The Urantia Book
PAPER 131
THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS
131:0.1
DURING the Alexandrian sojourn of Jesus,
Gonod, and Ganid, the young man spent much of his time and no
small sum of his father's money making a collection of the
teachings of the world's religions about God and his relations
with mortal man. Ganid employed more than threescore learned
translators in the making of this abstract of the religious
doctrines of the world concerning the Deities. And it should be
made plain in this record that all these teachings portraying
monotheism were largely derived, directly or indirectly, from the
preachments of the missionaries of Machiventa Melchizedek, who
went forth from their Salem headquarters to spread the doctrine of
one God -- the Most High -- to the ends of the earth.
131:0.2 There is presented herewith an abstract
of Ganid's manuscript, which he prepared at Alexandria and Rome,
and which was preserved in India for hundreds of years after his
death. He collected this material under ten heads, as follows:
1. CYNICISM
131:1.1 The residual teachings of the disciples
of Melchizedek, excepting those which persisted in the Jewish
religion, were best preserved in the doctrines of the Cynics.
Ganid's selection embraced the following:
131:1.2 "God is supreme; he is the Most High of
heaven and earth. God is the perfected circle of eternity, and he
rules the universe of universes. He is the sole maker of the
heavens and the earth. When he decrees a thing, that thing is. Our
God is one God, and he is compassionate and merciful. Everything
that is high, holy, true, and beautiful is like our God. The Most
High is the light of heaven and earth; he is the God of the east,
the west, the north, and the south.
131:1.3 "Even if the earth should pass away, the
resplendent face of the Supreme would abide in majesty and glory.
The Most High is the first and the last, the beginning and the end
of everything. There is but this one God, and his name is Truth.
God is self-existent, and he is devoid of all anger and enmity; he
is immortal and infinite. Our God is omnipotent and bounteous.
While he has many manifestations, we worship only God himself. God
knows all -- our secrets and our proclamations; he also knows what
each of us deserves. His might is equal to all things.
131:1.4 "God is a peace giver and a faithful
protector of all who fear and trust him. He gives salvation to all
who serve him. All creation exists in the power of the Most High.
His divine love springs forth from the holiness of his power, and
affection is born of the might of his greatness. The Most High has
decreed the union of body and soul and has endowed man with his
own spirit. What man does must come to an end, but what the
Creator does goes on forever. We gain knowledge from the
experience of man, but we derive wisdom from the contemplation of
the Most High.
131:1.5 "God pours rain upon the earth, he
causes the sun to shine upon the sprouting grain, and he gives us
the abundant harvest of the good things of this life and eternal
salvation in the world to come. Our God enjoys great authority;
his name is Excellent and his nature is unfathomable. When you are
sick, it is the Most High who heals you. God is full of goodness
toward all men; we have no friend like the Most High. His mercy
fills all places and his goodness encompasses all souls. The Most
High is changeless ; and he is our helper in every time of need.
Wherever you turn to pray, there is the face of the Most High and
the open ear of our God. You may hide yourself from men, but not
from God. God is not a great distance from us; he is omnipresent.
God fills all places and lives in the heart of the man who fears
his holy name. Creation is in the Creator and the Creator in his
creation. We search for the Most High and then find him in our
hearts. You go in quest of a dear friend, and then you discover
him within your soul.
131:1.6 "The man who knows God looks upon all
men as equal; they are his brethren. Those who are selfish, those
who ignore their brothers in the flesh, have only weariness as
their reward. Those who love their fellows and who have pure
hearts shall see God. God never forgets sincerity. He will guide
the honest of heart into the truth, for God is truth.
131:1.7 "In your lives overthrow error and
overcome evil by the love of the living truth. In all your
relations with men do good for evil. The Lord God is merciful and
loving; he is forgiving. Let us love God, for he first loved us.
By God's love and through his mercy we shall be saved. Poor men
and rich men are brothers. God is their Father. The evil you would
not have done you, do not to others.
131:1.8 "At all times call upon his name, and as
you believe in his name, so shall your prayer be heard. What a
great honor it is to worship the Most High! All the worlds and the
universes worship the Most High. And with all your prayers give
thanks -- ascend to worship. Prayerful worship shuns evil and
forbids sin. At all times let us praise the name of the Most High.
The man who takes shelter in the Most High conceals his defects
from the universe. When you stand before God with a clean heart,
you become fearless of all creation. 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.
131:1.9 "If the faith of the Most High has
entered your heart, then shall you abide free from fear throughout
all the days of your life. Fret not yourself because of the
prosperity of the ungodly; fear not those who plot evil; let the
soul turn away from sin and put your whole trust in the God of
salvation. The weary soul of the wandering mortal finds eternal
rest in the arms of the Most High; the wise man hungers for the
divine embrace; the earth child longs for the security of the arms
of the Universal Father. The noble man seeks for that high estate
wherein the soul of the mortal blends with the spirit of the
Supreme. God is just: What fruit we receive not from our plantings
in this world we shall receive in the next."
