Creation, Evolution, or Both?

I WATCHED A DOCUMENTARY RECENTLY THAT PURPORTED TO PROVE THAT THE UNIVERSE could not have come into being by chance. Because of the complexity of its physical laws—the way everything worked so perfectly and fitted together so well, each element precisely perfect for its function right down to sub-atomic structure, there had to be an intelligent Creator.

This film was not a very well crafted production, relying too much on tricks like repetition and echoing to emphasize what the producers considered important, but it presented compelling scientific facts of physics, astronomy and so on, and quoted the opinions of many some respected scientists, including Albert Einstein .

I got the point and agreed with the thesis, until suddenly—boom!—the focus changed. I realized that the whole purpose of this production was to ridicule the theory of evolution and to demonize Charles Darwin, thereby proving that the creationist theories of fundamentalist Christians was the truth and the rest of science could be discarded because it didn’t support this belief.

Sadly, they completely miss the point, the real truth is that GOD CREATED AN EVOLUTIONARY UNIVERSE! How much greater, more glorious and awesome is the true story of the universe than the narrow vision of the Christian theosphere.  How much more splendid are the works of God the Creator. Is this beyond our imagination? Must must always fall back on legend and myth to explain the cosmos?

Question: How could stars and galaxies seen through our telescopes, whose light has taken millions of years to reach us, have been created a few thousand years ago?

Why would God create a universe of boundless space with millions of galaxies and billions of stars, for one puny little planet inhabited by a race of primitive, quarrelsome creatures? Surely His vision and creativity are worthy of something much greater.

How arrogant we are to think all this whole creation was made just for us, and how boring it would be for God.

A good argument for Creation is that random and accidental aggregations of matter and energy could not have produced the remarkable biology or the incredible mind of man. No creature that can contemplate his own meaning and his place in the universe could be purely material.

Celebrate the Birth of Jesus!

JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS BORN at noon on August 21, 7 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem, Palestine. He was born in a stable carved out of the rock-face below an inn, a  room that had been cleaned out and made ready for overflow visitors.

All that night Mary was restless so that neither of them slept much. By the break of day the pangs of childbirth were well in evidence, and at noon, August 21, 7 B.C., with the help and kind ministrations of women fellow travelers, Mary was delivered of a male child. Jesus of Nazareth was born into the world, was wrapped in the clothes which Mary had brought along for such a possible contingency, and laid in a near-by manger. 122:8.1

Set aside a few moments today to think about the tremendous honor and love bestowed upon our humble little world by His choosing our home for His bestowal. We are truly blessed and we could show our gratitude by loving one another as He loved us.

Before…

Michael, the true Son of God, chose our world for his incarnation and bestowed himself upon mankind to live among us as a mortal man.

Of all couples living in Palestine at about the time of Michael’s projected bestowal, Joseph and Mary possessed the most ideal combination of widespread racial connections and superior average of personality endowments. It was the plan of Michael to appear on earth as an average man, that the common people might understand him and receive him; wherefore Gabriel selected just such persons as Joseph and Mary to become the bestowal parents.  122:1.3

Announcements

At the time of Gabriel’s appearance, Mary was not aware of her pregnancy.

“Gabriel’s announcement to Mary was made the day following the conception of Jesus and was the only event of supernatural occurrence connected with her entire experience of carrying and bearing the child of promise.” 122:3.4

“One evening about sundown, before Joseph had returned home, Gabriel appeared to Mary by the side of a low stone table and, after she had recovered her composure, said: “I come at the bidding of one who is my Master and whom you shall love and nurture. To you, Mary, I bring glad tidings when I announce that the conception within you is ordained by heaven, and that in due time you will become the mother of a son; you shall call him Joshua, and he shall inaugurate the kingdom of heaven on earth and among men … And doubt not my word, Mary, for this home has been chosen as the mortal habitat of the child of destiny. My benediction rests upon you, the power of the Most Highs will strengthen you, and the Lord of all the earth shall overshadow you.” 122:3.1”

Joseph did not become reconciled to the idea that Mary was to become the mother of an extraordinary child until after he had experienced a very impressive dream. In this dream a brilliant celestial messenger appeared to him and, among other things, said: “Joseph, I appear by command of Him who now reigns on high, and I am directed to instruct you concerning the son whom Mary shall bear, and who shall become a great light in the world. In him will be life, and his life shall become the light of mankind. He shall first come to his own people, but they will hardly receive him; but to as many as shall receive him to them will he reveal that they are the children of God.” After this experience Joseph never again wholly doubted Mary’s story of Gabriel’s visit and of the promise that the unborn child was to become a divine messenger to the world.  122:4.1

Why were they in Bethlehem?

“In the month of March, 8 B.C. (the month Joseph and Mary were married), Caesar Augustus decreed that all inhabitants of the Roman Empire should be numbered, that a census should be made which could be used for effecting better taxation.

