Religion is society's adjustment to the mysterious and paradoxical nature of the spiritual realm, evolving as a biologic reaction that remains steadfast even as other aspects of a race change or perish. [1] Religion involves recognizing the insideness of human experience, allowing individuals to see the universe as inherently spiritual. [2] Jesus taught that true religion involves believing and doing what the gospel requires, not just passively following ceremonial requirements. [3]
Religion instills in believers a spiritualized consciousness of divine reality, grounded in faith and a deep trust in moral and spiritual values, ultimately enhancing our confidence in reality. [4] Man's determination to find God and be like Him is the supreme gesture of religion. [5] Religion thrives through faith and insight, uncovering spiritual meanings in familiar facts rather than seeking new experiences or truths. [6]
True religion requires effort, struggle, faith, love, loyalty, determination, and progress, while theology of authority demands little from its followers, providing a safe refuge for those who fear spiritual challenges. [7] True religion is the eternal foundation and guiding star of enduring civilization. [8]
True religion carries over the worth-while culture and wisdom of knowing God and striving to be like him, serving as a moral stabilizer, social guide, and spiritual pilot amid social changes. [9]
The true essence of religion lies in the experiencing of divinity within the consciousness of a moral being, representing a logical and meaningful connection to eternal realities. [10]
Religion, founded on faith, hope, love, assurance, and mercy, can triumph over despair and darkness, ultimately vindicating the truth of goodness and the faith of the spirit-led creature. [11]
True religion is the faith-child of moral consciousness, not a mere intellectual assent to dogmatic doctrines, but an experience of the Spirit bearing witness that we are children of God. [12]
Religious experience encompasses faith in supreme Deity, hope of eternal survival, and love of one’s fellow beings, guiding individuals to depend on the absolute love of the infinite Father and focus on doing His will. [13] Religion is the education of the soul, union of supreme values, and realization of universal reality through faith in survival. [14]
Religion is the recognition of the divine urge within, leading to faith in the attainment of righteousness and perfection for salvation and the preservation of true and good values. [15] Religion is a faith-trust in the goodness of God, where God must not only be great and intelligent, but also moral and good. [16]
A life rooted in the Father's will, embracing truth, beauty, and goodness, leads finite beings towards spiritual supremacy and a deeper understanding of the infinite Father. [17]
The hunger quest for divine reality and spiritual values leads to the realization of a communal consciousness with God and fellow beings, inspiring increased social service. [18] The truly religious individual dedicates their unified self to serving the universe family by identifying with it. [19]
Religious tradition, as an imperfectly preserved record of the experiences of God-knowing men, is an untrustworthy guide for religious living and true information about the Universal Father due to the alterations made by primitive man's mythmaking. [20] Religion is the impulse for organizing the soul for service, reaching for a sublime and spiritually progressive goal. [21] True religion is an insight into reality and the soul's trust, not merely a collection of dogmatic doctrines. [22] Knowing God as Father, yourself as son of God, and man as brother determines the purpose of true religion. [23] Religion is the living experience of divinity attainment through a life of service driven by a devotion to meaningful and supreme values. [24]
The religionist of philosophic attainment believes in a personal God of personal salvation, but above all, in a God of love, as love is the essence of religion and the wellspring of superior civilization. [25] Loving God is the essence of true religion, infusing spiritual insight with a sense of reality. [26]
True religion embodies loving your neighbor as yourself, seeking the highest good for all through spiritual realization and a belief in the brotherhood of God. [27]
True religion is yielding intellectual loyalty to the highest dictates of spiritual consciousness, guiding man towards his highest ethical and moral concepts, life's greatest values, and the universe's deepest realities. [28] Religion evolves from fear to love, bridging the gap between the unknown and the Universal Father's limitless affection. [29] All religions teach salvation from self, a deliverance from the evils of creature isolation. [30] True religion is the soul's self-conscious relation with the Creator, while organized religion is man's attempt to communalize worship. [31]
Religion thrives through faith and insight, finding new spiritual meanings in familiar facts, and experiencing profound spiritual communion with inner spirit influences. [32] Religion is the spiritual unification of all that is good, beautiful, and true in human experience. [33] Religion is the subjective response to total objectivity, where moral choosing invites a divine invasion of the soul. [34]
Trusting one’s present and future to God is the central truth of all religion, as man willingly places his deepest interests in the care and guidance of that power designated by his faith. [35] Unqualified dependence upon love of Father embodies the ideal of genuine religious experience. [36]
Wholehearted devotion to supreme values is the essence of true religion, guiding human civilization towards a higher ethical consciousness and a divine embrace of cosmic values. [37] Enlightened religion utilizes a wise spiritual reaction to the universe on three levels: intellectual, morontial, and spiritual. [38] The worship of God and service of man are the essence of religion. [39]
The Jesusonian gospel, explaining the Fatherhood of God and brotherhood of all men through loving ministry and social service, is needed in India today, free from Western dogmas. [40]
