© 2010 Guy de Viron, Pastor Louis Pernot, Max Masotti, Chris Ragetly, Françoise Burniat, Octavie Jung, Murielle Duchêne, Anne-Marie Ronfet, Jean-Claude Romeuf, Christian Boucher, Tanja Konnerth
© 2010 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
“Ah! If you only knew!”
This could be Chris’ exhortation accompanying us, all in spirit, during our stay in Chalès! Here we are a little more reassured by his study on the Mansion World! If the transition there risks being gentle, our interest remains primarily the effort to put into practice here below the teachings of the Urantia Book.
And, rest assured, Chris’ studies will still be at the Lien for some time to come. All our gratitude for this spiritual heritage…
Guy
Editor’s note (editor’s note):
The Links are quarterly and appear on the 15th of March, June, September and December! They are first sent to subscribers in digital form (PDF format) on these same dates and then, as far as possible, in their “paper” form. As AFLUB prints are grouped with other periodicals, it is possible that the deadline for the paper format is longer. As for the texts intended to be published within the Link concerned, they must imperatively arrive 30 days before the aforementioned publication date and approved by our president, Dominique Ronfet, director of publication. Thank you for your understanding.
Our meeting in Chalès has barely ended and the one for spring 2011 is already taking shape.
The place: Lyon? Or maybe a return to Lumières?
For the subject we would return to the fundamentals: Religion in the Human Experience Booklet 100, with questions prepared by our friend Jean du Sud (who will recognize himself).
This theme could challenge us on the notion of personal religion.
Or will we project ourselves towards these societies anchored in Light and Life by studying Booklet 55?
All this remains to be confirmed. We would also be delighted to know the topics that are particularly close to your heart and have not been covered.
So, write to us!
But what would the quality of our work be without long breaks for relaxation that allow us to recharge our batteries with our family?
Summer is coming and so I wish everyone a warm and sunny holiday.
Dominique Ronfet
Baha’i Faith, also known as the Baha’i Religion, was founded by the Persian Mirza Husayn 'Alî̀ in 1863. This name is derived from the nickname given to its founder: Bahá’u’lláh (in Arabic, “Glory of God” or “Splendor of God”). Bahá’ís are the followers of Bahá’u’lláh. This religion has about a few million members. Its world center is located in Haifa, Israel.
Benchmarks for evolving, in the long term, towards a society worthy of the name. It is the Baha’i approach that traces our path towards a transformed world, based on ethical and spiritual values, the only ones capable of curbing global problems, the effects of which man has accentuated, both in the area of pollution and climate, as well as in the disappearance of resources and biodiversity.
Excerpt from a Baha’i pamphlet
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven
[…]
What is at issue is whether we think that it is really always the will of God that is accomplished on this Earth or not. For those who think so, like Muslims, or even like Calvin thought, this request can mean that we know how to accept the will of God, that we are given to submit to it, since in any case this divine will must be accomplished. But we can think that everything that happens is not precisely the will of God, and that this is indeed the explanation for the existence of evil: it is what deviates from the divine plan. We can think that God can only want good, and that he is at work so that progressively it is his will, his creative plan that is accomplished. There then can be found an essential role for man, his vocation, to accept taking part in the creation of God by accomplishing his will, in the world in general, and in himself in particular. There is no stoic resignation in the Gospel, on the contrary, a cooperation of man with God’s plan. It may well be a request that extends the previous one: “that I may be able to accomplish Your will on this earth… and not my own”.
Pastor Louis Pernot
Central Universe
Max Masotti
The Father desires all his creatures to be in personal communion with him. He has on Paradise a place to receive all those whose survival status and spiritual nature make possible such attainment. Therefore settle in your philosophy now and forever: To each of you and to all of us, God is approachable, the Father is attainable, the way is open; the forces of divine love and the ways and means of divine administration are all interlocked in an effort to facilitate the advancement of every worthy intelligence of every universe to the Paradise presence of the Universal Father. (UB 5:1.8)
The Divine Counselor who makes this statement is careful to say that the Father is approachable and accessible to each of us mortals, but also to all other creatures who populate the universes of time and space. The Father is no exception to anyone. This place in Paradise reserved for each of us exists. During our evolutionary ascension, we will have to live and work on a multitude of spheres, each more different from the other, and on each of these spheres, starting with the world of mansions No. 1, we have our place, and this place exists. It is up to our free choice for us to one day occupy these places. The way is open. Let us know how to show ourselves worthy of the trust that the Father has placed in us.
