© 2010 Olga López
© 2010 Urantia Association of Spain
Fragment of “Dialogues with Sofía”, by Olga López
—What are you going to talk to me about today, Sofia? Miguel asked as they walked along the promenade, bordering the beach. That afternoon there was a pleasant breeze. September was beginning its journey and the heat was no longer so rigorous.
“Today I’m going to talk to you about the god who learns,” Sofía answered quickly, as if she had prepared the lesson.
“The god who learns?” Miguel repeated. I believed that God knew everything, that he didn’t need to learn anything.
—If one day you decide to delve deeper into all this, you will understand that the term “God” is a gross simplification of a much more complex reality —the woman replied, smiling— The god who learns is not the one we know up to now as “God” . To clarify the terms and avoid confusion, think of “God” as the Father. Together with the Son and the Spirit, he is installed at the absolute level. There time and space do not exist. Well, the learning god is located at the finite level, within the framework of space and time. It had an origin in time, although it has no end.
“Like us…” the young man commented.
Like us —Sofía confirmed. And he continued — The learning god was created by the Trinity at a certain time, long ago. But, unlike the persons that make up the Trinity, it is not complete: it grows, it evolves. In a way it is like a fetus inside its mother’s womb.
So it’s still incomplete.
—That is
“And who or what makes it grow?”
—Simply put: all
Miguel stopped and stared at Sofía, inquisitive. At those moments it seemed that time had stopped around them and that the rest of the people who walked next to them were simply part of a set.
—You mean I’m helping
—That’s right. And me, and that man who’s sitting there, and that couple walking along the shore,” Sofia pointed out, pointing her chin at all those people.
—But how?
—With your experiences, dear Miguel. The god who learns makes your experiences his own, learns from them. It is like an immense bag of experiences of all the beings that populate the superuniverses. He is doing something that absolute gods cannot do, which is learning. The god who learns is another bridge built by the Creator towards his creatures.
—“And why would the gods want to create a god who learns?” asked the young man.
—“Why would the gods want to create other creatures?” asked Sofía in turn. “I suppose it’s a way to ”break away" from the chains of infinity, as well as an act of love. The Father creates imperfect creatures with the potential for perfection, and this potential is gradually developed as the creature ascends, as it learns to recognize its creators and allows them to accompany it on its upward path. The potentials become real, and the experiences accumulated along the way are not lost to the creatures or the creators.
—Well, it is obvious that experiences are not lost for creatures…
—Not so obvious, dear Miguel. I remind you that there is a real possibility that a creature embraces evil and ceases to exist.
—It’s true. What happens in that case with the experiences? Do they also pass to the sack of the learning god?
—Yeah. Experiences are not lost. In fact nothing is lost in the cosmos. But keep one thing in mind, Miguel. Each creature is endowed with a unique personality. No two are alike in the entire universe of universes. Therefore, the experiences that each person lives are also unique. We all have our hallmark, our mark of exclusivity; we have unique capacities and potentials, which can give rise to experiences and realities that are also unique. What happens when someone embraces evil and ceases to be because it becomes unreal? That although their experiences—their realities—pass automatically to the learning god, their potentials will remain unmanifested forever and ever. No one in the entire cosmos will make them come true in the same way as the person who has ceased to be. We are the bearers of unique values and meanings.
—“Does that mean the learning god will never be fully complete?” the young man asked.
—No. Sooner or later someone will develop the potentials that were pending to be manifested. But undoubtedly its evolution will have been delayed. Do you realize, Michael? As insignificant as we may appear in our own eyes, we are contributing to the growth of a god. We are indispensable in its development. He needs us.
Miguel kept walking head down and thoughtful. The idea of an incomplete god who learns from the experiences of creatures was completely new to him, but he was beginning to glimpse, once again, that everything fitted into the puzzle of creation, of which Sofia had given him some key pieces.
—Do you know something? Precisely one of the most important stages on our way to Paradise consists of recognizing the presence of the god who learns.
—“You mean we’ll see him like I’m seeing you now?”
—That’s how it is.
—“And will we also see the persons of the Trinity?”
