Paper 103 Overview: The Reality of Religious Experience

Religious experiences are influenced by many factors, including the early ministry of the spiritual helper of worship and the spiritual helper of wisdom. These experiences are enhanced when the Spirit of Truth and Thought Adjusters help humans develop higher types of religious insight. The religious tendencies of humans are innate and universal, showing up naturally in all races.

Today on Urantia, there are four kinds of religion: natural or evolutionary religion, supernatural or revelatory religion, practical religion (which mixes the first two), and philosophic religions created by human reasoning. Each type affects human experience differently, influencing how people understand their relationship with God and the universe.

All true religious reactions come from the early work of the spiritual helper of worship and are supervised by the spiritual helper of wisdom. Humans first connect to the spirit world through the Holy Spirit of the Universe Creative Spirit, which helps expand their view of ethics, religion, and spirituality. As evolution moves forward on inhabited worlds, divine beings like the Paradise Sons, the Spirit of Truth, and Thought Adjusters help humans gain deeper religious insights.

Religious tendencies are natural to all human races and show up universally. These tendencies seem to have a natural origin, and primitive religions always develop through evolution. As natural religious experience continues, truth revelations appear at different times to help the slow progress of planetary evolution.

The unity of religious experience within a group comes from the identical nature of the God fragment living in each person. This divine presence creates unselfish interest in other people's welfare. Since every person is unique, no two humans interpret the leadings of the divine spirit exactly the same way.

Religion is very personal, but it's important to learn about other people's religious experiences. This prevents your religious life from becoming self-centered or unsocial. Religion starts as a search for values, and then beliefs form to explain those values. People can disagree on religious beliefs while still agreeing on basic values and goals, which explains why religion can survive even when beliefs change completely.

Religion works in the human mind and is experienced before it appears in human awareness. A child exists for nine months before birth, and religion also gradually emerges rather than suddenly appearing. Religious development requires conscious effort and positive personal decisions, not just passive acceptance.

Every normal child experiences a conflict between self-seeking and unselfish impulses early in life. When a person chooses to be unselfish when faced with selfish urges, they make a religious decision. This choice shows God-consciousness and the drive toward social service, which forms the foundation of human brotherhood. Even young children learn that "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

Primitive religions developed from spirit beliefs and tribal solidarity. The clan relationship created the exact social situation that challenged the moral nature of early humans. Over time, religious concepts evolved from animal worship to the concept of gods and eventually to one God.

Religion is meant to change humans and their environment. The impulse of God within people has always been powerful. Along with human influences, these divine factors ensured that religion survived throughout history, despite many threats to its existence. True religious impulse comes from genuine spirit presences activating the will to be unselfish.

The main difference between social gatherings and religious meetings is that religious ones create a feeling of communion. This communion creates fellowship with the divine and starts group worship. Taking part in a shared meal was the earliest form of social communion, which is why many religions include eating as part of their ceremonies.

Jesus removed all rituals of sacrifice and payment for sin. He destroyed the basis for guilt feelings and isolation by declaring that humans are children of God. The creator-creature relationship was placed on a parent-child basis. God becomes a loving Father to his mortal sons and daughters, and all unnecessary ceremonies are forever removed from this intimate family relationship.

The early evolutionary mind develops a sense of social duty and moral obligation, mostly from emotional fear. The more positive drive toward social service and unselfish ideals comes directly from the divine spirit living in the human mind. This idea of doing good to others at first only applies to those close to you.

As religious civilization advances, the concept of "neighbor" expands to include the clan, tribe, and nation. Jesus expanded this further to include all humanity, teaching people to love even their enemies. Human happiness is achieved only when the selfish desires and the unselfish urges from the divine spirit are balanced by the unified will of an integrated personality. This is a continuous struggle throughout life.

Theology is the study of human spirit actions and reactions. It can never become a science because it always combines with psychology when expressed personally and with philosophy when expressed systematically. Theology is always the study of your own religion, while studying someone else's religion is psychology.

Science, knowledge, religion, experience, philosophy, and wisdom all approach reality from different angles. Science is supported by reason, religion by faith. Philosophy tries to harmonize all these approaches, but human philosophy has trouble bridging the gap between the physical and spiritual levels of the universe. Revelation helps compensate for these limitations by confirming the experiential harmony of science, religion, and philosophy.

Science is supported by reason, and religion by faith. Faith isn't based on reason but is reasonable and encouraged by sound logic. Faith can't be nourished even by ideal philosophy, because faith and science are both sources of such philosophy. Religious insight can only be properly guided by revelation and personal experience with the spiritual presence of God.

The union of the scientific attitude and religious insight through experiential philosophy is part of humanity's long journey to Paradise. Both science and religion need more self-criticism and awareness of their incomplete evolutionary status. Their teachers are often too confident and dogmatic about limited understanding. Science and religion can only be self-critical about their established facts.

Though science and philosophy may assume God's probability through reason and logic, only the personal religious experience of a spirit-led person can confirm the certainty of a personal God. The confusion about experiencing the certainty of God comes from the different interpretations of that experience by different individuals and races.

A good and noble person can be completely in love with their spouse but unable to pass a written test on the psychology of marital love. Another person with little love for their spouse might pass such a test perfectly. The imperfection of a lover's understanding of their beloved doesn't make their love any less real or sincere.

Theology deals with the intellectual content of religion, metaphysics with the philosophical aspects, and religious experience with the spiritual content. Despite the errors and illusions that may appear in religious thinking, the spiritual experience of personal religion remains genuine and valid. Religion involves feeling, acting, and living, not just thinking.

The full realization of human life involves progressively accepting the assumptions of reason, wisdom, and faith. When reason recognizes right and wrong, it shows wisdom. When wisdom chooses between right and wrong, truth and error, it demonstrates spirit leading. Religious experience creates convictions that can't be overcome, logic that can't be argued against, certainty that goes beyond human understanding, and satisfactions that are divinely fulfilling.