Teacher: Teacher Ophelius

Today we will talk about faith, beliefs, and religion, and how these things create a construct for the kind of experiences one will have that may lead to spiritual growth or spiritual stagnation.  For any kind of spiritual growth, there must be faith—to believe in God and things unseen—hope for a better tomorrow and a desire for life eternal.  This is the true foundation of spiritual growth.  Without it, a belief system is merely a philosophy.

Atheism is a belief system without faith and without God, and no real spiritual benefit can be had by this belief system nor can it produce a map for afterlife, which is vital to eternal survival.  There are far too many on your world who believe in nothing and are headed down a path to oblivion and spiritual death. The expectation of these individuals is that once the physical body expires, life, the personality, and the identity of the individual is terminated and no longer holds a presence or consciousness in time or space.  This is most unfortunate because they have willed that there be no life hereafter and so that individual having no map to the afterlife, may find themselves lost and in darkness—a problem that is systemic on Urantia.

Religion, on the other hand, is a practice of rituals or doctrinal teachings by a group that sets boundaries and limits to the construct of faith according to the religious credos of the group.  It requires of its devotees to accept without question, the tenants of its creeds and to practice and adhere to the religious doctrines taught by the group.  This type of belief system may be beneficial to spiritual growth and may provide a foundation for higher concepts of God as the individual progresses and produces good fruit in their life experiences, relationships with others, devotion to God and to service—evidence of spiritual growth.  However, because religion is exclusive and sets boundaries by its crystallized dogmas, the devotee may be limited in their concept of God and may not fully realize their true spiritual potential in their terrestrial life.

One of the dangers of religious exclusivity is that it may seek to impose its views on other's beliefs and attempt to control governmental and societal institutions to promote its exclusive agenda over other faiths.  This is the beginning of tyranny and a spiraling into darkness as was witnessed on Urantia in the Medieval period and still persists in many countries and cultures today.  With each new generation, the lessons of the past begin to fade from the collective consciousness and the danger of repeating those mistakes persist.  It is one of the many goals of The Correcting Time to prevent this backward slide into darkness and to move humanity forward by revealing a higher concept of deity that is all inclusive and that unites, rather than divides, all peoples.

In order for your world to become sustainable and keep a forward momentum towards Light and Life, world religions must become more tolerant and open the closed loop of exclusivity.  Interfaith groups are leading the way to this all inclusive belief in one God, many paths.  Many souls who adhere to the exclusivity of religion will be surprised in the afterlife that Hell is not as populated as they were taught to believe and that they themselves had not achieved perfection in one life by merely crossing over.  When all religions teach that the Spirit of the Creator lives in every man, woman, and child, then will the exclusivity doctrines change into the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. This my friends, is the age of Light and Life.

Peace to you,

The Circle of Seven