Hero…or Demon…? The Illusion of Presumed Power…

15 posts · 3 participants · started Nov 17, 2014, 9:55 PM

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   thoughtcontrollerParticipant
   Nov 17, 2014, 9:55 PM

   HERO…OR DEMON…? THE ILLUSION OF PRESUMED POWER…

   (WRITTEN NOVEMBER 16TH, 2014)

   (1802.4) 163:2.8 Thus always it was and forever will be: Men must arrive at their own decisions. There is a certain range of the freedom of choice which mortals may exercise. The forces of the spiritual world will not coerce man; they allow him to go the way of his own choosing. – The Urantia Book – Paper 163 – Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan

   The whole of the states of the human mind is like the swings of the pendulum…
   out of which grows the silent hero doing everyday good…and the evil doer…
   growing out of the illusions of presumed power…fraudulent…not genuine…
   for genuine seeks nothing for the self…rather to serve…where the need is the greater…
   while evil seeks and destroys to satisfy the unquenchable thirst for…more power…

   Hero or demon…? the illusion of presumed power… the self-less or deluded…?
   both live on the…razor’s edge…contributing to the betterment…or destruction…
   of human civilization…all species of animals…precious Earth included…
   the day is soon coming…when the pendulum will swing to its…extreme maximum…
   and human civilization will be tested…will be shaken to its very core…

   This line dividing good and evil…is the razor’s edge that runs through the heart…
   the heart of humanity is in dire need of spiritual by-pass surgery…
   the Lucifer principle infected men’s minds from beginning of our primitive start…
   cancerous disease…bringing to fruition…our own self-extinction…un-reality…
   planet Earth is holding the trump card…final act…holder of absolute power…

   Hero or demon…? the illusion of presumed power… the self-less or deluded…?
   both live on the…razor’s edge…contributing to the betterment…or destruction…
   of human civilization…all species of animals…precious Earth included…
   the day is soon coming…when the pendulum will swing to its…extreme maximum…
   and human civilization will be tested…will be shaken to its very core…

   The greater evil doers’ attempts to control the weather…the greater Earth resists…
   volcanic eruptions…monster storms…fires…extreme heat and cold…oceans flooding…
   freezing rains…deep snow…massive landslides…rivers flooding…winter ice sheets…persist…
   the clathrate time bomb has been triggered…self-reinforcing methane feed loops…exploding…
   while exponential population growth strains our limits…to produce ever more…

   Hero or demon…? the illusion of presumed power… the self-less or deluded…?
   both live on the…razor’s edge…contributing to the betterment…or destruction…
   of human civilization…all species of animals…precious Earth included…
   the day is soon coming…when the pendulum will swing to its…extreme maximum…
   and human civilization will be tested…will be shaken to its very core…

   If you are not a “warmonger…” if you view the men, women and children of other nations and cultures as “human beings…” why do you continue to support your nation’s warmongering, its imperialistic empire-building, and while listening to the sound bites of war in the Mainstream Media…passively applaud the killing of vast numbers of your fellow human beings…?

   (1802.3) 163:2.7 Almost every human being has some one thing which is held on to as a pet evil, and which the entrance into the kingdom of heaven requires as a part of the price of admission. – The Urantia Book – Paper 163 – Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan

   THE DAY IS SOON COMING…WHEN THE PENDULUM WILL SWING TO ITS…EXTREME MAXIMUM…

   AND HUMAN CIVILIZATION WILL BE TESTED…WILL BE SHAKEN TO ITS VERY CORE…

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   Tim R Walls

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   BonitaParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 2:12 PM

   thoughtcontroller wrote:

   THE DAY IS SOON COMING…WHEN THE PENDULUM WILL SWING TO ITS…EXTREME MAXIMUM… AND HUMAN CIVILIZATION WILL BE TESTED…WILL BE SHAKEN TO ITS VERY CORE…

   Is this some kind of doomsday prediction?  If so, the UB does not support such ideas.

   thoughtcontroller wrote:

   If you are not a “warmonger…” if you view the men, women and children of other nations and cultures as “human beings…” why do you continue to support your nation’s warmongering, its imperialistic empire-building, and while listening to the sound bites of war in the Mainstream Media…passively applaud the killing of vast numbers of your fellow human beings…?

