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| − | 196:2.1 Some day a [[reformation]] in the [[Christian]] [[church]] may strike deep enough to get back to the unadulterated religious teachings of [[Jesus]], the [[author]] and finisher of our [[faith]].[ | + | 196:2.1 Some day a [[reformation]] in the [[Christian]] [[church]] may strike deep enough to get back to the unadulterated religious teachings of [[Jesus]], the [[author]] and finisher of our [[faith]].[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Letter_to_the_Hebrews#The_Letter_to_the_Hebrews.2C_XII] You may [[preach]] a [[religion]] about Jesus, but, perforce, you must live the religion of Jesus. In the [[enthusiasm]] of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost Pentecost], [[Peter, the Apostle|Peter]] unintentionally [[inaugurated]] a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement new religion], the religion of the risen and [[glorified]] [[Christ]]. The [[Apostle Paul]] later on [[transformed]] this new [[gospel]] into [[Christianity]], a [[religion]] embodying his own [[theologic]] views and portraying his own [[personal]] [[experience]] with the [[Jesus]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_road Damascus road]. The [[gospel]] of [[the kingdom]] is founded on the [[personal]] [[religious]] [[experience]] of the [[Jesus]] of [[Galilee]]; [[Christianity]] is founded almost exclusively on the [[personal]] religious [[experience]] of the [[Apostle Paul]]. Almost the whole of the [[New Testament]] is [[devoted]], not to the portrayal of the significant and [[inspiring]] religious life of [[Jesus]], but to a [[discussion]] of [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]]'s [[religious]] [[experience]] and to a portrayal of his [[personal]] [[religious]] [[convictions]]. The only notable exceptions to this [[statement]], aside from certain parts of [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]], are the [[The Letter to the Hebrews|Book of Hebrews]] and the [[The Letter of James|Epistle of James]]. Even [[Peter, the Apostle|Peter]], in his [[writing]], only once reverted to the [[personal]] [[religious]] life of his [[the Master|Master]]. The [[New Testament]] is a superb [[Christian]] [[document]], but it is only meagerly Jesusonian. |
| − | 196:2.2 [[Jesus]]' life in the [[flesh]] portrays a [[transcendent]] [[religious]] [[growth]] from the early [[ideas]] of [[primitive]] [[awe]] and human [[reverence]] up through years of [[personal]] [[spiritual]] [[communion]] until he finally arrived at that advanced and exalted [[status]] of the [[consciousness]] of his [[oneness]] with [[the Father]]. And thus, in one short life, did [[Jesus]] traverse that [[experience]] of religious [[spiritual]] [[progression]] which man begins on [[earth]] and ordinarily achieves only at the conclusion of his long [[sojourn]] in the [[Paper 14 - The Central and Divine Universe|spirit training schools of the successive levels of the pre-Paradise career]]. [[Jesus]] progressed from a purely [[human]] [[consciousness]] of the [[faith]] certainties of [[personal]] religious [[experience]] to the [[sublime]] [[spiritual]] heights of the [[positive]] [[realization]] of his [[divine]] [[nature]] and to the [[consciousness]] of his close [[association]] with the [[Universal Father]] in the [[management]] of a [[universe]]. He progressed from the [[humble]] [[status]] of [[mortal]] dependence which prompted him [[spontaneously]] to say to the one who called him Good Teacher, " Why do you call me good? None is good but God, "[ | + | 196:2.2 [[Jesus]]' life in the [[flesh]] portrays a [[transcendent]] [[religious]] [[growth]] from the early [[ideas]] of [[primitive]] [[awe]] and human [[reverence]] up through years of [[personal]] [[spiritual]] [[communion]] until he finally arrived at that advanced and exalted [[status]] of the [[consciousness]] of his [[oneness]] with [[the Father]]. And thus, in one short life, did [[Jesus]] traverse that [[experience]] of religious [[spiritual]] [[progression]] which man begins on [[earth]] and ordinarily achieves only at the conclusion of his long [[sojourn]] in the [[Paper 14 - The Central and Divine Universe|spirit training schools of the successive levels of the pre-Paradise career]]. [[Jesus]] progressed from a purely [[human]] [[consciousness]] of the [[faith]] certainties of [[personal]] religious [[experience]] to the [[sublime]] [[spiritual]] heights of the [[positive]] [[realization]] of his [[divine]] [[nature]] and to the [[consciousness]] of his close [[association]] with the [[Universal Father]] in the [[management]] of a [[universe]]. He progressed from the [[humble]] [[status]] of [[mortal]] dependence which prompted him [[spontaneously]] to say to the one who called him Good Teacher, " Why do you call me good? None is good but God, "[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gospel_of_Luke#Chapter_18] to that [[sublime]] [[consciousness]] of achieved [[divinity]] which led him to [[exclaim]], " Which one of you convicts me of sin? "[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Gospel_of_John#Chapter_8] And this [[progressing]] [[ascent]] from the [[human]] to the [[divine]] was an exclusively [[mortal]] [[achievement]]. And when he had thus [[attained]] [[divinity]], he was still the same [[human]] [[Jesus]], the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_Man Son of Man] as well as the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_21 Son of God]. |