The unity of religious experience among a social or racial group is derived from the identical nature of the God fragment indwelling the individual, leading to diverse interpretations reflected in 500 definitions by theologians. [41] The acme of religious living is marked by wholehearted devotion to supreme values and the pursuit of cosmic reality with noble and grand qualities. [42] Activation of religion is superemotional, unifying personal conduct and performances through spiritual energies on transcendent levels. [43] All religions teach worship of Deity and offer doctrines of human salvation, urging followers to seek truth and unity in their spiritual beliefs. [44]
Religion, while not the result of rationalistic material cosmology, is born from rational insight rooted in man's moral consciousness, always indefinable in terms of reason and logic. [45] True, man can graft apparently religious traits onto his nonreligious roots, but this experience is devoid of survival values and spiritual growth. [46]
Religion, like the birth of a child, is a gradual emergence in the human mind and consciousness, requiring conscious effort and individual determination to reach spiritual growth and awareness. [47] Your religion's object of worship determines whether it is good or evil. [48]
Religion must be its own critic and judge, as it can never be understood from outside; personal belief and spiritual experience are the only assurance of a connection to God. [49]
Religion is a personal experience tied to the pursuit of final values, with cosmic growth linked to the accumulation of meanings and elevation of values, while nobility remains an unconscious growth. [50] Religion cannot be isolated from life; it is a dynamic faith that cannot be defined by isolating it from other aspects of existence. [51]
The certitude of religion springs from the foundations of the entire personality, triumphing over the contradictions of despair and logic in the material mind. [52]
Prayer, as the chief agency of religion, promotes social evolution, moral progress, and spiritual attainment by aligning with values of group approval and general social recognition. [53]
Genuine religious assurance, characterized by its compellingly authoritative and undefiled nature, is paradoxically devoid of self-assertion or egoistic exaltation, emanating from the partnership between humanity and the everlasting source of wisdom. [54]
Religion conserves, exalts, and spiritualizes morals and values, guiding individuals in their personal and social adjustments towards a brotherhood of mankind. [55] The religion of Jesus declares divine source of values personally attainable, embodying the highest concept of worship and spirituality ever known. [56] New religion derives authority from fruits of acceptance in personal experience. [57]
The key to human survival lies in the moral evaluation with a religious meaning, achieved through the spiritual insight gained from the discovery in mind and revelation by Adjuster. [58] The fear-inspiring doctrine enslaves men into bigotry, fanaticism, superstition, intolerance, and barbarous cruelties. [59] The religion of Jesus does not seek to escape this life, but to enhance and ennoble the life men now live in the flesh. [60] The earmarks of religion are certainty, consistency, love, and service. [61] The purity and nobility of a civilization's religion is best judged by its encouragement of constantly improving social morality and ethical culture. [62] Religion endows immediate availability of spiritual illumination, despite the ongoing growth in grace and advancement in religious experience. [63]
The quality of a religion is indicated by the level of values, depth of meanings, consecration intensity, and unfettered progress of the individual in idealistic spiritual living and realization of sonship with God. [64] In all ages, the paramount experience in religion is the feeling regarding moral values and social meanings, not theological thinking. [65] Religion is founded on the Adjuster assumption that faith is valid, enabling the attainment of God through personal spiritual experience. [66]
Ganid's abstract of “our religion” is a concise summary of beliefs in one loving, merciful, and personal Father who guides us and all beings, inspiring us to live in brotherhood and service to others. [67]
True religion, as a personal and spiritual experience, has reference to destiny and reality of attainment through wholehearted faith acceptance and the revelation of the Spirit of Truth. [68]
Religion implies a spirit world responsive to human fundamental needs, with revealed religion evolving to a spiritually moral level of intimate family morality as exemplified by Jesus. [69]
The true religious impulse originates in spirit presences activating the will to be unselfish, despite the influence of primitive beliefs and societal structures in the evolution of religion. [70]
Religion is to morality as love is to duty, revealing an all-loving Father to be worshiped and loved, surpassing mere emotionalized morality and highlighting the spiritual potentiality dominant over the duty actuality of evolutionary morality. [71]
Ultimately, religion should be judged by its fruits, demonstrating its inherent and divine excellence through ethical reactions and a spiritualized consciousness of reality derived from faith-based concepts of values. [72] Religion leads to serving men, creating ethics and altruism, while knowledge leads to placing men and originating social strata and castes. [73] Religion now focuses on insuring life beyond the grave, while modern society assigns insurance to the realm of economics, rather than priests. [74] Religion triumphs over despair by conviction-faith and insight, not by logic and emotions. [75] Genuine religion transcends erroneous theology and emphasizes spiritual experience over intellectual content. [76]
Men of different races only superficially accept a strange new religion, adapting it to their existing customs and beliefs, as demonstrated by a New Zealand tribe who, after supposedly converting to Christianity, claimed to receive divine revelations allowing them to continue their old ways of life. [77]
