Knjiga Urantije
DIO III. Povijest Urantije
POGLAVLJE 98 : MELKIZEDEKOVA UČENJA NA ZAPADU
Paper 98
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident
MELKIZEDEKOVA učenja ušla su u Europu mnogim putovima, ali ponajviše preko Egipta, te su, nakon temeljite helenizacije, bila utjelovljena u zapadnoj filozofiji, a kasnije i u kršćanstvu. Ideali zapadnog svijeta u osnovi su bili sokratski, a njegova kasnija religijska filozofija postala je Isusova filozofija, premda izmijenjena i kompromitirana u dodiru s razvijajućom zapadnom filozofijom i religijom, što je na kraju kulminiralo nastankom kršćanske crkve.
98:0.1 (1077.1)
THE Melchizedek teachings entered Europe along many routes, but chiefly they came by way of Egypt and were embodied in Occidental philosophy after being thoroughly Hellenized and later Christianized. The ideals of the Western world were basically Socratic, and its later religious philosophy became that of Jesus as it was modified and compromised through contact with evolving Occidental philosophy and religion, all of which culminated in the Christian church.
Dugo su vremena u Europi djelovali salemski misionari, koji su postupno bili apsorbirani u mnoge kultove i obredne skupine koje su se povremeno pojavljivale. Među onima koji su u najčišćem obliku očuvali salemska učenja treba posebno spomenuti cinike. Ovi propovjednici vjere i pouzdanja u Boga još su djelovali u rimskoj Europi u prvom stoljeću nakon Krista, a kasnije su bili uključeni u novonastajuću kršćansku religiju.
98:0.2 (1077.2)
For a long time in Europe the Salem missionaries carried on their activities, becoming gradually absorbed into many of the cults and ritual groups which periodically arose. Among those who maintained the Salem teachings in the purest form must be mentioned the Cynics. These preachers of faith and trust in God were still functioning in Roman Europe in the first century after Christ, being later incorporated into the newly forming Christian religion.
Salemski misionari mogli su izgraditi veliku religijsku strukturu među Grcima da nije bilo njihova strogog tumačenja zavjeta njihove ordinacije, obveze koju je nametnuo Makiventa, a koja im je zabranjivala organiziranje isključivih bogoslužnih zajednica te zahtijevala obećanje svakog učitelja da neće djelovati kao svećenik, niti primati naknadu za religijsku službu, osim hrane, odjeće i skloništa. Kada su Melkizedekovi učitelji prodrli u predhelensku Grčku, zatekli su narod koji je još uvijek čuvao tradicije Adamsona i vremena Andita, ali su ta učenja bila uvelike iskvarena pojmovima i vjerovanjima masa nižih robova koji su u sve većem broju bili dovođeni na grčke obale. Ovo iskvarenje dovelo je do povratka grubom animizmu s krvavim obredima, pri čemu su niži slojevi čak pretvarali pogubljenje osuđenih zločinaca u ceremonijal.
98:1.1 (1077.5)
The Salem missionaries might have built up a great religious structure among the Greeks had it not been for their strict interpretation of their oath of ordination, a pledge imposed by Machiventa which forbade the organization of exclusive congregations for worship, and which exacted the promise of each teacher never to function as a priest, never to receive fees for religious service, only food, clothing, and shelter. When the Melchizedek teachers penetrated to pre-Hellenic Greece, they found a people who still fostered the traditions of Adamson and the days of the Andites, but these teachings had become greatly adulterated with the notions and beliefs of the hordes of inferior slaves that had been brought to the Greek shores in increasing numbers. This adulteration produced a reversion to a crude animism with bloody rites, the lower classes even making ceremonial out of the execution of condemned criminals.
Rani utjecaj salemskih učitelja bio je gotovo uništen takozvanom arijskom invazijom iz južne Europe i s Istoka. Ovi helenski osvajači donijeli su sa sobom antropomorfne pojmove Boga slične onima koje su njihovi arijski srodnici već prenijeli u Indiju. Ovaj uvoz označio je početak razvoja grčke obitelji bogova i božica. Ova nova religija djelomično se temeljila na kultovima pristiglih helenskih barbara, ali je također preuzela i mitove starijih stanovnika Grčke.
98:1.2 (1077.6)
The early influence of the Salem teachers was nearly destroyed by the so-called Aryan invasion from southern Europe and the East. These Hellenic invaders brought along with them anthropomorphic God concepts similar to those which their Aryan fellows had carried to India. This importation inaugurated the evolution of the Greek family of gods and goddesses. This new religion was partly based on the cults of the incoming Hellenic barbarians, but it also shared in the myths of the older inhabitants of Greece.
Helenski Grci zatekli su sredozemni svijet uvelike pod utjecajem kulta majke te su tim narodima nametnuli svojega čovjeko-boga, Diausa-Zeusa, koji je već bio, poput Jahvea među henoteističkim Semitima, poglavar cijelog grčkog panteona podređenih bogova. I Grci bi naposljetku postigli istinski monoteizam u pojmu Zeusa da nisu zadržali pojam nadređene vlasti Sudbine. Bog konačne vrijednosti mora sam biti i sudac sudbine kao i njezin stvoritelj.
98:1.3 (1078.1)
The Hellenic Greeks found the Mediterranean world largely dominated by the mother cult, and they imposed upon these peoples their man-god, Dyaus-Zeus, who had already become, like Yahweh among the henotheistic Semites, head of the whole Greek pantheon of subordinate gods. And the Greeks would have eventually achieved a true monotheism in the concept of Zeus except for their retention of the overcontrol of Fate. A God of final value must, himself, be the arbiter of fate and the creator of destiny.
