Author: Doug Cable

Heavenly Family

Heavenly House

Today we talk about two new Talking Points pages: Heavenly Family and Spiritual Guidance. Jesus wanted to promote the idea of a Heavenly Family but the Jewish people in his time were expecting the Messiah to appear and institute the Kingdom of Heaven and free them from Roman rule. Earthly kingdoms ruled by a king are no longer relevant in our society. We also briefly discuss the various ways in which we are spiritually guided.

In the time of Jesus, the relationship between the individual and God was described in terms of the kingdom of heaven because in those days there were real kings, the Jewish people in fact lived in the Roman Empire. The Jewish people were impatiently expecting the messiah to establish the kingdom of God that would free them from Roman rule.[1] They were eagerly expecting the kingdom of God to be established; therefore they would accept nothing else. The concept of a kingdom of heaven has lost its relevancy for our world; our description of a relationship with God needs to be revised for current reality.

Jesus wanted to substitute the concept of the heavenly family for the kingdom idea but he did not succeed.[2] The idea that the messiah would come to deliver Israel from its oppressors and begin the kingdom of God on Earth was strong; the concept of a heavenly family did not catch on because it was too advanced for that time.

Jesus wanted to represent the relationship between the individual and God as a family relationship because, for Jesus, the family was the most important aspect of life. He certainly exemplified this in his personal life, especially when he masterfully guided his earthly family after the death of Joseph. This period of dedicated service to his family is a shining example of a loving father watching over his family. People need to know the true Jesus and that the way he lived was a living demonstration of his teachings.

The primary purpose of the bestowal of Jesus to our planet was to portray to us, and the rest of his creation, the nature of our Heavenly Father. In his family life, Jesus certainly personified the earthly father who is a companion to the children and who is dedicatedly loyal to all of them. Jesus was loyal to such an extent he stayed in jail with his younger brother Jude for more than a day until the case against Jude could be settled.[3] The entire life of Jesus was a portrayal of the loyalty of God to His children. For companionship, God is actually present within us; He is certainly a part of us, guiding and teaching us; our Heavenly Father is the most intimate companion any mortal can have.

It is time for a restatement of the teachings of Jesus, our creator father and our earthly brother. The key element of this restatement is family. Everyone has been part of a family. Some families are more nurturing for their children than others it is true, but we all have some sort of family experience. What could be more natural as a simile for our relationship with God than family?

Every family needs to function as a united whole; when any part of a family separates itself from the rest of the family there is pain for the entire family. For everyone and anyone, the path of happiness is connection with all our sisters and brothers while the path of sorrow is separation and isolation.[4] The Heavenly Family needs to be a united whole with everyone working for the betterment of everyone else. This might seem to be a lofty goal, but remember our Heavenly Father is assisting us at each step along the way.

The masses truly need to know about the life of Jesus; they need to know how his life was a prefect reflection of his teachings; they need to know the immanence of our Father is a vital part of our being. God is with us and invites each one of us into the Heavenly Family. Within the spiritual realm of this family we find harmony, we attain a greater appreciation of our Father, and we better understand our sisters and brothers. Our Heavenly Family should be the foundation of our spiritual life, the wellspring of our faith and the vehicle for our manifesting the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives.

Even though we have no conscious awareness of it, we are always surrounded by spiritual assistance. While there are many spirit beings and forces impinging upon us, we will discuss only three: the spark of God dwelling within each of us, the Spirit of Truth, and our Guardian Angels.

