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In the previous Interim- Papers we have reviewed the
meanings of the TRUE WORSHIP of
the Paradise Universal Father, the PRAYER SUPPLICATIONS to the realms
of the Paradise Eternal Son and His Spirit of Truth, and qualified PRAYER
REALIZATIONS by the spirit
agencies of
the Holy Spirit, the Mind of the Paradise Conjoint Actor.
The following Interim-Paper is devoted to further
enlightenment about the true nature of God.
*****
Human
personality is the time-space image-shadow cast by the divine Creator
personality.
Shadows
should be interpreted in terms of the true substance, and no actuality can
ever be adequately comprehended by an examination of its shadow.
God is to science a cause, to philosophy an idea, to
religion a person, even the loving heavenly Father.
God is to the scientist a primal force, to the philosopher
a hypothesis of unity, to the
religionist
a living spiritual experience.
Man's inadequate concept of the personality of the
Universal Father can be improved only by
man's spiritual progress in the universe and will become
truly adequate only when the
pilgrims of
time and space finally attain the divine embrace of the living God on Paradise.
Never
lose sight of the antipodal viewpoints of personality as it is conceived by
God and man.
Man
views and comprehends personality, looking from the finite to the infinite;
God looks from the infinite to the finite. Man possesses the lowest type of
personality; God, the highest, expressed through the supreme, ultimate, and
absolute realities.
Therefore
better concepts of the divine personality have to patiently await the
appearance of improved ideas of human personality, especially the enhanced
revelation of both human and divine personality in the Urantia bestowal life of Michael, the Creator Son.
The
prepersonal divine spirit which indwells the mortal
mind carries, in its very presence, the valid proof of its actual existence,
but the concept of the divine personality can be grasped only by the
spiritual insight of genuine personal religious experience.
Any
person, human or divine, may be known and comprehended quite apart from the
external reactions or the material presence of that person. Some degree
of moral affinity and spiritual harmony is essential to friendship between
two persons; a loving personality can hardly reveal himself to a loveless
person. Even to approach the knowing of a divine personality, all of man's
personality endowments must be wholly consecrated to the effort; halfhearted,
partial devotion will be unavailing.
The
more completely man understands himself and appreciates the personality
values of his fellows, the more he will crave to know the Original
Personality, and the more earnestly such a God-knowing human will strive to
become like the Original Personality.
Man
can argue over opinions about God, but experience with Him and in Him exists
above and beyond all human controversy and mere intellectual logic. The
God-knowing man describes his spiritual experiences, not to convince
unbelievers, but for the edification and mutual satisfaction of the believing
humanity.
To
assume that the universe can be known, that it is intelligible, is to assume
that the universe is mind made and personality managed. Man's mind can only
perceive the mind phenomena of other minds, be they human or superhuman. If man's
personality can experience the universe, there is a divine mind and an actual
personality somewhere concealed in that universe.
God
is existing divine spirit personality; man is actualizing potential of divine
spirit personality.
Jesus
of Nazareth attained the full realization of this potential of His spirit
Michael personality in human experience; therefore his life of achieving the
Father's will becomes man's most real and ideal revelation of the personality
of God. Even though the personality of the Universal Father can be grasped only in actual
religious experience, in Jesus' earth life the man should find inspiration by
the perfect demonstration of such a realization and revelation of the
personality of God in a truly human experience.
Reference:
The Urantia
Book, Paper 1, Section 6 (edit/modif.)
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