© 2018 Georges Michelson-Dupont
© 2018 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| Annual Meeting of the AFLLU | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 83 — September 2018 | Prayer in the Form of a Poem |
The content of the Urantia Book differs completely from any other teaching, it is intellectual by the contribution of new information, forgotten or missing on our planet, morontial by the presentation of new concepts on the Deity and the organization of the universe, and spiritual by a renewed presentation of the truth throughout the book and the life and teachings of Jesus. The authors have gathered in a book of more than 2100 pages a collection of 197 fascicles organized logically from the transcendent to the immanent, presented as courses dealing each time with independent subjects but linked forming a gigantic puzzle.
“2. Revealed religion. The universe attitude which is a spirit derivative; the assurance of, and belief in, the conservation of eternal realities, the survival of personality, and the eventual attainment of the cosmic Deity, whose purpose has made all this possible. It is a part of the plan of the universe that, sooner or later, evolutionary religion is destined to receive the spiritual expansion of revelation.” ([UB 101:5.4)
The Urantia Book is such a revelation:
“5. The Urantia Papers. The papers, of which this is one, constitute the most recent presentation of truth to the mortals of Urantia. These papers differ from all previous revelations, for they are not the work of a single universe personality but a composite presentation by many beings. But no revelation short of the attainment of the Universal Father can ever be complete. All other celestial ministrations are no more than partial, transient, and practically adapted to local conditions in time and space. While such admissions as this may possibly detract from the immediate force and authority of all revelations, the time has arrived on Urantia when it is advisable to make such frank statements, even at the risk of weakening the future influence and authority of this, the most recent of the revelations of truth to the mortal races of Urantia.” ([UB 92:4.9)
The goal that the revelators set for themselves is stated in the second paragraph of the Introduction: “to expand cosmic consciousness and heighten spiritual perception.” But what does this statement mean?
¶ Expanding Cosmic Consciousness
Consciousness is a mental process that provides a conceptual framework within which man can have a meaningful experience with the cosmos. [ UB 16:8.6]
“There are many elements of danger attendant upon the presentation to the mortal intellect of this idea of an infinite I AM since this concept is so remote from human experiential understanding as to involve serious distortion of meanings and misconception of values. Nevertheless, the philosophic concept of the I AM does afford finite beings some basis for an attempted approach to the partial comprehension of absolute origins and infinite destinies. But in all our attempts to elucidate the genesis and fruition of reality, let it be made clear that this concept of the I AM is, in all personality meanings and values, synonymous with the First Person of Deity, the Universal Father of all personalities. But this postulate of the I AM is not so clearly identifiable in undeified realms of universal reality.” ([UB 105:1.2)
We must recognize that this framework is an evolving and personal scaffolding, that it is the result of our genetics, our education, our way of perceiving things, our experiences, and our feelings: the quality of our thinking depends on all these factors but not only, the contribution of revelation, whether personal or of the time, is necessary.
Cosmic consciousness implies the recognition of a “First Cause”, our Universal Father, personalization of the First Source-Center. [UB 0:2.2]. The revelators tell us that:
“Mortal man is passing through a great age of expanding horizons and enlarging concepts on Urantia, and his cosmic philosophy must accelerate in evolution to keep pace with the expansion of the intellectual arena of human thought. As the cosmic consciousness of mortal man expands, he perceives the interrelatedness of all that he finds in his material science, intellectual philosophy, and spiritual insight. Still, with all this belief in the unity of the cosmos, man perceives the diversity of all existence. In spite of all concepts concerning the immutability of Deity, man perceives that he lives in a universe of constant change and experiential growth. Regardless of the realization of the survival of spiritual values, man has ever to reckon with the mathematics and premathematics of force, energy, and power.” ([UB 104:3.2)
The expansion of cosmic consciousness among the inhabitants of Urantia is inevitable, it is part of the plan for the progression of our planet. Since the incarnation of Jesus on Urantia, every human being with a normal mind is sensitive to the Spirit of Truth of Jesus and receives a Thought Adjuster, the presence of the Father in each of us, which makes us conscious of God. Those who claim to be atheists or agnostics prove by this very fact that they are aware of this. This leads us to affirm that any honest and bona fide seeker of truth, of any denomination or nation, whether illiterate or educated, can be exposed to the teachings of the revelation and benefit from the expansion of his conceptual framework and his cosmic consciousness.
