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Do you suppose that orange Sangiks that pile up stones as a response to an urge to build are doing this for survival? Response to Adjutant#1?
Do you suppose that orange Sangiks that pile up stones as a response to an urge to build are doing this for survival? Response to Adjutant#1?
No.
How do piles of stones or dirt contribute to physical survival? Adjutant #1 is about physical survival, not spiritual survival. Didn’t we just establish that the orange race building urge was a reach toward the transcendent?
Getting back to the question of why “transition ministers” might be needed for easing different racial groups into morontia mode, from 48:6.1,
“[…]. These angels are of the sixth order of seraphic servers, and their ministry is devoted to facilitating the transit of material and mortal creatures from the temporal life in the flesh on into the early stages of morontia existence on the seven mansion worlds.”
Regarding the 2nd group of transition ministers, from 48:6.22,
“2. Racial Interpreters. All races of mortal beings are not alike. True, there is a planetary pattern running through the physical, mental, and spiritual natures and tendencies of the various races of a given world; but there are also distinct racial types, and very definite social tendencies characterize the offspring of these different basic types of human beings. On the worlds of time the seraphic racial interpreters further the efforts of the race commissioners to harmonize the varied viewpoints of the races, and they continue to function on the mansion worlds, where these same differences tend to persist in a measure. On a confused planet, such as Urantia, these brilliant beings have hardly had a fair opportunity to function, but they are the skillful sociologists and the wise ethnic advisers of the first heaven.”
Ok, now back to the issue of what we might call “racially characteristic metaphysical distortions”
From 103:8:1 ,
(1140.1, 103:8.1) “Although both science and philosophy may assume the probability of God by their reason and logic, only the personal religious experience of a spirit-led man can affirm the certainty of such a supreme and personal Deity. By the technique of such an incarnation of living truth the philosophic hypothesis of the probability of God becomes a religious reality.”
For me, this highlights the distinction between those of our personal experiences which are “too deep for words”, and our discussions about those experiences. As usual, this distinction is clarified in the paragraph immediately following: 103:8.2
(1140.2, 103:8.2) “The confusion about the experience of the certainty of God arises out of the dissimilar interpretations and relations of that experience by separate individuals and by different races of men. The experiencing of God may be wholly valid, but the discourse about God, being intellectual and philosophical, is divergent and oftentimes confusingly fallacious.”
Bonita wrote:
“The reality of religious experience is a personal revelation. But isn’t 103:8.2 interesting in that it declares that race influences a person’s religious experience.”
I think 103:8.2, is saying that it’s our “dissimilar interpretations and relations of that experience“, not the experience itself, which is subject to racial or cultural distortion. The point being that our personal experience of our Father is personal, not intellectual.
Bradley wrote:
“It would seem that the Mansion World distinction must only be effective or relevant during the earlier mortal epochs. This might provide important emotional continuity for such souls […]”
Yes, I think that’s the idea. Given 117:5.7,
(1286.5, 117:5.7) “[…]. In the mortal experience the human intellect resides in the rhythmic pulsations of the adjutant mind-spirits […]”
if humanity’s biological and cultural branches can in subtle ways be distinguished by their characteristic affinity for, and response to, adjutant ministry, this could surely be accommodated in our initial mansion world experience. So as not to rock our world too much, too soon
And this might explain the need for those Racial Interpreters (48:6.22, 553.3) Bonita mentioned:
“TUB mentions that there are “definite social tendencies” of the different races that persist even on the mansion worlds. (48:6.22)”
Nigel
I think 103:8.2, is saying that it’s our “dissimilar interpretations and relations of that experience“, not the experience itself, which is subject to racial or cultural distortion. The point being that our personal experience of our Father is personal, not intellectual.
Yes, that’s exactly right. I agree. But it doesn’t really answer my question. I’m asking what the racial component of the soul is. Since it’s the soul that goes to the mansion world and not the adjutant mind or the adjutant-derived culture the individual lived in while in the flesh. In other words, the soul is the survivable character of the personality. Character is inherited through DNA but it can be changed by personality choice for a more divine character with survival potential. Those character changes are made by the personality in concert with the Adjuster and are derived from the associated adjutant mind.
