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98:2.1 A lightly regarded and [[superficial]] [[religion]] cannot [[endure]], especially when it has no [[priesthood]] to foster its [[forms]] and to fill the [[hearts]] of the devotees with [[fear]] and [[awe]]. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Olympians Olympian religion] did not [[promise]] [[salvation]], nor did it quench the [[spiritual]] thirst of its believers; therefore was it [[doomed]] to perish. Within a [[millennium]] of its inception it had nearly vanished, and the [[Greeks]] were without a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_church national religion], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Olympians gods of Olympus] having lost their hold upon the better [[minds]].

98:2.1 A lightly regarded and [[superficial]] [[religion]] cannot [[endure]], especially when it has no [[priesthood]] to foster its [[forms]] and to fill the [[hearts]] of the devotees with [[fear]] and [[awe]]. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Olympians Olympian religion] did not [[promise]] [[salvation]], nor did it quench the [[spiritual]] thirst of its believers; therefore was it [[doomed]] to perish. Within a [[millennium]] of its inception it had nearly vanished, and the [[Greeks]] were without a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_church national religion], the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Olympians gods of Olympus] having lost their hold upon the better [[minds]].

98:2.2 This was the situation when, during the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century_BC sixth century before Christ], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient Orient] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant Levant] [[experienced]] a revival of [[spiritual]] [[consciousness]] and a new [[awakening]] to the [[recognition]] of [[monotheism]]. But the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occident West] did not share in this new [[development]]; neither [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Europe Europe] nor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northen_Africa northern Africa] extensively [[participated]] in this [[religious]] [[renaissance]]. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Greeks], however, did [[engage]] in a [[magnificent]] [[intellectual]] advancement. They had begun to master [[fear]] and no longer sought [[religion]] as an antidote therefor, but they did not [[perceive]] that true [[religion]] is the cure for [[soul]] hunger, [[spiritual]] disquiet, and [[moral]] despair. They sought for the solace of the [[soul]] in deep [[thinking]]— [[philosophy]] and [[metaphysics]]. They turned from the [[contemplation]] of [[self]]-[[preservation]]—[[salvation]]—to [[self-realization]] and self-[[understanding]].

98:2.2 This was the situation when, during the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century_BC sixth century before Christ], the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient Orient] and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant Levant] [[experienced]] a revival of [[spiritual]] [[consciousness]] and a new [[awakening]] to the [[recognition]] of [[monotheism]]. But the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occident West] did not share in this new [[development]]; neither [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Europe Europe] nor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northen_Africa northern Africa] extensively [[participated]] in this [[religious]] [[renaissance]]. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Greeks], however, did [[engage]] in a [[magnificent]] [[intellectual]] advancement. They had begun to master [[fear]] and no longer sought [[religion]] as an antidote therefor, but they did not [[perceive]] that true [[religion]] is the cure for [[soul]] hunger, [[spiritual]] disquiet, and [[moral]] despair. They sought for the solace of the [[soul]] in deep [[thinking]]— [[philosophy]] and [[metaphysics]]. They turned from the [[contemplation]] of [[self]]-[[preservation]]—[[salvation]]—to [[self-realization]] and self-[[understanding]].

98:2.3 By rigorous [[thought]] the [[Greeks]] attempted to [[attain]] that [[consciousness]] of [[security]] which would serve as a substitute for the [[belief]] in [[survival]], but they utterly failed. Only the more [[intelligent]] among the higher classes of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Hellenic] peoples could grasp this new teaching; the rank and file of the [[progeny]] of the [[slaves]] of former [[generations]] had no [[capacity]] for the [[reception]] of this new substitute for [[religion]].

98:2.3 By rigorous [[thought]] the [[Greeks]] attempted to [[attain]] that [[consciousness]] of [[security]] which would serve as a substitute for the [[belief]] in [[survival]], but they utterly failed. Only the more [[intelligent]] among the higher classes of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Hellenic] peoples could grasp this new teaching; the rank and file of the [[progeny]] of the [[slaves]] of former [[generations]] had no [[capacity]] for the [[reception]] of this new substitute for [[religion]].

98:2.4 The [[philosophers]] disdained all forms of [[worship]], notwithstanding that they [[practically]] all held loosely to the background of a [[belief]] in the [[Salem]] doctrine of "the [[Intelligence]] of the [[universe]]," "the [[idea]] of [[God]]," and "the Great Source." In so far as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_philosophy Greek philosophers] gave [[recognition]] to the [[divine]] and the [[Absonite|superfinite]], they were frankly [[monotheistic]]; they gave scant [[recognition]] to the whole galaxy of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology#Greek_pantheon Olympian gods and goddesses].

98:2.4 The [[philosophers]] disdained all forms of [[worship]], notwithstanding that they [[practically]] all held loosely to the background of a [[belief]] in the [[Salem]] doctrine of "the [[Intelligence]] of the [[universe]]," "the [[idea]] of [[God]]," and "the Great Source." In so far as the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_philosophy Greek philosophers] gave [[recognition]] to the [[divine]] and the [[Absonite|superfinite]], they were frankly [[monotheistic]]; they gave scant [[recognition]] to the whole galaxy of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology#Greek_pantheon Olympian gods and goddesses].