Kao posljedica tih čimbenika u religijskoj evoluciji, ubrzo se razvilo popularno vjerovanje u bezbrižne bogove Olimpa—bogove koji su bili više ljudski nego božanski, i koje inteligentni Grci nikada nisu shvaćali posve ozbiljno. Niti su snažno voljeli niti su se osobito bojali tih božanstava vlastite tvorevine. Osjećali su domoljubnu i rasnu privrženost Zeusu i njegovoj obitelji polubožanskih i poluljudskih bića, ali su ih jedva štovali ili obožavali.
98:1.4 (1078.2)
As a consequence of these factors in religious evolution, there presently developed the popular belief in the happy-go-lucky gods of Mount Olympus, gods more human than divine, and gods which the intelligent Greeks never did regard very seriously. They neither greatly loved nor greatly feared these divinities of their own creation. They had a patriotic and racial feeling for Zeus and his family of half men and half gods, but they hardly reverenced or worshiped them.
Olimpijski bogovi prikazuju tipičan čovjekov antropomorfizam. Ali grčka mitologija bila je više estetska nego etička. Grčka religija bila je korisna utoliko što je prikazivala svemir kojim upravlja skupina božanstava. Ali grčki moral, etika i filozofija ubrzo su napredovali daleko ispred pojma o bogovima, i ova neravnoteža između intelektualnog i duhovnog rasta bila je jednako opasna za Grčku kao što se pokazala i u Indiji.
98:1.6 (1078.4)
The Olympian gods illustrate man’s typical anthropomorphism. But the Greek mythology was more aesthetic than ethic. The Greek religion was helpful in that it portrayed a universe governed by a deity group. But Greek morals, ethics, and philosophy presently advanced far beyond the god concept, and this imbalance between intellectual and spiritual growth was as hazardous to Greece as it had proved to be in India.
Površna religija koju se slabo shvaća ne može opstati, osobito kada nema svećenstva koje bi održavalo njezine oblike i ispunjavalo srca vjernika strepnjom i strahopoštovanjem. Olimpska religija nije obećavala spasenje niti je utaživala duhovnu žeđ svojih sljedbenika; stoga je bila osuđena na propast. U roku od jednog tisućljeća od svoga nastanka gotovo je nestala, a Grci su ostali bez nacionalne religije; bogovi Olimpa izgubili su svoj utjecaj među naprednijim umovima.
98:2.1 (1078.5)
A lightly regarded and superficial religion cannot endure, especially when it has no priesthood to foster its forms and to fill the hearts of the devotees with fear and awe. The Olympian religion did not promise salvation, nor did it quench the spiritual thirst of its believers; therefore was it doomed to perish. Within a millennium of its inception it had nearly vanished, and the Greeks were without a national religion, the gods of Olympus having lost their hold upon the better minds.
To je bilo stanje kada su, tijekom šestog stoljeća prije Krista, Orijent i Levant doživjeli obnovu duhovne svijesti i novo buđenje prema priznanju monoteizma. Ali Zapad nije sudjelovao u tom novom razvoju; ni Europa ni sjeverna Afrika nisu u većoj mjeri sudjelovale u toj religijskoj renesansi. Grci su, međutim, ostvarili veličanstven intelektualni napredak. Počeli su nadvladavati strah i više nisu tražili religiju kao lijek protiv njega, ali nisu uvidjeli da je prava religija lijek za glad duše, duhovni nemir i moralni očaj. Utjehu za dušu tražili su u dubokom razmišljanju—u filozofiji i metafizici. Okrenuli su se od razmišljanja o samoodržanju—spasenju—prema samoostvarenju i samorazumijevanju.
98:2.2 (1078.6)
This was the situation when, during the sixth century before Christ, the Orient and the Levant experienced a revival of spiritual consciousness and a new awakening to the recognition of monotheism. But the West did not share in this new development; neither Europe nor northern Africa extensively participated in this religious renaissance. The Greeks, however, did engage in a magnificent intellectual advancement. They had begun to master fear and no longer sought religion as an antidote therefor, but they did not perceive that true religion is the cure for soul hunger, spiritual disquiet, and moral despair. They sought for the solace of the soul in deep thinking—philosophy and metaphysics. They turned from the contemplation of self-preservation—salvation—to self-realization and self-understanding.
Strogim razmišljanjem Grci su pokušali postići onu svijest sigurnosti koja bi poslužila kao zamjena za vjeru u opstanak, ali su u tome potpuno podbacili. Samo su inteligentniji među višim slojevima helenskih naroda mogli shvatiti ovo novo učenje; obični ljudi, potomci robova ranijih naraštaja, nisu imali sposobnost prihvatiti ovu novu zamjenu za religiju.
98:2.3 (1078.7)
By rigorous thought the Greeks attempted to attain that consciousness of security which would serve as a substitute for the belief in survival, but they utterly failed. Only the more intelligent among the higher classes of the Hellenic peoples could grasp this new teaching; the rank and file of the progeny of the slaves of former generations had no capacity for the reception of this new substitute for religion.
Filozofi su prezirali sve oblike bogoslužja, premda su gotovo svi zadržali određenu pozadinsku vjeru u salemsku doktrinu o „Inteligenciji svemira,” „ideji Boga” i „Velikom Izvoru svega.” U mjeri u kojoj su grčki filozofi priznavali božansko i nadkonačno, bili su otvoreno monoteistički; pridavali su vrlo malo značaja čitavoj skupini olimpskih bogova i božica.
98:2.4 (1079.1)
The philosophers disdained all forms of worship, notwithstanding that they practically all held loosely to the background of a belief in the Salem doctrine of “the Intelligence of the universe,” “the idea of God,” and “the Great Source.” In so far as the Greek philosophers gave recognition to the divine and the superfinite, they were frankly monotheistic; they gave scant recognition to the whole galaxy of Olympian gods and goddesses.