   This sounds like a political propaganda to me.  Why is it here on this forum?

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   thoughtcontrollerParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 5:03 PM

   Bonita, I would refer you back to The Urantia Book, which clearly states the following (I believe, in no uncertain terms):

   (2082.5) 195:8.13 The complete secularization of science, education, industry, and society can lead only to disaster. During the first third of the twentieth century Urantians killed more human beings than were killed during the whole of the Christian dispensation up to that time. And this is only the beginning of the dire harvest of materialism and secularism; still more terrible destruction is yet to come.

   This passage is exactly what my poem “Hero or Demon? The Illusion of Presumed Power…” is based on…

   Thank you for responding,

   Tim

   Tim R Walls

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   BonitaParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 5:34 PM

   Tim,

   Welcome to the forum.  Don’t you think the quote you offered as proof of upcoming armageddon is actually referring to WWII?  The  killing in first third of the 20th century was during WWI (1914-1918).  WWII took place from 1939 to 1945, which is the second third of the 20th century.  The Urantia Papers appeared between 1925-1935, which is prior to WWII.  It seems to me that there is a very high likelihood that the “more terrible destruction yet to come”  has already happened and is well behind us.

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   thoughtcontrollerParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 5:43 PM

   Bonita,

   What is 1/3 of 100 years?  If you multiply .33 (1/3) x 100…you get 33 years. Do you not?  So the first third of the twentieth century covers the period of 1900 to 1933. The Author’s statements can only refer, by the simple mathematical calculation in his own statements, to the future beyond 1933… The U.S. has waged 209 wars, since its inception, beginning with intentional genocide against the Native American Indian tribes, who were a sovereign nation. We are still at war, even at this present moment. War is war, whether declared or undeclared. As recently as the Bush-Cheney initiated second Iraq war, weapons of mass destruction (depleted uranium-plutonium warhead missiles) were used upon whole villages, towns and cities, leaving the land contaminated with radiation and making them uninhabitable to live there, without further dire consequences (radiation sickness and mutated babies). Over 1,000,000 innocent families of men, women and children (who had nothing to do with this war) were wiped out, murdered at the hands of a foreign invader (the U.S.). Just because that war did not take place on American soil and directly involve your family, loved ones and you…is this not a “dire harvest of more destruction yet to come…?” This is but one example of many, many more… Open your mind… Seen beyond the present limitations of your perception. Do your own research. Move beyond your own naiveté…

   Tim

   Tim R Walls

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   BonitaParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 5:53 PM

   thoughtcontroller wrote:

   What is 1/3 of 100 years?  If you multiply .33 (1/3) x 100…you get 33 years. Do you not?  So the first third of the twentieth century covers the period of 1900 to 1933. The Author’s statements can only refer, by the simple mathematical calculation in his own statements, to the future beyond 1933…

   Exactly!  WWII was AFTER 1933.  It started in 1939 which is the second third of the last century.  1939 comes AFTER 1933.  Right?  The UB predicted this WWII sometime between 1925-1935, when it was written.  I don’t get your issue.

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   thoughtcontrollerParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 6:06 PM

   Bonita,

   My point is…the “dire harvest of more terrible destruction yet to come” did not end with WWII. The “dire harvest of more terrible destruction yet to come” is ongoing. Where in your own or another’s thinking did you arrive at the conclusion that this passage refers ONLY to WWII? Maybe this passage should have been “rewritten” to read:

   The complete secularization of science, education, industry, and society can lead only to disaster. During the first third of the twentieth century Urantians killed more human beings than were killed during the whole of the Christian dispensation up to that time. And this is only the beginning of the dire harvest of materialism and secularism; still more terrible destruction is yet to come in WWII and ends there.

