Please
see the general introduction to these questions at the beginning of the
questions for Part I.
How does
Part III relate to Part II? To Part
IV? Note how the last group of
papers (perhaps from Paper 99?) culminate the preceding Parts.
1.
Smile: What do you make of the fact that by the time the
permit arrived from the Uversa Council of Equilibrium, the team to
organize material creation had already departed (652.1)?
2.
What is the import of the use of family terminology to talk about suns?
3.
How did our solar system originate?
4.
What will eventually happen to the moon?
5.
Why are geologists’ estimates of earth’s age too short?
6.
Why does atmospheric oxygen protect the earth against meteors?
7.
Note that our planet was accumulating matter long before it was placed on
the physical registries of Nebadon (659-60).
8.
How does the author’s way of presentation reinforce our confidence in
the power of the mind to grasp causation (192a)?
9.
Note that organizational steps were taken to prepare for developments in
the distant future (661.2). Is
there a principle of universe organization to be generalized here?
10.
How does the fact that earthquakes diminish in frequency and severity
(662.2,4) affect discussions of theodicy (defending the thesis of a good Creator
despite the suffering that natural events occasion)?
1.
What does it mean that ours is a decimal planet?
2.
Why do the authors make so many claims that can be tested in observation?
3.
If there are 50,000 facts of physics and chemistry that “prove the
presence of mind in the planning, creation, and maintenance of the material
cosmos” (664.6), shouldn’t we—especially scientifically minded students of
The Urantia Book--be far more active in seeking them out?
What facts portrayed in these papers show evidence of design?
4.
How did life originate on Urantia? How
many original life implantations occurred?
Where were they, and why were these locations chosen?
5.
What should we make of the fact that the continental drift theory was
only a minority view among our scientists at the time these papers were indited?
6.
Evolution moves by gradual transitions and sudden transitions (669#6).
Why is the Darwinian theory of evolution having a hard time explaining
the sudden leaps? How does the
present theory of “punctuated equilibrium” try to explain the suddenlys?
If the traditional alternative to Darwinism has been a belief that God
specially created each separate species, then what is to be inferred about the
presence of design from the book’s theory of macromutation, in which
systematic change occurred naturally?
7.
How does the theory of the evolution of mind given on 670.1 differ from
the popular idea that mind “emerged” as a phenomenon of increasingly complex
nervous systems?
8.
Only those species persist that attain cosmic unity (670.2).
If we generalize a principle from this observation, what implications for
human living follow?
1.
Why is such detail given?
2.
Why does there appear to be an absence of sympathy in the narration of
extinctions (e.g., 683.7)?
3.
How many times has the area in which you live been submerged?
4.
Consider the interweaving of geology and biology as sciences and how the
their reality domains are intertwined.
5.
Note the aesthetic observations on “uninteresting lowlands, devoid of
scenic beauty” (673.8) and on the clothing of “naked, unattractive
landscape” with “luxuriant verdure” (678.3).
Can we say that the author shares aesthetic sensitivity in common with
humans? What is the aesthetic
significance of the fact that so much of the planet is aesthetically dull?
1.
Look for the evidences of aesthetic and other feeling in this narrative
of fact.
2.
Consider the patient faithfulness of those who nurtured life.
3.
In the light of this series of papers, comment on this quote from 2080.8:
“The universe is not like the laws, mechanisms, and the uniformities which the
scientist discovers, and which he comes to regard as science, but rather like
the curious, thinking, choosing, creative, combining, and discriminating scientist
who thus observes universe phenomena and classifies the mathematical facts
inherent in the mechanistic phases of the material side of creation.”
1.
What’s so special about the frog (cf. 705.8)?
2.
From what animal did the first mammal originate?
3.
Tell the survival advantages of mammals (693).
4.
What philosophy of living principle is indicated in the fact that,
according to plan, humans first appeared in a “stimulating, invigorating, and
difficult environment” (700.4)?
5.
When did the Planetary Prince arrive?
For how long did the Prince’s staff function before the rebellion?
When did Adam and Eve come?
6.
Draw a time line from any two places you choose, and symbolize the
appearance in time of the major steps in biologic evolution on your time line.
E.g., if you represent organic evolution as a movement from New York to
San Franciso, where do reptiles first appear?
Mammals? Humans?
1.
What were the emotions and social tendencies of the (prehuman) dawn
mammals? The mid-mammals?
2.
Did the primates stand erect and walk on their hind legs?
3.
What were the emotions and decisions of the first two humans? What
quality of decision-making involves the spirit of wisdom (709.6)?
4.
The definition of will is “the power of choosing to worship and to
ascend” (710.5). What are the
implications of this definition, and how does this definition differ from
conventional notions of will?
1.
What inferences can you draw from the names of Andon--“the first
Fatherlike creature to exhibit human perfection hunger” and Fonta—“the
first Sonlike creature to exhibit human perfection hunger” (711.2)?
2.
What does 712.1-2 teach about moving from decision to full and final
decision?
3.
Sometimes readers assert that because of the superhuman supervision of
the planet, we won’t be permitted to do anything very bad to our planet.
What does 714.7 imply about that belief?
4.
“When closely associated, uncultured people irritate and offend each
other.” Do you find this
statement a helpful reminder when you begin to feel irritated and offended?
5.