112:6.7 . . . This evolving soul does, however, possess a continuing character derived from the decisions of its former associated adjutant mind, and this character becomes active memory when the patterns thereof are energized by the returning Adjuster.
But what part of that new character continues to have racial undertones? Is it from the associated adjutant mind or from the DNA inherited character of the personality, or both, and can it be identified? I have to presume that not all of our animal vestiges are shed in one single process. Since the soul is an evolutionary entity, it must continue to refine and polish them all the way through the mansion world experience. And maybe longer, I don’t know. But what are they? Maybe there are some racial character traits that are survivable from the git-go and actually have some value in the next life.
I thought it would help to take another look at Jesus’ human character which he inherited from Mary and Joseph’s DNA. I made a list and I cannot assign one solitary adjutant to any of them. These are attitudes and aptitudes. They seem to reveal a combined effort of all seven adjutants and probably the Holy Spirit of the soul as well. Certainly some of these character traits might even be considered racial. Yet on the other hand, most of them have survival value even though they were DNA derived.
- Gentleness
- Sympathetic understanding
- Teaching ability
- Righteous indignation
- Meditative and worshipful
- Occasional sadness
- Determined optimism
(1348.3) 122:5.3 Jesus derived much of his unusual gentleness and marvelous sympathetic understanding of human nature from his father; he inherited his gift as a great teacher and his tremendous capacity for righteous indignation from his mother. In emotional reactions to his adult-life environment, Jesus was at one time like his father, meditative and worshipful, sometimes characterized by apparent sadness; but more often he drove forward in the manner of his mother’s optimistic and determined disposition. All in all, Mary’s temperament tended to dominate the career of the divine Son as he grew up and swung into the momentous strides of his adult life. In some particulars Jesus was a blending of his parents’ traits; in other respects he exhibited the traits of one in contrast with those of the other.
103:8.2 (1140.2) The confusion about the experience of the certainty of God arises out of the dissimilar interpretations and relations of that experience by separate individuals and by different races of men. The experiencing of God may be wholly valid, but the discourse about God, being intellectual and philosophical, is divergent and oftentimes confusingly fallacious.
Me here: So there is only one objective universe reality but every being is having a unique and subjective and personalized experience and expression of their experience within this singular reality. And while we create fictional, metaphysical constructs of this objective universe reality to create perspective, belief, and a dependable philosophy related to reality and our experience in reality, our religious experience will forever be subjective and personalized and when we attempt to reduce it to some description then does it so often become “confusingly fallacious.” But it is the spiritual content of our religious experience that is the prize and why faith overcomes all facts and the lack of facts and the false fictions in lieu of facts in our spiritual transformation. Even mortal tadpoles on the edge of the universe living in darkness and confusion and without example or fact may aspire to and achieve immortality and eternity – this is The Reality of Religious Experience!!
9. The Essence of Religion
103:9.1 (1140.7) Theology deals with the intellectual content of religion, metaphysics (revelation) with the philosophic aspects. Religious experience is the spiritual content of religion. Notwithstanding the mythologic vagaries and the psychologic illusions of the intellectual content of religion, the metaphysical assumptions of error and the techniques of self-deception, the political distortions and the socioeconomic perversions of the philosophic content of religion, the spiritual experience of personal religion remains genuine and valid.
103:9.2 (1140.8) Religion has to do with feeling, acting, and living, not merely with thinking. Thinking is more closely related to the material life and should be in the main, but not altogether, dominated by reason and the facts of science and, in its nonmaterial reaches toward the spirit realms, by truth. No matter how illusory and erroneous one’s theology, one’s religion may be wholly genuine and everlastingly true.
103:9.3 (1141.1) Buddhism in its original form is one of the best religions without a God which has arisen throughout all the evolutionary history of Urantia, although, as this faith developed, it did not remain godless. Religion without faith is a contradiction; without God, a philosophic inconsistency and an intellectual absurdity.
103:9.4 (1141.2) The magical and mythological parentage of natural religion does not invalidate the reality and truth of the later revelational religions and the consummate saving gospel of the religion of Jesus. Jesus’ life and teachings finally divested religion of the superstitions of magic, the illusions of mythology, and the bondage of traditional dogmatism. But this early magic and mythology very effectively prepared the way for later and superior religion by assuming the existence and reality of supermaterial values and beings.
