The Bestowal of Michael on Urantia – 120

 

1.   Why do you think the Universal Father required Michael to incarnate in the likeness of all of the various orders of his created beings?

 

2.   Why was the termination of the Lucifer rebellion by Michael as a mortal of the realm superior to terminating it as Creator of the universe?

 

3.   Why is the life of Jesus more of an inspiration to human beings rather than an example?

 

4.   In what way did Jesus present “some things practical and immediately helpful” to  human beings?

 

5.   How did Jesus “enhance the revelation of God?”

 

6.   How do you envision that the life and teachings of Jesus will “become the common heritage of all religions and all people?”

 

7.   .How did Jesus introduce “an enduring and improved system of positive religious ethics?”

 

The Times of Michael’s  Bestowal – 121

 

1. Is the increased interest in spiritual phenomena today similar to the spiritual dynamics in the world at the time of the coming of Jesus?

 

2. Just as the European civilization was unified at the time of Jesus, is the growing unity of our world today a prelude to the spread of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

3. Just as the spread of synagogues throughout the Roman world afforded an aegis for the spread of the Gospel, is the world wide spread of Christianity a means for the spread of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

4. What us the dominant philosophy of the twentieth and twenty-first century secular world?

 

5. What are the sources striving to overcome Paul’s erroneous doctrines of atonement and hereditary guilt?

 

6. How does society overcome legalism and dogmatism?

 

7.   What do you think of the candid statement of sources used by the midwayers in restating the life and teachings of Jesus?

 

•  Who are the prominent teachers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries?

 

•  Two thousand years from the present, will world scholars look back and say that the world mission of the United States was more spiritual than political?

 

 

•   Considering the great influence the Gospels have made in history, what effect will the Fifth Epochal Revelation have on our world?

 

Birth and Infancy of Jesus  - 122

 

1.  What can we learn from the elaborate process of selecting the parents of Jesus?

 

2. How important is heredity in our spiritual development?

 

3. Why did Gabriel appear to Elizabeth before his appearance to Mary?

 

4. How important are dreams in our spiritual growth?

 

5. Will Christian leaders reject the Fifth Epochal Revelation as the leaders of Judaism rejected the Fourth Epochal Revelation?

 

6. Was the different theological views of Joseph and Mary conducive to the more inclusive religion of Jesus?

 

7.                                           Are the myths surrounding the birth of Jesus constructive in our scientific age?

 

• Do you think Elizabeth’s conception of John after many years of childless marriage was a natural event or was some supermortal influence involved?

 

• What does the action of Herod tell about his belief system?

 

The Early Childhood of Jesus – 123

 

1. Had Jesus grown up in Alexandria, would his life been more effective?

 

2.   How does our parental training compare with that of Jewish parents of Jesus’ day?

 

3.   What do you think of a grade school boy being fluent in three languages? Should we be teaching children more than one language?

 

4.   If guardian seraphim are limited in their ability to perform physical tasks, what is their service in our lives?

 

5.   Do you think Jesus’ decision to stay in Nazareth was the result of divine guidance or human wisdom?

 

6.   Is there an ideal way to teach children to pray?

 

7.   How do you think Jesus’ life would have changed if he had been educated in Jerusalem?

 

• Is it surprising that the extended family of Joseph was so caring for the Nazareth family?

 

• Was Jesus’ ability to milk the family cow, make cheese, and weave as a seven year old unusual?

 

The Later Childhood of Jesus – 124

 

1. Are there creative activities today that are erroneously considered to be evil?

 

2. Why do you think Jesus was not willing to engage in physical combat?

 

3. Was the ambivalence of Jesus in selecting a vocation the result of being successful at everything he did? Is uncertainty and doubt helpful in spiritual growth?

 

4. What was the source of Jesus’ amazing self-control in never again mentioning athletic games when rebuked by his father?

 

5. How do you suppose Joseph and Mary reacted when they entered the Mansion Worlds and discovered the real nature of Jesus?

 

6. Why was Jesus not interested in plans for him to attend the Hebrew Academy?

 

7. Why did the messenger sent by Immanuel appear to Jesus at the Passover in Jerusalem?

 

•  Were Jesus’ unusual abilities the result of natural human resources or supernatural influence?

 

•  Why do you suppose that Joseph and Mary made no comment when he talked about his life mission?

 

•   Is questioning the nature of things a sign of a growing and progressive mind?

 

•   Is it surprising that Jesus gave up his artistic activities even though he did not believe it was wrong

•   What types of discretion should we exercise so as not to upset people?

 

Jesus at Jerusalem – 125

 

1. Is there a better argument against the wrath of God than Jesus gave his father? Are Christians today still motivated by fear of an “angry God?”

 

2. When we are troubled and disturbed by the activities of our religion, is it likely that our indwelling Spirit is preparing us to attempt to change these activities?

 

3. Is it strange that Jesus was not concerned about the whereabouts of his parents?

 

4. What practices in the Christian Church may be an affront to the nature of God?

 

5. How is our education today missing opportunities for spiritual stimulation and growth?

 

6. Did Jesus “deliver (his) people from their bondage” of tradition?

7. What effect did Mary’s patriotic and nationalistic goals have on Jesus?

 

•  Was the sagacity of Jesus’ questions more the result of his human mind or his divine nature?

 

•  Was Mary justified in rebuking Jesus?

 

•  What attitudes of traditional religion discourage spiritual growth?

 

The Two Crucial Years – 126

 

1. How might Jesus’ life have changed if his father had lived?

 

2. Why did the people of Jesus’ day believe that prophets and men of promise performed miracles and worked wonders?

 

3. Do you think the death of Joseph was a completely natural event or did it have supernatural direction?

 

4. Do Christians question why Joseph is never mentioned in the adult life of Jesus?

 

5. Why are religious leaders sometimes not honest and sincere?

 

6. How is Jesus’ difficulty in making decisions about his life mission helpful and comforting to young people in making decisions about their vocational and life mission?

 

7. What in Jesus example of turning disaster and disappointment into discipline and direction can help us in similar situations?

 

•  Do most human beings gradually become aware of the indwelling Spirit of God?

 

•  What percentage of church members are interested in “advanced courses of reading?”

 

The Adolescent Years – 127

 

1. What is the best way to choose a path different than what those closest to us are urging us to do?

 

2. What might Jesus and John have talked about  in their intimate and personal conservations bout their life missions?

 

3. Why is hopeful courage so difficult for some people to achieve in depressing situations?

 

4. Why do people often use negative injunctions rather than positive motivation?

 

5. What do you think of Rebecca’s love for Jesus and his response?

 

6. Are there parallels today of observing the Passover without the paschal lamb?

 

7. How do we coordinate material necessities with spiritual ideals?

 

•  How does knowing that Jesus faced and overcame more difficult problems than we will face help us in overcoming our difficulties?

 

•  What do you think about the strategy of the Chazan and James in helping Jesus in his refusal to join the patriotic movement?

 

•  How do we integrate and organize our minds?

 

•  How can Jesus’ remarkable life inspire us?

 

Jesus’ Early Manhood – 128

 

1. How will the Jesus Seminar theologians who attempt to understand Jesus from a purely human point of view react to the Life and Teachings of Jesus presented by the Midwayer Commission?

 

2. How should young people be trained to assume responsibility for their lives?

 

3. Mary’s preconceived ideas about Jesus’ life mission prevented her from understanding Jesus; how can we guard against being misled by preconceived ideas?

 

4. Why was Jesus tempted to become the head of a School of Philosophy in Damascus? Why wasn’t this the Father’s will?

 

5. Even though Jesus attempted to disguise his spectacular life and warned the apostles against emphasizing his life rather than his teachings, Christianity became a religion about him. Will the Fifth Epochal Revelation change this?

 

6. Why is the mastery of our minds so important?

 

7. How was Jesus able to detach the various episodes of his life so that he was not recognized later?

 

•  What type of responsibilities should children be given in contemporary homes?

 

•  How does one explain the remarkable influence of Jesus’ conversation with Stephen?

 

•  Why would the message Jesus brought to our world not fit into his career as a religious teacher in Alexandria?

 

The Later Adult Life of Jesus – 129

 

1. What can we learn from the way Jesus scheduled his free time?

 

2. What kind of mental and physical activity stimulates progress toward contact with our Thought Adjuster?

 

3. Why do you think Jesus did not want his family and others to know about his trip to Rome?

 

4. Since Jesus was not trained in the Jerusalem Academies, what teaching options were open to him?

 

5. If it was Jesus intention to not build an overattractive career, why is this amazing personal career now revealed in The Urantia Book?

 

6. In terms of spiritual inspiration, contrast Jesus’ personal ministry with his public ministry?

 

7. Why us Jesus’ life more of an inspiration than an example?

 

•   Does it make any difference whether the unusual opportunities in our lives are caused by chance or unknown supermortal direction?

 

•   Does the description of Jesus’ trip to Rome make it more difficult for Christians to accept the life and teachings of Jesus in The Urantia Book ?\

 

•   How do you think Jesus’ life and teachings might be reported on other inhabited worlds?

 

•   Is spiritual development always a gradual growth?

 

•   Is it always better not to give advice unless it is asked for?

 

•   How can we interest young people in the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

On the Way to Rome – 130

 

1. When is it wise to correct the erroneous views of people?

 

2. How do we assert the mastery of evil by the power of good?

 

3. How do we avoid the division between scientific facts and spiritual values?

 

4. What are some of the static concepts in science, politics, and religion that are deficient in wisdom and devoid of truth?

 

5. How can we tell when the time is right for an action or activity?

 

6. How does one explain the fact that many of the contacts Jesus made in his personal ministry turn up in roles in or after his public ministry?