What would it take to assume leadership of a group of tribes?
1.
What religious emotions can grow out of feeling geographically helpless
(718.1)?
2.
What are the differences between fear and a scientific response (720.4)?
3.
What concept of worship is implied at 725.7?
4.
Is there a lesson at 729.2 on how to develop heroism?
What project of yours deserves magnificent persistency and superb
devotion?
5.
How can you synthesis your attitude regarding (a) the talk of superior
and inferior and (b) the affirmation that all races have equal standing before
the celestial powers?
6.
Read this paper imagining yourself in the position of a member of another
race. Imagine your feelings.
Discuss.
7.
The early great leaders (723-25) unified their peoples in the worship of
God. Why was worship such a
powerful unifier?
8.
What distinguishes an enlightened reading material about race
differentiation? In what ways might
we update the account in the light of contemporary research and ways of
expression? Can we honestly
meditate on this material to the point that we can affirm that “all
truth—material, philosophic, or spiritual—is both beautiful and good”
(43.4)? How do the teachings here
rely on the context of the other Parts of the book?
And how is your understanding of the proclamation of spiritual equality
affected by your reaction to the facts presented in Part III?
9.
Why is race differentiation part of the divine plan?
(726; cf. 564#4)
1.
What’s the point of saying “overcontrol” rather than “control”?
2.
What are the key elements, and who are the key players, in fostering
evolution?
3.
How does the teaching here correlate with present-day science?
4.
How do you respond to the proposal for patience and cooperation at
736.6)?
5.
Summarize the teaching in sections 6 and 7 about how mind functions in
evolution.
6.
How do sections 1-7 illustrate the truth of section 8?
7.
Consider reading this paper as a report to shareholders (stakeholders).
8.
Reflecting on your life and on current history . . . what physical
improvements might make a new level of intellectual development possible?
What intellectual growth might make a new level of spiritual realization
possible (740.2)?
1.
Try reading this paper as a tragic drama, from the first page hints to
the last paragraph’s report.
2.
If you discover a thread of pride in yourself, how do you deal with it?
3.
Study the project here: the situation, mission, the nature of the team
members, the strategy, and the details. What
lessons can we derive about epochal revelation management?
4.
Compare the Father’s prayer (747.5) to the believer’s prayer (1620).
5.
What was the gospel proclaimed by the Prince’s staff (749.4)?
6.
Why was the college of revealed religion slow in functioning (747.3-4)?
7.
What are the moral commands of the Father’s Way (751)?
Why do most students of The Urantia Book seem to pay so little
attention to the Book’s teachings and implications on morality?
8.
Study the Dalamatian educational methods, and consider their relation to
present-day educational reforms. How
can we progress in fostering learning by doing (751)?
7.
Why is it easy to engage in overteaching and overenlightenment?
What are the results (750.1)?
8.
Note the policy that worked well for nearly 300,000 years: “None of the
Prince’s staff would present revelation to complicate evolution; they
presented revelation only as the climax of their exhaustion of the forces of
evolution” (747.4). How can we see something like that policy at work in The
Urantia Book itself? What would
it mean for us to practice such a policy? What
factors might persuade us to modify such a policy today?
Discuss the reasons for and against.
Are we ready to go through a full prayer process about the wisdom of our
own methods of disseminating truth?
9.
The Prince’s staff gathered the “superior individuals,” trained and
inspired them, and sent them back as “teachers and leaders” (743.9).
How does the first epochal revelation different from the third and fourth
that launched a movement to tell everyone of a spiritual gospel?
10.
Why were activities in art and science associated in one council (748)?
11.
Why is work with the soil a blessing (752.0)?
12. Note the vital importance of projects of every
sort—material, intellectual, and spiritual—as they were designed for
integrated cooperation. Did the
college of revealed religion become prideful about the importance of the
spiritual (757.4)? How can we do
better to show equal support for those called to diverse projects?
1. What
are the consequences of betraying those who trust you closely (754.4)?
2. Explain
the differences between evil, sin, and iniquity (754.5).
What are the consequences of sin (760#7; cf. 984#10)?
3. What
factors that enabled Van and Amadon to do so well (756#2).
1. This
paper begins a series on civilization and government. How do the introductory paragraphs on 763 indicate structure
in Part III?
2. How
does this paper’s discussion of primitive conditions illuminate our world
today? This is a question we can
repeatedly ask, since our civilization is half-way between primitive and
advanced, and since there is such unevenness between the differing levels of
various groups on the planet today.
3. What
stands in the way of immediate realization of brotherhood on Urantia (763.4)?
How can we promote natural brotherly attraction?
4. Is
civilization today oriented more toward self-maintenance or self-gratification?
What are the implications of the difference (764.5)?
What warning lurks in 764.1 and 765.2 (cf. 1302.3)?
How does today’s society compare with that at the time the papers were
being indited?
5. Consider
the basic emotions that contributed to human socialization, and explain how the
religion of Jesus can make difference between those emotions leading toward
peace instead of war (764-66; cf. 1572.8-73.1).
6. What
lessons can we learn today from the discussion of sex and family on 765.3-6?
7. Consider
the teachings and implications regarding abortion on 770 and other passages:
570.1; 631.1; 932.1; 940.2; 1130.7; 2073.10.
