Knjiga Urantije
DIO III. Povijest Urantije
POGLAVLJE 92 : KASNIJA EVOLUCIJA RELIGIJE
Paper 92
The Later Evolution of Religion
The Later Evolution of Religion
ČOVJEK je posjedovao religiju prirodnog porijekla kao dio evolucijskog iskustva mnogo prije nego što je Urantija primila ikakva sustavna otkrivenja. Ali ta religija prirodnog porijekla sama je po sebi bila proizvod čovjekovih nadživotinjskih obdarenja. Evoluirajuća religija razvijala se polako tijekom tisućljeća iskustvene karijere čovječanstva kroz službu sljedećih utjecaja koji su djelovali iznutra i izvana na divljeg, barbarskog te civiliziranog čovjeka:
92:0.1 (1003.1)
MAN possessed a religion of natural origin as a part of his evolutionary experience long before any systematic revelations were made on Urantia. But this religion of natural origin was, in itself, the product of man’s superanimal endowments. Evolutionary religion arose slowly throughout the millenniums of mankind’s experiential career through the ministry of the following influences operating within, and impinging upon, savage, barbarian, and civilized man:
3. Sveti Duh — ovo je početni nadumni dar koji se neminovno javlja u svim istinskim ljudskim ličnostima. U umu koji čezne za štovanjem i mudrošću ova služba stvara sposobnost za samospoznaju postulata o ljudskom opstanku, kako u obliku teološke koncepcije tako i kao stvarnog i činjeničnog iskustva ličnosti.
92:0.4 (1003.4)
3. The Holy Spirit—this is the initial supermind bestowal, and it unfailingly appears in all bona fide human personalities. This ministry to a worship-craving and wisdom-desiring mind creates the capacity to self-realize the postulate of human survival, both in theologic concept and as an actual and factual personality experience.
Usklađeno djelovanje ove tri božanske službe sasvim je dostatno da započne i unaprijedi rast evolucijske religije. Ovi utjecaji kasnije bivaju pojačani Ispravljačima Misli, serafinima i Duhom Istine, a svi oni ubrzavaju tempo religijskog razvoja. Ove su službe već dugo djelatne na Urantiji i nastavit će djelovati sve dok ovaj planet ostane nastanjena sfera. Velik dio potencijala ovih božanskih službi još nikada nije imao priliku za izražavanje; mnogo će toga biti otkriveno u vremenima koja dolaze dok se religija smrtnika bude uzdizala, razinu po razinu, prema nadzemaljskim visinama morontija vrijednosti i istine duha.
92:0.5 (1003.5)
The co-ordinate functioning of these three divine ministrations is quite sufficient to initiate and prosecute the growth of evolutionary religion. These influences are later augmented by Thought Adjusters, seraphim, and the Spirit of Truth, all of which accelerate the rate of religious development. These agencies have long functioned on Urantia, and they will continue here as long as this planet remains an inhabited sphere. Much of the potential of these divine agencies has never yet had opportunity for expression; much will be revealed in the ages to come as mortal religion ascends, level by level, toward the supernal heights of morontia value and spirit truth.
Evolucija religije može se pratiti od ranog straha i duhova kroz mnoge uzastopne stupnjeve razvoja, uključujući nastojanja da se duhove najprije prisili, a zatim umilostivi. Plemenski fetiši razvili su se u toteme i plemenske bogove; magijske formule postale su moderne molitve. Obrezanje, koje je u početku bilo žrtva, postalo je higijenski zahvat.
92:1.1 (1003.6)
The evolution of religion has been traced from early fear and ghosts down through many successive stages of development, including those efforts first to coerce and then to cajole the spirits. Tribal fetishes grew into totems and tribal gods; magic formulas became modern prayers. Circumcision, at first a sacrifice, became a hygienic procedure.
Religija je napredovala od štovanja prirode preko štovanja duhova do fetišizma tijekom divljeg djetinjstva ljudskih rasa. S pojavom civilizacije ljudski rod prihvatio je mističnija i simboličnija vjerovanja, dok sada, s približavanjem zrelosti, čovječanstvo sazrijeva za shvaćanje stvarne religije, pa čak i za početak otkrivenja same istine.
92:1.2 (1003.7)
Religion progressed from nature worship up through ghost worship to fetishism throughout the savage childhood of the races. With the dawn of civilization the human race espoused the more mystic and symbolic beliefs, while now, with approaching maturity, mankind is ripening for the appreciation of real religion, even a beginning of the revelation of truth itself.
Religija nastaje kao biološka reakcija uma na duhovna vjerovanja i na okruženje; ona je posljednja stvar koja nestaje ili se mijenja u nekoj rasi. Religija je prilagodba društva, u svakom razdoblju, onome što je tajanstveno. Kao društvena ustanova ona obuhvaća obrede, simbole, kultove, spise, oltare, svetišta i hramove. Sveta voda, relikvije, fetiši, amajlije, svećeničke odore, zvona, bubnjevi i svećenstva zajednički su svim religijama. A nije moguće u potpunosti odvojiti čisto evoluiranu religiju ni od magije ni od čarobnjaštva.
92:1.3 (1004.1)
Religion arises as a biologic reaction of mind to spiritual beliefs and the environment; it is the last thing to perish or change in a race. Religion is society’s adjustment, in any age, to that which is mysterious. As a social institution it embraces rites, symbols, cults, scriptures, altars, shrines, and temples. Holy water, relics, fetishes, charms, vestments, bells, drums, and priesthoods are common to all religions. And it is impossible entirely to divorce purely evolved religion from either magic or sorcery.
Tajnovitost i moć oduvijek su poticale religiozne osjećaje i strahove, dok je emocija uvijek djelovala kao snažan čimbenik u njihovu razvoju. Strah je oduvijek bio temeljni poticaj religije. Strah oblikuje bogove evolucijske religije i potiče religijske obrede primitivnih vjernika. Kako civilizacija napreduje, strah postupno ustupa mjesto strahopoštovanju, divljenju, poštovanju i naklonosti.
92:1.4 (1004.2)
Mystery and power have always stimulated religious feelings and fears, while emotion has ever functioned as a powerful conditioning factor in their development. Fear has always been the basic religious stimulus. Fear fashions the gods of evolutionary religion and motivates the religious ritual of the primitive believers. As civilization advances, fear becomes modified by reverence, admiration, respect, and sympathy and is then further conditioned by remorse and repentance.
Religija je najkrutija i najnepopustljivija od svih ljudskih institucija, ali se ipak sporo prilagođava društvenim promjenama. Evolucijska religija s vremenom počinje odražavati promjene društvenih običaja, koji su pak mogli biti pod utjecajem religije otkrivenja. Polako, sigurno, ali nevoljko religija (štovanje) slijedi stopama mudrosti — znanja koje usmjerava iskustveni razum i koje prosvjetljuje božansko otkrivenje.
92:2.1 (1004.4)
Religion is the most rigid and unyielding of all human institutions, but it does tardily adjust to changing society. Eventually, evolutionary religion does reflect the changing mores, which, in turn, may have been affected by revealed religion. Slowly, surely, but grudgingly, does religion (worship) follow in the wake of wisdom—knowledge directed by experiential reason and illuminated by divine revelation.
