|
|
| (One intermediate revision by one other user not shown) |
| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | [[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:The_eye_of_all_ur60.jpg|right|frame]] | + | 133:0.1 When [[preparing]] to leave [[Rome]], Jesus said good-bye to none of his friends. The [[scribe]] of Damascus appeared in Rome without [[announcement]] and disappeared in like [[manner]]. It was a full year before those who knew and loved him gave up [[hope]] of seeing him again. Before the end of the second year small groups of those who had known him found themselves drawn together by their common interest in his teachings and through mutual [[memory]] of their good times with him. And these small groups of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism Stoics], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynicism Cynics], and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_cults mystery cultists] continued to hold these irregular and informal meetings right up to the time of the appearance in [[Rome]] of the first [[preachers]] of the [[Christian]] religion. |
| | | | |
| − | 133:1.1 A very interesting incident occurred one afternoon by the roadside as they neared [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranto Tarentum]. They [[observed]] a rough and bullying [[youth]] brutally attacking a smaller lad. [[Jesus]] hastened to the [[assistance]] of the assaulted [[youth]], and when he had rescued him, he tightly held on to the offender until the smaller lad had made his [[escape]]. The moment Jesus released the little bully, Ganid pounced upon the boy and began soundly to thrash him, and to Ganid's astonishment [[Jesus]] promptly interfered. After he had restrained Ganid and [[permitted]] the [[frightened]] boy to [[escape]], the [[young man]], as soon as he got his [[breath]], excitedly exclaimed: " I cannot [[understand]] you, Teacher. If [[mercy]] requires that you rescue the smaller lad, does not [[justice]] demand the punishment of the larger and offending youth? " In answering, [[Jesus]] said: | + | 133:0.2 Gonod and Ganid had purchased so many things in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria Alexandria] and [[Rome]] that they sent all their belongings on ahead by pack train to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranto Tarentum], while the three travelers walked [[leisurely]] across Italy over the great [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appian_Way Appian Way]. On this [[journey]] they encountered all sorts of [[human being]]s. Many noble Roman [[citizens]] and Greek colonists lived along this road, but already the progeny of great numbers of inferior [[slaves]] were beginning to make their appearance. |
| | | | |
| − | 133:1.2 " Ganid, it is true, you do not [[understand]]. [[Mercy]] [[ministry]] is always the [[work]] of the [[individual]], but [[justice]] [[punishment]] is the [[function]] of the [[social]], governmental, or [[universe]] [[administrative]] [[groups]]. As an [[individual]] I am beholden to show [[mercy]]; I must go to the rescue of the [[Attack|assaulted]] lad, and in all [[consistency]] I may employ sufficient force to restrain the aggressor. And that is just what I did. I achieved the [[deliverance]] of the assaulted lad; that was the end of [[mercy]] [[ministry]]. Then I forcibly detained the aggressor a sufficient length of time to enable the weaker party to the [[dispute]] to make his [[escape]], after which I withdrew from the affair. I did not [[proceed]] to sit in [[judgment]] on the aggressor, thus to pass upon his [[motive]]—to [[adjudicate]] all that entered into his [[attack]] upon his fellow—and then undertake to [[execute]] the [[punishment]] which my mind might dictate as just recompense for his wrongdoing. Ganid, [[mercy]] may be lavish, but [[justice]] is [[precise]]. Cannot you [[discern]] that no [[two]] [[persons]] are likely to [[agree]] as to the punishment which would satisfy the demands of [[justice]]? One would impose forty lashes, another twenty, while still another would advise [[solitary confinement]] as a just [[punishment]]. Can you not see that on this world such [[responsibilities]] had better rest upon the [[group]] or be [[administered]] by chosen [[representatives]] of the group? In the [[universe]], [[judgment]] is vested in those who fully know the antecedents of all wrongdoing as well as its [[motivation]]. In civilized [[society]] and in an [[organized]] [[universe]] the administration of [[justice]] [[presupposes]] the passing of just sentence consequent upon [[fair]] [[judgment]], and such [[prerogatives]] are vested in the [[juridical]] groups of the worlds and in the all-knowing [[administrators]] of the higher universes of all [[creation]]. " | + | 133:0.3 One day while resting at lunch, about halfway to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranto Tarentum], Ganid asked Jesus a direct question as to what he thought of India's [[caste]] system. Said Jesus: "Though human beings differ in many ways, the one from another, before [[God]] and in the [[spiritual]] world all [[mortals]] stand on an equal footing. There are only two groups of mortals in the eyes of God: those who [[desire]] to [[do his will]] and those who do not. As [[the universe]] looks upon an [[inhabited world]], it likewise [[discerns]] two great classes: those who know God and those who do not. Those who cannot know God are reckoned among the [[animals]] of any given realm. [[Mankind]] can appropriately be divided into many classes in accordance with differing qualifications, as they may be viewed [[physically]], [[mentally]], socially, [[vocationally]], or [[morally]], but as these different classes of mortals appear before the [[judgment]] bar of [[God]], they stand on an equal footing; God is truly no respecter of persons. Although you cannot [[escape]] the recognition of differential human [[abilities]] and [[endowments]] in matters [[intellectual]], [[social]], and [[moral]], you should make no such [[distinctions]] in the spiritual [[brotherhood]] of men when assembled for [[worship]] in the [[presence]] of [[God]]." |
| | | | |