“The divine mystery consists in the inherent difference which exists between the finite and the infinite, the temporal and the eternal, the time-space creature and the Universal Creator, the material and the spiritual, the imperfection of man and the perfection of Paradise Deity. The God of universal love unfailingly manifests himself to every one of his creatures up to the fullness of that creature’s capacity to spiritually grasp the qualities of divine truth, beauty, and goodness.” ([UB 1:4.5)
Section 4 of Booklet 101 describes precisely the contribution of revelation:
“Truth may be but relatively inspired, even though revelation is invariably a spiritual phenomenon. While statements with reference to cosmology are never inspired, such revelations are of immense value in that they at least transiently clarify knowledge by:”
- The reduction of confusion by the authoritative elimination of error.
- The co-ordination of known or about-to-be-known facts and observations.
- The restoration of important bits of lost knowledge concerning epochal transactions in the distant past.
- The supplying of information which will fill in vital missing gaps in otherwise earned knowledge.
- Presenting cosmic data in such a manner as to illuminate the spiritual teachings contained in the accompanying revelation. (UB 101:4.5-10)
Thanks to the contribution of the elements of revelation, presented above, the conceptual framework in which our consciousness takes place accesses new knowledge, thus freeing us from the tautology in which we are locked.
¶ Enhance spiritual perception
Once the process of broadening the conceptual framework is underway, Truth frees man’s thought from the chains of ignorance and prejudice to raise it to increasing levels of quality where it can discern new meanings and integrate higher levels of values. However, with regard to clairvoyance, the recognition of moral values and the discernment of spiritual meanings, the mind alone is not enough, it does not create real values, all it can do is discover, recognize, interpret and choose. Fortunately, and we must believe it, the Divine Counselor reveals to us that:
“We are fully cognizant of the difficulties of our assignment; we recognize the impossibility of fully translating the language of the concepts of divinity and eternity into the symbols of the language of the finite concepts of the mortal mind. But we know that there dwells within the human mind a fragment of God, and that there sojourns with the human soul the Spirit of Truth; and we further know that these spirit forces conspire to enable material man to grasp the reality of spiritual values and to comprehend the philosophy of universe meanings. But even more certainly we know that these spirits of the Divine Presence are able to assist man in the spiritual appropriation of all truth contributory to the enhancement of the ever-progressing reality of personal religious experience—God-consciousness.” ([UB 0:12.13)
“Thus it appears that all human progress is effected by a technique of conjoint revelational evolution.” ([UB 196:3.15)
This technique is called spiritualization of the mind, it is described thus by the Divine Counselor:
“In the inner experience of man, mind is joined to matter. Such material-linked minds cannot survive mortal death. The technique of survival is embraced in those adjustments of the human will and those transformations in the mortal mind whereby such a God-conscious intellect gradually becomes spirit taught and eventually spirit led. This evolution of the human mind from matter association to spirit union results in the transmutation of the potentially spirit phases of the mortal mind into the morontia realities of the immortal soul. Mortal mind subservient to matter is destined to become increasingly material and consequently to suffer eventual personality extinction; mind yielded to spirit is destined to become increasingly spiritual and ultimately to achieve oneness with the surviving and guiding divine spirit and in this way to attain survival and eternity of personality existence.” ([UB 1:3.7)
This is a process installed by our Thought Adjuster.
- The intellectual capacity for knowing God—God-consciousness.
- The intellectual capacity for knowing God—God-consciousness.
