103,025
edits
Changes
Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame 101:2.1 The fact of religion consists wholly in the religious experience of rational and [[...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:The_eye_of_all_ur60.jpg|right|frame]]
101:2.1 The [[fact]] of [[religion]] consists wholly in the religious [[experience]] of [[rational]] and [[average]] [[human being]]s. And this is the only sense in which [[religion]] can ever be regarded as [[scientific]] or even [[psychological]]. The [[proof]] that revelation is revelation is this same [[fact]] of human [[experience]]: the fact that revelation does [[synthesize]] the apparently [[divergent]] [[sciences]] of [[nature]] and the theology of religion into a [[consistent]] and [[logical]] universe [[philosophy]], a [[co-ordinated]] and unbroken [[explanation]] of both [[science]] and [[religion]], thus creating a [[harmony]] of [[mind]] and [[satisfaction]] of [[spirit]] which answers in human [[experience]] those questionings of the [[mortal]] [[mind]] which craves to know how the [[Infinite]] works out his will and [[plans]] in [[matter]], with [[minds]], and on [[spirit]].
101:2.2 [[Reason]] is the [[method]] of [[science]]; [[faith]] is the [[method]] of [[religion]]; [[logic]] is the attempted [[technique]] of [[philosophy]]. [[Revelation]] compensates for the [[absence]] of the [[morontia]] [[viewpoint]] by providing a [[technique]] for achieving [[unity]] in the [[comprehension]] of the [[reality]] and [[relationships]] of [[matter]] and [[spirit]] by the mediation of [[mind]]. And true [[revelation]] never renders [[science]] unnatural, [[religion]] unreasonable, or [[philosophy]] illogical.
101:2.3 [[Reason]], through the [[study]] of [[science]], may lead back through [[nature]] to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_cause First Cause], but it requires religious [[faith]] to [[transform]] the First Cause of [[science]] into a [[God]] of [[salvation]]; and [[revelation]] is further required for the validation of such a [[faith]], such [[spiritual]] [[insight]].
101:2.4 There are two basic reasons for believing in a [[God]] who fosters [[human]] [[survival]]:
*1. Human [[experience]], [[personal]] [[assurance]], the somehow registered [[hope]] and trust initiated by the indwelling [[Thought Adjuster]].
*2. The [[revelation]] of [[truth]], whether by direct [[personal]] ministry of the [[Spirit of Truth]], by the world [[bestowal]] of [[divine Sons]], or through the [[revelations]] of the [[written]] [[word]].
101:2.5 [[Science]] ends its [[reason]]-search in the [[hypothesis]] of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_cause First Cause]. [[Religion]] does not stop in its flight of [[faith]] until it is sure of a [[God]] of [[salvation]]. The [[discriminating]] [[study]] of [[science]] logically suggests the [[reality]] and [[existence]] of an [[Absolute]]. [[Religion]] believes unreservedly in the [[existence]] and [[reality]] of a [[God]] who fosters [[personality]] [[survival]]. What [[metaphysics]] fails utterly in doing, and what even [[philosophy]] fails partially in doing, [[revelation]] does; that is, affirms that this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_cause First Cause] of [[science]] and [[religion]]'s God of salvation are one and the same [[Deity]].
101:2.6 [[Reason]] is the [[proof]] of [[science]], [[faith]] the [[proof]] of [[religion]], [[logic]] the proof of [[philosophy]], but [[revelation]] is validated only by human [[experience]]. [[Science]] yields [[knowledge]]; [[religion]] yields [[happiness]]; [[philosophy]] yields [[unity]]; [[revelation]] confirms the experiential [[harmony]] of this [[triune]] approach to [[universal]] [[reality]].
101:2.7 The [[contemplation]] of [[nature]] can only reveal a [[God]] of [[nature]], a God of [[motion]]. [[Nature]] exhibits only [[matter]], [[motion]], and animation—life. [[Matter]] plus [[energy]], under certain conditions, is [[manifested]] in living [[forms]], but while [[natural]] life is thus [[relatively]] continuous as a [[phenomenon]], it is wholly transient as to [[individualities]]. [[Nature]] does not afford ground for [[logical]] [[belief]] in human-[[personality]] [[survival]]. The [[religious]] man who finds [[God]] in [[nature]] has already and first found this same [[personal]] [[God]] in his own [[soul]].
