Episode:God the Father—Attributes of God (Part 5)

From Symmetry of Soul


The sovereignty of God is unlimited; it is the fundamental fact of all creation. The universe is not an accident, neither is it self-existent. The universe is a work of creation and is therefore wholly subject to the will of the Creator. The will of God is divine truth, living love; therefore are the perfecting creations of the evolutionary universes characterized by goodness and potential evil.

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Keywords: Urantia, God, Father's Primacy, Error, Evil

Summary by Kermit

Commentary after Review

Technically speaking the inevitabilities as they are called, are the conditions which appear to be negative features of evolutionary life as it is lived in the flesh. These are the conditions which provide the necessary contrast for calling forth the desirable demonstrations of courage, altruism, hope etc. We also clarified that the desirable traits listed require some qualification as with number nine, pleasure. Note, it is pleasure as the satisfaction of happiness to which our author refers and not the baser forms.

Concerning the situations of social inequality which provide individuals with opportunities to practice altruism, it should not be inferred that altruism on the part of an individuals is the recommended remedy for all social inequality. Altruism is service to one’s fellows, not the foundation of policies designed to eradicate social inequality. The revelators make clear elsewhere, [86:7.4] that social inequality is more properly addressed through a scientific approach. As evolutionary creatures it is only through these contrastive conditions that we develop the habits of pursuing supreme values.

3:5.15 The Father’s Supreme Rule (cont.)

Here the revelators bring up a familiar concept on SoS concerning the part and the whole. Survival of the part (individual) is dependent on cooperating with the plan and purpose of the whole. Critical to understanding this idea in relation to God the Father is to grasp the idea that the Father is not the whole. The Father is in cooperative subordination to the whole (Paradise Trinity). The part that is us, by consecrating our will to the perfect will of God the Father, strikes step with the Father in this cooperative subordination. Failure to understand this foundational concept leads to erroneous interpretations of the revelation. Further regarding survival, the progression of error, evil and sin is revisited from [2:3.5]. Again, the correct understanding of the revelation’s meaning of this progression is essential to its proper interpretation. Listen to the broadcast for elucidation of these terms, note in particular the important difference between unwise judgement (error) and mistaken judgement (evil).

The author makes comparisons between the perfect inhabitants of the central creation and the perfecting mortals of the evolutionary realms. Havona natives are inherently perfect by virtue of existence. We mortals advance in universe status by virtue of our own faith and hope through choosing among the relative value levels of a contrasting evolutionary environment. Even our initiating grace-gift of encircuitment in the Holy Spirit must be affirmed through free will choice.

The final paragraph of this section recaps the inevitabilities with reference to the inhabitants of Havona. I will not attempt a detailed summary of the unpacking of this material except to say the list of nine virtues can be interpreted as three sets of three desirable characteristics listed in the order of their qualities of individuality, associativity, and unity. The first set of three represents qualities unattainable by Havoners, the second set represent qualities possessed by Havoners in eternity existentially, but attained in the inner life by ascenders as they strive for identification with the eternal, and the third set represent outer-life expressions and manifestations of a mastered self. To be sure, listen to the archive of the broadcast for the specifics.

3:6. The Father’s Primacy

Primacy is another way to consider sovereignty. The Father may and does delegate sovereignty to his universe Sons, but after all it is he who delegates, he remains primal, first. God’s sovereignty in truth is unlimited and the fundamental fact of all creation. His perfecting creations are do not begin in perfection. Potential evil is a foundational starting point.

Our author walks us through the philosophic logic essentially demolishing the absurd materialistic and mechanistic assertions that deny the sovereign will of the Universal Father.

The author addresses the question of whether or not the Universal Father suffers. Having no experiential nature we puzzle how the Father might suffer. We know the other two Deities in their roles as the Eternal Mother Son and Infinite Mother Spirit have engagement with experience. As we have been told, [1:5.14] the Father enjoys continuous expansions of self-realization which are comparable to and analogous with the acquirement of new experience by evolutionary mortals. Thus he might have some parallel way of experiencing suffering. And as we have seen, indirectly via the Creator Sons, Thought Adjusters and personality circuit God has mysterious access to human experience.