- The intellectual capacity for knowing God—God-consciousness. (UB 1:2.4)
But it is up to the personality to initiate its functioning because:
“The Universal Father never imposes any form of arbitrary recognition, formal worship, or slavish service upon the intelligent will creatures of the universes. The evolutionary inhabitants of the worlds of time and space must of themselves—in their own hearts—recognize, love, and voluntarily worship him. The Creator refuses to coerce or compel the submission of the spiritual free wills of his material creatures. The affectionate dedication of the human will to the doing of the Father’s will is man’s choicest gift to God; in fact, such a consecration of creature will constitutes man’s only possible gift of true value to the Paradise Father. In God, man lives, moves, and has his being; there is nothing which man can give to God except this choosing to abide by the Father’s will, and such decisions, effected by the intelligent will creatures of the universes, constitute the reality of that true worship which is so satisfying to the love-dominated nature of the Creator Father.” ([UB 1:1.2)
This second phase is personal, it takes place in the inner life and is validated by personal experience. It depends essentially on the motivation of the personality to respond positively to the guidance of the Thought Adjuster by wholeheartedly desiring to do the will of the Universal Father.
¶ Study groups
Let us all recognize, in all humility, that certain teachings of the Urantia Book are complex to understand, that the terminology used puts off many new readers and that there is a legitimate need to share its content with other readers in order to progress in its understanding.
The superhuman planetary government supervising the revelation knew this well and that is why the authorization to publish The Urantia , was accompanied by some advice, received by the contact commission and collected in a document called “The Publication Mandate”. [Carolyn Kendall: A History of The Urantia Book]
The two extracts that interest us here are the following:
“…An early publication of the Book has been offered so that it may be available for the training of leaders and teachers. Its availability is also required to attract the attention of wealthy people who may thereby be motivated to provide resources for translation into other languages.”
"…The Book is given to those who are ready for it, long before the day of its world mission. Thousands of study groups must be organized and the Book must be translated into many languages. Thus the Book will be ready when man’s battle for freedom is finally won and the world stands once more safe for the religion of Jesus and for the freedom of mankind.
It is becoming obvious that the creation of study groups is essential, not only as a privileged place of sharing to deepen and practice the teachings but also to develop the social fraternity of believers in the revelation. I will not dwell on the constitution and functioning of a study group which have been the subject of numerous articles including the one I presented in 2014 and which you will find at the following address: https://www.urantia.org/sites/default/files/docs/etude-approfondie-du-livre-durantia-engroupe-detude.pdf
Nevertheless, experience shows that an intellectually satisfying, spiritually motivating and personally attractive study group must meet certain requirements and present certain qualities. Discipline in study, regular attendance, and organization with respect for people go hand in hand with the establishment of a circle of trust based on disinterested love and non-judgment. They are a place of sharing and sincere friendship and not an intellectual arena where poorly controlled egos are measured.
¶ Lead a study group
It is legitimate to ask the question: is it desirable, or even necessary, to train long-time readers to lead study groups?
Before answering this question, let’s look at what happened during the previous revelations.
The first revelation: Caligastia, our Planetary Prince, had established an educational system composed of ten commissions led by one hundred superhuman people from Jerusem.
“Each of the ten planetary commissions set about slowly and naturally to advance the interests intrusted to them. Their plan consisted in attracting the best minds of the surrounding tribes and, after training them, sending them back to their people as emissaries of social uplift.” ([UB 66:6.4)
So there were instructor-teachers. The Melchizedek informs us that:
“Each of the ten planetary commissions set about slowly and naturally to advance the interests intrusted to them. Their plan consisted in attracting the best minds of the surrounding tribes and, after training them, sending them back to their people as emissaries of social uplift.” ([UB 66:6.4)
Unfortunately, we know what happened to Caligastia and its fall brought an end to the progressive education of neighboring tribes.