196:2.3 [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] retain something of the picture of the [[human]] [[Jesus]] as he [[engaged]] in the superb [[struggle]] to ascertain the [[divine]] will and to do that will. [[Gospel of John|John]] presents a picture of the [[triumphant]] [[Jesus]] as he walked on [[earth]] in the full [[consciousness]] of [[divinity]]. The great [[mistake]] that has been made by those who have [[studied]] [[the Master]]'s life is that some have [[conceived]] of him as entirely [[human]], while others have thought of him as only [[divine]]. Throughout his entire [[experience]] he was truly both [[human]] and [[divine]], even as he yet is. | 196:2.3 [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]], [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]], and [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] retain something of the picture of the [[human]] [[Jesus]] as he [[engaged]] in the superb [[struggle]] to ascertain the [[divine]] will and to do that will. [[Gospel of John|John]] presents a picture of the [[triumphant]] [[Jesus]] as he walked on [[earth]] in the full [[consciousness]] of [[divinity]]. The great [[mistake]] that has been made by those who have [[studied]] [[the Master]]'s life is that some have [[conceived]] of him as entirely [[human]], while others have thought of him as only [[divine]]. Throughout his entire [[experience]] he was truly both [[human]] and [[divine]], even as he yet is. | ||
| − | 196:2.4 But the greatest [[mistake]] was made in that, while the [[human]] [[Jesus]] was recognized as having a [[religion]], the [[divine]] [[Jesus]] ([[Christ]]) almost overnight became a [[religion]]. [ | + | 196:2.4 But the greatest [[mistake]] was made in that, while the [[human]] [[Jesus]] was recognized as having a [[religion]], the [[divine]] [[Jesus]] ([[Christ]]) almost overnight became a [[religion]]. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_Christianity Paul's Christianity] made sure of the [[adoration]] of the [[divine]] [[Christ]], but it almost wholly lost [[sight]] of the [[struggling]] and [[valiant]] [[human]] [[Jesus]] of [[Galilee]], who, by the [[valor]] of his [[personal]] religious [[faith]] and the [[heroism]] of his [[indwelling Adjuster]], [[ascended]] from the lowly levels of [[humanity]] to become one with [[divinity]], thus becoming the new and living way whereby all [[mortals]] may so [[ascend]] from [[humanity]] to [[divinity]]. [[Mortals]] in all [[stages]] of [[spirituality]] and on all worlds may find in the [[personal]] life of [[Jesus]] that which will [[strengthen]] and [[inspire]] them as they [[progress]] from the lowest spirit levels up to the highest [[divine]] [[values]], from the beginning to the end of all [[personal]] [[religious]] [[experience]]. |
| − | 196:2.5 At the time of the [[writing]] of the [[New Testament]], the [[authors]] not only most [[profoundly]] [[believed]] in the [[divinity]] of the risen [[Christ]], but they also [[devotedly]] and [[sincerely]] believed in his [[immediate]] [ | + | 196:2.5 At the time of the [[writing]] of the [[New Testament]], the [[authors]] not only most [[profoundly]] [[believed]] in the [[divinity]] of the risen [[Christ]], but they also [[devotedly]] and [[sincerely]] believed in his [[immediate]] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_coming return to earth] to [[consummate]] [[the heavenly kingdom]]. This strong [[faith]] in the Lord's [[immediate]] return had much to do with the tendency to omit from the [[record]] those [[references]] which portrayed the purely [[human]] [[experiences]] and [[attributes]] of [[the Master]]. The whole [[Christian]] [[movement]] tended away from the human picture of [[Jesus]] of [[Nazareth]] toward the exaltation of the risen [[Christ]], the glorified and soon-returning Lord Jesus Christ. |
