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I have often thought about this situation and wondered why or how someone can be not hungry for righteousness such that the master, the walking talking spirit of truth coming face to face with you or at least in very close proximity- falls on blind eyes and deaf ears and un-curious mind that cannot be stimulated by any spirit influences. Is it just will, choice, determination, secular education and background? or maybe a form of mental illness??
This same sort of reasoning might, perhaps, be applied to the fifth epochal revelation, as well as the fourth. How could anyone coming face to face with this Book be blind and deaf to its obvious spiritual superiority and philosophic profundity? The fact that so many do not immediately see this truth could be due to any or all of the causes you list. However, spiritual blindness is a limitation of being: We are all born into this world with spiritual potentials but without spiritual vision. Spiritual blindness can be overcome in time, because spiritual being can grow – as the soul matures, spiritual vision improves.
But imagine how difficult it is for souls to grow now in the very harsh and unfavorable environment of this materialistic and humanistic age. At this time, “The majority of professed Christians of Western civilization are unwittingly actual secularists.” (195:8.3) The spiritual blindness afflicting our civilization can be recognized by the extreme puzzlement and incomprehension provoked in many by statements in the Book like:
Men all too often forget that God is the greatest experience in human existence. (117:6.9)
It is a great accomplishment to attain the spiritual vision of a humble faith when confronted by the deep and broad cultural currents of cynicism and despair which are gradually undermining this “slowly disintegrating” secular civilization. It is of such significance that all who awaken on Jerusem from isolated worlds like ours are called agondonters, meaning “evolutionary will creatures who can believe without seeing, persevere when isolated, and triumph over insuperable difficulties even when alone.” (50:7.2)
Well, I’m one of those people and I can tell you it has to do with the recognition of truth. Recognition of truth has little to do with belief. It’s all about faith. If you’re frozen by beliefs it’s much harder to crack the ice. True faith never gets frozen. It’s actually what breaks the ice and eventually melts it away. I can honestly say that I never once entertained the ideas of atheism or agnosticism. I fell in love with Jesus as a toddler and never fell out of love. I can’t say why it’s a bond that has never been broken, it’s just the way it is with me. I’ve never been tempted to think otherwise, not even during my darkest of days. I guess I’m lucky, but it does not help me understand people who do have such doubts. I really cannot comprehend it no matter how hard I try. It’s a puzzlement.
You are indeed fortunate. I have an old and dear friend, a fellow student, who has also believed in God and loved Jesus for as long as he can remember. He tells me the transition from Catholicism, in which he was raised, to the Book was not that difficult. While he had to adjust some of his beliefs, he did not need to adjust his faith. He has always had the spiritual vision of faith and has never had any significant doubts about God. His lifelong religious experience has been “a natural and normal growth of the recognition of supreme values with an enhancement of spiritual experience.” (103:2.2) And so, he is far ahead of me on the path to Paradise.
Having found faith much later in life, my entrance upon religious experience was quite different. “Many spiritual births are accompanied by much anguish of spirit and marked psychological perturbations.” (103:2.2) He has always had the insight of faith and cannot really understand what it is like to live without it; the doubt, the confusion, the anguish. He cannot truly grasp what it means to live blind to God for so many years and then suddenly to see him. And so he is not infrequently puzzled by what he sees as my somewhat intense reactions to certain things, even as I am sometimes puzzled by what to me seem like his somewhat muted reactions. The experiential gulf between those who have always had faith and those who were once spiritually blind but have found faith is great. Despite these different spiritual experiences, our friendship endures because we understand one another.
But those persons who were so reared by their parents that they grew up in the consciousness of being children of a loving heavenly Father, should not look askance at their fellow mortals who could only attain such consciousness of fellowship with God through a psychological crisis, an emotional upheaval. (103:2.2)
Perhaps those who have actually faced the void and conquered their fears and doubts have an experiential advantage over those of us who have refused to approach such things . . . I do have to say though, that refusing to accept the reality of the existence of a void makes it much easier to experience inner peace.
I do have to say though, that refusing to accept the reality of the existence of a void makes it much easier to experience inner peace.
Well then, perhaps that’s where the word “avoidance” comes from lol.
Perhaps those who have actually faced the void and conquered their fears and doubts have an experiential advantage over those of us who have refused to approach such things . . . I do have to say though, that refusing to accept the reality of the existence of a void makes it much easier to experience inner peace.
While I appreciate the thought, it does not feel like an advantage to have been taken in by the illusion that a spiritual void exists. Being so thoroughly deceived for so long by Lucifer’s profoundly malicious lie of “darkness and death” is still a bitter realization, even after so many years. And it is not really advantageous for the “natural and normal growth of the recognition of supreme values” to be constantly disrupted by the unspiritual and philosophically unjustifiable feelings arising from this realization. It just seems to be the case that it can sometimes take a very long time to come to grips with certain experiences. Rather, it seems to me that those who had the spiritual insight to see through this killing lie from the very beginning, to shun the taint of this great evil, have the experiential advantage. They were never fooled by the wicked sophistries of the arch deceiver.
