The Cosmic Citizen

This week we will feature two very special guests on The Cosmic Citizen, Gabriel Rymberg and Lisa Crawford from The Center for Unity (CFU). Gabriel and Lisa are two of the primary people involved CFU, a non-profit organization based in Israel, comprised of dedicated Urantia Book students, and supported by a vibrant community of volunteers. It draws its inspiration from a powerful quote: "The religion of Jesus is the most powerful unifying influence the world has ever known." The Urantia Book, 194:3.17. Those who serve CFU are united by a shared mission: to foster each person's relationship with God through the teachings of Jesus. People can feel disconnected from institutional religions, but CFU's projects present the life and teachings of Jesus in a context that makes sense and goes beyond religions of tradition and authority providing a modern and relevant way to explore and understand the teachings of Jesus. Gabriel and Lisa will expound on the soon to launch DiscoverJesus web app (a modern presentation of Jesus before Christianity as revealed in The Urantia Book) and also the new Jesus Chat (a powerful new Jesus AI that allows one to get questions answered from the Jesus of The Urantia Book). Gabriel is the visionary behind CFU and was the lead translator of The Urantia Book into Hebrew. For Gabriel, CFU has been a process of dynamic discovery. He is the fearless and capable leader of this wonderful effort. He lives in Israel with his wife Sandra, also a long-time UB student and co-founder of CFU. Lisa has a 25-year career in diverse nonprofit environments, spanning communication, education, and development. Her dedication to continuous learning and personal growth lead her to The Urantia Book and service in wonderful Urantian endeavors. She serves CFU in various ways and on its Executive Team. We hope you can tune in!

Join us this week on the Cosmic Citizen as we conclude our study of Urantia Paper 6—The Eternal Son with §8. Realization of the Eternal Son. Concerning identity, nature, and other attributes of personality, the Eternal Son is the full equal, the perfect complement, and the eternal counterpart of the Universal Father. In the same sense that God is the Universal Father, the Son is the Universal Mother. And all of us, high and low, constitute their universal family. (79.4) 6:8.1 As persons you may conceive of the Universal Father and the Eternal Son as separate individuals, for they indeed are; but in the administration of the universes they are so intertwined and interrelated that it is not always possible to distinguish between them. When, in the affairs of the universes, the Father and the Son are encountered in confusing interassociations, it is not always profitable to attempt to segregate their operations; merely recall that God is the initiating thought and the Son is the expressionful word. In each local universe this inseparability is personalized in the divinity of the Creator Son, who stands for both Father and Son to the creatures of ten million inhabited worlds. (79.6) 6:8.3 Throughout your local universe experience the Creator Son, whose personality is comprehensible by man, must compensate for your inability to grasp the full significance of the more exclusively spiritual, but none the less personal, Eternal Son of Paradise. As you progress through Orvonton and Havona, as you leave behind you the vivid picture and deep memories of the Creator Son of your local universe, the passing of this material and morontia experience will be compensated by ever-enlarging concepts and intensifying comprehension of the Eternal Son of Paradise, whose reality and nearness will ever augment as you progress Paradiseward. (80.4) 6:8.7 We hope to see you!  http://tobtr.com/12277842

Join us this week on the Cosmic Citizen as we continue our study of Urantia Paper 6—The Eternal Son. Spirit is ever conscious, minded, and possessed of varied phases of identity. Without mind in some phase there would be no spiritual consciousness in the fraternity of spirit beings. The equivalent of mind, the ability to know and be known, is indigenous to Deity. Deity may be personal, prepersonal, superpersonal, or impersonal, but Deity is never mindless, that is, never without the ability at least to communicate with similar entities, beings, or personalities. (78.5) 6:6.2 The Eternal Son is wholly spiritual; man is very nearly entirely material; therefore much pertaining to the spirit personality of the Eternal Son, to his seven spiritual spheres encircling Paradise and to the nature of the impersonal creations of the Paradise Son, will have to await your attainment of spirit status following your completion of the morontia ascension of the local universe of Nebadon. And then, as you pass through the superuniverse and on to Havona, many of these spirit-concealed mysteries will clarify as you begin to be endowed with the “mind of the spirit” — spiritual insight. (78.7) 6:6.4  ...The Son is absolute personality; God is father personality — the source of personality, the bestower of personality, the cause of personality. Every personal being derives personality from the Universal Father just as the Original Son eternally derives his personality from the Paradise Father. .and this absolute personality [personality of the Paradise Son] is also the divine and eternal pattern, first, of the Father’s bestowal of personality upon the Conjoint Actor and, subsequently, of his bestowal of personality upon the myriads of his creatures throughout a far-flung universe. (79.1–2) 6:7.1–2 http://tobtr.com/12275570