“Throughout all the Roman Empire this census was registered in the year 8 B.C., except in the Palestinian kingdom of Herod, where it was taken in 7 B.C., one year later.”  122:7.1

Who was Jesus?

As a man living on earth, his name was Joshua ben Joseph (Joshua, son of Joseph), better known us as Jesus of Nazareth. He is Michael, the Son of God, our Creator, and the Sovereign of our universe.

Joseph was the biological father of Jesus and the child was already conceived when Gabriel made his announcement to Mary. The spirit that entered into the child was that of Michael, the Son of God. This explains his dual parentage, Joseph was the father of the Son of Man who was in spirit the Son of God

His Parents

Joseph was a mild-mannered man, extremely conscientious, and in every way faithful to the religious conventions and practices of his people. He talked little but thought much … As a youth, among his eight brothers and sisters, he had been more cheerful, but in the earlier years of married life (during Jesus’ childhood) he was subject to periods of mild spiritual discouragement. These temperamental manifestations were greatly improved just before his untimely death and after the economic condition of his family had been enhanced by his advancement from the rank of carpenter to the role of a prosperous contractor. 122:5.1

Mary’s temperament was quite opposite to that of her husband. She was usually cheerful, was very rarely downcast, and possessed an ever-sunny disposition. Mary indulged in free and frequent expression of her emotional feelings and was never observed to be sorrowful until after the sudden death of Joseph. 122:5.2

Jesus derived much of his unusual gentleness and marvelous sympathetic understanding of human nature from his father; he inherited his gift as a great teacher and his tremendous capacity for righteous indignation from his mother … All in all, Mary’s temperament tended to dominate the career of the divine Son as he grew up and swung into the momentous strides of his adult life. In some particulars Jesus was a blending of his parents’ traits; in other respects he exhibited the traits of one in contrast with those of the other. 122:5.3

Who was there to celebrate the birth?

At the noontide birth of Jesus the seraphim of Urantia [Earth], assembled under their directors, did sing anthems of glory over the Bethlehem manger, but these utterances of praise were not heard by human ears. No shepherds nor any other mortal creatures came to pay homage to the babe of Bethlehem until the day of the arrival of certain priests from Ur, who were sent down from Jerusalem by Zacharias. 122:8.5

These priests from Mesopotamia had been told sometime before by a strange religious teacher of their country that he had had a dream in which he was informed that “the light of life” was about to appear on earth as a babe and among the Jews. And thither went these three teachers looking for this “light of life.” After many weeks of futile search in Jerusalem, they were about to return to Ur when Zacharias met them and disclosed his belief that Jesus was the object of their quest and sent them on to Bethlehem, where they found the babe and left their gifts with Mary, his earth mother. The babe was almost three weeks old at the time of their visit. 122:8.6

Misconceptions

Some of the misconceptions we have about the birth of Jesus are related to changes made subsequently in records of the event handed down to us, the date of His birth for example. Joseph and Mary were a recently wed young couple living in the town of Nazareth at the time. They had traveled down to Bethlehem for the Roman census of 7 B.C. in which Jewish citizens were required to  register in the towns of their birth.

Jesus was descended from King David through his mother, not his father:

Joseph was not of the line of King David. Mary had more of the Davidic ancestry than Joseph. True, Joseph did go to the City of David, Bethlehem, to be registered for the Roman census, but that was because, six generations previously, Joseph’s paternal ancestor of that generation, being an orphan, was adopted by one Zadoc, who was a direct descendant of David; hence was Joseph also accounted as of the “house of David.” 122:4.3

The star of Bethlehem had a different explanation:

These wise men saw no star to guide them to Bethlehem. The beautiful legend of the star of Bethlehem originated in this way: Jesus was born August 21 at noon, 7 B.C. On May 29, 7 B.C., there occurred an extraordinary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. And it is a remarkable astronomic fact that similar conjunctions occurred on September 29 and December 5 of the same year. Upon the basis of these extraordinary but wholly natural events the well-meaning zealots of the succeeding generation constructed the appealing legend of the star of Bethlehem and the adoring Magi led thereby to the manger, where they beheld and worshiped the newborn babe. Oriental and near-Oriental minds delight in fairy stories, and they are continually spinning such beautiful myths about the lives of their religious leaders and political heroes. In the absence of printing, when most human knowledge was passed by word of mouth from one generation to another, it was very easy for myths to become traditions and for traditions eventually to become accepted as facts. 122:8.7

I apologize for relying almost entirely for quotations (in italics) the Urantia Book, but they say it so much better than I. You can read this glorious account of Jesus’s birth here:

Paintings by Simon Dewey Used without permission because I couldn’t find a way to contact him.

Eternal life – an offer you can’t refuse!

What if you were offered the chance to live forever? Would you accept? How can anyone refuse an offer of unconditional, eternal love at no cost  other than trust – faith – in the Giver of this love. “But what do I have to do?” you might ask.