I’m not sure all doubts arise from the “sophistries of the arch deceiver”. There are such things as “honest doubts”. I certainly have doubts, but never about the existence of God. My doubts are related to my ability to discern his will and trust it. For me, doubt is inversely proportional to trust. I also think trust is proportional to circle mastery.
102:1.1 But honest doubts and sincere questionings are not sin; such attitudes merely spell delay in the progressive journey toward perfection attainment. Childlike trust secures man’s entrance into the kingdom of heavenly ascent, but progress is wholly dependent on the vigorous exercise of the robust and confident faith of the full-grown man.
146:3.4 Spiritual assurance is the equivalent of your personal religious experience in the eternal realities of divine truth and is otherwise equal to your intelligent understanding of truth realities plus your spiritual faith and minus your honest doubts.
12:6.1 The universe is nonstatic. Stability is not the result of inertia but rather the product of balanced energies, co-operative minds, co-ordinated morontias, spirit overcontrol, and personality unification. Stability is wholly and always proportional to divinity.
I’m not sure all doubts arise from the “sophistries of the arch deceiver”. There are such things as “honest doubts”.
I take your point about honest doubts and agree with you completely. But I was referring specifically to real doubts about the very existence of God – entertaining the possible existence of the Void. This idea cannot touch those who have some faith in God, for it appears obviously absurd to them. But for those who are plagued by doubts about God, this idea can be utterly deadly. And we know who first sent this idea to this world and when, and we know the death and destruction it has since caused both here and elsewhere. The perpetrator of this idea no longer has any influence, but this evil idea continues to poison the spirit experience of many. Because of this poison our world “is still under partial spiritual quarantine.” If this quarantine of the rebellious worlds in Satania were to be lifted, “…the Paradise quarantine against all such possible halfhearted or doubt-stricken creatures [would] be extended in self-protection against the entire constellation.” (54:5.10)
“As for Bradlys’ contention that the theery that the younger generation is not being attracted to the ub is rubbish, I, as one of the younger generation (I’m 35) have to disagree. I’m the youngest currently active member of my small study group. The others (to my knowledge although I may be off by a few years) are of retirement age. At the Urantia gathering I attended in May of this waning year I was the youngest there as well… and there were ub believers there from other states that I’d never met.
……A grim outlook for the Urantia community indeed.”
Greetings Chuck!!
While I cannot offer definitive demographics for any proof of my contention, I again would advise caution related to personal, local, and recent bias when making such sweeping and declarative statements. Studies indicate the youth “problem” is localized in N. America and W. Europe but is not the same in E. Europe, S. America, Asia, etc. I remain confident that all who truly seek T, B, and G will find the UB tremendously helpful in the coming generations and centuries. And those of us who contribute to and support dissemination, translation, and publication in every generation add to the work of planetary epochal progress.
I do find the huge, annual increases in digital downloads and social media participation an indicator of a younger demographic embracing the Revelation. New formats for new preferences based on new capabilities perhaps?
Patience in results and trust in the Most Highs will see progress…in its own time and manner.
BradlyThe perpetrator of this idea no longer has any influence, but this evil idea continues to poison the spirit experience of many. Because of this poison our world “is still under partial spiritual quarantine.” If this quarantine of the rebellious worlds in Satania were to be lifted, “…the Paradise quarantine against all such possible halfhearted or doubt-stricken creatures [would] be extended in self-protection against the entire constellation.” (54:5.10)
This tells me that folks like yourself who have walked to the edge of the void and managed to resist falling in, have a very valuable experience that could possibly help others. What was it about the void that you found unsatisfying. Certainly, if the void gratified you in some way, you would have allowed yourself to be sucked into that black hole. I’d say there’s real substance to your decision against it, substance with great value if you could find a way to share it. I don’t think railing against the existence of the idea of the void and blaming this one or that one for putting it in people’s minds has much value in the long run. Wouldn’t it rather be much more valuable to share the details of your discovery, recognition, interpretation and choice for the anti-void . . . Deity?
Because . . . there is no void . . . it’s not real. It’s just another boogeyman. Folks need to know that!
What if you grew up with one of your parents insisting you follow them into the Void?
And although it is overcome by certain experiences personally, you find it impossible to do anything for your siblings who have careened over the cliff following their leader.
The substance of that is very real in my life. Especially understanding how it all works and where it came from.
Fortitude in having stayed on this side of the Void does nothing for those who are lost. In fact, to a certain degree, it has worked only to harden a determination for them to be unwilling to cooperate.
And so it is.
Perhaps I do rail too much against the idea of the void, an absolutely false illusion. But I have discovered nothing new here and am simply retracing an old path. Blaise Pascal openly acknowledged his fear of the void: “The eternal silence of the infinite void terrifies me.” But ever since Frederick Nietzsche looked into this void and dove in, not everyone is so fearful of personality extinction anymore, since many are half convinced there is probably no life after death. I wish I could think of something more to contribute than warnings and criticisms to help.
Something tells me most of you were young like I was when you found the book. Do you think it makes a difference?