 

7. What is meant by the statement, “circular simultaneity (will) increasingly displace the onetime consciousness of the linear sequence of events?”

 

• Is it wise to tell children that animals have a future existence?

 

• Why do some people who were raised in the Christian culture join other religions?

 

• What is the difference between knowledge and truth?

 

• Jesus was a very knowledgeable and intellectually sophisticated person; how will this image effect many people who have believed he was a poor, unlettered and unsophisticated person?

 

• How do we avoid turning evil into sin?

 

• Our world is ready for spiritual growth; where are we failing to bring the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

• In aspiring to be Godlike, how do we find our areas of creativity?

 

• What are the dangers of unspiritual learning in our universities?

 

• What constitutes a mind that “has no capacity for sonship?”

 

 

The World’s Religions – 131

 

1. What was the purpose of the Midwayer Commission in including this paper on the world’s religions?

 

2. Do you think that anger, pride, deceit, and greed are the four greatest passions?

 

3. How do we balance humility and self-confidence?

 

4. Is there a universal ethic?

 

5. If the religions of the world identified with these excerpts, would we have the basis for a unified world religion?

 

6. How should we regard the religious scriptures of the world?

 

7. Which nourishes spiritual growth more, the family relationships of religious fellowship or the theological teachings of religion?

 

• Did Ganid select the best of the Old Testament in his report on Judaism?

 

• How would you describe the wisdom of Buddhism?

 

• Is the Hindu religion more inclusive than the scope of other religions?

 

• What spiritual insights of Taoism are unique?

 

• Is Ganid’s statement of religion a fair representation of the religion of Jesus?

 

The Sojourn in Rome – 132

 

1. Would Jesus’ technique of emphasizing the truth in the beliefs of people and ignoring their errors work today? Should we ignore the blood atonement doctrine in Christianity?

 

2. Are theologians today intellectual parrots of “correct” religious theories or creative spiritual leaders?

 

3. If truth cannot be defined by words, what is the purpose of theology?

 

4. Why must truth be validated by faith?

 

5. Why did the revelators decide to bring the Fifth Epochal Revelation in the form of a book instead of a living personality?

 

6. Are scientists more influenced by facts or the philosophic interpretation of those facts?

 

7. What is the meaning of the statement, “Buddha knew God in spirit but failed to clearly discover him in mind?”

 

• How could one teach most by saying least?

 

• How does prayer unify the various inspirations of creative imagination?

 

• Why do you think the revelators included the extensive principles of handling wealth?

 

• How compatible are scientists and religionists today?

 

• Are the wealthy treated better in our courts than the poor?

 

 

 

 

The Return from Rome  - 133

 

1.  Why didn’t Jesus say “Good-by” to his friends in Rome?

 

2.  What do you think of the observation that mercy is an individual responsibility while judgment should always be a group decision?

 

3. What spiritual guidance do we have for determining the use of authority and decision-making in martial relationships and the home?

 

4. What do you think of Jesus’ handling of the courtesans?

 

5. What aspects of spiritual growth are the people of mainline Christianity ready for today?

 

6. What definition of the soul have the authors of The Urantia Papers added to the tradition concept of the soul?

 

7. Observing the way Christianity built on the cultural-religious foundations of Judaism, how can the Fifth Epochal Revelation most effectively build on the cultural base of Christianity?

 

•  Are the Urantia Papers the first epochal revelation attempting to unify matter, mind, and spirit—fact, meaning, and value—science, philosophy, and religion?

 

•  Why is intellectual pride a handicap to spiritual growth?

 

•  Why did people who knew Jesus before his public ministry not recognize him as a public teacher?

 

•  What are the spiritual reason for the principle of nonviolence?

 

The Transition Years – 134

 

1. Why was Palestine the best place for the public ministry of Jesus?

 

2. What might have been the issue of disagreement between the seraphim of the churches and the seraphim of progress regarding the Urmia lectures?

 

3. Will the Fifth Epochal Revelation result in all of the world religions surrendering their spiritual sovereignty in recognizing God’s sovereignty?

 

4. What are the conditions that will bring about world government?

 

5. Contrast the story of the New Testament temptations of Jesus with the confrontation of Jesus with Satan and Caligastia in the Urantia Papers.

 

6. How do you visualize the great change in Jesus that resulted in people not recognizing him as a public and authoritative teacher?

 

7. Why do we have so many intolerant religionists in our world?

 

•  What would happen if we had an ongoing lecture series in our religious institutions where the truths and beliefs of different religions were presented?

 

•  Why do you suppose Cymboyton lived and died without revealing his personal religious beliefs?

 

John the Baptist – 135

 

1. Were the scriptures of Judaism a help or a hindrance in assisting John in his sense of calling?

 

2. With the great expectancy and readiness for the coming of “the kingdom of God,” why wasn’t Jesus more successful in Palestine?

 

3. What does it mean to be confused in mind but not in spirit?

 

4. Why do you suppose Jesus made no reply when John said, “Now I know that you are the Deliverer?”

 

5. Why do you think Jesus did not go to visit John in prison?

 

6. What spiritual lessons can we learn from the death of John the Baptist?

 

7. What is the meaning of spiritual expectancy today?

 

• Why do you think John’s parents decided for him to become a Nazarite?

 

• Was the expectancy of the Jewish people that the coming of the Messiah was imminent similar to the expectancy of the second coming of Christ before the coming of The Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

• What is the explanation of John’s statement, “I beheld the divine spirit descending upon this man” (136:9) and “Only the eyes of Jesus beheld the Personalized Adjuster?” (136:2)

 

Baptism and the Forty Days – 136

 

1. Do the people of the world still think of the coming kingdom of God in terms of the material world?

 

2. Although Jesus probably could have won over the power structure of Judaism and the world by the display of supernatural power, why was it spiritually better to use none of this power?

 

3. Why doesn’t the end justify the means?

 

4. What are contemporary forms of using power for selfish ends?

 

5. Why doesn’t selfish satisfaction and sensuous gratification lead to happiness?

 

6. Should religious leaders use compromise and diplomacy  to achieve spiritual purposes?

 

7. Is spiritual growth achieved through difficult and suffering conditions stronger than spiritual growth attained under salubrious conditions?

 

• Why are guilt and repentance so prominent among many religious people?

 

• How do we gain the conquest of our minds by spirit guidance?

 

• What would a non-time being be like?

 

• What is the “natural, slow, and sure way to accomplishing the divine purpose?”

 

• Why are physical miracles and wonders not effective in increasing spiritual growth?

 

• Was Jesus’ decision not to save himself a major factor in the origin of the blood atonement theory of salvation?

 

Tarrying Time in Galilee – 137

 

1. Andrew’s involvement in service resulted in his being chosen as the first apostle, while the anxiety of James and John resulted in their not being chosen first. What spiritual insights might these events bring to mind?

 

2. What do you think of the logic Ezra used in rejecting Jesus as the Deliverer?

 

3. Why do spiritual developments often not follow our logical human expectations?

 

4. Was the instantaneous appearance of wine a help or a hindrance in the ministry of Jesus?

 

5. Is it comforting as we face our problems to know that even Jesus spend an entire night thinking about the way he would conduct his ministry?

 

6. Are the teachings of the Urantia Papers too difficult for most people of this generation to comprehend?

 

7. Jesus made it very clear that the kingdom of God was not a material kingdom; why did it take so long for his followers to fully understand and accept this view?

 

• Contrast the selection of the apostles in the Urantia Papers and the New Testament.

• Was the meeting of Philip and Nathaniel with Jesus a chance meeting or were they guided by unconscious spiritual direction?

 

• Do you think that Mary’s problem of understanding Jesus ended when she entered the Mansion Worlds?

 

Training the Kingdom’s Messengers – 138

 

1. Why do you think Jesus decided not have members of his family as members of the corps of apostolic directors?

 

2. What was the purpose of allowing the first six apostles to chose an additional apostle?

 

3. Are there characteristics in the new apostles chosen that is suggested by the apostle who made the selection?

 

4. How do you imagine the apostles went about their work of personal evangelism?

 

5. What outreach lessons do we learn from the fact that human beings find that accepting new or enlarged concepts very difficult?

 

6. Does Jesus’ warning not to develop a cult about him and his teaching suggest that theology and philosophy is not to be confused with or substituted for the Gospel—the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man?

 

7. How do we distinguish between the “repentance of good works” and living faith?

 

• In selecting his apostles, Jesus gave warnings to Peter, Thomas, and Judas. Is this because they had greater limitations than the other apostles?

 

• Is there any evidence of the organization of the apostles in the New Testament?

 

 

 The Twelve Apostles – 139

 

1. Why is personal work so important in spiritual evangelism?

 

2. Why does evolutionary religion distort spiritual truth such as the book of Revelation?

 

3. Does the fact that Judas and Nathaniel were the best educated among the apostles have any implications?

 

4. What do you think became of the soul of Judas?

 

5. Why did Jesus start the most important spiritual movement in the history of our world with such diverse and improbable apostles?

 

6. What teaching techniques does the fact that the methodical Philip, who lacked spiritual insight, became an effective evangelist suggest?

 

7. Half of the apostles were put to death because of their preaching. Is the opposition we face in promoting the Fifth Epochal Revelation easier and less challenging?

 

• Why did Andrew and Peter get along so well in spite of their great differences?

 

• Had the Life and Teachings of Jesus written by Andrew survived, would we have had a more balanced view of Jesus’ life and teachings?

 

• Why was Peter’s erratic character so effective in leadership in the early Christian movement?

 

• Is it surprising that John, the most conceited apostle, became the “apostle of love?”

