct result of our choices. Our mortal free will, more accurately called spiritual free will, makes choices that will have a profound effect on what our mind is like, and what it is becoming day by day.

Our choices determine the nature of our eternal future, or lack thereof. We enhance our mental soil by the choices we make.

The Captain

Mind is your ship, the Adjuster is your pilot, the human will is captain. (1217.4) The first thing to notice about this quotation is that our body, our physical mechanism, is not even considered; that is because our mind and our moral choices are more important than our physical mechanism which is susceptible to the ravages of time while our soul is not. Elsewhere, The Urantia Book compares our body to a building built by our mind with guidance from our Adjuster. (483.12) Our mind has some control over our body and influences what it becomes. Guided by our human will, our mind is where things happen; the captain gives an order and the ship, our mind, responds.

The captain, our human will, must have control over the ship, our mind; this is where the real action is: the captain gaining control over the ship. The human will has to have control. It is the mind that ultimately fashions and maintains the body. Our pilot is guiding our captain who gives orders so the mind goes safely through the troubled waters of life. The captain has to trust the pilot when making moral choices in difficult times.

With your consent, this faithful pilot will safely carry you across the barriers of time and the handicaps of space to the very source of the divine mind and on beyond, even to the Paradise Father of Adjusters. (1217.4)

1. All references are to The Urantia Book one column version in the format page.paragraph. ↑

God’s Wonders

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The primary reference for these blog postings is The Urantia Book. For those not familiar with this book, it presents a far reaching description of God and His creation, as well as a full accounting of the life and teachings of Jesus; revelations in The Urantia Book greatly expand on those in the Bible. That it is a valid revelation is discussed on this web site. Because of rebellion our planet has been cut off from communicating with other worlds. This revelation is a first and can be a challenging read; these blog postings explain and relate them to current situations in our society.

Five hundred thousand years ago our native planet Earth, known as Urantia in the universe records, actually had a ruler, a Planetary Prince named Caligastia. He was a good leader for over 300,000 years, but what happened? Long story short, Lucifer who was the sovereign leader of our group of inhabited worlds, called a system, went into rebellion against the universe government; our Planetary Prince joined the rebellion; ever since our history has been filled with discord, sin, and wars. We describe the introduction of sin into our world, followed by a discussion of what constitutes sin, and finally how do we attain salvation. This final section is a discussion of the meaning of the Cross of Jesus. Jesus taught the citizens of Earth and destroyed sin by loving service.

Caligastia – Our Original Sinner

A bit over 200,000 years ago Lucifer^[1] was our system sovereign;^[2] he chose rebel against universe authority and he convinced his assistant, Satan, to become part of the rebellion. It was Satan who went to the various inhabited worlds seeking to convince their Planetary Princes to join the rebellion. When Satan came to our planet, Caligastia agreed to become part of the rebellion.

Caligastia joined the rebellion over 150,000 years before Adam and Eve arrived. They were in the Garden of Eden about 100 years before they were entrapped by a plot instigated by Caligastia. They did not join the rebellion and did the best they could under very difficult circumstances.

Satan, as an ambassador of Lucifer, brought the sin of rebellion against God to Urantia and our Planetary Prince Caligastia willingly accepted it. It could be said that Caligastia is our original sinner. Before the arrival of Caligastia, inhabitants of Earth had no concept of God and were not conscious of sin. Caligastia allowed sin against God to enter our native planet. In the next section we have a more thorough discussion of sin.

The entire subsequent history of Earth was drastically altered by this sin of Caligastia. (752.4)^[3] It is incredible what a dramatic consequence can arise from one solitary decision so many years ago. We can only wonder what our life would be like had this not happened.

At the headquarters of the Planetary Prince was a school for mortals from surrounding regions; after being educated they were returned to their homes to spread the advanced learning they had received. These schools worked well for 300,000 years but after the rebellion Caligastia deliberately and systematically poisoned these teachings; the schools were quickly wrecked. (576.2) These many years later we are still struggling to properly educate our sisters and brothers.

When we raise our children we are careful to not give them unfamiliar objects that might be dangerous, for example matches. We allow them to grow at their own pace. Caligastia went beyond this system and introduced teachings which the citizens were not ready for. (1302.4) Introducing new concepts prematurely can be dangerous. Would you give a primitive bushman a machine gun?

In his life, Jesus demonstrated that using our God-given abilities for personal gain or selfishness is a sin. (1519.2) What constitutes sin?

Sin

Sin is going against God’s will, but there are many shades of actions that may be described as going against His will. Error is not understanding reality, not knowing the action is wrong. With evil there is a partial realization that the action is wrong. With sin the individual knows the difference between right and wrong but does the sinful action anyway; this a conscious decision to go against God’s will. Iniquity is when sin is openly and persistently embraced. (754.5)

Error suggests lack of intellectual keenness; evil, deficiency of wisdom; sin, abject spiritual poverty; but iniquity is indicative of vanishing personality control. (755.1)

Those who habitually sin can become iniquitous, rebels against universe reality. Even though all manner of sins may be forgiven, those in iniquity are unlikely to be sorry for their sins and therefore would not accept forgiveness. (755.2)

Sin is an attitude of the individual toward reality. The sinner has a reasonable picture of what constitutes reality; knows what is right and what is wrong. The sinner deliberately chooses to do something known to be wrong by the sinner. Regarding a specific proposed action, those in error are ignorant of its rightness or wrongness; those who are evil are uncertain about right or wrong; while those who sin know for a fact that the act is wrong but they persist in the face of such knowledge. Sin is always a personal decision by the sinner. (761.6) Individuals may live in unbelievable conditions that make righteousness difficult to attain, but the final decision to sin is made alone. We cannot be forced against our will to sin; over time such sinning may become a habit. Iniquity.