The paramount mission of religion is to stabilize mankind's ideals during dangerous times of transition, guiding society through rapid changes towards lasting brotherhood. [78] Mortals crave to symbolize concepts of God, representing an experiential reality difficult to symbolize. [79] True religion must act; there is no real religion apart from a highly active personality. [80] True religion must grow around a cult that fosters spiritual progress and prevents the crystallization of stifling stereotyped ceremonials. [81] Religion is never a passive experience, but rather a gradual emergence in the human mind, akin to the birth of a child after nine months. [82]
The apostles were shocked today to discover that Jesus' religion lacked provision for spiritual self-examination, in contrast to other religions, including Christianity. [83] Religion is normal and natural but optional, marking the evolution and revelation that elevate man to embrace spirituality. [84] True religion is not concerned with material things but is sympathetic towards science, triumphing over any conflict with the teachings of Jesus. [85] True religion transcends learning and logic, rooted in spiritual insight accessible to all, regardless of education or background. [86] Religion is validated by personal faith and experience, not invalidated by past false beliefs. [87] True religion, experienced from within, is not the product of human reason but is altogether reasonable and logical. [88] Religion, though at times unwise and even irreligious, remains dynamic and impactful. [89] True religion opposes violence and promotes peaceful evolution over violent revolution in the pursuit of peace on earth and good will among all men. [90]
Religion pays any price essential for organizing the soul for dynamic service in the loyal service of loving God and serving man towards the supreme goal. [91] Religion persists despite revolutionary changes in beliefs, as it is primarily a pursuit of values rather than interpretative beliefs. [92] Religion perseveres regardless of misguided beliefs or lack of education, as it remains essential for human progress and survival. [93]
Genuine religious assurance exudes a poised spirit of expression, devoid of self-assertion or egoistic exaltation, reflecting a paradoxical blend of human originality and divine wisdom. [94]
Jesus' religion emphasized the positive nature of the gospel of the kingdom through the teachings of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, urging his followers to actively practice love and goodness in their daily lives. [95] Religion's power to lift civilization from chaos is dependent on a secure foundation of sound and normal heredity. [96]
Religion provides a qualitative experience exploring origins, values, and goals, while science focuses on quantitative phenomena in man's life on earth. [97] Jesus sought to prevent the building of a religion about him, emphasizing the importance of obeying the truth he taught. [98]
Evolved religion rests wholly on faith and the confirmation of conscience, while revelatory religion provides the assurance of faith plus the truth of a living experience in the realities of revelation. [99] The embrace of supernatural values in revelation leads to true religion and divine destiny. [100]
The new religion teaches self-forgetfulness and enhanced self-realization in social service, while the old religion focused on self-sacrifice and fear-consciousness. [101] Religion must always stand in contrast with the temporal world to avoid the detrimental effects of speculation on its true spiritual essence. [102]
The spiritual status of a religion is determined by the nature of its prayers, shaping individual attitudes and behaviors in different life situations. [103]
The supremacy of religion lies in its ability to unify personality, dissolve mortal difficulties, and bridge the gap between divine presence and human understanding. [104] The Jewish religion persists due to its preservation of followers' highest values. [105]
True religion involves effort, struggle, faith, determination, love, loyalty, and progress, as demonstrated by the commitment to experience spiritual realities and the active pursuit of spiritual growth. [106]
The truth and maturity of religion is directly proportional to its concept of the infinite personality of God and its grasp of the absolute unity of Deity. [107] Truth is the intellectual foundation of religion and morality. [108]
True religion is solely validated by personal experience, leading to the realization of knowing God as a Father and man as a brother, resulting in individual and group adjustments within the social aspect of religious life. [109]
Religion is not merely a passive feeling of “absolute dependence” and “surety of survival”, but a dynamic experience of divinity attainment rooted in humanity service. [110] A religion without God is like gathering fruit without trees; an absurdity of human invention. [111] A godless religion, despite appearances, is devoid of survival values without God-knowingness and God-ascension. [112]
Intellectual deficiency undermines religious growth, while excessive intellectual development can be a hindrance, leading religion to navigate a delicate balance between the necessity of thought and the limitations of human understanding. [113]
In advanced states, the greatest ambition of citizens is to gain civil recognition; honors are bestowed in order upon philosophers, educators, scientists, industrialists, militarists, and parents, with purely religious leaders receiving their rewards in another world. [114] Religion can only thrive once the religious group is detached from all others—the united spiritual members of the kingdom of heaven. [115] Modern men fear the transformative power of Jesus' religion, seeking to evade its demand for dedicated service and selflessness. [116] Morality is always an antecedent to evolved and revealed religion, but not the entirety of religious experience. [117]
Morontia religion offers a firmer grasp of mota and relates to the experience of survival, providing a deeper understanding of supreme values and ultimate destinies in revealed religion. [118]