101:2.8 [[Faith]] reveals [[God]] in the [[soul]]. [[Revelation]], the substitute for [[morontia]] [[insight]] on an [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_49 evolutionary world], enables man to see the same [[God]] in [[nature]] that [[faith]] exhibits in his [[soul]]. Thus does [[revelation]] successfully bridge the gulf between the [[material]] and the [[spiritual]], even between the [[creature]] and the [[Creator]], between man and God.
101:2.9 The [[contemplation]] of [[nature]] does [[logically]] point in the direction of [[intelligent]] [[guidance]], even living supervision, but it does not in any [[satisfactory]] [[manner]] reveal a [[personal]] [[God]]. On the other hand, [[nature]] discloses nothing which would preclude the [[universe]] from being looked upon as the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Psalms#Psalm_19 handiwork] of the [[God]] of [[religion]]. God cannot be found through [[nature]] alone, but man having otherwise found him, the [[study]] of nature becomes wholly [[consistent]] with a higher and more [[spiritual]] [[interpretation]] of the [[universe]].
101:2.10 [[Revelation]] as an [[epochal]] [[phenomenon]] is [[periodic]]; as a [[personal]] human [[experience]] it is [[continuous]]. [[Divinity]] [[functions]] in [[mortal]] [[personality]] as the [[Adjuster]] gift of [[the Father]], as the [[Spirit of Truth]] of [[Bestowal Son|the Son]], and as the [[Holy Spirit]] of the [[Mother Spirit|Universe Spirit]], while these three [[supermortal]] [[endowments]] are unified in [[human]] [[experiential]] [[evolution]] as the [[ministry]] of [[the Supreme]].
101:2.11 True [[religion]] is an [[insight]] into [[reality]], the [[faith]]-[[child]] of the [[moral]] [[consciousness]], and not a mere [[intellectual]] assent to any body of [[dogmatic]] [[doctrines]]. True [[religion]] consists in the [[experience]] that "the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Letter_of_Paul_to_the_Romans#The_Letter_of_Paul_to_the_Romans.2C_VIII] [[Religion]] consists not in [[theologic]] propositions but in [[spiritual]] [[insight]] and the [[sublimity]] of the [[soul]]'s [[trust]].
101:2.12 Your deepest [[nature]]—the [[divine]] [[Adjuster]]—[[creates]] within you a [[hunger]] and thirst for [[righteousness]], a certain craving for divine [[perfection]]. [[Religion]] is the [[faith]] [[act]] of the [[recognition]] of this inner urge to [[divine]] [[attainment]]; and thus is brought about that [[soul]] [[trust]] and [[assurance]] of which you become [[conscious]] as the way of [[salvation]], the [[technique]] of the [[survival]] of [[personality]] and all those [[values]] which you have come to look upon as being [[true]] and [[good]].
101:2.13 The [[realization]] of [[religion]] never has been, and never will be, dependent on great [[learning]] or clever [[logic]]. It is [[spiritual]] [[insight]], and that is just the [[reason]] why some of the world's greatest religious [[teachers]], even the [[prophets]], have sometimes possessed so little of the [[wisdom]] of the world. [[Religious]] [[faith]] is available alike to the learned and the unlearned.
101:2.14 [[Religion]] must ever be its own [[critic]] and judge; it can never be [[observed]], much less [[understood]], from the outside. Your only [[assurance]] of a [[personal]] [[God]] consists in your own [[insight]] as to your [[belief]] in, and [[experience]] with, things [[spiritual]]. To all of your fellows who have had a similar [[experience]], no [[argument]] about the [[personality]] or [[reality]] of [[God]] is [[necessary]], while to all other men who are not thus sure of God no possible [[argument]] could ever be truly convincing.
