Paper 160 Overview: Rodan of Alexandria

Rodan of Alexandria, a Greek philosopher who had become Jesus' disciple through one of Abner's associates, engaged in extensive discussions with Nathaniel and Thomas while Jesus enjoyed a period of rest. These philosophical exchanges, consisting of ten addresses, explored Rodan's attempt to harmonize his Hellenic philosophy with Jesus' gospel teachings. Rodan presented a comprehensive philosophical framework addressing civilization's challenges, personal development, the art of living, and spiritual attainment while examining the relationship between material existence and spiritual aspirations.

Throughout these deliberations, Rodan's perspective evolved from academic inquiry to spiritual conviction as he recognized the limitations of Greek philosophy compared to Jesus' teachings. Rodan ultimately acknowledged that Jesus' gospel supplied what his philosophy lacked: certainty of direction, motivating power, and revelation of a personal God who is both the ideal of infinite reality and personally attainable by mortal creatures. His intellectual journey represented the potential reconciliation between Greek philosophical thought and spiritual revelation, demonstrating how the kingdom message could appeal to the intellectually sophisticated minds of the Greco-Roman world.

While Jesus enjoyed a period of relative seclusion with few apostolic obligations, Nathaniel and Thomas engaged in extensive philosophical discussions with Rodan, an Alexandrian Greek philosopher who had recently become Jesus' disciple through the teaching of one of Abner's associates. Rodan had journeyed to Magadan specifically to harmonize his philosophical system with Jesus' religious teachings, hoping for direct discourse with the Master regarding these intellectual challenges. Although Jesus graciously declined personal participation in these philosophical debates, he directed that Nathaniel and Thomas should thoroughly entertain all of Rodan's inquiries while presenting the gospel message in return.

Rodan commenced his series of ten addresses by elucidating the fundamental components of human existence: urges, desires, and lures. He articulated that robust character development entails transforming natural urges into the social art of living, converting present desires into higher longings capable of lasting attainment, and transferring conventional lures of existence to the higher realms of unexplored ideas and undiscovered ideals. Rodan observed that as civilization increases in complexity, the art of living becomes increasingly difficult to master, requiring frequent relearning approximately every ten generations to prevent humanity from reverting to the primitive satisfaction of immediate desires rather than advancing toward full maturity.

Rodan emphasized that successful living fundamentally involves mastering dependable techniques for solving common problems, requiring one to locate difficulties, isolate problems, and recognize their nature without the interference of fear, conceit, or prejudice. He particularly venerated Jesus' method of worshipful isolation as the supreme problem-solving technique, noting that this practice of solitary communion with the Father provided mental relaxation, spiritual illumination, courage to confront challenges, self-understanding that eliminates fear, and consciousness of union with divinity. Rodan considered Jesus' solitude practice the paragon of problem-solving, observing that Jesus habitually withdrew to commune with the Father rather than engaging in endless discussion with friends.

Rodan concluded that prejudice blinds the soul to truth and can only be eliminated through sincere devotion to the adoration of a cause that embraces all humanity. This requires the abandonment of self-seeking in favor of service to something greater than oneself and all humanity, specifically the search for God and the attainment of divinity. His analysis positioned prejudice as a spiritual blindness directly connected to selfishness and fear, suggesting that liberation from these limitations occurs through wholehearted dedication to divine ideals rather than through intellectual exercises alone.

Rodan distinguished between two fundamental modes of existence: the material or animal way and the spiritual or human way. Unlike animals that communicate through limited signals and sounds, humans develop personality through their unique capacity to communicate with their fellows concerning ideas and ideals using symbols. This distinctive human ability to share meanings and ideals enables the building of civilizations and the cumulative progress of knowledge and wisdom across generations, manifesting in the cultural achievements of art, science, religion, and philosophy that define human experience.

According to Rodan, friendship and personal affection foster higher levels of living through four essential factors that contribute to spiritual development. First, mutual self-expression and understanding nurture character development by providing opportunities for growth through social interaction. Second, the union of souls and wisdom prevents distorted vision and prejudiced viewpoints by combining individual perspectives into a more complete understanding. Third, friendship generates enthusiasm for living that renews energy and maintains courage in the face of life's challenges. Fourth, personal relationships enhance defense against evil through shared strength that lessens the sting of difficulties and disappointments.

