© 2008 Urantia Association of Spain
| Poem to the Adjuster | Luz y Vida — No. 13 — May 2008 — Index | News about the 2009 UAI International Conference |
Urantia Association of Spain
The VIII Meeting of Readers was held at the Osuna hotel in Madrid, located in a residential area of the city, where we were able to enjoy almost two days of a relaxed and fraternal atmosphere. This meeting was attended by 24 people from Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, Burgos, Vizcaya, Seville, Madrid and Malaga.
Unlike previous meetings, this one was shorter since the organization of the international conference of Urantia International Association to be held next year in Benalmádena Costa occupies a large part of our time and attention, but we did not want to break with the annual rhythm of our meetings, especially considering that next year we will not hold a national meeting, also due to the international conference.
This year we chose a significant enough document from the book to have a free debate about it without a previous introduction. The document in question was 100, “Religion in Human Experience.” We chose the document for two reasons: firstly, because it magnificently reflects the attitude that a person follows according to the personal religion that the book continually tells us about. And secondly, because it magnificently exposes the example of a religious person reflected in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. We are very satisfied because the debate scheduled for Saturday morning, the 3rd, not only went smoothly from the beginning, but also took a little longer than expected.
In the afternoon we celebrate the assembly of the Urantia Association of Spain, where we inform the members about the activities carried out during the previous year, as well as the projects that we have underway. It was also unanimously decided that the board of directors, which has been in charge of the association for four years, renew for four more years. After a short break, we continued until almost dinnertime discussing aspects of the organization of the conference. At all times the participation was very active and very interesting ideas were offered about how to arrange the program of activities so that the conference allows both the debate of the book and the socialization among the attendees.
As usual in our meetings, we enjoy the company of other readers to the fullest both in the activities of the meeting and in our free time. In addition, the place and the time contributed to enjoy the pleasure of the conversation. In short, this year’s meeting was short but intense.
¶ Comments from attendees
Document 100 is a human relations treaty. If we all followed the teachings it contains to the letter, we would make this a better world for everyone. This document guides the search of the human being towards spiritual growth.
What is religion? What does it mean to be a religious person? The word “religion” squeals to most people because they immediately associate it with institutionalized religions. For many years we have been forced to follow a dogmatic religion, and this has provoked a reaction of rejection. “Religion” has been confused with “church”, with the aggravating circumstance that the Catholic Church has been very attached to political power. The word “religion” today has very negative connotations that it will take a long time to eliminate, if another term is not used in its place.
Religion is actually a personal feeling that imposes on us attitudes of overcoming life. It is a way of living, a personal experience. As we live it, so we apply it in our daily life.
“Religion” comes from the Latin “religare”, “to reunite”. The meaning of religion is to unite man with God, but the word has now lost its original meaning.
Many people have the impulse to do well because they unconsciously follow the impulse of their Adjuster. But your momentum can falter at any time in the face of any adversity if it is not done well by a conscious and solid decision.
Let us remember the passage in which the scene of primitive man before the saber-toothed tiger is mentioned. If we only look at primitive man we see an image of animality and aggressiveness, but when we broaden the perspective we see that he is actually protecting his family. It is necessary to broaden the perspective to be able to understand others.
Our example will be the one that will make others ask for higher values. Jesus is a living example of this. Religion is the embodiment in real life of a belief that we hold through faith. It is not based on reason, but it is reasonable. There is a correspondence between an action and its consequences that always leads us to do good. The problem with organized religions is that they dogmatize what is right and wrong.
The human being has an innate tendency to develop, to grow, to associate with other people. Institutionalized religions should not be attacked because they fulfilled (and in fact do) their function: they serve to guide people who need to be guided. Churches are a lesser evil, offering rituals because human beings need them in a certain way. No one should be forced to awaken to spiritual life. We must explain our ideas about religion only when asked; otherwise we would create rejection.
God is IN us, and acts in the world through us. Institutionalized religions claim to act THROUGH us. Our obligation is to interpret the will of the Father to act as God would. It is easy to know what to do; the difficult thing is to do it.
Human beings suffer because they have no answers. Organized religions offer answers but when perceiving a lack of coherence, disappointment occurs. That is where it is necessary to show what personal religion consists of. But you have to be careful, because the human being has a very ingrained hierarchy and you can fall into the errors of the institutionalized religions that we are just criticizing.
Leading a religious life implies relativizing, trying to understand others. Communication with others does not have to be exclusively verbal: gestures, attitudes, behaviors are also involved… All of this can flourish over time and bear fruit. We all have to learn from everyone. The basis of helping others is in fraternity, in the feeling that drives us to help other people.
Through sacrifice and “picking the ditch” is how you grow spiritually. We are now going through the stage of learning religion as a personal experience. The previous stage must be left behind, for personal religion to come alive. Bearing in mind what we are told on p.1097, that “there can be no growth without psychic conflict and without spiritual agitation”.
Are we at the beginning of a spiritual change? It seems that something is moving in the world in this sense, and the readers of the UB (who make up the so-called “Urantia movement”) have our part to play in this spiritual awakening.
The teachings of the UB can be that “upper layer” that is placed on top of the different religious beliefs that exist in the world today, and that for this very reason can achieve the unity of all religious people, whatever their initial beliefs, and always keeping in mind what we are told on page 2086: the social action of religions should be separated from spiritual action. We must give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/
| Poem to the Adjuster | Luz y Vida — No. 13 — May 2008 — Index | News about the 2009 UAI International Conference |