 

• Why do you think John Zebedee became the “outstanding theologian of the twelve apostles?”

 

• Why do you suppose Nathaniel was not involved in the organization of the subsequent Christian Church?

 

• How did the positive qualities of Thomas compensate for his conservative, negative qualities

 

The Ordination of the Twelve – 139

 

1. What us the spiritual meaning of “salt that has lost its savor?”

 

2. How can we emotionally redirect inherited urges and unify our lives?

 

3. What is the key factor in distinguishing fatherly love from brotherly love?

 

4. Jesus said that we should seek first the kingdom of God and “all things needful shall be added to you.” Should this statement be taken literally?

 

5. Why does the religion of Jesus not provide for spiritual self-examination?

 

6. How should we interpret Jesus’ statement, “some of you will not die until you have seen the reign of God come in great power?”

 

7. Why us it dangerous to take highly idealistic and spiritual principles and translate them into concrete rules of personal conduct?

 

• Why did the authors of the Urantia Papers use “happy” instead of “Blessed” in introducing the beatitudes?

 

• Should we verbalize and record our worthy goals to more effectively direct our lives?

 

• How would you distinguish between apostles and disciples in our day

 

• Why do religionists often identify Jesus’ teachings with some economic or political position?

 

• Are our religious institutions characterized by patience, tolerance, and forgiveness?

 

• How does stripping morality of all rules and ceremonies advance human behavior?

 

Beginning the Public Work – 141

 

1. Why did Jesus largely ignore the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist?

 

2. How does the Father’s will become our will instead of our law?

 

3. Why did Jesus refuse help solve the problems arising between the disciples of John and the newer disciples of Jesus?

 

4. How will the vibrant picture of Jesus in the Urantia Papers change the traditional Christian view?

 

5. How can religious organizations escape the tendency to influence people to think alike through the use of creeds and theological positions?

 

6. What are the implications of Jesus’ instruction not to take things out of the hearts of people?

 

7. How does truth make us free and when does freedom become license?

 

• Is Jesus’ depth of sadness surprising when his family did not come to wish them well when they began their public ministry?

 

• What is the place of spiritual ministry in healing the sick in contemporary medicine?

 

• Should we, like Jesus, teach and live the will of God in our lives and not be “anxiously bothered by the evil in the world?”

 

 

The Passover at Jerusalem - 142

 

1. Had Annas responded positively to Jesus and his teachings, would the history of religion on our world be much different?

 

2. What immature ideas of God and immature loving relationships with others do we have in our culture today?

 

3. How is the concept of God changing in our day?

 

4. By what spiritual standards should we evaluate art?

 

5. How does one evaluate the authenticity of the Urantia Papers?

 

6. Is use of the expression “born again”  helpful or confusing in our Christian culture?

 

7. How do we apply spiritual motivation and interpretation to the difficult material problems facing each person and generation?

 

• How can our culture and society instill the seven areas of family responsibility delineated by Jesus that are basic to family life?

 

• Jesus and his apostles did much of their teaching by visiting in homes, as do the Mormon disciples; should we be doing more of this kind of ministry?

 

 

Going Through Samaria – 143

 

1. Why is the policy of nonresistance and nonviolence still a problem in our world?

 

2. How are we transformed by the Spirit of Truth?

 

3. What is the difference between the freedom of self-mastery and the bondage of self-denial?

 

4. How does one achieve self-forgetfulness?

 

5. Who are the outsiders today that we are hesitant to accept?

 

6. Do we use theology today to avoid discussing personal spiritual challenges or doubts?

 

7. Are the values of the Fifth Epochal Revelation less prominent than the fact of The Urantia Book?

 

• Is nonviolence practical at our stage of culture?

 

• How do we know when to leave our problems and engage in a vacation and relaxation?

 

• If this is a “seek time” for the Fifth Epochal Revelation, when will our world experience a “reap time?”

 

• How does prayer expand insight?

 

• How do we determine complementary balance in our lives?

 

 

At Gilboa and in the Decapolis – 144

 

 

1. What is the purpose of persistence in prayer?

 

2. How does prayer change our attitudes and enlarge our soul’s capacity for spirit receptivity?

 

3, Is nonverbal prayer more useful that verbal prayer?

 

4. How does faith remove material difficulties to spiritual progress?

 

5. Is divine guidance given only to personal spiritual problems and not to group religious problems?

 

6. Why was there disagreement between the disciples of John and the apostles of Jesus in the use of the terms “repent” and “believe?”

 

7. How will the socialized religion of the Fifth Epochal Revelation be effected by the historic religions?

 

• What are the significant differences between the prayer Jesus gave the apostles and the contemporary Lord’s Prayer of Christians?

 

• What is the best way to teach children to pray?

 

• What is the basic difference between the teachings of John and the teachings of Jesus?

 

Four Eventual Days at Capernaum – 145

 

1. Why did Mary reject Jesus’ ministry?

 

2. In what sense did the draught of the fishes border on the miraculous?

 

3. How important was the draught of the fishes to David Zebedee’s remarkable service to Jesus?

 

4. How effectively in our culture do we distinguish between religion as a personal experience and religion as a group activity?

 

5. Why is physical healing not directly related to spiritual transformation or the establishment of a spiritual movement?

 

6. Why were the apostles unable to understand the behavior of Jesus?

 

7. Was the sundown healing a help or a hindrance to Jesus’ spiritual ministry?

 

• What are some of the false assumptions that contemporary people make about health and physical healing?

 

•Why do many people believe that whatever happens to them that God is directly involved in what takes place?

 

First Preaching Tour of Galilee – 146

 

1. Do you think the Urantia Papers will be distorted by the teachings of Christianity?

 

2. How has our scientific age changed attitudes toward prayer?

 

3. Why is it important to pray for those who irritate us or persecute us?

 

4. Are fundamentalistic attitudes a sign of inner doubt of one’s beliefs?

 

5. When we are lacking in love for our fellow human beings, how do we change and develop this love?

 

6. Why did Jesus speak so little about the socialization of religion?

 

7. How can we tell when the thoughts of our listening minds are from God and not our own mind?

 

• How do the prayers of many people ignore the physical laws of the universe?

 

• What is the spiritual purpose of prayer?

 

• How do we distinguish between tolerance and gullibility?

 

• How should we react to our failure to lead people to higher spiritual truth?

 

• Why have many Christians regarded raising the widow’s son at Nain a when the story in Luke clearly states that it was not a miracle?

 

• Why do you think Jesus asked the apostles to stay away from Nazareth?

 

The Interlude Visit to Jerusalem – 147

 

1. Are the religious leaders today the greatest obstacles to larger religious truth?

 

2. Who are the people today who are regarded as inferior or sinful but are growing spiritually?

 

3. What are examples of old religious practices that we can abandon with the coming of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

4. Do we have psychological or behavioral ways of self-affliction similar to the fasting and sackcloth and ashes behavior of Jesus’ day?

 

5. What determines whether a member of another religion or no religion is admitted into the kingdom of God?

 

6. What determines the direction in which we are growing?

 

7. How should we regard theological orthodoxy?

 

• What level of interpreting the golden rule do most people use today?

 

• What are ways in which we are facing in the right direction but fail to achieve our goals?

 

• Do we have religious regulations that are merely cultural practices that we can ignore?

 

•Was the subversive motivation of John in getting Jesus to the pool of Bethesda ethical?

 

Training Evangelists at Bethsaida – 148

 

 

1. What infrastructure is needed to promote the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

2. How do we train leaders for the Urantia movement?

 

3. How have Christians viewed evil, sin, and iniquity?

 

4. Is the Christian view of human nature more Pauline or Jesusonian?

 

5. What is the answer to suffering on our world?

 

6. Why did Jesus allow the trance prophet from Bagdad to preach?

 

7. What insights does the conversion of half of the spies suggest about human nature and spiritual truth?

 

• What is the best way to communicate a new spiritual vision of people?

 

• How do the Urantia Papers help to banish fear and anxiety?

 

• What are the positive aspects of suffering?

 

• Is the carrying on of commerce on Sunday evil or sinful, or neither?

 

 

 

 

 

The Second Preaching Tour - 149

 

1. Now that we have the teachings of Jesus as he presented them, will all nations and all religions “speedily embrace the gospel of the kingdom?

 

2. Why were some of the writings of Paul’s and others made into a “revelatory canon?”

 

3. What religious and cultural changes are required to invalidate the atonement doctrine and substitute the religion of Jesus for the religion about Jesus?

 

4. Why is it misleading to approach Jesus through his miracles?

 

5. Why did Christianity lack the moral courage to make women equal to men in religion and society?

 

6. What is the road to unity and brother/sisterhood among the religions of the world?

 

7. How does one overcome feeling angry?

 

 

• How do we develop the spontaneous leadership like that of David Zebedee?

 

• Occasionally, we see spontaneous healing today. How do we account for this?

 

• Does seeking advanced spiritual truth have a positive effect on health?

 

• Which will be more effective in championing women’s rights, the feminist movement or the Urantia Papers?

 

• Who were the three men who did not respond to Jesus’ invitation to discipleship?

 

• How do we prevent our virtues from becoming vices?

 

• How can we learn to be happy with our lot in life?

 

• Does “recognition, realization, and appreciation” lead to love?

 

• What characterizes the meekness of spiritual origin?

 

 

The Third Preaching Tour - 150

 

1. Why do you suppose Jesus picked all of the ministering women instead of allowing them to chose half of their number as he did with the apostles?