The religion of Jesus is the most dynamic influence ever to activate the human race, shattering tradition, destroying dogma, and calling mankind to achieve perfection. [119]
Sound religion is needed now as never before to provide consolation and stabilization during times of psychological, economic, moral, and sociologic upheaval in the turbulent transitions of the scientific era. [120] Religion needs new leaders relying solely on Jesus for spiritual regeneration and guidance. [121]
Religion has no new duties to perform but must now function as a wise guide and experienced counselor in rapidly changing human situations to prevent destructive outcomes and promote lasting brotherhood. [122]
A progressive and advanced religion can be a decisive factor in cultural development, as demonstrated by the spiritual advancement of the Chinese during the age of Andite migrations. [123] The modern religion's overstressed and isolated morality, lacking the harmony of science and art, fails to inspire devotion in many. [124]
The real purpose of group religious activities is to dramatize loyalties, magnify lures of truth, beauty, and goodness, foster supreme values, enhance unselfish fellowship, glorify family life, promote religious education, provide wise counsel and spiritual guidance, and encourage group worship. [125] Urantia waits for the pure message of Jesus, free from centuries of religious doctrines and dogmas. [126] Teachers of the religion of Jesus should approach other religions with recognition of common truths, refraining from focusing too much on differences. [127] Religion should be balanced by humor, just as work should alternate with play and profound philosophy should be relieved by rhythmic poetry. [128]
The challenge of religion today is to create a new philosophy of living that integrates cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness, attracting the best in humanity and nurturing the divine qualities of truth, beauty, and goodness. [129] When youth prioritize materialistic pursuits over exploring ethics, sociology, the arts, and religion, civilization is in danger. [130]
Many social reconstructionists, despite denying institutionalized religion, are driven by unrecognized religious motivation in their pursuit of social reform. [131]
Jesus taught that civilizations cannot survive without the best in their religion, warning against replacing religious experience with symbols and ceremonies, and dedicated his life to thawing out frozen forms of religion. [132] Religion is exclusively trained at home in the main continental nation of a nearby inhabited planet. [133] About evolutionary religion see section on history of religion and institutional religion. About revelatory religion see revelation. About rituals see links to ceremonies, cults and traditions. About religious experience and growth see link to spiritual growth.
Science and religion, when guided by reason and faith, can harmoniously coexist and contribute to a balanced philosophy of scientific stability and religious certainty. [134] About philosophy and religion see link at the bottom.
Throughout the million-year human history of Urantia, there have been seven major epochs of post-Adamic religion, each marked by the teachings and influence of significant religious leaders. [135]
The apostles of John and Jesus attempted socialization of group undertakings, legislating outward observances, and maintaining tolerance for differing opinions. [136]
The composite religions of twentieth-century Urantia showcase the social evolution of man's worship impulse, from the ghost cult of primitive tribes to monotheistic and revelatory systems like Christianity and Islam. [137]
The desire to make converts to the cult sparked early wars, with religion historically sanctioning conflict until recent times when it began to denounce warfare. [138] The disappearance of religious standards led to the decay of Greek Andite civilization by 6500 B.C. [139]
The evolution of philosophy of religion is shaped by personal experiences, societal influences, and intellectual growth to determine one's religious beliefs and values. [140]
Ganid's abstract of major religions reveals a belief in the one God, the Father of all, who is compassionate, just, and merciful, and who can be known through personal experience, love, and service to others. [141]
Great teachers and leaders have influenced the evolving beliefs of mankind, blending evolutionary cults, revealed ideals, and personal viewpoints to shape the God concept throughout history. [142]
Approach the miracle through Jesus, not Jesus through the miracle; Jesus of Nazareth was the only founder of a religion who performed supermaterial acts on earth. [143]
The potential for human personality expression is greatly influenced by the type of Adjuster, leading many great leaders to exert their influence based on their previous experiences. [144] Religion thrives on spiritual insight, not worldly wisdom; therefore, many of the world's greatest religious teachers have been virtually unlettered. [145]
Religion must remain a personal experience while retaining its motivation for unselfish social service, despite the many secondary influences it has suffered. [146]
In times of Jesus, the abundant soil of natural goodness among the gentiles allowed Christianity to flourish, despite being morally inferior to the Jews. [147]
Throughout the long and dark ages between the Caligastia rebellion and Adam, various leaders and teachers arose, such as Mansant, who greatly influenced cultural and spiritual revivals among different peoples. [148] Men venerate leaders of religion at the expense of their teachings, seeking to fill the void left by the absence of superhuman leaders. [149] The religions of 20th century Urantia, from Hinduism to Sikhism, are evolving and merging into diverse theological systems. [150]
The teachings of Prince's staff focused on substituting Creator fear for creature fear, culminating in the establishment of a form of religious service with the Dalamatians. [151] The purpose of the western school system in the Garden of Eden was socialization, while religious training was the duty of parents. [152] Religion evolves until the Planetary Prince introduces higher truth and universe organization. [153]