   The inclusion of your narrow interpretation to rewrite this passage, as per your interpretation, might sit well to satisfy you. I doubt it would sit well with the authors of the FER, the Urantia Foundation, the Fellowship and the readership, at large…

   Tim

    

   Tim R Walls

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   BradlyParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 6:32 PM

   Hello Tim and Welcome!!  Both you and Bonita have the math and quote correct.  And there is indeed still many innocents and combatants dying every day.  Eisenhower warned America in 1958 that the military industrial complex had a firm grip on American/global capitalism and it would relentlessly pursue war AND war mongering to feed its voracious appetite for profit.  The “end” of the “cold” war has not yet proven to have satisfied the lust for power and profit to any great degree.

   However, there are signs that portend improvement:  first, a statistical measure of deaths by violence since WWII demonstrate a very clear reduction as a percentage of population every single decade over the last 7; second, more and more national resources from all countries and citizens are being applied to joint efforts and ventures to alleviate the suffering from war and from natural disasters, disease, hunger, etc.; third, globalization of trade, resources, and financial interests is transforming swords into plowshares in real, measurable, and meaningful ways now;   fourth, new communications technologies is bringing worldwide attention much quicker and more universally now, making it harder and harder for any to hide atrocities.

   We are told in text that profit motive will lead to service motive eventually.  Let us hope we see evidence that barbarities may be lessened in the name of material progress to allow this eventuation to be realized.  We remain generations away from such a result I’m thinking….but perhaps we see motion in that direction?

   The Middle East is the greatest flash point of death and mayhem IMO and it is interesting that it is primarily a “holy” war between rival factions within Islam itself and it victimizes primarily their fellow muslims, especially the children, women, and youth.  This self destruction is horrific to witness and there is no doubt that many in the US government planned and facilitated this very outcome in the name of national defense and the war on terror.  This destabilization is intentional IMO and a functional military tactic that has delivered the results intended.

   Right now, I am more concerned about what I call the decadence of prosperity and the risks we face by wasting the leisure time gained for education and spiritual development for the allures of amusement, escape, and material distractions.  As you suggest, this can end badly for any culture or society that does not find a way from secular pleasure and power to those higher aspirations we are taught to idealize and pursue.

   Power is corrupting….the more power, the more corrupting it becomes.  But it is not real power as we know.  I pray we all move forward and help the angels propel our world toward its potential and inevitable destiny…..sooner rather than later.  Glad you are here Tim.  See you.

   

   "Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."

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   thoughtcontrollerParticipant
   Nov 21, 2014, 6:41 PM

   Bradly,

   Thank you for your deep insights.

   Tim

   Tim R Walls

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    BonitaParticipant
    Nov 21, 2014, 8:47 PM

    thoughtcontroller wrote:

    The inclusion of your narrow interpretation to rewrite this passage, as per your interpretation, might sit well to satisfy you. I doubt it would sit well with the authors of the FER, the Urantia Foundation, the Fellowship and the readership, at large…

    Oh wait!  So you’re in contact with the authors of the Fifth Epochal Revelation then?  I didn’t realize that. Hmmm, I had no idea.  And obviously you’re buddies with the administration of the Foundation and Fellowship too.  Were you perhaps friends with Vern Grimsley?

    Well . . . I guess I’m all alone in believing that the worst of destruction is behind us and that the future is bright.  I’m quite happy in my narrow interpretation.  I was right about all the other doomsday scenarios, like the Mayan Myth, and I’m pretty sure I’m right about there being no Armageddon too.  It’s a myth.  A big scary myth, but a myth nonetheless. Personally, I think people who foster fear are festering firebrands who need to be forever fettered.  Just an opinion though.

     

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    BradlyParticipant
    Nov 21, 2014, 8:51 PM

    You’re welcome and thanks for both the poem and the picture/quote.  Lovely.  I look forward to more…..soon.

    "Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."

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    thoughtcontrollerParticipant
    Nov 21, 2014, 11:04 PM

    Thank you for your opinion, Bonita.

    I have learned…over the course of my life…that more often than not…in the eyes of others…whether you are wrong or whether you are right…you are still wrong…

    Tim

    Tim R Walls

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    BonitaParticipant
    Nov 22, 2014, 3:42 PM

    195:6.4  At the time of this writing the worst of the materialistic age is over; the day of a better understanding is already beginning to dawn. The higher minds of the scientific world are no longer wholly materialistic in their philosophy, but the rank and file of the people still lean in that direction as a result of former teachings.