| − | 196:2.6 [[Jesus]] founded the [[religion]] of [[personal]] [[experience]] in [[doing the will of God]] and serving the [[human]] brotherhood; [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]] founded a [[religion]] in which the [[glorified]] [[Jesus]] became the object of [[worship]] and the brotherhood consisted of fellow [[believers]] in the divine [[Christ]]. In the [ | + | 196:2.6 [[Jesus]] founded the [[religion]] of [[personal]] [[experience]] in [[doing the will of God]] and serving the [[human]] brotherhood; [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]] founded a [[religion]] in which the [[glorified]] [[Jesus]] became the object of [[worship]] and the brotherhood consisted of fellow [[believers]] in the divine [[Christ]]. In the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_120 bestowal of Jesus] these two [[concepts]] were [[potential]] in his [[divine]]-[[human]] life, and it is indeed a [[pity]] that his [[followers]] failed to create a unified religion which might have given proper [[recognition]] to both the [[human]] and the [[divine]] natures of [[the Master]] as they were inseparably bound up in his [[earth]] life and so [[gloriously]] set forth in the [[original]] [[gospel]] of [[the kingdom]]. |
| − | 196:2.7 You would be neither [[shocked]] nor disturbed by some of [[Jesus]]' strong pronouncements if you would only [[remember]] that he was the world's most wholehearted and [[devoted]] [[religionist]]. He was a wholly [[consecrated]] [[mortal]], unreservedly [[dedicated]] [[to doing his Father's will]]. Many of his apparently hard sayings were more of a [[personal]] [[confession]] of [[faith]] and a pledge of [[devotion]] than commands to his [[followers]]. And it was this very singleness of [[purpose]] and [[unselfish]] [[devotion]] that enabled him to effect such extraordinary [[progress]] in the [[conquest]] of the [ | + | 196:2.7 You would be neither [[shocked]] nor disturbed by some of [[Jesus]]' strong pronouncements if you would only [[remember]] that he was the world's most wholehearted and [[devoted]] [[religionist]]. He was a wholly [[consecrated]] [[mortal]], unreservedly [[dedicated]] [[to doing his Father's will]]. Many of his apparently hard sayings were more of a [[personal]] [[confession]] of [[faith]] and a pledge of [[devotion]] than commands to his [[followers]]. And it was this very singleness of [[purpose]] and [[unselfish]] [[devotion]] that enabled him to effect such extraordinary [[progress]] in the [[conquest]] of the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_110#110:1._INDWELLING_THE_MORTAL_MIND human mind] in one short life. Many of his [[declaration]]s should be considered as a [[confession]] of what he demanded of himself rather than what he required of all his [[followers]]. In his [[devotion]] to the cause of [[the kingdom]], [[Jesus]] [https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/burn+bridges burned all bridges behind him]; he [[sacrificed]] all hindrances to the [[doing of his Father's will]]. |
196:2.8 [[Jesus]] [[blessed]] the [[poor]] because they were usually [[sincere]] and [[pious]]; he [[condemned]] the rich because they were usually wanton and irreligious. He would equally [[condemn]] the irreligious pauper and commend the [[consecrated]] and [[worshipful]] man of [[wealth]]. | 196:2.8 [[Jesus]] [[blessed]] the [[poor]] because they were usually [[sincere]] and [[pious]]; he [[condemned]] the rich because they were usually wanton and irreligious. He would equally [[condemn]] the irreligious pauper and commend the [[consecrated]] and [[worshipful]] man of [[wealth]]. | ||
| − | 196:2.9 [[Jesus]] led men to [[feel]] at [[home]] in the world; he delivered them from the [[slavery]] of [[taboo]] and taught them that the world was not fundamentally [[evil]]. He did not long to [[escape]] from his [[earthly]] life; he mastered a [[technique]] of acceptably [[doing the Father's will]] while in the [[flesh]]. He [[attained]] an [[idealistic]] [[religious]] life in the very midst of a [[realistic]] world. [[Jesus]] did not [[share]] [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]]'s [[pessimistic]] view of [[humankind]]. [[The Master]] looked upon men as the [ | + | 196:2.9 [[Jesus]] led men to [[feel]] at [[home]] in the world; he delivered them from the [[slavery]] of [[taboo]] and taught them that the world was not fundamentally [[evil]]. He did not long to [[escape]] from his [[earthly]] life; he mastered a [[technique]] of acceptably [[doing the Father's will]] while in the [[flesh]]. He [[attained]] an [[idealistic]] [[religious]] life in the very midst of a [[realistic]] world. [[Jesus]] did not [[share]] [[Paul, the Apostle|Paul]]'s [[pessimistic]] view of [[humankind]]. [[The Master]] looked upon men as the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_40#40:5._MORTALS_OF_TIME_AND_SPACE sons of God] and foresaw a [[magnificent]] and [[eternal]] [[future]] for those who chose [[survival]]. He was not a [[moral]] [[skeptic]]; he viewed man [[positively]], not [[negatively]]. He saw most men as [[weak]] rather than [[wicked]], more distraught than depraved. But no matter what their [[status]], they were all God's children and his brethren. |
