The Cosmic Citizen

Jesus made 19 appearances to his apostles and other devoted believers before he ascended to his place as sovereign of a universe. Last week we discussed his talk with the two brothers as the walked home to Emmaus and his appearance to believers in Philadelphia and elsewhere. This week we will explore three more of his appearances. The section we'll be discussing is 192.2, "Visiting with the Apostles Two and Two." This describes how he walked by Galilee with the apostles, giving them very specific words of instruction, faith, and courage. This section is especially poignant and unforgettable. If we get through these deep and thought-provoking sections, we'll continue on in Paper 192. Consider these great words: "If you love me, Peter, feed my lambs. Do not neglect to minister to the weak, the poor, and the young. Preach the gospel without fear or favor; remember always that God is no respecter of persons. Serve your fellow men even as I have served you; forgive your fellow mortals even as I have forgiven you. Let experience teach you the value of meditation and the power of intelligent reflection." "If you would serve me, serve my brethren in the flesh even as I have served you. And be not weary in this well-doing but persevere as one who has been ordained by God for this service of love.  "Have faith in God to the end of your days on earth. Never forget that, when you are a faith son of God, all upright work of the realm is sacred. Nothing which a son of God does can be common." The resurrection appearances and words of Jesus are so remarkable and significant. If you could say one thing before you left this world, to the people you love the most, what would it be? We hope you will join us to further explore what Jesus said.

EMPHASIZING GOODNESS WHILE NEGLECTING TRUTH AND BEAUTY.  A Divine Counselor regrets that religion has pursued the unwise course of "emphasizing the goodness of God to the relative exclusion of truth and neglect of beauty," thereby causing many human beings to turn away from abstract and isolated goodness. He calls for religion to give "equal consideration to the truths of science, philosophy, and spiritual experience, and to the beauties of the physical creation, the charm of intellectual art, and the grandeur of genuine character achievement." Further, the Divine Counselor challenges men and women of spiritual insight ”to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness" [a Divine Counselor, 43:2-3 / 2:7.9-10]. After participants have grappled with these complex concepts, endeavoring to explain how humanity can act upon them, they will begin discussing Jesus’ discourse on true religion (section 5 in Paper 155) — a text that the Midwayer Commission describes as "one of the most remarkable addresses that his apostles ever listened to throughout all their years of association with him" [the Midwayer Commission, 1728:2 / 155:4.2]. -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  - We hope you will join us by logging onto Cosmic Citizen for the Special Edition on Sunday the 4th, starting at 3:00 PM in Colorado (Mountain Time).

Jesus made 19 appearances to his apostles and other devoted believers before he ascended to his place as sovereign of a universe. Last week we discussed his talk with the two brothers as the walked home to Emmaus and his appearance to believers in Philadelphia and elsewhere. This week we will explore three more of his appearances. The sections we'll be discussing are 191.5 Second Appearance to the Apostles, in which he had some choice words for Doubting Thomas. Also, 191.6 The Alexandrian Appearance, in which he appeared and spoke to the Greek believers. In addition to these two sections, we will read and discuss 192.2, Visiting with the Apostles Two and Two. This describes how he walked by Galilee with the apostles, giving them very specific words of instruction, faith, and courage. This section is especially poignant and unforgettable. If we get through these deep and thought-provoking sections, we'll continue on in Paper 192. Consider these great snippets: "The Jews have extolled goodness; the Greeks have exalted beauty; the Hindus preach devotion; the faraway ascetics teach reverence; the Romans demand loyalty; but I require of my disciples life, even a life of loving service for your brothers in the flesh." (191:5.3) "And when men see you so love them, and when they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven," (191:6.2.) "If you would serve me, serve my brethren in the flesh even as I have served you. And be not weary in this well-doing but persevere as one who has been ordained by God for this service of love. (192:2.9.) The resurrection appearances and words of Jesus are so remarkable and significant. If you could say one thing before you left this world, to the people you love the most, what would it be? We hope you will join us to further explore what Jesus said.

