Chapter 4 – Dark influences
Consequences of Rebellion
We have previously discussed the rebellion by our planetary prince against universe authority; the consequences of this rebellion are with us today even though our planet has been visited by other individuals working to bring us advanced truth. Adam and Eve struggled mightily to uplift our ancestors and they were partially successful. Later Melchizedek met with Abraham and offered a covenant whereby God would help him if Abraham believed; this eventually resulted in the Jewish religion. Students of Melchizedek went into much of the world spreading his teachings of one God.
Jesus brought us his message of the love of God for everyone. Now thanks to The Urantia Book we have a more complete description of his teachings, including the parables. His life amongst us is the last time such advanced truth has been given to our planet prior to publication of The Urantia Book in 1955.
Our entire society has been severely impacted by the consequences of rebellion that happened so long ago. What we think of as being normal may be an aberration in the universe not the norm. The actions of some of our predecessors who were entrusted with uplifting our society have led us astray.
This discussion of the present day consequences of rebellion will be limited to those that can definitely be traced back to the rebellion and for which there is a specific reference in The Urantia Book. We also include secondary consequences that are indirect results of the rebellion.
The first of the direct consequences is spurious personal liberty.[1] The problem with unbridled personal liberty is that if one person is to have unrestricted liberty then others must necessarily have something less than this, liberty must balance out. Personal liberty for some disenfranchises others, takes away their chance at liberty. For a society to be balanced, to give everyone an equal opportunity, there needs to be an adjustment such that each individual has an equal chance to grow and become all they can become; anything less than this equilibrium will certainly disenfranchise some. When an individual seeks “personal liberty,” what is actually sought is freedom from regulation, freedom from oversight, and freedom from responsibility to others. Responsible citizens seek to increase the welfare of each of our sisters and brothers instead of a select few.
A vital consideration is the truth that every thinking mortal has within them a spark of God.[2] Everyone stands equal before God; nobody has the right to use political or economic power to degrade anybody else.
Another consequence of the rebellion is our inability to develop a universal language.[3] Our chance at developing a universal language was greatly hampered by the Caligastia betrayal. Having a universal language for a planet promotes peace, brings more happiness, and helps culture to grow. If the various peoples cannot communicate directly, there is a natural distrust, a mistaken feeling that those who do not speak our language are different, foreign. Having a single language brings the people of a planet toward a greater understanding of each other, contributes to peace.
The Caligastia rebellion was a factor in the mistreatment of women in current society.[4] Throughout history women have been treated as something less than men and it continues to this day. Even today if the jobs are equal, women get paid less than men and in politics men are far more likely to hold public office. Naturally not every instance of discrimination can be blamed on the rebellion, but the overall tenor of the feeling of female subordination arises from it.
Another consequence is slavery to custom.[5] If we follow custom, what is generally accepted, this produces stability for the culture. This can be a good thing in the short term but it stifles creativity and originality. People in our society tend to become uncomfortable when somebody breaks custom, how dare they do something new? If any culture is to grow, change must be accepted, nurtured, and encouraged.
Next is seeking the easy out, not the divine way.[6] God’s way will not be the easy way out; the lazy will have a difficult time following His will. If our decisions result in taking it easy, we are not following God’s will.
Even our inability to formulate an acceptable understanding of God is a consequence of Caligastia’s betrayal. [7] This is not surprising since our planetary prince was declared “God of Urantia.”[8] When our ancestors learned this and also they were aware of what Caligastia was promoting it is no wonder that they were confused about God. And many of our citizens are still confused about exactly who God is.
One of the most important consequences of the rebellion is our inability to distinguish between true and false liberty.[9] True liberty allows all beings to become the best they can be, false liberty promotes a privileged few at the expense of everyone else. No being, in the exercise of his supposed personal liberty, has a right to deprive any other being of those privileges of existence conferred by the Creators and duly respected by all their loyal associates, subordinates, and subjects. (Urantia Book 614.4)
This rebellion robbed us of the moral assistance of a well-ordered society. [10] Those who grow up and live in the better regions have an advantage; they are more likely to perform better. Our planet has been set back by our predecessors who let us down. They were more interested in themselves, in selfishness than giving any thought to anyone else.
Cultural decadence is another consequence of the blunders of those who were entrusted with bringing us the light of truth.[11] The rebels were concerned only with selfish gains, what they could get away with. Society only progresses when everyone is lifted up together. Love and fairness suggest the rights of everyone should be considered.
The rebellion actually brought sin into our world. [12] Sin is a willful going against the will of God,[13] and the prevalence of sin on Earth is a direct consequence of the rebellion. On a normal planet sin is not so prevalent while on our planet it is difficult to live a truly righteous life.
In summary, some of these consequences are: unbridled personal liberty, no universal language, the mistreatment of women, slavery to custom, seeking the easy out, inability to gain a true concept of the Universal Father, inability to distinguish between true and false liberty, we have been robbed of the moral assistance of a well ordered society, and the cultural decadence that results when we seek our own way instead of God’s way. The rebellion also brought sin into our world. It appears that many, if not most, of the shortcomings of our world can be traced to the misdeeds of our predecessors of two hundred thousand years ago. It is up to each of us to begin to counteract their evil actions.
In addition to these consequences there are others that may be termed secondary ones which are not obviously connected with the rebellion. The first of these is selfishness, either as individuals or as a society in general. While a level of selfishness may be necessary for self-maintenance, if carried too far it becomes greed. This holds as true for a society as for individuals. So called advanced societies throughout history have taken various resources from the less advanced and less powerful. At first this may be simple selfishness, obtaining resources needed for their society, but it can soon become greed and taking unfair advantage of weaker peoples.
Another secondary consequence is the present sad state of our environment and our warming planet. The forces of materialism and greed are concerned only with increasing their wealth; they have little concern for Mother Earth.
Other secondary consequences include our culture of guns and violence. In our interpersonal relationships we are little advanced over primitive barbarians. We also have little appreciation of spiritual values.
The legacy of Caligastia and the rebellion was the spreading of the false doctrine of unbridled personal liberty. This concept directly results in the degradation of the disadvantaged. The poor, the weak, the undereducated and those who do not have certain self-promotion skills are savaged under this doctrine. We certainly see this today in our so called modern society.
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All references are to The Urantia Book unless stated otherwise. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph. There are several references to this, see especially 601.1 and 614.8 ↑
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63.5 ↑
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746.8 ↑
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778.8 ↑
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749.4 ↑
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1520.6 ↑
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58.1 ↑
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755.6, see also Bible, 2 Corinthians 4:4. This has been mistakenly ascribed to Satan; Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, Moody Press, Chicago, 1995, p 1851 ↑
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613.3 ↑
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382.4 ↑
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821.1 ↑
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1660.5 ↑
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754.5 ↑