Author: Doug Cable
Ukraine: Global Failure
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 15th 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 21st 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.
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All references are to The Urantia Book, unless otherwise noted, in the format page.paragrah for the one column version. ↑
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http://worldparliament-gov.org/earth-federation/earth-federation-movement-foundational-principles/ Retrieved 3/28/22 ↑
Rule of Law vs Individual Liberty
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.
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Unless otherwise noted, all references are from The Urantia Book one column version in the format page.paragraph. ↑
Light from the Lantern
Our sisters and brothers are torn apart by many conflicting areas of angry disagreement; we need illuminating spiritual guidance for these troublous times. Spiritual assistance is vital as we attempt to find our way through today’s conflicting crosscurrents. Revelations in The Urantia Book, if sincerely accepted, will improve our spiritual awareness so that we naturally manifest fruits of the spirit in our daily lives as we interact with those around us. These teachings must direct our lives as we apply them to every moment of our existence; each of us thus becomes a living Light of Truth; a spiritual lantern.
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.
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All references are to The Urantia Book, the one column edition in the format page.paragraph ↑