Ksenofan je naučavao jednoga Boga, ali je njegov pojam Božanstva bio previše panteistički da bi bio osobni Otac smrtnom čovjeku. Anaksagora je bio mehanicist, premda je priznavao Prvi Uzrok, Početni Um. Sokrat i njegovi nasljednici, Platon i Aristotel, naučavali su da je vrlina znanje; dobrota zdravlje duše; da je bolje trpjeti nepravdu nego je činiti, da je pogrešno uzvratiti zlo za zlo i da su bogovi mudri i dobri. Njihove temeljne vrline bile su: mudrost, hrabrost, umjerenost i pravednost.
98:2.6 (1079.3)
Xenophanes taught one God, but his deity concept was too pantheistic to be a personal Father to mortal man. Anaxagoras was a mechanist except that he did recognize a First Cause, an Initial Mind. Socrates and his successors, Plato and Aristotle, taught that virtue is knowledge; goodness, health of the soul; that it is better to suffer injustice than to be guilty of it, that it is wrong to return evil for evil, and that the gods are wise and good. Their cardinal virtues were: wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice.
Razvoj religijske filozofije među helenskim i hebrejskim narodima pruža upečatljiv primjer uloge crkve kao institucije u oblikovanju kulturnog napretka. U Palestini je ljudska misao bila toliko pod nadzorom svećenstva i usmjerena svetim spisima, da su filozofija i estetika bile gotovo potpuno podređene religiji i moralu. U Grčkoj je gotovo potpuni izostanak svećenstva i „svetih spisa” ostavio ljudski um slobodnim i nesputanim, što je dovelo do izvanrednog razvoja dubine mišljenja. Ali religija kao osobno iskustvo nije uspjela držati korak s intelektualnim istraživanjima prirode i stvarnosti svemira.
98:2.7 (1079.4)
The evolution of religious philosophy among the Hellenic and Hebrew peoples affords a contrastive illustration of the function of the church as an institution in the shaping of cultural progress. In Palestine, human thought was so priest-controlled and scripture-directed that philosophy and aesthetics were entirely submerged in religion and morality. In Greece, the almost complete absence of priests and “sacred scriptures” left the human mind free and unfettered, resulting in a startling development in depth of thought. But religion as a personal experience failed to keep pace with the intellectual probings into the nature and reality of the cosmos.
98:2.9 (1079.6)
In Palestine, religious dogma became so crystallized as to jeopardize further growth; in Greece, human thought became so abstract that the concept of God resolved itself into a misty vapor of pantheistic speculation not at all unlike the impersonal Infinity of the Brahman philosophers.
Ali prosječni ljudi toga doba nisu mogli shvatiti, niti su bili osobito zainteresirani za grčku filozofiju samoostvarenja i apstraktno Božanstvo; više su čeznuli za obećanjima spasenja, zajedno s osobnim Bogom koji može čuti njihove molitve. Protjerali su filozofe, progonili ostatke salemskog kulta — ta dva učenja već su bila znatno isprepletna — i pripremili se za strašan, orgijastički zaron u ludosti misterijskih kultova koji su se tada širili sredozemnim zemljama. Eleuzinske misterije razvile su se unutar olimpskog panteona, kao grčka verzija kulta plodnosti; dionizijsko štovanje prirode bujalo je; a najbolji među kultovima bilo je Orfičko bratstvo, čije su moralne propovijedi i obećanja spasenja ostavili snažan dojam na mnoge ljude.
98:2.10 (1079.7)
But the average men of these times could not grasp, nor were they much interested in, the Greek philosophy of self-realization and an abstract Deity; they rather craved promises of salvation, coupled with a personal God who could hear their prayers. They exiled the philosophers, persecuted the remnants of the Salem cult, both doctrines having become much blended, and made ready for that terrible orgiastic plunge into the follies of the mystery cults which were then overspreading the Mediterranean lands. The Eleusinian mysteries grew up within the Olympian pantheon, a Greek version of the worship of fertility; Dionysus nature worship flourished; the best of the cults was the Orphic brotherhood, whose moral preachments and promises of salvation made a great appeal to many.
Cijela je Grčka bila zahvaćena tim novim načinima postizanja spasenja, tim emocionalnim i vatrenim obredima. Nijedan narod nikada nije u tako kratkom vremenu dosegnuo takve visine umjetničke filozofije; nijedan nije stvorio tako napredan sustav etike, praktično bez Božanstva i posve lišen obećanja ljudskog spasenja; a nijedan narod nije tako brzo, tako duboko i tako silovito potonuo u takve dubine intelektualne stagnacije, moralne izopačenosti i duhovnog siromaštva kao ti isti grčki narodi kada su se bacili u bezumni vrtlog misterijskih kultova.
98:2.11 (1080.1)
All Greece became involved in these new methods of attaining salvation, these emotional and fiery ceremonials. No nation ever attained such heights of artistic philosophy in so short a time; none ever created such an advanced system of ethics practically without Deity and entirely devoid of the promise of human salvation; no nation ever plunged so quickly, deeply, and violently into such depths of intellectual stagnation, moral depravity, and spiritual poverty as these same Greek peoples when they flung themselves into the mad whirl of the mystery cults.
Religije su dugo opstajale bez filozofske potpore, ali je malo koja filozofija, kao takva, dugo trajala bez određenog povezivanja s religijom. Filozofija je religiji ono što je pojam djelovanju. Ali idealno stanje ljudskog postojanja jest ono u kojem su filozofija, religija i znanost sjedinjene u smislenu cjelinu zajedničkim djelovanjem mudrosti, vjere i iskustva.