Bonita wrote:
“I thought it would help to take another look at Jesus’ human character which he inherited from Mary and Joseph’s DNA. […]”
“Jesus derived much of his unusual gentleness and marvelous sympathetic understanding of human nature from his father; he inherited his gift as a great teacher and his tremendous capacity for righteous indignation from his mother. In emotional reactions to his adult-life environment, Jesus was at one time like his father, meditative and worshipful, sometimes characterized by apparent sadness; but more often he drove forward in the manner of his mother’s optimistic and determined disposition. All in all, Mary’s temperament tended to dominate the career of the divine Son as he grew up and swung into the momentous strides of his adult life. In some particulars Jesus was a blending of his parents’ traits; in other respects he exhibited the traits of one in contrast with those of the other.” (122:5.3, 1348.3).
Thanks Bonita – that gives a beautiful perspective into the issue!
Bonita wrote:
“Character is inherited through DNA …”
May be closer to the mark to say that, given our inherited susceptibilities and affinities, during our human experience we cultivate attitudes which color the character with which we begin our mansion world career?
Thus rather than “character” being inherited through DNA, I think it’s more a set of these susceptibilities and affinities. Our surviving character then “inherits” those inclinations and attitudes we cultivate during our birth-life.
For example, regarding that enhanced “righteous indignation” you mentioned, here’s one idea. From Mary, Jesus inherits an enhanced susceptibility to, and affinity for, courage, counsel and (6th-adjutant) zeal; when courage and counsel get fired up by zeal… bingo, Righteous Indignation! Of course in the case of Jesus, his wisdom more than “equaled his zeal (140:7.7)” !
More seriously, my guess is that it’s these characteristic susceptibilities and affinities that the Life Carriers target as they evolve their human “psycho-soma” (mind-body). On a normal world, in a healthy family and culture, the coordination of susceptibilities and affinities becomes a child’s first uniquely personal adventure.
To clarify, I’m thinking of these susceptibilities and affinities as emotionally-backed motivations (e-motivations?). Somehow the Life Carriers evolve — into their sequence of animals — susceptibility to adjutant motivation, mediated by emotion. Different animals (primarily mammals) may be characterized by susceptibility to a subset of the first 5 of those “rhythmic pulsations” (117:5.7). Since humans are, by definition, susceptible to the full set, could different human groups be characterized by their inherited affinities?
Regarding the Sangik siblings, I’ve speculated that these children might indeed have been characterized by peculiar affinities for certain of those heritable susceptibilities. Notice, nothing here about dominance or dogma, just exploring what the Life Carriers may actually have achieved.
The racially characteristic bit may be the emphasis particular groups are “naturally prone” to apply to their set of susceptible affinities. Of course, individually, it’s our own choices that ripen the attitudes that flavor the character we wake up with.
As Bradley suggested… emotional continuity?
Nigel
Thus rather than “character” being inherited through DNA, I think it’s more a set of these susceptibilities and affinities.
Maybe so, but I take the words in the Revelation literally in regards to this. The following quote states that the root or basis of character is inherited. Environment can prevent or allow the expression of a good inherited character. But it clearly says that environment can do little to help or change a bad inherited character. If you’re born “bad to the bone”, then you’ll pretty much stay “bad to the bone”. So as I see it, the dominance of nurture over nature argument is more or less wiped out by this quote. [Wish I knew that when I married my “bad to the bone” ex-husband.]
(848.6) 76:2.6 The observation of Abel’s conduct establishes the value of environment and education as factors in character development. Abel had an ideal inheritance, and heredity lies at the bottom of all character; but the influence of an inferior environment virtually neutralized this magnificent inheritance. Abel, especially during his younger years, was greatly influenced by his unfavorable surroundings. He would have become an entirely different person had he lived to be twenty-five or thirty; his superb inheritance would then have shown itself. While a good environment cannot contribute much toward really overcoming the character handicaps of a base heredity, a bad environment can very effectively spoil an excellent inheritance, at least during the younger years of life. Good social environment and proper education are indispensable soil and atmosphere for getting the most out of a good inheritance.