—“Also, though that comes later down the road.” We cannot recognize the presence of the Deities if we have not first perceived the learning god.
—“Of course, when we can perceive it, it won’t be complete…” the young man ventured.
—Possibly.
—“By the way, when will it be complete?”
Sofia sighed, looking towards the horizon. Miguel imitated her. Looking out to sea always made him think of infinity.
—“When the superuniverses are completed,” the woman replied, “so I’m afraid there’s still a long time to go.” Who knows where we will be by then!
—“How are superuniverses completed?” asked the young man. It was terrible, one question always led to another.
—As I already told you, the superuniverses belong to imperfect and incomplete creation. As such they are perfecting themselves physically, mentally and spiritually. The physical creation is not finished. The system of worlds to which the Earth belongs, for example, is far from having reached a thousand inhabited worlds (as I understand it, it has not even reached seven hundred). Our local universe is not finished either. So you can imagine that the rest of the creation is also more or less the same. But there is not only physical evolution. In the same way that human beings evolve on an individual scale, the civilizations that these human beings make up on each of the inhabited planets also evolve. This evolution counts, and a lot, in the growth of the god who learns.
— In other words, that civilizations are also being perfected.
—That’s how it is. There will come a time when utopia will be a reality in our world. Nice, right?
—“Nice and hopeful.”
—TRUE. Utopia is not an unrealizable dream but it will be a reality sooner or later. Imagine that utopia is spreading throughout all creation. First in the worlds, then in entire systems, and so on until it spreads through the largest units: constellations, local universes and superuniverses. There will come a day when every corner of the superuniverse will have reached perfection! Well, precisely on that day in the very distant future, the god who learns will say “here I am.” And do you know where he will reside from then on?
—In Paradise? Miguel ventured, thinking that he would share residence with the absolute Deities.
“No, much closer: at the headquarters of our superuniverse.”
—And so?
—“Well, I told you that our superuniverse is just a joint representation of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. And the learning god is a creation of the Trinity. I guess, being a finite god, it’s the most suitable finite place to reside.
—“And what will happen next?”
Sofia sighed deeply. For a moment only the waves of the sea were heard gently breaking against the shore.
—“One act of creation is over, and it’s time for another to begin: the great adventure of outer space. Out there is a creation under construction, with worlds to be created and creatures to be born. By the time the learning god finishes completion, there will be, on the one hand, a universe perfect by nature —the only perfect one today— and on the other, a universe perfect by evolution. Everything will be ready for the inhabitants of outer space to arrive at our finished and perfected superuniverses, on their way to a perfection of a different kind.
—“The Great Chief never repeats himself,” commented Miguel ironically.
—Is not it wonderful? —Sofía looked to the west, where the sun was already beginning to decline. In the same way that no two sunsets are the same, nor two people are the same, neither are the acts of the great play that is Creation repeated. There will always be something new and exciting to deal with. We will learn from the inhabitants of outer space in the same way that they will learn from us, in the same way as when we traverse the perfect universe and fraternize with its inhabitants.
—And then? Michael asked.
—At the moment everything is conjecture… But it is possible that the Big Chief, as you just called him, tries a new variation: an infinite cosmos. Of course this is like saying nothing. If I am incapable of imagining what outer space will be like, its inhabitants, and the kinds of experiences they will have, let alone conceive what an infinite creation will be like!
They continued walking in silence. The sun had just gone down just behind a wisp of cloud, which allowed its rays to be seen descending obliquely towards the horizon. Miguel remembered that, when he was little and saw the same phenomenon, he told his mother: “Look, mom, a sunset from God.” He couldn’t help but smile at that memory, nor be amazed by the little beauties that peeked into our eyes every day. Beauties that were never repeated! Sofía was right: if the little things don’t repeat themselves, neither do the big ones.
Miguel sighed deeply, fully enjoying that moment and that afternoon stroll by the sea.
—“How can you be pessimistic, after knowing all this?” he finally asked.
—The best recipe against pessimism is to increase perspective. And we this afternoon have arrived at the cosmic perspective! the woman exclaimed.
They both laughed and, without saying anything else, turned around and headed back.
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/