This is enough about sin. We have all sinned and gone against the will of God. What are we going to do about it?

Salvation

This discussion on salvation is based on two sections in The Urantia Book covering the meaning of Jesus on the cross; (2016.6 – 2019.6) because of that episode our world has become known as the “World of the Cross” on nearby worlds. Jesus chose to come to our planet and reveal the nature of God to us and the rest of his creation; see “Jesus – Bestowal” for more on this topic.

There are some who see the cross as Jesus redeeming us from original sin, however in the previous section we learned sin is personal; my sin is personal, my problem. The same goes for the sins of my predecessors, their sins were their problems. Sin is connected to the individual who made the sinful decision; the sinner.

The animal nature — the tendency toward evil-doing — may be hereditary, but sin is not transmitted from parent to child. Sin is the act of conscious and deliberate rebellion against the Father’s will and the Sons’ laws by an individual will creature. (2016.10)

Jesus is truly our savior; he showed us the way, his resurrection made clear that salvation is ours for the asking. (2017.2) After resurrection he had ongoing life, as will we after our own resurrection. The resurrection proves that no matter what might have happened in our earthly life, there will be more life after our death. The only exception to this is individuals who have totally rejected God, those who abide in iniquity; for them there can be no resurrection.

The only concept Jesus taught about God is that he is a loving Father. Once we fully accept this we must reject unworthy descriptions of his nature, such that he is offended, stern, or seeking to learn about our wrongdoing; such views of God are not consistent with the teachings of Jesus. The infinite love of God is not secondary to anything in the divine nature. (2017.3)

When considering salvation it is important to include the life of Jesus, the matchless way he met death, and the resurrection. His life was one of service and teaching. While on his tour of the Mediterranean he spent several hours helping a lost child get back home. (1465.5) His conduct during the unfair trail was such that Pilate, who had the final say in his execution, declared “Behold the man!” (1995.2) His resurrection on that first Easter morning declares to everyone that death has no sting.

Knowing the love Jesus has for us, we need not worry about our personal salvation because it has already been given to us. The life of Jesus is a revelation of the nature of our Heavenly Father; the phrase “God is Love” appears 14 times in The Urantia Book. His love surrounds us and uplifts us. God’s love and mercy are boundless; salvation is truly ours for the asking. Once we grasp this truth we should share this knowledge with sisters and brothers.

Human salvation is real; it is based on two realities which may be grasped by the creature’s faith …: the fact of the fatherhood of God and its correlated truth, the brotherhood of man. (2017.8) We all stand equal before God, and He loves each of us equally.

Those persecuting Jesus during his tribulation before and during the time of the cross were certainly going against the will of God but Jesus responded with calm majesty, speaking only when asked a direct question. During the ordeal Jesus asked God to “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”^[4] If those who were part of that shameful process can be forgiven, then forgiving our sins is a given.

The cross forever shows that the attitude of Jesus toward sinners was neither condemnation nor condonation, but rather eternal and loving salvation. (2018.1)

The meaning of the cross is that the love of God is greater than our meager sins.

1. Bible: Isaiah 14,12 – King James version ↑

2. When complete each system will have about 1,000 inhabited planets; we are number 606 in our system ↑

3. Unless otherwise noted all references are to The Urantia Book in the format page.paragraph for the one column version. ↑

4. Bible: Luke 23, 34 ↑

Reaching Upward

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Our physical body is the most visible component of our being, but there is much more to us than meets the eye. Our physical body is constantly making demands on our consciousness; it is impossible to fully ignore its incessant calls. Because of this we have difficulty believing there is anything non-physical about us. However, the fact that our mind can explore our physical being is a hint that mind is somewhat beyond the physical; a purely physical entity could not comprehend self-examination. We look at our hand and understand its usefulness as a unit, we understand its purpose. And so our body has a purpose: to create and nurture a soul having the potential of existing into all future eternity.

We discuss a new way of considering the human body. The most common understanding of our physical self is that the body is all there is to our being. The Urantia Book presents a widely different description. The human body is a physical mechanism utilized by our indwelling spark of God (our Thought Adjuster) and our God given personality to produce and nurture our potentially eternal self: our soul. The growth of the soul comes about by means of our free will decisions; if they are in harmony with God’s will our soul grows, otherwise it stagnates. We are assisted by our guardian angels, the Spirit of Truth, the Adjutant Mind Spirits, and other spirit entities.

Body

Our total being has several components. The first of these is naturally our body which is the material or physical organism of man. The living electrochemical mechanism of animal nature and origin. (8.7)^[1] Next is our mind which is discussed briefly in the next section. Then there is the spirit, the spark of God dwelling within each of us. Finally there is our soul which comes into being and grows by means of our spiritual free will decisions. During life in the flesh our soul is in an embryonic state. (744.8) But this not all; there is also our personality given to us by God. Each personality is unique; it defines us as a specific entity. The personality permeates all of our being and our actions; unifying everything we do. (1225.7)

Mortal man is a machine, a living mechanism; his roots are truly in the physical world of energy. Many human reactions are mechanical in nature; much of life is machinelike. But man, a mechanism, is much more than a machine; he is mind endowed and spirit indwelt…. (1301.7)

Our body is our physical reality but is not our total being. Our society has discounted spiritual reality for centuries at its peril; the time has come for citizens of Earth to realize we must base our existence on our Heavenly Father, His love and guidance.

On a material world you think of a body as having a spirit, but we regard the spirit as having a body. The material eyes are truly the windows of the spirit-born soul. The spirit is the architect, the mind is the builder, the body is the material building. (483.12)

Time to examine the builder.