98:2.12 (1080.2)
Religions have long endured without philosophical support, but few philosophies, as such, have long persisted without some identification with religion. Philosophy is to religion as conception is to action. But the ideal human estate is that in which philosophy, religion, and science are welded into a meaningful unity by the conjoined action of wisdom, faith, and experience.
98:3.1 (1080.3)
Having grown out of the earlier religious forms of worship of the family gods into the tribal reverence for Mars, the god of war, it was natural that the later religion of the Latins was more of a political observance than were the intellectual systems of the Greeks and Brahmans or the more spiritual religions of several other peoples.
Tijekom velikog monoteističkog preporoda Melkizedekova evanđelja u šestom stoljeću prije Krista, premalo je salemskih misionara prodrlo u Italiju, a oni koji jesu nisu uspjeli nadvladati utjecaj brzo širećeg etruščanskog svećenstva s njegovim novim mnoštvom bogova i hramova, od kojih su svi bili organizirani u rimsku državnu religiju. Ova religija latinskih plemena nije bila trivijalna i pokvarena kao religija Grka, niti stroga i tiranska kao religija Hebreja; ponajviše se svodila na prakticiranje pukih oblika, zavjeta i tabua.
98:3.2 (1080.4)
In the great monotheistic renaissance of Melchizedek’s gospel during the sixth century before Christ, too few of the Salem missionaries penetrated Italy, and those who did were unable to overcome the influence of the rapidly spreading Etruscan priesthood with its new galaxy of gods and temples, all of which became organized into the Roman state religion. This religion of the Latin tribes was not trivial and venal like that of the Greeks, neither was it austere and tyrannical like that of the Hebrews; it consisted for the most part in the observance of mere forms, vows, and taboos.
Rimska religija bila je uvelike pod utjecajem opsežnih kulturnih preuzimanja iz Grčke. Na kraju je većina olimpskih bogova bila prenesena i uključena u latinski panteon. Grci su odavno štovali vatru obiteljskog ognjišta — Hestija je bila djevičanska božica ognjišta; Vesta je bila rimska božica doma. Zeus je postao Jupiter; Afrodita je postala Venera; i tako redom kroz mnoga olimpska božanstva.
98:3.3 (1080.5)
Roman religion was greatly influenced by extensive cultural importations from Greece. Eventually most of the Olympian gods were transplanted and incorporated into the Latin pantheon. The Greeks long worshiped the fire of the family hearth—Hestia was the virgin goddess of the hearth; Vesta was the Roman goddess of the home. Zeus became Jupiter; Aphrodite, Venus; and so on down through the many Olympian deities.
Religijska inicijacija rimskih mladića bila je prigoda njihove svečane posvete službi države. Zakletve i primanja u građanstvo bili su u stvarnosti religijski obredi. Latinski su narodi održavali hramove, žrtvenike i svetišta i, u vrijeme krize, savjetovali bi se s proročištima. Čuvali su kosti junaka, a kasnije i kosti kršćanskih svetaca.
98:3.4 (1080.6)
The religious initiation of Roman youths was the occasion of their solemn consecration to the service of the state. Oaths and admissions to citizenship were in reality religious ceremonies. The Latin peoples maintained temples, altars, and shrines and, in a crisis, would consult the oracles. They preserved the bones of heroes and later on those of the Christian saints.
Ovaj formalni i neemocionalni oblik pseudoreligijskog patriotizma bio je osuđen na slom, baš kao što je visoko intelektualno i umjetničko štovanje Grka palo pred žarkim i duboko emocionalnim štovanjem misterijskih kultova. Najveći od tih razarajućih kultova bila je misterijska religija sekte Majke Boga, koja je u ono vrijeme imala svoje sjedište na samom mjestu današnje crkve svetog Petra u Rimu.
98:3.5 (1080.7)
This formal and unemotional form of pseudoreligious patriotism was doomed to collapse, even as the highly intellectual and artistic worship of the Greeks had gone down before the fervid and deeply emotional worship of the mystery cults. The greatest of these devastating cults was the mystery religion of the Mother of God sect, which had its headquarters, in those days, on the exact site of the present church of St. Peter’s in Rome.
Rastuća rimska država politički je osvajala, ali je zauzvrat bila osvojena kultovima, obredima, misterijima i pojmovima bogova iz Egipta, Grčke i Levanta. Ti uvezeni kultovi nastavili su cvjetati diljem rimske države sve do vremena Augusta, koji je, isključivo iz političkih i građanskih razloga, poduzeo herojski i donekle uspješan pokušaj da uništi misterije i oživi stariju političku religiju.
98:3.6 (1080.8)
The emerging Roman state conquered politically but was in turn conquered by the cults, rituals, mysteries, and god concepts of Egypt, Greece, and the Levant. These imported cults continued to flourish throughout the Roman state up to the time of Augustus, who, purely for political and civic reasons, made a heroic and somewhat successful effort to destroy the mysteries and revive the older political religion.
Jedan od svećenika državne religije ispričao je Augustu o ranijim pokušajima salemskih učitelja da prošire učenje o jednom Bogu, najvišem Božanstvu koje predsjedava nad svim nadnaravnim bićima; i ta je ideja tako snažno dojmila cara da je sagradio mnoge hramove, bogato ih opremio lijepim likovima, reorganizirao državno svećenstvo, ponovno uspostavio državnu religiju, imenovao sebe vrhovnim svećenikom nad svima i, kao car, nije oklijevao proglasiti sebe vrhovnim bogom.
98:3.7 (1081.1)
One of the priests of the state religion told Augustus of the earlier attempts of the Salem teachers to spread the doctrine of one God, a final Deity presiding over all supernatural beings; and this idea took such a firm hold on the emperor that he built many temples, stocked them well with beautiful images, reorganized the state priesthood, re-established the state religion, appointed himself acting high priest of all, and as emperor did not hesitate to proclaim himself the supreme god.
