Sin, Sacrifice, and Atonement — 89
1. Why have physical pleasures or possessions been regarded as evil? Are the teachings of Paul primarily responsible for such views?
2. What is the difference between irrational renunciation and mortification and rational self-discipline?
3. Do we still make foolish and needless vows?
4. Why did human beings believe God demanded barbarous human sacrifice?
5. Is bargaining with God still a common religious practice?
6. Are the use of sacraments in religion a primitive practice?
7. What new techniques can we use in achieving the self-consciousness of salvation?
• How much do Christians today believe in the angry God depicted some places in the Old Testament?
•What are some of the current taboos or irrational behaviors in American society?
• Is the Catholic requirement of confession a help or hindrance to spiritual growth for most people?
Shamanism—Medicine Men and Priests —90
1. To what extent is religion second-handed today?
2. Was the influence of the shrewd and clever medicine men and priests an advance over the leadership of the strong?
3. Why do people still believe that mediums can get in touch with the spirits of the dead?
4. How do contemporary people use chance in making decisions?
5. Why do people today believe in the classifications of astrology?
6. Do we still use unscientific methods of treating disease?
7. Are priests and pastors still holding back spiritual progress?
The Evolution of Prayer — 91
1. Do people generally regard material things as the province of prayer?
2. How can prayer be a stimulus for action? Do religious people tend to substitute prayer for action?
3. How does prayer add to the efficacy of other remedial procedures?
4. Why do people bargain with God or think they need to persuade God to do good things?
5. Is service more effective than meditation in connecting us with God?
6. What are the practical tests of effective praying?
7. How does knowing that words are irrelevant in prayer change our prayer life?
• Why should people know when they are being prayed for?
• How important is ritual and symbols in religion?
• How does one habitually pray in the light of scientific facts, philosophic wisdom, intellectual sincerity, and spiritual faith?
The Later Evolution of Prayer — 92
1. Why has fear occupied such a large place in Christianity in spite of Jesus’ teaching about the love of God?
2. How are conscience and the will of God related?
3. Why is religion the most rigid and unyielding of all human institutions?
4. How does one bring change in religion and condition religionists to be open to change?
5. How close to evolutionary religion are the teachings of the Urantia Papers?
6. Will the Urantia Papers bring a “suddenly revealed” religion to our world?
7. Can the teachings of the Urantia Papers serve as both the eternal foundation and the guiding star of humankind?
• Why is it important to be tolerant with outmoded religion?
• What can we learn from all of the religions of the world?
• How many sources of superanimal influence do we have?
• Is there evidence today that humankind want a redefinition of religion?
1. Why did the Most Highs of Edentia and Father Melchizedek dismiss the plea of the Melchizedeks for help in refreshing the concept of God on our world?
2. Is it surprising that Moses received some of the advanced teachings of Machiventa through his family?
3. Why was the simple creed of the Salem religion beyond the capacity of these people to fully accept?
4. Does Machiventa’s sacrament of bread and wine have any relationship to Jesus’ sacrament of bread and wine?
5. Was the Melchizedek’s research into the leadership of Abraham’s family and Machiventa’s mission in the area of Salem a factor in Michael’s bestowal in this geographic region?
6. Was Machiventa’s formal covenant with Abraham related to the later birth of Isaac?
7. What do you think will be the future of Machiventa Melchizedek?
• How did Machiventa Melchizedek learn over a half dozen languages?
• Who were the three celestial beings who appeared to Abraham?
• Do you think the children of Adam and Eve will come back to our world some day?
1. What was the cause of the depersonalizing concept of God in Brahman theology?
2. Why did the Brahman philosophy come very close to universe truth without actually understanding spiritual reality?
3. What might have caused the revitalization of religion in the 6th century B. C.?
4. Why did the high spiritual teachings of Lao-tse deteriorate?
5. What was the basic value of Gautama Siddhartha’s teaching?
6. If we had the missionary zeal of Asoka, would the teachings of the Urantia Papers soon dominate the world?
7. Why is Buddhism probably the best religious background for presenting the teachings of the Urantia Papers in Asia?
• Are the Hindu religious leaders ready for the Urantia Papers?
• Why didn’t the high spiritual concepts of the Chinese exert leadership in the world?
The Melchizedek Teachings in the
Levant — 95
1. Why during the Melchizedek era was Sunday regarded as an evil day?
2. How does one use the evolutionary process to bring about change?
3. How could have Ikhnaton promoted monotheism so that it would have survived his death?
4. Why did Egypt lose its dominance in religious teachings?
5. How did Zoroastrianism influence Christianity?
6. Will printing and the Internet insure the availability of the teachings of religious leaders in the future?
7. How will scientific facts, universal education, and political democracy change Islam?
1. How important was the training Moses received from both of his parents in the teachings of Machiventa Melchizedek?
2, Why was it wise for Moses to use the ancient term “Yahweh” for his new description of God?
3. How did the teaching of Moses that the Hebrews were a chosen people help mold them into a nation?
4. Why is there always a tendency for people to lose belief in higher religious concepts and revert to more primitive forms of belief?