Religija se čvrsto drži društvenih običaja; ono što je bilo smatra se drevnim i navodno svetim. Upravo iz tog razloga kameni su se alati zadržali dugo u razdoblju bronce i željeza. Zabilježena je ova izjava: “Ako mi načiniš kameni oltar, nemoj ga graditi od tesanog kamena, jer ako pri njegovoj izradi upotrijebiš svoje oruđe, oskvrnut ćeš ga.” Hindusi i danas pale svoje oltarske vatre primitivnim vatrenim svrdlom. Tijekom evolucijske religije novina se uvijek smatrala svetogrđem. Sakrament se nije smio sastojati od nove i proizvedene hrane, nego od najprimitivnijih jela: “Meso pečeno na vatri i beskvasni kruh s gorkim travama.” Sve vrste društvenih običaja pa čak i pravni postupci drže se starih oblika.
92:2.2 (1004.5)
Religion clings to the mores; that which was is ancient and supposedly sacred. For this reason and no other, stone implements persisted long into the age of bronze and iron. This statement is of record: “And if you will make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone, for, if you use your tools in making it, you have polluted it.” Even today, the Hindus kindle their altar fires by using a primitive fire drill. In the course of evolutionary religion, novelty has always been regarded as sacrilege. The sacrament must consist, not of new and manufactured food, but of the most primitive of viands: “The flesh roasted with fire and unleavened bread served with bitter herbs.” All types of social usage and even legal procedures cling to the old forms.
Kad se suvremeni čovjek čudi što u svetim spisima različitih religija ima toliko toga što se može smatrati opscenim, trebao bi zastati i razmisliti da su naraštaji koji su prolazili oklijevali ukloniti ono što su njihovi preci smatrali svetim i posvećenim. Mnogo toga što jedna generacija može smatrati opscenim, prethodne su generacije smatrale dijelom svojih prihvaćenih društvenih običaja, pa čak i odobrenih religijskih obreda. Znatan dio religijskih rasprava proizašao je iz neprestanih pokušaja da se stariji prijekorni običaji pomire s novijim i naprednijim razumijevanjem, da se pronađu uvjerljive teorije koje bi opravdale vjersko održavanje drevnih i zastarjelih običaja.
92:2.3 (1004.6)
When modern man wonders at the presentation of so much in the scriptures of different religions that may be regarded as obscene, he should pause to consider that passing generations have feared to eliminate what their ancestors deemed to be holy and sacred. A great deal that one generation might look upon as obscene, preceding generations have considered a part of their accepted mores, even as approved religious rituals. A considerable amount of religious controversy has been occasioned by the never-ending attempts to reconcile olden but reprehensible practices with newly advanced reason, to find plausible theories in justification of creedal perpetuation of ancient and outworn customs.
Ali doista je nerazumno pokušavati previše naglo ubrzati rast religije. Određena rasa ili nacija može usvojiti iz bilo koje napredne religije jedino ono što se poklapa s njezinim trenutačnim evolucijskim stanjem i sposobnošću prilagodbe. Društveni, klimatski, politički i gospodarski uvjeti svi imaju utjecaj u određivanju tijeka i napretka religijske evolucije. Religija, to jest evolucijska religija, ne određuje društvenu moralnost; naprotiv, oblici religije određeni su moralnošću određene rase.
92:2.4 (1004.7)
But it is only foolish to attempt the too sudden acceleration of religious growth. A race or nation can only assimilate from any advanced religion that which is reasonably consistent and compatible with its current evolutionary status, plus its genius for adaptation. Social, climatic, political, and economic conditions are all influential in determining the course and progress of religious evolution. Social morality is not determined by religion, that is, by evolutionary religion; rather are the forms of religion dictated by the racial morality.
Ljudske rase samo površno prihvaćaju novu i njima stranu religiju; u stvarnosti je prilagođavaju svojim društvenim običajima i starim načinima vjerovanja. To se dobro vidi na primjeru jednoga novozelandskog plemena čiji su svećenici, nakon što su formalno prihvatili kršćanstvo, tvrdili da su primili izravna otkrivenja od Gabrijela prema kojima je upravo to pleme postalo izabrani narod Božji, te da im se dopušta slobodno upuštati u razuzdane spolne odnose i u mnoge druge stare i prijekorne običaje. I odmah su svi novopečeni kršćani prešli na tu novu i manje zahtjevnu verziju kršćanstva.
92:2.5 (1005.1)
Races of men only superficially accept a strange and new religion; they actually adjust it to their mores and old ways of believing. This is well illustrated by the example of a certain New Zealand tribe whose priests, after nominally accepting Christianity, professed to have received direct revelations from Gabriel to the effect that this selfsame tribe had become the chosen people of God and directing that they be permitted freely to indulge in loose sex relations and numerous other of their olden and reprehensible customs. And immediately all of the new-made Christians went over to this new and less exacting version of Christianity.
U raznim razdobljima religija je odobravala mnoge proturječne i nedosljedne postupke; u nekim je vremenima odobravala gotovo sve što se danas smatra nemoralnim ili grešnim. Savjest, nepoučena iskustvom i bez pomoći razuma, nikada nije bila, niti može biti, siguran i nepogrešiv vodič ljudskog ponašanja. Savjest nije božanski glas koji govori ljudskoj duši. Ona je samo zbroj cjelokupnog moralnog i etičkog sadržaja društvenih običaja na bilo kojem trenutačnom stupnju postojanja; ona jednostavno predstavlja ono što smrtnik smatra idealnim načinom reagiranja u bilo kojem spletu okolnosti.
92:2.6 (1005.2)
Religion has at one time or another sanctioned all sorts of contrary and inconsistent behavior, has at some time approved of practically all that is now regarded as immoral or sinful. Conscience, untaught by experience and unaided by reason, never has been, and never can be, a safe and unerring guide to human conduct. Conscience is not a divine voice speaking to the human soul. It is merely the sum total of the moral and ethical content of the mores of any current stage of existence; it simply represents the humanly conceived ideal of reaction in any given set of circumstances.
Proučavanje ljudske religije nije ništa drugo nego proučavanje fosilnih društvenih slojeva iz prošlih vremena. Antropomorfni bogovi predstavljaju vjeran odraz morala ljudi koji su prvi zamislili takva božanstva. Drevne religije i mitologije vjerno prikazuju vjerovanja i predaje naroda koji su odavno nestali u tami zaborava. Ti stari kultni običaji opstaju usporedno s novijim gospodarskim navikama i društvenim promjenama i nije čudo što djeluju izrazito nedosljedno. Ostaci kulta pružaju istinsku sliku rasnih religija prošlosti. Uvijek imajte na umu da se kultovi ne oblikuju kako bi otkrili istinu, nego kako bi širili svoja vjerovanja.
92:3.1 (1005.3)
The study of human religion is the examination of the fossil-bearing social strata of past ages. The mores of the anthropomorphic gods are a truthful reflection of the morals of the men who first conceived such deities. Ancient religions and mythology faithfully portray the beliefs and traditions of peoples long since lost in obscurity. These olden cult practices persist alongside newer economic customs and social evolutions and, of course, appear grossly inconsistent. The remnants of the cult present a true picture of the racial religions of the past. Always remember, the cults are formed, not to discover truth, but rather to promulgate their creeds.
