Past Weekly Inspirational Quotes, Page 9

# 38 published Nov 08, 2003

2. RELIGION AND THE INDIVIDUAL

Religion is functional in the human mind and has been realized in experience prior to its appearance in human consciousness. [Yes, after my Spirit Birth Day in 1977-on, I later realized clearly that God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit were working upon/within me, back in 1951-1976, when I thought I was an "atheist" or "agnostic"; in Truth, God was even then leading me to really seek for Absolute Truth ! and Directly and Personally experienced ! Wonderful ! Thank You Our Living Father God !]
A child has been in existence about nine months before it experiences birth. [Yes ! The pro-Life Persons are Right in Spirit and in Truth ! -- a real, living child of God in the womb of it's mother; not a mere 'fetus-byproduct-blob' to be disposed in the garbage can ! Teach all that abortions are pre-meditated murders of God's living Children of infinite eternal worth !! Human Divine Dignity of all Persons must be taught; or more mis-guided Humans will consider shooting and bombing more 'mere targets'. Violent media must soon be outlawed with severe penalties for producing and distributing. Let us further Awaken and follow Jesus in this worldwide reformation into His Light and Life eternal here !]
But the "birth" of religion is not sudden; it is rather a gradual emergence. [to mind consciousness] Nevertheless, sooner or later there is a "birth day." [to, and in, your Spirit of God-led soul and mind] You do not enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless you have been "born again" -- born of the Spirit. Many spiritual births are accompanied by much anguish of spirit and marked psychological perturbations, as many physical births are characterized by a "stormy labor" and other abnormalities of "delivery." Other spiritual births are a natural and normal growth of the recognition of supreme values with an enhancement of spiritual experience, albeit no religious development occurs without conscious effort and positive and individual determinations. Religion is never a passive experience, a negative attitude. What is termed the "birth of religion" is not directly associated with so-called conversion experiences which usually characterize religious episodes occurring later in life as a result of mental conflict, emotional repression, and temperamental upheavals.

But those persons who were so reared by their parents that they grew up in the consciousness of being children of a loving heavenly Father, should not look askance at their fellow mortals who could only attain such consciousness of fellowship with God through a psychological crisis, an emotional upheaval.

The evolutionary soil in the mind of man in which the seed of revealed religion germinates is the moral nature that so early gives origin to a social consciousness. The first promptings of a child's moral nature have not to do with sex, guilt, or personal pride, but rather with impulses of justice, fairness, and urges to kindness -- helpful ministry to one's fellows. And when such early moral awakenings are nurtured, there occurs a gradual development of the religious life which is comparatively free from conflicts, upheavals, and crises.

Every human being very early experiences something of a conflict between his self-seeking and his altruistic impulses, and many times the first experience of God-consciousness may be attained as the result of seeking for superhuman help in the task of resolving such moral conflicts.

The psychology of a child is naturally positive, not negative. So many mortals are negative because they were so trained. When it is said that the child is positive, reference is made to his moral impulses, those powers of mind whose emergence signals the arrival of the Thought Adjuster. [the Pure Guiding Spirit of God in your mind and now Lighting your soul; destined to BE YOU when You are all Perfected in Eternity-Finality ! Yes ! God has become AS you are now; so that You may Become Perfect AS HE IS: I AM: Be You Perfect ... our loving Injunction-Command from/of God !]

In the absence of wrong teaching, the mind of the normal child moves positively, in the emergence of religious consciousness, toward moral righteousness and social ministry, rather than negatively, away from sin and guilt. There may or may not be conflict in the development of religious experience, but there are always present the inevitable decisions, effort, and function of the human will. [God's freewill Gift to you in His Personality Circuit !]

Moral choosing is usually accompanied by more or less moral conflict. And this very first conflict in the child mind is between the urges of egoism and the impulses of altruism. The Thought Adjuster does not disregard the personality values of the egoistic motive but does operate to place a slight preference upon the altruistic impulse as leading to the goal of human happiness and to the joys [even Jesus' Perfect Paradise Peace here and now !] of the Kingdom of Heaven.

When a moral being chooses to be unselfish when confronted by the urge to be selfish, that is primitive religious experience. No animal can make such a choice; such a decision is both human and religious. It embraces the fact of God-consciousness and exhibits the impulse of social service, the basis of the brotherhood of man. When mind chooses a right moral judgment by an act of the free will, such a decision constitutes a religious experience.