Ova nova religija štovanja Augusta cvjetala je i bila prakticirana diljem carstva tijekom njegova života, osim u Palestini, domovini Židova. A ovo razdoblje ljudskih bogova potrajalo je sve dok službeni rimski kult nije imao popis s više od četrdeset samouzvišenih ljudskih božanstava, koja su sva tvrdila da imaju čudesno rođenje i druga nadljudska obilježja.
98:3.8 (1081.2)
This new religion of Augustus worship flourished and was observed throughout the empire during his lifetime except in Palestine, the home of the Jews. And this era of the human gods continued until the official Roman cult had a roster of more than twoscore self-elevated human deities, all claiming miraculous births and other superhuman attributes.
Posljednji otpor sve manjeg broja vjernika Salema pružila je iskrena skupina propovjednika, cinika, koji su pozivali Rimljane da napuste svoje divlje i besmislene religijske obrede i vrate se obliku štovanja koji je utjelovljivao Melkizedekovo evanđelje, onako kako je bilo izmijenjeno i onečišćeno dodirom s grčkom filozofijom. Ali većina ljudi odbacila je cinike; radije su se prepustili obredima misterija, koji su ne samo nudili nade u osobno spasenje nego su također zadovoljavali želju za razonodom, uzbuđenjem i zabavom.
98:3.9 (1081.3)
The last stand of the dwindling band of Salem believers was made by an earnest group of preachers, the Cynics, who exhorted the Romans to abandon their wild and senseless religious rituals and return to a form of worship embodying Melchizedek’s gospel as it had been modified and contaminated through contact with the philosophy of the Greeks. But the people at large rejected the Cynics; they preferred to plunge into the rituals of the mysteries, which not only offered hopes of personal salvation but also gratified the desire for diversion, excitement, and entertainment.
Većina ljudi u grčko-rimskom svijetu, izgubivši svoje izvorne obiteljske i državne religije i ne mogavši ili ne želeći shvatiti značenje grčke filozofije, usmjerila je svoju pozornost na spektakularne i emocionalne misterijske kultove iz Egipta i Levanta. Obični su ljudi žudjeli za obećanjima spasenja — religijskom utjehom za sadašnjost i jamstvima nade u besmrtnost nakon smrti.
98:4.1 (1081.4)
The majority of people in the Greco-Roman world, having lost their primitive family and state religions and being unable or unwilling to grasp the meaning of Greek philosophy, turned their attention to the spectacular and emotional mystery cults from Egypt and the Levant. The common people craved promises of salvation—religious consolation for today and assurances of hope for immortality after death.
Frigijski i egipatski misteriji učili su da je božanski sin (Atis, odnosno Oziris) iskusio smrt i bio uskrišen božanskom moći, te nadalje da će svi koji budu pravilno inicirani u misterij i koji s poštovanjem budu slavili obljetnicu božje smrti i uskrsnuća time postati dionici njegove božanske prirode i njegove besmrtnosti.
98:4.6 (1081.9)
The Phrygian and Egyptian mysteries taught that the divine son (respectively Attis and Osiris) had experienced death and had been resurrected by divine power, and further that all who were properly initiated into the mystery, and who reverently celebrated the anniversary of the god’s death and resurrection, would thereby become partakers of his divine nature and his immortality.
Frigijske ceremonije bile su impozantne, ali degradirajuće; njihovi krvavi festivali pokazuju koliko su ti levantinski misteriji postali izopačeni i primitivni. Najsvetiji dan bio je Crni petak, „dan krvi“, koji je obilježavao samonanesenu smrt Atisa. Nakon tri dana slavljenja njegove žrtve i smrti, svetkovina bi se preobrazila u radost u čast njegova uskrsnuća.
98:4.7 (1081.10)
The Phrygian ceremonies were imposing but degrading; their bloody festivals indicate how degraded and primitive these Levantine mysteries became. The most holy day was Black Friday, the “day of blood,” commemorating the self-inflicted death of Attis. After three days of the celebration of the sacrifice and death of Attis the festival was turned to joy in honor of his resurrection.
Obredi štovanja Izide i Ozirisa bili su profinjeniji i dojmljiviji od frigijskih. Taj egipatski ritual bio je izgrađen oko legende o drevnom bogu Nila, bogu koji je umro i bio uskrišen; taj je pojam proizašao iz opažanja godišnjeg prestanka rasta vegetacije, nakon čega je slijedila proljetna obnova svih živih biljaka. Zanos u prakticiranju tih misterijskih kultova i orgije njihovih ceremonijala, koji su navodno trebali dovesti do „ushita“ spoznaje božanstvenosti, ponekad su bili krajnje odbojni.
98:4.8 (1082.1)
The rituals of the worship of Isis and Osiris were more refined and impressive than were those of the Phrygian cult. This Egyptian ritual was built around the legend of the Nile god of old, a god who died and was resurrected, which concept was derived from the observation of the annually recurring stoppage of vegetation growth followed by the springtime restoration of all living plants. The frenzy of the observance of these mystery cults and the orgies of their ceremonials, which were supposed to lead up to the “enthusiasm” of the realization of divinity, were sometimes most revolting.
Frigijski i egipatski misteriji naposljetku su ustupili mjesto najvećem od svih misterijskih kultova, štovanju Mitre. Mitraički kult privlačio je širok raspon ljudske naravi i postupno je potisnuo oba svoja prethodnika. Mitraizam se proširio Rimskim Carstvom putem rimske vojske regrutirane u Levantu, gdje je ova religija bila osobito raširena, jer su vojnici nosili to vjerovanje kamo god su išli. Ovaj novi religijski ritual bio je veliki korak naprijed u odnosu na ranije misterijske kultove.