SECULARISM AND MATERIALISM ARE DEADLY DISEASES, and personal religion will undoubtedly make major contributions to the antidotes that humanity will develop. Jesus describes personal religion as “that most thrilling and inspiring of all possible human experiences: the personal quest for truth, the exhilaration of facing the perils of intellectual discovery, the determination to explore the realities of personal religious experience …  The religion of the spirit means effort, struggle, conflict, faith determination, love, loyalty, and progress”  [the Midwayer Commission, 1729:5-6 / 155:5.10-11]. During the next few generations and centuries, humanity must also confront the formidable challenge that a Divine Counselor identifies: “The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness” [a Divine Counselor, 43:3 / 2:7.10]. Log onto Cosmic Citizen for the Special Edition on Sunday the 28th, starting at 3:00 PM in Colorado (Mountain Time). This will be the second of six stimulating and perhaps intriguing programs during which experienced readers are exchanging ideas and insights on topic 7 of Revelation Revealed, “The extended transition from institutional to personal religion.” Listeners who do not have Revelation Revealed on hand should download it from http://www.globalendeavor.net (the website of the Committee for the Global Endeavor). This will enable them to follow along and understand the detailed discussion, which on January 28 will start on page 75.

In the last two weeks we studied two of the most unique and remarkable discourses of Jesus on religion from The Urantia Book. This week we will look at his concise words regarding his gospel, which he said immediately following his resurrection as he appeared to two brothers who were discussing him as they walked home to Emmaus. Before they realized who they were speaking with, he tells them the following: "...Jesus always taught that his kingdom was not of this world, and that all men, being the sons of God, should find liberty and freedom in the spiritual joy of the fellowship of the brotherhood of loving service in this new kingdom of the truth of the heavenly Father's love? Do you not recall how this Son of Man proclaimed the salvation of God for all men, ministering to the sick and afflicted and setting free those who were bound by fear and enslaved by evil? ... Did you not understand how great was the gospel of the kingdom which this man delivered to you? Do you not perceive how great a salvation has come upon you?" He also appeared before a gathering in Philadelphia to proclaim: "... You all know that we have one Father in heaven, and that there is but one gospel of the kingdom—the good news of the gift of eternal life which men receive by faith. As you rejoice in your loyalty to the gospel, pray the Father of truth to shed abroad in your hearts a new and greater love for your brethren. You are to love all men as I have loved you; you are to serve all men as I have served you. With understanding sympathy and brotherly affection... Remember, as you love one another, all men will know that you are my disciples." These and more of Jesus' teachings on religion (following the resurrection) will be discussed this week with Christilyn and Bob Debold, & Chuck Thurston and additional guests, while Paula, Andre, and Derek attend a Fellowship Council Meeting out of state.

PERSONAL RELIGION IS HUMANITY’S FUTURE, although it is reasonable to believe that the transition will be lengthy and difficult. Jesus stipulated that "Until the human race progresses to the level of a higher and more general recognition of the realities of spiritual experience, large numbers of men and women will continue to show a personal preference for those religions of authority which require only intellectual assent …"  [the Midwayer Commission, 1729:3 / 155:5.8].  On the other hand, he went on to emphasize "the right to participate in that most thrilling and inspiring of all possible human experiences: the personal quest for truth, the exhilaration of facing the perils of intellectual discovery, the determination to explore the realities of personal religious experience …" [the Midwayer Commission, 1729:5 / 155:5.10]. Special Cosmic Citizen Series: Log onto Cosmic Citizen for a Special Edition on Sunday, February 21st, starting at 3:00 PM Mountain Time. This will be the first of six stimulating and perhaps intriguing programs during which experienced readers will exchange ideas and insights on topic 7 of Revelation Revealed, “The extended transition from institutional to personal religion.” Listeners who do not have Revelation Revealed on hand should download it from http://www.globalendeavor.net (the website of the Committee for the Global Endeavor). This will enable them to follow along and understand the detailed discussion envisioned on pages 71 through 87. http://tobtr.com/s/10536053

Last week we began the study of two of the most unique and remarkable discourses of Jesus, in The Urantia Book, his discourses on Religion from Urantia Paper 155, Section 5 and The Second Discourse on Religion, Section 6. Nothing could speak more poignantly to the issues present in today's religious culture than these two amazing discourses on religion delivered by Jesus to his apostles and others. In addition, these two discourses are the perfect capstone for the series we just completed on personal religion. Consider this from Jesus' Second Discourse on Religion: "155:6.3.I have called upon you to be born again, to be born of the spirit. I have called you out of the darkness of authority and the lethargy of tradition into the transcendent light of the realization of the possibility of making for yourselves the greatest discovery possible for the human soul to make—the supernal experience of finding God for yourself, in yourself, and of yourself, and of doing all this as a fact in your own personal experience. And so may you pass from death to life, from the authority of tradition to the experience of knowing God; thus will you pass from darkness to light, from a racial faith inherited to a personal faith achieved by actual experience; and thereby will you progress from a theology of mind handed down by your ancestors to a true religion of spirit which shall be built up in your souls as an eternal endowment." Please join us for the second part of this wonderful study. It's classic Jesus, and classic Urantia Book.