1. How
are the institutions of self-maintenance, self-perpetuation, and
self-gratification interrelated and interdependent today (772#1)?
2. Study
the teachings of this paper on private property and capitalism for any economic
or political lessons for today (cf. 805#5-#6).
3. Why
is the necessity for labor “man’s paramount blessing” (773.6)?
How can we manifest intolerance for idleness and compel able-bodied
people to work (780.2)?
1. If
government is an evolutionary response to antagonism (783.2), what institutional
changes would help us respond better to antagonism today?
2. To
what extent does 783.4 give a psychological and sociological explanation of
violence in our society today?
3. How
does 785#3 help answer the challenge that war gives evidence that there is no
God?
4. How
can we constructively respond to the perils of budding industry on Urantia
(786)?
5. How
do sports fulfill the function of impressing youths with “the reality of life
and its inevitable hardships” (791.3)?
6. How
do piety and mysticism separate priests socially (793.2)?
7. How
can gradual progress in the basic factors of civilization have immediate social
results (793.10)?
8. How
do the teachings in 793#9 correct present day thinking about rights?
9. Which
of the problems listed on 798 seem serious today?
1. The
first item on the agenda of an expanding civilization (804#4) is preservation of
individual liberties. Study the
lists in 793#9, 797#12; 800#1; 800#2; 800#4; 800#7 and 800#8 to discover as much
as possible what liberties the author may have in mind.
2. What
do we learn from this paper about our political responsibilities as citizens
today?
3. In
what sense is it inadvisable to practice the golden rule universally today
(804)?
4. Why
is national defense still needed (804-05)?
5.
Carefully explain the teachings on education (806#7).
What does philosophy become in an advanced civilization?
What regressive tendencies pervade education today?
Why should education be in the hands of scientists and philosophers?
Why must teachers be leaders? Why
do you need the lower levels of education before the higher ones?
What does this imply for our growth as students of these papers?
1. Describe
what it would be like to grow up and life a full life in the progressive
civilization of this neighboring planet.
2. Imagine
debates between readers over whether we should adopt the provisions mentioned
here, e.g., with regard to 818.4 on the death penalty.
What factors should condition the extent to which we adoption or adapt
these ideas? Are there hints in the
way some of these facts are presented in the text?
3. Discuss
the implications of last paragraph (820.3) for our pursuit of world government.
1. How
did the preaching of Van and his associates evolve as the arrival of Adam and
Eve drew nigh (822.6-8)?
2. Why
was it justifiable forcibly to evict a group of peninsula dwellers (823.3)?
3. Why
was there no animal husbandry or
slaughter in the Garden (824.1)?
4. Why
were only volunteer laborers accepted (824.4)?
5. Imagine
the discussions regarding Van’s faith as he proposed to train a second
generation (824.5).
6. In
what sense were the leaves of the tree of life “for the healing of nations”
(825.7)?
7. Notice
the definitions of the purpose of Eden at 823.6 and of Adam and Eve’s mission
at 827.4.
8. Discuss
the potential pattern elements in a two-stage epochal revelation: an initial
stage of preparation and mobilization, and then a stage of broad interaction
with the planet (827.2). Might
there be such stages connected with the fifth epochal revelation?
9. What
could we do to prepare for the advent of a Magisterial Son?
1. How
can we participate in Michael’s rehabilitating mercy to Adam and Eve?
What factors mitigate their guilt?
2. What
is the divine plan of progression (830.L-831.1)?
What are the implications for the fifth epochal revelation?
3. What
is the difference between the Edenic Sabbath of self-culture and the
character-building (1583.1) that Jesus avoided?
4. Note:
despite the “fraternal and democratic” manner of Adam and Eve (832.1), they
did not regard everyone as a candidate for visiting the new epochal revelation
(835.L-836.1). How could one best
adapt such a standard to the fifth epochal revelation? Would such an adaptation be advisable?
5. Discuss
the ethical implications of the Edenic doctrine of capital punishment (836b).
6. Why
was it wise for Moses not to recount events prior to Adam (837.7)?
How would he have known?
1. For
what reasons is the story told in such detail?
2. How
did conditions force Adam and Eve to modify the characteristic Adamic gospel
(839.4)?
3. Is
there a long endurance test that you face?
What results do you want to see in your lifetime (841.6)?
What short-cuts beckon (846.4)? If
you were farseeing, what would you anticipate as eventually occurring (840.2)?
What planetary factors will bring about the situation for which you long?
Does your patience need to deepen (1295.6)?
4. Comment
on the remark about “the tendency of woman to look upon immediate results
rather than to plan more farsightedly for more remote effects” (840.7).
Is there a tendency deriving from the difference between the Creator Son
and the Creative Mother Spirit as regards space and time (376#3)?
How can women and men best combine their strengths?
5. What
does it mean to combine good and evil (842)?
What would it mean in your project to do so?
6. At
what points does the narrative generalize beyond points specific to the story of
Adam and Eve (824.6; 846.4)? What
do these generalizations imply for our handling of the fifth epochal revelation?
7. What
was the sophistry of Cano (842.8)? How
common is this sophistry today (whether implied or explicitly argued)?
What is the relative value of sincerity?
8. What
do you hear today of “the insidious propaganda of personal liberty and
planetary freedom of action” (846.3)?
9. Could
the Garden dwellers have predicted the consequences of their disobedience?