 

2. Did the women evangelists act more bravely and loyally than the men apostles?

 

3. How should we handle opposition to new and enlarged spiritual truth?

 

4. What is the best way to handle differences of spiritual conviction in one’s family?

 

5. What constitutes spiritual growth?

 

6. Why do you think the majority of the people in Nazareth were unfavorable in their opinion of Jesus?

 

7. Do you think the ability of Jesus to thwart his enemies from pushing him over the precipice to his death was because of his human commanding character or divine assistance?

 

• Why do you suppose Jesus did not include Nazareth in the early part of his public ministry?

 

• Are you surprised at any of the women Jesus selected for the women’s corps?

 

• Why do you suppose Jesus was not recognized in Nazareth?

 

• Why were Jesus’ family absent from this service in the Nazareth synagogue?

 

• Would one expect Simon Zelotes to make trouble in this Nazareth confrontation?

 

Tarrying and Teaching by the Seaside – 151

 

1. In addition to requiring the individual to apply the message of stories or parables, what other positive qualities are provided by this method of teaching?

 

2. Why are fables and allegories not suitable for teaching spiritual truth?

 

3. Are the wisdom insights of the Parable of the Sower in harmony with our experience in our outreach attempts to share the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

4. How would you apply the insights of the parable telling of weeds being sown with the wheat? Is the lesson of this parable similar to the teachings of the parable of the sweep net?

 

5. How do we interpret the parable of the hidden treasure in the field and the parable of the pearl of great price?

 

6. Do human beings still tend to confuse coincidence with the miraculous?

 

7. How prominent is superstition in motivating our actions today?

 

• Noting that Jesus complimented Peter and Nathaniel in their error, how can we apply this positive approach to teaching and discussion?

 

• What is the meaning of Jesus’ last presentation of the Parable of the Sower to the apostles?

 

• What is the meaning of the Parable of the Mustard Seed?

 

• How do we apply the parable of the leaven in the mean?

 

• Why are human beings so subject to the influence of natural events, like the dogs and the swine, to support them in their belief in the power of the Spirit to support their lives?

 

• Is witnessing to God’s power in our lives more difficult in our home territory than in other places?

 

Events Leading up to the Capernaum Crisis  - 152

 

1. What role does faith have in maintaining health today?

 

2. Will the Fifth Epochal Revelation help our world understand Michael’s spiritual power apart from his miracles?

 

3. What does it mean not to place any limitations on Michael’s  spiritual power?

 

4. Why do you think Jesus decided to feed the 5000?

 

5. Do you think Peter’s dream was a natural dream or was given divine guidance?

 

6. Just as Jesus was unable to change his apostles view of the Jewish Messiah, what will the Urantia Papers have difficulty changing?

 

7. How do we distinguish between appealing to human emotions and intellect as apposed to the indwelling Spirit in people?

 

• How do you think Jesus knew that Jairus’ daughter was in a coma?

 

• Knowing something about the personalities of the apostles, how do you explain the positions of those in favor of making Jesus king and those who opposed it?

 

• Was the demonstration of material power in feeding the 5000 helpful in Jesus’ attempt to persuade the people and his apostles of the greater importance of the spiritual kingdom of God?

 

• Why was Jesus especially concerned about Simon Peter after the feeding of the 5000?

 

 

The Crisis at Capernaum – 153

 

1. How important is repeated decision-making between right and wrong?

 

2. How do we recognize and partake of spiritual realities in our material world?

 

3. With 2000 years of hindsight, how should we view the Jewish leaders’ treatment of Jesus?

 

4. Do we have ceremonials and rituals that should be dropped or revised?

 

5. What is the reason that persistently iniquitous persons are not forgiven?

 

6. When is confrontation the best defense of spiritual truth?

 

7. How does one face seeming defeat in the spiritual struggle of following and doing the will of God?

 

• From a human point of view, was Jesus’ claim to be “one with the Father”  defensible?

 

• Did the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem really listen to Jesus?

 

• Why do some people still believe in the possession by evil spirits?

 

• Why did Jesus turn back the popular enthusiasm for his ministry?

 

• Do orthodox beliefs today stand in the road of the advance of truth?

 

Last Days at Capernaum – 154

 

1. Is the testing of opposition basic to determining the level of our commitment to spiritual ideals?

 

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of congregational control of local religious organizations?

 

3. What kind of prayer is appropriate when we suffer from illness?

 

4. Why does the spiritualization of the human soul usually require suffering?

 

5. What spiritual principle underlies the separation of religion from State regulation?

 

6. Are the teachings of Jesus primarily an ideal, or are they the ground of practical reality?

 

7. Why was Jesus’ family agreeing with the Jerusalem authorities rather than Jesus?

 

• Was the closing of the synagogues to Jesus and his followers the beginning of a religious movement separate from Judaism?

 

• Who are the inspired David Zebedees of today?

 

• Was this last year of opposition by the Jewish authorities more fruitful than the earlier years?

 

Fleeing Through Northern Galilee – 155

 

1. What kind of spiritual living draws people?

 

2. If people are not interested in new enlarged spiritual truth, what do we do?

 

3. If true religion is the religion of revelation, how do initiate the religion of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

4. Are the religions of the world today primarily religions of traditional authority?

 

5. How do we discern the leadings of the Spirit from the ideas of the mind?

 

6. In the second discourse on religion, is Jesus suggesting replacing creeds and theology by “ennobling deeds of loving service?”

 

7. What does it mean to “feel the presence of God?”

 

• How do we develop enthusiasm in our teaching?

 

• How can we find and pursue creative activity at the level of our inspiration?

 

• Are we placing too much emphasis on religious symbols and ceremonies in our religious services?

 

• How does one promote a religion of the Spirit?

 

• Do we have examples of that which is regarded as divine that is wholly human?

 

• To what degree is quoting scripture a substitute for courageous, independent thinking?

 

The Sojourn at Tyre and Sidon – 156

 

1. Are people afraid to comprehend and follow Jesus?

 

2. How do we keep growing to fulfill the lily analogy?

 

3. How do we achieve spiritual transformation in overcoming our animal motivation?

 

4. How can a sense of humor  help us live with our human limitations?

 

5. Are moral power and spiritual energy the most useful resources to solve human problems?

 

6. Is immunity from discouragement from misfortune or disappointment a good measure of our spiritual maturity?

 

7. Why is defeat the true mirror in which we may honestly view our real self?

 

• Contrast  the healing of Norana’s daughter with the account in Matt. 15:21-29.

 

• Why do people have trouble abandoning the feelings of guilt?

 

• Does the sense of humor in the Urantia Papers add to their value?

 

• How do we recognize spiritual foundations in human lives?

 

• Should the phrase “lead us not into temptation” be dropped from the Christian form of the Lord’s Prayer?

 

• How do we combine leadership with spiritual destiny?

 

• Will we get more done if we daily set aside a time to “step aside from the rush of life?”

 

• How do we learn tact and tolerance?

 

At Caesarea-Philippi – 157

 

1. Which sounds more reasonable, the miraculous catch of the fish with a shekel in its mouth (Matt. 18:27) or The Urantia Book account?

 

2. Is there a danger of confusing education, such as advanced degrees, with spiritual truth?

 

3. What “keys if the outward kingdom” did Jesus give to what group of religionists?

 

4. Which of the three potential identities of Jesus do you think would have been the ideal identity for his bestowal?

 

5. In your experience, is the spirit the easy victor over both the soul and the body, or is there a major struggle between the spiritual and the material?

 

6. Although Jesus and Andrew knew there was a problem with Judas, why was nothing special done about it?

 

7. What is the meaning of the statement: “He who has seen me has seen the Father?”

 

 

 

• How do we orient ourselves to continually keep growing in spiritual maturity?

 

• When Peter said of Jesus, “You are the Deliverer,” did he mean the Jewish Messiah?

 

• Why didn’t Jesus, as this time, want people to know of his divine nature?

 

• What was the source of Peter’s leadership while his brother, Andrew, was the formal head of the apostles?

 

• Why do you think Matthew gave his money to the apostle treasury anonymously?

 

The Mount of Transfiguration – 158

 

1. Did the transfiguration significantly influence Christianity of emphasize the divinity of Jesus?

 

2. Why was it natural for Peter to assume the heavenly persons were Moses and Elijah?

 

3. What did Jesus mean when he said, “you shall see greater things than this?”

 

4. What was Jesus referring to when he spoke of “the sorrows of your own choosing?”

 

5. What was the basic reason Jesus gave for the apostles not being able to cure James of Safed’s son?

 

6. After Jesus clearly told the apostles that he was not the Messiah and that he would be killed, why didn’t they believe what he told them?

 

7. What did Jesus mean when he said, “many of you now standing before me shall not taste death till you shall see this kingdom of God come with power?”

 

• What spiritual level might have been necessary for all of the apostles to witness the transfiguration?

 

• Is there any significance in that the transfiguration took place in the land of the gentiles?

 

• Why did Jesus request that the three apostles not tell anyone about the transfiguration until his resurrection?

 

• How can we tell when something is standing in the way of our growth in the kingdom of God?

 

• What is the meaning of the statement, “All things are possible to him who really believes?”

 

 

 

The Decapolis Tour –159

 

1. How does God seek to recover lost sinners?

 

2. What is the meaning of the statement, “Where two or three believers are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them?”

 

3. Should we accept anyone teaching in Jesus’ name? When should we object to teachings we believe to be wrong?

 

4. If overpowering argument, shrewd eloquence, or mental superiority should not be used to bring people into the kingdom, what kind of appeal should we use in preaching and teaching?

 

5. How do we bolster self-respect?

 

6. Are people today ready to hear the truth regarding the Scriptures?

 

7. How common is using a positive response to the evil or injustice we experience?

 

• What spiritual insight is helpful in forgiving other people?

 

• How do we distinguish between showing mercy and recognizing crime that should be punished?