But before a child has developed sufficiently to acquire moral capacity [usually about age five years] and therefore to be able to choose altruistic service, he has already developed a strong and well-unified egoistic nature. And it is this factual situation that gives rise to the theory of the struggle between the "higher" and the "lower" natures, between the "old man of sin" and the "new nature" of grace. Very early in life the normal child begins to learn that it is "more blessed to give than to receive." [for normal children to develop; there must be one Godly Man and one Godly Woman as a good father and good mother to each child in the family-home; if you don't believe this, just read and see daily the dark social and immoral acts - "bad news in the media". Bad news? Tune in to Channel One: GOD and JESUS One in SPIRIT now upon us all !]

Man tends to identify the urge to be self-serving with his ego -- himself. In contrast he is inclined to identify the will to be altruistic with some influence outside himself -- God. And indeed is such a judgment right, for all such nonself desires do actually have their origin in the leadings of the indwelling Thought Adjuster, and this Adjuster is a fragment of God. The impulse of the spirit Monitor is realized in human consciousness as the urge to be altruistic, fellow-creature minded. At least this is the early and fundamental experience of the child mind. When the growing child fails of [normal] personality unification, [of spirit-soul-mind-body as one Divine-human entity - one GodMan Personality, as our Master Jesus IS:I AM; and I am a son of I AM; and so are You !] the altruistic drive may become so overdeveloped as to work serious injury to the welfare of the self. A misguided conscience can become responsible for much conflict, worry, sorrow, and no end of human unhappiness.

[These added comments in brackets are by Teacher-Brother Dave. I do personally answer all your sincere questions and comments by email, or in our public Forums, or in our private chat room.]

# 39 published Nov 15, 2003

3. RELIGION AND THE HUMAN RACE

While the belief in spirits, dreams, and diverse other superstitions all played a part in the evolutionary origin of primitive religions, you should not overlook the influence of the clan or tribal spirit of solidarity. In the group relationship there was presented the exact social situation which provided the challenge to the egoistic-altruistic conflict in the moral nature of the early human mind. In spite of their belief in spirits, primitive Australians still focus their religion upon the clan. In time, such religious concepts tend to personalize, first, as animals, and later, as a superman or as a God. Even such benighted races as the African Bushmen, who are not even totemic in their beliefs, do have a recognition of the difference between the self-interest and the group-interest, a primitive distinction between the values of the secular and the sacred. But the social group is NOT the source of religious experience. Regardless of the influence of all these primitive contributions to man's early religion, the fact remains that the true religious impulse has its origin in genuine spirit presences [of God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, and all as One in Jesus and the Holy Spirit Who are also One; this is mightily reinforced by the divine spirit of God within you] activating the will to be unselfish.

Later religion is foreshadowed in the primitive belief in natural wonders and mysteries, the impersonal mana. But sooner or later the evolving religion requires that the individual should make some personal sacrifice for the good of his social group, should do something to make other people happier and better. Ultimately, religion is destined to become the service of God and of man.

Religion is designed to change man's environment, but much of the religion found among mortals today has become helpless to do this. Environment has all too often mastered religion. [Many today still go to a church event to "pass the roast beef", and sing "Faith of Our Fathers" - sadly this is spiritual indolence; but this will not long persist here, in His Spirit of Truth !]

Remember that in the religion of all ages the experience which is paramount is the feeling regarding moral values and social meanings, not the thinking regarding theologic dogmas or philosophic theories. Religion evolves favorably as the element of magic is replaced by the concept of morals. [Are you now pro-Light and pro-Life ? I am. Supernal moral GOALS will unite diverse religious groups]

Man evolved through the superstitions of mana, magic, nature worship, spirit fear, and animal worship to the various ceremonials whereby the religious attitude of the individual became the group reactions of the clan. And then these ceremonies became focalized and crystallized into tribal beliefs, and eventually these fears and faiths became personalized into gods. But in all of this religious evolution the moral element was never wholly absent. The impulse of the God within man was always potent. And these powerful influences -- one human and the other divine -- insured the survival of religion throughout the vicissitudes of the ages and that notwithstanding it was so often threatened with extinction by a thousand subversive tendencies and hostile antagonisms. [Today, we have many hostilities to God and His Truth; but GOOD NEWS ! There are two Persons you can not run away from here: our loving and merciful Father GOD and your (higher) Self ! God will win out over all; in His Perfect Plan for all of us ! You Are/will Be in Him, serving all as our Master Jesus now does perfectly; or be not - be extinguished, forever !]