    It is my opinion that those who believe in a Doomsday, Judgment Day or Armageddon, belong to the rank and file who still lean in the direction of former teachings.  The worst is over and that is a fact.    We are in the age now where a better understanding has begun to dawn, and those who hold onto the past are only retarding progress through fear.

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    BradlyParticipant
    Nov 22, 2014, 5:04 PM

    The pendulum swing is an interesting analogy or pattern that does express itself in many forms – it is a return to the mean where the average is found between the extremes of potential and response.  Perhaps humanity has recently been or is now at one extreme point of such.  However, in the paper on the mortal epochs of planetary progression, it is apparent that our world has no uniformity in our current status and it is easy to measure the whole by our view of some part of the whole (local/recent bias).

    We are taught this world is not our home but only our birth place and we are not to fear or agonize over the material world and it’s calamaties and short term flux of tortured progress in the whole.  We may change the world most by the way we change ourselves.  And our view of planetary progress changes by our own personal progress.

    Many nations and cultures have much progress to make and each has its own particular errors to overcome.  But oddly enough, humanity and its flawed leadership seems to work best when confronted with material agents of challenge and change.  I am very optimistic for my destiny and our world’s ultimate and inevitable era of light and life to come.  And I weep for the suffering of innocents and becoming indifferent to those who suffer by their own choices and priorities.  They will learn to do better given sufficient time….and there is an eternity of time ahead.  All is well where the Most Highs rule, especially upon this shrine of all Nebadon.  Peace.

     

    "Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."

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    BonitaParticipant
    Nov 22, 2014, 5:49 PM

    I don’t think it is correct to think of the entire planet’s progress as a swinging pendulum.  Certain cultures, peoples and civilizations may progress and regress, but the overall movement is toward light and life.  Individuals will arrive at personal light and life long, long before the planet does.  The wisdom of our Creative Spirit assures that those who want to progress will find the means regardless of those who choose to regress.

    34:61 With the advancing evolution of an inhabited planet and the further spiritualization of its inhabitants, additional spiritual influences may be received by such mature personalities. As mortals progress in mind control and spirit perception, these multiple spirit ministries become more and more co-ordinate in function; they become increasingly blended with the overministry of the Paradise Trinity.

    I’m willing to venture that there are many mature personalities on this planet today who have received additional spiritual influences.  And as the planet progresses, more and more personalities will be deemed mature enough to receive additional help.  I believe we are at a point in our history where the pendulum can no longer pull all people with it when it swings toward regression.  The overall movement of civilization is forward because more and more people are awakening to truth.

    The worst is over.  That does not stop pockets of retrogression from occurring.  We are told that retrogression is the brake placed upon civilization when it outruns the adjutants of worship and wisdom.  There are pockets of civilization today that are retrogressing.  We see Russia returning to empire-building; we see a sect of Islam active in caliphate building and the Chinese are smacking their lips over Pacific territories.  All of this is due to a lust of the past, a retrogression in the orderly forward evolution of civilization.  But it will not drag the entire planet along with it anymore.  There are just too many mature persons moving forward to allow the pendulum to swing very far backward.  I don’t see it ever happening again on a planet-wide scale.  Therefore, NO Armageddon.

    118:8.6 The slowness of evolution, of human cultural progress, testifies to the effectiveness of that brake — material inertia — which so efficiently operates to retard dangerous velocities of progress. Thus does time itself cushion and distribute the otherwise lethal results of premature escape from the next-encompassing barriers to human action. For when culture advances overfast, when material achievement outruns the evolution of worship-wisdom, then does civilization contain within itself the seeds of retrogression; and unless buttressed by the swift augmentation of experiential wisdom, such human societies will recede from high but premature levels of attainment, and the “dark ages” of the interregnum of wisdom will bear witness to the inexorable restoration of the imbalance between self-liberty and self-control.

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