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worship him with such intensity.
There are many Christians who love Jesus simply because of his goodness. For those fortunate enough to have such a relationship prior to reading The Urantia Book, and who are not limited by conservative theology, no doubt the picture of Jesus in the book simply deepens the love and respect these folks already feel for him. But what of someone who knows very little of Jesus or has a negative impression of him because of negative experiences with Christianity? It may be difficult for these folks to move into a positive relationship with the Jesus of The Urantia Book.
A problem some of us have with the name "Jesus" is all of the Christian baggage that comes with it. I have seen too many Jesus looking down at me in pictures or on plastic crosses with sad, teary eyes. Not that his death was without meaning, but if you do not accept the doctrine of the atonement, the plastic crosses and associated Christian myths about the meaning of his death only serve to distract us from the nobility of his life. I could never accept the idea that Jesus had to die on a cross before God would forgive me. Like the authors of The Urantia Book (see p. 60) I recoil at the idea of atonement.
Many of us find unacceptable the conservative Christian idea that only those who accept Jesus Christ as their savior or redeemer will have eternal life. Because I have a bit of a problem with the Christian concept of Jesus, I have sometimes used his Jewish name, Yeshua, when I refer to him.
When I say Yeshua ben Joseph, I think of a rugged Gallilean who lived a life of courage and compassion. I think of a man who stopped in the middle of addressing a crowd to go into the street and comfort a woman who was carrying a heavy load. I think of a man who could laugh and enjoy a meal with his friends. I think of a man who loved the little children. I think of a man who could pull in nets full of fish or plane a plank flat with the best of them. I think of a man who experienced the whole range of human emotions but who wasn't ruled by his emotions. But in Paper 196, its authors have put it more profoundly than I ever could.
When I think of negative experiences connected with Jesus' name, I especially think of our Jewish friends. I once worked with a Jewish fellow who grew up in a predominantly Christian neighborhood in New York City. He told me that when he was young, the older Christian boys called him a "Jesus killer" and burned him with cigarettes. Need I say that he had little regard for Christians or for Jesus? Unfortunately, it was the Jesus killer mentality that allowed places like Auschwitz to operate without much protest from the churches or the local population in Germany. Sad but true, the name "Jesus" comes with a lot of negative emotional baggage for some people. And all this raises the question: How will non-Christians react to another book promoting Jesus?
Of course, we can't ignore that The Urantia Book calls him Jesus, but I believe that as we attempt to introduce the book to non-Christians, we should be aware of their pre-existent ideas about Jesus and be careful to explain the differences between the Jesus of Christianity and the Jesus of The Urantia Book.
I think it is especially important to emphasize that the book does not teach that Jesus is God or the second person of the Trinity. I feel that this is especially important for the Moslem and the Jew for whom monotheism is very strong; and polytheism is strongly condemned. The Christian Trinity smacks of polytheism to such people. By tying Jesus to the Trinity and the atonement doctrine, Christian theologians may have sabotaged Jesus' appeal to people of the Mid East, as well as to some people of the Occident, such as Unitarian Universalists.
The irony is that sincere religionists who reject the Christian Jesus nevertheless already have a relationship with Jesus/Christ Michael via the Spirit of Truth but don't know it. The Spirit of Truth operates within our minds whether we acknowledge Jesus or not. Perhaps all that's lacking is for a two way relationship is acknowledgment that it already exists. It seems to me that the relationship would be enhanced if we know that it is the personality of Jesus that we are contacting. And the relationship would be enhanced if we would reinforce the actions that bring us into contact with the Spirit of Truth.
Probably most of us are already doing those things that would engage us with the Spirit of Truth, such as seeking truth, praying for guidance, and gathering together for spiritual purposes. Obviously, we are not all going to have the same relationship with Jesus, any more than our relationships with each other are uniform. Our cultural background and personal preferences will define and color all our relationships, including that with Jesus. But his mercy and graciousness of spirit make possible a joyful and creative relationship with each of us. But there is one final and difficult impediment to a relationship with Jesus/Christ Michael--ourselves.
All mutually satisfying relationships require several things; one is trust, another is honesty but perhaps the most difficult of all is the willingness to make a commitment. When two people decide to marry, they have to accept certain limitations that they didn't have before. This perceived loss of freedom has spelled the end for many a relationship because one party or the other lacked the maturity to make the supposed sacrifice.
The freedom to do what we please seems desirable, but the mature person understands that the pleasures of a good relationship far outweigh the illusory freedom of the
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