Religija je oduvijek u velikoj mjeri bila stvar obreda, rituala, običaja, ceremonija i dogmi. Obično je bila narušena tom tvrdokornom i štetnom zabludom — zabludom o izabranom narodu. Glavne religiozne ideje zazivanja, nadahnuća, otkrivenja, umilostivljenja, pokajanja, okajanja, posredovanja, žrtve, molitve, ispovijedi, štovanja, opstanka nakon smrti, sakramenta, rituala, otkupa, spasenja, otkupljenja, saveza, nečistoće, pročišćenja, proroštva i naslijeđenog grijeha — sve sežu porijeklom u najranija vremena iskonskog straha od duhova.
92:3.2 (1005.4)
Religion has always been largely a matter of rites, rituals, observances, ceremonies, and dogmas. It has usually become tainted with that persistently mischief-making error, the chosen-people delusion. The cardinal religious ideas of incantation, inspiration, revelation, propitiation, repentance, atonement, intercession, sacrifice, prayer, confession, worship, survival after death, sacrament, ritual, ransom, salvation, redemption, covenant, uncleanness, purification, prophecy, original sin—they all go back to the early times of primordial ghost fear.
Primitivna religija nije ništa više ni manje nego borba za materijalni opstanak proširena i na život nakon smrti. Obredi takvoga vjerovanja predstavljali su proširenje borbe za samoodržanje na područje zamišljenoga svijeta duhova i utvara. Ali pazite da ne dođete u iskušenje kritizirati evolucijsku religiju. Imajte na umu da ona predstavlja ono što je bilo; ona je povijesna činjenica. Nadalje se sjetite da moć bilo koje ideje ne počiva u njezinoj izvjesnosti ili istinitosti, nego u sposobnosti da ostavi živ i upečatljiv dojam.
92:3.3 (1005.5)
Primitive religion is nothing more nor less than the struggle for material existence extended to embrace existence beyond the grave. The observances of such a creed represented the extension of the self-maintenance struggle into the domain of an imagined ghost-spirit world. But when tempted to criticize evolutionary religion, be careful. Remember, that is what happened; it is a historical fact. And further recall that the power of any idea lies, not in its certainty or truth, but rather in the vividness of its human appeal.
Evolucijska religija ne ostavlja prostora promjeni ili reviziji; za razliku od znanosti, ona ne ostavlja prostora progresivnoj samokorekciji. Evoluirana religija nameće poštovanje zahvaljujući tome što se svojim sljedbenicima nameće kao Istina; “vjera jednom predana svetima” mora, barem u teoriji, biti i konačna i nepogrešiva. Kult se opire stvarnom razvoju jer će ga stvarni razvoj neminovno izmijeniti ili uništiti; kult se mijenja jedino pod velikim pritiskom izvana.
92:3.4 (1006.1)
Evolutionary religion makes no provision for change or revision; unlike science, it does not provide for its own progressive correction. Evolved religion commands respect because its followers believe it is The Truth; “the faith once delivered to the saints” must, in theory, be both final and infallible. The cult resists development because real progress is certain to modify or destroy the cult itself; therefore must revision always be forced upon it.
Samo dva utjecaja mogu izmijeniti i uzdići dogme prirodne religije: pritisak polako napredujućih društvenih običaja i povremeno prosvjetljenje epohalnog otkrivenja. I nije čudno što je napredak bio spor; u drevna vremena biti napredan ili domišljat značilo je biti pogubljen kao čarobnjak. Kult napreduje sporo kroz naraštaje i dugovječne cikluse vremena. Ali ipak napreduje. Evolucijsko vjerovanje u duhove postavilo je temelj filozofiji religije otkrivenja koja će naposljetku uništiti praznovjerje iz kojega je potekla.
92:3.5 (1006.2)
Only two influences can modify and uplift the dogmas of natural religion: the pressure of the slowly advancing mores and the periodic illumination of epochal revelation. And it is not strange that progress was slow; in ancient days, to be progressive or inventive meant to be killed as a sorcerer. The cult advances slowly in generation epochs and agelong cycles. But it does move forward. Evolutionary belief in ghosts laid the foundation for a philosophy of revealed religion which will eventually destroy the superstition of its origin.
Religija je na mnoge načine kočila društveni razvoj, ali bez religije ne bi bilo trajne moralnosti ni etike, niti vrijedne civilizacije. Religija je potaknula mnogo nereligiozne kulture: kiparstvo se javilo iz izrade idola, arhitektura iz gradnje hramova, poezija iz čarobnih formula, glazba iz religioznih napjeva, drama iz uprizorenja radi traženja vodstva duhova, a ples iz sezonskih festivala štovanja.
92:3.6 (1006.3)
Religion has handicapped social development in many ways, but without religion there would have been no enduring morality nor ethics, no worth-while civilization. Religion enmothered much nonreligious culture: Sculpture originated in idol making, architecture in temple building, poetry in incantations, music in worship chants, drama in the acting for spirit guidance, and dancing in the seasonal worship festivals.
Ali dok treba istaknuti činjenicu da je religija bila bitna za razvoj i očuvanje civilizacije, valja također zabilježiti da je prirodna religija isto tako uvelike sputavala i kočila upravo onu civilizaciju koju je inače poticala i održavala. Religija je kočila industrijske djelatnosti i gospodarski razvoj; rasipala je rad i razmetala se kapitalom; nije uvijek bila od pomoći obitelji; nije dovoljno poticala mir i dobru volju; ponekad je zanemarivala obrazovanje i usporavala znanost; nerazmjerno je osiromašivala život radi navodnog obogaćivanja smrti. Evolucijska religija, ljudska religija, doista je bila kriva za sve te i mnoge druge pogreške, zablude i promašaje; ipak je održavala kulturnu etiku, civilizirani moral i društvenu povezanost te je omogućila da kasnija religija otkrivenja nadoknadi te mnoge evolucijske nedostatke.
92:3.7 (1006.4)
But while calling attention to the fact that religion was essential to the development and preservation of civilization, it should be recorded that natural religion has also done much to cripple and handicap the very civilization which it otherwise fostered and maintained. Religion has hampered industrial activities and economic development; it has been wasteful of labor and has squandered capital; it has not always been helpful to the family; it has not adequately fostered peace and good will; it has sometimes neglected education and retarded science; it has unduly impoverished life for the pretended enrichment of death. Evolutionary religion, human religion, has indeed been guilty of all these and many more mistakes, errors, and blunders; nevertheless, it did maintain cultural ethics, civilized morality, and social coherence, and made it possible for later revealed religion to compensate for these many evolutionary shortcomings.
92:3.8 (1006.5)
Evolutionary religion has been man’s most expensive but incomparably effective institution. Human religion can be justified only in the light of evolutionary civilization. If man were not the ascendant product of animal evolution, then would such a course of religious development stand without justification.
Religija je olakšala akumulaciju kapitala; poticala je određene vrste rada; dokolica svećenika promicala je umjetnost i znanje; ljudski je rod na kraju izvukao veliku korist iz svih tih ranih pogrešaka u etičkoj tehnici. Šamani, i pošteni i nepošteni, bili su strašno skupi, ali su vrijedili svega što su stajali. Učene profesije, pa i sama znanost, najprije su se pojavile među parazitskim svećenstvom. Religija je poticala razvoj civilizacije time što je osiguravala društveni kontinuitet; bila je moralna policija svih vremena. Ona je stvorila disciplinu i samokontrolu koje su omogućile postignuće mudrosti. Religija je djelotvorni evolucijski bič koji nemilosrdno tjera lijeno i napaćeno čovječanstvo iz njegova prirodnog stanja intelektualne tromosti prema višim razinama razuma i mudrosti.