Mind

It is in the mind where we make decisions, explore our surroundings, make plans, and choose to do God’s will (or otherwise). The nature of our mind defines who we are and who we wish to become. In the mind our free will choices have the greatest effect; it is here that our choice to seek eternal life by following the God-given guidance that each mortal receives has its beginning and is nurtured, resulting in a growing awareness of our Heavenly Father. In a way the mind acts as a bridge between our current physical existence and our future spirit experience.

This discussion is based mainly on “Mind Arena of Choice” starting at 1216.2.

Material mind is the arena in which human personalities live, are self-conscious, make decisions, choose God or forsake him, eternalize or destroy themselves. (1216.4)

Our mind is a precious resource, we would do well to exercise it and guide it into productive channels. Too often we pursue frivolous thoughts, excess gratification, or selfishness. Our mind is the gateway into a wider reality if we are sincerely seeking to find God and become more like Him by choosing to do His will at each opportunity.

Our entire life is lived primarily within our mind. We think, react, yearn, and plan within our mind. Also, when we interact with sisters and brothers we get a glimpse of what their mind is like by observing their speech and actions. Our mind is certainly the core of our consciousness; it is where we make decisions that may have a significant bearing on our possibility of life eternal.

And it is not so much what mind comprehends as what mind desires to comprehend that insures survival; it is not so much what mind is like as what mind is striving to be like that constitutes spirit identification. (1216.6)

In the final analysis, we become what we wish to become. Be careful what you wish for. If we are reaching out for God we have the possibility of actually communicating with the God fragment within, our personal Thought Adjuster; if instead we are reaching for something less, we attain something less. If we have life eternal as our goal there may be no end to our growth.

Mind is your ship, the Adjuster is your pilot, the human will is captain. The master of the mortal vessel should have the wisdom to trust the divine pilot to guide the ascending soul into the morontia harbors of eternal survival. (1217.4)

Our mind is the ship carrying our total being and is where we live, breathe, and have our awareness. The mortal will is the controlling factor where the mind gives orders to the rest of the ship. The captain of the ship must be aware of dangers and protect the ship from them. In troublous waters it is vital to have someone who knows the dangers and how to avoid them. Our Thought Adjuster is the best pilot available, but the captain (our mind, our free will choices) has to learn how to listen to and follow the guidance of the pilot. This knowing of God’s will grows as we get a feel of the process; the more we honestly follow His will, the easier it becomes the next time.

Unaided mind is impotent to influence anything material save its own physical mechanism, with which it is inescapably linked. (1222.4)

This opens the possibility of our mind having some influence over our physical mechanism; this topic is also discussed elsewhere in The Urantia Book. (1275.5) That is a topic for another day.

Physical Mechanism

A mechanism is a system of parts working together to form a collective unit. Therefore, a physical mechanism is something physical which contains many parts that all work together forming one unit; in this case our mortal body, our physical reality. It is truly remarkable how well our various components (generally) work together; the human body is a well-designed mechanism. The way all these parts work together makes it unthinkable it came into being by happenstance. We generally think of a machine when considering a mechanism but everything in our body does work together exactly like a mechanism.

For example: Adam lived for 530 years; he died of what might be termed old age. His physical mechanism simply wore out…. (852.4) His body, his physical mechanism, stopped working.

And again, when Machiventa Melchizedek was present on Earth with a physical body, he terminated his mission after ninety-four years because had he remained for any long period on earth, his physical mechanism would have gradually deteriorated. (1015.6) That is what happens to our bodies after a certain length of time; they wear out. The same thing happens to our mechanical mechanisms; our cars, trucks, and such wear out.

Considering our body as being a physical mechanism emphasizes that it is only a physical component of our being, it does not take into consideration our nonphysical mind, nor our indwelling spark of God, our Thought Adjuster; it also does not include our personality.

While we cannot say our body is insignificant, we certainly can say our physical mechanism is not all there is to anybody.

1. All references are to The Urantia Book in the format page.paragraph for the one column edition. ↑

Spring is Busting Out

This Easter season we give thanks for sisters and brothers following these postings; we briefly list and summarize the most popular blog postings and Talking Points pages on UBLightofTruth.com. We include a recent study of so-called near death experiences. There have been hits on the website from 22 different nations just this year. The most popular blog posting is from February 2021 and it still receives a lot of hits. This spring day we recognize there are indeed rays of hope signaling a better future for planet Earth; we give thanks.

Blog Postings

Interestingly, the two most popular blog postings are from February 2021. In first place is “Urantia: Caligastia’s Prison World” which has over five times as many hits as the second place entry; it continues to receive hits every month.

It examines why our fallen Planetary Prince Caligastia is allowed to remain on Earth even after being defeated by Jesus. The following three paragraphs are quoted from that blog.

We find no one specific reference detailing why Caligastia remains free to roam over Urantia; however, there are clear indications why this is the case. Caligastia deliberately introduced sin to our planet;^[1] when this happens there are consequences both to the being who introduced the sin and those who received the sin, all mortal inhabitants of Urantia. These consequences need to be investigated and understood.

When rebellion is introduced into any system all those affected must choose between universe government and rebellion. Unlike mortals of 200,000 years ago, today we have widespread communication; practically speaking, most of us get the news and are aware of good things or bad things happening all around. Even those who are isolated from society or in a remote wilderness must make decisions based on what is best for the world they know. Each of us has to make that moral choice, declare where we stand between good and evil.

It is “creature free will” that determines when the replacement Planetary Prince will arrive on Urantia. We the inhabitants of Earth must decide where we stand, with Michael or with Lucifer and Caligastia. Only when this has taken place will the communication lines to the rest of creation open and our Vicegerent Planetary Prince, Machiventa Melchizedek, take over the government of our native sphere.