The second revelation: the Adamic couple also set up Adamic schools in the Garden of Eden to educate children born in the garden as well as children coming from outside.
“The children of Adam, except for four years’ attendance at the western schools, lived and worked in the “east of Eden.” They were trained intellectually until they were sixteen in accordance with the methods of the Jerusem schools. From sixteen to twenty they were taught in the Urantia schools at the other end of the Garden, serving there also as teachers in the lower grades.” ([UB 74:7.1)
Here again, we know what happened to the Adamic couple, and, once again, the attempt failed due to lack of patience and discernment. Note, however, that Adamic schools required teachers.
The Third Revelation: Melchizedek, from the time of his incarnation on Urantia, organized schools at Salem on the model of the ancient system developed by the early Sethites of the second garden. There he taught the elements of revealed truth.
“Melchizedek continued for some years to instruct his students and to train the Salem missionaries, who penetrated to all the surrounding tribes, especially to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor. And as the decades passed, these teachers journeyed farther and farther from Salem, carrying with them Machiventa’s gospel of belief and faith in God.” ([UB 93:7.1)
Let us note here that instructors and missionaries were specially trained to spread, throughout the civilized world of the time, the teaching of the one God.
The Fourth Revelation: Jesus of Nazareth, during his adult life, taught his apostles, disciples, and contemporaries all the truth that they were capable of understanding and assimilating. He did this privately during his voyage around the Mediterranean and publicly after his baptism. It is clear that his purpose was to form and train people to go and preach the Gospel throughout the world after his resurrection and departure from Urantia. Several papers deal with the meticulous organization put in place by Jesus to train the twelve for their task as “messengers of the kingdom” (See Paper 138). The pedagogy of his teaching was based on two principles illustrated below:
“The next week was devoted to a program of intense training. Each day the six new apostles were put in the hands of their respective nominators for a thoroughgoing review of all they had learned and experienced in preparation for the work of the kingdom. The older apostles carefully reviewed, for the benefit of the younger six, Jesus’ teachings up to that hour. Evenings they all assembled in Zebedee’s garden to receive Jesus’ instruction.” ([UB 138:6.1)
“Though Jesus’ public teaching mainly consisted in parables and short discourses, he invariably taught his apostles by questions and answers. He would always pause to answer sincere questions during his later public discourses.” ([UB 138:8.10)
We will look further into the pedagogy used by Jesus in his teaching. Although the material and cultural conditions that prevail today are different from those of Jesus’ time, notably thanks to printing and scientific progress, the principles of teaching and training are universally used in our local universe.
The Fifth Revelation: Although an epochal revelation, it differs from the preceding ones in that it is presented to us in the form of a book written by numerous beings and not in the form of a supermatrial personality. This distinction is important from the point of view of its dissemination on Urantia.
“But regardless of apparent connection or derivation, the religions of revelation are always characterized by a belief in some Deity of final value and in some concept of the survival of personality identity after death.” ([UB 92:4.2)
The teaching, brought by previous revelations on Urantia, was presented by a person or a couple. It was necessary to form and train human personalities whose mission was to establish themselves among the races of the time and to share the teachings orally from person to person. Naturally, these teachings were distorted as the generations of storytellers followed one another. This is why we still find so many religions and philosophies on Urantia today.
“You who today enjoy the advantages of the art of printing little understand how difficult it was to perpetuate truth during these earlier times; how easy it was to lose sight of a new doctrine from one generation to another. There was always a tendency for the new doctrine to become absorbed into the older body of religious teaching and magical practice. A new revelation is always contaminated by the older evolutionary beliefs.” ([UB 93:7.4)
It is interesting to note that our planet follows an atypical path very different from the normal plan of planetary eras of evolutionary worlds. Booklet 52 tells us that these eras are all inaugurated by personalities and there is no mention of a revelation in the form of a book. Are we the only planet to have invented the printing press allowing the large-scale dissemination of knowledge?
