6. Personalityˆ in the Universeˆ

^1:6.1 Human personalityˆ is the time-space image-shadow cast by the divineˆ Creatorˆ personalityˆ. And no actualˆity can ever be adequately comprehended by an examination of its shadow. Shadows should be interpreted in terms of the true substance.

^1:6.2 Godˆ is to science a cause, to philosophy an idea, to religion a person, even the loving heavenly Father. Godˆ is to the scientist a primal forceˆ, to the philosopher a hypothesis of unity, to the religionist a living spiritˆual experience. Man’s inadequate concept of the personalityˆ of the Universal Fatherˆ can be improved only by man’s spiritˆual progress in the universeˆ and will become truly adequate only when the pilgrimsˆ of time and spaceˆ finally attain the divineˆ embrace of the living Godˆ on Paradiseˆ.

^1:6.3 Never lose sight of the antipodal viewpoints of personalityˆ as it is conceived by Godˆ and man. Man views and comprehends personalityˆ, looking from the finiteˆ to the infinite; Godˆ looks from the infinite to the finiteˆ. Man possesses the lowest type of personalityˆ; Godˆ, the highest, even supremeˆ, ultimateˆ, and absoluteˆ. Therefore did the better concepts of the divineˆ personalityˆ have patiently to await the appearance of improved ideas of human personalityˆ, especially the enhanced revelation of both human and divineˆ personalityˆ in the Urantian bestowalˆ life of Michael, the  Creatorˆ Sonˆ.

^1:6.4 The prepersonal divineˆ spiritˆ which indwellsˆ the mortalˆ mindˆ carries, in its very presence, the valid proof of its actualˆ existence, but the concept of the divineˆ personalityˆ can be grasped only by the spiritˆual insight of genuine personal religious experience. Any person, human or divineˆ, may be known and comprehended quite apart from the external reactions or the material presence of that person.

^1:6.5 Some degree of moralˆ affinity and spiritˆual harmony is essential to friendship between two persons; a loving personalityˆ can hardly reveal himself to a loveless person. Even to approach the knowing of a divineˆ personalityˆ, all of man’s personalityˆ endowments must be wholly consecrated to the effort; halfhearted, partial devotion will be unavailing.

^1:6.6 The more completely man understands himself and appreciates the personalityˆ values of his fellows, the more he will crave to know the Original Personalityˆ, and the more earnestly such a God-knowingˆ human will strive to become like the Original Personalityˆ. You can argue over opinions about Godˆ, but experience with him and in him exists above and beyond all human controversy and mere intellectual logic. The God-knowingˆ man describes his spiritˆual experiences, not to convince unbelievers, but for the edification and mutual satisfaction of believers.

^1:6.7 To assume that the universeˆ can be known, that it is intelligible, is to assume that the universeˆ is mindˆ made and personalityˆ managed. Man’s mindˆ can only perceive the mindˆ phenomena of other minds, be they human or superhumanˆ. If man’s personalityˆ can experience the universeˆ, there is a divineˆ mindˆ and an actualˆ personalityˆ somewhere concealed in that universeˆ.

^1:6.8 Godˆ is spiritˆ — spiritˆ personalityˆ; man is also a spiritˆ — potential spiritˆ personalityˆ.  Jesusˆ of Nazarethˆˆ attained the full realization of this potential of spiritˆ personalityˆ in human experience; therefore his life of achieving the Father’s will becomes man’s most real and ideal revelation of the personalityˆ of Godˆ. Even though the personalityˆ of the Universal Fatherˆ can be grasped only in actualˆ religious experience, in Jesusˆ’ earth life we are inspired by the perfectˆ demonstration of such a realization and revelation of the personalityˆ of Godˆ in a truly human experience.

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