92:3.9 (1006.6)
Religion facilitated the accumulation of capital; it fostered work of certain kinds; the leisure of the priests promoted art and knowledge; the race, in the end, gained much as a result of all these early errors in ethical technique. The shamans, honest and dishonest, were terribly expensive, but they were worth all they cost. The learned professions and science itself emerged from the parasitical priesthoods. Religion fostered civilization and provided societal continuity; it has been the moral police force of all time. Religion provided that human discipline and self-control which made wisdom possible. Religion is the efficient scourge of evolution which ruthlessly drives indolent and suffering humanity from its natural state of intellectual inertia forward and upward to the higher levels of reason and wisdom.
Otkrivenje je evolucijsko, ali uvijek ide naprijed. Kroz mnoga stoljeća povijesti jednoga svijeta otkrivenja religije neprestano su se širila i postajala sve prosvjetljujuća. Misija otkrivenja počiva u probirci i cenzuri niza evolucijskih religija. Ali ako otkrivenje treba uzvisiti i unaprijediti evolucijske religije, tada takva božanska očitovanja moraju predočiti učenja koja nisu suviše udaljena od misli i reakcija vremena u kojem se pojavljuju. Otkrivenje se stoga nalazi, i uvijek se mora nalaziti, u dodiru s evolucijom. Religija otkrivenja stoga uvijek mora biti ograničena čovjekovom sposobnošću primanja.
92:4.1 (1007.1)
Revelation is evolutionary but always progressive. Down through the ages of a world’s history, the revelations of religion are ever-expanding and successively more enlightening. It is the mission of revelation to sort and censor the successive religions of evolution. But if revelation is to exalt and upstep the religions of evolution, then must such divine visitations portray teachings which are not too far removed from the thought and reactions of the age in which they are presented. Thus must and does revelation always keep in touch with evolution. Always must the religion of revelation be limited by man’s capacity of receptivity.
Evolucijska religija je sentimentalna, a ne logična. Ona je čovjekova reakcija na vjerovanje u hipotetski svijet duhova — ljudski refleks vjerovanja pobuđen spoznajom i strahom od nepoznatog. Religija otkrivenja potječe iz stvarnog duhovnog svijeta; ona je odgovor nadintelektualnog kozmosa na smrtnikovu glad da vjeruje u sveopća Božanstva i da se na njih osloni. Evolucijska religija prikazuje zaobilazna lutanja čovječanstva u potrazi za istinom; religija otkrivenja jest ta sama istina.
92:4.3 (1007.3)
Evolutionary religion is sentimental, not logical. It is man’s reaction to belief in a hypothetical ghost-spirit world—the human belief-reflex, excited by the realization and fear of the unknown. Revelatory religion is propounded by the real spiritual world; it is the response of the superintellectual cosmos to the mortal hunger to believe in, and depend upon, the universal Deities. Evolutionary religion pictures the circuitous gropings of humanity in quest of truth; revelatory religion is that very truth.
1. Dalamatijska učenja. Stotinu tjelesnih članova osoblja princa Kaligastije prvi su na Urantiji proglasili istinski pojam Prvog Izvora i Središta. Ovo šireće otkrivenje Božanstva trajalo je više od tristo tisuća godina, sve dok ga nije iznenada prekinula planetarna pobuna i poremećaj učiteljskog poretka. Osim djelovanja Vana, utjecaj dalamatijskog otkrivenja bio je gotovo potpuno izgubljen za cijeli svijet. Čak su i Noditi zaboravili tu istinu prije Adamova dolaska. Od svih koji su primili učenja stotine, crveni su ljudi najdulje zadržali ta učenja, ali ideja Velikog Duha bila je tek nejasan pojam u religiji američkih Indijanaca sve dok dodir s kršćanstvom nije znatno razjasnio i ojačao tu predodžbu.
92:4.5 (1007.5)
1. The Dalamatian teachings. The true concept of the First Source and Center was first promulgated on Urantia by the one hundred corporeal members of Prince Caligastia’s staff. This expanding revelation of Deity went on for more than three hundred thousand years until it was suddenly terminated by the planetary secession and the disruption of the teaching regime. Except for the work of Van, the influence of the Dalamatian revelation was practically lost to the whole world. Even the Nodites had forgotten this truth by the time of Adam’s arrival. Of all who received the teachings of the one hundred, the red men held them longest, but the idea of the Great Spirit was but a hazy concept in Amerindian religion when contact with Christianity greatly clarified and strengthened it.
2. Edenska učenja. Adam i Eva ponovno su predstavili pojam Oca Svih evolucijskim narodima. Prekid prvoga Edena zaustavio je tijek adamskog otkrivenja prije nego što je ono uopće bilo potpuno započelo. Ali prekinuta Adamova učenja nastavili su setitski svećenici, a neke od tih istina svijet nije nikada u potpunosti izgubio. Cijeli tijek religijske evolucije Levanta bio je izmijenjen učenjima Setita. No oko 2500. godine prije Krista čovječanstvo je većinom izgubilo iz vida otkrivenje pokrenuto u danima Edena.
92:4.6 (1007.6)
2. The Edenic teachings. Adam and Eve again portrayed the concept of the Father of all to the evolutionary peoples. The disruption of the first Eden halted the course of the Adamic revelation before it had ever fully started. But the aborted teachings of Adam were carried on by the Sethite priests, and some of these truths have never been entirely lost to the world. The entire trend of Levantine religious evolution was modified by the teachings of the Sethites. But by 2500 b.c. mankind had largely lost sight of the revelation sponsored in the days of Eden.
3. Melkizedek iz Salema. Ovaj izvanredni Sin Nebadona započeo je treće otkrivenje istine na Urantiji. Temeljna načela njegovih učenja bila su povjerenje i vjera. Učio je povjerenju u svemoguću blagotvornost Boga i proglasio da je vjera čin kojim ljudi stječu Božju naklonost. Njegova su se učenja postupno pomiješala s vjerovanjima i praksama raznih evolucijskih religija te su se naposljetku razvila u one teološke sustave koji su bili prisutni na Urantiji početkom prvog tisućljeća nakon Krista.
92:4.7 (1007.7)
3. Melchizedek of Salem. This emergency Son of Nebadon inaugurated the third revelation of truth on Urantia. The cardinal precepts of his teachings were trust and faith. He taught trust in the omnipotent beneficence of God and proclaimed that faith was the act by which men earned God’s favor. His teachings gradually commingled with the beliefs and practices of various evolutionary religions and finally developed into those theologic systems present on Urantia at the opening of the first millennium after Christ.
4. Isus iz Nazareta. Krist Mihael četvrti je put na Urantiji predstavio pojam Boga kao Oca Svih, a to se učenje uglavnom održalo sve do danas. Bit njegova učenja bila je ljubav i služenje: štovanje utemeljeno na ljubavi koje stvoreni sin dragovoljno iskazuje u priznanju i kao odgovor na službu Boga Oca, koji je izvor ljubavi; te služenje koje takvi stvoreni sinovi slobodnom voljom daruju svojoj braći u radosnoj spoznaji da u toj službi također služe Bogu Ocu.