Another quote which I interpret to indicate that character, or inherent nature, is built directly into the DNA code is below. In other words, the character traits of each race is pre-determined, built into the original germ plasma, and the Life Carriers have nothing to do with it. It’s pre-designed and pre-ordained by the Creator Son.
36:3.8 From this point forward the evolution of living things must proceed in accordance with the endowment of the inherent nature and tendencies which have already been imparted to, and established in, the planetary life formulas and patterns.
It makes sense to me that all the diversity of potential human character traits available cannot be provided to a single person or a single race. The various superior inheritance traits are divided up among the races and expressed differentially by the individuals of each race. It’s not unlike the Seven Master Spirits who display seven different character potentials derived from the Trinity.
It’s also interesting to me that on Urantia we don’t have seven races with seven character potentials. We have an additional race of people called the Nodites with yet additional character diversity potential. Their DNA was affected by the life-maintenance circuits of Satania which caused it to mutate. Some DNA chromosomes reorganized themselves more in line with the standard Satania specialization of life manifestation.(77:2.5) These were the supermen of myth. We know that the combination of Nodite, Adamite and some evolutionary race DNA produced the Andite people who were responsible for upstepping racial inheritance. TUB says this was an unexpected result of being a life-modification planet, which is cool.
Nigel Nunn wrote: May be closer to the mark to say that, given our inherited susceptibilities and affinities, during our human experience we cultivate attitudes which color the character with which we begin our mansion world career? . . . . Our surviving character then “inherits” those inclinations and attitudes we cultivate during our birth-life.
Yes, I agree we cultivate our survivable character, but our surviving character is one that is co-created, meaning it has dual inheritance. One inheritance is material, the other inheritance is spiritual, which is how morontia is made. The contribution from the material character is the part that is racially colored. The contribution from the Divine Character is not colored, unless you think perfection has its own color, which it might; but if it did, it is pretty safe to say that it is not racial.
Mind ministry works to bring the material DNA-derived character to a point where it can recognize Spirit-derived character (ideal). That’s where personality comes in with its power of identification. If the personality identifies with the Spirit-derived character and chooses to behave accordingly, then the morontia substance of the soul grows. With personality cooperation, a higher expression of character, a character more in tune with divinity, is co-created within a survivable morontia substance we call the soul.
Moreover, the fruits of the spirit are character fruits, the result of the material character of a personality identifying with the divine character of Deity (a person). In the quote below it states that our DNA derived characters do not naturally transform to a higher more divine character with adjutant influence alone. Character transformation requires Spirit input. Even with a superb inheritance this is not possible, which is why it takes time and why TUB tells us that if Abel had lived to 25-30 years old, his DNA inheritance would have yielded spiritual fruit, a more divinely attuned character. That’s the time needed for co-creation, for the adjutants to direct the mind spirit-ward and for the maturing personality to recognize and choose divinity. A superb inheritance increases the likelihood of spirit dominance of the character of the personality.
(382.1) 34:7.1 The flesh, the inherent nature derived from the animal-origin races, does not naturally bear the fruits of the divine Spirit. When the mortal nature has been upstepped by the addition of the nature of the Material Sons of God, as the Urantia races were in a measure advanced by the bestowal of Adam, then is the way better prepared for the Spirit of Truth to co-operate with the indwelling Adjuster to bring forth the beautiful harvest of the character fruits of the spirit. If you do not reject this spirit, even though eternity may be required to fulfill the commission, “he will guide you into all truth.”
So the surviving character you speak of is a dual character: one inherited and one gifted by Spirit which serves as the ideal for personality identification. The material DNA-derived character transforms only after it has been lead by adjutant ministry to the spiritual ideal character (God a person). Adjutant ministry (not a person) is the gateway to the soul where the actual transformation takes place pending personality discovery, recognition, interpretation and choice (spiritual insight). The character of a personality is transformed and transfigured only in relation to another and higher character of a personality, specifically a divine personality, which is why Jesus as the Spirit of Truth is of such enormous help to us. Adjutant mind ministry cannot do this because it is impersonal. Even the Adjuster is impersonal, but the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth are not. They are both personal presences who can be known and identified with.