98:5.1 (1082.2)
The Phrygian and Egyptian mysteries eventually gave way before the greatest of all the mystery cults, the worship of Mithras. The Mithraic cult made its appeal to a wide range of human nature and gradually supplanted both of its predecessors. Mithraism spread over the Roman Empire through the propagandizing of Roman legions recruited in the Levant, where this religion was the vogue, for they carried this belief wherever they went. And this new religious ritual was a great improvement over the earlier mystery cults.
Kult Mitre nastao je u Iranu i dugo se održao u svojoj domovini unatoč borbenom protivljenju Zoroastrovih sljedbenika. Ali do vremena kada je mitraizam stigao u Rim, bio je znatno unaprijeđen usvajanjem mnogih Zoroastrovih učenja. Upravo je putem mitraičkog kulta Zoroastrova religija izvršila utjecaj na kasnije nastalo kršćanstvo.
98:5.2 (1082.3)
The cult of Mithras arose in Iran and long persisted in its homeland despite the militant opposition of the followers of Zoroaster. But by the time Mithraism reached Rome, it had become greatly improved by the absorption of many of Zoroaster’s teachings. It was chiefly through the Mithraic cult that Zoroaster’s religion exerted an influence upon later appearing Christianity.
Mitraički kult prikazivao je ratobornog boga koji potječe iz velike stijene, koji se upušta u hrabre pothvate i uzrokuje da voda izbije iz stijene pogođene njegovim strijelama. Postojao je i potop iz kojega je jedan čovjek pobjegao u posebno izgrađenom čamcu te posljednja večera koju je Mitra podijelio s bogom sunca prije nego što je uzašao na nebesa. Taj bog sunca, ili Sol Invictus, bio je izobličena verzija pojma božanstva Ahura Mazde iz zoroastrizma. Mitra je bio shvaćen kao preživjeli prvak boga sunca u njegovoj borbi s bogom tame. Kao priznanje za njegovo usmrćenje mitskog svetog bika, Mitra je postao besmrtan, uzdignut na položaj posrednika za ljudski rod među bogovima na visini.
98:5.3 (1082.4)
The Mithraic cult portrayed a militant god taking origin in a great rock, engaging in valiant exploits, and causing water to gush forth from a rock struck with his arrows. There was a flood from which one man escaped in a specially built boat and a last supper which Mithras celebrated with the sun-god before he ascended into the heavens. This sun-god, or Sol Invictus, was a degeneration of the Ahura-Mazda deity concept of Zoroastrianism. Mithras was conceived as the surviving champion of the sun-god in his struggle with the god of darkness. And in recognition of his slaying the mythical sacred bull, Mithras was made immortal, being exalted to the station of intercessor for the human race among the gods on high.
Sljedbenici ovog kulta štovali su u špiljama i drugim tajnim mjestima, pjevajući himne, mrmljajući čarolije, jedući meso žrtvenih životinja i pijući krv. Štovali su tri puta dnevno, s posebnim tjednim obredima na dan boga sunca i s najsvečanijim slavljenjem od svih na godišnjem festivalu Mitre, dvadeset petog prosinca. Vjerovalo se da sudjelovanje u sakramentu osigurava vječni život i neposredni prijelaz, nakon smrti, u Mitrino okrilje, gdje se boravi u blaženstvu sve do dana suda. Na dan suda mitraički ključevi neba otvorili bi vrata Raja kako bi primili vjerne; nakon toga svi nekršteni, živi i mrtvi, bili bi uništeni pri Mitrinu povratku na zemlju. Učilo se da, kada čovjek umre, izlazi pred Mitru na sud, te da će na kraju svijeta Mitra pozvati sve mrtve iz njihovih grobova da se suoče s posljednjim sudom. Zli će biti uništeni vatrom, a pravedni će vladati s Mitrom zauvijek.
98:5.4 (1082.5)
The adherents of this cult worshiped in caves and other secret places, chanting hymns, mumbling magic, eating the flesh of the sacrificial animals, and drinking the blood. Three times a day they worshiped, with special weekly ceremonials on the day of the sun-god and with the most elaborate observance of all on the annual festival of Mithras, December twenty-fifth. It was believed that the partaking of the sacrament ensured eternal life, the immediate passing, after death, to the bosom of Mithras, there to tarry in bliss until the judgment day. On the judgment day the Mithraic keys of heaven would unlock the gates of Paradise for the reception of the faithful; whereupon all the unbaptized of the living and the dead would be annihilated upon the return of Mithras to earth. It was taught that, when a man died, he went before Mithras for judgment, and that at the end of the world Mithras would summon all the dead from their graves to face the last judgment. The wicked would be destroyed by fire, and the righteous would reign with Mithras forever.
U početku je to bila religija samo za muškarce, i postojalo je sedam različitih stupnjeva u koje su vjernici mogli biti postupno inicirani. Kasnije su supruge i kćeri vjernika bile primljene u hramove Velike Majke, koji su se nalazili uz mitraičke hramove. Kult žena bio je mješavina mitraičkog rituala i ceremonija frigijskog kulta Kibele, majke Atisa.
98:5.5 (1082.6)
At first it was a religion only for men, and there were seven different orders into which believers could be successively initiated. Later on, the wives and daughters of believers were admitted to the temples of the Great Mother, which adjoined the Mithraic temples. The women’s cult was a mixture of Mithraic ritual and the ceremonies of the Phrygian cult of Cybele, the mother of Attis.