92:4.8 (1008.1)
4. Jesus of Nazareth. Christ Michael presented for the fourth time to Urantia the concept of God as the Universal Father, and this teaching has generally persisted ever since. The essence of his teaching was love and service, the loving worship which a creature son voluntarily gives in recognition of, and response to, the loving ministry of God his Father; the freewill service which such creature sons bestow upon their brethren in the joyous realization that in this service they are likewise serving God the Father.
5. Urantijski spisi. Spisi, među kojima je i ovo poglavlje, predstavljaju najnovije izlaganje istine smrtnicima Urantije. Ovi se spisi razlikuju od svih prethodnih otkrivenja jer nisu djelo jedne ličnosti svemira, nego složeno izlaganje mnogih bića. Ali nijedno otkrivenje, osim postizanja Oca Svih, ne može biti potpuno. Sve druge nebeske službe nisu ništa više nego djelomične, prolazne i praktično prilagođene lokalnim uvjetima vremena i prostora. Premda ovakva priznanja mogu donekle umanjiti neposrednu snagu i autoritet svih otkrivenja, na Urantiji je došlo vrijeme kada je razborito iznijeti takve iskrene izjave, čak i uz opasnost da se oslabi budući utjecaj i autoritet ovoga, najnovijeg među otkrivenjima istine smrtnim rasama Urantije.
92:4.9 (1008.2)
5. The Urantia Papers. The papers, of which this is one, constitute the most recent presentation of truth to the mortals of Urantia. These papers differ from all previous revelations, for they are not the work of a single universe personality but a composite presentation by many beings. But no revelation short of the attainment of the Universal Father can ever be complete. All other celestial ministrations are no more than partial, transient, and practically adapted to local conditions in time and space. While such admissions as this may possibly detract from the immediate force and authority of all revelations, the time has arrived on Urantia when it is advisable to make such frank statements, even at the risk of weakening the future influence and authority of this, the most recent of the revelations of truth to the mortal races of Urantia.
92:5.1 (1008.3)
In evolutionary religion, the gods are conceived to exist in the likeness of man’s image; in revelatory religion, men are taught that they are God’s sons—even fashioned in the finite image of divinity; in the synthesized beliefs compounded from the teachings of revelation and the products of evolution, the God concept is a blend of:
Većina velikih religijskih razdoblja započela je životom i učenjima neke izvanredne ličnosti; tijekom povijesti, istaknute vođe su pokrenule većinu vrijednih moralnih pokreta. A ljudi su oduvijek imali sklonost štovati vođu, čak i na štetu njegovih učenja; poštovati njegovu ličnost, čak i kad izgube iz vida istine koje je on naviještao. I to nije bez razloga; u srcu evolucijskog čovjeka postoji instinktivna čežnja za pomoći odozgo i izvan njega samoga. Ta je žudnja osmišljena kako bi preduhitrila pojavu Planetarnog Princa na zemlji i kasnijih Materijalnih Sinova. Na Urantiji je čovjek bio lišen tih nadljudskih vođa i vladara te stoga stalno nastoji nadoknaditi taj gubitak obavijajući svoje ljudske vođe legendama o nadnaravnom porijeklu i čudesnim djelima.
92:5.5 (1008.7)
Most great religious epochs have been inaugurated by the life and teachings of some outstanding personality; leadership has originated a majority of the worth-while moral movements of history. And men have always tended to venerate the leader, even at the expense of his teachings; to revere his personality, even though losing sight of the truths which he proclaimed. And this is not without reason; there is an instinctive longing in the heart of evolutionary man for help from above and beyond. This craving is designed to anticipate the appearance on earth of the Planetary Prince and the later Material Sons. On Urantia man has been deprived of these superhuman leaders and rulers, and therefore does he constantly seek to make good this loss by enshrouding his human leaders with legends pertaining to supernatural origins and miraculous careers.
Mnoge su rase zamišljale svoje vođe kao rođene od djevica; njihove su životne priče obilato prožete čudesnim događajima, a njihov se povratak uvijek očekuje među njihovim narodima. U središnjoj Aziji plemena još uvijek očekuju povratak Džingis-kana; u Tibetu, Kini i Indiji Buddhe; u islamu Muhameda; među američkim Indijancima Hesunanina Onamonalontona; a među Hebrejima, općenito, povratak Adama kao materijalnog vladara. U Babilonu je bog Marduk bio nastavak Adamove legende, ideja sina Božjega, povezujuća karika između čovjeka i Boga. Nakon Adamove pojave na zemlji takozvani sinovi Božji bili su česti među ljudskim rasama.
92:5.6 (1008.8)
Many races have conceived of their leaders as being born of virgins; their careers are liberally sprinkled with miraculous episodes, and their return is always expected by their respective groups. In central Asia the tribesmen still look for the return of Genghis Khan; in Tibet, China, and India it is Buddha; in Islam it is Mohammed; among the Amerinds it was Hesunanin Onamonalonton; with the Hebrews it was, in general, Adam’s return as a material ruler. In Babylon the god Marduk was a perpetuation of the Adam legend, the son-of-God idea, the connecting link between man and God. Following the appearance of Adam on earth, so-called sons of God were common among the world races.
U milijunskoj povijesti čovječanstva na Urantiji, od Onagara do Gurua Nanaka, bilo je na stotine i stotine religijskih vođa. Tijekom tog vremena bilo je mnogih oseka i plima religijske istine i duhovne vjere, a svaka obnova urantijske religije u prošlosti bila je povezana sa životom i učenjima nekog religijskog vođe. Pri razmatranju učitelja novijega vremena može biti korisno svrstati ih u sedam glavnih religijskih razdoblja postadamske Urantije:
92:5.8 (1009.2)
There have been hundreds upon hundreds of religious leaders in the million-year human history of Urantia from Onagar to Guru Nanak. During this time there have been many ebbs and flows of the tide of religious truth and spiritual faith, and each renaissance of Urantian religion has, in the past, been identified with the life and teachings of some religious leader. In considering the teachers of recent times, it may prove helpful to group them into the seven major religious epochs of post-Adamic Urantia:
1. Setitsko razdoblje. Setitski svećenici, obnovljeni pod vodstvom Amosada, postali su veliki postadamski učitelji. Djelovali su diljem zemalja Andita, a njihov je utjecaj najdulje opstao među Grcima, Sumeranima i Hindusima. Među potonjima su se održali sve do današnjeg vremena kao brahmani hinduističke vjere. Setiti i njihovi sljedbenici nikada nisu u potpunosti izgubili Adamovo otkrivenje pojma Trojstva.
92:5.9 (1009.3)
1. The Sethite period. The Sethite priests, as regenerated under the leadership of Amosad, became the great post-Adamic teachers. They functioned throughout the lands of the Andites, and their influence persisted longest among the Greeks, Sumerians, and Hindus. Among the latter they have continued to the present time as the Brahmans of the Hindu faith. The Sethites and their followers never entirely lost the Trinity concept revealed by Adam.
2. Razdoblje Melkizedekovih misionara. Religija koja postoji na Urantiji bila je u znatnoj mjeri obnovljena naporima onih učitelja koje je poslao Makiventa Melkizedek kada je živio i poučavao u Salemu gotovo dvije tisuće godina prije Krista. Ovi su misionari naviještali vjeru kao cijenu Božje naklonosti, a njihova učenja, premda nisu odmah dovela do pojave novih religija, ipak su postavila temelje na kojima su kasniji učitelji istine gradili religije Urantije.