Hello Enno!!
I don’t know if the age of discovery matters so much as the time-in-the-text. Like Bonita, my first decade or so was pretty on, off, on again. I didn’t meet another reader for most of a decade. When I joined my first study group (Eureka, CA), my studies intensified significantly and for me (and unlike Bonita)immersion in multiple study groups for about 15 years really refocused my entire life to the inner life and my philosophy of living. But now I’ve had 40+ years of study and contemplation and prayer and life adjustment/attunement to verify that philosophy derived thusly….experience has no substitute and wisdom does not come without it….this takes time.
I think the UB will become as common as The Cat In The Hat….eventually. Availability and translations are so much greater today than any time before. As science comes to “discover” the historical record of our world can be confirmed as already told in detail within a text book which predates the science by decades/centuries, additional credibility will come. As the human mind searches for that which harmonizes science and religion, the practical philosophy of unifying harmonization provided by the Revelation will also attract more attention. These are easily discerned within the text by the mind which seeks for them.
I think these potentials reside in every mind which is not closed and gripped by prejudice – and which may prevent a devout religionist or secularist from their discovery regardless of source material…and age. Are older minds more open or more closed than younger minds? An interesting question for which I have no answer…but openness is a prerequisite to discovery no matter one’s experience or age. I am reminded of the inherent ‘yearning’ which the Ta’s bring to each mind….and the whisper of truth to each generation and mind by the Son’s Spirit. I think all hear these voices….but not all respond.
What will it be like in time to come when, instead of tens of thousands of readers and one million books printed/downloaded, there are a few million reader/students and a hundred million books in 20+ languages? For once upon a time there were only 100 readers and 100 books in one language….a mere 60 years ago!!!! Imagine. When I got my book, only 20 years after the first printing, there were few students and a few books and those available from but one source….and every UB was given hand to hand or hand to library or book fair table. Frankly, the sheer size of the UB (before digitization) was too immense for most persons to even begin to approach.
Luckily, when I found the UB (correction – when it found me), I’d already tried and failed for instant-enlightenment and realized this truth seeking business required true dedication and work. But many still search for the finger to the forehead on the misty mountain top and do not seek a lifelong dedication to personal realization and transformation. There are so many pleasures and distractions too available for most of us today.
Perhaps it is that youth bring more dissatisfaction and disappointment to the seeking but maturity brings better priorities and patience to the search? Again…I don’t know. Interesting discussion though.
Also like Bonita….I have been blessed by always believing in God and God’s love and care. And like too few others, I was blessed by spirit led parents and a family tribe that prayed, gave praise, and had faith for many generations. Such makes me very privileged indeed to have enjoyed such stability and example in my formative years. I’ll not rank very high among us Agondonters compared to those who have suffered far more in so many ways in finding the true path to the inner life and Paradise to come.
Something I’ve been thinking about is how brief this life is and how soon suffering will end….only 20-40 years not so long ago and 60-80 now…but as we approach L&L, mortal life grows to centuries of time. I wonder if the times of greatest mortal suffering are blessedly short before our awakening in the heavenly abode brings its rewards throughout the mortal epochs? And if those who discover and embrace truth, beauty, goodness, love, and service in such darkness, confusion, and doubt will not be the most blessed after all? The hammer and the anvil forge steel from coal and iron. The formative experience is hardly welcomed but the result cannot come otherwise….evidently.
Thanks to everyone….a most enjoyable contemplation.
Seems to me that if Nietzsche can describe a void then it cannot be a void – kind of a crazy thought.
A void to me could be analogous to the unqualified absolute – a nicer more comfortable thought.
Think about this one – secular science is expanding their “it” that caused everything with the concept of the “multiverse”
Beyond 13 billion light years there is nothing to see so they ask themselves: what’s beyond the observable universe? How about more universes, even an infinite amount of universes. Still an “it” as the cause but the expanded thinking certainly fills a void eh??One day the “it” will be a he and the circle will be complete
Dears ones,
How interesting those posts in this thread. Feels tinged with unity, maturity.
Entering my 60s, looking back at road that winds overland, I must considered as you said Bradly … The formative experience is hardly welcomed but the result cannot come otherwise….evidently.
Do you think it makes a difference?
Nop VanA. Considering the forces inherent to spiritual ministries [TA/S.Truth … ] so much mores. Any creatures responding at this Divine’s will are welcomed.
What is 81 years old compared to 20s, 30s … in universe probably a nano second. Newbies, on circle of eternity.
166:3.7 Nevertheless, to all who are honest of heart and sincere in faith, it remains eternally true: “Behold, I stand at the doors of men’s hearts and knock, and if any man will open to me, I will come in …
Knock knock!
I wish I could think of something more to contribute than warnings and criticisms to help.
But isn’t that the kind of thing that drives folks away? It won’t work. The only thing that works is living a fruitful life that is so fragrant and beautiful that others begin to think you have something they don’t have, and because it is so attractive, they decide they want to get it. I’m convinced that’s the only way it works. Manipulating the system bruises the fruit.
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