The fact that the revelation is a book somewhat changes the strategy of dissemination but not the nature of the teaching. The truth relating to our time is formalized and accessible to any seeker of truth who will take the trouble to study it. The revelators are always present and accessible through their writings. They are our true teachers to whom we can always appeal. Their mission is to expand our cosmic consciousness and to heighten our spiritual perception.
“This is the gist of the long, long struggle of the peoples of earth to establish civilization since the age of Adam. Present-day culture is the net result of this strenuous evolution. Before the discovery of printing, progress was relatively slow since one generation could not so rapidly benefit from the achievements of its predecessors. But now human society is plunging forward under the force of the accumulated momentum of all the ages through which civilization has struggled.” ([UB 81:6.44)
However, due to the complex nature of certain aspects of The Urantia Book, the assistance of long-time readers becomes a valuable aid in organizing and advancing study groups.
Conclusion: It becomes clear that the training and education of human teachers constitutes the preferred method of disseminating the teachings of any epochal revelation. This is not surprising since it is one of the elements of social service and brotherhood. What could be more noble and satisfying than helping a companion to come closer to God through loving and selfless service? “Spirituality immediately indicates your closeness to God and the extent of your usefulness to your companions._” [UB 100:2.4]
¶ Which teachers?
Without a doubt, Jesus is the ideal model: The ideal educator is Jesus and it is he who should inspire each person who feels the sincere desire to invest himself as a leader-teacher. Jesus was the truth and it is not only through his teaching but also through the life he lived on Urantia that he educated and trained his apostles and disciples. The ordinary people of his time loved to be in his presence and listen to his transformative teachings because his personality exuded an attractive and reassuring spiritual charm. One only has to reread section 7 of booklet 100 to understand this very well-unified personality, of which here is the first paragraph:
“Although the average mortal of Urantia cannot hope to attain the high perfection of character which Jesus of Nazareth acquired while sojourning in the flesh, it is altogether possible for every mortal believer to develop a strong and unified personality along the perfected lines of the Jesus personality. The unique feature of the Master’s personality was not so much its perfection as its symmetry, its exquisite and balanced unification. The most effective presentation of Jesus consists in following the example of the one who said, as he gestured toward the Master standing before his accusers, “Behold the man!”” ([UB 100:7.1)
Another characteristic feature of Jesus’ pedagogy was righteousness which leads to selfless service.
““Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired. The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness. The extent to which you have to go with your message to the people is, in a way, the measure of your failure to live the whole or righteous life, the truth-co-ordinated life.”” ([UB 155:1.5)
“It therefore is evident that the true and inner religion of the kingdom unfailingly and increasingly tends to manifest itself in practical avenues of social service. Jesus taught a living religion that impelled its believers to engage in the doing of loving service. But Jesus did not put ethics in the place of religion. He taught religion as a cause and ethics as a result.” ([UB 170:3.8)
“The righteousness of any act must be measured by the motive; the highest forms of good are therefore unconscious. Jesus was never concerned with morals or ethics as such. He was wholly concerned with that inward and spiritual fellowship with God the Father which so certainly and directly manifests itself as outward and loving service for man. He taught that the religion of the kingdom is a genuine personal experience which no man can contain within himself; that the consciousness of being a member of the family of believers leads inevitably to the practice of the precepts of the family conduct, the service of one’s brothers and sisters in the effort to enhance and enlarge the brotherhood.” ([UB 170:3.9)
What should we expect from a teacher-leader?
Living the Gospel of Jesus is becoming like Jesus. This is the key to becoming a sought-after and appreciated teacher because love is attractive and inspiring. Let us emphasize again that a person must feel called from within to become a teacher, they must be moved by the sincere desire to serve. There are many other ways to enter selfless social service but let’s say it, this one is demanding. Here are some more desirable qualities of a teacher:
Humble, that is to say, having a normal awareness of one’s smallness. This is a cardinal quality of a good teacher, he must remain teachable.