“Christian Nationalism;” is the second most popular posting and close behind it is “Living the Teachings” from September 2021.

Talking points

In “Talking Points” the most popular is “Death Becomes Graduation” which has over 50% more hits than the second most popular page. This topic is especially pertinent in these times of COVID and societal unease. Following is a summary of this page.

Death is not the end; it can be the gateway into our eternal future. Life eternal is freely given to everybody who asks for it. All we need do is to follow God’s guidance, of Truth} choose to do His will.

After physical death the memory of our earthly life resides with our internal spark of God (known as our Thought Adjuster or adjuster) while the soul is placed in the custody of our guardian angel. After the adjuster and the soul are reunited in the resurrection halls we will awaken ready to continue our journey toward Paradise and God.^[2] At this point we will no longer be physical, but we are not yet true spirit beings.

There are three kinds of death. One is intellectual death, which happens when the brain is damaged so much that the mind cannot function. In this case the Thought Adjuster departs while the life energies of the body continue. Depending on the choice of the individual, the adjuster will later return for the resurrection of that individual after physical death. In any case the physical body may continue to function.^[3] Our society calls this brain dead.

The second is physical death, where our physical apparatus, the body, ceases to function, and we depart this earthly sphere.

The final type of death is soul death, which is final. When the individual has made a final decision to deny God, reject eternal life and universe reality, then the adjuster departs never to return. This is the final death from which there can be no resurrection and it comes as a consequence of the individual totally rejecting our Heavenly Father, rejecting spiritual reality.^[4] Soul death may come either before or after physical death. In either case there can be no resurrection.

Realizing this, death now becomes our valediction time when we graduate from this preschool we call Earth into a wider reality, even cosmic reality. To paraphrase the poet Robert Burns: “we will be from a world of woe relieved and arise renewed in heaven.”

A recent article gives the results of a study analyzing so-called near death experiences;^[5] we will soon post a revised version of “Death Becomes Graduation” incorporating these findings. You will be notified when this is posted.

Recalled experiences surrounding death happen more frequently today because of improved medical technology. These experiences have a uniform theme which can be summarized as follows. (a) Separation from the body with an expanded sense of consciousness and an awareness of death. (b) There is travel to a destination. (c) A meaningful review of life. (d) Feeling of being “home.” (e) There is a return to life. These findings are in full agreement with teachings in The Urantia Book.

In the Talking Points pages “Consequences of Rebellion” is in second place, and “Epochal Revelations” is in third place.

National Distribution

While we cannot track individuals, we are able to identify the country of origin for visitors to this website. The number of countries represented in site visits shows The Urantia Book is truly a global phenomenon. So far this year (early April) the site has had hits from 22 countries. These nations are grouped as: North America 3, South America 1, Caribbean 2, Europe 7, Island Nations 2, Asia 3, and Africa 4. That is a nice representation of planet Earth.

SPRING!

In honor of the new season we recognize the growth of a new spring; trilliums and other flowers are in blossom, Goldfinches mostly have their summer colors, life is being renewed. We certainly know there are very bad things going on all over our planet, but the changes associated with spring declare there is hope for a better future for our sisters, brothers and native planet.

The Talking Points page “Rays of Hope’ lists some of the global reasons for hope; this page has been getting more hits recently.

We thank you for following this website and we look forward to hearing from each of you with comments or suggestions; keep in touch.

1. 1660.5, unless otherwise noted, all references are to the one column edition of The Urantia Book in the format page.paragraph ↑

2. 1230.3 ↑

3. 1230.1 ↑

4. 1229.9 ↑

5. https://neurosciencenews.com/perception-near-death-20335/ Retrieved 4/9/22 ↑

Warbling for Peace

Click on photo for information about it.

Current events on planet Earth cry out for peace; there are many problem areas, but foremost is the devastation being inflicted upon Ukraine by invading Russian forces. Given our present world order, probably not much can be done short of negotiation or a much wider war. To save our planet from destruction by this war or some future war, we need a peaceful solution to international armed aggression; we need some global apparatus to prevent such mindless destruction. We need Earth Federation.

Any global system where one nation feels able, even compelled, to invade another, bomb its buildings and murder men, women, and children needs to be radically revised. Our present world order has been built up gradually over time; it is merely a consequence of history. We must carefully design and implement a fair and equitable global system, one that promotes peace and brotherhood, before our native planet becomes uninhabitable because of manmade disasters.

Ukraine

News outlets bombard us with information about the war in Ukraine, there is no need to add to it here; for example, BBC has a page with the latest news from Ukraine.

The driving force for the invasion of Ukraine is that Vladimir Putin in Russia wants to recreate the Soviet Empire and Ukraine is the keystone of this enterprise. There is no telling how far he is willing to go in order to realize his goal and there appears to be no reasonable end game.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been able to do something that no other leader of a country under siege has been able to do in the history of warfare. Using video hookups he addressed 10 parliaments in two weeks including Canada, the United States, Israel, European Union, and Japan. His voice is a powerful plea for freedom; his speeches receive standing ovations everywhere.

That being said, naked aggression by Russia in Ukraine is not the problem; it is rather the symptom of a deeper problem.

Failure of National Sovereignty

War on Urantia will never end so long as nations cling to the illusive notions of unlimited national sovereignty. There are only two levels of relative sovereignty on an inhabited world: the spiritual free will of the individual mortal and the collective sovereignty of mankind as a whole. (1487.9)^[1]

When we see photos of our native sphere from space we see no national boundaries, we see no arbitrary lines on the land. There is only one Earth, one people. Seeing photographs of our planet from space emphasizes the truth that the only valid forms of sovereignty are that of the individual mortal and that of the planet as a whole. Everything in between is invalid.