Prije dolaska misterijskih kultova i kršćanstva, osobna religija jedva se razvila kao neovisna ustanova u civiliziranim zemljama sjeverne Afrike i Europe; bila je više obiteljska, gradsko-državna, politička i carska pojava. Helenski Grci nikada nisu razvili centralizirani sustav štovanja; obredi su bili lokalni; nisu imali svećenstvo ni „svetu knjigu“. Kao i Rimljani, njihove religijske ustanove nisu imale snažnu pokretačku silu za očuvanje viših moralnih i duhovnih vrijednosti. Iako je istina da je institucionalizacija religije obično umanjivala njezinu duhovnu kvalitetu, također je činjenica da nijedna religija dosad nije uspjela opstati bez pomoći institucionalne organizacije, u većoj ili manjoj mjeri.
98:6.1 (1083.1)
Prior to the coming of the mystery cults and Christianity, personal religion hardly developed as an independent institution in the civilized lands of North Africa and Europe; it was more of a family, city-state, political, and imperial affair. The Hellenic Greeks never evolved a centralized worship system; the ritual was local; they had no priesthood and no “sacred book.” Much as the Romans, their religious institutions lacked a powerful driving agency for the preservation of higher moral and spiritual values. While it is true that the institutionalization of religion has usually detracted from its spiritual quality, it is also a fact that no religion has thus far succeeded in surviving without the aid of institutional organization of some degree, greater or lesser.
Tijekom trećeg stoljeća nakon Krista, mitraičke i kršćanske crkve bile su vrlo slične, kako po izgledu tako i po naravi svojih obreda. Većina takvih mjesta štovanja nalazila se pod zemljom, a obje su imale žrtvenike čija su pročelja na različite načine prikazivala patnje spasitelja koji je donio spasenje ljudskom rodu koji je bio proklet grijehom.
98:6.3 (1083.3)
During the third century after Christ, Mithraic and Christian churches were very similar both in appearance and in the character of their ritual. A majority of such places of worship were underground, and both contained altars whose backgrounds variously depicted the sufferings of the savior who had brought salvation to a sin-cursed human race.
Mitraički su štovatelji uvijek imali običaj, pri ulasku u hram, umočiti prste u svetu vodu. Budući da je u nekim područjima bilo onih koji su u jednom razdoblju pripadali objema religijama, oni su uveli ovaj običaj u većinu kršćanskih crkava u blizini Rima. Obje su religije koristile krštenje i sudjelovale u sakramentu kruha i vina. Jedina velika razlika između mitraizma i kršćanstva, osim u osobama Mitre i Isusa, bila je ta što je jedan poticao militarizam, dok je drugi bio krajnje miroljubiv. Tolerancija mitraizma prema drugim religijama (osim kasnije prema kršćanstvu) dovela je do njegova konačnog sloma. Ali presudan čimbenik u borbi između ove dvije religije bio je prijem žena u puno zajedništvo kršćanske vjere.
98:6.4 (1083.4)
Always had it been the practice of Mithraic worshipers, on entering the temple, to dip their fingers in holy water. And since in some districts there were those who at one time belonged to both religions, they introduced this custom into the majority of the Christian churches in the vicinity of Rome. Both religions employed baptism and partook of the sacrament of bread and wine. The one great difference between Mithraism and Christianity, aside from the characters of Mithras and Jesus, was that the one encouraged militarism while the other was ultrapacific. Mithraism’s tolerance for other religions (except later Christianity) led to its final undoing. But the deciding factor in the struggle between the two was the admission of women into the full fellowship of the Christian faith.
Sin Stvoritelj nije se utjelovio u smrtnom obličju i darovao sebe čovječanstvu Urantije kako bi pomirio gnjevnog Boga, nego kako bi cijelo čovječanstvo priveo priznanju Očeve ljubavi i ostvarenju spoznaje u čovjekovu iskustvu da je sin Boga. Uostalom, čak je i veliki zagovornik nauka o pomirenju shvatio nešto od ove istine, jer je izjavio da je „Bog bio u Kristu pomirujući svijet sa sobom.“
98:7.1 (1083.6)
A Creator Son did not incarnate in the likeness of mortal flesh and bestow himself upon the humanity of Urantia to reconcile an angry God but rather to win all mankind to the recognition of the Father’s love and to the realization of their sonship with God. After all, even the great advocate of the atonement doctrine realized something of this truth, for he declared that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.”
Nije svrha ovog poglavlja baviti se porijeklom i širenjem kršćanske religije. Dovoljno je reći da je ona izgrađena oko osobe Isusa iz Nazareta, ljudski utjelovljenog Mihaela, Sina Stvoritelja Nebadona, poznatog na Urantiji kao Krist, Pomazanik. Kršćanstvo su proširili diljem Levanta i Zapada sljedbenici ovog Galilejca, a njihov misionarski žar bio je jednak žaru njihovih slavnih prethodnika, Setita i Salemita, kao i njihovih revnih azijskih suvremenika, budističkih učitelja.
98:7.2 (1083.7)
It is not the province of this paper to deal with the origin and dissemination of the Christian religion. Suffice it to say that it is built around the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the humanly incarnate Michael Son of Nebadon, known to Urantia as the Christ, the anointed one. Christianity was spread throughout the Levant and Occident by the followers of this Galilean, and their missionary zeal equaled that of their illustrious predecessors, the Sethites and Salemites, as well as that of their earnest Asiatic contemporaries, the Buddhist teachers.
3. Zoroastrovskog shvaćanja borbe između kozmičkog dobra i zla, koje je već ostavilo svoj trag i na judaizmu i na mitraizmu. Kroz dugotrajan dodir povezan s borbama između mitraizma i kršćanstva, učenja iranskog proroka postala su snažan čimbenik u oblikovanju teološkog i filozofskog karaktera i strukture dogmi, načela i kozmologije heleniziranih i latiniziranih verzija Isusovih učenja.