2. JUDAISM
131:2.1 The Kenites of Palestine salvaged much
of the teaching of Melchizedek, and from these records, as
preserved and modified by the Jews, Jesus and Ganid made the
following selection:
131:2.2 "In the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth and all things therein. And, behold, all he
created was very good. The Lord, he is God; there is none beside
him in heaven above or upon the earth beneath. Therefore shall you
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might. The earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The heavens declare the
glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day after day
utters speech; night after night shows knowledge. There is no
speech or language where their voice is not heard. The Lord's work
is great, and in wisdom has he made all things; the greatness of
the Lord is unsearchable. He knows the number of the stars; he
calls them all by their names.
131:2.3 "The power of the Lord is great and his
understanding infinite. Says the Lord: `As the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts higher than your thoughts.' God reveals the deep and
secret things because the light dwells with him. The Lord is
merciful and gracious; he is long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth. The Lord is good and upright; the meek will he
guide in judgment. Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is
the man who trusts God. God is our refuge and strength, a very
present help in trouble.
131:2.4 "The mercy of the Lord is from
everlasting to everlasting upon those who fear him and his
righteousness even to our children's children. The Lord is
gracious and full of compassion. The Lord is good to all, and his
tender mercies are over all his creation; he heals the
brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Whither shall I go from
God's spirit? whither shall I flee from the divine presence? Thus
says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is
Holy: `I dwell in the high and holy place; also with him who is of
a contrite heart and a humble spirit!' None can hide himself from
our God, for he fills heaven and earth. Let the heavens be glad
and let the earth rejoice. Let all nations say: The Lord reigns!
Give thanks to God, for his mercy endures forever.
131:2.5 "The heavens declare God's
righteousness, and all the people have seen his glory. It is God
who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, the
sheep of his pasture. His mercy is everlasting, and his truth
endures to all generations. Our God is governor among the nations.
Let the earth be filled with his glory! O that men would praise
the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful gifts to the
children of men!
131:2.6 "God has made man a little less than
divine and has crowned him with love and mercy. The Lord knows the
way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; the knowledge of the
Supreme is understanding. Says the Almighty God: `Walk before me
and be perfect.' Forget not that pride goes before destruction and
a haughty spirit before a fall. He who rules his own spirit is
mightier than he who takes a city. Says the Lord God, the Holy
One: `In returning to your spiritual rest shall you be saved; in
quietness and confidence shall be your strength.' They who wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary; they shall
walk and not be faint. The Lord shall give you rest from your
fear. Says the Lord: `Fear not, for I am with you. Be not
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help
you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my
righteousness.'
131:2.7 "God is our Father; the Lord is our
redeemer. God has created the universal hosts, and he preserves
them all. His righteousness is like the mountains and his judgment
like the great deep. He causes us to drink of the river of his
pleasures, and in his light we shall see light. It is good to give
thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to the Most High; to show
forth loving-kindness in the morning and the divine faithfulness
every night. God's kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his
dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is my
shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green
pastures; he leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He
leads me in the paths of righteousness. Yes, even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for God is with me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
131:2.8 "Yahweh is the God of my salvation;
therefore in the divine name will I put my trust. I will trust in
the Lord with all my heart; I will lean not upon my own
understanding. In all my ways I will acknowledge him, and he shall
direct my paths. The Lord is faithful; he keeps his word with
those who serve him; the just shall live by his faith. If you do
not well, it is because sin lies at the door; men reap the evil
they plough and the sin they sow. Fret not yourself because of
evildoers. If you regard iniquity in your heart, the Lord will not
hear you; if you sin against God, you also wrong your own soul.
God will bring every man's work to judgment with every secret
thing, whether it be good or evil. As a man thinks in his heart,
so is he.
131:2.9 "The Lord is near all who call upon him
in sincerity and in truth. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy
comes in the morning. A merry heart does good like a medicine. No
good thing will God withhold from those who walk uprightly. Fear
God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.
Thus says the Lord who created the heavens and who formed the
earth: `There is no God beside me, a just God and a savior. Look
to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. If you seek me, you
shall find me if you search for me with all your heart.' The meek
shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace. Whoever sows iniquity shall reap calamity;
they who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.