This war in Ukraine is proof positive of the failure of national sovereignty. Even if the fiction of national sovereignty were valid within the borders of a national entity, that would not give any nation permission to invade another sovereign nation unless actively provoked. In this case, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has no legitimacy whatsoever.

You cannot prevent nations going to war as long as they remain infected with the delusional virus of national sovereignty. Internationalism is a step in the right direction. An international police force will prevent many minor wars, but it will not be effective in preventing major wars, conflicts between the great military governments of earth. (1489.1)

The United Nations is a good example of internationalism and it has had some effect on minimizing small wars, but it is powerless when a major nation such as Russia is involved. As long as nations are “infected with the delusional virus of national sovereignty” there will be wars. There is no getting around this truth: humankind would rather fight than seek peaceful solutions. We absolutely need peace seekers.

How many international bodies such as the League of Nations and the United Nations will it take before we realize they cannot be effective; now many global wars will be necessary to make our society realize war is not the answer to anything; war brings only pain, suffering and unnecessary death. (1490.3) We need Earth Federation.

Earth Federation

Another world war will teach the so-called sovereign nations to form some sort of federation, thus creating the machinery for preventing small wars, wars between the lesser nations. But global wars will go on until the government of mankind is created. Global sovereignty will prevent global wars — nothing else can. (Emphasis added) (1490.7)

There are examples where groups have surrendered sovereignty to a larger group. One is the United States of America; each state has surrendered their individual sovereignty to the national government. Each state has its own laws that are based on the national constitution while international relations are dealt with by the national government. Another example is Great Britain; England, Ireland and Scotland fought many wars before they united. It is vital for the future of Earth that such an arrangement be realized on a global scale.

There is a proposal for a government of all mankind, the Earth Federation. This effort has been growing for decades; the 15^th Session of the Provisional World Parliament was held online last December; there is a Constitution for the Federation of Earth. This constitution has been approved and amended by the Parliament; it is a well thought out document detailing a parliamentary form of government for planet Earth.

“The principles at the heart of the Earth Federation Movement are the most fundamental principles of ethical and political thought…. The conceptual foundations of the Earth Constitution, upon which our work is based, involve only the most fundamental and universal of principles, principles necessary for coherent, integrated, and consistent thought regarding the human condition at the dawn of the 21^st century.^“[2]

The World Parliament has three houses: House of Peoples, House of Counselors, and House of Nations. Membership in the first is based on population (similar to our House of Representatives), the second is made up of scholars chosen by colleges and universities, while in the third each nation is represented equally (similar to our Senate).

Under Earth Federation, nations of Earth are grouped into five Continental Divisions.: one for the four major continents and Oceania, which includes the rest. The chief executive consists of five members, one from each Continental Division, who serve for five years. Each member is president for one year but all decisions must be unanimous. There will be no President of Earth.

The political sovereignty of representative mankind government will bring lasting peace on earth, and the spiritual brotherhood of man will forever insure good will among all men. And there is no other way whereby peace on earth and good will among men can be realized. (1491.7)

Bringing Earth Federation into full implementation will be a long, painful, and difficult process; there is however, no other way to realize PEACE ON EARTH.

1. All references are to The Urantia Book, unless otherwise noted, in the format page.paragrah for the one column version. ↑

2. http://worldparliament-gov.org/earth-federation/earth-federation-movement-foundational-principles/ Retrieved 3/28/22 ↑

If we were given a choice between living in a system governed by the rule of law or one having individual liberty, the choice is obvious: give me liberty! However, before jumping to conclusions we need to examine exactly what each system is really like. If we declare our allegiance prematurely we could be entering something radically different from what was promised. After some contemplation we realize the rule of law is preferable to life where everybody thinks they have total liberty when instead they have lawless anarchy. Total liberty for some means no liberty for others.

We examine a system promoting individual liberty; its characteristics and where it originated. These ideas were first proposed in a place far away two hundred thousand years ago. Next we investigate a system of regular laws tempered by mercy and love. This system is much older and was put in place by someone we know and love. Finally we look at present day fallout from these systems; some acts in our distant past have had a severe effect on current society.

Individual Liberty

Lucifer, Satan, Caligastia

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” (Bible; Isaiah 14:12) This quotation is from the King James Version; Lucifer was translated out of most other versions.

The smallest unit of universe government is the local system. When complete each system will have about 1,000 inhabited planets; our system, Satania, currently has 619 inhabited planets. Two hundred thousand years go Lucifer was the system Sovereign in Satania. He had been in charge of the system government for a few hundred thousand years when he decided to rebel against universe authority. There was no external situation that needed to be changed; this rebellion arose entirely within Lucifer’s mind. (602.5)^[1] His second in command, Satan, was won over to the rebellion.

The rebellion was announced with the Lucifer Manifesto which had three broad parts. (603.3-604.1) In the first item Lucifer declared God does not exist, and that natural forces were inherent in the universe. Next he stated that the local universe Creator Son who created the local universe did not have authority to rule, that the systems should be autonomous; no higher branches of government had authority in the local systems. His final declaration was that too much time was wasted on training ascendant mortals, beings like us who have passed from mortal life into beginning spirit life. We will be meticulously trained for an unrevealed eternal future career; Lucifer thought this effort was wasted.

Satan declared to the assembled citizens of the system capital that allegiance could be acknowledged only to the actual and present ruler, Lucifer, the “friend of men and angels” and the “God of liberty.” (604.3) This is the way demagogues always seek to gain power: by emotional appeals to the masses.