Every mortal with a normal mind living on this planet has as a part of their being an actual fragment of God, called our Thought Adjuster, or Monitor; this is also discussed in the God Within page. God is therefore infinite, can be everywhere, and yet at the same instant actually dwells within each of us; He is both within us and outside us guiding us toward His presence. We need not go any farther than our inner experience to find God and commune with Him.[5] The presence of our Heavenly Father within each mortal is also mentioned in the Bible.[6]

After the Last Supper, Jesus addressed the apostles, telling them about the Spirit of Truth he would soon bestow upon the world; he said he would leave with them one who would teach them truth and comfort them, the Spirit of Truth.[7] He told them he could be with each of them at the same time; he would not leave them (or us) without guidance and he would be with them, teaching them.[8]

This spirit guide is exactly like Jesus except for the material body and will live with each of us. Jesus tells us: in this very manner will my Father and I be able to live in the souls of each one of you and also in the hearts of all other men who love us and make that love real in their experiences by loving one another, even as I am now loving you. (Urantia Book 1949.1) He lives in us as the Spirit of Truth just as the Father lives in us by means of the Thought Adjuster. Each of us has powerful spirit guides dwelling with us and they will certainly show us the way if we let them.

We are familiar with the Spirit of Truth since it is mentioned in the Bible where it is called the Holy Spirit.[9] It powerfully activated the apostles at Pentecost, especially Peter.[10]

Our guardian angels assist us in our earthly life, they are the traditional angels of heaven that we are familiar with from the Bible.[11] They have real forms but do not have physical bodies and they do not have wings.[12] Other than this they are very much like us, in fact we were created just a little bit lower than them.[13] Angels have been on this planet since the appearance of intelligent life.

Every person has a guardian angel to watch over them but the number of mortals each angel oversees varies according to the spiritual progress each person has made. At first each angel has oversight over one thousand mortals; as individuals make spiritual progress this ratio changes, decreasing to one hundred, then to ten. Finally persons who have made the most spiritual progress each have a personal guardian angel; actually there are two of them because they always work in pairs.[14]

These guardian angels act according to the directions of their supervisors rather than upon our direct requests; they have orders independent of whatever our passing fancy might be. Our choices may make their work on our behalf easier or more difficult but they do not necessarily respond to our prayers. Any response to prayer comes from God and He may use beings other than our guardian angels to answer our prayers. Guardian angels actually do guard us but they will not interfere with any of our free will choices; our free will decisions are held sacred by all higher beings. When we do make such a free will decision, our angels will do everything possible to help us make the best use of our chosen course.[15] If it is a worthy decision they will help us all they can, if on the other hand it is not, they might work with us to assist us to see the better way, arrive at a better choice.

Contrary to what our physical senses tell us, we are not alone in a friendless world. We are guided, guarded and protected by loving spirit guides. We hinder their work when we engage in selfish materialistic activity, when we put ourself ahead of our sisters and brothers, when we trample on the rights of those beaten down by society, and when we ignore spiritual reality. We must go forth with the certain knowledge of God’s guidance in our lives. Although there may be momentary setbacks, our Heavenly Father is with us and when we trust in this truth we cannot fail.

  1. All references are to The Urantia Book unless otherwise stated. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph; 1500.2 and 1501.1 ↑

  2. 1860.6-7 ↑

  3. 1415.6 ↑

  4. “The Book of Joy – Lasting Happiness in a Changing World,” His Holiness the Dali Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams, Avery, New York, 2016, p 99 ↑

  5. 62.1 ↑

  6. Bible, I Corinthians 3, 16 ↑

  7. 1947.2 ↑

  8. 1948.2 ↑

  9. Bible, Acts chapter 2 ↑

  10. 2060.2 ↑

  11. 1241.2 and Bible, John 20:12 ↑

  12. 1246.1 ↑

  13. 1248.3 ↑

  14. 1242.2-3 ↑

  15. 1246.2-3 ↑

Death of Our Democracy?

Every day we learn of some new way in which it seems we live in dangerous, changing times. The troubled environment such as America is experiencing is not exclusive to our nation; as we will see there are currently many troubled places on our planet.

The Urantia Book states we are moving out of the sheltered bays of tradition and into rough waters before we will find a more secure harbor based on inclusion, brotherhood and love.[1] Society is moving from one level, materialism, to another more spiritual level. These changes define our times: they test our values; also they present opportunities for spiritual growth and service. The nature of our eternal future will depend on how we respond to current challenges. We definitely need to be certain of our moral foundation before moving into the troublous times ahead.