131:2.10 "`Come now, let us reason together,'
says the Lord, `Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool.' But there is no peace for the wicked; it is your own sins
which have withheld the good things from you. God is the health of
my countenance and the joy of my soul. The eternal God is my
strength; he is our dwelling place, and underneath are the
everlasting arms. The Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted;
he saves all who have a childlike spirit. Many are the afflictions
of the righteous man, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Commit your way to the Lord -- trust him -- and he will bring it
to pass. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
131:2.11 "Love your neighbor as yourself; bear a
grudge against no man. Whatsoever you hate do to no man. Love your
brother, for the Lord has said: `I will love my children freely.'
The path of the just is as a shining light which shines more and
more until the perfect day. They who are wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament and they who turn many to
righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Let the wicked
forsake his evil way and the unrighteous man his rebellious
thoughts. Says the Lord: `Let them return to me, and I will have
mercy on them; I will abundantly pardon.'
131:2.12 "Says God, the creator of heaven and
earth: `Great peace have they who love my law. My commandments
are: You shall love me with all your heart; you shall have no gods
before me; you shall not take my name in vain; remember the
Sabbath day to keep it holy; honor your father and mother; you
shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not
steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not covet.'
131:2.13 "And to all who love the Lord supremely
and their neighbors like themselves, the God of heaven says: `I
will ransom you from the grave; I will redeem you from death. I
will be merciful to your children, as well as just. Have I not
said of my creatures on earth, you are the sons of the living God?
And have I not loved you with an everlasting love? Have I not
called you to become like me and to dwell forever with me in
Paradise?'"
3. BUDDHISM
131:3.1 Ganid was shocked to discover how near
Buddhism came to being a great and beautiful religion without God,
without a personal and universal Deity. However, he did find some
record of certain earlier beliefs which reflected something of the
influence of the teachings of the Melchizedek missionaries who
continued their work in India even to the times of Buddha. Jesus
and Ganid collected the following statements from the Buddhist
literature:
131:3.2 "Out of a pure heart shall gladness
spring forth to the Infinite; all my being shall be at peace with
this supermortal rejoicing. My soul is filled with content, and my
heart overflows with the bliss of peaceful trust. I have no fear;
I am free from anxiety. I dwell in security, and my enemies cannot
alarm me. I am satisfied with the fruits of my confidence. I have
found the approach to the Immortal easy of access. I pray for
faith to sustain me on the long journey; I know that faith from
beyond will not fail me. I know my brethren will prosper if they
become imbued with the faith of the Immortal, even the faith that
creates modesty, uprightness, wisdom, courage, knowledge, and
perseverance. Let us forsake sorrow and disown fear. By faith let
us lay hold upon true righteousness and genuine manliness. Let us
learn to meditate on justice and mercy. Faith is man's true
wealth; it is the endowment of virtue and glory.
131:3.3 "Unrighteousness is contemptible; sin is
despicable. Evil is degrading, whether held in thought or wrought
out in deeds. Pain and sorrow follow in the path of evil as the
dust follows the wind. Happiness and peace of mind follow pure
thinking and virtuous living as the shadow follows the substance
of material things. Evil is the fruit of wrongly directed
thinking. It is evil to see sin where there is no sin; to see no
sin where there is sin. Evil is the path of false doctrines. Those
who avoid evil by seeing things as they are gain joy by thus
embracing the truth. Make an end of your misery by loathing sin.
When you look up to the Noble One, turn away from sin with a whole
heart. Make no apology for evil; make no excuse for sin. By your
efforts to make amends for past sins you acquire strength to
resist future tendencies thereto. Restraint is born of repentance.
Leave no fault unconfessed to the Noble One.
131:3.4 "Cheerfulness and gladness are the
rewards of deeds well done and to the glory of the Immortal. No
man can rob you of the liberty of your own mind. When the faith of
your religion has emancipated your heart, when the mind, like a
mountain, is settled and immovable, then shall the peace of the
soul flow tranquilly like a river of waters. Those who are sure of
salvation are forever free from lust, envy, hatred, and the
delusions of wealth. While faith is the energy of the better life,
nevertheless, must you work out your own salvation with
perseverance. If you would be certain of your final salvation,
then make sure that you sincerely seek to fulfill all
righteousness. Cultivate the assurance of the heart which springs
from within and thus come to enjoy the ecstasy of eternal
salvation.
131:3.5 "No religionist may hope to attain the
enlightenment of immortal wisdom who persists in being slothful,
indolent, feeble, idle, shameless, and selfish. But whoso is
thoughtful, prudent, reflective, fervent, and earnest -- even
while he yet lives on earth -- may attain the supreme
enlightenment of the peace and liberty of divine wisdom. Remember,
every act shall receive its reward. Evil results in sorrow and sin
ends in pain. Joy and happiness are the outcome of a good life.
