My son Richard is playing soccer. He is enjoys it and is not a bad player. He can keep playing the sport for as long as he wants. I see my job as being the person who provides what he needs to accomplish his goals. I take him to practices and games. I purchase uniforms, shoes, shin guards etc… I even practice with him when we get a spare moment or two. I provide snacks for the team once or twice a season and I cheer him on from the sidelines. I provide my son every opportunity for him to participate in and enjoy his sport. That’s my job.
What is the job of religion if not to offer the same thing? Religion needs to express that every opportunity has been created for people to establish a close personal relationship with God that will last for eternity. That should be the job of religious organizations – but I believe that religions on our world fall short. And because of this I believe that we who read The Urantia Book have an opportunity to bring a positive message of hope to our struggling world. Our job would be to open the door when so many others close it.
I am going to talk about Christianity because I am more familiar with its doctrines than other religions. All Christian sects have an interest in shepherding people into an eternal relationship with our Father in Heaven. But the gate through which people can pass is very narrow and often closed. Tradition bound churches require rituals to be performed in order for a person to go to heaven. No ritual, no heavenly rest. Several years ago the Roman Catholic Church reaffirmed its doctrine that there is no salvation outside of the Roman Catholic Church. This means that if a priest in apostolic succession does not do the proper ritual over the believer then the heavenly gate is shut.
American evangelicalism has the same problem as Roman Catholicism but in a different way. Evangelical interpretation of the scriptures creates a doctrine that requires a person to speak, believe, pray, or internalize the words; I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. These words have to be believed or expressed in some way in order for a person to get into heaven. This leads to the question I have heard all of my life; what about those who haven’t heard the gospel? The politically correct answer is; God will provide a way. The doctrinal answer as interpreted from several Biblical passages is; they are out of luck. The door is not as wide open as we would like it to be.
I believe that this creates an opportunity for those of us who read The Urantia Book to bring a great message to people all around the world. And that message is a message of equal opportunity for everyone. God’s loving mercy gives everyone a chance to live again (63.3)
Any human being who has not chosen to live in whole hearted sin and has even the smallest opportunity to choose to follow the path to God will survive mortal death (38.2). And those who choose to live in sin will no longer exist – but of course they have the final choice in the matter (37.1).
There are several reasons why I believe that this message will resonate within current American society. People understand opportunity. This is why evangelicals have such a hard time understanding the lack of opportunity among non-evangelized people. The message of The Ubook offers the same opportunity among all people of all time periods. And Americans understand choice. The choice is ours to make. Even if the choice we have made is just the slim glimmer of an understanding of God, it is still a choice that will sweep us into the grand march of eternity. Americans also understand fairness. Those who do not survive death have done so because of their poor choices. I don’t believe Hitler survived, but I know that he had the opportunity to make the right choices even up until the bitter end. This is ultimately fair and just. Even those who have lived poor lives still have the opportunity. Nonexistence only happens to those who fully turn their backs to God.
Opportunity, choice, and fairness – three ideas centered around the salvation plan as found in The Urantia Book. I think these ideas can be successfully delivered to the general public. The book is very difficult to read and understand, but there are many messages in it that are very easy to understand. Everyone has the same opportunity to choose survival and an everlasting relationship with our Father in Heaven. Our job is not only to talk to people about the book, but also to spread ideas such as this throughout the larger population.
God Bless You,
William Whitehead
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