Satan went to the inhabited worlds to convince their Planetary Princes to join the rebellion. On 38 of the inhabited worlds the Planetary Prince joined the rebellion against universe authority. On our planet, known as Urantia on universe records, the Planetary Prince was Caligastia who also joined the rebellion. This calamity has had a severe effect on the history of each planet in rebellion. On our planet some civilization was gradually appearing, but upon the rebellion this was rapidly destroyed. (758.6-7)

Liberty is suicidal when divorced from material justice, intellectual fairness, social forbearance, moral duty, and spiritual values. Liberty is nonexistent apart from cosmic reality…. (613.6) True liberty must recognize the existence of our sisters and brothers; each is indwelt by a fragment of God, and each has equal standing before our creator. Recognizing cosmic reality means we recognize a creator behind the creation we observe and experience. Lucifer and his followers do not accept this, including his present day followers on Urantia.

Individual liberty is false liberty; attempting to implement it would result in a lawless anarchy with no laws and no liberty.

Rule of Law

Michael: Jesus

Our local universe was created by our Creator Son, Michael, and the Universe Mother Spirit. Together they created all life in this universe, including Lucifer himself. The system they set up involves laws tempered by mercy.

Even though he created this local universe, Michael had to earn the right to rule it on his own authority; this he did by incarnating seven times as one of his created beings. At the time of the Lucifer Rebellion this process had not been completed; he did not have authority to summarily end the rebellion. His last bestowal was as on our planet, Urantia, we know him as Jesus. After this bestowal was completed he became sovereign, yet he still treats the rebels with mercy and offers them rehabilitation.

Law is life itself and not the rules of its conduct. Evil is a transgression of law, not a violation of the rules of conduct pertaining to life, which is the law. Falsehood is not a matter of narration technique but something premeditated as a perversion of truth…. One can be technically right as to fact and everlastingly wrong in the truth. (555.1)

Those who proclaim individual liberty declare law must include their own personal liberty; however, recognizing cosmic reality means realizing LAW IS LIFE ITSELF. The moment we twist truth in the least amount we enter the realm of falsehood and evil. Recognizing our cosmic citizenship means realizing an obligation to sisters and brothers.

Mercy is simply justice tempered by that wisdom which grows out of perfection of knowledge and the full recognition of the natural weaknesses and environmental handicaps of finite creatures. (38.1) Heavenly Father knows us, knows our weaknesses, and tempers law with mercy accordingly.

An example of the difference between fact and truth is in the novel “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo. The fact is that the main character, Jean Valjean, stole something and therefore he was a thief and went to prison. The truth is he stole a loaf of bread so his brother’s child could have something to eat. In this case justice was not tempered by mercy.

Current Implications

We explore our current situation by looking at an interesting quotation from The Urantia Book; each sentence is examined separately.

True liberty is the associate of genuine self-respect; false liberty is the consort of self-admiration. (614.1)

Self-admiration was probably at the root of the Lucifer rebellion. He was spiritually brilliant and he knew it; out of more than 700,000 Lanonandeks he was ranked at number 37. (601.1) In our global society there are many dictators and dictator wannabes; these self-admiring individuals have such a bloated opinion of themselves that they know they must exert themselves over their “lesser” citizens. Those who have true liberty respect themselves as well as their fellow citizens.

True liberty is the fruit of self-control; false liberty, the assumption of self-assertion. (614.1)

There is a world of difference between self-control and self-assertion. Demagogues are certainly self-assertive. The self-assertive individual will forcibly assert their views regardless of consequences, while the self-control individual knows limitations and works toward inclusion and teamwork.

Self-control leads to altruistic service; self-admiration tends towards the exploitation of others for the selfish aggrandizement of such a mistaken individual as is willing to sacrifice righteous attainment for the sake of possessing unjust power over his fellow beings. (614.1)

A large portion of current global society is aimed towards possessing unjust power over fellow human beings. Greed, selfishness, and materialism seem to rule the day; these are a direct result of Caligastia’s betrayal of his responsibility as ruler of Urantia. After the bestowal of Jesus, Caligastia was shorn of his title but he remains on Earth seeking to spread mischief.

The problems associated with human existence on Urantia are impossible of understanding without a knowledge of certain great epochs of the past, notably the occurrence and consequences of the planetary rebellion. Although this upheaval did not seriously interfere with the progress of organic evolution, it did markedly modify the course of social evolution and of spiritual development. The entire superphysical history of the planet was profoundly influenced by this devastating calamity. (754.1)

Consequences from the rebellion have certainly had an effect on our society. We have elected to high office an individual strong on self-admiration and self-assertion; voting districts are redrawn so votes from individuals with certain superficial characteristics are diluted. Our planet needs laws tempered with mercy, as well as leaders with self-control. Forward, not backward.

1. Unless otherwise noted, all references are from The Urantia Book one column version in the format page.paragraph. ↑

We explore the significance of light and lantern, what constitutes spiritual growth, what are fruits of the spirit, and briefly discuss personal religious experience.

Light of the Lantern

“It is the light in the lantern which shows you the path not the lantern.” (Note on the tag of a bag of Yogi Chai Rooibos tea)

The lantern is a physical device whose purpose is to produce light that can illuminate our surroundings; whether it is a fancy work of art or plain and ordinary, its purpose is illumination. Its purpose is physical illumination.

In a similar manner, The Urantia Book is a physical item with a purpose. Those sincerely reading it receive a message of spiritual truth, hope, joy, love, mercy, and the eternal value of each and every human being. Its purpose is to uplift our spiritual awareness; if we sincerely apply its teachings to our daily lives we receive illumination. We receive spiritual illumination.