98:2.5 The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ancient_Greek_poets Greek poets] of the fifth and sixth centuries, notably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pindar Pindar], attempted the reformation of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_greek_religion Greek religion]. They elevated its [[ideals]], but they were more artists than religionists. They failed to [[develop]] a [[technique]] for fostering and [[conserving]] [[supreme]] [[values]].

98:2.5 The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ancient_Greek_poets Greek poets] of the fifth and sixth centuries, notably [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pindar Pindar], attempted the reformation of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_greek_religion Greek religion]. They elevated its [[ideals]], but they were more artists than religionists. They failed to [[develop]] a [[technique]] for fostering and [[conserving]] [[supreme]] [[values]].

98:2.6 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophanes Xenophanes] taught one [[God]], but his [[deity]] [[concept]] was too [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism pantheistic] to be a [[personal]] [[Father]] to [[mortal]] man. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxagoras Anaxagoras] was a [[mechanist]] except that he did [[recognize]] a [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_4#4:4._THE_REALIZATION_OF_GOD First Cause], an Initial [[Mind]]. [[Socrates]] and his successors, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Plato] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle Aristotle], taught that [[virtue]] is [[knowledge]]; [[goodness]], [[health]] of the [[soul]]; that it is better to suffer injustice than to be [[guilty]] of it, that it is wrong to return [[evil]] for evil, and that the gods are [[wise]] and [[good]]. Their cardinal [[virtues]] were: [[wisdom]], [[courage]], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance temperance], and [[justice]].

98:2.6 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophanes Xenophanes] taught one [[God]], but his [[deity]] [[concept]] was too [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism pantheistic] to be a [[personal]] [[Father]] to [[mortal]] man. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaxagoras Anaxagoras] was a [[mechanist]] except that he did [[recognize]] a [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_4#4:4._THE_REALIZATION_OF_GOD First Cause], an Initial [[Mind]]. [[Socrates]] and his successors, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato Plato] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle Aristotle], taught that [[virtue]] is [[knowledge]]; [[goodness]], [[health]] of the [[soul]]; that it is better to suffer injustice than to be [[guilty]] of it, that it is wrong to return [[evil]] for evil, and that the gods are [[wise]] and [[good]]. Their cardinal [[virtues]] were: [[wisdom]], [[courage]], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance temperance], and [[justice]].

98:2.7 The [[evolution]] of [[religious]] [[philosophy]] among the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Hellenic] and [[Hebrew]] peoples affords a contrastive [[illustration]] of the [[function]] of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_church church] as an [[institution]] in the shaping of [[cultural]] [[progress]]. In [[Palestine]], [[human]] [[thought]] was so [[priest]]-controlled and [[scripture]]-directed that [[philosophy]] and [[aesthetics]] were entirely submerged in [[religion]] and [[morality]]. In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece], the almost complete [[absence]] of [[priests]] and "[[sacred]] [[scriptures]]" left the human [[mind]] free and unfettered, resulting in a startling [[development]] in depth of [[thought]]. But [[religion]] as a [[personal]] [[experience]] failed to keep [[pace]] with the [[intellectual]] probings into the [[nature]] and [[reality]] of the [[cosmos]].

98:2.7 The [[evolution]] of [[religious]] [[philosophy]] among the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Hellenic] and [[Hebrew]] peoples affords a contrastive [[illustration]] of the [[function]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_church church] as an [[institution]] in the shaping of [[cultural]] [[progress]]. In [[Palestine]], [[human]] [[thought]] was so [[priest]]-controlled and [[scripture]]-directed that [[philosophy]] and [[aesthetics]] were entirely submerged in [[religion]] and [[morality]]. In [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece], the almost complete [[absence]] of [[priests]] and "[[sacred]] [[scriptures]]" left the human [[mind]] free and unfettered, resulting in a startling [[development]] in depth of [[thought]]. But [[religion]] as a [[personal]] [[experience]] failed to keep [[pace]] with the [[intellectual]] probings into the [[nature]] and [[reality]] of the [[cosmos]].

98:2.8 In [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece], believing was subordinated to [[thinking]]; in [[Palestine]], thinking was held subject to [[believing]]. Much of the [[strength]] of [[Christianity]] is due to its having borrowed heavily from both [[Hebrew]] [[morality]] and [[Greek]] [[thought]].

98:2.8 In [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece], believing was subordinated to [[thinking]]; in [[Palestine]], thinking was held subject to [[believing]]. Much of the [[strength]] of [[Christianity]] is due to its having borrowed heavily from both [[Hebrew]] [[morality]] and [[Greek]] [[thought]].

98:2.9 In [[Palestine]], [[religious]] [[dogma]] became so crystallized as to jeopardize further [[growth]]; in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece], [[human]] [[thought]] became so [[abstract]] that the [[concept]] of [[God]] resolved itself into a misty vapor of pantheistic [[speculation]] not at all unlike the [[impersonal]] [[Infinity]] of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin Brahman philosophers].