A fascinating discussion about the nature/nurture aspects of character and the racial related issues thereto all of which goes to The Reality of Religious Experience….especially regarding those vestiges of racial influence which go with us to the Mansion Worlds (all our remaining or lingering animal vestiges to be eradicated by the end of our sojourn on World 2 we are told). Interesting comment above about the fruits of the Spirit by Bonita. I remembered this related quote by the Master:
5. Lesson Regarding Contentment
(1674.3) 149:5.1 When Jesus was visiting the group of evangelists working under the supervision of Simon Zelotes, during their evening conference Simon asked the Master: “Why are some persons so much more happy and contented than others? Is contentment a matter of religious experience?” Among other things, Jesus said in answer to Simon’s question:
(1674.4) 149:5.2 “Simon, some persons are naturally more happy than others. Much, very much, depends upon the willingness of man to be led and directed by the Father’s spirit which lives within him. Have you not read in the Scriptures the words of the wise man, ‘The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts’? And also that such spirit-led mortals say: ‘The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a goodly heritage.’ ‘A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked,’ for ‘a good man shall be satisfied from within himself.’ ‘A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance and is a continual feast. Better is a little with the reverence of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted ox and hatred therewith. Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without rectitude.’ ‘A merry heart does good like a medicine.’ ‘Better is a handful with composure than a superabundance with sorrow and vexation of spirit.’
(1674.5) 149:5.3 “Much of man’s sorrow is born of the disappointment of his ambitions and the wounding of his pride. Although men owe a duty to themselves to make the best of their lives on earth, having thus sincerely exerted themselves, they should cheerfully accept their lot and exercise ingenuity in making the most of that which has fallen to their hands. All too many of man’s troubles take origin in the fear soil of his own natural heart. ‘The wicked flee when no man pursues.’ ‘The wicked are like the troubled sea, for it cannot rest, but its waters cast up mire and dirt; there is no peace, says God, for the wicked.’
(1674.6) 149:5.4 “Seek not, then, for false peace and transient joy but rather for the assurance of faith and the sureties of divine sonship which yield composure, contentment, and supreme joy in the spirit.”
(1674.4) 149:5.2 “Simon, some persons are naturally more happy than others.
I think this is yet another quote supporting the fact that character is inherited from DNA. Some persons inherit from nature a happier, more content viewpoint, or attitude toward life. Somewhere in TUB it tells us that Andonite babies are more docile and easier to raise than babies with a greater Andite inheritance (84:7.21), another indicator of genetic contribution to character. But I guess a lot depends upon how the word happy is defined. Some people who are not happily content are more adventurous, inquisitive and courageous, which can also be good things.
Interesting comment above about the fruits of the Spirit by Bonita.
Yeah, there are tons of quotes referring to fruits of the spirit as character fruits. I didn’t think it was necessary to reference or post all of them, but here are a few in addition to 34:7.1 which I already posted above:
140:4.7 “By their fruits you shall know them.” Personality is basically changeless; that which changes — grows — is the moral character.
152:6.3 “You see, my children, the appeal to human feelings is transitory and utterly disappointing; the exclusive appeal to the intellect of man is likewise empty and barren; it is only by making your appeal to the spirit which lives within the human mind that you can hope to achieve lasting success and accomplish those marvelous transformations of human character that are presently shown in the abundant yielding of the genuine fruits of the spirit in the daily lives of all who are thus delivered from the darkness of doubt by the birth of the spirit into the light of faith — the kingdom of heaven.”
194:3.1 The chief mission of this outpoured spirit of the Father and the Son is to teach men about the truths of the Father’s love and the Son’s mercy. These are the truths of divinity which men can comprehend more fully than all the other divine traits of character. The Spirit of Truth is concerned primarily with the revelation of the Father’s spirit nature and the Son’s moral character. The Creator Son, in the flesh, revealed God to men; the Spirit of Truth, in the heart, reveals the Creator Son to men. When man yields the “fruits of the spirit” in his life, he is simply showing forth the traits which the Master manifested in his own earthly life.
156:5.1-2 On this Wednesday afternoon, in the course of his address, Jesus first told his followers the story of the white lily which rears its pure and snowy head high into the sunshine while its roots are grounded in the slime and muck of the darkened soil beneath. “Likewise,” said he, “mortal man, while he has his roots of origin and being in the animal soil of human nature, can by faith raise his spiritual nature up into the sunlight of heavenly truth and actually bear the noble fruits of the spirit. . . . Your spirit nature — the jointly created soul — is a living growth, but the mind and morals of the individual are the soil from which these higher manifestations of human development and divine destiny must spring. The soil of the evolving soul is human and material, but the destiny of this combined creature of mind and spirit is spiritual and divine.