196:2.10 He taught men to place a high [[value]] upon themselves in [[time]] and in [[eternity]]. Because of this high estimate which [[Jesus]] placed upon men, he was willing to spend himself in the unremitting [[service]] of [[humankind]]. And it was this [[infinite]] [[worth]] of the [[finite]] that made the [[golden rule]] a [[vital]] [[factor]] in his [[religion]]. What [[mortal]] can fail to be uplifted by the extraordinary [[faith]] [[Jesus]] has in him? | 196:2.10 He taught men to place a high [[value]] upon themselves in [[time]] and in [[eternity]]. Because of this high estimate which [[Jesus]] placed upon men, he was willing to spend himself in the unremitting [[service]] of [[humankind]]. And it was this [[infinite]] [[worth]] of the [[finite]] that made the [[golden rule]] a [[vital]] [[factor]] in his [[religion]]. What [[mortal]] can fail to be uplifted by the extraordinary [[faith]] [[Jesus]] has in him? | ||
| Line 23: | Line 23: | ||
196:2.11 [[Jesus]] offered no rules for [[social]] advancement; his was a [[religious]] [[mission]], and [[religion]] is an exclusively [[individual]] [[experience]]. The [[ultimate]] goal of [[society]]'s most advanced achievement can never [[hope]] to [[transcend]] [[Jesus]]' brotherhood of men based on the [[recognition]] of the [[fatherhood]] of [[God]]. The [[ideal]] of all [[social]] [[attainment]] can be [[realized]] only in the coming of this [[the Kingdom|divine kingdom]]. | 196:2.11 [[Jesus]] offered no rules for [[social]] advancement; his was a [[religious]] [[mission]], and [[religion]] is an exclusively [[individual]] [[experience]]. The [[ultimate]] goal of [[society]]'s most advanced achievement can never [[hope]] to [[transcend]] [[Jesus]]' brotherhood of men based on the [[recognition]] of the [[fatherhood]] of [[God]]. The [[ideal]] of all [[social]] [[attainment]] can be [[realized]] only in the coming of this [[the Kingdom|divine kingdom]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | <center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_196 Go to Paper 196]</center> | ||
| + | <center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center> | ||
[[Category: Paper 196 - The Faith of Jesus]] | [[Category: Paper 196 - The Faith of Jesus]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Jesus/TeaM]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:57, 12 December 2020
196:2.1 Some day a reformation in the Christian church may strike deep enough to get back to the unadulterated religious teachings of Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.[1] You may preach a religion about Jesus, but, perforce, you must live the religion of Jesus. In the enthusiasm of Pentecost, Peter unintentionally inaugurated a new religion, the religion of the risen and glorified Christ. The Apostle Paul later on transformed this new gospel into Christianity, a religion embodying his own theologic views and portraying his own personal experience with the Jesus of the Damascus road. The gospel of the kingdom is founded on the personal religious experience of the Jesus of Galilee; Christianity is founded almost exclusively on the personal religious experience of the Apostle Paul. Almost the whole of the New Testament is devoted, not to the portrayal of the significant and inspiring religious life of Jesus, but to a discussion of Paul's religious experience and to a portrayal of his personal religious convictions. The only notable exceptions to this statement, aside from certain parts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are the Book of Hebrews and the Epistle of James. Even Peter, in his writing, only once reverted to the personal religious life of his Master. The New Testament is a superb Christian document, but it is only meagerly Jesusonian.
196:2.2 Jesus' life in the flesh portrays a transcendent religious growth from the early ideas of primitive awe and human reverence up through years of personal spiritual communion until he finally arrived at that advanced and exalted status of the consciousness of his oneness with the Father. And thus, in one short life, did Jesus traverse that experience of religious spiritual progression which man begins on earth and ordinarily achieves only at the conclusion of his long sojourn in the spirit training schools of the successive levels of the pre-Paradise career. Jesus progressed from a purely human consciousness of the faith certainties of personal religious experience to the sublime spiritual heights of the positive realization of his divine nature and to the consciousness of his close association with the Universal Father in the management of a universe. He progressed from the humble status of mortal dependence which prompted him spontaneously to say to the one who called him Good Teacher, " Why do you call me good? None is good but God, "[2] to that sublime consciousness of achieved divinity which led him to exclaim, " Which one of you convicts me of sin? "[3] And this progressing ascent from the human to the divine was an exclusively mortal achievement. And when he had thus attained divinity, he was still the same human Jesus, the Son of Man as well as the Son of God.