Throughout human history, religious leaders have been the pivotal personality fulcrums on which the levers of revealed truth depended for the advancement of morality, philosophy, and religion. [154]
Institutional religion achieves its highest social ministry when it has least connection with secular institutions, adapting to ever-changing social reconstruction with moral stability and spiritual progression. [186] Adherents of evolved religion believe in a final, infallible Truth that resists change or revision. [187] Adherents frightened by every new discovery are dragged back into the dim and distant past by false religious teachers. [188]
Only after realizing the barrenness of formalized religion will disillusioned individuals turn to the true spiritual treasure of the gospel of the kingdom. [189]
The transition from the false security of authority to the new order of the authority of facts, truth, and faith is crucial in preaching the gospel of the kingdom. [190]
True religions are based on spiritual experience and worship of the universal spirit reality, while intellectual religions rely on fear, emotion, tradition, and philosophy. [191] All modern religions have seriously blundered by attempting to put a miraculous interpretation on certain epochs of human history. [192]
Institutional religion must self-reconstruct before leading the global societal and economic overhaul, as it is currently entangled in the status quo it aims to change. [193]
The cardinal ideas of religion trace back to early times of primordial ghost fear, encompassing rites, rituals, observances, ceremonies, and dogmas tainted by the chosen-people delusion. [194] Evolutionary religion fosters ethics, morals, and a sense of duty in evolving man, stabilizing ethical civilizations. [195] The cup of remembrance symbolizes emergence from the bondage of ceremonialism into spiritual fellowship. [196] About the dangers of religion see warnings. Evolved religion commands respect as believers view it as final and infallible, resisting progressive correction unlike science. [197]
All religions are valuable in guiding individuals towards God and fostering a deeper understanding of the divine, and should strive to learn from and incorporate the truths found in other faiths. [198] The gradual institutionalization of religion diminishes its power for good and vastly increases the potential for evil. [199]
The intellectual theology of established religious authority in the discourse on religion reveals three manifestations of the religious urge: primitive religion, the religion of civilization, and true religion. [200] Jesus avoided the establishment of religion, seeking to become the common heritage of all peoples. [201] Institutional religion consistently lags behind slowly changing human mores, with prophets leading but theologians holding back. [202]
Religion, as the most rigid human institution, may tardily adjust to society but eventually reflects the changing mores influenced by both evolutionary and revealed wisdom. [203] Religion perpetuates established order by fostering maintenance of existing civilization. [204]
Religion's practices, rooted in biologic reactions to spiritual beliefs, serve as society's enduring adjustment to the mysterious, incorporating rites, symbols, and rituals common to all religions. [205]
Present-day forms of worship are simply the ritualization of ancient positive propitiation practices, including dedicated gifts and sacrifices to the gods. [206]
The price of adherence to a religion of authority is the loss of spiritual freedom, but the religion of the spirit allows for true independence and pursuit of truth. [207] The religion of the spirit requires only unity of experience, not uniformity of belief. [208] Authentic revelation of religion recognizes the duty demands of ethical obligation created by evolutionary religion. [209] About sacraments of religion see link to sacraments. Science purifies religion and stabilizes philosophy by eliminating error and destroying superstition. [210] Spiritually indolent souls seek ancient and authoritative religion as a retreat from the rigors of truly religious activities. [211]
The status of religion is best judged by its moral judgments and ethical standards, as it spiritualizes values and reveals an all-loving Father to be worshiped and loved. [212]
Too few have learned how to install a philosophy of living in place of religious authority, acknowledging that symbols of socialized religion are essential channels of growth in a world filled with lost souls wandering in confusion among various isms and cults. [213]
The institutionalization of religion usually detracts from its spiritual quality, yet no religion has survived without some form of organized structure. [214] The unification of various religions is impossible; only through the religion of the spirit can human unity and brotherhood be achieved. [215]
In the impending world-wide social reconstruction and economic reorganization, the weakness of institutional religion has hindered its ability to provide inspiration and leadership, as it is intertwined with the established order that must itself undergo reconstruction. [216] Women were degraded under several Oriental religions, although the early Chinese and Greeks treated them better than most surrounding peoples. [217]
Thinking men and women demand a redefined religion, as worshipful customs have become confused and discredited by societal changes and scientific progress. [218]
About primitive religion see documents 85 to 91. The achievements of self-control in primitive religion were essential for civilization's progress. [219]
The evolution of religion from primitive beliefs in survival after death to the worship of a personal God is evident in the social development of twentieth-century Urantia religions. [220] The religion of Jesus triumphs over pessimistic despair, craves extinction in endless slumber and rest. [221] Religion arose as man's response to the illusory ghost world, evolving for self-maintenance despite being originally erroneous and utterly illogical. [222] Father honors even the feeble attempts of primitive men to reach out to him with faith. [223] The highest level of religion is exalted anthropomorphism, exemplified by the divine person of the glorified Christ in Christianity. [224]