For example, regarding that enhanced “righteous indignation” you mentioned, here’s one idea. From Mary, Jesus inherits an enhanced susceptibility to, and affinity for, courage, counsel and (6th-adjutant) zeal; when courage and counsel get fired up by zeal… bingo, Righteous Indignation! Of course in the case of Jesus, his wisdom more than “equaled his zeal (140:7.7)” !
I’ve been thinking about your idea. Doesn’t indignation require a sense of fairness? Isn’t it a reaction to perceived injustice? I’m not seeing either of those character qualities as being entirely adjutant derived, particularly the lower adjutants. Animals do not have a sense of fairness, but they do have pecking orders which I think originate from self-preservation instincts. In humans, the spirit of courage is supposed to be the secret to character acquirement through spiritual bravery. Isn’t there supposed to be spiritual involvement then? – especially if the indignation is to be righteous? I’m also not following why zeal is assigned to the spirit of worship. I guess you mean passionate devotion? And yes I agree, worship on its own is directionless. Worship needs wisdom – meditative and experiential thinking – to admonish it. (85:7.3)
Personally, I think a sense of fairness has to originate in the two higher adjutants who are capable of exposing the mind to something of more value as a comparison. Wisdom is essential to this. I don’t think it’s possible to judge something unfair or unjust unless one is able to perceive that a more fair or more just potential is available. That, in my opinion, requires wisdom.
But then there’s the righteous part to that. I think one must discover a loftier, unprejudiced and noble viewpoint capable of recognizing a more valuable, stable and ideal option in order for indignation to be considered righteous. Wouldn’t it need an actual source of righteousness for that? Isn’t there only one source of true righteousness, of divine thought? Doesn’t righteous indignation have something to do with treating others the way God would treat them, the highest level of the golden rule? Don’t you have to know God before you can appreciate something like that and then get bent out of shape when it’s being violated?
Well anyway, I think there is a vast difference between anger and indignation and an even greater difference between indignation and righteous indignation. Just my opinion though.
To clarify, I’m thinking of these susceptibilities and affinities as emotionally-backed motivations (e-motivations?). Somehow the Life Carriers evolve — into their sequence of animals — susceptibility to adjutant motivation, mediated by emotion.
Well, we do know that evolution is prodded along by suffering, the hammer and anvil thing. But is it the suffering itself or the emotional response to suffering that causes evolution? There’s this quote to ponder:
(951.3) 86:2.1 Anxiety was a natural state of the savage mind. When men and women fall victims to excessive anxiety, they are simply reverting to the natural estate of their far-distant ancestors; and when anxiety becomes actually painful, it inhibits activity and unfailingly institutes evolutionary changes and biologic adaptations. Pain and suffering are essential to progressive evolution.
The way I read this is that pain itself puts evolution into motion rather than the emotions which lead to pain. I agree, emotions do play a role, but I think they are the result of the experience of living this life with all its anguish – we are, after all, told that our anxieties are part of the divine plan (23:2.12). But if anguish is the most important emotion, then we should all be utterly miserable and Jesus would have been blowin’ smoke when he said, “Fear not”. Somehow that doesn’t ring true.
Of course every person or race inherits a certain emotional pattern of reaction to the experience of life’s anxieties, but I don’t see those patterns as primary motivators. Yes, emotions can and do motivate people but not always in a beneficial and progressive way, so they can’t be the principal cause for evolution. I’m not sure if I were designing DNA meant to evolve into a human being capable of eternal survival that I would have its progress motivated predominantly by emotion.
Perhaps an increased sensitivity to the pain of anguish and suffering would better serve? Or even better, the capacity to imagine more creative ways to deal with the pain of living? Higher thinking? Wisdom? Mind ministry is defined to include the emotional life “. . . reaching upward through worship and wisdom to the spirit level.”(0:5.8) I take that to mean the emotional life is driven toward spirit by mind ministry and not the other way around.