The Urantia Book gives guidance for this transition period. One section discusses philosophic statements, called mota, which are aimed at increasing our spiritual awareness and guiding us toward a more balanced viewpoint.[2] Selected entries will be discussed with the aim of gaining insight into how we should proceed in the times ahead.

These mota lessons are aimed at teaching the less advanced students on the transition worlds where we will be repersonalized after physical death. The goal is to help them attain a higher awareness of applied philosophy before they proceed to more advanced spiritual realms.

These statements guide us as we seek to deal with the troubling times ahead. They provide guidance as to how we should act, react and seek a better world for each one of our sisters and brothers.

Selected mota:

Few persons live up to the faith which they really have. Unreasoned fear is a master intellectual fraud practiced upon the evolving mortal soul.[3] There is no reason we should fear because each one of us is indwelt by an actual spark of God.[4] All we need do is cooperate with our God within, also called our Thought Adjuster, knowing we have an internal perfect guide who has a plan for our lives. There is no place for fear in the lives of faith motivated individuals.

To enjoy privilege without abuse, to have liberty without license, to possess power and steadfastly refuse to use it for self-aggrandizement — these are the marks of high civilization.[5] By this measure our civilization does not qualify as being particularly “high,” we need only read the signs of our times to see troubled waters ahead.

Blind and unforeseen accidents do not occur in the cosmos. Neither do the celestial beings assist the lower being who refuses to act upon his light of truth.[6] If we follow the internal guidance each of us receives, if we act upon our own light of truth we will be assisted by celestial beings and forces. We are certainly not alone.

The weak indulge in resolutions, but the strong act. Life is but a day’s work — do it well. The act is ours; the consequences God’s.[7] This does not need further comment except to say that the consequences brought by God are strongly influenced by the nature of our actions.

The greatest affliction of the cosmos is never to have been afflicted. Mortals only learn wisdom by experiencing tribulation.[8] Experience certainly seems to be the best teacher and lessons learned during trying times are long remembered. Those who have not been afflicted do not know the thrill of choosing God’s will over lesser choices in times of desperate needs. {Spiritual Free Will}

Impatience is a spirit poison; anger is like a stone hurled into a hornet’s nest.[9] Impatience and anger each bring damage to our soul, they deflate our true self. If we have true faith we will not be tempted into these destroying emotions. True faith is certain guard against them. {True Religion}

Anxiety must be abandoned. The disappointments hardest to bear are those which never come.[10] How often do we worry incessantly about something that never takes place? We might imagine some bad thing that may or may not happen, then waste valuable time worrying about it. Again, we have a perfect guide, God within, showing us the true way; all we need do is listen within and we will know the true path.

The evolving soul is not made divine by what it does, but by what it strives to do.[11] Our goals define us more certainly than do our accomplishments. What we wish to become has more lasting (spiritual) value than who we have been or what we have done.

The destiny of eternity is determined moment by moment by the achievements of the day by day living. The acts of today are the destiny of tomorrow.[12] Each insignificant action in our daily lives appears to be without meaning, but the truth of the matter is there is no such thing as an insignificant act. Each decision may signal a change in the soul’s attitude or it may be a reaffirmation of our dedication to do God’s will at all times.[13]

The argumentative defense of any proposition is inversely proportional to the truth contained.[14] This mota gives deep insight into much rancor in our lives and in our political environment. Stated otherwise, the more violently we shout and argue, the less truth we have. A sign we have no facts or truth to make our point is when it becomes necessary to shout and raise a fuss. If we had reasonable points we would calmly make them, if that is not the case we wave our arms and get red in the face. This is a vital point to remember.

Where we are going?

What are some indications that severe changes are imminent?