92:5.10 (1009.4)
2. Era of the Melchizedek missionaries. Urantia religion was in no small measure regenerated by the efforts of those teachers who were commissioned by Machiventa Melchizedek when he lived and taught at Salem almost two thousand years before Christ. These missionaries proclaimed faith as the price of favor with God, and their teachings, though unproductive of any immediately appearing religions, nevertheless formed the foundations on which later teachers of truth were to build the religions of Urantia.
3. Razdoblje poslije Melkizedeka. Iako su Amenemope i Ehnaton poučavali u ovom razdoblju, najistaknutiji religijski genij razdoblja poslije Melkizedeka bio je vođa skupine levantinskih beduina i utemeljitelj hebrejske religije — Mojsije. Mojsije je poučavao monoteizmu. Govorio je: „Čuj, Izraele, Gospodin, Bog naš, jedan je Bog.“ „Gospodin, on je Bog; nema drugoga osim njega.“ Ustrajno je nastojao iskorijeniti ostatke kulta duhova među svojim narodom, čak je propisivao i smrtnu kaznu za njegove sljedbenike. Mojsijevi nasljednici iskrivili su njegov monoteizam, ali su se u kasnijim vremenima ipak vratili mnogim njegovim učenjima. Mojsijeva veličina leži u njegovoj mudrosti i pronicavosti. Drugi su ljudi imali uzvišenije predodžbe o Bogu, ali nijedan čovjek nikada nije bio tako uspješan u poticanju velikog broja ljudi da prihvate tako napredna vjerovanja.
92:5.11 (1009.5)
3. The post-Melchizedek era. Though Amenemope and Ikhnaton both taught in this period, the outstanding religious genius of the post-Melchizedek era was the leader of a group of Levantine Bedouins and the founder of the Hebrew religion—Moses. Moses taught monotheism. Said he: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God.” “The Lord he is God. There is none beside him.” He persistently sought to uproot the remnants of the ghost cult among his people, even prescribing the death penalty for its practitioners. The monotheism of Moses was adulterated by his successors, but in later times they did return to many of his teachings. The greatness of Moses lies in his wisdom and sagacity. Other men have had greater concepts of God, but no one man was ever so successful in inducing large numbers of people to adopt such advanced beliefs.
4. Šesto stoljeće prije Krista. Mnogi su se ljudi pojavili kako bi naviještali istinu u ovom, jednom od najvećih stoljeća religijskog buđenja ikada zabilježenih na Urantiji. Među njima treba spomenuti Gautamu, Konfucija, Lao-cea, Zaratustru i džainističke učitelje. Gautamina su se učenja raširila po Aziji, i milijuni ga štuju kao Budu. Konfucije je za kineski moral bio ono što je Platon bio za grčku filozofiju, i premda su učenja obojice imala religijske odjeke, strogo govoreći, nijedan nije bio religijski učitelj. Lao-ce je u Tao-u nazirao više Boga nego što je Konfucije vidio u čovječnosti ili Platon u idealizmu. Zaratustra, premda snažno pod utjecajem tada raširenog shvaćanja dualizma — duha dobra i duha zla — u isto je vrijeme jasno uzdigao ideju jednoga vječnog Božanstva i konačne pobjede svjetla nad tamom.
92:5.12 (1009.6)
4. The sixth century before Christ. Many men arose to proclaim truth in this, one of the greatest centuries of religious awakening ever witnessed on Urantia. Among these should be recorded Gautama, Confucius, Lao-tse, Zoroaster, and the Jainist teachers. The teachings of Gautama have become widespread in Asia, and he is revered as the Buddha by millions. Confucius was to Chinese morality what Plato was to Greek philosophy, and while there were religious repercussions to the teachings of both, strictly speaking, neither was a religious teacher; Lao-tse envisioned more of God in Tao than did Confucius in humanity or Plato in idealism. Zoroaster, while much affected by the prevalent concept of dual spiritism, the good and the bad, at the same time definitely exalted the idea of one eternal Deity and of the ultimate victory of light over darkness.
5. Prvo stoljeće nakon Krista. Kao religijski učitelj, Isus iz Nazareta započeo je u okviru pokreta koji je uspostavio Ivan Krstitelj i nastavio koliko je god mogao udaljavati se od posta i formalnosti. Osim Isusa, Pavao iz Tarza i Filon iz Aleksandrije bili su najveći učitelji ovog razdoblja. Njihova shvaćanja religije odigrala su dominantnu ulogu u razvoju vjere koja nosi Kristovo ime.
92:5.13 (1010.1)
5. The first century after Christ. As a religious teacher, Jesus of Nazareth started out with the cult which had been established by John the Baptist and progressed as far as he could away from fasts and forms. Aside from Jesus, Paul of Tarsus and Philo of Alexandria were the greatest teachers of this era. Their concepts of religion have played a dominant part in the evolution of that faith which bears the name of Christ.
7. Petnaesto stoljeće nakon Krista. Ovo je razdoblje svjedočilo dvama religijskim pokretima: razbijanju jedinstva kršćanstva na Zapadu i sintezi nove religije na Istoku. U Europi je institucionalizirano kršćanstvo doseglo takav stupanj nepopustljivosti da je daljnji razvoj postao nespojiv s jedinstvom. Na Istoku su Nanak i njegovi sljedbenici sintetizirali združena učenja islama, hinduizma i budizma u sikhizam, jednu od najnaprednijih religija Azije.
92:5.15 (1010.3)
7. The fifteenth century after Christ. This period witnessed two religious movements: the disruption of the unity of Christianity in the Occident and the synthesis of a new religion in the Orient. In Europe institutionalized Christianity had attained that degree of inelasticity which rendered further growth incompatible with unity. In the Orient the combined teachings of Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism were synthesized by Nanak and his followers into Sikhism, one of the most advanced religions of Asia.
Budućnost Urantije nesumnjivo će biti obilježena pojavom učitelja religijske istine — Očinstva Boga i bratstva svih stvorenih bića. No valja se nadati da će gorljivi i iskreni napori tih budućih proroka biti manje usmjereni na jačanje međureligijskih prepreka, a više na povećanje religijskog bratstva duhovnog štovanja među mnogim sljedbenicima različitih intelektualnih teologija koje tako snažno obilježavaju Urantiju Satanije.
92:5.16 (1010.4)
The future of Urantia will doubtless be characterized by the appearance of teachers of religious truth—the Fatherhood of God and the fraternity of all creatures. But it is to be hoped that the ardent and sincere efforts of these future prophets will be directed less toward the strengthening of interreligious barriers and more toward the augmentation of the religious brotherhood of spiritual worship among the many followers of the differing intellectual theologies which so characterize Urantia of Satania.
