The new Harry Potter book has come out. Young children are freaking out. The owners of the copyright are renting out villas in the South of France preparing to spend some of that cash that will be pouring in. And some people are speaking out about the evils of Harry Potter. I have a friend who is convinced that the series promotes witchcraft and is evil. This same friend is a fan of Tolkien’s books and I didn’t see any horns popping out of his head after he read them. A fundamentalist Christian pastor was quoted as saying “anything God hates, I hate. And God hates Harry Potter”. I wasn’t aware that God hated anybody. The old saying - God hates the sin but loves the sinner - still rings true. Can a book be sin? Or are we afraid of things that just don’t exist?
I believe the latter. Fear of the potential - what could be or what might happen - is all too common among us struggling Urantian's. I believed the President when he said that Iraq was an imminent threat to our country. But so far, no evidence of any real threat has emerged from our exhaustive investigations. It may be that our country, the most morally advanced nation on earth, launched an invasion of another country based upon unrealized fear. The scary thing is, we could do it again. But the President isn’t the only one afraid of what’s under his bed. Even within the Urantia movement, the most enlightened people on the planet, there is unreasonable fear. Recent Internet postings concerning a vast conspiracy of empty skulls and dry bones have wasted expensive mainframe space. What utter rubbish. Conspiracy theories are peoples fearful fantasies run amuck. As the author of Ecclesiastes says; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity and chasing after the wind”. There is a lot of wind blowing today – and a lot of people chasing after it.
If we could only put our petty fears aside. “He (Jesus) combined the stalwart and intelligent courage of a full-grown man with the sincere and trusting optimism of a believing child. His faith grew to such heights of trust that it was devoid of fear” (2089.1). Devoid of fear? People really were out to get him. He had real consequences of evil actions to be fearful of. And yet, Jesus lived a life devoid of fear. Why? Because of his unshakeable faith in the goodness of the universe. Because of his unquestioned faith in the power of his father in heaven. And because of his unsinkable faith in a positive and uplifting future. And the wonderful thing is, anyone can have that kind of faith.
What is there to be afraid of? We have an eternal life ahead of us. Why be afraid of what is not real? We know that nothing on this planet can destroy our personalities, our souls. The reality of who we are is protected by God, nothing can really harm us. And God has promised a wonderful future for all who have placed their trust in him. With our faith in this promise, nothing should cause us to fear.
So throw away dem bones. Dismantle the WMD’s along with our fears. Anxiety must be abandoned. The disappointments hardest to bear are those which never come (557.1). Live as though nothing can harm you. After all, if you have faith in God - nothing can!
PS
In case of extreme anxiety, consider this quote from Ben Franklin.
Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, and which incorporates itself with the grapes, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.
God bless you,
William Whitehead
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