Our nation, the United States of America, is currently experiencing political turmoil; there is no point in dwelling further on this. Our neighbor to the north, Canada, recently had an election where no party gained a majority; the current ruling party will need to form some sort of a coalition to be able to pass legislation. Another nation that is politically unsettled is Great Britain, which has voted to secede from the European Union but there is no mechanism for them to do this. The recent election in Israel also gave no clear winner and negotiations to form a government are ongoing.

There are other nations where there are riots and anti-government protests.[15] Among these are: Hong Kong, Lebanon, Iraq, Chile, Ecuador, Bolivia, Egypt, France, Ethiopia, and Syria. Including some from earlier in the year adds the following:[16] Guinea, Haiti, Nicaragua, Malawi, Russia, Sudan, Spain and Zimbabwe. These are generally protesting unfair government practices. More than ten percent of the nations on Earth have some sort of political turmoil, and these are only the ones that are in the news.

There are also movements protesting the effects of climate changes such as Extinction Rebellion, which started in London and FridaysForFuture, started by Greta Thunberg.

Each one of these movements has a valid, important point to make; each one declares more must be done to bring about a better life for all citizens.

We are witnessing the beginning of the collapse of state-ism; our patchwork of individual sovereign nations will not work in an increasingly interconnected world. The transition from our current state of affairs to recognition that every person on Earth must have individual and equal sovereignty will necessarily be contentious, but eventually the transformation will be recognized as being vital to the survival of life on Earth.[17]

If we look at our democracy, or any statist democracy, as one of the so-called individual sovereign nations on planet Earth then, “yes” this should be the end of our democracy, and the end of every sovereign nation on our blue orb in space. The only valid sovereignty is the sovereignty of all mankind or that of each individual. There is nothing in between. The universe name for our planet is Urantia.

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.[18]

There is already a framework for global government called the Earth Federation. There is a masterful constitution for this world government. When the citizens of Earth recognize that statism has failed they will seek to join the Earth Federation and accept the constitution of Earth. Only this way can there be peace on Earth and good will among all humanity.

  1. All references are to The Urantia Book unless stated otherwise. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph; 1086.6 ↑

  2. see pages 556-7 for the full list of mota ↑

  3. 556.4 ↑

  4. Bible: I Corinthians 3:16 ↑

  5. 556.8 ↑

  6. 556.9 ↑

  7. 556.13 ↑

  8. 556.14 ↑

  9. 557.4 ↑

  10. 557.5 ↑

  11. 557.8 ↑

  12. 557.10 ↑

  13. 1475.1 ↑

  14. 557.14 ↑

  15. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-protests-markets-graphic/global-protests-gaining-attention-in-financial-markets-idUSKBN1X326E, retrieved 10/24/2019. ↑

  16. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/press-briefing-note-protests-and-unrest-around-world-25-october-2019 retrieved 10/26/2019 ↑

  17. 1489.1 ↑

  18. 1487.9 ↑

Current Events – Values

Events in the news cry out for comment; there is much heated debate with little real dialog. Getting bogged down in the details might be an exercise in futility, rather it would be interesting to look at these times using concepts from my book “Light of Truth: Anticipating the Triumph of Righteousness” and the corresponding website. We will comment on values as exemplified by an elected political leader and how strongly this leader is supported. We find that one of the “Talking Points” pages on the website, “Ideologically Driven Processes,” explains these times very well.

Coloring an entire movement with the characteristics of one leader sometimes may be unfair, but in our political environment one leader has taken advantage of our strongly polarized society with no opposition from his supporters, in this case such colorization is warranted. If his supporters disagreed with him there would be public comments. This silence is confirmation of their support, even admiration, of their leader. His values and ideals have become their values and ideals.

This leader admires only those world leaders who are brutal dictators such as Kim Jong-un in North Korea and Vladimir Putin in Russia while he says unkind words about democratically elected ones such as Angela Merkel in Germany. These are the values admired by his silent supporters.

This leader forcibly takes young children from their families and locks them in cages. He has unkind things to say about women, those with handicaps, the free press, and minorities. These are the values admired by his silent supporters.

And there is more.