98:7.6 (1084.4)
3. The Zoroastrian conception of the struggle between cosmic good and evil, which had already left its imprint on both Judaism and Mithraism. Through prolonged contact attendant upon the struggles between Mithraism and Christianity, the doctrines of the Iranian prophet became a potent factor in determining the theologic and philosophic cast and structure of the dogmas, tenets, and cosmology of the Hellenized and Latinized versions of the teachings of Jesus.
4. Misterijskih kultova, osobito mitraizma, ali i štovanja Velike Majke u frigijskom kultu. Čak su i legende o Isusovu rođenju na Urantiji bile obojene rimskom verzijom čudesnog rođenja iranskog spasitelja-junaka, Mitre, čiji su dolazak na zemlju navodno posvjedočili samo nekolicina pastira koji su donijeli darove, a koje su anđeli obavijestili o tom predstojećem događaju.
98:7.7 (1084.5)
4. The mystery cults, especially Mithraism but also the worship of the Great Mother in the Phrygian cult. Even the legends of the birth of Jesus on Urantia became tainted with the Roman version of the miraculous birth of the Iranian savior-hero, Mithras, whose advent on earth was supposed to have been witnessed by only a handful of gift-bearing shepherds who had been informed of this impending event by angels.
6. Osobnog gledišta Pavla iz Tarza. I treba zabilježiti da je mitraizam bio dominantna religija u Tarzu tijekom njegove mladosti. Pavao je jedva mogao i zamisliti da će njegova dobronamjerna pisma njegovim obraćenicima jednoga dana kasniji kršćani smatrati „riječju Božjom“. Takve dobronamjerne učitelje ne treba smatrati odgovornima za način na koji su njihova pisanja kasnije koristili njihovi nasljednici.
98:7.9 (1084.7)
6. The personal viewpoint of Paul of Tarsus. And it should be recorded that Mithraism was the dominant religion of Tarsus during his adolescence. Paul little dreamed that his well-intentioned letters to his converts would someday be regarded by still later Christians as the “word of God.” Such well-meaning teachers must not be held accountable for the use made of their writings by later-day successors.
7. Filozofske misli helenističkih naroda, od Aleksandrije i Antiohije preko Grčke do Sirakuze i Rima. Filozofija Grka bila je više u skladu s Pavlovom verzijom kršćanstva nego s bilo kojim drugim tadašnjim religijskim sustavom i postala je važan čimbenik u uspjehu kršćanstva na Zapadu. Grčka filozofija, povezana s Pavlovom teologijom, još uvijek čini temelj europske etike.
98:7.10 (1084.8)
7. The philosophic thought of the Hellenistic peoples, from Alexandria and Antioch through Greece to Syracuse and Rome. The philosophy of the Greeks was more in harmony with Paul’s version of Christianity than with any other current religious system and became an important factor in the success of Christianity in the Occident. Greek philosophy, coupled with Paul’s theology, still forms the basis of European ethics.
Kako su izvorna Isusova učenja prodirala na Zapad, postajala su zapadnjačkija, a kako su postajala pozapadnjačena, počela su gubiti svoju potencijalno univerzalnu privlačnost za sve rase i vrste ljudi. Kršćanstvo je danas postalo religija dobro prilagođena društvenim, ekonomskim i političkim običajima bijelih rasa. Odavno je prestalo biti religija Isusa, premda još uvijek hrabro prikazuje lijepu religiju o Isusu onima koji iskreno nastoje slijediti put njegova učenja. Proslavilo je Isusa kao Krista, Mesijanskog Pomazanika od Boga, ali je uvelike zaboravilo Učiteljevo osobno evanđelje: ideju da je Bog Otac Svih i da su svi ljudi međusobno braća.
98:7.11 (1084.9)
As the original teachings of Jesus penetrated the Occident, they became Occidentalized, and as they became Occidentalized, they began to lose their potentially universal appeal to all races and kinds of men. Christianity, today, has become a religion well adapted to the social, economic, and political mores of the white races. It has long since ceased to be the religion of Jesus, although it still valiantly portrays a beautiful religion about Jesus to such individuals as sincerely seek to follow in the way of its teaching. It has glorified Jesus as the Christ, the Messianic anointed one from God, but has largely forgotten the Master’s personal gospel: the Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of all men.
I to je duga povijest učenja Makivente Melkizedeka na Urantiji. Prošlo je gotovo četiri tisuće godina otkako se ovaj izvanredni Sin Nebadona darovao Urantiji, i u tom su razdoblju učenja „svećenika El Eliona, Svevišnjeg Boga“ prodrla do svih rasa i naroda. Makiventa je uspio ostvariti svrhu svog neobičnog darovanja; kada se Mihael spremao pojaviti na Urantiji, pojam Boga već je postojao u srcima muškaraca i žena — isti onaj pojam Boga koji i danas iznova plamti u živom duhovnom iskustvu mnogostruke djece Oca Svih dok žive svoje fascinantne vremenske živote na vrtložnim planetima svemira nad svemirima.
98:7.12 (1085.1)
And this is the long story of the teachings of Machiventa Melchizedek on Urantia. It is nearly four thousand years since this emergency Son of Nebadon bestowed himself on Urantia, and in that time the teachings of the “priest of El Elyon, the Most High God,” have penetrated to all races and peoples. And Machiventa was successful in achieving the purpose of his unusual bestowal; when Michael made ready to appear on Urantia, the God concept was existent in the hearts of men and women, the same God concept that still flames anew in the living spiritual experience of the manifold children of the Universal Father as they live their intriguing temporal lives on the whirling planets of space.