Paper 160 Overview: Rodan of Alexandria

Paper 160 documents the philosophical discussions between Rodan, a Greek philosopher from Alexandria, and the apostles Nathaniel and Thomas. While Jesus rested, Rodan engaged in a series of ten addresses exploring life's meaning, spiritual growth, and the connection between Jesus' gospel and Greek philosophy. These discussions covered the challenges of modern civilization, techniques for problem-solving, personal development, and the balance between material and spiritual pursuits.

By the end of their time together, Rodan had progressed from philosophical inquiry to spiritual conviction. He ultimately embraced Jesus' teachings, recognizing that the gospel provided what his philosophy lacked—certainty of direction, driving force, and a personal connection to a living God. Rodan concluded that Jesus offered not just abstract ideals but also the practical means to achieve spiritual attainment.

While Jesus was enjoying a period of rest, Nathaniel and Thomas engaged in deep discussions with Rodan, a Greek philosopher from Alexandria who had become a disciple of Jesus through one of Abner's associates. Rodan came seeking to harmonize his philosophy with Jesus' religious teachings, hoping for direct interaction with the Master. Though Jesus graciously declined to participate in their philosophical conference, he directed Nathaniel and Thomas to listen to Rodan's ideas and share the gospel message with him in return.

Rodan began his series of ten addresses by exploring the fundamental drives of human life—urges, desires, and lures. He explained that strong character development occurs when natural urges transform into social arts, when desires evolve into higher longings, and when common attractions shift toward unexplored ideals and undiscovered values. Rodan argued that as civilization becomes more complex, the art of living becomes more challenging, requiring each generation to remaster these skills to avoid reverting to primitive satisfaction of basic desires.

Rodan emphasized that successful living requires mastering dependable techniques for solving common problems. He particularly admired Jesus' habit of solitary meditation, calling it the supreme problem-solving method. Rodan observed that this practice of worshipful isolation provides mental relaxation, spiritual illumination, courage to face problems, self-understanding that eliminates fear, and consciousness of divine connection. He concluded that prejudice blinds the soul to truth and can only be eliminated through devotion to a cause greater than oneself—specifically, the search for God and attainment of divinity.

Rodan distinguished between two fundamental ways humans live together: the material or animal way and the spiritual or human way. Unlike animals who communicate in limited ways through signals and sounds, humans develop personality through their unique ability to communicate ideas and ideals using symbols. This capacity enables humans to build civilizations by passing knowledge and wisdom to subsequent generations through art, science, religion, and philosophy.

According to Rodan, personal relationships like friendship and marriage create opportunities for higher living through four essential factors: mutual self-expression and understanding; union of souls and wisdom; enthusiasm for living; and enhanced defense against evil. He particularly praised marriage as offering ideal conditions for developing character through mutual understanding, soul communion, shared spiritual values, and loyalty to a common cause. Rodan indicated that while many marriages fail to produce these spiritual fruits, a society built on such trustworthy and effective relationships would approach the civilization of mature humanity.

Rodan addressed the source of energy needed for spiritual growth, questioning how to awaken the soul-bound powers of divinity in humans. He concluded that spiritual communion through worship provides this energy—meditation connecting mind with spirit while relaxation determines capacity for spiritual receptivity. This interchange of strength for weakness, courage for fear, and God's will for self-will constitutes true worship and provides the energy for spiritual advancement.

Rodan acknowledged that these practices, though initially time-consuming, eventually become restful and time-saving habits that form a mature spiritual character. He praised Jesus' gospel for providing a richer incentive for higher living and an exalted goal of destiny. Rodan encouraged his listeners to transcend material irritations by climbing to intellectual heights that deliver them from lower conflicts, while guarding their life purpose from both the temptation of easy attainment and the threat of religious fanaticism.

Rodan emphasized that while the spirit remains our ultimate goal, we must address physical realities in daily life. He identified six essentials for temporal existence: good physical health, clear thinking, ability and skill, wealth, capacity to withstand defeat, and cultural wisdom. He taught that even physical problems are best solved when viewed from a religious perspective, with the mind mediating between material things and spiritual realities.

He advised that securing material wealth requires intelligence and access to established channels of prosperity. Rodan stressed the importance of developing skill through inheritance and acquisition, and learning to face failure gracefully. He taught that religious faith provides the perspective needed to transform failures into educational opportunities for acquiring wisdom. Rodan distinguished between knowledge (facts), culture (civilization's values), and wisdom (dominance of truth), emphasizing that wisdom always glorifies culture and dominates knowledge.

Rodan defined religion as an individual's experience of reacting to something deemed worthy of universal devotion. He distinguished between intellectual religions based on fear, emotion, tradition, or philosophy and true religions founded on genuine spiritual experience. Rodan maintained that the object of religious devotion must be God—a universal spirit reality rather than merely an idea or concept.

In his final address, Rodan praised Jesus' religion as transcending all previous concepts of worship by portraying God not only as the ideal of infinite reality but also as personally attainable by every mortal. He declared his belief in Jesus' message that divine ideals are achievable through the eternal Father. Rodan concluded by announcing his personal commitment to this spiritual journey, stating that he had embarked on the eternal adventure with the assurance of eventually arriving at the portals of Paradise, affirming that before Abraham existed, Jesus is.