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[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:The_eye_of_all_ur60.jpg|right|frame]] 148:4.1 It was the [[habit]] of [[Jesus]] two evenings each week to hold special [[converse]] with [[individuals]] who [[desired]] to talk with him, in a certain [[secluded]] and [[sheltered]] corner of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebedee Zebedee] [[garden]]. At one of these evening [[conversations]] in [[private]] [[Thomas, the Apostle|Thomas]] asked [[the Master]] this question: " Why is it [[necessary]] for men to be [[born]] of the [[spirit]] in order to enter [[the kingdom]]? Is rebirth [[necessary]] to [[escape]] the [[control]] of the [[evil one]]? Master, what is [[evil]]? " When [[Jesus]] heard these questions, he said to [[Thomas, the Apostle|Thomas]]: 148:4.2 " Do not make the mistake of [[confusing]] [[evil]] with the [[evil one]], more correctly the [[iniquitous one]]. He whom you call the [[evil one]] is the son of [[self]]-[[love]], the [[System Sovereign|high administrator]] who knowingly went into [[deliberate]] [[rebellion]] against the [[Law|rule]] of [[Universal Father|my Father]] and his [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_20 loyal Sons]. But I have already [[vanquished]] these [[sinful]] [[rebels]]. Make [[clear]] in your [[mind]] these [[different]] [[attitudes]] toward [[the Father]] and his [[universe]]. Never [[forget]] these [[laws]] of [[relation]] to [[the Father]]'s will: *1. 148:4.3 " [[Evil]] is the [[unconscious]] or unintended [[transgression]] of the [[divine]] [[law]], [[the Father]]'s will. [[Evil]] is likewise the [[measure]] of the imperfectness of [[obedience]] to [[the Father]]'s will. *2. 148:4.4 " [[Sin]] is the [[conscious]], knowing, and [[deliberate]] [[transgression]] of the [[divine]] [[law]], [[the Father]]'s will. [[Sin]] is the [[measure]] of unwillingness to be [[divinely]] [[led]] and [[spiritually]] [[Guidance|directed]]. *3. 148:4.5 " [[Iniquity]] is the willful, [[determined]], and [[persistent]] [[transgression]] of the [[divine]] [[law]], [[the Father]]'s will. [[Iniquity]] is the [[measure]] of the continued [[rejection]] of [[the Father]]'s [[loving]] [[plan]] of [[personality]] [[survival]] and [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_20 the Sons'] [[merciful]] [[ministry]] of [[salvation]]. 148:4.6 " By [[nature]], before the [[rebirth]] of the [[spirit]], [[mortal]] man is subject to [[inherent]] [[evil]] tendencies, but such natural imperfections of [[behavior]] are neither [[sin]] nor [[iniquity]]. [[Mortal]] man is just beginning his [[Ascension Career|long ascent]] to the [[perfection]] of [[the Father]] in [[Paradise]]. To be imperfect or partial in [[natural]] [[endowment]] is not [[sinful]]. [[Man]] is indeed subject to [[evil]], but he is in no sense the child of the [[evil one]] unless he has knowingly and [[deliberately]] [[chosen]] the [[paths]] of [[sin]] and the life of [[iniquity]]. [[Evil]] is [[inherent]] in the [[natural]] order of this world, but [[sin]] is an [[attitude]] of [[conscious]] [[rebellion]] which was brought to this world by those who fell from [[spiritual]] [[light]] into [[gross]] [[darkness]]. 148:4.7 " You are [[confused]], [[Thomas, the Apostle|Thomas]], by the [[doctrines]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_ancient_Greece Greeks] and the [[errors]] of the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_religion#Antiquity Persians]. You do not [[understand]] the [[relationships]] of [[evil]] and [[sin]] because you view [[mankind]] as beginning on [[earth]] with a [[perfect]] [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_73 Adam] and rapidly [[degenerating]], through [[sin]], to man's present deplorable estate. But why do you refuse to [[comprehend]] the [[meaning]] of the [[record]] which [[discloses]] how [[Cain]], the son of [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_74 Adam], went over into the [[land]] of [[Nod]] and there got himself a [[wife]]?[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.4] And why do you refuse to [[interpret]] the [[meaning]] of the [[record]] which portrays the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_genesis#Chapter_.6 sons of God finding wives for themselves among the daughters of men]? 148:4.8 " [[Men]] are, indeed, by [[nature]] [[evil]], but not necessarily [[sinful]]. The new [[birth]]—the [[baptism]] of the [[spirit]]—is [[essential]] to [[deliverance]] from [[evil]] and [[necessary]] for entrance into [[the kingdom]] of heaven, but none of this detracts from the [[fact]] that man is the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_40#40:5._MORTALS_OF_TIME_AND_SPACE son of God]. Neither does this [[inherent]] [[presence]] of [[potential]] [[evil]] mean that man is in some [[mysterious]] way [[estranged]] from [[the Father]] in heaven so that, as an alien, foreigner, or stepchild, he must in some [[manner]] seek for [[legal]] [[adoption]] by [[the Father]]. All such notions are [[born]], first, of your misunderstanding of [[the Father]] and, second, of your [[ignorance]] of the [[origin]], [[nature]], and [[destiny]] of [[man]]. 148:4.9 " The [[Greeks]] and others have taught you that man is [[descending]] from godly [[perfection]] steadily down toward oblivion or destruction; I have come to show that man, by entrance into [[the kingdom]], is [[ascending]] certainly and surely up to [[God]] and [[divine]] [[perfection]]. Any [[being]] who in any [[manner]] falls short of the [[divine]] and [[spiritual]] [[ideals]] of the [[Universal Father|eternal Father]]'s will is [[potentially]] [[evil]], but such [[beings]] are in no sense [[sinful]], much less [[iniquitous]]. 148:4.10 " [[Thomas, the Apostle|Thomas]], have you not [[read]] about this in the [[Scriptures]], where it is written: `You are the children of the Lord your God.' `I will be his Father and he shall be my son.'[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Hosea#Chapter_.1] `I have [[chosen]] him to be my son—I will be his Father.' `Bring my sons from far and my daughters from the ends of the [[earth]]; even every one who is called by my [[name]], for I have created them for my [[glory]].'[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Isaiah#Chapter_.43] `You are the sons of the living God.'[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Book_of_Hosea#Chapter_.1] `They who have [[Thought Adjuster|the spirit of God]] are indeed the [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_40#40:5._MORTALS_OF_TIME_AND_SPACE sons of God].' While there is a [[material]] part of the [[human]] [[father]] in the [[natural]] child, there is a [[spiritual]] part of the [[heavenly Father]] in every [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_40#40:6._THE_FAITH_SONS_OF_GOD faith son] of [[the kingdom]]. " 148:4.11 All this and much more [[Jesus]] said to [[Thomas, the Apostle|Thomas]], and much of it the [[apostle]] [[comprehended]], although [[Jesus]] [[admonished]] him to " speak not to the others concerning these matters until [https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_193 after I shall have returned] to [[the Father]]. " And [[Thomas, the Apostle|Thomas]] did not mention this interview until after [[the Master]] had departed from this world. <center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_148 Go to Paper 148]</center> <center>[https://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center> [[Category:Paper 148 - Training Evangelists at Bethsaida]] [[Category: Evil]] [[Category: Sin]] [[Category: Iniquity]]

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