98:2.9 In [[Palestine]], [[religious]] [[dogma]] became so crystallized as to jeopardize further [[growth]]; in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece], [[human]] [[thought]] became so [[abstract]] that the [[concept]] of [[God]] resolved itself into a misty vapor of pantheistic [[speculation]] not at all unlike the [[impersonal]] [[Infinity]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahmin Brahman philosophers].

98:2.10 But the [[average]] men of these times could not grasp, nor were they much interested in, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_philosophy Greek philosophy] of [[self-realization]] and an [[abstract]] [[Deity]]; they rather craved [[promises]] of [[salvation]], coupled with a [[personal]] [[God]] who could hear their [[prayers]]. They [[exiled]] the [[philosophers]], [[persecuted]] the remnants of the [[Salem]] [[cult]], both [[doctrines]] having become much blended, and made ready for that terrible [[orgiastic]] plunge into the [[follies]] of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_cults mystery cults] which were then overspreading the [[Mediterranean]] lands. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries Eleusinian mysteries] grew up within the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology#Greek_pantheon Olympian pantheon], a [[Greek]] version of the [[worship]] of [[fertility]]; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysian_Mysteries Dionysus nature worship] flourished; the best of the [[cults]] was the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphism_%28religion%29 Orphic brotherhood], whose [[moral]] preachments and [[promises]] of [[salvation]] made a great [[appeal]] to many.

98:2.10 But the [[average]] men of these times could not grasp, nor were they much interested in, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_philosophy Greek philosophy] of [[self-realization]] and an [[abstract]] [[Deity]]; they rather craved [[promises]] of [[salvation]], coupled with a [[personal]] [[God]] who could hear their [[prayers]]. They [[exiled]] the [[philosophers]], [[persecuted]] the remnants of the [[Salem]] [[cult]], both [[doctrines]] having become much blended, and made ready for that terrible [[orgiastic]] plunge into the [[follies]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_cults mystery cults] which were then overspreading the [[Mediterranean]] lands. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries Eleusinian mysteries] grew up within the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology#Greek_pantheon Olympian pantheon], a [[Greek]] version of the [[worship]] of [[fertility]]; [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysian_Mysteries Dionysus nature worship] flourished; the best of the [[cults]] was the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphism_%28religion%29 Orphic brotherhood], whose [[moral]] preachments and [[promises]] of [[salvation]] made a great [[appeal]] to many.

98:2.11 All [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece] became involved in these new [[methods]] of [[attaining]] [[salvation]], these [[emotional]] and fiery [[ceremonials]]. No [[nation]] ever attained such heights of artistic [[philosophy]] in so short a time; none ever created such an advanced [[system]] of [[ethics]] [[practically]] without [[Deity]] and entirely devoid of the [[promise]] of human [[salvation]]; no nation ever plunged so quickly, deeply, and [[violently]] into such depths of [[intellectual]] stagnation, [[moral]] depravity, and [[spiritual]] [[poverty]] as these same [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Greek peoples] when they flung themselves into the mad whirl of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_cults mystery cults].

98:2.11 All [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece Greece] became involved in these new [[methods]] of [[attaining]] [[salvation]], these [[emotional]] and fiery [[ceremonials]]. No [[nation]] ever attained such heights of artistic [[philosophy]] in so short a time; none ever created such an advanced [[system]] of [[ethics]] [[practically]] without [[Deity]] and entirely devoid of the [[promise]] of human [[salvation]]; no nation ever plunged so quickly, deeply, and [[violently]] into such depths of [[intellectual]] stagnation, [[moral]] depravity, and [[spiritual]] [[poverty]] as these same [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellene Greek peoples] when they flung themselves into the mad whirl of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_cults mystery cults].

98:2.12 [[Religions]] have long [[endured]] without [[philosophical]] support, but few philosophies, as such, have long [[persisted]] without some identification with [[religion]]. [[Philosophy]] is to [[religion]] as [[conception]] is to [[action]]. But the [[ideal]] [[human]] estate is that in which [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_2#2:7._DIVINE_TRUTH_AND_BEAUTY philosophy, religion, and science] are welded into a [[meaningful]] [[unity]] by the conjoined [[action]] of [[wisdom]], [[faith]], and [[experience]].

98:2.12 [[Religions]] have long [[endured]] without [[philosophical]] support, but few philosophies, as such, have long [[persisted]] without some identification with [[religion]]. [[Philosophy]] is to [[religion]] as [[conception]] is to [[action]]. But the [[ideal]] [[human]] estate is that in which [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_2#2:7._DIVINE_TRUTH_AND_BEAUTY philosophy, religion, and science] are welded into a [[meaningful]] [[unity]] by the conjoined [[action]] of [[wisdom]], [[faith]], and [[experience]].

<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_98 Go to Paper 98]</center>

<center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_98 Go to Paper 98]</center>

<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>

<center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>

[[Category:Paper 98 - The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident]]

[[Category:Paper 98 - The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident]]