10. Your
life is worse in some respects because of the default.
Can you enter wholeheartedly into the merciful rehabilitation of Eve and
Adam as members of the four and twenty counselors on Jerusem (514)?
1. Compare
and contrast Kenan’s foreign missionary service (850.1) to that proposed on
the neighboring planet (819L).
2. What
is required for us to identify with the attitudes expressed by the Melchizedeks
and Michael to Adam and Eve (852.1; 852.3)?
Note the summary by Solonia (854.2).
3. What
does this paper teach about how to make the best of Plan B when Plan A goes
awry? Is there a Plan A for The
Urantia Book? In what ways
might the revelators’ intentions for the book be spoiled? What goals should we recover and pursue faithfully if we
should find that we have gotten off track?
1. What
did “gradual” development mean with the production of primary Midwayers
(744L)?
2. How
does the story of the Tower of Babel illustrate the dangers of division of
purpose in a team project (1758.4, 1625L; Genesis 11.1-9)?
3. What
functions were served by Vanites designating Ararat as their sacred mountain?
4. How
does the story of the uncooperative secondary Midwayers after the death of
Adamson illustrate the consequences of becoming detached from the planetary
government (863.2)?
5. What
sort of coordination of personalities and circumstances were needed to motivate
the petition for this revelation?
6. Midwayers
converse with celestial visitors in order to achieve what goal analogous to our
goal in studying the Papers?
7. How
can we best cooperate with the Midwayers?
8. What,
concretely, is involved in the “spiritual economy” of 855.4?
9. Does
the reading of this paper inspire you to the kind of enthusiastic determination
for the divine plan that the loyal Midwayers manifest today?
1. List
the qualities of the Adamites and Andites.
Evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. Do you think you have an above average proportion of violet
inheritance? Why?
What follows from your belief?
2. If
the Adamites held so faithfully to Adam’s mission, how can we interpret the
repeated comment that Adam and Eve failed.
How much better could things have been if they had succeeded?
3. Notice
that the artificial Adamic culture deterioriated until it reached a natural
evolutionary level (870.1). Should
readers of The Urantia Book realize that there culture as readers is, in
a way, artificial? Are there ways
for us to evolve up to the level of culture presented in The Urantia Book?
Is there a need to work with evolutionary science, philosophy, and
religion (and other aspects of culture) to cultivate authentic support for the
high levels of the teachings in the book? Is
the culture of readers vulnerable without such labor?
4. What
kind of quiet spread of revelation is implied at 873.5?
5. Discuss
the implications for today: They were a united people because they had a uniform
group religion” (876.3).
6. How
have ferments produced by the Garden culture resulted in 20th century
Urantian civilization?
1. Imagine
a group dedicated today to the appropriate dissemination of teaching on
eugenics. How would such a group go
about their work? What would be
some of the wrong ways to pursue their goals?
(cf. 920)
2. What
would a greater Gautama do (883.0)?
3. What
are the cultural effects of progressive and unprogressive religion (883.1;
885.7-8)?
4. What
strengths and weaknesses of various racial groups are presented?
How can generalizations be helpful?
How can they be misinterpreted and misused?
5. How
can we best use Part IV if we are not to overemphasize the past (888.1; 43)?
6. What
would be the differences between wise and unwise attempts to help the potentials
of various peoples move toward fruition?
1. Think
of different possible definitions of racism.
In what senses should we say that the teachings on race are not racist?
2. How
are religious and ethical idealism, combined with popular opinion and
demographic change, affecting the prospects for North American civilization as
indicated on 899?
1.
What can be said for the statement that soil toil is “the greatest of
all blessings”?
2.
Where on the planet would you say the climate is best for civilizational
progress today?
3.
Give an example of an error of philosophy and a superstition of religion
that science has corrected (or will eventually correct).
Give an example of the frank, honest, and fearless search for true
causes—and of the failure to do so (901.9; 907.5-7).
4.
Give an example of the profitable utilization of leisure.
How do you use your leisure?
5.
Explain: “Eventually evolution and culture become related as cause and
effect” (905.7).
6.
Gives examples: “Every human right is associated with a social duty”
(906.4).
7.
What regulation of the sex propensity ought to be regarded in our society
today as a group right? (906.4)
8.
How do we respond to dissenters and non-conformists?
How are we treated when we dissent and do not conform?
9.
What kind of linguistic development has been needed (908.6)?
10. How
can you use language as a thinking tool?
11. What
are the ideals of the current generation (909.8)?
12. What
character trend is being predetermined by our homes, churches, and schools
(909.8)?
13. How
would you estimate our oral and
spiritual momentum today (909.8)?
14. Explain
and illustrate: “The driving power of even the most material aspects of a
cultural civilization is resident in the least material of society’s
achievements” (909.9).
15. How
does spiritual idealism advance human culture (910.1)?
16. Is
it evident now that the coming goal of human existence is for quality of
thinking (910.2)?
17. How
can religious idealism help inspire intelligent patriotism (910.9)?
18. In
your experience, how does teamwork occur (911.3)?
Is any mention made here of “followers”? Why not?
19. Social
and economic change must be made slowly, while moral and spiritual adjustments
may be made quickly. Does this help
explain why the first two epochal revelations were expected to spread gradually,
while the third and fourth epochal revelations, being purely spiritual, were
supposed to be spread quickly? What
are the implications for the spread of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?