101:2.15 [[Psychology]] may indeed attempt to [[study]] the [[phenomena]] of [[religious]] [[reactions]] to the [[social]] [[environment]], but never can it [[hope]] to penetrate to the real and inner [[motives]] and workings of [[religion]]. Only [[theology]], the province of [[faith]] and the [[technique]] of [[revelation]], can afford any sort of [[intelligent]] account of the [[nature]] and [[content]] of [[religious]] [[experience]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_101 Go to Paper 101]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 101 - The Real Nature of Religion]]
101:2.1 The [[fact]] of [[religion]] consists wholly in the religious [[experience]] of [[rational]] and [[average]] [[human being]]s. And this is the only sense in which [[religion]] can ever be regarded as [[scientific]] or even [[psychological]]. The [[proof]] that revelation is revelation is this same [[fact]] of human [[experience]]: the fact that revelation does [[synthesize]] the apparently [[divergent]] [[sciences]] of [[nature]] and the theology of religion into a [[consistent]] and [[logical]] universe [[philosophy]], a [[co-ordinated]] and unbroken [[explanation]] of both [[science]] and [[religion]], thus creating a [[harmony]] of [[mind]] and [[satisfaction]] of [[spirit]] which answers in human [[experience]] those questionings of the [[mortal]] [[mind]] which craves to know how the [[Infinite]] works out his will and [[plans]] in [[matter]], with [[minds]], and on [[spirit]].
101:2.2 [[Reason]] is the [[method]] of [[science]]; [[faith]] is the [[method]] of [[religion]]; [[logic]] is the attempted [[technique]] of [[philosophy]]. [[Revelation]] compensates for the [[absence]] of the [[morontia]] [[viewpoint]] by providing a [[technique]] for achieving [[unity]] in the [[comprehension]] of the [[reality]] and [[relationships]] of [[matter]] and [[spirit]] by the mediation of [[mind]]. And true [[revelation]] never renders [[science]] unnatural, [[religion]] unreasonable, or [[philosophy]] illogical.
101:2.3 [[Reason]], through the [[study]] of [[science]], may lead back through [[nature]] to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_cause First Cause], but it requires religious [[faith]] to [[transform]] the First Cause of [[science]] into a [[God]] of [[salvation]]; and [[revelation]] is further required for the validation of such a [[faith]], such [[spiritual]] [[insight]].
101:2.4 There are two basic reasons for believing in a [[God]] who fosters [[human]] [[survival]]:
*1. Human [[experience]], [[personal]] [[assurance]], the somehow registered [[hope]] and trust initiated by the indwelling [[Thought Adjuster]].
*2. The [[revelation]] of [[truth]], whether by direct [[personal]] ministry of the [[Spirit of Truth]], by the world [[bestowal]] of [[divine Sons]], or through the [[revelations]] of the [[written]] [[word]].
101:2.5 [[Science]] ends its [[reason]]-search in the [[hypothesis]] of a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_cause First Cause]. [[Religion]] does not stop in its flight of [[faith]] until it is sure of a [[God]] of [[salvation]]. The [[discriminating]] [[study]] of [[science]] logically suggests the [[reality]] and [[existence]] of an [[Absolute]]. [[Religion]] believes unreservedly in the [[existence]] and [[reality]] of a [[God]] who fosters [[personality]] [[survival]]. What [[metaphysics]] fails utterly in doing, and what even [[philosophy]] fails partially in doing, [[revelation]] does; that is, affirms that this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_cause First Cause] of [[science]] and [[religion]]'s God of salvation are one and the same [[Deity]].
101:2.6 [[Reason]] is the [[proof]] of [[science]], [[faith]] the [[proof]] of [[religion]], [[logic]] the proof of [[philosophy]], but [[revelation]] is validated only by human [[experience]]. [[Science]] yields [[knowledge]]; [[religion]] yields [[happiness]]; [[philosophy]] yields [[unity]]; [[revelation]] confirms the experiential [[harmony]] of this [[triune]] approach to [[universal]] [[reality]].
101:2.7 The [[contemplation]] of [[nature]] can only reveal a [[God]] of [[nature]], a God of [[motion]]. [[Nature]] exhibits only [[matter]], [[motion]], and animation—life. [[Matter]] plus [[energy]], under certain conditions, is [[manifested]] in living [[forms]], but while [[natural]] life is thus [[relatively]] continuous as a [[phenomenon]], it is wholly transient as to [[individualities]]. [[Nature]] does not afford ground for [[logical]] [[belief]] in human-[[personality]] [[survival]]. The [[religious]] man who finds [[God]] in [[nature]] has already and first found this same [[personal]] [[God]] in his own [[soul]].