Industrious, he acts in the name of the Universal Father, he works for God the Supreme, he is partner of Michael and brother of the angels.
Responsible, he must be aware of being an actor in the revelation of the time and, as such, he is in partnership with spiritual forces who are counting on him.
Good-natured, he is patient and long-suffering, he has an unwavering faith in the midst of the vicissitudes of daily life.
In terms of knowledge, a complete and synthetic mastery of the four parts of the Urantia Book acquired through many years of exposure to the teachings, as well as meditations, maturation and sharing of personal experience with other seekers of truth within groups of readers and studies.
“26. Knowledge is possessed only by sharing; it is safeguarded by wisdom and socialized by love.” ([UB 48:7.28)
A good sense of organization is also expected from the teacher.
Today, revealed truth is presented to us in the form of a book: The Urantia Book. New concepts such as Supremacy, Deity personalizations, and cosmic teachings have been added to expand our cosmic consciousness and heighten our spiritual perception.
“IT IS not enough that the ascending mortal should know something of the relations of Deity to the genesis and manifestations of cosmic reality; he should also comprehend something of the relationships existing between himself and the numerous levels of existential and experiential realities, of potential and actual realities. Man’s terrestrial orientation, his cosmic insight, and his spiritual directionization are all enhanced by a better comprehension of universe realities and their techniques of interassociation, integration, and unification.” ([UB 106:0.1)
¶ What pedagogy?
That of Jesus. The teaching practiced by evolutionary religions consists of formatting the believer’s mind according to a rigid system of established beliefs, interpreted by professionals of the faith and dominated by the established religious authority. It is very difficult to get out of it because the pressure from the community is so strong. Anyone who questions the dogma or doctrine becomes a pariah and excludes themselves from the community. This was true at the time of Jesus but it is also true, alas, in our time so much so that many seekers of truth are moving away from established religions.
The pedagogy of Jesus is the opposite, he truly revolutionized the way of teaching the truth about the kingdom of heaven and the Universal Father by introducing a teaching method based on intelligent dialogue in a cycle of question-answer-sharing allowing his contemporaries to think for themselves and discover for themselves the truths that free from religious slavery. In response to the questions of his listeners, the Master always sought to clarify their confused thoughts, to correct their errors of interpretation in a positive way, always encouraging them to live in accordance with his teaching so that they would be true educators and ambassadors of this new kingdom that they would soon proclaim. The use of parables illustrated and deepened his instructions in a way that was imaginative and understandable to all by striking their imagination.
Once instructed, Jesus sent his apostles and disciples, two by two, to share the teaching they had received from the Master with the people of the surrounding towns and countryside who agreed to receive them.
“Revealed truth, personally discovered truth, is the supreme delight of the human soul; it is the joint creation of the material mind and the indwelling spirit. The eternal salvation of this truth-discerning and beauty-loving soul is assured by that hunger and thirst for goodness which leads this mortal to develop a singleness of purpose to do the Father’s will, to find God and to become like him. There is never conflict between true knowledge and truth. There may be conflict between knowledge and human beliefs, beliefs colored with prejudice, distorted by fear, and dominated by the dread of facing new facts of material discovery or spiritual progress.” ([UB 132:3.4)
How to use the pedagogy of Jesus.
This universal pedagogy is taken directly from the schools and universities of the mansion worlds of the local universe. We can use it by adapting it to the present situation. Certainly, we no longer benefit from the physical presence of Jesus, the fourth epochal revelation, but we can count on his Spirit of Truth. The authors of the Urantia Book, the fifth epochal revelation, are supermortal beings, some coming from the central universe and others from the local universe, some are teachers by nature such as the Melchizedeks, others are characters “who know what they are talking about” such as the Divine Counselor. In the plan of spiritual elevation of our planet They have taken over from Michael, they are our true teachers.