196:2.3 Mark, Matthew, and Luke retain something of the picture of the human Jesus as he engaged in the superb struggle to ascertain the divine will and to do that will. John presents a picture of the triumphant Jesus as he walked on earth in the full consciousness of divinity. The great mistake that has been made by those who have studied the Master's life is that some have conceived of him as entirely human, while others have thought of him as only divine. Throughout his entire experience he was truly both human and divine, even as he yet is.
196:2.4 But the greatest mistake was made in that, while the human Jesus was recognized as having a religion, the divine Jesus (Christ) almost overnight became a religion. Paul's Christianity made sure of the adoration of the divine Christ, but it almost wholly lost sight of the struggling and valiant human Jesus of Galilee, who, by the valor of his personal religious faith and the heroism of his indwelling Adjuster, ascended from the lowly levels of humanity to become one with divinity, thus becoming the new and living way whereby all mortals may so ascend from humanity to divinity. Mortals in all stages of spirituality and on all worlds may find in the personal life of Jesus that which will strengthen and inspire them as they progress from the lowest spirit levels up to the highest divine values, from the beginning to the end of all personal religious experience.
196:2.5 At the time of the writing of the New Testament, the authors not only most profoundly believed in the divinity of the risen Christ, but they also devotedly and sincerely believed in his immediate return to earth to consummate the heavenly kingdom. This strong faith in the Lord's immediate return had much to do with the tendency to omit from the record those references which portrayed the purely human experiences and attributes of the Master. The whole Christian movement tended away from the human picture of Jesus of Nazareth toward the exaltation of the risen Christ, the glorified and soon-returning Lord Jesus Christ.
196:2.6 Jesus founded the religion of personal experience in doing the will of God and serving the human brotherhood; Paul founded a religion in which the glorified Jesus became the object of worship and the brotherhood consisted of fellow believers in the divine Christ. In the bestowal of Jesus these two concepts were potential in his divine-human life, and it is indeed a pity that his followers failed to create a unified religion which might have given proper recognition to both the human and the divine natures of the Master as they were inseparably bound up in his earth life and so gloriously set forth in the original gospel of the kingdom.
196:2.7 You would be neither shocked nor disturbed by some of Jesus' strong pronouncements if you would only remember that he was the world's most wholehearted and devoted religionist. He was a wholly consecrated mortal, unreservedly dedicated to doing his Father's will. Many of his apparently hard sayings were more of a personal confession of faith and a pledge of devotion than commands to his followers. And it was this very singleness of purpose and unselfish devotion that enabled him to effect such extraordinary progress in the conquest of the human mind in one short life. Many of his declarations should be considered as a confession of what he demanded of himself rather than what he required of all his followers. In his devotion to the cause of the kingdom, Jesus burned all bridges behind him; he sacrificed all hindrances to the doing of his Father's will.
196:2.8 Jesus blessed the poor because they were usually sincere and pious; he condemned the rich because they were usually wanton and irreligious. He would equally condemn the irreligious pauper and commend the consecrated and worshipful man of wealth.
196:2.9 Jesus led men to feel at home in the world; he delivered them from the slavery of taboo and taught them that the world was not fundamentally evil. He did not long to escape from his earthly life; he mastered a technique of acceptably doing the Father's will while in the flesh. He attained an idealistic religious life in the very midst of a realistic world. Jesus did not share Paul's pessimistic view of humankind. The Master looked upon men as the sons of God and foresaw a magnificent and eternal future for those who chose survival. He was not a moral skeptic; he viewed man positively, not negatively. He saw most men as weak rather than wicked, more distraught than depraved. But no matter what their status, they were all God's children and his brethren.
196:2.10 He taught men to place a high value upon themselves in time and in eternity. Because of this high estimate which Jesus placed upon men, he was willing to spend himself in the unremitting service of humankind. And it was this infinite worth of the finite that made the golden rule a vital factor in his religion. What mortal can fail to be uplifted by the extraordinary faith Jesus has in him?
196:2.11 Jesus offered no rules for social advancement; his was a religious mission, and religion is an exclusively individual experience. The ultimate goal of society's most advanced achievement can never hope to transcend Jesus' brotherhood of men based on the recognition of the fatherhood of God. The ideal of all social attainment can be realized only in the coming of this divine kingdom.