Rodan particularly emphasized the ideal potential of marriage as a setting for spiritual and character development. He suggested that when two people build trustworthy and effective relationships based on mutual devotion and shared ideals, they contribute to a greater social structure that approaches the civilization of mortal maturity. Rodan acknowledged that while many marriages fail to produce these spiritual fruits, a society comprised of spiritually aligned partnerships would approach the stabilization of mature civilization and create favorable conditions for the expansion of cultural wisdom.

Rodan addressed the fundamental question of human spiritual energy, inquiring how to awaken and release the soul-bound powers of divinity within humanity. Rather than advocating emotional excitement, which he deemed exhausting rather than energizing, Rodan identified spiritual communion through worship as the essential source of spiritual strength. He explained this process as a methodical exchange: meditation establishes contact between mind and spirit, while relaxation determines the capacity for spiritual receptivity. True worship constitutes an interchange of strength for weakness, courage for fear, and the divine will for the mind of self, providing the energy necessary for spiritual advancement.

Rodan noted that when sufficiently repeated, these worship experiences crystallize into strength-giving habits that eventually form a mature spiritual character. While these practices initially require significant time and effort, they ultimately become restful and time-saving when habituated into a pattern of spiritual response. Rodan praised Jesus' gospel for providing a richer incentive for higher living through its presentation of a new and exalted goal of destiny that surpassed the limited aspirations of Greek philosophy.

Rodan encouraged his listeners to transcend material irritations by climbing to the intellectual mountaintops where they could experience relaxation for the mind, strength for the soul, and communion with the spirit. He cautioned that the life purpose must be guarded against both the temptation of easy, transient attainment and the disastrous threats of fanaticism that might distort genuine spiritual pursuits. Rodan recognized that Jesus offered a more complete philosophy of living that transcended the limitations of Greek thought while preserving its rational foundation.

Rodan articulated the necessity of balancing spiritual aspirations with temporal requirements, emphasizing that while spirit remains the ultimate goal, physical existence is an undeniable fact requiring attention. He identified six essentials for temporal life: good physical health, clear thinking, ability and skill, wealth, capacity to withstand defeat, and cultural wisdom. Rodan maintained that even physical health problems are best addressed from a religious perspective, with the human mind functioning as the mediator between material things and spiritual realities, bridging the gap between the physical and divine aspects of human experience.

He advised that securing material wealth requires intelligence and access to established channels of prosperity, noting that poverty typically befalls those who seek wealth through isolated or individual channels outside these organized systems. Rodan emphasized the importance of developing skill through both inheritance and acquisition, and learning to face failure gracefully without resorting to deceptive optimism or illusions of success. He taught that religion provides the perspective needed to transform failures into educational opportunities for acquiring wisdom through the patient cultivation of experience.

Rodan distinguished between knowledge as factual information, culture as civilization's values, and wisdom as spiritual insight that harmonizes both knowledge and cultural values. He asserted that wisdom always dominates knowledge and glorifies culture by integrating them into a coherent philosophy of living. Rodan concluded that a God-seeking person's temporal failures may appear devastating, yet still constitute a success in eternity if each failure yielded spiritual growth and wisdom attainment through the progressive refinement of character.

Rodan defined genuine religion as an individual's experiential reaction to something deemed worthy of the homage and devotion of all humanity. He distinguished between intellectual religions based on fear, emotion, tradition, or philosophy and true religions founded on authentic spiritual experience, clarifying that the object of religious devotion effectively becomes God to the worshiper regardless of its actual nature. Rodan maintained that true religion invariably seeks to convert individuals and transform society by reaching for undiscovered ideals and unexplored realities that transcend even the highest standards of ethics and morality embodied in civilization's institutions.

He elaborated that the religion of the ideal must be real and not merely intellectual, containing significant spiritual values that can serve as unifying forces during conflicts between science and religion. True religion, according to Rodan, focuses on supreme values and concerns itself with genuine progression toward divine ideals rather than merely maintaining established traditions or intellectual frameworks. Religious conversion represents the redirection of the individual's attention from material pursuits toward spiritual realities, shifting awareness from the temporal to the eternal.

In his culminating address, Rodan praised Jesus' religion as transcending all previous worship concepts by portraying the Father not merely as the ideal of infinite reality but as genuinely and personally attainable by every mortal creature who chooses to enter the kingdom. He acknowledged that Jesus' gospel supplied what his philosophy lacked: the certainty of direction, motivating power, and assurance of spiritual attainment through personal relationship with the divine. Rodan concluded his discourse with a declaration of personal commitment to this spiritual journey, announcing his belief in Jesus' teachings and his decision to embark on the eternal adventure with full conviction of eventually reaching Paradise.