Even the evildoer enjoys a season of grace before the time of the
full ripening of his evil deeds, but inevitably there must come
the full harvest of evil-doing. Let no man think lightly of sin,
saying in his heart: `The penalty of wrongdoing shall not come
near me.' What you do shall be done to you, in the judgment of
wisdom. Injustice done to your fellows shall come back upon you.
The creature cannot escape the destiny of his deeds.
131:3.6
"The fool has said in his heart, `Evil shall not overtake me'; but
safety is found only when the soul craves reproof and the mind
seeks wisdom. The wise man is a noble soul who is friendly in the
midst of his enemies, tranquil among the turbulent, and generous
among the grasping. Love of self is like weeds in a goodly field.
Selfishness leads to grief; perpetual care kills. The tamed mind
yields happiness. He is the greatest of warriors who overcomes and
subdues himself. Restraint in all things is good. He alone is a
superior person who esteems virtue and is observant of his duty.
Let not anger and hate master you. Speak harshly of no one.
Contentment is the greatest wealth. What is given wisely is well
saved. Do not to others those things you would not wish done to
you. Pay good for evil; overcome evil with the good.
131:3.7 "A righteous soul is more to be desired
than the sovereignty of all the earth. Immortality is the goal of
sincerity; death, the end of thoughtless living. Those who are
earnest die not; the thoughtless are dead already. Blessed are
they who have insight into the deathless state. Those who torture
the living will hardly find happiness after death. The unselfish
go to heaven, where they rejoice in the bliss of infinite
liberality and continue to increase in noble generosity. Every
mortal who thinks righteously, speaks nobly, and acts unselfishly
shall not only enjoy virtue here during this brief life but shall
also, after the dissolution of the body, continue to enjoy the
delights of heaven."
4. HINDUISM
131:4.1 The missionaries of Melchizedek carried
the teachings of the one God with them wherever they journeyed.
Much of this monotheistic doctrine, together with other and
previous concepts, became embodied in the subsequent teachings of
Hinduism. Jesus and Ganid made the following excerpts:
131:4.2 "He is the great God, in every way
supreme. He is the Lord who encompasses all things. He is the
creator and controller of the universe of universes. God is one
God; he is alone and by himself; he is the only one. And this one
God is our Maker and the last destiny of the soul. The Supreme One
is brilliant beyond description; he is the Light of Lights. Every
heart and every world is illuminated by this divine light. God is
our protector -- he stands by the side of his creatures -- and
those who learn to know him become immortal. God is the great
source of energy; he is the Great Soul. He exercises universal
lordship over all. This one God is loving, glorious, and adorable.
Our God is supreme in power and abides in the supreme abode. This
true Person is eternal and divine; he is the primal Lord of
heaven. All the prophets have hailed him, and he has revealed
himself to us. We worship him. O Supreme Person, source of beings,
Lord of creation, and ruler of the universe, reveal to us, your
creatures, the power whereby you abide immanent! God has made the
sun and the stars; he is bright, pure, and self-existent. His
eternal knowledge is divinely wise. The Eternal is unpenetrated by
evil. Inasmuch as the universe sprang from God, he does rule it
appropriately. He is the cause of creation, and hence are all
things established in him.
131:4.3 "God is the sure refuge of every good
man when in need; the Immortal One cares for all mankind. God's
salvation is strong and his kindness is gracious. He is a loving
protector, a blessed defender. Says the Lord: `I dwell within
their own souls as a lamp of wisdom. I am the splendor of the
splendid and the goodness of the good. Where two or three gather
together, there am I also.' The creature cannot escape the
presence of the Creator. The Lord even counts the ceaseless
winking of every mortal's eyes; and we worship this divine Being
as our inseparable companion. He is all-prevailing, bountiful,
omnipresent, and infinitely kind. The Lord is our ruler, shelter,
and supreme controller, and his primeval spirit dwells within the
mortal soul. The Eternal Witness to vice and virtue dwells within
man's heart. Let us long meditate on the adorable and divine
Vivifier; let his spirit fully direct our thoughts. From this
unreal world lead us to the real! From darkness lead us to the
light! From death guide us to immortality!
131:4.4 "With our hearts purged of all hate, let
us worship the Eternal. Our God is the Lord of prayer; he hears
the cry of his children. Let all men submit their wills to him,
the Resolute. Let us delight in the liberality of the Lord of
prayer. Make prayer your inmost friend and worship your soul's
support. `If you will but worship me in love,' says the Eternal,
`I will give you the wisdom to attain me, for my worship is the
virtue common to all creatures.' God is the illuminator of the
gloomy and the power of those who are faint. Since God is our
strong friend, we have no more fear. We praise the name of the
never-conquered Conqueror. We worship him because he is man's
faithful and eternal helper. God is our sure leader and unfailing
guide. He is the great parent of heaven and earth, possessed of
unlimited energy and infinite wisdom. His splendor is sublime and
his beauty divine. He is the supreme refuge of the universe and
the changeless guardian of everlasting law. Our God is the Lord of
life and the Comforter of all men; he is the lover of mankind and
the helper of those who are distressed. He is our life giver and
the Good Shepherd of the human flocks. God is our father, brother,
and friend. And we long to know this God in our inner being.