The influence of the tribal spirit of solidarity shaped the evolution of primitive religions, emphasizing the balance between egoism and altruism in the early human mind. [225] Ancient men wholeheartedly believed in their prophylactic religion as a powerful remedy for disease prevention, despite any errors in their theories. [226]
The long and wasteful struggle to appease spirits through tombs, temples, sacrifices, and priesthoods was worth the terrible price paid for the emergence of human ethics. [227]
Evolutionary religion has been man's most expensive but incomparably effective institution, guiding mortals towards seeking reciprocal contact with divinity and contributing to the development and preservation of civilization despite its shortcomings. [228] Labor distinguishes man from instinctive beasts; it is man's paramount blessing, yet many religions reverted to the ideal of idleness. [229] Religion, the mother of science, art, and philosophy, raises man to a level of receptivity to revealed truth, both evolutionary and revelational. [230]
Primitive man's ghost fear drove the creation of supernatural beliefs, laying the foundation for powerful ethical and religious social influences which preserved ancestral mores inviolate from generation to generation, solidifying the notion that novelty is always sacrilege in the evolution of religion and society. [231] Primitives danced out their religion, while modern men have thought out many creeds and created tests of faith. [232]
Primitives saved up property as a nucleus for starting life in the next existence, believing that only the rich could survive death with pleasure and dignity, until Christian teachers preached salvation for the poor on equal terms. [233]
The dualism of good and bad spirits led to the concept of supermortal forces being consistent in behavior, a significant advancement in religious thought. [234]
Religion ruthlessly drove indolent suffering humanity forward, fostering civilization, promoting art and knowledge, and ultimately leading to the emergence of the learned professions and science itself. [235]
Evolutionary religion is the sentimental reaction to the belief in a hypothetical ghost-spirit world, while revelatory religion is the logical response from the real spiritual world. [236]
Indwelt by Thought Adjusters, mortals possess capacity for seeking reciprocal contact with divinity, but early fear religion serves a valuable purpose in subduing the fiery tempers of primitive creatures. [237]
Through the evolutionary growth of religion, man transitioned from superstitions and ceremonies to tribal beliefs and personalized gods, with the moral element ever-present, ensuring its survival despite threats of extinction. [238]
Most great religious epochs begin with exceptional figures whose teachings inspire moral movements, but humans often venerate the leader over the teachings, seeking supernatural origins and miraculous returns. [239] Religion tends to make God manlike, while revelation tends to make man Godlike. [240]
God, in revelation, affirms the validity of the personality concept and transforms mortal man into the image and likeness of divinity, unlike the gods of primitive religion, which were conceived in the likeness of man. [241]
Primitive concepts of God continue to inflict displeasure by famine and flood, but the Gods who live and rule the universes are far beyond such notions. [242] Devotion to the God of past, present, and future universes outweighs self-deceptive idols and wishful fancy in true worship. [243]
Primitive religion arose as a natural biologic reaction of mind, separate from moral and spiritual influences. [244] Ancient man's religion was focused on material affairs due to his belief that ghosts and spirits directly influenced his environment. [245] Primitive man believed he was indebted to spirits and in need of redemption, leading to the development of the concept of sin and salvation. [246]
Religion, born of all-powerful fear of the unknown, ignorance, superstition, awe, and dread, drives men forward in the God quest by the motive power of fear and serves a valuable purpose in subduing primitive fiery tempers. [247] Religion derives its God conceptions from the highest recognized values, reflecting internal spiritual and ethical progress. [248] Philosophy transcends primitive religion's fairy tale of conscience to embrace cosmic reality's values. [249]
Faith, values discrimination, and duty are the ancestry of true religion, leading to the certain consciousness of God and assurance of personal survival. [250]
Fear of natural forces led primitive mankind to try to appease invisible forces through human sacrifice, perpetuating a dark and superstitious religion. [251] The shock of death inspired fear and fostered religion among primitive peoples. [252] Religion is the insurance against perils of the forest, bad luck, and misfortune, evolving from magic and ghosts to higher philosophic levels. [253]
Primitive religion was created by man out of his fears and by means of his illusions, stemming from a natural evolutionary development apart from spiritual and moral influences. [254] Evolutionary religion is concerned with ethics, morals, and duty as a mind derivative fostered by the local universe mind adjutant. [255] Evolutionary religion is the outworking of adjutant mind-spirits fostering ethical civilizations through worship and human duty. [256] Early religion, wholly intellectual in nature, was entirely predicated on associational circumstances. [257]
The search for supernatural explanations for all phenomena led to the birth of modern science, transforming astrology into astronomy, alchemy into chemistry, and magic into medicine. [258]
Evolutionary religion slowly grew from innate worship urge and misconception of chance, shaping beliefs about good and bad spirits and leading to the development of ethical civilizations. [259]
About religions named in The Urantia Book see link at the bottom.