This week on the Cosmic Citizen we'll continue our study of Urantia Paper 6 - The Eternal Son. We are reading and discussing Section 5 of that Paper: Limitations of the Eternal Son. Could there possibly be any limitations on the Second Person of the Paradise Trinity? This section reveals that there are some limitations of The Eternal Son in relation to his Deity Associates, the Father and the Infinite Spirit. For example: The Eternal Son needs the Infinite Spirit as a universal mediator to bridge the gulf between spirit and matter. The Son is also limited by his eternal and unqualified relationship with the Universal Father. He cannot, and of course would not, do anything that is not the Father’s will.The Eternal Son is limited by his role as the Second Source and Center of all things. He cannot act independently of the Father or the Spirit, nor can he initiate any original action that would involve a change in the divine plan or an alteration in the eternal purposes of the Paradise Trinity. As we read, we'll discover that despite these limitations, the Eternal Son is perfect in his divinity and infinite in his attributes. He is the co-ordinate and equal of the Father in all aspects of spirit reality, personality, and value. He is the divine revelation of the creator identity of the Father and the source of all spiritual ministry in the universe of universes. Consider this: 6:5.5.The Eternal Son, as an infinite and exclusively personal being, cannot fragmentize his nature, cannot distribute and bestow individualized portions of his selfhood upon other entities or persons as do the Universal Father and the Infinite Spirit. But the Son can and does bestow himself as an unlimited spirit to bathe all creation and unceasingly draw all spirit personalities and spiritual realities to himself. Please join us for another deep dive into The Eternal Son!

This week we continue our study of Urantia Paper 6, The Eternal Son, by reading and discussing Section 4, Attributes of the Eternal Son.  So far in this study, we've reviewed the Eternal Son's identity and nature as well as the Father's ministry. But there is much more to be discovered about The Second Source and Center of Creation. This week we'll be exploring the Eternal Son as a co-equal and co-eternal with the Father who shares God's omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. He is also the personal source of the universal gravity circuit of spirit. In addition, we'll learn that the Eternal Son is infinite in love, graciousness, patience, and understanding. He is always accessible to all who seek him and desire to know him. He is friendly and approachable, but also majestic and divine. He is the eternal friend and father of all who love truth and righteousness. Consider these marvelous statements from Section 4: 6:4.7.The Original Son is universally and spiritually self-conscious. In wisdom the Son is the full equal of the Father. In the realms of knowledge, omniscience, we cannot distinguish between the First and Second Sources; like the Father, the Son knows all; he is never surprised by any universe event; he comprehends the end from the beginning. 6:4.8.The Father and the Son really know the number and whereabouts of all the spirits and spiritualized beings in the universe of universes. Not only does the Son know all things by virtue of his own omnipresent spirit, but the Son, equally with the Father and the Conjoint Actor, is fully cognizant of the vast reflectivity intelligence of the Supreme Being, which intelligence is at all times aware of all things that transpire on all the worlds of the seven superuniverses. And there are other ways in which the Paradise Son is omniscient. We hope you will join us for another deep dive into The Urantia Papers!

This week we continue our study of Paper 6 - The Eternal Son. We will be studying Section 3. Ministry of the Father's Love, and Section 4. Attributes of the Eternal Son. Paper 6 of The Urantia Book is about the Eternal Son, who is the second person of the Paradise Trinity and the perfect expression of the Universal Father. The paper describes the identity, nature, attributes, and functions of the Eternal Son, as well as his relation to the other members of the Trinity and the creation. The paper also explains the origin and ministry of the various orders of the Paradise Sons of God, who are the offspring of the Eternal Son and his associates. The paper concludes with a discussion of the Paradise Sons of God as the revealers of the Father’s love and the upholders of his justice in the universes of time and space. Consider these statements from Sections 3 and 4 of Paper 6. 6:3.1.The Son shares the justice and righteousness of the Trinity but overshadows these divinity traits by the infinite personalization of the Father's love and mercy; the Son is the revelation of divine love to the universes. As God is love, so the Son is mercy. 6:3.2.The Eternal Son is the great mercy minister to all creation. Mercy is the essence of the Son's spiritual character. The mandates of the Eternal Son, as they go forth over the spirit circuits of the Second Source and Center, are keyed in tones of mercy. 6:4.7.The Original Son is universally and spiritually self-conscious. In wisdom the Son is the full equal of the Father. In the realms of knowledge, omniscience, we cannot distinguish between the First and Second Sources; like the Father, the Son knows all; he is never surprised by any universe event; he comprehends the end from the beginning. We hope you can join us for another deep dive into The Urantia Book, and a comprehensive study on The Eternal Son.

After finishing the first five Urantia Papers on God, we decided to keep going in sequence. So, this week's episode we will study Paper 6, The Eternal Son. We will cover the first two sections, 1. Identity of the Eternal Son and 2. Nature of the Eternal Son.  The Eternal Son is the original offspring or Son of God, and the Second Great Source and Center. The Son is the spiritual center of the universe government and the personal manifestation of God the Father in the universe. The Son co-creates with the Father and shares the sonship experience with all other created beings; he loves us as both father and brother. Mercy is the essence of the Eternal Son's spiritual character. He reveals the love of God to the universes. All spiritual beings are responsive to the drawing power of the Eternal Son. He is omnipotent in the spiritual realm. Although the Son does not personally function in the physical domains, his omnipresence constitutes the spiritual unity and cohesion of all creation. The spirit of the Eternal Son is with us and around us, but not within us as is the Thought Adjuster, the indwelling Father fragment, who adjusts the human mind to divine attitudes, and such minds become increasingly responsive to the spiritual drawing power of the Son. 6:1.5.The Eternal Son is known by different names in various universes. ...The Melchizedeks speak of him as the Son of Sons. On your world, but not in your system of inhabited spheres, this Original Son has been confused with a co-ordinate Creator Son, Michael of Nebadon, who bestowed himself upon the mortal races of Urantia. 6:2.3.In nature the Son is wholly like the spirit Father. When we worship the Universal Father, actually we at the same time worship God the Son and God the Spirit. God the Son is just as divinely real and eternal in nature as God the Father. Join us as we embark on another deep and insightful study of The Urantia Book!