4. SPIRITUAL COMMUNION

The characteristic difference between a social occasion and a religious gathering is that in contrast with the secular the religious is pervaded by the atmosphere of communion. In this way human association generates a feeling of fellowship with the divine, and this is the beginning of group worship. Partaking of a common meal was the earliest type of social communion, and so did early religions provide that some portion of the ceremonial sacrifice should be eaten by the worshipers. Even in Christianity the Lord's Supper retains this mode of communion. The atmosphere of the communion provides a refreshing and comforting period of truce in the conflict of the self-seeking ego with the altruistic urge of the indwelling spirit Monitor. [God within you. Luke 17:21] And this is the prelude to true worship -- he practice of the Presence of GOD which eventuates in the emergence of the [worldwide, later Universe-wide,] Brotherhood of Man.

When primitive man felt that his communion with God had been interrupted, he resorted to sacrifice of some kind in an effort to make atonement, to restore friendly relationship. The hunger and thirst for righteousness leads to the discovery of truth, and truth augments ideals, and this creates new problems for the individual religionists, for our ideals tend to grow by geometrical progression, while our ability to live up to them is enhanced only by arithmetical progression. [Possibly, one reason for physical death is to permit a rapid augmention of spiritual, moral, intellectual potentials. We awaken in the next higher (1st) Heaven with all the spiritual fruits, wisdom, insights that we have developed here, but in a more enduring, more real, higher body-form of soul; and we each are still led by the same Spirits of God as down here, in this beginning, "kindergarten heaven", now at hand.]

The sense of guilt (not the consciousness of sin) comes either from interrupted spiritual communion or from the lowering of one's moral ideals. Deliverance from such a predicament can only come through the realization that one's highest moral ideals are not necessarily synonymous with the will of God. Man cannot hope to live up to his highest ideals, but he can be true to his purpose of finding God and becoming more and more like Him.

Jesus swept away all of the ceremonials of sacrifice and atonement. He destroyed the basis of all this fictitious guilt and sense of isolation in the universe by declaring that man is a child of God; the creature-Creator relationship was placed on a child-parent basis. God becomes a loving Father to his mortal sons and daughters. All ceremonials not a legitimate part of such an intimate Family relationship are forever abrogated. [Officially abolished by JESUS ! In Jesus' Good Spirit here, we Know that GOD is just as loving and merciful AS JESUS IS ! The barbaric atonement doctrines will, sooner or later, be voluntarily abolished by spiritually discerning, intelligent Humans. Yes, Jesus here is still shocking and challenging all false, rigid "church doctrines". Will they repent and try to catch up to Him ? Jesus now downgrasps seeking Individuals, not mere secular - "roast beef" - social groups. Catch up ? or pass the ketchup ? We will soon see.]

God the Father deals with man his child on the basis, not of actual virtue or worthiness, but in recognition of the child's motivation -- the creature purpose and intent. The relationship is one of parent-child association and is actuated by divine love. [Be now the Divinely Beloved Son of God in Jesus that you are !! Amen !]

[These added comments in brackets are by Teacher-Brother Dave. I do personally answer all your sincere questions and comments by email, or in our public Forums, or in our private chat room.]

# 40 published Nov 22, 2003

5. THE ORIGIN
OF IDEALS

The early evolutionary mind gives origin to a feeling of social duty and moral obligation derived chiefly from emotional fear. The more positive urge of social service and the idealism of altruism are derived from the direct impulse of the divine spirit Adjuster indwelling the human mind.

This idea-ideal of doing good to others -- the impulse to deny the ego something for the benefit of one's neighbor -- is very circumscribed at first. Primitive man regards as neighbor only those very close to him, those who treat him neighborly; as religious civilization advances, one's neighbor expands in concept to embrace the clan, the tribe, the nation. And then Jesus enlarged the neighbor scope to embrace the whole of humanity, even that we should love our enemies. And there is something inside of every normal human being that tells him this teaching is moral -- right. Even those who practice this ideal least, admit that it is right in theory.

