Episode:Religion in Depth—Reality of Experience (Part 9)
In the mortal state, nothing can be absolutely proved; both science and religion are predicated on assumptions. Science starts out by assuming the reality of three things: matter, motion, and life. Likewise, religion starts out with the assumption of the validity of three things: mind, spirit, and the universe—the Supreme Being.
Keywords: Urantia, Religion, Science, Philosophy, Truth
Note: Brad joined late this evening, around minute 50.
Summary by Kermit
Commentary on Review
Reflecting on [103:7.8] we noted that their description of truth (an understanding of cosmic relationships, universe facts, and spiritual values) references truths of experiential eternity. Beginning with the existential truths of eternity as a foundation--adding a scientific consciousness and going up to a philosophic consciousness--can introduce us to a beginning relationship to truth, within which we can discover and properly interpret the revelation in association with human philosophy to achieve an initial recognition of previously unexplored territory. But the essential starting point for this process is as a religionist. The 5th ER is only relevant to those possessed of the truths of the 4th ER. The trust and faith of the 3rd ER, to which has been added the love and service of the 4th ER constitute the foundation upon which the 5th ER becomes meaningful. The faith of which we speak must be more than mere belief. A survey of the contemporary religious and philosophic milieu present a wide range of opportunities for seed sowing.
103:7.10
The depth and complexity of our discussions of these passages in section seven make distillation into summary problematic. Listen carefully to the archive for a fuller appreciation of these intricacies, keeping in mind that religion is the initiating element for beginning this discovery and faith is the foundation for religion. Further, this faith is a personal recognition of the reality of existential eternity.
The precision of our text concerning science and religion is striking and demands a sharpness of focus and reflection often associated more often with scientific discourse. But the need for precision in religious discourse is every bit as important for our foray into this unexplored territory. This is illustrated by the complexities of the discussion around the statement “On the spiritual level of maximum status, the need for finite proof gradually vanishes before the actual experience of and with reality.” Listen to the archive for an explanation of the precision of the revelators’ words which hinge on the phrase “of and with reality.” All of this in light of previous SoS discussions concerning the appearance/reality dilemma and our inability as creatures to ever experience reality directly. When the authors say that “nothing can be absolutely proved” they are underscoring the unavoidable relativity of the appearance/reality differential. And they further point out that even when we have plumbed the fullness of the depth of the finite, this is simply a new beginning for a further adventure to penetrate the absonite.
Man’s attempt to discover the nature of reality, whether from the perspective of science or religion, begins with assumptions accepted through the functioning of the three cosmic intuitions. The 5th ER as a philosophic text provides us with superior initial assumptions with which to begin our discovery. It is important to recognize that the 5th ER is a philosophic text in the sense that it encompasses both science and religion and is not a thing apart. We are reminded that in light and life the terms science and religion give way to cosmology and divinity respectively. The challenge is to recognize religion as scaffolding to be transcended and not as an end in itself. Careful reading of our text should stimulate a recognition that as finite creatures we are limited in our engagement with Deity to the finite expression of the Universal Father as discovered in the Supreme Being—the Supreme Father.
The remainder of this section continues ever deeper (or higher depending on how you look at it) the fuller nature and ramifications of the interplay of the divergencies of science and religion and their harmonization (bottom up) or unification (top down) involving the faculties of reason, faith and logic. Reason and faith are here defined as acts of recognition and logic is given as the synthetic truth-seeking progression of the unity of faith and reason as it is founded on the three cosmic intuitions, anchored on the first intuition—the logical acumen.
Lest the nuance and complexity of these issues overwhelm the tadpoles among us, the revelators remind us that the consciousness of the Adjuster is based on the intellectual reception of truth, the supermind perception of goodness, and the personality motivation to love. Can we facilitate these processes coming down from the superconscious into conscious experience?
The final paragraph of our section points out that it is through philosophy that we find both our interpretations of the meaning of life and the coordination of the scientific material viewpoint with the religious spiritual concept. Listen again to the archive for the delightful little bit about the origin, history, and destiny triad and the expanded development of the history element three paragraphs earlier, to functions, relations, and realities.
103:8. Philosophy and Religion
We covered this section in the final fourteen minutes of the broadcast. In broad terms it reinforces the initiating and foundational function of religion in affirming the certainty of a supreme and personal Deity.
The individual nature of the experience of God explains the divergence between the validity of such an experience and the nature of discourse about the experience.