This week we cover the final section in our study on God, Paper 5 - God's Relation of the Individual, Section 6 - The God of Personality. In this wonderful study of God, we have learned that God has many names in the Universe of Universes, but on most worlds "God is generally known by some name indicative of personal relationship, tender affection, and fatherly devotion." We've learned that "God is infinitely more than reality idealized or the universe personalized." And that "God is not simply the supreme desire of man, the mortal quest objectified." In addition, we discovered that "the true concept of the reality of God is reasonable to logic, plausible to philosophy, essential to religion, and indispensable to any hope of personality survival." We've marveled to think of God as "a universal spirit" and "the universal person."  In fact, "Without God and except for his great and central person, there would be no personality throughout all the vast universe of universes. God is personality."  But how amazing to learn that "the love of God is an intelligent and farseeing parental affection." "God is literally and eternally present in his universe of universes" "God is inherently kind, naturally compassionate, and everlastingly merciful." "God is never wrathful, vengeful, or angry." "God is revealed throughout the cosmos, but the cosmos can never contain or encompass the entirety of the infinity of God." "God is unlimited in power, divine in nature, final in will, infinite in attributes, eternal in wisdom, and absolute in reality." This study revealed wonderful things about God! We hope you'll join us for this final week.

This week on The Cosmic Citizen we are studying Section 5 (The Consciousness of God) of Paper 5 (God's Relation to the Individual). So far we have studied. Paper 1. The Universal Father, including: 1.The Father's Name, 2.The Reality of God, 3.God is a Universal Spirit, 4.The Mystery of God, 5.Personality of the Universal Father, 6.Personality in the Universe, and 7.Spiritual Value of the Personality Concept. Paper 2. The Nature of God, including: 1.The Infinity of God, 2.The Father's Eternal Perfection, 3.Justice and Righteousness, 4.The Divine Mercy, 5.The Love of God, 6.The Goodness of God and 7.Divine Truth and Beauty. Paper 3. The Attributes of God, including: 1.God's Everywhereness, 2.God's Infinite Power, 3.God's Universal Knowledge, 4.God's Limitlessness, 5.The Father's Supreme Rule, and 6.The Father's Primacy. Paper 4. God's Relation to the Universe, including: 1.The Universe Attitude of the Father, 2.God and Nature, 3.God's Unchanging Character, 4.The Realization of God, and 5.Erroneous Ideas of God. Paper 5. God's Relation to the Individual, and so far we've studied:1.The Approach to God, 2.The Presence of God, 3.True Worship, and last week was 4.God in Religion. We have two sections to go in Paper 5. They are, 5.The Consciousness of God and 6.The God of Personality. "Mortal man secures three great satisfactions from religious experience... 1. Intellectually he acquires the satisfactions of a more unified human consciousness. 2. Philosophically he enjoys the substantiation of his ideals of moral values. 3. Spiritually he thrives in the experience of divine companionship, in the spiritual satisfactions of true worship. To know God better you can read The Urantia Book, or join us in these amazing teachings on the Cosmic Citizen. All shows are available in the archive.

This week, we think, Paula, Chuck, Marvin, and Pam continue to discuss Urantia Paper 5, God’s Relation to the Individual, §4 God in Religion, and if time allows, perhaps §5 The Consciousness of God. The morality of the religions of evolution drives men forward in the God quest by the motive power of fear. The religions of revelation allure men to seek for a God of love because they crave to become like him. But religion is not merely a passive feeling of “absolute dependence” and “surety of survival”; it is a living and dynamic experience of divinity attainment predicated on humanity service. The great and immediate service of true religion is the establishment of an enduring unity in human experience, a lasting peace and a profound assurance. 5:4.1–2 (66.5–6) Christianity has elevated the concept of anthropomorphism from the ideal of the human to the transcendent and divine concept of the person of the glorified Christ. And this is the highest anthropomorphism that man can ever conceive. The Christian concept of God is an attempt to combine three separate teachings: 1. The Hebrew concept — God as a vindicator of moral values, a righteous God. 2. The Greek concept — God as a unifier, a God of wisdom. 3. Jesus’ concept — God as a living friend, a loving Father, the divine presence. It must therefore be evident that composite Christian theology encounters great difficulty in attaining consistency. 5:4.9–14 (67.7–68.2) Please join us in discovery of our Father! http://tobtr.com/12258109