Chris Ragetly
In his seven bestowals upon the worlds of his own creation, Michael of Nebadon showed himself to be an understanding and compassionate ruler. The Melchizedeks, for example, said of him: “He loved us, he understood us, he served with us, and we are forever his loyal and devoted companions.” (UB 119:1.5)
On our Earth too, he shared our human condition, from birth to death, and even further: to the point of being resurrected, to show us the inspired path he followed, and thus help us. With women, his attitude is clear throughout his life: women are the collaborators of men. Let us see. In what environment does he arrive?
Francoise Burniat
An African frog has joined the ranks of some 175 animals whose genomes have been deciphered. The sequencing of the first amphibian genome, the frog Xenopus tropicalis, shows that it shares remarkable traits with the human genome: nearly 80% of all genes associated with human diseases have an equivalent in the amphibian. This result suggests that the frog can serve as a model to study and better understand the molecular mechanisms behind many human diseases.
The study could also provide clues to the origin of the rapid decline of frog species worldwide. With a genome with about the same number of protein-coding genes as humans, Xenopus tropicalis is one of the best-studied frog species in the laboratory.
The African frog Xenopus tropicalis is the first amphibian whose genome has been sequenced. An advance that will allow us to better understand these animals but could also have repercussions on research into many human diseases.
The authors of the article, researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center, conducted an in-depth analysis of the structure of the frog’s genome, which contains more than 1.7 billion bases spread across 10 chromosomes. In all, they identified between 20,000 and 21,000 genes, including more than 1,700 that are very similar to genes found in humans with cancer, asthma, or heart disease.
They also studied some regions of the genome where genes are arranged in almost the same order as in humans or chickens, a phenomenon known as conserved synteny. These common regions correspond to fragments of a 360-million-year-old genome, that of the last common ancestor of all mammals, birds, amphibians and dinosaurs that have existed on Earth.
Another surprising result was the number of mobile genetic elements, sometimes called “jumping genes,” that scientists found in the Xenopus genome. Such sequences, known as transposons, were once considered junk DNA but now many scientists believe they may be essential to understanding how the genome works. A third of the Xenopus tropicalis genome is made up of transposons, a particularly high percentage, and the challenge now is to understand what this phenomenon means.
_Editor’s note: for the discerning palate, UB references: UB 62:3.9, UB 65:2.6-7,UB 100:1.4
Science and Future
The arid desert burns my eyes and my feet.
I move forward, the hot air projects mirages.
The wind at my back, my heart trapped
Secretly hopes to take a turn:
Through awareness, a new perspective
Let the burdens of the journey be carried away…
Suddenly, gushing after the rain
A carpet of flowers of all colors.
Amazed, I move forward for a new start!
I feel like a child
Eyes wide open.
Beauty was staring me in the face.
Back to the fears that cause so much havoc…
Octavia Jung
JESUS AND SOME ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE
We discussed different themes of the life of Jesus, led by John. Each theme was presented succinctly by a person following the Urantia Book and was followed by a debate where everyone could express themselves freely by bringing their personal feelings and experience.
Murielle began the discussions by talking about how Jesus met people during his journey around the Mediterranean, how he approached them, how he learned from them, how he passed on his teachings to them and revealed the best in each person with great patience, understanding, gentleness but also firmness.
Murielle Duchêne
Trust is about adopting this general attitude that will determine our behavior based on a feeling, then on reasoning, and finally on a real partnership. It remains the basis of all relationships between individuals, specifically in family and friendly ties, like the cement or lime that binds the stones of a building. As a result, it is omnipresent and indispensable for our relational construction.