Beyond the power, form, energy, process, pattern, principle, presence, and idealized reality that is the infinite and eternal ruler of the universe of universes, God is personal. And the personal traits of the Father can be best understood by observing them in the bestowal life of Michael of Nebadon in his Urantia incarnation.

Notwithstanding God the Father’s singular transcendence, his nature and attributes cannot be fully appreciated and understood apart from his coordinate Deities.

And our series ends with the sometimes called benediction— God the Father loves men; God the Son serves men; God the Spirit inspires the children of the universe to the ever-ascending adventure of finding God the Father by the ways ordained by God the Sons through the ministry of the grace of God the Spirit.

Notes by Brad

  • Social inequality is inevitable if you want altruism.
    • But how to think about social inequality?
    • Let your altruism be unselfish service to man. It does not solve social inequality. It isn't about social inequality.
    • Social inequality derives from other issues: science, genetics, etc.


  • "If we obey God, we must disobey ourselves" --Herman Melville, Moby Dick
  • This author had a conversation with someone who doesn't want to believe more than they know.


  • The inevitability is not the positive fact, it's the negative facts that correspond to them.
    • And these negative facts are not escaped as you ascend higher. God doesn't save you from them. You always need these contrasts.


  • It's a dog-eat-dog world in the material-comfort era.
    • Hence, we often feel shame when our judgment is unwise. It's easy for others to find faults in us.
    • We are not naturally humble.
    • Overcoming this ego-driven shame is a choice that is not natural. And not exactly popular these days.


  • This author confesses his lessons and wisdom don't seem especially original.
    • That's okay, it's still personal. Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. But it still is real.
    • This author has no problem with his stone-worshiping phase, his ghost-cult phase. This is just another phase. It never ends in the ascension career.
    • There is a generalized wisdom out there. But as you advance, your own individual stamp on this will become more apparent.
      • A unique individualized flavorization of it that can be poured back out into the universe.


  • Notice the final paragraph of Section 5 is a point by point recitation of the inevitabilities.
    • So what is this 9-fold pattern of this list all about? We've now seen it called out twice us to us.
    • Is 3 times 3 equal 9 significant? Hmm. Probably.
    • See the inevitabilities. A fascinating discussion of the patterns at play in this list of 9 (3 groups of 3)


  • How can we each do this kind of masterful interpretation, without the aid of this study group?
    • Be humble.
    • Avoid old wineskins. Recognize what is actually going on.
    • Feel the reality response. Cultivate the use of the reality response, the three cosmic intuitions.
    • Be patient. It could take a long time and many falsified hypotheses.


  • Is primacy the same as sovereignty?
    • Is the Universal Father really sovereign in a local universe? In fact, no, but in truth, yes. Fact versus truth.
    • But he still is primal in that local universe. Full stop.
    • The revelators acknowledge that may "falter in our concept" of God's primacy.
      • We also falter in our concept of his sovereignty. Sure doesn't appear he's sovereign way out here, "outstretched" in space where we are, either in fact or in truth!


  • Have you dismissed religion as superstition? Have you dismissed philosophy as mere opinion?
    • Then you're in dug in a pretty deep hole. A popular one. But one we talk about often here in our study. The material currents have drifted far, far.
    • Are our smartest people actually quite silly? They see a universe of mere mechanism?
    • The word stupid is used here to describe these people. Unusually strong language. Using their free will to stupefy themselves.
    • It isn't how intellectually brilliant you are. It's how ignorant you aren't.


  • In the same way that "God is more; he is personal," so are we in potential
    • We can act, not just react.
    • We can purpose our mind.
    • We can love.
    • We have a sovereign will--in our inner life, that is.
    • But these are rarefied facts, top-down facts.


  • Badness is a form in the mind. Embodying error.
    • Badness is not floating around in the external world as a reality.
    • Goodness is really floating around out there.
  • But error is a reality in our imperfect universe.