Chapter 2 – Spiritual Reality
True Religion
A final aspect of our spiritual environment is religion. The difficulty we have in discussing religion is the ones we are familiar with, organized religions, are different from the religion Jesus taught and lived. Organized religions seek to socialize the worship of individual believers, while true religion as Jesus taught, involves self-conscious relations between the individual and the Creator.[1] In this section we discuss true religion.
When discussing religion, the first question would naturally be to give a definition, exactly what is religion? Most everyone could come up with a reasonable definition of religion, but our theologians and philosophers have formulated over five hundred definitions saying exactly what religion is;[2] one would think our professional thinkers could come up with more agreement. The problem with such a definition is that religion involves a personal relationship between the individual and our Heavenly Father;[3] therefore, everybody on this planet should have their own personal definition. Nobody should presume to dictate what relationship anybody else has with their creator, especially since a fragment of this Creator, the Thought Adjuster dwells within each one of us.
We briefly explore some characteristics of religion.
The parables of Jesus are a rich source of spiritual wisdom. In them he gave out teachings which could be understood by those seeking truth but others without spiritual insight or interest would only perceive an interesting story. These parables are spiritual gems to be used in our quest to understand true religion
One of these is the parable of the talents;[4] in the time of Jesus a talent was a unit of weight equal to about 75 pounds.[5] In the traditional account of this parable a certain rich man wanted to take an extensive journey abroad, so before he left he divided his wealth among his servants, giving various stewards differing amounts of his wealth. To one he gave five talents (375 pounds of silver), to another he gave two and to another he gave one. The steward with five talents traded until he had earned another five talents. The steward with two talents also doubled his money, earning two additional talents while the steward with one talent dug a hole in the ground and buried it.
When the Lord returned sometime later he asked for an accounting of what was done with the funds. The steward with the five talents produced the five additional talents he had earned; he was told “well done good and faithful servant.” The steward with two talents also came forward and produced two more talents and he was also praised for his faithfulness. Both were given additional responsibility. When the steward with one talent came forward and produced only the one talent that he had hid in the ground the Lord said “You are an indolent and slothful steward.” His one talent was taken from him and given to the steward with the most.
No matter we might do with the talents we are given, there will be an accounting, a determination of what we did with the gifts we were given. What did each of us do with the gift that God bestowed upon us? Rewards will be given according to our free will choices and our efforts.
This parable begs to be updated to our “modern” civilization. In this retelling of the parable we use the current meaning of the word talent.
In our updated parable Jesus handed out talents to various groups of individuals before he left. He gave one talent to farmers, one to thinkers and one to religionists (among others).
He is now asking for an accounting of what was done with the talent. The farmer says the productivity of the land has increased many times by the use of the talent. The thinker describes the many technological advances made with the talent. These advances make information available to the people and lessen the physical work necessary to live a comfortable life. Both are highly praised and given rewards.
The religionist says that the teachings of Jesus have been written down and followed meticulously; they have not allowed any changes to be made in the Holy account of his life. The talent has not been allowed to change or grow in more than two thousand years.
What would Jesus say? How would he reward these slothful and indolent stewards?
Broadly speaking there are three types of religions. First is the primitive religion of fear; there are examples of this in the Old Testament.[6] Next is the more civilized religion of the mind. These religions are characterized by intellectual authority and ecclesiastic traditions;[7] this type of religion was the unintended product of the honest efforts of the followers of Jesus. It was a great improvement over the previous religions, but does not represent the religion of Jesus; the religion he taught, true religion, is a personal experience between each individual and our infinite Father in heaven.[8]
Jesus taught the religion of the mind bows to authority while true religion is totally based upon the individual’s experience.[9] True religion is felt deeply in our soul; it is not something we believe with our mind adhering to dogma. Traditional religions have their place in our society; if they work for a particular person we should not vigorously seek their “conversion.” When any person has a religion they are satisfied with, we should not presume to belittle their faith. We need to respect another’s religion and offer other spiritual ideas only when we are asked to; the best way to spread such a radically new religion is to practice it ourself; if we are sincere, seekers will be drawn to us.
Human beings, our revelation generously calls us semi-civilized,[10] frequently display a trend toward laziness and easy solutions which can be observed in our watching mindless sitcoms, obsession with endless gossip in social media, and a general apathy toward thinking in general, science in particular. It is true we cannot find God purely by thinking, but blind acceptance of faith dictated by authority is an abrogation of our spiritual free will defining us as human beings. While the mind is not the seat of the spiritual nature, it is indeed the gateway thereto.[11] This will continue to be the case until we become more civilized.[12]
Modern humans do not generally seek the religion of the spirit because it takes effort, struggle, conflict, faith, determination, love, loyalty, and progress.[13] With traditional religions there is no such spiritual conflict; you can lean back and go with the flow. With the religion of the spirit we come to terms with the type of person we are and must take definite steps toward correcting our manifold faults and errors; we actively seek to become more like our Heavenly Father; this is no easy task for evolutionary mortals such as us. The religion of the mind tells us what we need to do according to dogma, while the religion of the spirit shows us the way to find our Father to our own satisfaction in this life. This struggle is the quest of the ages: to find God and to actually become more like Him.