By the nature of its content, reading the Urantia Book arouses a lot of interest among truth seekers but also raises many questions. As we have seen, it presents the life and teachings of Jesus updated and purified of human interpretations and its inspiring reading is enough for many readers. However, for those who seek to go beyond simple reading, The Urantia Book contains a morontia level teaching that requires in-depth and orderly study in a setting conducive to personal discovery and collective sharing. It is in fact a preparation for our future life corresponding to the teaching given on mansonia No. 5:
“A real birth of cosmic consciousness takes place on mansonia number five. You are becoming universe minded. This is indeed a time of expanding horizons. It is beginning to dawn upon the enlarging minds of the ascending mortals that some stupendous and magnificent, some supernal and divine, destiny awaits all who complete the progressive Paradise ascension, which has been so laboriously but so joyfully and auspiciously begun. At about this point the average mortal ascender begins to manifest bona fide experiential enthusiasm for the Havona ascent. Study is becoming voluntary, unselfish service natural, and worship spontaneous. A real morontia character is budding; a real morontia creature is evolving.” ([UB 47:7.5)
The teacher’s job.
This is where the teacher finds his usefulness within a study group. Facilitating or serving a study group is not something that is done lightly and without preparation. The teacher bears a responsibility, that of assisting and accompanying the participants in their discovery of facts, meanings and values without imposing his personal interpretation. For this, he has the practical application of Jesusonian pedagogy.
First of all, there must be an agreement within the group for the teacher to lead the discussions. Then, the participants must freely accept the discipline of the group, including attendance and reading in advance the texts that will be recommended by the teacher. Finally, the teacher will have prepared a list of questions relating to the text that will be studied in order to make the participants think, clarify the terminology and bring out new understandings that will be freely shared in the group.
The questions, whether they come from the teacher or the participants, like the apostles questioning Jesus, find their answers in the booklets themselves. This is where a teacher who has a good command of the content of the book is useful because he must be able to locate the answer.
During the session, the teacher will also have to clarify the terminology. The authors warn us that our language is too poor and that they extend the meaning of many terms such as the word “power”, “divinity” or “current events”. Experience shows that a participant who does not master the terminology loses interest and ends up giving up.
¶ The art of questioning
Questioning is the basis of all education. The teacher must have a thorough command of his subject in order to ask questions that will stimulate intellectual reflection, nourish the soul, and bring out new meanings in the participants. He must read the text paragraph by paragraph and note the elements that require clarification or further study. Of course, this is a time-consuming exercise, but it brings great joy because it allows the teacher to deepen his understanding even further, to produce the supreme satisfaction of service, and to participate in the expansion of the revelation on Urantia. It is a truly cosmic adventure with great consequences for Supremacy.
Finally, here are some examples of clarification and questioning.
Clarification of terminology (in blue)
“This magnificent and universal injunction to strive for the attainment of the perfection of divinity is the first duty, and should be the highest ambition, of all the struggling creature creation of the God of perfection. This possibility of the attainment of divine perfection is the final and certain destiny of all man’s eternal spiritual progress.” ([UB 1:0.4)
In this expression, what does the term <span style=“color: steelblue;”>“divinity” mean in this context? To answer this question, the teacher will ask one of the participants to refer to the Introduction and read the paragraphs in [UB 0:1.14] followed by a discussion-sharing on the impact that this implies on the personal and impersonal levels in everyone’s daily life.
“Urantia mortals can hardly hope to be perfect in the infinite sense, but it is entirely possible for human beings, starting out as they do on this planet, to attain the supernal and divine goal which the infinite God has set for mortal man; and when they do achieve this destiny, they will, in all that pertains to self-realization and mind attainment, be just as replete in their sphere of divine perfection as God himself is in his sphere of infinity and eternity. Such perfection may not be universal in the material sense, unlimited in intellectual grasp, or final in spiritual experience, but it is final and complete in all finite aspects of divinity of will, perfection of personality motivation, and God-consciousness.” ([UB 1:0.5)
In this passage, what does the term “<span style=”color: steelblue;“>realization of the self” mean? The teacher will ask to refer to [UB 100:1.5 & UB 100:2.6] followed by a discussion-sharing. He can also refer to booklet 100, section 7 to illustrate how Jesus achieved self-realization.