131:4.5 "We have learned to win faith by the
yearning of our hearts. We have attained wisdom by the restraint
of our senses, and by wisdom we have experienced peace in the
Supreme. He who is full of faith worships truly when his inner
self is intent upon God. Our God wears the heavens as a mantle; he
also inhabits the other six wide-spreading universes. He is
supreme over all and in all. We crave forgiveness from the Lord
for all of our trespasses against our fellows; and we would
release our friend from the wrong he has done us. Our spirit
loathes all evil; therefore, O Lord, free us from all taint of
sin. We pray to God as a comforter, protector, and savior -- one
who loves us.
131:4.6 "The spirit of the Universe Keeper
enters the soul of the simple creature. That man is wise who
worships the One God. Those who strive for perfection must indeed
know the Lord Supreme. He never fears who knows the blissful
security of the Supreme, for the Supreme says to those who serve
him, `Fear not, for I am with you.' The God of providence is our
Father. God is truth. And it is the desire of God that his
creatures should understand him -- come fully to know the truth.
Truth is eternal; it sustains the universe. Our supreme desire
shall be union with the Supreme. The Great Controller is the
generator of all things -- all evolves from him. And this is the
sum of duty: Let no man do to another what would be repugnant to
himself; cherish no malice, smite not him who smites you, conquer
anger with mercy, and vanquish hate by benevolence. And all this
we should do because God is a kind friend and a gracious father
who remits all our earthly offenses.
131:4.7 "God is our Father, the earth our
mother, and the universe our birthplace. Without God the soul is a
prisoner; to know God releases the soul. By meditation on God, by
union with him, there comes deliverance from the illusions of evil
and ultimate salvation from all material fetters. When man shall
roll up space as a piece of leather, then will come the end of
evil because man has found God. O God, save us from the threefold
ruin of hell -- lust, wrath, and avarice! O soul, gird yourself
for the spirit struggle of immortality! When the end of mortal
life comes, hesitate not to forsake this body for a more fit and
beautiful form and to awake in the realms of the Supreme and
Immortal, where there is no fear, sorrow, hunger, thirst, or
death. To know God is to cut the cords of death. The God-knowing
soul rises in the universe like the cream appears on top of the
milk. We worship God, the all-worker, the Great Soul, who is ever
seated in the heart of his creatures. And they who know that God
is enthroned in the human heart are destined to become like him --
immortal. Evil must be left behind in this world, but virtue
follows the soul to heaven.
131:4.8 "It is only the wicked who say: The
universe has neither truth nor a ruler; it was only designed for
our lusts. Such souls are deluded by the smallness of their
intellects. They thus abandon themselves to the enjoyment of their
lusts and deprive their souls of the joys of virtue and the
pleasures of righteousness. What can be greater than to experience
salvation from sin? The man who has seen the Supreme is immortal.
Man's friends of the flesh cannot survive death; virtue alone
walks by man's side as he journeys ever onward toward the gladsome
and sunlit fields of Paradise."
5. ZOROASTRIANISM
131:5.1 Zoroaster was himself directly in
contact with the descendants of the earlier Melchizedek
missionaries, and their doctrine of the one God became a central
teaching in the religion which he founded in Persia. Aside from
Judaism, no religion of that day contained more of these Salem
teachings. From the records of this religion Ganid made the
following excerpts:
131:5.2 "All things come from, and belong to,
the One God -- all-wise, good, righteous, holy, resplendent, and
glorious. This, our God, is the source of all luminosity. He is
the Creator, the God of all good purposes, and the protector of
the justice of the universe. The wise course in life is to act in
consonance with the spirit of truth. God is all-seeing, and he
beholds both the evil deeds of the wicked and the good works of
the righteous; our God observes all things with a flashing eye.
His touch is the touch of healing. The Lord is an all-powerful
benefactor. God stretches out his beneficent hand to both the
righteous and the wicked. God established the world and ordained
the rewards for good and for evil. The all-wise God has promised
immortality to the pious souls who think purely and act
righteously. As you supremely desire, so shall you be. The light
of the sun is as wisdom to those who discern God in the universe.