5. How do we arrive at our concept of God?
6. Do Christians recognize the wide range of quality in the Book of Psalms?
7. How does the theology of the Old Testament harmonize with New Testament teachings?
• Why was the versatility and adaptability of Moses the result of this mixed biological heritage?
•Why was it possible to continue the evolution of the God concept of the Hebrews?
• Contrast the Biblical picture of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and The Urantia Book account.
• What is the message of Job?
1. What kind of action would be appropriate in promoting the Urantia Papers?
2. In what sense do Christians regard themselves as a special or chosen people?.
3. What aspects of religion should we be trying to reform today?
4. Do Christians still regard the fictitious, politically inspired Jewish history as sacred history?
5. Why have the priests and professional religionists dominated and held back spiritual growth?
6. Why didn’t Second Isaiah’s concept of God become dominant in Judaism?
7. Is religion still dominated by social action and economics?
The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident — 98
1. Why did Melchizedek ask his missionaries not to organize congregations of worship?
2. What causes the domination of the intellectual/theological over the spiritual?
3. How can self-preservation (salvation) be balanced with self-realization and self-understanding?
4. Why did the emotionalism of the mystery cults overtake the philosophy of the Greeks?
5. How is Christianity changing today?
6. How would the gospel of Jesus take form in the orient?
7. The Urantia Book unifies religion, philosophy, and science with universe cosmology. Will this establish a new religious orientation on our world?
1. Why shouldn’t religious institutions be involved with secular institutions?
2. What new planetary destiny are we heading toward?
3. What are forms of loveless zeal in religion?
4. Has science and academic learning strengthened or weakened religion in America?
5. How can we prevent religion from being stereotyped and formalized?
6. How can we separate psychological opinions and theological beliefs from the ideals and purposes of religion?
7. What is necessary before religion can reconstruct itself?
• What is causing the rapid changes in culture and civilization?
• How can the church help to alleviate the fears and anxieties of people and stabilize their lives?
1. What are the main causes of prejudice and ignorance?
2. What is the difference between personal religious faith and theological belief?
3. If one is not experiencing spiritual conflict and perplexities, is this a sign that we are not growing spiritually?
4. How should we treat mystical experiences?
5. Is increasing patience, forbearance, fortitude, and tolerance the result of living by high spiritual ideals?
6. How do we achieve inner peace and immunity to disappointment?
7. What is the key to developing a strong and unified personality?
• How does one facilitate spiritual growth?
• Is happiness the result of spiritual growth?
• Would we have a more accurate understanding of people if we assumed their motives were good?
1. How can thoughts dominate feelings in human experience?
2. Is spiritual growth more closely associated with new insights regarding well known phenomena or in discovering new realities?
3. How does experience validate revelation?
4. How does one explain spiritual faith in the face of difficult and tragic human experience?
5. How important is education and learning to a vital religion?
6. How will the limitations of cosmology in the Urantia Papers effect its spiritual insights?
7. How can we tell whether we are free from all conventional and traditional handicaps and are thinking, acting, and living honestly, loyally, fearlessly and truthfully?
• On what level of religious philosophy is the average church member?
• Would most of the teachings of the church be classified as “beliefs” or “faith?”
• Why have philosophers and theologians advanced rational proof of the existence of God?
1. How do we explain the fact that religious people “exhibit a stabilization of personality and tranquility of character not explainable by the laws of physiology, psychology, and sociology?”
2. What is the difference between a living religion and the belief in doctrines and dogmas?
3. How do we achieve a balanced knowledge of facts, meanings, and values?
4. How do we tell whether our actions are motivated by religion or some other source?
5. How do we recognize the necessity of thought while at the same time discounting the spiritual serviceableness of all thinking?
6. Does religious speculation tend to translate religion into something material or humanistic rather than unselfish acts of social service?
7. Why has institutional religion and theologians usually held back religious development and prophets led spiritual growth?
• What is the ideal relationship of science, philosophy, and religion?
• How does religious speculation differ from personal religious experience?
• Has institutional religion lagged behind the advancing mores of society?
The Reality of Religious Experience — 103
. What is the basic problem preventing religionists to unite in goals and ideals and allow diversity of interpretations?
2. Pressure can change behavior, but spiritual growth must come from within; nevertheless, doesn’t suffering sometimes stimulate insights and decisions which contribute to spiritual growth?
3. How well have the Urantia Papers unified science, philosophy, and religion?
4. Since the soul is morontial in nature, can soul-thinking help integrate the material and spiritual aspects of experience?
5. How are reason, wisdom, faith, and truth related?
6. What does it mean to be spiritually “born again?”
7. Why does spiritual religious experience transcend all other human abilities and resources?
• To what extent does religion change our environment?
• What are the characteristics of an “overdeveloped altruistic drive?”
Growth of the Trinity Concept — 104
1. Why do Christians believe that Jesus was the second person of the Paradise Trinity?
2. Is the Trinity’s character as an entity of nonpersonal function, as in administering justice, a new concept in Christianity?
3. How do the triunities help us understand the functional unification of infinity?
4. How is the Triodity of Actuality involved in the actualization of the experiential Deities?
5. Why did the revelators include a description of the triunities and the triodities in this paper?
6. What practical illustrations or analogies can we use to make Trinity concepts more understandable?
7. How will the Urantia Papers effect the development of theology in the future?