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Much self questioning and introspection is required to develop the "inner being" - that part of us that co-operates with the Spirit (of God) as an intermediary between the "body" (which includes bodily appetites, emotions and thoughts) and the growing soul. But, having cleansed our "inner being," there are still traps that can paralyze further growth.
One of these is that of excessive feelings of guilt, remorse, etc., that may arise during the course of introspection on our failings. The crime here is not so much the sin itself but the time wasted in unnecessary self-flagellation. That is why we should concentrate on what is possible for us, rectify what we can, and rely on divine help to achieve the seemingly impossible.
A second problem that arises is that, having achieved a degree of growth of our inner being, many of us then expend our energies on instructing others on what they should be doing, and fail in the further development of our own souls. In The Urantia Book, Jesus tells us that we have to "be" before we can "do," for "doing" without "being" merely labels us as hypocrites.
A Christian religious leader interviewed by Professor Needleman defined a Christian as one who can love all men in accordance with the commandment to love our neighbor as Jesus loves us. To do this we have to love all men with both our mind (intellect) and our "essence" (heart or soul). If we can love them with our mind only, then we are "pre-Christian," and, if not even that, we are "non-Christian." Note that, according to this definition, we have to love all men, even our enemies and those who despitefully use us, to qualify either as pre-Christian or Christian. So unless we have overcome those things that come from the heart to defile us, we are not going to qualify, whereas many whom we might label as non-Christian, atheist, agnostic or heathen may do so.
What is meant by loving our neighbor?
Needleman says it is to assist the arising and unfolding in him of that which can harmonize the real elements of his nature. The Urantia Book says it is to want for him his utmost cosmic good. (1950) Perhaps these definitions are equivalent. Needleman says that we can love another only in accord with the degree that we have activated the soul within ourselves. Loving our neighbor takes far more than words, the teachings of concepts, or intellectual explanations. That kind of "education" may affect only the thinking faculty. To transmit the truth to our neighbor, we have to nurture the growth in him of his soul. Only our concerned love can nourish his soul.
Three kinds of love are defined:
Psychological love deals with the mind, the intellect. By itself, this kind of love can cause fragmentation.
Mystical love cares about inward-directed or internal aspects of human nature. It can communicate the ideal of inner perfection but has no practical means of leading our neighbor to its attainment.
Ontological love. The third kind of love is concerned with fostering the soul. Without this, neither psychological nor mystical love can lead human beings to the fulfillment of their real possibilities - that which The Urantia Book would term their utmost cosmic good.
It appears that the major limitation to achieving the love of all men that could qualify us as "real" Christians lies within ourselves. It is our lack of serious attention to those things that defile us - the evil thoughts, wicked projects of murder, theft, adulteries, jealousy, pride, anger, revenge, railings, and false witness that block communion and interaction with our Thought Adjusters and the Spirit of Truth.
According to Needleman, cleansing the inside so that the outside, too, may be clean requires that we renounce all other spiritual work in order to first concentrate wholly on this one thing, "guarding our hearts." This means introspection with the positive aim of finding ways to completely negate the pernicious effects of our animalistic emotions. When we do this, every other virtue will be more easily attained, finally permitting us to "be," and thus release our potential to "do."
Needleman has concluded that the progress of mankind will remain stagnated until a significant proportion of its people volunteer to really cleanse their innermost thoughts, thereby releasing the power of the Spirit into the world. The Urantia Book draws a similar conclusion!
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