Religije koje se mogu naći na Urantiji u dvadesetom stoljeću omogućuju zanimljivu analizu društvene evolucije čovjekova poriva za štovanjem. Mnoge su vjere vrlo malo napredovale od vremena kulta duhova. Pigmeji Afrike kao skupina nemaju religijskih reakcija, premda neki od njih donekle vjeruju u svijet duha. Oni su danas upravo ondje gdje je bio primitivni čovjek kada je započela evolucija religije. Temeljno vjerovanje primitivne religije bilo je preživljenje nakon smrti. Ideja štovanja osobnog Boga označava napredan evolucijski razvoj, čak i prvi stupanj otkrivenja. Dajaci su razvili tek najprimitivnije religijske prakse. Eskimi i američki Indijanci relativno su nedavno imali vrlo oskudne predodžbe o Bogu; vjerovali su u duhove i imali neodređenu ideju nekakva preživljenja nakon smrti. Današnji starosjedilački Australci imaju samo strah od duhova, bojazan od tame i grubo štovanje predaka. Zulusi tek razvijaju religiju obilježenu žrtvovanjem i strahom od duhova. Mnoga afrička plemena, osim ondje gdje su djelovali kršćanski i muhamedanski misionari, još nisu izašla iz fetišističkog stupnja religijske evolucije. No neke su skupine odavno držale ideju monoteizma, poput drevnih Tračana, koji su također vjerovali u besmrtnost.
92:6.1 (1010.5)
Twentieth-century Urantia religions present an interesting study of the social evolution of man’s worship impulse. Many faiths have progressed very little since the days of the ghost cult. The Pygmies of Africa have no religious reactions as a class, although some of them believe slightly in a spirit environment. They are today just where primitive man was when the evolution of religion began. The basic belief of primitive religion was survival after death. The idea of worshiping a personal God indicates advanced evolutionary development, even the first stage of revelation. The Dyaks have evolved only the most primitive religious practices. The comparatively recent Eskimos and Amerinds had very meager concepts of God; they believed in ghosts and had an indefinite idea of survival of some sort after death. Present-day native Australians have only a ghost fear, dread of the dark, and a crude ancestor veneration. The Zulus are just evolving a religion of ghost fear and sacrifice. Many African tribes, except through missionary work of Christians and Mohammedans, are not yet beyond the fetish stage of religious evolution. But some groups have long held to the idea of monotheism, like the onetime Thracians, who also believed in immortality.
92:6.2 (1010.6)
On Urantia, evolutionary and revelatory religion are progressing side by side while they blend and coalesce into the diversified theologic systems found in the world in the times of the inditement of these papers. These religions, the religions of twentieth-century Urantia, may be enumerated as follows:
Najnaprednije religije drevnih vremena bile su hinduizam i judaizam, i svaka je od njih snažno utjecala na tijek religijskog razvoja na Istoku i na Zapadu. I hindusi i Hebreji vjerovali su da su njihove religije nadahnute i objavljene, te su sve druge smatrali dekadentnim oblicima jedne istinske vjere.
92:6.14 (1011.12)
The most advanced religions of ancient times were Hinduism and Judaism, and each respectively has greatly influenced the course of religious development in Orient and Occident. Both Hindus and Hebrews believed that their religions were inspired and revealed, and they believed all others to be decadent forms of the one true faith.
Hebrejska religija obuhvaća filozofski prijelaz od politeizma prema monoteizmu; ona je evolucijska poveznica između religija evolucije i religija otkrivenja. Hebreji su bili jedini zapadni narod koji je svoje rane evolucijske bogove pratio sve do Boga otkrivenja. No ta istina nije bila široko prihvaćena sve do vremena Izaije, koji je ponovno poučavao sjedinjenu ideju narodnog božanstva i Univerzalnog Stvoritelja: „Gospode nad Vojskama, Bože Izraelov, ti si Bog, ti jedini; ti si stvorio nebo i zemlju.” U jednom je razdoblju nada opstanka zapadne civilizacije počivala na uzvišenim hebrejskim pojmovima dobrote i naprednim helenskim pojmovima ljepote.
92:6.17 (1011.15)
The Hebrew religion encompasses the philosophic transition from polytheism to monotheism; it is an evolutionary link between the religions of evolution and the religions of revelation. The Hebrews were the only western people to follow their early evolutionary gods straight through to the God of revelation. But this truth never became widely accepted until the days of Isaiah, who once again taught the blended idea of a racial deity combined with a Universal Creator: “O Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, you are God, even you alone; you have made heaven and earth.” At one time the hope of the survival of Occidental civilization lay in the sublime Hebraic concepts of goodness and the advanced Hellenic concepts of beauty.
Kršćanska religija jest religija o životu i učenjima Krista, utemeljena na teologiji judaizma, dodatno oblikovana usvajanjem određenih zoroastrijskih učenja i grčke filozofije, te ponajprije formulirana od strane trojice pojedinaca: Filona, Petra i Pavla. Od Pavlova vremena prošla je kroz mnoge faze evolucije i postala toliko temeljito zapadnjačka da mnogi neeuropski narodi sasvim prirodno gledaju na kršćanstvo kao na čudno otkrivenje čudnog Boga, namijenjeno strancima.
92:6.18 (1011.16)
The Christian religion is the religion about the life and teachings of Christ based upon the theology of Judaism, modified further through the assimilation of certain Zoroastrian teachings and Greek philosophy, and formulated primarily by three individuals: Philo, Peter, and Paul. It has passed through many phases of evolution since the time of Paul and has become so thoroughly Occidentalized that many non-European peoples very naturally look upon Christianity as a strange revelation of a strange God and for strangers.
Islam je religijsko-kulturna poveznica sjeverne Afrike, Levanta i jugoistočne Azije. Upravo je židovska teologija, u povezanosti s kasnijim kršćanskim učenjima, učinila islam monoteističkim. Sljedbenici Muhameda spotaknuli su se o napredno učenje o Trojstvu; nisu mogli shvatiti nauk o trima božanskim ličnostima i jednom Božanstvu. Uvijek je teško navesti evolucijske umove da iznenada prihvate naprednu otkrivenu istinu. Čovjek je evolucijsko biće i u pravilu mora svoju religiju stjecati evolucijskim putem.
92:6.19 (1011.17)
Islam is the religio-cultural connective of North Africa, the Levant, and southeastern Asia. It was Jewish theology in connection with the later Christian teachings that made Islam monotheistic. The followers of Mohammed stumbled at the advanced teachings of the Trinity; they could not comprehend the doctrine of three divine personalities and one Deity. It is always difficult to induce evolutionary minds suddenly to accept advanced revealed truth. Man is an evolutionary creature and in the main must get his religion by evolutionary techniques.
Štovanje predaka nekoć je predstavljalo jasan napredak u religijskoj evoluciji, ali je i začuđujuće i žalosno što se ovaj primitivni pojam održava u Kini, Japanu i Indiji usred toliko toga što je razmjerno naprednije, poput budizma i hinduizma. Na Zapadu se štovanje predaka razvilo u štovanje nacionalnih bogova i poštovanje rasnih junaka. U dvadesetom stoljeću ova se religija štovanja junaka pojavljuje u raznim radikalnim i nacionalističkim sekularizmima koji obilježavaju mnoge rase i narode Zapada. Velik dio istog stava nalazi se i na velikim sveučilištima i u većim industrijskim zajednicama engleskog govornog područja. Nedaleko od tih shvaćanja stoji i ideja da je religija tek „zajednička potraga za dobrim životom.” „Nacionalne religije” nisu ništa drugo nego povratak ranom rimskom štovanju cara i šintoizmu — štovanju države u carskoj obitelji.
