The Secret of a Better Civilisation

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By Seppo Kanerva, President Urantia Foundation

Our world is beset with wars, armed conflicts, strife, terror, destruction, and devastation. Our world is infested with all that comes with armed conflict: massacre, killing, murder, loss of life, mutilation, maiming, willfully caused injuries, individuals’ and peoples’ loss of all perspective in life, in short: misery, tragedy, and desperation. There seems to be no end to armed conflicts: as soon as one conflict, with much time and effort, has been settled, there is at least one more brewing or breaking loose. Wars and conflicts are man-made. Man-made are also the solutions that are sought to conflicts; man is resorting to conflict solving methods of his own devising. Sometimes they work to some extent, but in most instances they are ineffectual. Wars and conflicts are to go on. Yet there is one way–which is concomitantly the only way–to put an end to war and armed conflict and to build a better civilisation.

The Urantia Book does reveal this way in many places. I quote one of those passages: Urantia has passed through the ravages of great and destructive wars in its history. All participants in these terrible struggles met with defeat . . . The secret of a better civilisation is bound up in the Master’s teachings of the brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust [2064:4; 194:3.12]. The way to put an end to war and armed struggle is very simple. Mankind has tried and probed many ways and methods of conflict solving, but mankind has never tried or probed the only tenable and permanent solution. The brotherhood of man, the good will of love and mutual trust, has never been given a serious chance.

Why not? Because mankind does not trust in God. Mankind does not trust in the spirit. Mankind’s God concept is distorted, grotesque and very much wrong. Mankind is indoctrinated to believe that not all humans are sons and daughters of God. Mankind refuses to be ruled by the spirit, the spirit of the brotherhood of man. Mankind prefers to be ruled by the mind, material interests, selfishness, egoism, the need to lord it over other human beings, the urge to dictate and dominate, and–in a true crusader sprit–to force certain ways of thinking and living. All of that is masquerading as something noble, something other than what it actually is.

The Revelation tells us all of the above. The Urantia Book reveals our God as a loving Father and our fellow man as a son of this same God, as a brother. The hope and secret of a better world and a better civilisation depend on this realisation. No other explanation, theory, or concept can lead to a better world or civilisation, nor is any of them capable of putting an end to war. One day this brotherhood of man will be construed as global sovereignty, which will prevent wars, conflicts, killings, and destruction. Global sovereignty will prevent global wars–nothing else can [1490:7; 134:6.4].

The Master’s teachings of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man are embodied in The Urantia Book as one of its most essential teachings, but they can be traced also in the best doctrines of man-made institutionalised and personal religions. We may envision a day when millions and billions of people will have embraced and internalised that simple gospel. Then they will no longer see an enemy, one who has to be killed, in a fellow human being. A better civilisation will then be dawning.

The Revelation will play a crucial role in this vision’s coming true. Because of the Revelation’s central role in this transformation of mankind, it is important that we who profess to have embraced the revealed truths also realise that we have certain responsibilities in facilitating this vision’s becoming true. If the world continues to see us as a strife-torn, ready-to-inflict-injury, hate-mongering community, one that is wallowing in conflict and imbued with a crusader mentality, the world will abhor us. If we fail to yield the fruits of the spirit, we betray the responsibility entrusted to us. If we refuse to let the spirit rule, if we just continue to profess our having embraced the revealed teachings but fail to act in harmony with the teachings and do not yield the fruits of the spirit; if we rather prefer to be dominated by the mind, egoism, selfishness, rivalry, and fear–instead of trust–we are nothing better than a failure.

I have time and again, from various aspects, discussed this same theme: the need to considerably improve the interaction and relationships within our reader and believer community, and my hope is that this has not been any vain, mindless, or useless exercise.