Two of the most unique and remarkable discourses of Jesus, in The Urantia Book, are his two discourses on Religion from Urantia Paper 155, Sections 5. The Discourse on True Religion and 6. The Second Discourse on Religion. Nothing could speak more poignantly to the issues present in today's religious culture than these two amazing discourses on religion delivered by Jesus to his apostles. In addition, these two discourses are the perfect capstone for the series we just completed on personal religion. Consider this from Jesus' first Discourse on Religion: Jesus said: "And now, which one of you would prefer to take this easy path of conformity to an established and fossilized religion, as defended by the Pharisees at Jerusalem, rather than to suffer the difficulties and persecutions attendant upon the mission of proclaiming a better way of salvation to men while you realize the satisfaction of discovering for yourselves the beauties of the realities of a living and personal experience in the eternal truths and supreme grandeurs of the kingdom of heaven? Are you fearful, soft, and ease-seeking? Are you afraid to trust your future in the hands of the God of truth, whose sons you are?" Consider this from his Second Discourse: "While the religion of authority may impart a present feeling of settled security, you pay for such a transient satisfaction the price of the loss of your spiritual freedom and religious liberty. My Father does not require of you as the price of entering the kingdom of heaven that you should force yourself to subscribe to a belief in things which are spiritually repugnant, unholy, and untruthful. It is not required of you that your own sense of mercy, justice, and truth should be outraged by submission to an outworn system of religious forms and ceremonies." Jesus, masterfully drives these truths home, please join this study!

Happy New Year! This week we will continue in the vein of the last two weeks with guest Kurt Cira. Kurt has developed a program that he calls the ROPE, Religion of Personal Experience. We have invited friends like Robert Sarmast to explore this important topic. The Urantia Book teaches personal religous experience and says each person can have a personal relationship with God. Consider the following: Those who know God have experienced the fact of his presence; such God-knowing mortals hold in their personal experience the only positive proof of the existence of the living God which one human being can offer to another. (1:2.8) Ultimate universe reality cannot be grasped by mathematics, logic, or philosophy, only by personal experience in progressive conformity to the divine will of a personal God. Neither science, philosophy, nor theology can validate the personality of God. Only the personal experience of the faith sons of the heavenly Father can effect the actual spiritual realization of the personality of God. (1:7.5) "Material science cannot demonstrate the existence of a soul, neither can pure spirit-testing. Notwithstanding the failure of both material science and spiritual standards to discover the existence of the human soul, every morally conscious mortal knows of the existence of his soul as a real and actual personal experience." (133:6.7) And Jesus said: "I have called upon you to be born again, to be born of the spirit. I have called you out of the darkness of authority and the lethargy of tradition into the transcendent light of the realization of the possibility of making for yourselves the greatest discovery possible for the human soul to make—the supernal experience of finding God for yourself, in yourself, and of yourself, and of doing all this as a fact in your own personal experience."  (155:6.3) Please join us and share your thoughts! Thank you!

Last week we talked about Paul Snider, the author of the book, "The Coming Age of Personal Religion."  We discussed experiences with family and friends concerning his background and how he's an inspiration to so many. However, this week will be spent covering the material in his new book, Review: "Paul Snider explains to us in loving detail the many lessons and truths he has learned throughout his long, continuing journey Godward. Perhaps you are agnostic, unsure of all things spiritual. Perhaps you are a seasoned religionist, long familiar with all things of God. Perhaps you are somewhere in between, a believer with many questions of why things are the way they are and how to proceed forward. Wherever you stand, you will find here words of wisdom to help you in your journey, to aid you in understanding and to nourish and encourage you in your spiritual growth." (From Tony D) Callers are welcome, but we will take the first hour to discuss the topics outlined in the book and it's overarching theme SPIRITUALIZED ACTION. Because It is not enough according to this author to just passively listen to weekly sermons, or regurgitate platitudes, or even just imbibe the wisdom of the great leadership and inspiration that has come before. This coming age requires people of action to spiritualize their work, their attitudes, and their lives, to change the world into that better place we want it to become. This is the main difference between institutionalized religion and personal religion and it requires a dynamic personal commitment to act, to grow godward, and to DO SOMETHING POSITIVE with ones' life.  Buy Paul's wonderful book here: https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Age-Personal-Religion/dp/0692939199