Many students of our revelation, The Urantia Book, are mainly concerned with purely physical aspects of this spiritual revelation. It is indeed filled with countless fascinating physical facts: when did our Creator Son arrive here to begin the creation of his local universe (over 400 billion years ago, the Big Bangers will have trouble with that), (653.8)^[1] how many inhabited worlds are there (7 trillion when this region of space is completed), how did the geological process operate to form our native sphere, and how did the evolutionary process of life on Earth originate and proceed; to list only a tiny fraction. Many also want to know how we got this hefty book. They are mainly interested in its physical aspects. This is OK for sisters and brothers becoming acquainted with our revelation, but serious students need to look toward the purpose of this Epochal Revelation: growing spiritual awareness for citizens of planet Earth. We must turn on our inner illumination and contribute to the betterment of life on Earth by exhibiting fruits of the spirit in our daily lives.

Spiritual Growth

Everyone of normal mind on our native sphere contains within them an actual fragment of God. This spark of God within is always seeking to guide us into a stronger relationship with our Heavenly Father. here are present in all normal mortals certain innate drives toward growth and self-realization which function if they are not specifically inhibited. (1095.1) In this quotation “innate drives” is plural. We have several spirit influences guiding us into greater spiritual awareness, all we need do is to “not specifically inhibit” their guidance. We frequently do not fully cooperate with our spirit guides; our material mind set has difficulty accepting spirit guidance. Our Heavenly Father is continually guiding us into greater spiritual awareness but it is up to each individual to fully cooperate, to follow the guidance each of us is given. All too often it is we who tell Father what we want.

We assist spirit growth by many means: recognizing spirit led lives in others, meditating on spirit reality such as God, looking at events from a spirit prospective, and accepting the spirit guidance we receive. The factors of religious growth may be intentional, but the growth itself is unvaryingly unconscious. (1095.3) Our greatest desire should be to draw closer to God, but our progress Godward is unconscious; we may be totally unaware of any spiritual progress.

Spiritual growth is first an awakening to needs, next a discernment of meanings, and then a discovery of values. (1095.6) We cannot make spiritual progress unless we know we absolutely need it. It is important to recognize we are alone in a seemingly cruel universe if we do not accept God’s guidance; we need His guidance. There comes a point where we begin to understand meanings, these will come in many ways. One thing is we begin to comprehend the magnitude of what our Creator Son Michael, Jesus, did to create everything in his local universe; amazing. At last we become conscious of values; while the physical arena is concerned with quantity, in the spiritual region it is quality. Since God is spirit, He is the ultimate value. Our goal should be to grow closer to Him.

Fruits of the spirit

As we grow spiritually we begin to manifest fruits of the spirit. These are a natural result of living the spirit led life. Indeed, all political, social, or economic value that may result from the teachings of Jesus arise from natural consequences of a personal soul experience; the fruits of the spirit are a spontaneous manifestation of soul growth. (1585.4)

Salvation is the free gift of God, but those who are born of the spirit will immediately begin to show forth the fruits of the spirit in loving service to their fellow creatures. And the fruits of the divine spirit which are yielded in the lives of spirit-born and God-knowing mortals are: loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace. (2054.3)

God is truly merciful; love is His primary reaction to our pleas. Salvation is freely given each one of us as long as we do not totally reject His gifts. These fruits of the spirit are a consequence of being born of the spirit; accepting the guidance of our Heavenly Father. Fruits of the spirit are expressed in being honest, fair, and having total concern for the welfare of all of our sisters and brothers.

When we exhibit these fruits of the spirit in our lives we are simply showing traits Jesus manifested in his life on Earth. (2062.10) We begin to live our lives in these times as Jesus would were he with us now; through the Spirit of Truth Jesus is truly with us here and now.

Personal Religious Experience

When we think about a personal religious experience our first thought might be Saul of Tarsus. At first blush it seemed that all he did was to walk down the road to Damascus when suddenly he had a powerful spiritual experience and became the apostle Paul. It was so strong it took several days before he fully recovered from the abrupt transformation; it certainly was not that simple. Another example is Gautama Siddhartha, Buddha. These experiences may be a natural and gradual growth or may sometimes be experienced at certain junctures, as in a crisis. (1099.1) The individual must be devoted to doing God’s will, following His guidance at each decision point. These decisions will be difficult; they may involve hardships and emotional conflicts. If the way into a greater spiritual awareness were easy, our planet would be teeming with Buddhas and Pauls.

The spiritual growth of Jesus was gradual; when he was not quite thirteen he experienced illumination. (1376.1) He was also visited by a celestial visitor telling him it was time to be about his Father’s business.

Our revelatory lantern, The Urantia Book, presents to us an enlarged description of creation and describes the exalted eternal future awaiting each of us if we so choose. Our choices define our future; if we choose to follow the spiritual guidance we receive, there will literally be no end to our existence. This gradually happens as we accept the illumination from this big blue lantern.

1. All references are to The Urantia Book, the one column edition in the format page.paragraph ↑

Freedom to Explore

Click on photo for information about it.

In 1775, before we became a nation, Patrick Henry declared “Give me liberty or give me death!” Ever since then our citizens have been concerned about liberty, but what is liberty? Our nation was founded on the rallying cry of liberty; it has an important place in our national psyche.

Current political discussions sometimes revolve around questions of liberty; government needs to implement regulations aimed at addressing health risks resulting from the COVID pandemic and some individuals claim these measures impair their liberty. A discussion about liberty is crucial at this time; it is especially important to distinguish between true liberty and false liberty.

We begin our discussion with gnats and camels, perhaps you remember the quote from the Bible; next we talk about false liberty; we conclude with true liberty, which is based partly upon the recognition that we are all equally sisters and brothers.