131:5.3 "Praise God by seeking the pleasure of
the Wise One. Worship the God of light by joyfully walking in the
paths ordained by his revealed religion. There is but one Supreme
God, the Lord of Lights. We worship him who made the waters,
plants, animals, the earth, and the heavens. Our God is Lord, most
beneficent. We worship the most beauteous, the bountiful Immortal,
endowed with eternal light. God is farthest from us and at the
same time nearest to us in that he dwells within our souls. Our
God is the divine and holiest Spirit of Paradise, and yet he is
more friendly to man than the most friendly of all creatures. God
is most helpful to us in this greatest of all businesses, the
knowing of himself. God is our most adorable and righteous friend;
he is our wisdom, life, and vigor of soul and body. Through our
good thinking the wise Creator will enable us to do his will,
thereby attaining the realization of all that is divinely perfect.
131:5.4 "Lord, teach us how to live this life in
the flesh while preparing for the next life of the spirit. Speak
to us, Lord, and we will do your bidding. Teach us the good paths,
and we will go right. Grant us that we may attain union with you.
We know that the religion is right which leads to union with
righteousness. God is our wise nature, best thought, and righteous
act. May God grant us unity with the divine spirit and immortality
in himself!
131:5.5 "This religion of the Wise One cleanses
the believer from every evil thought and sinful deed. I bow before
the God of heaven in repentance if I have offended in thought,
word, or act -- intentionally or unintentionally -- and I offer
prayers for mercy and praise for forgiveness. I know when I make
confession, if I purpose not to do again the evil thing, that sin
will be removed from my soul. I know that forgiveness takes away
the bonds of sin. Those who do evil shall receive punishment, but
those who follow truth shall enjoy the bliss of an eternal
salvation. Through grace lay hold upon us and minister saving
power to our souls. We claim mercy because we aspire to attain
perfection; we would be like God."
6. SUDUANISM (JAINISM)
131:6.1 The third group of religious believers
who preserved the doctrine of one God in India -- the survival of
the Melchizedek teaching -- were known in those days as the
Suduanists. Latterly these believers have become known as
followers of Jainism. They taught:
131:6.2 "The Lord of Heaven is supreme. Those
who commit sin will not ascend on high, but those who walk in the
paths of righteousness shall find a place in heaven. We are
assured of the life hereafter if we know truth. The soul of man
may ascend to the highest heaven, there to develop its true
spiritual nature, to attain perfection. The estate of heaven
delivers man from the bondage of sin and introduces him to the
final beatitudes; the righteous man has already experienced an end
of sin and all its associated miseries. Self is man's invincible
foe, and self is manifested as man's four greatest passions:
anger, pride, deceit, and greed. Man's greatest victory is the
conquest of himself. When man looks to God for forgiveness, and
when he makes bold to enjoy such liberty, he is thereby delivered
from fear. Man should journey through life treating his fellow
creatures as he would like to be treated."
7. SHINTO
131:7.1 Only recently had the manuscripts of
this Far-Eastern religion been lodged in the Alexandrian library.
It was the one world religion of which Ganid had never heard. This
belief also contained remnants of the earlier Melchizedek
teachings as is shown by the following abstracts:
131:7.2 "Says the Lord: `You are all recipients
of my divine power; all men enjoy my ministry of mercy. I derive
great pleasure in the multiplication of righteous men throughout
the land. In both the beauties of nature and the virtues of men
does the Prince of Heaven seek to reveal himself and to show forth
his righteous nature. Since the olden people did not know my name,
I manifested myself by being born into the world as a visible
existence and endured such abasement even that man should not
forget my name. I am the maker of heaven and earth; the sun and
the moon and all the stars obey my will. I am the ruler of all
creatures on land and in the four seas. Although I am great and
supreme, still I have regard for the prayer of the poorest man. If
any creature will worship me, I will hear his prayer and grant the
desire of his heart.'
131:7.3 "`Every time man yields to anxiety, he
takes one step away from the leading of the spirit of his heart.'
Pride obscures God. If you would obtain heavenly help, put away
your pride; every hair of pride shuts off saving light, as it
were, by a great cloud. If you are not right on the inside, it is
useless to pray for that which is on the outside. `If I hear your
prayers, it is because you come before me with a clean heart, free
from falsehood and hypocrisy, with a soul which reflects truth
like a mirror. If you would gain immortality, forsake the world
and come to me.'"
8. TAOISM
131:8.1 The messengers of Melchizedek penetrated
far into China, and the doctrine of one God became a part of the
earlier teachings of several Chinese religions; the one persisting
the longest and containing most of the monotheistic truth was
Taoism, and Ganid collected the following from the teachings of
its founder:
131:8.2 "How pure and tranquil is the Supreme
One and yet how powerful and mighty, how deep and unfathomable!