 

• Does our legal practice of “Judicial summary judgment”  violate the principle of group (jury) decision?

 

• How does one overcome the conflict of our material drives and urges with the life directed by the Spirit?

 

• Why are people who yearn for the inner peace of spiritual growth unable to find it?

 

 

• How do we determine how to avoid false sympathy and apply tough love?

 

• Will David Zebedee become one of the heroes of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

Rodan of Alexandria – 160

 

1. There is no known evidence for the existence of Rodan of Alexandria. Why do you think the authors included these papers on Rodan?

 

2. How often do we have to relearn the art of living?

 

3. Is our social maturity greater now than it was a hundred years ago?

 

4. Next to the home, what is the most constructive association of people in our society?

 

5. Do you sense in Rodan’s philosophy an abstraction not present in Jesus’ teachings?

 

6. Are the associations of friendship more helpful in religious organizations than the teachings they present?

 

7. If failure is an educational episode in acquiring wisdom, should we be more adventurous in attempting difficult tasks?

 

• How would you evaluate the social maturity of our society?

 

• Is character development more complicated now than a thousand years ago?

 

• Do you think most people are afraid to face their problems objectively and honestly?

 

• What characterizes a person who serves a cause greater than oneself?

 

• How does one learn to fail gracefully, cheerfully, and fearlessly?

 

• Is Jesus’ gospel “the infinity of realities, the divinity of values, and the eternity of universal attainments?”

 

• How is entering the kingdom of God both self-destruction and self-fulfillment?

 

Further Discussions with Rodan – 161

 

1. What aspect of personality do we share with God?

 

2. How are personality and individuality related?

 

3. What is the difference between the “idea of God”  and the “ideal of his nature?”

 

4. Is the empirical evidence for the divinity of Jesus strong enough to convince people of other religions?

 

5. Do any of the founders of other world religions have evidence of divine qualities?

 

6. Why do you think that Thomas and Nathaniel did not mention the miracles of Jesus to support his divinity?

 

7. Is the union of the human and divine minds of Michael a comforting or disturbing mystery?

 

 

 

 

At the Feast of Tabernacles – 162

 

1. Do you think Jesus used his divine mind to know that it would be safe to teach in the

    Temple?

 

2. Is controversy the most effective way to introduce new and enlarged truth?

 

3. Did Jesus answer the question, “Do you really claim to be the Messiah?”

 

4. Do you think the Urantia Papers will bring a new evaluation of Jesus in Judaism?

 

5. What do you suppose Jesus might have written in the sand that caused all of her accusers to depart?

 

6. Is Jesus’ testimony as a divine Son the ultimate challenge to the Sanhedrin rulers?

 

7. Do we over emphasize our material necessities? Was the final answer to Martha’s request a compromise solution?

 

• Was the boldness of Jesus an opportunity for the Sanhedrin to rethink their attitude toward him?

 

• How does one know whether a new statement of truth is in harmony with God’s will?

 

• How does one overcome the rigidity of fundamentalistic and orthodox positions?

 

• Why should religion never create a political theocracy?

 

• Had the Pharisees gone to listen to Jesus as Eber suggested, how do you think they would have reacted?

 

Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan – 163

 

1. What are the practical applications of the instruction to be as “wise as serpents while you are also as harmless as doves?”

 

2. How do we increase the number of people carrying the good news of the kingdom to the world?

 

3. If Jesus had explained to Matadormus  why he was asked to dispose of his wealth, do you think the young man might have done so?

 

4. How do we distinguish between a “pet evil”  we need to get rid of and a special talent that we can use in serving others?

 

5. What are the ways in which the strong, able, and  more intelligent people exploit their less able and intelligent fellows?

 

6. What is the spiritual meaning of the parable of the vineyard workers?

 

7. How do we recognize spiritual pride?

 

• How does the resistance to the Fifth Epochal Revelation compare with the antagonism to the gospel in Jesus’ day?

 

• If we wish to be ordained people, should we take Jesus’ statement “let others bury the dead” literally?

 

• How can we be free from the unhealthy love for oneself and yet have a superb self-respect?

 

• Is wealth or pride the more serious obstacle to spiritual dedication?

 

• Is the person who leaves everything for the sake of the kingdom likely to “receive manyfold more in this world?”

 

• Which of the seven points of instruction to the 70 are applicable today?

 

• What were the factors which produced a solid corps of evangelists that would carry on after Jesus left them?

 

• Centuries from now, will people think that those who experienced the early years of the Fifth Epochal Revelation were especially privileged?

 

At the Feast of Dedication – 164

 

1. Who do people in our culture have trouble recognizing as a neighbor?

 

2. How are comprehensive knowledge and truth related?

 

3. If Jesus knew he would never win the majority of the Sanhedrin, why did he continue to challenge them?

 

4. Why has reincarnation been a popular belief over the centuries?

 

5. Why are fundamentalists like the Sanhedrin leaders so unable to objectively consider other truth?

 

6. From a human point of view, was the Pharisee’s charge of blasphemy reasonable?

 

7. Is simple mindedness, like that of Josiah, a help in developing faith?

 

The Perean Mission Begins – 165

 

1. The true shepherd’s voice portrays truth; how do we recognize truth?

 

2. What are “green pastures and still waters” in spiritual ministry?

 

3. Is living without fear primarily a spiritual achievement?

 

4. What is the source of human happiness and joy?

 

5. How do we determine what our real treasurer is?

 

6. When our real concern is following spiritual values and service, can we largely ignore our material needs?

 

7. What kind of trails and testing will the pioneers of the Fifth Epochal Revelation encounter?

 

• The Perean ministry was well organized, how well organized is the outreach ministry of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

• What is the more abundant life that Jesus promised?

 

• How do you think early Christians understood Jesus’  statement: “ I have many other sheep not of this fold?”

 

• How will the extended knowledge of the spiritual world given by the Urantia Papers effect the lives of people on our world?

 

• Is the Fifth Epochal Revelation a continuation of Christ Michael’s ministry to our world?

 

• What are the ways in which we are being spiritually challenged today?

 

• Why did Jesus often mention the dangers of the love of material things?

 

Last Visit to Northern Perea – 166

 

1. In the face of the extra ordinary personality and mighty works of Jesus, is it surprising that the early Christian Church emphasized his divinity and miraculous works  rather than his teachings?

 

2. Do customs and orthodox doctrines still stand in the way of enlarged truth and loving relationships?

 

3. Among the population of the world, do you think many or few will be saved to eternal life?

 

4. How do we use spiritual force to break through to a spiritual destiny?

 

5. Many people believe they have been saved from accidents by angels, does this harmonize with Jesus’ answer to the question of Thomas about the help of angels?

 

6. Which influence is greater, the help of science in saving religion from superstition or the hindrance of science in the philosophy of materialism?

 

7. Was Abner correct in his evaluation of Paul?

 

• Contrast the New Testament and The Urantia Book story of the healing of the ten lepers.

 

• Contrast the New Testament and The Urantia Book discussion about the pathways leading to salvation and destruction.

 

• What lessons can we learn from the conflicts in the early Christian Church?

 

The Visit to Philadelphia – 167

 

1. How can one distinguish between true humility and genuine self-respect?

 

2. What is the spiritual message of the Parable of the Great Supper?

 

3. Is a depressed mind primarily the result of physical, mental, or spiritual conditions?

 

4. Why was Jesus motivated to “walk the second mile” with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem?

 

5. Is the attempt to apply Jesus’ teachings to political, economic, and social issues a mistake?

 

6. Will the Urantia Papers cause the Roman Catholic Church to change their ideas about marriage and the priesthood?

 

7. How do you think Guardian Angels help in our spiritual growth?

 

• What kind of honor positions do we have in our contemporary society?

 

• Why do you think Jesus healed the man with dropsy?

 

• What formal restrictions do we have today that interfere with good works?

 

• How have the Urantia Papers changed our view of Thomas?

 

• How can we incorporate the simplicity of beauty and naturelike features in our sanctuaries?

 

 

 

 

The Resurrection of Lazarus – 168

 

1. What do you think of the reasons given for Jesus’ sorrow in resurrecting Lazarus?

 

2. Why do you think we were given a rather detailed description of Lazarus’s  resurrection?

 

3. Why is Jesus’ greatest demonstration of divine power only recorded in the gospel of John?

 

4. Facing the fact of the resurrection of Lazarus and the resignation of fourteen of their members, what must have been in the minds of the remaining members of the Sanhedrin?

5. Why do orthodox beliefs have such a power over people?

 

6. Are the acceptance of Christian doctrines responsible for the almost complete indifference to the Fifth Epochal Revelation by Christian leaders after a half-century of exposure?

 

7. Will the knowledge that Spirit beings cannot give material answers to prayer change the way we pray?

 

• Was the resurrection of Lazarus the result of Jesus’ love for the Jewish leaders?

 

• How does one explain the apparent foreknowledge of Lazarus’s resurrection by the Personalized Adjuster of Jesus?

 

• Does knowing that all spirit inspired prayers are answered increase the likelihood of our use of prayer?

 

Last Teachings at Pella – 169

 

1. What are some of the divine influences that are used to recover those who are lost?

 

2. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, what is the spiritual lesson of the younger son and the elder son?

 

3. Which of the three ways of being lost—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son—is the most common in our day?

 

4. Are religious people more naïve than secular people?

 

5. How is experiencing God different than knowing God through Jesus’ teaching?

 

6. How was Jesus a “revelation of God?”

 

7. What is the difference between the Elohim concept of God and Jesus’ reference to the Father?

 

• By declaring that Jesus was “in league with devils” were the Sanhedrin leaders committing blasphemy?