92:6.20 (1012.1)
Ancestor worship onetime constituted a decided advance in religious evolution, but it is both amazing and regrettable that this primitive concept persists in China, Japan, and India amidst so much that is relatively more advanced, such as Buddhism and Hinduism. In the Occident, ancestor worship developed into the veneration of national gods and respect for racial heroes. In the twentieth century this hero-venerating nationalistic religion makes its appearance in the various radical and nationalistic secularisms which characterize many races and nations of the Occident. Much of this same attitude is also found in the great universities and the larger industrial communities of the English-speaking peoples. Not very different from these concepts is the idea that religion is but “a shared quest of the good life.” The “national religions” are nothing more than a reversion to the early Roman emperor worship and to Shinto—worship of the state in the imperial family.
Nove religije ne mogu se izumiti; one se ili razvijaju, ili bivaju iznenada objavljene. Sve nove evolucijske religije samo su napredni izrazi starih vjerovanja, nove prilagodbe i usklađivanja. Staro ne prestaje postojati; ono se stapa s novim, baš kao što je sikhizam iznikao i procvjetao iz tla i oblika hinduizma, budizma, islama i drugih suvremenih kultova. Primitivna religija bila je vrlo demokratska; divljak je bio brz u posuđivanju i davanju. Tek se s objavljenom religijom pojavljuje autokratski i netolerantni teološki egoizam.
92:7.2 (1012.3)
New religions cannot be invented; they are either evolved, or else they are suddenly revealed. All new evolutionary religions are merely advancing expressions of the old beliefs, new adaptations and adjustments. The old does not cease to exist; it is merged with the new, even as Sikhism budded and blossomed out of the soil and forms of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and other contemporary cults. Primitive religion was very democratic; the savage was quick to borrow or lend. Only with revealed religion did autocratic and intolerant theologic egotism appear.
Mnoge religije Urantije sve su dobre u onoj mjeri u kojoj čovjeka približavaju Bogu i čovjeku donose spoznaju Oca. Zabluda je da bilo koja skupina vjernika svoju vjeru smatra Istinom; takvi stavovi više odražavaju teološku oholost nego sigurnost vjere. Ne postoji religija Urantije koja ne bi mogla s koristi proučiti i usvojiti najbolje istine sadržane u svakoj drugoj vjeri, jer sve sadrže istinu. Vjernici bi učinili bolje da posuđuju ono najbolje iz žive duhovne vjere svojih bližnjih nego da osuđuju ono najgore u njihovim zaostalim praznovjerjima i zastarjelim obredima.
92:7.3 (1012.4)
The many religions of Urantia are all good to the extent that they bring man to God and bring the realization of the Father to man. It is a fallacy for any group of religionists to conceive of their creed as The Truth; such attitudes bespeak more of theological arrogance than of certainty of faith. There is not a Urantia religion that could not profitably study and assimilate the best of the truths contained in every other faith, for all contain truth. Religionists would do better to borrow the best in their neighbors’ living spiritual faith rather than to denounce the worst in their lingering superstitions and outworn rituals.
Sve su te religije nastale kao rezultat čovjekova različitog intelektualnog odgovora na isto duhovno vodstvo. One nikada ne mogu postići jednolikost vjerovanja, dogmi i rituala — to su intelektualni aspekti; ali one mogu i jednog dana hoće, ostvariti jedinstvo u istinskom štovanju Oca Svih, jer to je duhovno, a u duhu su svi ljudi zauvijek jednaki.
92:7.4 (1012.5)
All these religions have arisen as a result of man’s variable intellectual response to his identical spiritual leading. They can never hope to attain a uniformity of creeds, dogmas, and rituals—these are intellectual; but they can, and some day will, realize a unity in true worship of the Father of all, for this is spiritual, and it is forever true, in the spirit all men are equal.
Primitivna religija bila je uvelike svijest o materijalnim vrijednostima, ali civilizacija uzdiže religijske vrijednosti, jer istinska religija jest predanje sebstva službi smislenih i vrhovnih vrijednosti. Kako religija evoluira, etika prerasta u filozofiju morala, a moralnost postaje disciplina sebstva prema mjerilima najviših značenja i vrhovnih vrijednosti — božanskih i duhovnih ideala. Religija tako prerasta u spontanu i profinjenu odanost, živo iskustvo predane ljubavi.
92:7.5 (1012.6)
Primitive religion was largely a material-value consciousness, but civilization elevates religious values, for true religion is the devotion of the self to the service of meaningful and supreme values. As religion evolves, ethics becomes the philosophy of morals, and morality becomes the discipline of self by the standards of highest meanings and supreme values—divine and spiritual ideals. And thus religion becomes a spontaneous and exquisite devotion, the living experience of the loyalty of love.
Religijska značenja napreduju u samosvijesti kada dijete svoje predodžbe o svemoći prenese s roditelja na Boga. Cjelokupno religijsko iskustvo takva djeteta uvelike ovisi o tome je li odnos roditelja i djeteta bio obilježen strahom ili ljubavlju. Robovi su oduvijek imali velikih poteškoća u prenošenju straha od gospodara u pojam ljubavi prema Bogu. Civilizacija, znanost i napredne religije moraju osloboditi čovječanstvo onih strahova koji proizlaze iz bojazni pred prirodnim pojavama. Tako bi i veće prosvjetljenje trebalo osloboditi obrazovane smrtnike svake ovisnosti o posrednicima u duhovnom zajedništvu s Božanstvom.
92:7.11 (1013.6)
Religious meanings progress in self-consciousness when the child transfers his ideas of omnipotence from his parents to God. And the entire religious experience of such a child is largely dependent on whether fear or love has dominated the parent-child relationship. Slaves have always experienced great difficulty in transferring their master-fear into concepts of God-love. Civilization, science, and advanced religions must deliver mankind from those fears born of the dread of natural phenomena. And so should greater enlightenment deliver educated mortals from all dependence on intermediaries in communion with Deity.
Ove se međufaze idolopokloničke kolebljivosti u prenošenju štovanja s ljudskog i vidljivog na božansko i nevidljivo ne mogu izbjeći, premda bi njihovo trajanje trebalo biti skraćeno sviješću o pomoćnoj službi prebivajućeg božanskog duha. Unatoč tome, na čovjeka su snažno utjecale ne samo njegove predodžbe o Božanstvu, nego i osobine junaka koje je odabrao štovati. Vrlo je žalosno što su oni koji su počeli štovati božanskog i uskrslog Krista previdjeli čovjeka — smionog i hrabrog junaka — Jošuu, sina Josipa.
92:7.12 (1013.7)
These intermediate stages of idolatrous hesitation in the transfer of veneration from the human and the visible to the divine and invisible are inevitable, but they should be shortened by the consciousness of the facilitating ministry of the indwelling divine spirit. Nevertheless, man has been profoundly influenced, not only by his concepts of Deity, but also by the character of the heroes whom he has chosen to honor. It is most unfortunate that those who have come to venerate the divine and risen Christ should have overlooked the man—the valiant and courageous hero—Joshua ben Joseph.
Suvremeni čovjek posjeduje dostatnu samosvijest o religiji, ali su njegovi oblici štovanja zbunjeni i diskreditirani ubrzanom društvenom preobrazbom i neviđenim znanstvenim razvojem. Razboriti muškarci i žene traže redefiniranje religije, i taj će zahtjev prisiliti religiju da ponovno procijeni samu sebe.
92:7.13 (1013.8)
Modern man is adequately self-conscious of religion, but his worshipful customs are confused and discredited by his accelerated social metamorphosis and unprecedented scientific developments. Thinking men and women want religion redefined, and this demand will compel religion to re-evaluate itself.