© 1997 William M. Kelly
© 1997 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
In a world whose most changeless fact may be the fact of change, we are confronted with the task of reevaluating the relevance of the truths espoused by former generations. This is necessary because every generation is confronted by new discoveries and new personal and social experiences. Historic spiritual values undergo fresh interpretation and application with the passage of time. One of these traditional values that is being challenged today is the concept of the “Brotherhood of Man.”
For some people this phrase is unacceptable because it is couched in sexist language. It reflects a long history of male chauvinism and must be rephrased in nonsexist language before its value can be considered. Others reject it as a concept of hopelessly outmoded idealism on a planet that is torn by ethnic wars, racial struggles, economic injustices, environmental destruction, and human stupidity. It is a vision that has been tried and found wanting and has been relegated to the lowly status of an impossible ideal rather than a vigorous and substantial human reality.
I will not address the feminist agenda in this essay, not because I disagree with their position or find fault with their complaint, but because I wish to transcend the limitations of sexist language to get to the essential affirmation of the original concept, that there is a family reality to humanity. Can this concept be defended and its implications realized?
I will not address the feminist agenda in this essay, not because I disagree with their position or find fault with their complaint, but because I wish to transcend the limitations of sexist language to get to the essential affirmation of the original concept, that there is a family reality to humanity.
Robert Blye in his book, The Sibling Society, reaches the conclusion that human societies world-wide are becoming devoid of the vertical dimension of authority which used to reside in the traditional patriarchal family. Fathers have disappeared from their families in alarming numbers, either because of out of wedlock pregnancies or in divorce and desertion. The result, he says, is a society of siblings without fathers or mothers and without a sense of authority that the intact family contributed, not only to its own members, but to the other institutions of society as well. We are siblings, but we are really not brothers and sisters because we have no father, and sometimes no mother. This siblinghood does not establish a basis for the brotherhood of man or the sisterhood of woman.
The main reason the brotherhood of man has not been an inspirational ideal in our secular culture, I believe, is that it is associated with the scientific species classification of homo sapiens. Such a naturalistic, biological, or cultural view of humankind lacks a familial connotation and fails to communicate sufficient commonality among the diverse peoples of the world to inspire the concept and behavior of brotherhood. The idea and atmosphere of brotherhood requires a sense of family.
Human fraternity comes most easily in blood families, less easily in the enlarged family, tribes, and nations. A sense of brotherhood is indigenous to the nuclear family structure of parents and children. But human brotherhood based on blood ties among all human beings is too abstract an idea for most people to feel a natural identity. Racial, cultural, ethnic, class, and gender differences seem to belie any serious notion of being of “one blood” when gazing upon the myriad variations of humanity. When looking at people through the lens of these differences it simply is not true that “all men are created equal.” Nor does it seem logical that all peoples are fundamentally related beyond the “dead level” of species identification.
When looking at people through the lens of these differences it simply is not true that “all men are created equal.” Nor does it seem logical that all peoples are fundamentally related beyond the “dead level” of species identification.
Since brotherhood or sisterhood is a family term it requires parenthood to make it a reality relationship. If I am your brother or if you are my sister, we must have at least one parent in common. Otherwise the term is meaningless, at least as long as we remain at the biological, ethnic, or socio-cultural level in our thinking. This is why such an understanding can only be an idealistic abstraction at best, and the reason why it has not succeeded in revolutionizing humanity’s interactions.
But what if there really is a “brotherhood/sisterhood” of humanity, not just an ideal but a fact! On what basis could this assertion be made? As all of the religions of the world testify, this is based on the spiritual commonality of origin, nature, and destiny.
Our origins are not only biological but include the special gift of personality bestowed by God. Our personalities are unique but have a common divine origin. This gives us a personality dignity derived from the Source of all personalities. This origin of personality establishes a fraternity of personalities and is our initial human commonality.
Our nature is both human and divine, that is, we are natural animals with minds endowed with a Fragment of Divinity. We not only have a common spiritual Parent in …the our biological creation, but this Parent has made us spiritual children through the bestowal of the Divine Spirit. We are all members of the family of God. And because we have a common Parent, we are sisters and brothers.
This understanding of the universal brotherhood of man is consistent with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It transcends any “chosen people” attitude that we find in many world religions. We are all children of the same benevolent Creator which establishes our true spiritual equality despite the many differences due to our material heredity and environment.
Finally, a common destiny awaits all humanity, based on the purposes of God. Individually, if we choose, we can meet our Spirit Parent upon completion of the grand adventure of the ascension career which is open to all who will undertake it. To know God and to be like God is the goal of our entire existence. This intriguing adventure has only barely begun in this mortal life. Its enthralling fulfillment is consummated in eternity.
The authors of The Urantia Book assure us there is also a common destiny for inhabited planets. This climaxing destiny is termed a state of “Life and Light” that is somewhat analogous to the concepts of Utopia projected by visionaries throughout the world. Many people are becoming convinced that we are in the beginning stages of a spiritual awakening on this planet, even in the face of an overall decline in traditional religious institutions and a deterioration of morality in society.There is a general recognition that our world is in the midst of a major transitional period in our history. A sense of cosmic citizenship is emerging in many people’s minds that transcends the boundaries of traditional religion. Indeed, there is a perception among many scientists and others that we are not the only inhabited planet in the universe and that this is not “accidental.”
There is a general recognition that our world is in the midst of a major transitional period in our history. A sense of cosmic citizenship is emerging in many people’s minds that transcends the boundaries of traditional religion.
The secular skeptics among us say, “Well, all this talk about a spiritual renaissance sounds great, but we need to be realistic. How do we know this is not just another visionary pipe dream? Where is the evidence for such a conclusion?”
Look around you at what is happening in the world-not just the focus of the media, which is usually negative, but the overall picture. Seldom in history have we experienced an era with greater spiritual hunger than our generation. Take a look at the historical perspective presented by the authors of The Urantia Book. This marvelous vision of spiritual reality is being discovered by tens of thousands of searching people on our world.
But paganized and socialized Christianity stands in need of new contact with the uncompromised teachings of Jesus; it languishes for lack of a new vision of the Master’s life on earth. A new and fuller revelation of the religion of Jesus is destined to conquer an empire of materialistic secularism and to overthrow a world sway of mechanistic naturalism. Urantia [our world] is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment. (UB 195:9.2)
But most of all look within. Listen to your heart, the intuitions of your soul. Take time to meditate and listen to the indwelling Spirit of God. Remember that Elijah didn’t hear the voice of God in the thunder or the fire, in the impressive sounds of the outside arena. He heard the “still small voice” within guiding him. So can we find this guidance of the indwelling Spirit of God.
If we could see our fellow human beings beyond their surface appearances and intuit them as persons like ourselves who are partners with the indwelling Spirit of God, instead of merely clever animals or variously annoying individuals in our daily experience, we would have a start in understanding and living in the context of the brotherhood of man.
Vern B. Grimsley put it this way:
All human kind are one vast family
this world our home.
We sleep beneath one roof
the starry sky.
We warm ourselves before one hearth
the blazing sun.
Upon one floor of soil we stand
and breath one air
and drink one water
and walk the night
beneath one luminescent moon.
The children of one God we are
and brothers of one blood
and members of one worldwide
Family of God.
I believe the Family of God is a fact, not just an ideal. I also have experienced the amazing difference it makes when I view another person as truly my spiritual sibling. My brother, my sister-I invite you to join me in this perception!
William M. Kelly is a school psychologist and former Presbyterian minister who resides in Pocatello, Idaho.