Should we go boldly proclaiming the book like as gospel?
1. For
what reasons is free love held in low esteem (915.1)? In what ways to the authors imply their approval of
restrictive standards?
2. Comment:
“No human emotion or impulse, when unbridled and overindulged, can produce so
much harm and sorrow as this powerful sex urge. Intelligent submission of this
impulse to the regulations of society is the supreme test of the actuality of
any civilization. Self-control, more and more self-control, is the
ever-increasing demand of advancing mankind. Secrecy, insincerity, and hypocrisy
may obscure sex problems, but they do not provide solutions, nor do they advance
ethics.” (914.6).
3. How do the authors avoid a moralistic and extreme
tone in discussing the problems of marriage?
1. On
the spectrum from panic to complacency, what attitude toward the contemporary
state of marriage is promoted here (928.7; 929.1-2)?
How worried to the authors seem to be?
How is the situation today different from the time the paper was indited?
2. How
does the author combine compassion for unmarried people, while supporting high
standards (927#6; cf. 383.2; 1229.1; 977.2; and 2070c)?
3. What
factors of realism are mentioned in this account of marriage, and what practical
implications are proposed?
4. What
does it take to have a good marriage?
1. How
can home building be “the center and essence of all educational effort”
(931.1)?
1. What
qualities of God might seem patriarchal if misunderstood?
How should theology today avoid patriarchal implications?
(933.7)
2. What
does it mean that woman has “always” capitalized man’s stronger sex urge
for her own interests (935.3)?
3. To
what extent does your experience confirm the characterization of male-female
differences: 934.2,4 (cf. 935.3; 938.8,9; 932.5)? What practical consequences follow? Describe how you see the “viewpoints and life reactions”
of the sexes (938.7).
4. Consider
the history of unfairness in the domination of women by men.
How could you explain to someone today that the real emancipation of
woman was achieved by science and the modern factory (937.4)?
What are men’s and womens’ spheres of existence, and what rights do
they properly have (938.1-4)?
5. How
has woman been the moral standard-bearer and the spiritual leader of mankind
(938.8)?
6. How
should parents let their children experience the natural consequences of foolish
conduct (941.1)?
7. What
is artificial and superficial education (941.4)?
How can we avoid it?
8. Do
you practice a family council (941L)? Synthesize
the teaching on family discipline: 941.1-4; 1401.4; 1417; 1604.5.
9. What
are acceptable ways of self-gratification (942L-43.1)? Comment on how “all human institutions are so completely
shot through with this pleasure pursuit” (942.3).
What would it be like for these institutions to change?
What would it mean for us to seek less self-gratification in certain
areas?
1. The
term “worship” sometimes seems to mean, when directed to things or beings
other than God, excessive respect (cf. 57.7).
What are the gods in your life? What
is the common response to a millionaire? A stunningly dressed, beautiful woman? A person of great power?
A priest? (cf. 948.8)
2. Reread
402-03 and comment on how the adjutant of wisdom might work with the spirit of
worship to direct the latter to the true God.
3. What
implications do you personally derive about drug use from 945.5-6, 1204.3, and
1209.5?
4. Why
should we not be cruel to animals (946.7)?
5. Many
primitive religions recognize a sky father god. What shall we make of this? (947.5)
1. You
are the governor of a state hearing an argument that to adopt a state lottery
would bring in much needed revenues for the state’s schools.
How do you respond? (950#1;
951#2)
2. What’s
the difference between the primitive experience of life as a gamble and the
experience of life as an adventure (950L)?
3. Explain
how the reactions of existence come between acts and their consequences (951.5).
4. Why
are pain and suffering essential to progressive evolution (951.3)?
5. Give
an example about how self-interest tends to distort belief (951.6).
6. What
superstitions do we still indulge?
7. How
does knowledge of causes replace the fear of existence by the joy of living
(952.0)? How does fear prepare the
mind for the bestowal of the Thought Adjuster (957.3)? What is scientific action (952.1)? Note the image of the mental life as involve a system of
deduction (955.8).
8. What
data does The Urantia Book give that contributes to the debate on
euthanasia (953.6)?
9. Have
you ever had a dream that seemed to be of spirit origin (954)?
1. How
should you deal with someone who worships ancestors (1475.3)?
With someone who is superstitious? (Cf. 1372.5; 1597#2; 1637.3-4; 1646#7;
1671.6; 1680#3; 1696.4; 1698.2-3; 1703#4; 1738.4; 1813.1; 1830.3-5; 1845.6-7;
1936.3)
2. How
should religious ceremonial keep pace with The Urantia Book (962.3)?
3. How
do we see the belief in signs persisting today?
4. What
of value in Christianity has been destroyed in this scientific age (965.8)?
5. Design
an improved cult (966#7). How will
a better cult will evolve, if it cannot be constructed? (Cf. 1360.2; 1362; 1378.2; 1386.3; 1390-01; 1391-12; 1399L;
1404.5-6; 1494.7; 1496; 1568; 1880.4; 1963;4. 2043a; 2050; 1800#1.
1596#1; 1620; 1624.2, 6; 1684#8; 1709#2; 1938#3; 1941#5).
