LESSON 3: Man's Gift to the Father — Doing of the will of God
The upreach of man to God
Personal religion
Every different culture of humanity has its own unique religious perspective on human existence, and these religions can never come to intellectual unification. Human unity can only be achieved through the religion of the spirit. Human minds may differ, but all humanity is indwelt by the same spirit. The hope of human unity can only be realized when the divergent religions become transformed by the unifying and ennobling religion of the spirit — the religion of personal spiritual experience.
The religions of authority can only divide people and set them against each other; the religion of the spirit will progressively draw people together and cause them to become understandingly sympathetic with one another. The religions of authority require uniformity in belief, but this is impossible to realize in the present state of the world. The religion of the spirit requires only unity of experience — uniformity of destiny — making full allowance for diversity of belief. The religion of the spirit requires only uniformity of insight, not uniformity of viewpoint and outlook. The religions of authority crystallize their beliefs into lifeless creeds; the religion of the spirit grows into the increasing joy of loving service.
The philosophic elimination of religious fear and the steady progress of science add greatly to the end of false gods and to the eventual destruction of that ignorance and superstition which so long obscured the living Creator of eternal love. The relation between the creature and the Creator is a living experience, a dynamic religious faith, which is not subject to precise definition. To isolate part of life and call it religion is to disintegrate life and to distort religion. Religious convictions may be arrived at through wise reasoning, but the individual becomes certain only through personal experience.
Marks of religious living
- The religionist is conscious of universe citizenship and aware of contact with the supernatural. 100:6.3
- The most amazing earmarks of religion are dynamic peace and cosmic poise. 100:6.6
- Genuine religious experience is evidenced by twelve characteristics.
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- Causes ethics and morals to progress despite inherent animalistic tendencies.
- Produces sublime trust in the goodness of God in the face of bitter disappointment and crushing defeat.
- Generates profound courage and confidence despite natural adversity and physical calamity.
- Exhibits inexplicable poise and sustaining tranquility notwithstanding baffling diseases and acute physical suffering.
- Maintains a mysterious composure of personality in the face of maltreatment and the rankest injustice.
- Maintains a divine trust in ultimate victory in spite of the cruelties of seemingly blind fate and the apparent utter indifference of natural forces to human welfare.
- Persists in the unswerving belief in God despite all contrary demonstrations of logic and successfully withstands all other intellectual sophistries.
- Exhibits undaunted faith in the soul’s survival regardless of the deceptive teachings of false science and the persuasive delusions of unsound philosophy.
- Lives and triumphs irrespective of the crushing overload of the complex and partial civilizations of modern times.
- Contributes to the survival of altruism in spite of human selfishness, social antagonisms, industrial greeds, and political maladjustments.
- Steadfastly adheres to a sublime belief in universe unity and divine guidance regardless of the perplexing presence of evil and sin.
- Goes right on worshipping God in spite of anything and everything. Declares: “Even though he slay me, yet will I serve him.” 101:3.4
~ All references are from the Urantia Book.