• What spiritual insight is portrayed in the Nazarite allegory of Dives and Lazarus?

 

• What is the difference between having an intellectual knowledge about God and intuitively experiencing God?

 

The Kingdom of Heaven – 170

 

1. What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement, “The kingdom is within you?”

 

2. Is there more truth hunger within religious institutions or among those outside congregations?

 

3. Does a proper motive make the highest forms of good unconscious?

 

4. Are the five cardinal features of the kingdom applicable to all of the religions of the world?

5. Is the Fifth Epochal Revelation a new revelation of the kingdom promised by Jesus?

 

6. Do you think we are close to sudden and unexpected changes in our world?

 

7. How does the spiritual brotherhood differ from the church?

 

• What do contemporary Christians believe about the kingdom of heaven?

 

• Is the “Family of God” a better concept that the “Kingdom of God?”

 

• In what sense is the kingdom of God both a present reality and a future potential?

 

• How were the teachings of Jesus distorted by the apostles’ belief that Jesus would soon return and set up a kingdom on earth?

 

• Will the Urantia Papers succeed in changing the concept of the kingdom of God to the will of God and the kingdom concept to the family concept?

 

• How has the Christian Church supplanted Jesus’ concept of the kingdom?

 

On the Way to Jerusalem – 171

 

1. Why did the apostles continually misunderstand the nature of the kingdom of God?

 

2. What is servant leadership?

 

3. Had Abnerian Christianity survived, how do you think it would have changed the influence of Paul?

 

4. Was it reasonable for the followers of Jesus to believe he could not be put to death?

 

5. Why do you think it was the will of God that Jesus face the natural outcome of the Jewish leader’s action rather than going to a different country?

 

6. How do we balance doing good in a special calling and doing good as we “pass by” in life?

 

7. What is the spiritual meaning of the statement, “To everyone who has shall be given more, but from him who has not, even that which he has shall be taken away from him.?”

 

• What is the author’s purpose in relating the outstanding service of David Zebedee?

 

• Can one follow the will of God while living in an unbelieving family?

 

• Why do you think Jesus did not confront the apostles who were carrying swords?

 

• Is it surprising that Jesus singled out Zaccheus, the chief tax collector, to say at his house?

 

• How can we cultivate insight and sensitivity to human needs and longings?

 

Going Into Jerusalem – 172

 

1. What prejudices and self-righteous attitudes are characteristic of our culture?

 

2. What Judas’ criticism of Mary reasonable?  How did Jesus’ view Mary’s action?

 

3. Why did Bethany accept Jesus when Nazareth, Capernaum, and Jerusalem rejected him?

 

4. Had the Jerusalem leaders accepted Jesus and his message, what might have happened during the last 2000 years of history?

5. Did Jesus call attention to the widow’s offering to encourage people to give all of their wealth to spiritual purposes, or to contrast attitudes between the poor and rejected and the rich and respected?

 

6. Why were the apostles so confused on Palm Sunday?

 

7. Why do you think Jesus did not speak to the crowd when they reached the temple?

 

• Why do you think the authors described the attitudes of each of the apostles?

 

Monday in Jerusalem – 173

 

1. Is the involvement of religious institutions in commerce and politics today wise?

 

2. Is Jesus’ cleansing the temple an example of using force to bring about reform?

 

3. Why do conscientious objectors refuse to use physical force to bring about justice?

 

4. How important is authority in religion today?

 

5. Why are “publicans and harlots” more likely to see the error of their ways before religious authorities recognize their closed-mindedness?

 

6. Is the decline of a religious institution a sign that spiritual truth and nourishment is lacking?

 

7. What  is the spiritual meaning of the parable in which the wedding guest did not wear a wedding garment?

 

• Is it ethical to ignore an unjust law or rule?

 

• What information was Jesus referring to that his resurrection was a sign of?

 

Tuesday Morning in the Temple – 174

 

1. Was Peter or James correct in understanding God’s forgiveness?

 

2. Was the primary purpose of Jesus to build a group of followers or to demonstrate the nature of the kingdom of God?

 

3. What might be the relationship of a husband and wife on the Mansion Worlds?

 

4. What can we learn from Jesus’ technique of responding to his opponents?

 

5. When scripture does not agree with a theologian’s belief, how is it usually handled?

 

6. When is it wise to openly disagree with the beliefs or theology of a religious group to which we belong?

 

7. Will the Fifth Epochal Revelation contribute a significant step “to enlighten the world and liberate mankind?”

 

• How appropriate are the individual salutations Jesus gave the apostles?

 

• What is the place of repentance and confession in our relationship with God?

 

• How do we “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and render to God the things that are God’s?”

 

• Why have martyrs been so influential in history?

 

• How does God speak to us?

 

 

 

The Last Temple Discourse – 175

 

1. How do you think the Jewish leaders reacted after being resurrected on the Mansion Worlds?

 

2. In rejecting the Fifth Epochal Revelation is the Christian Church undermining its future growth?

 

3. What was the purpose of Jesus’ eloquent rebuke of the Jewish leaders?

 

4. Why is it so difficult for human beings to recognize enlarged truth and new revelation?

 

5. Why is the persecution of Jews continuing today?

 

6. Who are the torchbearers of divine truth today?

 

7. Were the Sadducees more objective than the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus?

 

• Are we still burdened with rituals and traditions?

 

• Are our clerical robes and dress sources of spiritual pride in our society?

 

• Why have church leaders gone from mainline positions to the fringes of influence in our society?

 

• How does one account for the fact that thirty prominent Jews decided to openly declare their faith in Jesus while their friends in the Sanhedrin took the opposite position?

 

Tuesday Evening on Mount Olivet – 176

 

1. Why was it so difficult for the apostles to abandon the Messianic expectations and envision a totally new beginning of spiritual development?

 

2. Why are people so concerned about the “second coming” of Jesus or the spiritual condition of our world when, as individuals, they will face a new spiritual opportunity or revelation when they enter the Mansion Worlds?

 

3. What conditions do you think must exist before the return of Jesus?

 

4. What is the spiritual meaning of the Parable of the Talents?

 

5. How can truth be enhanced by passing through our lives?

 

6. What “new realms of spiritual reality” are seeking realization in our generation?

 

7. Do you think Christ Michael will return to this world many times?

 

• We are living in transitional times, what type of world will emerge?

 

• Are the contemporary “second coming” announcements under the same illusion held by the apostles?

 

• How did the destruction of Jerusalem effect the early Christian Church?

 

• Even though clearly stated that no one knows when Jesus will return to this world, why do people continually predict his imminent return?

 

• Why were the apostles so confused about the return of Jesus to this world?

 

•Why do you think the New Testament authors included Selta’s parable of the ten virgins?

 

Wednesday, The Rest Day – 177

 

1. Why do you think Jesus told John Mark not to tell anyone of their conversation in the hills?

 

2. Are parents today training children to be independent through graduated experience?

 

3. When is love dangerous and semiselfish in our contemporary society?

 

4. Would a required course in home training before marriage improve the use of love and wisdom in the home?

5. Is the prejudice against ordaining homosexual people limiting spiritual service?

 

6. What do you think of the analysis of Judas’ betrayal?

 

7. What is the difference between knowing the gospel in the mind and experiencing it in the heart?

 

• Are contemporary parents using money wisely in training children?

 

• What reciprocal effect do love in the home and loyalty in religion have on each other?

 

• Why was David Zebedee more accurate in his predicting what would happen to Jesus than the apostles?

 

• Why did the apostles have a prejudice against the Greeks?

 

Last Day at Camp – 178

 

1. How does the Spirit of Truth become our “power-multiplying fulcrum” in inspiring people to grow spiritually?

 

2. Is legal action an indication that spiritual methods have failed?

 

3. Have we separated religion from politics in our society?

 

4. What is the spiritual danger when people in high places nominally accept the gospel?

 

5. When we fail to grow spiritually, do our angels lead us “in troublous ways?”

 

6. What new adaptations is the gospel undergoing in our day?

 

7. Why shouldn’t we attack the old outmoded ways?

 

• How can we use social service to build religious organizations?

 

• In the face of injustice, how do we use spiritual values to make corrections?

 

• Has the Urantia movement been aggressive enough in the outreach of the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

• Why do you think Jesus told David Zebedee not to share his knowledge of Judas’ betrayal?

 

• Why do you think Judas turned all of the treasury money over to David?

 

The Last Supper – 179

 

1. What are the types of honor that are sought in our society?

 

2. Some churches practice foot washing; does this promote humility?

 

3. How do we become servant leaders?

 

4. How have Christians changed the Lord’s Supper?

 

5. How should we change the Remembrance Supper to reflect its freedom and joy?

 

6. What are some of the puerile misinterpretations of the presence of Jesus in the Remembrance Supper?

 

7. How often and what form is the Remembrance Supper most meaningful to you?

 

• Do you think the apostles had some kind of “supper”  with Christ Michael as morontia personalities?

 

• Why would Lucifer, Satan, and Caligastia have the illusion that they could accomplish Michael’s spiritual overthrow?

 

• What might have gone through the mind of Judas when Jesus acknowledged that he knew of his betrayal?

 

• Is it surprising that one or more of the apostles did not challenge Judas?

 

• Do we associate the cup with the Spirit of Truth and the bread with Jesus’ bestowal life?

 

The Farewell Discourse – 180

 

1. How does the new commandment of love differ from the old one?

 

2. When does service not become a duty or a sacrifice?

 

3. How does Jesus’ statement, “No man goes to the Father except through me? Include people in all of the religions of the world?