Choice of questions to study an idea or a concept. (In green)
“The Universal Father never imposes any form of arbitrary recognition, formal worship, or slavish service upon the intelligent will creatures of the universes. The evolutionary inhabitants of the worlds of time and space must of themselves—in their own hearts—recognize, love, and voluntarily worship him. The Creator refuses to coerce or compel the submission of the spiritual free wills of his material creatures. The affectionate dedication of the human will to the doing of the Father’s will is man’s choicest gift to God; in fact, such a consecration of creature will constitutes man’s only possible gift of true value to the Paradise Father. In God, man lives, moves, and has his being; there is nothing which man can give to God except this choosing to abide by the Father’s will, and such decisions, effected by the intelligent will creatures of the universes, constitute the reality of that true worship which is so satisfying to the love-dominated nature of the Creator Father.” ([UB 1:1.2)
<span style=“color: green;”>Questions: a) What is the implication of this statement on our lives? The teacher will invite participants to share their understanding and personal experience. b) How does this statement impact institutional religions?
“The names that creatures give to the Creator depend very much on the concept that creatures have of the Creator. <span style=”color: green;“>The First Source and Center of the Universe has never revealed itself by name, but only by its nature.” [UB 1:1.1]
<span style=“color: green;”>Question: the teacher will ask to refer to page 1965, third paragraph and the following and will ask the participant to comment on this apparent contradiction.
¶ Good practices
The teacher organizes his study group according to the local culture. A study group is not a place where intellectual egos clash, it is the place where the participants are aware of having an appointment with our Universal Father and they are animated by the desire to progress in the consciousness of God and to help each other. The teacher will be keen to establish an atmosphere of fraternity by constituting a circle of trust based on respect, non-judgment and the awareness of being children of the Universal Father.
“Spiritual growth is mutually stimulated by intimate association with other religionists. Love supplies the soil for religious growth—an objective lure in the place of subjective gratification—yet it yields the supreme subjective satisfaction. And religion ennobles the commonplace drudgery of daily living.” ([UB 100:0.2)
A study group always begins with a moment of silence in order to leave everyday problems at the door and ask for support from spiritual forces and presences. In some countries, participants wish to express a few words of thanks.
Each study group therefore has its specific organization. While giving some general observations, each teacher should be free to choose the manner of conducting his study group with the unanimous agreement of the participants. In my study group, we always have a dictionary at hand and everyone has his Urantia Book, preferably the same edition because of revisions.
A moderator is appointed at the beginning of the session. He is responsible for giving the floor in turn in chronological order if necessary to participants who request it. Respect requires that participants listen attentively to the speaker without interrupting him, but the speaker must have the tact not to monopolize it.
In turn, the participants read paragraph after paragraph, the teacher who has prepared his questions in advance where the participants who want clarifications are free to ask any questions relating to the texts. The teacher will ensure that the discussions-sharing remain focused on the subject. In our group, depending on the length and complexity of the subject, we read a paragraph and comment on it or we read a complete section before starting the questions and sharing, but this is not an obligation.
This process of “reading-questioning-sharing” skillfully organized between participants with the help of the teacher is truly beneficial for the entire group. A true cosmic expansion occurs in the minds of the participants, the Spirit of Truth is at work to bring spiritual certainty of the truth and the Thought Adjuster seizes on the discoveries to bring out new meanings of the truth to inspire the participants to live the teachings.
At the end of the study group, half an hour is devoted to self-evaluation during which participants share their experience of the session, talk about their progress and express their gratitude for the spiritual assistance they received.
| Annual Meeting of the AFLLU | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 83 — September 2018 | Prayer in the Form of a Poem |