It’s simple. All you have to do is accept God as your loving Father, have faith in Him and return to Him the love He has for you. God the Father has endowed everyone with a fragment of his spirit to dwell in our minds and hearts and guide us on the path to eternal bliss. All we need to do is follow His leading and do His will.

The Most High is like a loving father and mother; he really loves us, his children on earth. Our God will forgive us and guide our footsteps into the ways of salvation. He will take us by the hand and lead us to himself. God saves those who trust him; he does not compel man to serve his name. 131:1.8

This is how Jesus explained it to the  apostles:
“Loving God, desiring to be like him – genuine recognition of the divine fatherhood, and loving worship of the heavenly Parent”. 110:3.9 2.
“Loving man and sincerely desiring to serve him – wholehearted recognition of the brotherhood of man coupled with an intelligent and wise affection for each of your fellow mortals.” 110:3.9 3.
“Joyful acceptance of cosmic citizenship – honest recognition of your progressive obligations to the Supreme Being, awareness of the interdependence of evolutionary man and evolving Deity. This is the birth of cosmic morality and the dawning realization of universal duty.” 110:3.10 4. [Quoted from the Urantia Book. The numbers are the chapter and sub-sections containing the quoted text.]

Believing that God is the Father of all mankind inevitably leads us to the acceptance that all men are brothers and instills in us a love for all people.

It’s all about Love. God’s love for us and our love for one another. Love is a powerful force once one becomes practiced in using it. It leads us into the paths of joy, peace, tolerance, and hope. Once you learn how to see your neighbors through loving eyes, you can feel a kinship with them which diminishes feelings of anger, jealously, and hatred for others. Love leads to forgiveness, compassion, the desire for the well-being of others and the urge to help them.

Love is the essence of religion and the wellspring of superior civilization. 102:6.3

Putting your trust in the Heavenly Father removes your fears and anxieties and helps you endure the day-to-day vicissitudes of life. He comforts you in times of great sorrow and helps you endure the pain and suffering. This faith removes fear of death, of those you love, and your own.

I know it’s all very well to tell you this, but how do I know it’s true? My own experience tells me it is. Ever since I accepted God’s love and guidance, I have been a happier—dare I say—nicer person. I feel only love for the people I meet, am able to easily forgive those who wrong me, and have overcome much fear and anxiety. It has given me the ability to endure and accept things by convincing myself they are trivial in the greater scheme of things. I used to be depressed all the time, but no more. I used to wish I was dead almost every day, but now I love life and have learned to smile. I look forward to the day when I can graduate from this mortal world and continue on the eternal journey towards God in Paradise. meeting and getting to know countless beings from other worlds and learning more about the vast universe. What a marvelous adventure that will be!

I wasn’t always a believer. For a while, in my depressed periods, I considered myself an atheist, but deep down, that didn’t really make sense. Gradually, through much seeking and study, I came back to faith in God. The big boost came when my son introduced me to the Urantia Book. After reading this book several times, I am convinced it is a true revelation. Many may say “how do you know?”. All I can answer to that is, “the proof is in the content.” No mere human could have made it up.

What is the Urantia Book?

This is a quotation from Theoquest and the Education Committee:  “The Urantia Book is a revelation of truth for our world from higher beings in the universe. Its teachings  blend science, philosophy, history, cosmology and religion seamlessly into a big picture revealing our origin, our purpose, and our divine and eternal destiny.

“Teachings include information on the composition, organization, administration and personalities of the cosmos; the history of our planet; our continuing spiritual evolution; a new view of reality by clarifying the concepts of personality, mind, and soul; the evolutionary experience of our progression towards God in partnership with God’s spirit in our mind; and lastly, an enlarged account of the life and teachings of Jesus.”

The Revelations in The Urantia Book are the most thrilling, exciting and heartwarming documents I have ever read. Everything in it is logical, consistent, positive. It is full of good news and hope for mankind. It never descends into threats, condemnation, or dire prospects for anyone who falls out of line. It does not dwell on sin, punishment, and those beings who would tempt man into evil, although there are rational explanations for these concepts from man’s primitive past. Never once in its entire 2000 plus pages does the word “hell” appear. Everything in this revelation is positive, hopeful, and uplifting; there is nothing that contradicts current scientific knowledge. It also debunks superstitions and pseudo-religions and explains how these cults arose the purposes they supposedly served.

The Urantia Book is a road-map for a better future for the world and for every individual person who lives in it. It is not any easy read, however. It requires much perseverance and concentration, and in my case, several readings. There is too much to digest in one reading and one inevitable comes across new facts with each review.

I feel very privileged to have been able to read this wonderful revelation and learn so much about God, the universe, how we came into being and our final destiny. Believe me, it is so much more magnificent and inspiring than one could ever have imagined from reading previous religious documents, this is why I want to share what I have learned.

In future posts I hope to discuss some of what I have discovered.

Note: All opinions in this blog are purely my own and do not claim to reflect the those of any other person or organization.