 

4. Since the conviction of truth is a universal experience, is this the Spirit of Truth ministering to all people?

 

5. How can we illustrate living truth from dead truth?

 

6. How does truth, which is a spiritual reality, transcend wisdom and knowledge?

 

7. If love must always be interpreted by the Spirit of Truth, is loving others more of a spirit guided will decision than an emotional experience?

 

• What determines the amount of spiritual fruit bearing we produce?

 

• How do we determine what Christ Michael wishes us to do so that his spirit and the Father’s spirit will assist us in our service?

 

• Do people still misunderstand prayer?

 

• Why can’t truth be imprisoned in creeds?

 

• Why might an unspiritual interpretation of the golden rule lead to unhappiness and sorrow?

 

• How does one achieve self-forgetfulness?

 

• Are people more “fear-conscious’ or “truth-convicted?”

 

Final Admonitions and Warnings – 181

 

1. If the Spirit of Truth is a spiritual incarnation in our soul, how do consult the guidance of Jesus in our thinking and decisions?

 

2. How is our current experience preparing us for life on the Mansion Worlds?

 

3. How did Jesus “overcome the world”  when he was about to give up his mortal life to the hostility of the Jewish leaders?

 

4. Why us superb spiritual peace possible amid disturbing material problems?

 

5. How does one balance the wisdom of discretion with courage?

 

6. How do we distinguish leadership from authority?

 

7. How can all work become a calling in which to serve God as well as other human beings?

 

• Why is living in the spirit of Jesus’ teachings preferable to trying to imitate his life?

 

• In our tribulations, how do we experience “eternal joy and everlasting service?”

 

• Why was Jesus’ advice to John so appropriate?

 

• Which of the instructions of the apostles is most appealing to you?

 

In Gethsemane  - 182

 

1. Why was it the Father’s will that the Jewish leaders be allowed to execute Jesus?

 

2. Why didn’t the other apostles advance the same reasons Nathaniel gave for not taking a sword?

 

3. Along with David Zebedee and John Mark, who are the unsung heroes of Jesus’ ministry?

 

4. Is it comforting to know that the human Jesus wanted confirmation of the Father’s will?

 

5. How do you think Jesus’ prayer to the Father in Gethsemane was revealed to the New Testament writers?

 

6. From a human point of view, does it appear that Jesus’ attempt to win his Jewish people to accept the gospel was a failure?

 

7. Does Jesus’ mastery of his human nature give us confidence that we can master our human nature through the power of the Father’s indwelling Spirit?

 

• Do you think Christ Michael had some special meetings with the apostles after they became morontia personalities?

 

• Why is there already a lack of unity in the Urantia movement?

 

 

 

• What type of being do you think ran with Jacob to Philadelphia?

 

• What type of beings might have been “the division commanders of these armies of heaven?”

 

The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus – 183

 

1. Why do you think Judas and the temple guards had to go all the way up to Pilate to secure the Roman guards?

 

2. Why do you think Judas had the gall to betray Jesus with a kiss?

 

3. Do you think Judas in the Mansion Worlds appreciated Jesus’ last attempt to save him from betraying Jesus?

 

4. Why do you think the New Testament account of the arrest of Jesus has Malchus’ ear being cut off?

 

5. Why do Christian fundamentalists believe Jesus did not call on the 12 legions of angels?

 

6. David Zebedee had a rather elaborate messenger corps; how do you imagine these people maintained themselves, apparently without working?

 

7. Was having the Roman captain involved in Jesus’ arrest more helpful to the followers of Jesus or the temple guards?

 

• Why have many Christians misunderstood the meaning of Jesus’ death?

 

Before the Sanhedrin Court – 184

 

1. Why were the Pharisees more favorable to Jesus than the Sadducees?

 

2. Since Annas clearly knew what he was doing, how might this effect his problems in the Mansion Worlds?

 

3. In politics is power and wealth often more important than truth and justice?

 

4. What were the basic factors behind Peter’s denial?

 

5. Is Jesus magnificent behavior during his persecution a new revelation of the potential of human nature?

 

6. How do we escape personality isolation in the midst of solitary suffering?

 

7. Why  did this body of normally  just men abandon their own rules and draw up false charges?

• Why did Annas, the superb politician, want to convene the Sanhedrin legally when the substance of the trial was done illegally?

 

• Since Annas was more concerned about losing the temple revenues that Jesus’ teaching, what does this say about his spiritual values?

 

• Will the specific description of Jesus’ trial in the Fifth Epochal Revelation influence contemporary Jewish leaders of its injustice?

 

The Trial Before Pilate – 185

 

1. Why do people follow ceremonies and tradition while ignoring larger errors of spiritual truth?

 

2. How does one discriminate between political expediency and moral cowardice?

 

3. How would we answer Pilate’s question, “Truth, what is truth—who knows?”

 

4. Why was the crowd so easily manipulated by the Jewish leaders?

 

5. How does one understand the brutality of the men who scourged Jesus?

 

6. How many people have the courage to sacrifice their career and well-being by a just decision?

 

7. Is the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leaders still bringing unfortunate suffering to the Jewish people?

 

• What do you think was the source of Claudia’s dream?

 

• Is fear the sign of spiritual immaturity?

 

• What would have been the cost to Pilate had he released Jesus?

 

Just Before the Crucifixion – 186

 

1. What was the source of the delusion of Judas that he had rendered a great service to the Sanhedrin?

 

2. Why did Judas repent of his betrayal?

 

3. What do you think happened to Judas in the Mansion Worlds?

 

4. Is God made manifest in our lives more difficult in our crisis decisions or in our everyday lives?

 

5. Why didn’t the apostles and disciples of Jesus take his prediction of the resurrection literally?

 

6. Why do the authors of the Fifth Epochal Revelation repeatedly point out that Jesus’ death was not a blood atonement sacrifice?

 

7. In what way did the death of Jesus “enrich and enlighten” the appreciation of our Creator Son?

 

• How does one explain the unusual messenger service of David Zebedee?

 

• In what way was the crucifixion of Jesus in harmony with the will of God?

 

The Crucifixion – 187

 

1. Was the downfall of the Jewish nation the result of natural causes or supermortal judgment?

 

2. What do you think of the coincident of Simon of Cyrene carrying the crossbeam of Jesus and Jesus’ earlier helping Simon’s injured son?

 

3. How will the way in which Jesus died effect the people of his entire universe?

 

4. What effect does including “the unseen host of a universe”  watching the crucifixion add to the Biblical picture?

 

5. How does Jesus’ promise to the penitent thief differ from his statement in Luke 23:43?

 

6. Why do you think that Mary, the mother of Jesus, lived with John Zebedee rather than with her children?

 

7. Why do you think the five people who were at the foot of the cross when Jesus died were there?

 

• What do you think the attitude and action of the Jewish leaders might have been in the Mansion Worlds?

 

• How does one explain Jesus’ unfailing love even for his executioners?

 

• Why did the Jewish leaders and people think that being the Son of God and Jesus’ death were incompatible?

 

• Why do you think Jude was present at Jesus’ death but none of his other brothers?

 

• Do you think The Urantia Book explanation of Jesus’ statement, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” is reasonable?

 

• What persuaded the Roman centurion to believe in Jesus when the other Roman soldiers apparently were not so impressed?

 

 

The Time of the Tomb  - 188

 

1. Why are the Midwayers largely ignorant of what transpired while the body of Jesus was in the tomb?

 

2. Why do you suppose that Joseph believed that Jesus would rise from the dead while Nicodemus was very doubtful?

 

3. How do you suppose Rebecca’s love for Jesus expressed as a young woman and in being present at his crucifixion and burial was handled in the Mansion Worlds?

 

4. Do the assumptions of the Midwayers regarding the human and divine consciousness of Jesus while his body was in the tomb seem reasonable?

 

5. Will the Fifth Epochal Revelation finally terminate belief in the atonement doctrine?

 

6. Because of the Jewish leaders mistake in evaluating Jesus, might they become among the most ardent followers of Michael in our local universe?

 

7. How does the love of Jesus on the cross inspire us to face the “crosses” in our experience?

 

• Does the fact that four men carried the body of Jesus suggest that he was a large man?

 

• Why did the women think that Jesus’ body was not properly embalmed?

 

• How will the love of Jesus on the cross for the Jewish leaders destroy their hate?

 

The Resurrection – 189

 

1. What might have been the purpose of the seven members of the Paradise Incarnation Commission?

 

2. Why do you think the exact time of Jesus’ resurrection was given?

 

3. How does one understand that matter is the shadow of spiritual reality?

 

4. From the Biblical account of the risen Jesus, is this a description of a material body as we know it?

 

5. Why was it logical for the early Christians to assume the resurrection of the physical body?

 

6. Do you think the morontia form of Jesus which could be seen could have been touched by material beings?

 

7. Why were the apostles so hesitant to believe Jesus had risen from the dead when he clearly told them that he would do so?

• Why do you suppose the chief of archangels asked for permission to dispose of the body of Jesus by the method of accelerated time instead of their technique of dematerialization?

 

• Was the story that the disciples removed the body of Jesus from the tomb while the twenty guards slept very believable?

 

• How might the circuit of the archangels be used in our times?

 

Morontia Appearances of Jesus – 190

 

1. How might we be able to recognize our friends on the Mansion Worlds with their morontia bodies?

 

2. Why do you think David Zebedee believed in the resurrection of Jesus before the apostles?

 

3. Is it strange that Mary, the mother of Jesus, went to live with John Zebedee instead of with her family?

 

4. Do you think it reasonable that many of the appearances of the resurrected Jesus are not recorded in the New Testament?