A fortiori, a mortal ascender will know and acquire this value which will make him a being of relationship to the Father, via his Thought Adjuster, but also to his fellow men. Throughout his ascension, he will have to produce the fruits of trust which are: loyalty, sincerity, courage, fidelity, perseverance, integrity, self-control, character, humility, responsibility, dignity, inner peace, enthusiasm and the joy of living! His attitude will resemble that of a child who marvels at the eternal play of divine life. His trust will then be perpetually growing, subjected to a good number of tests, missions and credits. It will be conjugated under the terms of mutual trust, reciprocal trust, self-confidence, intimate, fraternal or friendly trust…
Guy from Viron
Second national meeting in the country of Grand Meaulnes *
From May 10 to 13, 2010
A silver pond, peaceful swans, a castle, buildings scattered in a huge park populated with trees of various species, flower beds where adults could play hide-and-seek… The braying of a donkey sometimes and adorable little rabbits with all-white behinds that disappear into the bushes without being disturbed, for fun… This is the Chalès estate. A mini sandy beach, miniature pontoons for possible embarkations. There was even a wedding… We barely noticed it, the space is so big. You have to walk a bit, of course. Several hundred meters separate the different buildings: a triangle to be crossed many times; the place to sleep, the place for meetings and the place to eat.
Anne-Marie Ronfet
I have just been browsing through some Internet forums in which the detractors of the Urantia Book, who without caring about its real message and its content, mainly criticize it for two things:
I noticed that the reviews I read were generally from people who had skimmed a few pages of the book and who came to quick conclusions by taking certain passages out of context.
The ideas that I am giving you here are not intended to justify The Urantia Book to severe detractors who will in any case stick to their position, but rather to give confidence and a means of reacting to accusations to those who, imbued with tolerance, are on the path of a progressive search for the truth.
Jean-Claude Romeuf
Prayer of this day
Thank you Lord for this day that is dawning,
For this heart that wakes up near yours.
Thank you for the peace that lives in me this morning,
For this joy of starting this day
By knowing how to recognize Your presence.
I pray to you Lord for those
Who do not have the chance to know You
And who live in solitude.
Fill them with Your blessings:
Love, listening, presence and wisdom.
Overcoming Differences of Opinion. It may be that simple differences of opinion are at the root of most of our arguments. Wouldn’t it be better to get into conflict with others less often about everything?
Different opinions can coexist. First of all, we should be perfectly aware of the fact that everyone has the right to form their own opinion. My view of things is my own. Others do not necessarily have to share it. We know this in theory. And yet, as soon as we are not careful, we find ourselves arguing because of differences of opinion. Next time, let us be aware of this: the point of view of our interlocutor is his own, we also have ours and the two can coexist without any problem.
Tanja Konnerth
Central Universe
Max Masotti
In the series “Did you know?”:
“3. Personality creates a unique time sense out of insight into Reality plus a consciousness of presence and an awareness of duration.” (UB 12:5.9)
Gee, …I don’t know about you, but when you read that, you feel all weird, right?
Dominique Ronfet
Le Lien Urantien is the journal of the French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book, a member of the UAI, the International Urantia Association.
Head office | rue du Temple 1, F-13012 Marseille, +33 (0)4 91 27 13 20 |
afflu@urantia.fr | |
Site | www.urantia.fr/afflu.htm |
Publication Director | Dominique Ronfet, d.ronfet@noos.fr |
Editor in Chief | Guy de Viron, guydeviron@bluewin.ch |
Reading Committee | Jean Royer, Max Masotti, Chris Ragetly |
Subscription | €20 per year (quarterly publication 4 issues) |
Legal deposit | December 1997 — ISSN 1285-1116 |
Print run | 125 copies © 1955 URANTIA Foundation |
All rights reserved. Materials from The Urantia Book are used with permission. Any artistic depictions, interpretations, opinions or conclusions implied or stated are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of URANTIA Foundation or its affiliates.