In our world, this religion of the spirit is not even considered a religion.[14] The majority of our citizens, when asked to speak about religion, will mention the denominations, the churches, the rituals and other outward visible manifestations of modern religion. They do not realize that our relationship with God is personal, a part of our inner being, a truly intimate experience. “Have you faith? Then have it to yourself.”[15]
Jesus is asking us to decide for ourselves whether we want to take the easy path of conformity to a fossilized religion where we give up our spiritual free will, or are we willing to prepare ourselves to go forward with Jesus into an uncertain and difficult future while seeking, living, and sharing the new truths of the religion of the spirit, which is a realization of the heavenly family in the hearts of all peoples.[16]
While we all have goals for our daily lives, these are generally transitory goals meaning nothing in a few days. We also need to seek long term goals looking toward our eternal future. Our daily goals: go to work, buy the groceries, or wash our clothes; will have little effect on our eternal reality. We need to sincerely seek the one goal that does have lasting value: discovering the will of the living God and earnestly seeking to do His will. We can do this regardless of what we may be doing in the moment; all things are sacred when we are spirit led.[17]
When an individual has faith there may not be any obvious indication; if they truly do have faith they cannot consciously prove it.[18] The only way faith can be demonstrated is first the fruits of the spirit are shown in their life,[19] and second that their entire life shows that they have risked everything they are and everything they have in the pursuit of finding the eternal God in their own life.[20] Fruits of the spirit include sincere and loving service working to uplift the people in darkness.[21]
The following discussion is based on Paper 101 in The Urantia Book, “The Real Nature of Religion.”
Some form of religion has been with humanity since our earliest times; nearly a million years ago our first human beings, Andon and Fonta, struggled with such feelings.[22] Religion therefore can range from the primitive savage to modern individuals and on to the matchless faith of Jesus as he lived on Earth.[23]
True religion is not something to be reasoned out, however viewed from within it is totally reasonable; it is not a result of logic but it is logical. Religion is the experiencing of divinity in the consciousness of a moral being of evolutionary origin; it represents true experience with eternal realities in time, the realization of spiritual satisfactions while yet in the flesh.[24]
Religious impulses originate from the interaction between our indwelling spark of God, the Thought Adjuster, and our growing soul. This interaction takes place in the most spiritual part of our mind. It is your thoughts, not your feelings, that lead you Godward.[25]
The method of science is reason while that of religion is faith. Revelation is a compensation for our lack of spiritual insight.[26] Our faith should be informed by revelation, such as The Urantia Book, to give it a stronger basis. While revelation cannot assure faith, it can inform and guide our efforts to gain a closer relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Even though it originates in the mind as we seek to learn more about God, religion is a spiritual experience not dependent on education or reasoning. Sometimes prophets do not have wisdom of the world. Faith is available to everyone who sincerely seeks, no exceptions.[27]
From our first free will decision until we are in the literal presence of our Heavenly Father on Paradise, our entire religious experience is based on personal interactions with our Thought Adjuster; even after that exhilarating experience, our spark of God within will be guiding us into greater realizations of divinity.[28]
When we incorporate the faith of Jesus had into our lives we can begin to realize spiritual reality. Jesus discovered his Heavenly Father in his mortal experience; so can we, his brothers in the flesh, make the same discovery. Jesus was and is the new and living way whereby man can come into the divine inheritance which the Father has decreed shall be his for but the asking.[29]
Besides consciously choosing to do the will of our Heavenly Father, what else can we do to assist the growth of our faith? Is there some manner in which we can help further progress? First we need to recognize the primacy of God in our daily lives, make Him the foundation of our existence. Second, we must be totally consecrated to do His will; our priorities must be firmly in place. Next we must develop a plan of action for self-improvement.[30] In this assessment we examine items in our life and determine if they bring us closer to God or do they take us farther away. When he was a teenager, Jesus devised such a test, seeking to learn which actions and institutions lead us closer to God.[31] So should we seek to know how to draw ourselves closer to God. Does our emotional life display an effort to approach Godliness, or the reverse? We will not be able to make rapid transformations, but with sincere prayer and motivation, progress can be made. This personal evaluation must be made in every aspect of our lives: our relationships, our work life, our relaxation activities, our family life and our service for others.
It is essential we realize this is a process and we are mortal human beings. Our spiritual aspirations will always be greater than our achievements. As long as we have faith God is with us and guiding us, we will make progress. We know our Heavenly Father has a plan for our lives; all we need do is trust and in faith follow His guidance.
We know we have faith when our lives are thereby changed, merely accepting something as true does not count as faith. A state of mind attains to faith levels only when it actually dominates the mode of living. Faith is a living attribute of genuine personal religious experience. One believes truth, admires beauty, and reverences goodness, but does not worship them; such an attitude of saving faith is centered on God alone, who is all of these personified and infinitely more.[32]
True religion warns us we should believe in the highest ethical and moral realities. Again, such a faith must transform our lives, otherwise it is not faith. And such a religion is simply the experience of yielding intellectual loyalty to the highest dictates of spiritual consciousness.[33]
It is only when we gain spiritual insight through true religion that we can realize with certainty there is much more to our existence than this physical life. It is only in the spiritual sense that we are a child of God because we have this spark of God within us.[34]
Religion is our hope for a better life now and into the eternal future; this eternal future is ours for the asking, there are no preconditions whatsoever. Our faith will certainly make us free, forever.
We are nurtured, protected, guided and deeply loved in this spiritual environment. We cannot possibly comprehend the assistance we receive in this nurturing atmosphere; even the most loveless people on Earth have loving spirit guides working to uplift them; if we follow their guidance we cannot fail to grow spiritually.
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All references are to The Urantia Book unless noted otherwise. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph1616.4 ↑
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Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, New American Standard Bible, 1995 update, Moody Press, Chicago, 1995, p 496. ↑
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