 

5. Why do you think Jesus called James into the service of the kingdom when he had not had the training of the apostles?

 

6. What do you suppose Jesus told James that caused James to forbid the family to report to the apostles but sent Mary Magdalene to tell of Jesus’ appearance to them?

 

7. Why do you think Jesus appeared to the two brothers on the way to Emmaus who were not closely associated with him?

 

• Why do you think the midwayer authors of the life and teachings of Jesus made special mention of Mary Magdalene as the chief spokesperson of the women?

 

• What kind of body do Christians believe Jesus had after his resurrection?

 

•Why might one regard the marriage of David Zebedee and Jesus’ sister Ruth an ideal relationship?

 

Appearances to the Apostles and Other Leaders – 191

 

1. What do you imagine was some of Peter’s “peculiar difficulties?”

 

2. Do you think it was the triumph of Peter’s faith over doubt that caused Jesus to appear to him?

 

3. What does the extended concern that Jesus had for Peter suggest about his mercy toward those who fail to live up to their better intentions?

 

4. How does information about Jesus’ progression through the morontia experience help us in our mortal experience?

 

5. What does it mean that we are “not to love the souls of men, but rather to love men?”

 

6. Why do our doubts most stubbornly assert themselves just as they are about to crumble?

 

7. Why do you think the story in the gospel of John has Thomas putting his finger in Jesus’ hands and side?

 

• Should Andrew’s caution regarding Peter’s report been more kind to Peter’s feelings?

 

Appearances in Galilee – 192

 

1. How did the fire get started and where did the bread come from?

 

2. Was Jesus’ knowledge of where the fish were a bit miraculous?

 

3. How is love “the ancestor of all spiritual goodness, the essence of the true and the beautiful?”

 

4. Why did Jesus challenge Peter three times?

 

5. Why did Jesus intimate that John might be living when he came back to our world?

 

6. Is the advice Jesus gave to the apostles a source for excellent evaluation of ourselves?

 

7. Is the shift from the religion of Jesus to a religion about Jesus understandable and probably inevitable?

 

• Is it surprising that the morontia Jesus was able to handle the fish and break the bread?

 

• Why was it important that Peter learn “the value of meditation and the power of intelligent reflection?”

 

•Was Jesus advice to the individual apostles especially appropriate for each one?

 

• Was the pairing of the apostles to be challenged regarding loving, trusting, serving, obeying, and believing appropriate for each pair?

 

• Was the rededication of the apostles ordination service a fitting climax for Christ Michael as Universe Sovereign?

 

Final Appearances and Ascension – 193

 

1. What evidence do we have of the Spirit of Truth in our world?

 

2. Do Christians often mistake Jesus’ command to take his gospel to all the world as meaning Christianity rather than the fatherhood of God and the brother/sisterhood of humankind?

 

3. How well are the people of our world bearing the fruits of the spirit and living by the principle of continued spiritual growth?

 

4. What are the best ways to avoid spiritual and physical isolation in our independent society?

 

5. How do those of us, like Simon Zelotes, combat the domination of preconceived ideas?

 

6. Why is the farewell message of Jesus to the apostles so inspiring?

 

7, If the influence of Abner and Nathaniel had been dominant in early Christianity instead of the interpretations of Peter and Paul, how might it have changed the Christian faith?

 

• Is one of the major purposes of the Fifth Epochal Revelation to refocus humankind on the fatherhood of God and the brother/sisterhood of all people?

 

• Why do you think the weaknesses of Judas were so extensively enumerated?

 

• Is it surprising that the mother of Jesus and his brother, James, were with the 120 gathered in Mary Mark’s upper room?

 

• Why do you suppose the apostles decided to cast lots to chose between Matthias and Justus to take the place of Judas?

 

Bestowal of the Spirit of Truth – 194

 

1. How is the Spirit of Truth restating the message of Jesus in our generation?

 

2. Is Jesus’ gospel of the fatherhood of God and the brother/sisterhood of all people compatible with all of the religions of the world?

 

3. Why did the Spirit of Truth result in more spiritual growth in the apostles in one month than in the four years of personal association with Jesus?

 

4. How does knowledge of the threefold and sevenfold spirit ministry change our view  of God’s loving care for us?

 

5. Is there evidence that “the spiritual forward urge is the most powerful driving force present in our world?”

 

6. Is religion free from the custody of priests and all sacred classes?

 

7. If the Spirit of Truth “is a tonic for health, a stimulus for the mind, and an unfailing energy for the soul,” how is this spirit ministry related to the various helping services in our society?

 

• To what extent do you think our “spiritual joy, security, and confidence” is the result of influence from the Spirit of Truth?

 

• What would it be like not to have the Spirit of Truth?

 

• Do you think the Fifth Epochal Revelation will focus us on the truth of the gospel and lessen our celebration of facts associated with it, such as the crucifixion and the celebration of Easter?

 

• Do we still have examples of “rampant emotionalism”  in religion today?

 

• How can we keep religion free from the influences of culture?

 

• How can we be active and positive in ministry without using coercion?

 

• What can we learn from the reasons for organizing the Christian Church?

 

After Pentecost I –  Greek and Roman Influence -195

 

1.  Why do you think Christianity became a new order of human society rather than simply a new religion?

 

2.  How do you think the Fifth Epochal Revelation will change our society?

 

3.  What kind of compromise might the students of the Urantia Papers make with the religions of the world?

 

4.  What is the difference between the ideals of Jesus and his ideas?

 

5.  Why was early Christianity accepted by the Greeks and opposed by the Romans?

 

6.  Was the dominance of the legal-minded Romans in Christianity a prominent factor in the inclusion of dogma in the church?

 

7.  Is this a good time in history for a new paradigm of spiritual reality to make its way in our world?

 

•  Does compromise further the growth of truth dominance in religion and in society?

 

•  What is the root of the crises in Western Civilization today?

 

•  Is Christianity's struggle for existence today more ominous than its crises in the "dark ages?"

 

 

After Pentecost II – Dangers of Materialism – 195

 

1.  Why do most people think of religion in its social context rather than as a “purely personal” experience?

 

2.   How is religion related to ethics and morality?

 

3.   How does the soul differ from the mind?

 

4.  If "love is the guide to real insight," how does this relate to the problems of divorce and war?

 

5.  How do religion and science differ? Can true religion and authentic science be in conflict?

 

6.  Are religious leaders trying to call modern peoples to "spiritual battle with the trumpet blasts of the Middle Ages?"

 

7. Why is the universe more like the creative scientist than the discipline of science?

 

•.   How are spiritual values of truth, beauty, and goodness concealed in material realities?

 

•   How do self-expression and Adjuster-expression relate in maturing human experience?

 

•   Does contemporary art reflect spiritual values?

 

•   How do matter, mind, and spirit interrelate in human experience?

 

•   Are most people preoccupied with the good in our society or the evil?

 

After Pentecost III – Secularism & Contemporary Christianity – 195

 

1.  Are most Christians unwittingly secularists?

 

2.  Is Christianity too involved in social and political action and neglecting the spiritual regeneration of humankind?

 

3.  How do we distinguish between firsthand and secondhand religion? Who are the second-­milers?

 

4.  Are Christian churches serving, unconsciously, as barriers to the real religion of Jesus?

 

5.  How do we prevent the “rationalizing, traditionalizing, and institutionalizing” of the religion of Jesus?

 

6.  Do you think the Fifth Epochal Revelation will be able to correct the distortions of materialism and secularism in our culture?

 

7. Why have the leaders of Christianity largely ignored the Fifth Epochal Revelation?

 

•   Is the church too involved with Old Testament concepts and the theology of Paul and neglecting the teachings of Jesus?

 

•    Is there too much formalism, intellectualism, and over organization in the church?

 

•   Are contemporary leaders afraid of being "held"  and  “transformed” by religion?

 

•   Is nationalism the chief barrier to world peace?

 

•   Do you think our world is on the brink of "social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment?"

 

•   How can we keep the facts and accomplishments of science while bringing our world back to the values of true religion?

 

•   Is the spiritual dynamic of the study of the Urantia Papers threatened by intellectualism?

 

•   What is the meaning of Jesus’ statement that the kingdom of God is within you?

 

The Faith of Jesus – 196

 

1. What is the value of theology in contrast to personal living faith?

 

2. What does Jesus’ use of prayer suggest to us?

 

3. How does one determine when an act is truly loving?

 

4. Why is it important to know that Jesus’ life was devoid of leadings, voices, visions, or channeling?

 

5. Why, in the main, have most of the advanced spiritual paradigms been presented by lay people rather than priests or religious professionals?

 

6. Why is the progressive comprehension of reality the equivalent of approaching God?

 

7. What does it mean that morality is superanimal but subspiritual?

 

•  How does believing with Jesus rather than in Jesus further unity in religion?

 

•  How does the living religion of Jesus differ from “the theologic traditions and religious dogmas of nineteen centuries?”

 

•  How do we evaluate the significance of the statement: “Of all human knowledge, that which is of greatest value is to know the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it?”

 

•  Would Jesus have been more influential if he had been an “ordained priest” of his day rather than a layman?

 

•  How long will it take for a reformation of Christianity to discover “the unadulterated religious teachings of Jesus?”

 

•  How much does Christianity today reflect the religion of the Old Testament and the theology of Paul as opposed to the religion of Jesus?

 

•  Is true religion the essence of all effective psychotherapy as Carl Jung intimated?

 

  •  Is there evidence that the religion of Jesus (the Fatherhood of God and the brother/sisterhood of all people) is progressing in influence in the world?

 

•  How can we achieve self-forgetfulness?

 

•  What does it man that some people’s lives are too great and noble to descend to the level of being merely successful?

 

•  What is the best way for a balanced and sane effort to achieve God-consciousness?