1. If
Moses was too wise to attempt suddenly to displace the olden fetishes, and
“sacred books” function as fetishes today, what does that imply for how
enlightened teachers of religion should learn to make use of such existing books
(969)?
2. In
what ways might The Urantia Book be treated as a fetish?
3. Compare
and contrast science and magic (924.4). Why
are superstition and magic rising in popularity today?
4. What
is implied about “titles and degrees” at 972.0?
1. Create
a table of primitive tendencies and contrasting advanced practices and meditate
on the differences.
2. What
primitive practices described in this paper are perpetuated in modern worship?
3. What
do people hope to attain by sacrifice?
4. What
teachings help us avoid extremes (977; 383)?
5. What
is the proper definition of sin (984#10)?
6. What
are the degrees of sin?
7. What
is confession, and why is it essential to religious growth?
8. What
is the proper response to the realization of sin (984.7, 985.1)?
1. What
forms of shamanism do we see today (986.2-3)?
2. Consider.
“Religion eventually achieves the profoundly simple realization of an
all-powerful love, the love which sweeps irresistibly through the human soul
when awakened to the conception of the limitless affection of the Universal
Father for the sons of the universe.” (986.3).
Have you achieved that realization?
If so, how can you help others realize it?
If not, how can you progress toward it?
3. What
is implied about talking about the weather (988.2)?
4. What
do we learn at 990.5 about how evolution works?
Since revelation may fail, should we take greater care to harmonize zeal
for revelation with evolutionary wisdom?
5. What
is the progressive attitude toward scientific examination and publicity (992.1)?
Does this mean that we should not respect legitimate secrets (see the
references associated with page 207)?
6. Why
do the authors generally use the term “theology” with negative connotations
(993)?
1. How
can you tap the subconscious reseres of human power through prayer (997.4;
999.7)?
2. Comment
on the double capacity of every person in prayer (1000.1).
3. If
prayer is a spontaneous outburst of God-consciousness (1002.3), how can one
organize group prayer (998.5)?
4. How
is prayer answered (1002.3)?
5. What
is the importance of words in prayer (1002.4)?
6. What
should we pray for (1002.5)?
4. Comment
on the seven conditions of effective prayer (1002#9).
5. Is
there a way to adapt these seven laws in praying for someone else?
1. Study
the structure of the sections.
2. What
might be the unactualized potentials of the adjutants of worship and wisdom and
of the Holy Spirit (1003.2-4; 1008.2; 1012.7)?
3. What
do we learn here of the role of epochal revelation ( 1006.2)
4. Synthesize
the lessons on epochal revelation management from 1004.8; 1006.2; 1006.7;
1007.1; 1011.7-1012.1; 1013.5. How
can we avoid the foolishness of attempting “the too sudden acceleration of
religious growth” (1004L)? If the
mission of revelation is “to sort and censor,” to “exalt and upstep” the
religions of evolution, why must it not get too far ahead of those traditions
(1007.1)? How do you discern the
receptivity of a particular individual or group (1007.1)?
5. As an
antidote to unsocialized ambition (557#17), read 317.1-3 along with 1008#5.
6. How
can Urantia Book readers not take their revealed truth as The Truth (1012.5)?
Do they, too, need to study and assimilate the truths contained in every
other faith?
7. Augment
your consecration intensity (1013.1; 1509.1; 1206.3; 1065.4; 2088.1-4).
8. What
is the pinnacle of the evolution of ethics, morality, and religion (1012.6)?
1. What
was Melchizedek’s mission? How
did he introduce himself? How did
he present God? (1015)
2. Explain
the symbol of the three concentric circles (1016.5).
3. To
whom did Melchizedek give advanced teachings (1016.6)? Does the generalization at 1016L carry implications for our
presentation of truth today?
4. What
was Melchizedek’s basic gospel (1017?
5. Would
you join the Melchizedek church if you had to “tell the good news” to all
men (1017.6)?
6. Would
our actions be more patient and wise if we truly grasped the message of
salvation by faith?
7. Compare
and contrast the commands of the Salem religion (1017) with those of the
Prince’s staff (751) and those of Moses (1599).
8. In
what way, if at all, does the promise made to Abraham apply today?
“God agrees to do everything; man only agrees to believe God’s
promises and follow his instructions” (1020L).
Why do we so resist the idea of obeying?
9. Correlate
the story of Abraham with the account in Genesis.
10. What
generalizations are suggested about epochal revelations from the comparison of
Melchizedek and Jesus (1018.4)? Does
the exclusively spiritual character of their mission distinguish their type of
epochal revelation from earlier and later epochal revelations?
If there are different types of epochal revelation, some exclusively
spiritual and some not, what practical consequences follow?
How does the spread of a spiritual gospel differ from the spread of a
cultural-and-spiritual revelation?
1. What
are the sources of “enthusiastic and aggressive” evangelism for our times?
Why is such evangelism so unpopular among many readers?
2. Note
“the weakening of Vedism through the rejection of higher truth” (1028L).
What is the risk to a religion of presenting higher truth to it in a
clumsy way?
3. Explain
the “repercussional synthesis of all time-space actions in the Deity presence
of the Supreme” (1030.6).
4. Consider
the usefulness of the remark that “what may be finite-illusory on the absolute
level may be absolutely real on the finite level” (1031.1).
When is it helpful to emphasize the first part of the teaching here?