Of Gnats and Camels

In the Bible Jesus is quoted as saying: “Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.” (Bible: Matthew 23, 24; also in The Urantia Book, 1736.5)

In today’s political environment there is a lot of gnat straining and camel swallowing. People read something on social media about the perceived dangers of vaccines and they accept everything negative as gospel. Every loose statement becomes part of their anti-vaccine mindset. Actively seeking out only falsehoods agreeing with their anti-truth viewpoint is similar to straining at gnats.

The efficacy of current vaccines is well established, they are over 95% effective; they are even more effective against getting a serious or fatal infection. Information about vaccine effectiveness can be found on the website for the Center for Disease Control (www.CDC.gov). Ignoring this mountain of scientific evidence and declaring vaccines are not effective is like swallowing the camel.

True liberty cannot exist in a vacuum; it must be scientifically informed, and it must recognize the existence of other selves: our sisters and brothers. For liberty to flourish its citizens need to be involved and have proper information about issues effecting society.

If we are unwary, gnats and camels can destroy our society.

False Liberty

One reason our society has trouble distinguishing between false liberty and true liberty is because of a rebellion against universe authority that happened a long time ago. What we think of as being normal is an aberration in the universe, not the norm. Actions of some of our predecessors who were entrusted with uplifting society, led us astray.

When we declare we want liberty there is a significant problem; if one person is to have unrestricted liberty, others must necessarily have something less than this, liberty must balance out. Personal liberty for some disenfranchises others, takes away their chance at liberty. A balanced society gives everyone equal opportunities; society must give each individual an equal chance to grow and become all they can become; anything less than this equilibrium disenfranchises some. When an individual seeks “personal liberty,” what is actually sought is freedom from regulation, freedom from oversight, and freedom from responsibility to others. Responsible citizens seek to increase the welfare of each sister and brother instead of a select few.

A vital consideration is the truth every thinking mortal has within them a spark of God. (Urantia Book, 63.5) Everyone stands equal before God; nobody has the right to use political or economic power to degrade anybody else.

False liberty is for a select few at the expense of others. False liberty is portrayed in “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand; at the end of the book the upper crust of society live in protected enclaves, while the mass of society are outside killing each other in a lawless state. False liberty recognizes value or importance for only a few individuals who self-proclaim their own importance over others. Arguments by the ultra-rich using calls to false liberty hide a deeper purpose: control others and limit their freedoms so they can enhance their own liberty. These individuals and their followers personify the call to false liberty.

False liberty is unsustainable in the long run because the actual workers, those who truly produce goods and services, are degraded until they can no longer function in society. The remaining privileged few are neither willing nor able to keep up the infrastructure or the flow of goods and services needed by society; the entire society will eventually collapse.

Those who seek unwarranted power over others are certainly not new in our history, they have been with us throughout all of our history; their allegiance is to a rebellion that took place two hundred thousand years ago. These seditious ideas have been with us for a very long time! Thus does the Lucifer manifesto, masquerading in the habiliments of liberty, stand forth in the clear light of reason as a monumental threat to consummate the theft of personal liberty and to do it on a scale that has been approached only twice in all the history of Nebadon. (Urantia Book – 614.8) (Nebadon is the name of our local universe; Jesus and our Universe Mother Spirit created all life therein.) This call to unfettered personal liberty was the major aspect of the Lucifer rebellion; it is also a major theme for his present-day followers.

One wonders about religions asking for an exemption from necessary health regulations because of some religious dogma. Apparently they are more concerned about ecclesiastical theory than they care about the health of their followers. Their adherents are dying because of a theology that ignores science and truth.

True Liberty

One of the most important consequences of rebellion is our inability to distinguish between true and false liberty. (Urantia Book, 613.3) True liberty allows all beings to become the best they can be, false liberty promotes a privileged few at the expense of everyone else. No being, in the exercise of his supposed personal liberty, has a right to deprive any other being of those privileges of existence conferred by the Creators and duly respected by all their loyal associates, subordinates, and subjects. (Urantia Book, 614.4)

We have difficulty distinguishing between true and false liberty. True liberty acknowledges everyone has value; everyone has a spark of God within. This presence of Heavenly Father within each normal minded individual has astounding implications; it means each of us has a chance for eternal life, go to Paradise, and meet Father in person. It also means if anybody is degraded for any superficial characteristic, it is God Himself who is being degraded. If any individual loses freedom because of prejudice, God is the subject of such unfair treatment. How can we subject the creator of all things and beings to such unfair treatment, to bigotry?

True liberty recognizes the worth of everyone, but it also includes responsibility for each of us to make the best use of whatever opportunities we have; this especially includes the downtrodden and the disenfranchised. When an individual realizes their own worth they will have incentive to better themselves even after they have been degraded by the mass of society for generations. Once they become aware of their eternal potential and that of every other individual, they will want to improve and will no longer be a drain on society, instead they will be able to make a positive contribution to society. They will want and will find dignity and meaning in their existence. This process will not be an overnight transformation; it will take patience, love, perseverance, compassion and understanding. This will be a small price to pay for the chance to transform these human beings from pure consumers to contributors, from the degraded to the participating, from the disenfranchised to real members of a more vibrant society.

True liberty, being inclusive and uplifting, is able to progress, improve and grow because everyone becomes contributors rather than having a class of degraded human beings who are a drag on society. True liberty includes God in our lives, and with Him on our side we cannot fail. False liberty is transitory, while true liberty is potentially eternal.

In the final analysis, what is true liberty? It can be summarized thus: No being in all the universe has the rightful liberty to deprive any other being of true liberty, the right to love and be loved, the privilege of worshiping God and of serving his fellows.(Urantia Book, 615.2)