| − | 133:1.3 For days they talked about this [[problem]] of [[manifesting]] [[mercy]] and [[administering]] [[justice]]. And Ganid, at least to some extent, [[understood]] why [[Jesus]] would not [[engage]] in [[personal]] [[combat]]. But Ganid asked one last question, to which he never received a fully [[satisfactory]] answer; and that question was: " But, Teacher, if a stronger and ill-tempered [[creature]] should [[attack]] you and threaten to destroy you, what would you do? Would you make no [[effort]] to defend yourself? " Although [[Jesus]] could not fully and satisfactorily answer the lad's question, inasmuch as he was not willing to disclose to him that he ([[Jesus]]) was living on [[earth]] as the exemplification of the [[Paradise Father]]'s [[love]] to an onlooking [[universe]], he did say this much:
| + | [[Category:Paper 133 - The Return From Rome]] |
| − | | + | [[Category: Status]] |
| − | 133:1.4 " Ganid, I can well [[understand]] how some of these [[problems]] perplex you, and I will endeavor to answer your question. First, in all [[attacks]] which might be made upon my [[person]], I would determine whether or not the aggressor was a [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_40#40:5._MORTALS_OF_TIME_AND_SPACE son of God]—my [[brother]] in the [[flesh]]—and if I thought such a [[creature]] did not possess [[moral]] [[judgment]] and [[spiritual]] [[reason]], I would unhesitatingly defend myself to the full [[capacity]] of my [[powers]] of [[resistance]], regardless of consequences to the attacker. But I would not thus assault a fellow man of sonship status, even in [[self]]-[[defense]]. That is, I would not [[punish]] him in advance and without [[judgment]] for his assault upon me. I would by every possible artifice seek to prevent and dissuade him from making such an [[attack]] and to mitigate it in case of my failure to abort it. Ganid, I have [[absolute]] [[confidence]] in my heavenly Father's overcare; I am [[consecrated]] to [[Doing the will of God|doing the will of my Father in heaven]]. I do not believe that real harm can befall me; I do not believe that my lifework can really be jeopardized by anything my enemies might wish to visit upon me, and surely we have no [[violence]] to fear from our [[friends]]. I am absolutely [[assured]] that the entire [[universe]] is friendly to me—this all-powerful [[truth]] I insist on believing with a wholehearted [[trust]] in spite of all [[appearances]] to the contrary. "
| |
| − | | |
| − | 133:1.5 But Ganid was not fully [[satisfied]]. Many times they talked over these matters, and [[Jesus]] told him some of his boyhood [[experiences]] and also about Jacob the stone mason's son. On learning how Jacob appointed himself to defend [[Jesus]], Ganid said: " Oh, I begin to see! In the first place very seldom would any [[normal]] [[human being]] want to [[attack]] such a kindly person as you, and even if any one should be so unthinking as to do such a thing, there is pretty sure to be near at hand some other [[mortal]] who will fly to your [[assistance]], even as you always go to the rescue of any person you [[observe]] to be in distress. In my [[heart]], Teacher, I [[agree]] with you, but in my head I still think that if I had been Jacob, I would have enjoyed punishing those rude fellows who presumed to attack you just because they [[thought]] you would not defend yourself. I presume you are fairly safe in your [[journey]] through life since you spend much of your time helping others and ministering to your fellows in distress—well, most likely there'll always be someone on hand to defend you. " And [[Jesus]] replied: " That test has not yet come, Ganid, and when it does, we will have to abide by [[the Father]]'s will. " And that was about all the lad could get his teacher to say on this [[difficult]] subject of [[self]]-[[defense]] and [[nonresistance]]. On another occasion he did draw from [[Jesus]] the opinion that [[organized]] [[society]] had every right to employ [[force]] in the [[execution]] of its just [[mandates]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | <center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_133 Go to Paper 133]</center>
| |
| − | <center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[Category: Paper 133 - The Return From Rome]] | |
| − | [[Category: Mercy]] | |
| − | [[Category: Justice]]
| |
| − | [[Category: Nonresistance]]
| |
133:0.1 When preparing to leave Rome, Jesus said good-bye to none of his friends. The scribe of Damascus appeared in Rome without announcement and disappeared in like manner. It was a full year before those who knew and loved him gave up hope of seeing him again. Before the end of the second year small groups of those who had known him found themselves drawn together by their common interest in his teachings and through mutual memory of their good times with him. And these small groups of Stoics, Cynics, and mystery cultists continued to hold these irregular and informal meetings right up to the time of the appearance in Rome of the first preachers of the Christian religion.
133:0.2 Gonod and Ganid had purchased so many things in Alexandria and Rome that they sent all their belongings on ahead by pack train to Tarentum, while the three travelers walked leisurely across Italy over the great Appian Way. On this journey they encountered all sorts of human beings. Many noble Roman citizens and Greek colonists lived along this road, but already the progeny of great numbers of inferior slaves were beginning to make their appearance.
133:0.3 One day while resting at lunch, about halfway to Tarentum, Ganid asked Jesus a direct question as to what he thought of India's caste system. Said Jesus: "Though human beings differ in many ways, the one from another, before God and in the spiritual world all mortals stand on an equal footing. There are only two groups of mortals in the eyes of God: those who desire to do his will and those who do not. As the universe looks upon an inhabited world, it likewise discerns two great classes: those who know God and those who do not. Those who cannot know God are reckoned among the animals of any given realm. Mankind can appropriately be divided into many classes in accordance with differing qualifications, as they may be viewed physically, mentally, socially, vocationally, or morally, but as these different classes of mortals appear before the judgment bar of God, they stand on an equal footing; God is truly no respecter of persons. Although you cannot escape the recognition of differential human abilities and endowments in matters intellectual, social, and moral, you should make no such distinctions in the spiritual brotherhood of men when assembled for worship in the presence of God."