Why is there silence from his supporters? In order to get elected and reelected politicians need financial support which will dry up if they go against this polarizing leader. These politicians are afraid to speak their minds because if they do, there will not be enough funds to run a political campaign. The money they need comes from wealthy donors who have a particular ideology the leader espouses.

These wealthy donors have a set of values they believe in strongly and they are willing to give a large amount of money to further their values. To them these values are so important anything is acceptable as long as it enhances their values. Therefore they give money to this leader and those supporting him, all of whom have become beholden to the wealthy donors.

What is wrong with this? What is wrong with following strongly held beliefs? The problem is that everything needs a solid foundation. Just as we cannot build a house upon sand, we cannot build our life on a moral quicksand; there must be a firm moral foundation. When any goal becomes so important that morality is lost, the goal becomes unattainable. After this point there will be no way to evaluate decisions, no way to judge which is the proper course. Going astray is inevitable.

As an aside, for those working to counteract climate change the motivation is the health of Mother Earth. Everyone, even super-billionaires, depends on their environment for sustenance; therefore working to protect our environment for the good of humanity might be an acceptable foundation. However, this is not adequate because violent radicals would be unrestrained; a more enduring foundation would be to recognize that everyone has within them an actual spark of God;[1] He is literally within each thinking human being. With this truth as a moral foundation, protectors of Planet Earth will be well guided. With this as a moral foundation there will be a way to judge each proposed action: what effects will the action have, will it harm human beings who are indwelt by God?

How did this leader come into power? Because of the extremely unequal distribution of wealth in our society (and around the world), a significant segment has been disadvantaged and frustrated. These frustrations led them to vote for anybody promising to help them. Of those running for this office, one largely ignored these disadvantaged voters while the other made empty promises but cut taxes for the rich once elected.

Our polarized society needs to recognize the value of every human being; since everyone equally has within them a spark of God, everyone has value. God is no respecter of persons, He respects everyone equally. This truth needs to be incorporated into our greed-filled economic system, our overburdened welfare system, our immigration policies, our interpersonal relationships, and even into how we think about our sisters and brothers.

  1. Bible: I Corinthians 3,16 ↑

Who are the Immigrants?

Immigration is much in the news recently, especially in the political arena; we examine this issue from the perspective of faith; how does faith enter into the immigration discussion?

When we hear people of faith expressing political views it is generally the religious right speaking about fundamentalist faith, a narrow view excluding those of differing faiths. I have been to a fundamental Baptist Church where the preacher looked directly at me and thundered “Those who do not know Jesus will burn in Hell.” (He and his parents are excellent people; they have helped Betty and me in many ways without asking anything in return.) In their stagnated view anybody with a differing faith will not resurrect. The Urantia Book presents a broader, more inclusive prospective; a cosmic prospective.

The Bible talks much about love; which is used 131 times in the Old Testament and 176 times in the New Testament. The word “Love” is used a total of 307 times in the Bible (King James edition). The phrase “God is love” is used twice in First John Chapter 4. How does this correlate with a narrow viewpoint excluding anybody? Since He has created all things, all planets, all creatures, how can a God of love be reconciled with the existence of Hell? The Urantia Book teaches us everyone will have life eternal once they have made a final decision to do God’s will.

Also there are politicians who seek to exclude those who are not like them in some arbitrary manner, who have a different religion, a different ethnicity or a different sexual orientation. These politicians inflame passions of voters who have been disenfranchised and left behind by a changing society; politicians do this solely to get themselves elected and reelected to political office. They have little regard for the damage they do to the fabric of society and to those they seek to exclude from their nation.

Exclusionary and anti-immigrant trends promoted by politicians are even seeping into our nation, which was founded on and grows stronger as a result of a fresh influx of immigrants. The first wave was the European people, whose immigration started in 1607, pushing back the Native Americans; it continued relentlessly until the true Americans became but a ghost of their former state. There have been many other waves, one was the peoples imported from Africa starting in 1619, another was the Irish who started arriving in 1846, the Asians started in the 1850’s, followed by the Italians in 1890. Our native land has historically been and currently is founded on and rejuvenated by fresh waves of immigrants. The only truly Native American is the Red race which has been marginalized nearly to extinction; everyone else is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants.