This God of heaven is the honored ancestor of all things. If you
know the Eternal, you are enlightened and wise. If you know not
the Eternal, then does ignorance manifest itself as evil, and thus
do the passions of sin arise. This wondrous Being existed before
the heavens and the earth were. He is truly spiritual; he stands
alone and changes not. He is indeed the world's mother, and all
creation moves around him. This Great One imparts himself to men
and thereby enables them to excel and to survive. Even if one has
but a little knowledge, he can still walk in the ways of the
Supreme; he can conform to the will of heaven.
131:8.3 "All good works of true service come
from the Supreme. All things depend on the Great Source for life.
The Great Supreme seeks no credit for his bestowals. He is supreme
in power, yet he remains hidden from our gaze. He unceasingly
transmutes his attributes while perfecting his creatures. The
heavenly Reason is slow and patient in his designs but sure of his
accomplishments. The Supreme overspreads the universe and sustains
it all. How great and mighty are his overflowing influence and
drawing power! True goodness is like water in that it blesses
everything and harms nothing. And like water, true goodness seeks
the lowest places, even those levels which others avoid, and that
is because it is akin to the Supreme. The Supreme creates all
things, in nature nourishing them and in spirit perfecting them.
And it is a mystery how the Supreme fosters, protects, and
perfects the creature without compelling him. He guides and
directs, but without self-assertion. He ministers progression, but
without domination.
131:8.4 "The wise man universalizes his heart. A
little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Those who aspire to
greatness must learn to humble themselves. In creation the Supreme
became the world's mother. To know one's mother is to recognize
one's sonship. He is a wise man who regards all parts from the
point of view of the whole. Relate yourself to every man as if you
were in his place. Recompense injury with kindness. If you love
people, they will draw near you -- you will have no difficulty in
winning them.
131:8.5 "The Great Supreme is all-pervading; he
is on the left hand and on the right; he supports all creation and
indwells all true beings. You cannot find the Supreme, neither can
you go to a place where he is not. If a man recognizes the evil of
his ways and repents of sin from the heart, then may he seek
forgiveness; he may escape the penalty; he may change calamity
into blessing. The Supreme is the secure refuge for all creation;
he is the guardian and savior of mankind. If you seek for him
daily, you shall find him. Since he can forgive sins, he is indeed
most precious to all men. Always remember that God does not reward
man for what he does but for what he is; therefore should you
extend help to your fellows without the thought of rewards. Do
good without thought of benefit to the self.
131:8.6 "They who know the laws of the Eternal
are wise. Ignorance of the divine law is misery and disaster. They
who know the laws of God are liberal minded. If you know the
Eternal, even though your body perish, your soul shall survive in
spirit service. You are truly wise when you recognize your
insignificance. If you abide in the light of the Eternal, you
shall enjoy the enlightenment of the Supreme. Those who dedicate
their persons to the service of the Supreme are joyous in this
pursuit of the Eternal. When man dies, the spirit begins to wing
its long flight on the great home journey."
9. CONFUCIANISM
131:9.1 Even the least God-recognizing of the
world's great religions acknowledged the monotheism of the
Melchizedek missionaries and their persistent successors. Ganid's
summary of Confucianism was:
131:9.2 "What Heaven appoints is without error.
Truth is real and divine. Everything originates in Heaven, and the
Great Heaven makes no mistakes. Heaven has appointed many
subordinates to assist in the instruction and uplifting of the
inferior creatures. Great, very great, is the One God who rules
man from on high. God is majestic in power and awful in judgment.
But this Great God has conferred a moral sense even on many
inferior people. Heaven's bounty never stops. Benevolence is
Heaven's choicest gift to men. Heaven has bestowed its nobility
upon the soul of man; the virtues of man are the fruit of this
endowment of Heaven's nobility. The Great Heaven is all-discerning
and goes with man in all his doings. And we do well when we call
the Great Heaven our Father and our Mother. If we are thus
servants of our divine ancestors, then may we in confidence pray
to Heaven. At all times and in everything let us stand in awe of
the majesty of Heaven. We acknowledge, O God, the Most High and
sovereign Potentate, that judgment rests with you, and that all
mercy proceeds from the divine heart.
131:9.3 "God is with us; therefore we have no
fear in our hearts. If there be found any virtue in me, it is the
manifestation of Heaven who abides with me. But this Heaven within
me often makes hard demands on my faith. If God is with me, I have
determined to have no doubt in my heart. Faith must be very near
the truth of things, and I do not see how a man can live without
this good faith. Good and evil do not befall men without cause.
Heaven deals with man's soul in accordance with its purpose. When
you find yourself in the wrong, do not hesitate to confess your
error and be quick to make amends.
