Jesus on Justice, Kindness, and the Family
Jesus had a firm sense of justice, but it was always tempered with mercy. He did not teach his apostles that they had to give money to social parasites or professional beggars. The nearest he came to making a sociological pronouncement was to say, Judge not, so that you will not be judged. Jesus was clear that indiscriminate kindness can be blamed for many social problems. The next day Jesus was firm when he told Judas that none of their money was to be given out as alms except on his request or on the joint petition of two of the apostles. In matters like this, Jesus always said, Be as wise as serpents, but as harmless as doves. In all situations, Jesus taught patience, tolerance, and forgiveness. The family was at the center of Jesus' philosophy of life, here and hereafter. He based his teachings about God on the family, while he sought to correct the Jewish tendency to over-honor their ancestors. He placed family life as the highest human duty, but he also made it plain that family must not interfere with religious obligations. Jesus pointed out that the family is a temporal institution that it does not survive death.
Excerpt from: Son of Man: Urantia, Chap. 19, pt. 2, The Ordination of the Twelve
Full episode here:
https://robertakezer.substack.com/p/chap-19-pt-2-the-ordination-of-the-6af
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
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Godspeed, everyone.
Bob
Final Version, "Son of Man: Urantia"
Growth of Character and Morality
Our personalities are pretty much set. What changes is our morality, our character. The primary mistake of today's religions is that they are focused on the negative side of life, telling people what not to do. But the tree that does not bear fruit gets cut down and used for firewood. We cannot help people grow in character just by telling them what not to do. Fear, shame, and guilt are not good motivations for living or for following God. Religion is of value only when it demonstrates the fatherhood of God and improves the brotherhood of humanity. Living well requires a combination of cosmic insight and adjusting one's reactions to their social and economic situation. While inherited urges cannot be changed, our responses to them can, and this effort of aligning our emotions with our beliefs in God is how we grow in character and develop a unified and integrated personality.
Excerpt from: Son of Man: Urantia, Chap. 19, pt. 1, The Ordination of the Twelve
Full episode here:
https://robertakezer.substack.com/p/chap-19-pt-2-the-ordination-of-the
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
Son of Man: Urantia—FREE—chapters and excerpts, text and video (English and Spanish)
https://robertakezer.substack.com
Son of Man: Urantia, Books: (English and Spanish)
https://www.lulu.com/search?page=1&sortBy=RELEVANCE&q=son+of+man%3A+urantia&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Son of Man: Urantia, PDF’s (English and Spanish) and merchandise
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Godspeed, everyone.
Bob
Final version, "Son of Man: Urantia"
Thomas: The Doubting Hero
Thomas is the heroic example of a person who has doubts, faces them, and wins. He was not a harping critic, and he had an impressive mind. Thomas was logical, and became the acid test for Jesus and his fellow apostles. If Jesus and his work had not been true, it would not have held Thomas from the start to the finish. He had a keen and sure sense of fact, and no tolerance for anything but fact. He would have walked away at the first sign of fraud. Know this. While today's scientists may not understand Jesus and his work on earth, there was a man who lived and worked with Jesus and the others who had the mind of a true scientist, Thomas Didymus, and he believed in Jesus of Nazareth. Thomas had a hard time during the days of the trial and crucifixion. For a while he despaired, but he rallied his courage, stuck to the apostles, and was with the rest of them to later welcome Jesus on the Sea of Galilee.
Excerpt from: Son of Man: Urantia, Chap. 18, pt. 2, The Twelve Apostles
Full episode here:
https://robertakezer.substack.com/p/chap-18-pt-2-the-twelve-apostles
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
Son of Man: Urantia—FREE—chapters and excerpts, text and video (English and Spanish)
https://robertakezer.substack.com
Son of Man: Urantia, Books: (English and Spanish)
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Son of Man: Urantia, PDF’s (English and Spanish) and merchandise
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Godspeed, everyone.
Bob
John the Apostle of Love
What John liked most about Jesus was his love and unselfishness. These traits made such an impression on John that the rest of his life was dominated by love and brotherly devotion. He talked about love and wrote about love. This son of thunder became the apostle of love. At Ephesus, when our aged bishop could no longer stand and preach and had to be carried to church in a chair, he would be asked to say a few words to the believers at the end of the service. And for years, the only thing he said was, My little children, love one another.
Excerpt from: Son of Man: Urantia, Chap. 18, pt. 1, The Twelve Apostles
Full episode here:
https://robertakezer.substack.com/p/chap-18-pt-1-the-twelve-apostles
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
Son of Man: Urantia—FREE—chapters and excerpts, text and video (English and Spanish)
https://robertakezer.substack.com
Son of Man: Urantia, Books: (English and Spanish)
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Son of Man: Urantia, PDF’s (English and Spanish) and merchandise
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Godspeed, everyone.
Bob
Jesus Defends His Fellowship with Sinners
When the Pharisees saw Jesus and the guests having such a good time, in their hearts they began to turn against Jesus. Eventually, one of them took Peter aside and chastised him, saying, How dare you to teach that this man is righteous when he eats with sinners and publicans and enjoys such scenes of careless pleasure? Peter then told Jesus what the Pharisee had said. Later, at the end of the evening, just before Jesus gave blessings to those at the party, he said, In coming here tonight to welcome Simon and Matthew to our fellowship, I am glad to witness your social good cheer and lightheartedness. but you should rejoice even more because many of you will find entrance into the coming kingdom of the spirit wherein you will abundantly enjoy the good things of the kingdom of heaven and to those of you who stand about criticizing me in your hearts because i have come here to enjoy myself with these friends Let me say that I have come to announce joy to the socially downtrodden and spiritual liberty to the moral captives. Do I have to remind you that it is not healthy people who need a doctor, but rather those who are sick? I have not come to call the righteous, but rather the sinners.
Excerpt from: Son of Man: Urantia, Chap. 17, Training the kingdom’s messengers.
Full episode here:
https://robertakezer.substack.com/p/chap-17-training-the-kingdoms-messengers
Son of Man: Urantia, is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the Urantia revelation and in accordance with its urging to do so for today’s generation.
Son of Man: Urantia—FREE—chapters and excerpts, text and video (English and Spanish)
https://robertakezer.substack.com
Son of Man: Urantia, Books: (English and Spanish)
https://www.lulu.com/search?page=1&sortBy=RELEVANCE&q=son+of+man%3A+urantia&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Son of Man: Urantia, PDF’s (English and Spanish) and merchandise
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Godspeed, everyone.
Bob
Final version, "Son of Man: Urantia"
Good morning from Ecuador...graveyard shift's on here, boss!
Re your question: First, yes...and it relates to the purpose of the SOM:U Project. In other words, how do "we" deal with Christianity? The farther I get into this work, and the more contacts I make with Christian leaders who are at least willing to look at the material the more I'm falling over to focusing my efforts on the moderates and backslidden of the faith...it's the largest group, they're frustrated, and they want to believe in something greater than themselves. The church, both the imposter in Rome and the general group of so called Christians, will have to fall on its own before these others can pick up the pieces and rebuild it along the lines of the original message.
This, IMO, is going to be a messy bloody process not for the weak of heart...
I wrote an essay on this recently...something about a call to agnostics...let me find it and post it here for your comments.
Also, let's not forget the atheists, most I'm finding who jump to the label because they need to take a stand somewhere and right now it's the only sane one out there...the blurb in A People's Manifesto is the closest I've gotten to expressing those ideas clearly.
Bob