101:2.8 [[Faith]] reveals [[God]] in the [[soul]]. [[Revelation]], the substitute for [[morontia]] [[insight]] on an [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_49 evolutionary world], enables man to see the same [[God]] in [[nature]] that [[faith]] exhibits in his [[soul]]. Thus does [[revelation]] successfully bridge the gulf between the [[material]] and the [[spiritual]], even between the [[creature]] and the [[Creator]], between man and God.
101:2.9 The [[contemplation]] of [[nature]] does [[logically]] point in the direction of [[intelligent]] [[guidance]], even living supervision, but it does not in any [[satisfactory]] [[manner]] reveal a [[personal]] [[God]]. On the other hand, [[nature]] discloses nothing which would preclude the [[universe]] from being looked upon as the [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Psalms#Psalm_19 handiwork] of the [[God]] of [[religion]]. God cannot be found through [[nature]] alone, but man having otherwise found him, the [[study]] of nature becomes wholly [[consistent]] with a higher and more [[spiritual]] [[interpretation]] of the [[universe]].
101:2.10 [[Revelation]] as an [[epochal]] [[phenomenon]] is [[periodic]]; as a [[personal]] human [[experience]] it is [[continuous]]. [[Divinity]] [[functions]] in [[mortal]] [[personality]] as the [[Adjuster]] gift of [[the Father]], as the [[Spirit of Truth]] of [[Bestowal Son|the Son]], and as the [[Holy Spirit]] of the [[Mother Spirit|Universe Spirit]], while these three [[supermortal]] [[endowments]] are unified in [[human]] [[experiential]] [[evolution]] as the [[ministry]] of [[the Supreme]].
101:2.11 True [[religion]] is an [[insight]] into [[reality]], the [[faith]]-[[child]] of the [[moral]] [[consciousness]], and not a mere [[intellectual]] assent to any body of [[dogmatic]] [[doctrines]]. True [[religion]] consists in the [[experience]] that "the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Letter_of_Paul_to_the_Romans#The_Letter_of_Paul_to_the_Romans.2C_VIII] [[Religion]] consists not in [[theologic]] propositions but in [[spiritual]] [[insight]] and the [[sublimity]] of the [[soul]]'s [[trust]].
101:2.12 Your deepest [[nature]]—the [[divine]] [[Adjuster]]—[[creates]] within you a [[hunger]] and thirst for [[righteousness]], a certain craving for divine [[perfection]]. [[Religion]] is the [[faith]] [[act]] of the [[recognition]] of this inner urge to [[divine]] [[attainment]]; and thus is brought about that [[soul]] [[trust]] and [[assurance]] of which you become [[conscious]] as the way of [[salvation]], the [[technique]] of the [[survival]] of [[personality]] and all those [[values]] which you have come to look upon as being [[true]] and [[good]].
101:2.13 The [[realization]] of [[religion]] never has been, and never will be, dependent on great [[learning]] or clever [[logic]]. It is [[spiritual]] [[insight]], and that is just the [[reason]] why some of the world's greatest religious [[teachers]], even the [[prophets]], have sometimes possessed so little of the [[wisdom]] of the world. [[Religious]] [[faith]] is available alike to the learned and the unlearned.
101:2.14 [[Religion]] must ever be its own [[critic]] and judge; it can never be [[observed]], much less [[understood]], from the outside. Your only [[assurance]] of a [[personal]] [[God]] consists in your own [[insight]] as to your [[belief]] in, and [[experience]] with, things [[spiritual]]. To all of your fellows who have had a similar [[experience]], no [[argument]] about the [[personality]] or [[reality]] of [[God]] is [[necessary]], while to all other men who are not thus sure of God no possible [[argument]] could ever be truly convincing.
101:2.15 [[Psychology]] may indeed attempt to [[study]] the [[phenomena]] of [[religious]] [[reactions]] to the [[social]] [[environment]], but never can it [[hope]] to penetrate to the real and inner [[motives]] and workings of [[religion]]. Only [[theology]], the province of [[faith]] and the [[technique]] of [[revelation]], can afford any sort of [[intelligent]] account of the [[nature]] and [[content]] of [[religious]] [[experience]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_101 Go to Paper 101]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 101 - The Real Nature of Religion]]