© 2008 Henry Begemann
© 2008 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| Moral Cosmic Citizenship | Volume 9, Number 1, 2008 (Summer) — Index | Casting Pearls Before Personality |
There may be a great difference between acting from good human motives and doing the Father’s will. Morality and its correlated motivation is in the first place an evolutionary phenomenon. Then it is “super-animal, but sub-spiritual.” Morality derived from this level is not spiritual activity, but an activity derived from a sense of duty. Morality as Jesus taught is more than evolutionary, it is revelationary because its origin is in the Father-child relationship. This experienced relationship has as a consequence an enhanced morality that transcends duty. “The one characteristic of Jesus’ teaching was that the morality of his philosophy originated in the personal relation of the individual to God—this very child-father relationship.” [UB 140:10.5]
We may intellectually accept this, believe it, but this is not sufficient, not the real thing. The Urantia Book continually and consistently places the accent of the point that such a relationship should be an actuality for us. The first phase of the kingdom is described as “The personal and inward experience of the spiritual life of the fellowship of the individual believer with God the Father.” [UB 170:4.2] Then the second phase of the kingdom results as “The enlarging brotherhood of gospel believers, the social aspects of the enhanced morals and quickened ethics resulting from the reign of God’s spirit in the hearts of individual believers…” [UB 170:4.3]
To have once experienced this contact with the Father does not imply that henceforward this contact is an established factual relationship. All too often, and all too easily, we drift away from this living contact. Then our morality is no longer rooted in this communion-experience; and it descends again to the evolutionary level of duty, though our aims and purposes may nominally remain the same. We then act as sons of God (at best,) but not in a sonship with God. And our good motives and intentions are human then, and not divine, though they may be our human concepts (not experience) of the Father’s will.
To know the Father’s will requires an actual, living contact with him as he lives in us. This contact is characterized by experiencing his attributes as our values. When we actually feel those values (values must be felt says The Urantia Book,) then we begin to discern the Father’s will. “The human Jesus saw God as being holy, just, and great, as well as being true, beautiful, and good. All these attributes of divinity he focused in his mind as the ‘will of the Father in heaven.’” [UB 196:0.2] Searching among alternative religions in Holland,
Henry Begemann found The Urantia Book as he was retiring from an insurance sales career. Recognizing its importance, he immediately began translating the book into the Dutch language. His dedication inspired him to organize and facilitate study groups as European Field Representative. He served on the General Council of the Brotherhood (now the Fellowship) before his graduation to the Mansion worlds in 1990.
| Moral Cosmic Citizenship | Volume 9, Number 1, 2008 (Summer) — Index | Casting Pearls Before Personality |