When is it helpful to emphasize the second? Need
there be conflict between them?
5. Why
does the author describe the essential dual concept of religion (1030.2) and the
Jesusonian gospel (1038.7) as he does? Discuss
the import of including “ever-ascending citizenship in the eternal universe”
as an essential theme in the gospel.
6. Why
is it fatal to fail to posit a surviving morontial counterpart of mortal
personality (1031.1)?
7. To what extent can India’s need for the
Jesusonian gospel be filled without The Urantia Book?
8. Present
a summary of the teachings of The Urantia Book on Buddhism?
(cf. 1035-1041; 773.6; 1446#3; 1466.4-1467.2).
9. How
could Asoka train and send out 17,000 missionaries in 25 years (1037.5)?
10. How
does one achieve identification with cosmic reality (1039.6; 2094.2)?
1. What
lessons may be derived from the downfall of the Salem missionaries in
Mesopotamia?
2. What
lessons may be derived from Ikhnaton’s failure (1047#5)?
3. What
has been the strength of Islam (1051L; cf. 1076.2)? What would it take for the religion of Jesus to be presented
with comparable strength?
1. What
is the meaning of monotheism? (1052.1; 21.1; 95.8; 101.1; 380.4; 524.2; 640.4-5)
2. What
were the factors of Moses’ success in contrast with Ikhnaton (1055-59)?
3. What
wise compromises are called for in the situation in which you find yourself
today?
4. Since
Jesus reviewed the scriptures with the apostles (as well as teaching them the
new gospel of the kingdom), is it wise for readers of The Urantia Book who
aspire to be teachers to review the scriptures, too (1535.6)?
1. Note
that some of the material quoted from the Hebrew Bible attributed to Samuel is
attributed within the Bible not to Samuel but to someone else.
2. Sample
the Biblical accounts of the prophets mentioned in this paper.
3. What
qualities do you observe in the Hebrew prophets? How can we cultivate similar qualities? What can we do if we lack them?
To what extent will the Spirit of Truth make up the difference
(2064.3-4)?
3. Discuss
the separation of religion from politics, sociology, and economics (1075.5).
1. Machiventa
“forbade the organization of exclusive congregations for worship” (1077.5)
What does that mean? Why did
he do so?
2. How
do you assess the balance between intellectual and spiritual growth (1078.5;
1121.4)? Explain with reference to
1078#4.
3. If
“philosophy is to religion as conception is to action,” how do you classify
discussion about religion?
4. How
can Greek philosophy with its great intellectual advances (1078.7) contaminate
the gospel (1081.4)? Are we in a
different situation today (43.3)—i.e., is philosophy now a part of the message
which is necessary in order to reach secular humanity today?
1. “Religion
achieves its highest social ministry when it has least connection with the
secular institutions of society” (1086.1).
But “the complete secularization of science, education, industry, and
society can lead only to disaster” (2082.6).
Does either quote imply that there should or should not be, e.g., any
vague references to Deity by political leaders or prayer in public schools?
2. “True
religion does oppose violence as a means of social evolution (1086.1; 1088.1),
but “Jesus did not look with approval upon the refusal to employ force to
protect the majority of any human group against the unfair and enslaving
practices of unjust minorities who may be able to entrench themselves behind
political, financial, or ecclesiastical power” (1891.2); and an advanced
society must “maintain that military preparedness which renders it secure from
all attack . . . .” (804.6) How
do these teachings fit together?
3. Give
examples of how religion can “keep pace with all these advances in
civilization by making clear-cut and vigorous restatements of its moral mandates
and spiritual precepts” without becoming “organically involved with the
secular work of social reconstruction and economic organization” (1087.3;
1579#8).
4. Does
the paradox of the institutional church imply that it is impossible for growth
to occur (1087.5)? Must the vicious
circle be broken from an independent movement (1866.4; 2086.2)?
5. What
are the implications for epochal revelation management of 1090.5-6?
6. What
ideals can unify a study group (1091.7)?
7. Why
can’t man decide temporal issues wisely “unless he meditates on the
sovereignty of God and reckons with the realities of divine meanings and
spiritual values” (1093.2)?
8. How
does science sober us to help prevent fanatical reactions (1093.3)?
1. Discuss
the theme of humility in this paper (1094L; 1095.5; 1101.0; 1100.6).
How does this theme balance the dominant, dynamic, and invigorating
message of the paper (1094.1; 1095.1; 1095.6; 1096.6; 1100.6; 1102.1; 1102L)?
2. How
do physical health, inherited temperament, and social environment affect
religious experience (1095.1)?
3. What
do you learn about love from this paper (including 1097L; 1098.1-3; 1100L;
1102.5,6,8)?
4. What
are “the selfish qualities of love” (1096.1)?
5. “The
only realities worth striving for are divine, spiritual, and eternal”
(1096.3). What difference would it
make to live that way?
6. Explain
the difference between that which is value (e.g., beauty or goodness) and
that which has value (something beautiful or good) (1096.L).
7. Who
are the snarling cavemen in your life (1098.2)?
What are they protecting?
8. How
can we discover others’ motivation (1098.1-3)?
9. Suppose
that someone proposes to lead you into a spiritual experience by lighting a
candle and inviting you to focus on it, and playing indefinite music with little
melody or rhythm. Would such an
experience invite the critique implied in the discussion here of mysticism?