131:9.4 "A wise man is occupied with the search
for truth, not in seeking for a mere living. To attain the
perfection of Heaven is the goal of man. The superior man is given
to self-adjustment, and he is free from anxiety and fear. God is
with you; have no doubt in your heart. Every good deed has its
recompense. The superior man murmurs not against Heaven nor holds
a grudge against men. What you do not like when done to yourself,
do not to others. Let compassion be a part of all punishment; in
every way endeavor to make punishment a blessing. Such is the way
of Great Heaven. While all creatures must die and return to the
earth, the spirit of the noble man goes forth to be displayed on
high and to ascend to the glorious light of final brightness."
10. "OUR RELIGION"
131:10.1 After the arduous labor of effecting
this compilation of the teachings of the world religions
concerning the Paradise Father, Ganid set himself to the task of
formulating what he deemed to be a summary of the belief he had
arrived at regarding God as a result of Jesus' teaching. This
young man was in the habit of referring to such beliefs as "our
religion." This was his record:
131:10.2 "The Lord our God is one Lord, and you
should love him with all your mind and heart while you do your
very best to love all his children as you love yourself. This one
God is our heavenly Father, in whom all things consist, and who
dwells, by his spirit, in every sincere human soul. And we who are
the children of God should learn how to commit the keeping of our
souls to him as to a faithful Creator. With our heavenly Father
all things are possible. Since he is the Creator, having made all
things and all beings, it could not be otherwise. Though we cannot
see God, we can know him. And by daily living the will of the
Father in heaven, we can reveal him to our fellow men.
131:10.3 "The divine riches of God's character
must be infinitely deep and eternally wise. We cannot search out
God by knowledge, but we can know him in our hearts by personal
experience. While his justice may be past finding out, his mercy
may be received by the humblest being on earth. While the Father
fills the universe, he also lives in our hearts. The mind of man
is human, mortal, but the spirit of man is divine, immortal. God
is not only all-powerful but also all-wise. If our earth parents,
being of evil tendency, know how to love their children and bestow
good gifts on them, how much more must the good Father in heaven
know how wisely to love his children on earth and to bestow
suitable blessings upon them.
131:10.4 "The Father in heaven will not suffer a
single child on earth to perish if that child has a desire to find
the Father and truly longs to be like him. Our Father even loves
the wicked and is always kind to the ungrateful. If more human
beings could only know about the goodness of God, they would
certainly be led to repent of their evil ways and forsake all
known sin. All good things come down from the Father of light, in
whom there is no variableness neither shadow of changing. The
spirit of the true God is in man's heart. He intends that all men
should be brothers. When men begin to feel after God, that is
evidence that God has found them, and that they are in quest of
knowledge about him. We live in God and God dwells in us.
131:10.5 "I will no longer be satisfied to
believe that God is the Father of all my people; I will henceforth
believe that he is also my Father. Always will I try to
worship God with the help of the Spirit of Truth, which is my
helper when I have become really God-knowing. But first of all I
am going to practice worshiping God by learning how to do the will
of God on earth; that is, I am going to do my best to treat each
of my fellow mortals just as I think God would like to have him
treated. And when we live this sort of a life in the flesh, we may
ask many things of God, and he will give us the desire of our
hearts that we may be the better prepared to serve our fellows.
And all of this loving service of the children of God enlarges our
capacity to receive and experience the joys of heaven, the high
pleasures of the ministry of the spirit of heaven.
131:10.6 "I will every day thank God for his
unspeakable gifts; I will praise him for his wonderful works to
the children of men. To me he is the Almighty, the Creator, the
Power, and the Mercy, but best of all, he is my spirit Father, and
as his earth child I am sometime going forth to see him. And my
tutor has said that by searching for him I shall become like him.
By faith in God I have attained peace with him. This new religion
of ours is very full of joy, and it generates an enduring
happiness. I am confident that I shall be faithful even to death,
and that I will surely receive the crown of eternal life.
131:10.7 "I am learning to prove all things and
adhere to that which is good. Whatsoever I would that men should
do to me, that I will do to my fellows. By this new faith I know
that man may become the son of God, but it sometimes terrifies me
when I stop to think that all men are my brothers, but it must be
true. I do not see how I can rejoice in the fatherhood of God
while I refuse to accept the brotherhood of man. Whosoever calls
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If that is true, then
all men must be my brothers.
131:10.8 "Henceforth will I do my good deeds in
secret; I will also pray most when by myself. I will judge not
that I may not be unfair to my fellows. I am going to learn to
love my enemies; I have not truly mastered this practice of being
Godlike. Though I see God in these other religions, I find him in
`our religion' as being more beautiful, loving, merciful,
personal, and positive. But most of all, this great and glorious
Being is my spiritual Father; I am his child. And by no other
means than my honest desire to be like him, I am eventually to
find him and eternally to serve him. At last I have a religion
with a God, a marvelous God, and he is a God of eternal
salvation."
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