The religion of the Wise One purifies believers from all evil thoughts and sinful deeds through confession and repentance, leading to the attainment of eternal salvation and the aspiration to be like God. [260]
True religion brings peace and progress through a living experience in spiritual realities, rejecting dead traditions and embracing the ideals of eternal truth. [261]
Being born of the spirit, passing from darkness to light, and progressing from a theology of mind to a true religion of spirit that builds up in souls as eternal endowment. [262]
True religion calls forth faith, trust, unity, peace, and assurance, providing enduring unity, lasting peace, and profound assurance in human experience. [263] Faith integrates moral insight with discernment of values, culminating in the firm awareness of God and confidence in personal survival. [264] Religion cures man's isolation, soul hunger, and moral despair, enfranchising believers as sons of God and citizens of a meaningful universe. [265] True religion dissolves, absorbs, illuminates, and transcends mortal troubles for effective adjustment to all requirements. [266] Religion enables men to live together in complex civilization while science allows man to control his physical environment. [267] The wise and loving home life enhances religion, and genuine religion uplifts the home. [268] Spiritual growth is stimulated by intimate association with other religionists, love providing the soil while religion ennobles commonplace drudgery. [269]
True religion entails loving your neighbor as yourself, ensuring that fellows receive the highest good from believer's contact with them in the kingdom of the believing brotherhood of God-knowing truth lovers. [270] Religion, when fostering sovereignty of truth, beauty, and goodness, provides a genuine and worthwhile spiritual concept of supreme reality. [271] Religion is a personal experience that grows in the pursuit of final values, independent of changing beliefs or theological constructs. [272] Religion spiritualizes the individual, shaping him into an active participant in social reconstruction. [273] Religion inspires cosmic loyalty to achieve success in social advancement. [274] Religion inspires man to live courageously and joyfully, joining patience with passion, insight to zeal, sympathy with power, and ideals with energy. [275] Religion leads to union with righteousness, God grant us unity with the divine spirit and immortality. [276]
Religion leads to value consciousness, philosophy leads to co-ordinate consciousness, and revelation leads to the consciousness of true reality, contributing to awareness of personality reality and the belief in the survival of that very personality. [277]
The religion of the spirit leaves believers forever free to follow truth wherever it leads, without the constraints of outdated beliefs and ceremonies. [278] True religion is the only power that can lastingly increase altruism among social groups. [279] Religion prepares man bravely to face the vicissitudes of life, guiding him away from using sentimental ideas as an escape from reality. [280] True religion, wholly spiritual in motive, releases faith and courage for daily living and unselfish serving, lessening the strain of existence. [281]
Genuine religion renders the religionist socially fragrant and promotes human fellowship, but formalized religious groups often undermine the values they were founded to uphold, making human friendship and divine religion mutually beneficial when balanced and harmonized. [282]
True religion seeks to convert the individual and transform the world by worshiping the universal spirit reality and ideal of all spiritualized concepts. [283] In this time of waiting, Jesus sought to win all, not be of any religious or political group in Palestine. [284]
True religion should not destroy one's sense of humor, but rather infuse new meanings and enthusiasm into life while maintaining a life of service and loyalty to social obligations. [285] True religion is the impulse for organizing the soul for dynamic service, with social fruits of love and service. [286]
The more religion one has, the more certain one is, despite the fluctuating teachings on the physical world, as eternal truth should not be overlooked due to outdated cosmologies. [287] Dynamic religious living fosters individual progress and transforms mediocrity into idealistic power. [288] Religion yields happiness through experiential harmony. [289]
At any one time and among any one people, there are three distinct forms of religious devotion: primitive religion based on fear, the religion of civilization rooted in intellectual theology, and true religion grounded in revelation and spiritual experience. [290] Until the great struggle between the 3 modern contending philosophies of religion is resolved, tranquillity will be elusive in the religious world. [291] New religions are either evolved or suddenly revealed, merging old beliefs with new adaptations and adjustments. [292] Four kinds of religion on Urantia today: evolutionary, revelatory, philosophic, and admixtures of natural and supernatural beliefs. [293]
Despite the evils, destroying the technique of group functioning in religion would hinder its survival. [294]
Will you suffer the difficulties and persecutions attendant upon proclaiming the gospel, or choose the easy path of conformity to established religion defended by the Pharisees? [295]
Religion evolves through disciplined criticism, philosophical amplification, scientific purification, and loyal fellowship, ensuring its growth and relevance in changing epochs of human knowledge. [296] Ecclesiasticism obstructs the growth and progress of living faith in the kingdom of heaven and the teachings of Jesus. [297]
Error in religion is directly proportional to materialism, hindering man's progression in divesting himself of erroneous ideas about the nature of God and the reality of pure spirit. [298]
Faith is false when denying realities or bestowing assumed knowledge, betraying intellectual integrity and belittling loyalty to supreme values and divine ideals. [299] Religion is not solely defined by feeling and emotion; it encompasses a range of experiences, including the exercise of faith and spiritual insight. [300]
Religion's eternal spirit must be kept in step with societal progress through dynamic restatements of its moral and spiritual principles when language evolves. [301]
Man's fear of domination by strong religious convictions drives him to institutionalize his religion, attempting to control that which could transform and dominate him. [302]
The vast gulf between human and divine is evidenced by the many “isms” that arise from garbled Adjuster communications, revealing the challenges of guiding the Urantia races towards spiritual truth. [303] Religion must accelerate its adaptation to the ever-changing social order of the twentieth century. [304]