Discuss pros and cons. How
is mysticism characterized in this paper (cf. 1000#7)?
10. 1101.0
is especially important for those engaged in spreading the gospel, since people
today are so ready to take offense at rude evangelism.
Think of a time you were tempted by religious enthusiasm to betray
commonplace social obligations (1101.0). What
is the role of such obligations in the divine plan?
11. What
kind of excellence marks revealed religion in addition to its genuineness
(1101.3)?
12. We
can each “develop a strong and unified personality along the perfected lines
of the Jesus personality” (1101.5; 1673.3-4).
What are your strengths? Using
section 7 as a guide, figure out what qualities best balance these strengths or
what excesses to avoid.
1. What
are the relations between thinking and feeling in the religious life (1104L;
1105.0)?
2. Often
science, philosophy, and religion are presented as an ascending series of three.
In section 2 (1105-1107) a fourth factor, revelation, is added, and the
ascending series theme is set aside. (Even
truth and goodness are mentioned without beauty [1107.4]!)
Explain.
3. If
the authors portray a philosophic harmony of religion and science, and science
changes, to what extent will the philosophic harmony have to be re-created
(1106.0)?
4. What
positive senses of “theology” emerge in this section (1106.0; 1107.7)?
5. Study
the sequence of intuition, reason, and wisdom at (1108.1) and learn everything
you can. This may be a pattern for
other kinds of thinking, too.
6. How
does the author avoid encouraging self-pity even while sympathetically noting
“the crushing overload of the complex and partial civilizations of modern
times” (1108.12)?
7. What
are the limitations and functions of revelation according to section 7?
8. What
assumptions does philosophy need to make (1110#5)?
9. Carefully
explain the sequence of steps in the ideal progress of a career (1112.3).
10. Why
does realization of sonship provide salvation from material fetters (1112.5)?
11. What
is intellectual bondage? Might
there be different kinds of intellectual bondage?
How does truth liberate?
12. What
is the difference between service-discovery and ministry-revelation (1112L)?
13. What
is salvation from self (1113.2)?
14. What
factors affect one’s personal philosophy of religion (1113.7)?
If you are working with a group or an individual, how important would it
be to be aware of these factors?
15. How
might the tendency to imitate associates (1113L) affect you?
16. What
qualities are needed for philosophic thinking (1113L)?
Why does philosophy take moral courage (1114.)?
What are the levels of religious philosophy?
Where are you?
17. What
are the differences between faith and belief?
Does a person of faith hold intellectual beliefs?
18. What
are the relations between morality and religion (1115#9)?
19. Try
to explain the meanings of the phrase “ideational continuity, the unceasing
flow of conceptual potentiality from pre-existenc conceptions” (1116.4).
One idea leads to another. Is
this it?
20. Memorize,
meditate on, and explain as much as you can, the last paragraph of p. 1117.
1. Usually
we are told to grasp truth (first), be sensitive to beauty, and then go on to
the adventures of goodness. How can
a commitment to goodness (the Father’s will) condition our ability to grasp of
truth (1118.3; cf. 1116L)?
2. Study
1120.0 for the factors of beauty in living that characterize religion
(cf. 1121L).
3. Why
does religion act (1121.1-2)?
4. How
do you know if the intellectual factors in your religion are overdeveloped
(1121.3)?
5. What
are tempting topics for religious speculation (1121.4)?
6. List
the functions of science, the functions of philosophy, those of religion, and
those of revelation given on 1122. How
much of these teachings can you verify for yourself?
7. How
can you let the mind of Jesus be in you (1123.1; 553.7)?
8. Consider
the relation between experience and questioning. In what areas are you active in experience?
What questions would help you sharpen your discovery in those areas?
9. Why
is worship more important than prayer? Why
may prayer be easier than worship?
10. How
good can you be if you are not religious (1126.4)?
11. How
does this paper develop its account of the basis of religious certainty?
1. What
is it that makes for similarity and difference in the religious philosophies of
different individuals (1129L-1130.1)?
2. What
is the danger from not being exposed to a vast number of religious experiences
different from your own (1130.2)?
3. What
meanings do you associate with being “born of the spirit” (1130L)?
4. What
is the difference between a religious gathering and a social occasion (1133.1)?
5. Describe
the gap between our ideals and our ability to live up to them (1133.2).
6. Gather
the aspects of the concept of theology presented in this paper (1129.7,8;
1130.3-4; 1132.4; 1135.3-4; 1141.4). Compare
and contrast theology and philosophy.
7. Explain
what it is to view the universe from the outside and from the inside (1135.4-7).
8. What
might be meant by “the elliptical symmetry of reality” and “the essential
curvature of all relation concepts” (1137.4)?
9. Explain
the lesson on dogmatism (1138.5; 1127.1).
10. What
distinction between reason and logic emerges on 1138-39?
11. What
assumptions are basic to science, philosophy, and religion (1139.3; 1141.6)?
Why must they be assumed?
12. Explain
the sequence: “Through truth man attains beauty and by spiritual love ascends
to goodness” (1142.1).
13. Why
is there so much about philosophy in a paper on the reality of religious
experience?
1. How
is a trinity different from a triad (1143-45)?
2. Why does monotheism arise (1145.2)