Another thing to consider is this capacity for creative imagination. We know that mind ministry directs overall evolution in such a way that thought, or mind, becomes ” . . . increasingly adjustive, creative, co-ordinative, and dominative” (65:6.7) over matter. And this dominance of the mind is superphysical, meaning it’s more than chemicals and hormones. In fact, we’re told mind ministry is not directly involved with physical evolution, but only with mind evolution. However, the goal of mind evolution is to dominate physical reality, while at the same time, allowing itself to become dominated by spiritual reality.
Yet we are also told that gland chemistry determines spirit receptivity (49:5.19) which can be confusing. There seems to be a pattern of evolving physical capacity first in order to increase mind dominance which leads to spirit creativity and dominance. So, I still think that racial differences have more to do with varying capacities for mind dominance, while at the same time providing varying receptivity reactions to imaginative creativity, which is fundamentally a spiritual experience.
But I admit that my thoughts on this subject are in flux. I keep going round and round on this, but it might be due to the elliptical symmetry of all reality thingy. Lots to consider.
I am so very grateful for the detailed discussion on the evolutionary religious experience as influenced by the adjutants and the racial inherencies and tendencies and how those persist beyond the purely material life on the worlds of origin. Each of the races on each world are instruments of a certain form of specialization of tendencies and responses I think which are anticipated to contribute to the resulting amalgamation and anticipated bio uplift of Adamic blood.
The evolutionary process can appear so impersonal and so unfair on the surface of its examination considering that some seem so less favored in circumstance and others more favored…by racial tendencies but also by era and the forms of suffering endured (from disease and carnivores and cannibals to war and slavery and genocide) as measured by the material life we live. But I am heartened by the Revelation’s teachings about the briefness of such material suffering and the reality that no one truly suffers any lack of opportunity for spirit ministry and response no matter the racial or social or personal circumstances and sources or severity of personal suffering.
5:1.5 (63.3) However Urantia mortals may differ in their intellectual, social, economic, and even moral opportunities and endowments, forget not that their spiritual endowment is uniform and unique. They all enjoy the same divine presence of the gift from the Father, and they are all equally privileged to seek intimate personal communion with this indwelling spirit of divine origin, while they may all equally choose to accept the uniform spiritual leading of these Mystery Monitors.
5:1.6 (63.4) If mortal man is wholeheartedly spiritually motivated, unreservedly consecrated to the doing of the Father’s will, then, since he is so certainly and so effectively spiritually endowed by the indwelling and divine Adjuster, there cannot fail to materialize in that individual’s experience the sublime consciousness of knowing God and the supernal assurance of surviving for the purpose of finding God by the progressive experience of becoming more and more like him.
5:1.7 (63.5) Man is spiritually indwelt by a surviving Thought Adjuster. If such a human mind is sincerely and spiritually motivated, if such a human soul desires to know God and become like him, honestly wants to do the Father’s will, there exists no negative influence of mortal deprivation nor positive power of possible interference which can prevent such a divinely motivated soul from securely ascending to the portals of Paradise.
Me here: The reality that we can have an effective and transformative religious experience which delivers each of us the opportunity for eternal adventure and growth regardless of our material realities and our ignorance of universe reality and the construction of completely false and fictional realities is absolutely astounding to me!!! That faith and truth can penetrate and overcome such depths of ignorance and error and depravity and suffering and primitivism and superstition in the material life to deliver happiness and contentment and peace is amazing!! No matter our material origins or circumstances we may each enjoy this phenomenon and experience and enjoy the sublime assurance of God’s love and embrace.
Next quote in our study of Paper 103 – The Reality of Religious Experience
103:9.5 (1141.3) Although religious experience is a purely spiritual subjective phenomenon, such an experience embraces a positive and living faith attitude toward the highest realms of universe objective reality. The ideal of religious philosophy is such a faith-trust as would lead man unqualifiedly to depend upon the absolute love of the infinite Father of the universe of universes. Such a genuine religious experience far transcends the philosophic objectification of idealistic desire; it actually takes salvation for granted and concerns itself only with learning and doing the will of the Father in Paradise. The earmarks of such a religion are: faith in a supreme Deity, hope of eternal survival, and love, especially of one’s fellows.
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