No peace can be achieved if one religion claims exclusive authority over others, true religious harmony lies in recognizing the spirit sovereignty of God and divesting all ecclesiastical authority. [305] Both science and religion require more self-criticism and awareness of incompleteness, as their teachers are often too self-confident and dogmatic. [306]
Scientists and religionists must recognize that they are on trial before the bar of human need, striving to justify their survival through devotion to human progress. [307] To be authentic, a religion must be based on true spirit experience and seek to transform both individuals and the world. [308] To prevent egocentricity, expose yourself to a wide range of religious perspectives beyond your own personal experience. [309]
Recognize the divine as finite and the evolving nature of God to end the paradox of temporal inequalities, preventing religion from promoting smugness in the fortunate and encouraging resignation in the victims of deprivation. [310] Religion rarely survives as private practice of isolated individuals; it requires institutional organization for preservation. [311] Religion must have new and up-to-date slogans, as calling modern man to spiritual battle with outdated trumpet blasts is a great mistake. [312]
The religion of spirit is in deadly conflict with institutional religion, as Jesus proclaimed a new way focused on divine love and spiritual communion. [313] Religion should be safeguarded by common sense, not hindered by fear of sacredness and ignorance. [314]
One of the great peace moves of the ages has been the attempt to separate church and state in order to bring about intellectual freedom and religious liberty. [315] The world's true need is for a firsthand experience of religion, surpassing mere secondhand teachings. [316]
The Hebrew religion's great mistake was isolating goodness, failing to integrate it with truth and beauty from science and art, which led many to turn away from the abstract concept of isolated goodness. [317] The accumulation of vested interests in institutionalized religion curtails its power for good and greatly multiplies the possibilities for evil. [318] True religion is rooted in personal experience, not an appeal to the miraculous. [319]
The danger of the aristocratic “chosen-people” attitude in institutionalized religion hampers its potential for good and magnifies opportunities for evil. [320]
Religious experience must evolve with advancing human knowledge, remaining a universe reality open to intelligent criticism and reasonable interpretation. [321] Commercialization of religion is detested by Jesus, who cleansed the temple of unfair profiteering and exploitation. [322] The defense of outgrown systems in ecclesiasticism impedes the growth and advancement of spiritual understanding in the modern era. [323]
Unity among followers is desired, not uniformity, as sin brings evil inertia while righteousness nurtures individual spiritual growth in eternal truth, rejecting doctrinal finality and sectarian superiority. [324]
The evil discrimination of religious castes is just one of the many dangers of formalized religion, which also includes fixation of beliefs and diversion from the service of God. [325]
Failure to make up-to-date interpretations of religion leads to the entrenchment of its dangers, inhibiting its potential for good and allowing for the proliferation of evil. [326]
False and exaggerated ideas of sacredness fostered by institutionalized religion curtail its power for good and greatly multiply the possibilities for evil. [327]
Strong spiritual faith in a religious genius can lead to disastrous fanaticism and exaggeration of ego, but not for Jesus who remained unaffected by his extraordinary faith and spirit attainment in his practical life. [328]
The fixation of beliefs leads to the fossilization of truth and the diversion of religion from service to God to service to the church, resulting in a multitude of dangers within formalized religion. [329] Jesus cautioned against formulating creeds and traditions to control believers in his gospel of the kingdom. [330]
The danger of religion lies in the shift of leaders from ministers to administrators, diverting focus from the service of God to that of the church and fostering oppressive ecclesiastical authority. [331] Beware of the distortion of religion into loveless zeal and persecution, diverting it from its true purpose. [332]
Modern religions focusing on negativity fail to bear fruit, as true moral character grows through positive actions, not mere repression, fear, or shame. [333]
The Hebrew religion's great mistake was neglecting science, art, and spiritual experience, failing to associate the goodness of God with factual truths and appealing beauty. [334]
The dangers of institutionalized religion include the establishment of oppressive ecclesiastical authority, fostering false sacredness, and veneration of the past while ignoring present demands. [335]
The petrification of worship in institutionalized religion fosters the routinizing of beliefs and stifles the spirit of true ministry and service to God. [336] Spiritual unity is derived from individual originality, not from sacrificing personality for social harmony. [337] Sectarianism and dogmatism hinder spiritual growth, but religious turmoil does not indicate spiritual decay. [338]
The dangers of institutionalized religion include the diversion of service from God to the church, fixation of beliefs, accumulation of secular interests, and the routinizing of worship. [339] Formalization of religion often destroys the values it was meant to promote, hindering genuine social fragrance and insights into human fellowship. [340] Jesus' devotion to the kingdom of God was marked by selflessness and enthusiasm, devoid of the superficial frothiness of religious egotism. [341]
Jesus prayed for unity among his followers, rejecting the notion of uniformity and emphasizing individual spiritual growth over sectarian superiority of group consciousness. [342] The tendency to form competitive divisions in religion hinders its ability to serve the greater good and allows for the amplification of evil. [343] The tendency to standardize and fossilize truth in institutionalized religion hinders its potential for good and magnifies the risks of evil. [344]
The danger of formalized religion lies in its tendency to venerate the past over the present, which curtails its potential for good and greatly multiplies the possibilities for evil. [345]
Religion achieves its highest social ministry when it is free from all secular alliances, established social or economic practices, and remains focused on moral and spiritual principles. [346]
See also: UB 99; UB 100; UB 101; UB 102; UB 103; UB 196; UB 5:4; UB 101:1.