Our political environment is clouded by many unsavory undercurrents. How can The Urantia Book clarify this situation? What does it teach us?

The creator of all life in our universe, Michael whom we know as Jesus, lived as a mortal on our planet; his purpose was to reveal to his universe the nature of our Heavenly Father and to reveal to God the best that humans can become. He chose our planet, known as Urantia in universe records, partially because it had been previously betrayed by its leader, our planetary prince who had joined a rebellion against universe authority. As a mortal human being Jesus defeated our rebellious planetary prince, Caligastia. This fallen planetary prince is now confined to our planet but he is free to move about and work mischief; he and those working with him are invisible to mortal vision. There are many signs in current society indicating his dark forces at work, for example the rise of authoritarian leaders and the decrease in basic human rights in many countries.

There is a progressive element to faith that is interested in immigrant rights and there are signs this element of our religious community is becoming more active; for example at the last Democratic national convention, Rev. William Barber said: “Jesus, a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew, called us to preach good news to the poor, the broken, the bruised, and all those who are made to feel unaccepted!”[1]

Betty and I attended Rev. Barber’s church, Greenleaf Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Greenleaf, NC on Father’s Day 2019; Betty grew up in the Christian Church in Tennessee. This church is the most welcoming and joyous church I have ever attended. When the service was over I had no idea that about three hours had passed. Rev. Barber was in Washington that day, but the feeling of energy and love in his church was powerful.

Jesus was all about inclusion, for example he started the women’s corps,[2] he talked to the Samaritan woman Nalda to the consternation of the apostles,[3] and Jesus taught we should love our sisters and brothers.[4] Our Heavenly Father treats everyone equally; he is no respecter of persons[5] and He is love.[6]

The Urantia Book has many references to the love of God, for example at the Last Supper Jesus said: If you will only love one another as I am loving you, you shall be my friends…. (Urantia Book 1944.6)

When Jesus was just over one year old he became a refugee in Alexandria.[7] What if Pharaoh had the same view of immigrants as modern day politicians? Immigrants contribute to our government by paying a portion of their wages into Social Security without any chance they will be able to receive benefits and they willingly accept jobs others are unwilling to take. We need immigrants.

The major target of those promoting exclusion are potential immigrants fleeing persecution in their native lands. That is exactly why the original settlers from England and the rest of Europe came to America in the first place starting over four hundred years ago, that is the foundation of our democracy. Now American demagogues seek to exclude these people from our nation; they would even exclude their own ancestors for political gain.

There are at least ten references in the Bible about helping strangers;[8] “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt”[9] and “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”[10]

Fresh immigrants are needed to keep our society functioning smoothly.

Finally there is this thought, thousands of children have been forcibly taken from their parent’s custody and placed in cages. Imagine what effect this devastating trauma has on these young minds and growing bodies. The terrorists of tomorrow are being educated in these inhumane conditions.

The love of God must be allowed to inform our political discussions and actions.

What we need now is love.

  1. https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/684435743/provoked-by-trump-the-religious-left-is-finding-its-voice Retrieved 8/18/19 ↑

  2. All references are to The Urantia Book unless otherwise noted. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph; 1683.5 for example ↑

  3. 1614.3, also Bible: John, Chapter 4, especially verse 27 ↑

  4. 1949.1 ↑

  5. 1958.1 ↑

  6. 1782.2 for example ↑

  7. 1354.3; Bible: Mathew 2:13 ↑

  8. https://www.christiantoday.com/article/welcoming-the-stranger-in-our-midst-10-bible-verses/104300.htm Retrieved 8/18/19 ↑

  9. Exodus 23:9 and 22:21 ↑

  10. Hebrews 13: 1-2 ↑