All men recognize the morality of this universal human urge to be unselfish and altruistic. The humanist ascribes the origin of this urge to the natural working of the material mind; the religionist more correctly recognizes that the truly unselfish drive of mortal mind is in response to the inner spirit leadings of the Thought Adjuster.

But man's interpretation of these early conflicts between the ego-will and the other-than-self-will is not always dependable. Only a fairly well unified personality can arbitrate the multiform contentions of the ego cravings and the budding social consciousness. The self has rights as well as one's neighbors. Neither has exclusive claims upon the attention and service of the individual. Failure to resolve this problem gives origin to the earliest type of human guilt feelings.

Human happiness is achieved only when the ego desire of the self and the altruistic urge of the higher self (divine spirit) are co-ordinated and reconciled by the unified will of the integrating and supervising personality. [You!] The mind of evolutionary man is ever confronted with the intricate problem of refereeing the contest between the natural expansion of emotional impulses and the moral growth of unselfish urges predicated on spiritual insight -- genuine religious reflection.

The attempt to secure equal good for the self and for the greatest number of other selves presents a problem which cannot always be satisfactorily resolved in a time-space frame. Given an eternal life, such antagonisms can be worked out, but in one short human life they are incapable of solution. Jesus referred to such a paradox when he said: "Whosoever shall save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for the sake of the kingdom, shall find it."

The pursuit of the ideal--the striving to be Godlike--is a continuous effort before death and after. The life after death is no different in the essentials than the mortal existence. Everything we do in this life which is good contributes directly to the enhancement of the future life. Real religion does not foster moral indolence and spiritual laziness by encouraging the vain hope of having all the virtues of a noble character bestowed upon one as a result of passing through the portals of natural death. True religion does not belittle man's efforts to progress during the mortal lease on life. Every mortal gain is a direct contribution to the enrichment of the first stages of the immortal survival experience. [We awaken in the next higher Heaven with exactly the degree of spiritual fruits we manifested down here; and we each then begin the next higher step in our Final Destiny of God-knowing and spiritual perfection -- God-revealing.]

It is fatal to man's idealism when he is taught that all of his altruistic impulses are merely the development of his natural herd instincts. But he is ennobled and mightily energized when he learns that these higher urges of his soul emanate from the spiritual forces that indwell his mortal mind.

It lifts man out of himself and beyond himself when he once fully realizes that there lives and strives within him something which is eternal and divine. And so it is that a living faith in the superhuman origin of our ideals validates our belief that we are the sons of God and makes real our altruistic convictions, the feelings of the brotherhood of man.

Man, in his spiritual domain, does have a free will. Mortal man is neither a helpless slave of the inflexible sovereignty of an all-powerful God nor the victim of the hopeless fatality of a mechanistic cosmic determinism. Man is most truly the architect of his own eternal destiny.[by cooperating with the Holy Spirits of the Father and the Son; Jesus' Spirit of Truth will ever Guide you, if you actively and sincerely continue to choose God's Perfection Plan for your eternal destiny.]

But man is not saved or ennobled by pressure. Spirit growth springs from within the evolving soul. Pressure may deform the personality, but it never stimulates growth. Even educational pressure is only negatively helpful in that it may aid in the prevention of disastrous experiences. Spiritual growth is greatest where all external pressures are at a minimum. "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." [True spiritual liberty] Man develops best when the pressures of home, community, church, and state are least. But this must not be construed as meaning that there is no place in a progressive society for home, social institutions, church, and state.

When a member of a social religious group has complied with the requirements of such a group, he should be encouraged to enjoy religious liberty in the full expression of his own personal interpretation of the truths of religious belief and the facts of religious experience. The security of a religious group depends on spiritual unity, not on theological uniformity. A religious group should be able to enjoy the liberty of freethinking without having to become "freethinkers." There is great hope for any church [or any group of personal religionists] that worships the living God, validates the brotherhood of all mankind, and dares to remove all creedal pressure from its members.

[These added comments in brackets are by Teacher-Brother Dave. I do personally answer all your sincere questions and comments by email, or in our public Forums, or in our private chat room.]