Ch. 11, While in Rome
“Son of Man: Urantia,” 2nd edition
While in Rome
Gonod carried letters of introduction from the royalty in India to give to Tiberius, the Roman Caesar. On their third day in Rome, Jesus, Gonod, and Ganid met with the emperor and passed on these greetings. Tiberius was so impressed with Jesus that after the three of them had left he told an aide standing to his right side that he, Tiberius, would be a real emperor if had Jesus’ bearing and gracious manner.
Gonad began taking Ganid with him during the day to learn the family business. There were many Indians in Rome working for Gonad who could act as his interpreter, and this gave Jesus more free time to himself. Over their stay in Rome Jesus became well acquainted with this city of two million people.
At this time the Roman Empire included Egypt, Syria, Asia Minor, northwest Africa, and southern Europe. This mix of people helped Jesus learn much about humanity during his six months in Rome. But the most valuable experiences were talking with and influencing the religious leaders that were then living there. These conversations helped to pave the way for the later preachers of the new Christian faith.
After seeking out the various religious groups in Rome, Jesus identified five leaders from the Stoics, eleven from the Cynics, and sixteen from the mystery cults with whom to meet. These were personal face-to-face conversations with one, two, or three people at a time. As Jesus listened to these men explain their ideas of God, he never mentioned any mistakes in their beliefs. Instead, he found the truth in their words and used that as a starting point to help them better know God. This way the truth eventually crowded out the error in their previous beliefs, and it allowed them to quickly accept the coming gospel. These meetings were one of the reasons for the rapid spread of Christianity across the Roman Empire.
Of these thirty-two men only two were unfruitful in the future. All of the rest became central figures in establishing Christianity, and a few of them helped turn the Mithraic temple into Rome’s first Christian church. There were three reasons for the rapid spread of Christianity—Jesus choosing Simon Peter as an apostle; Jesus’ conversation with Stephen, which led to his murder by the Jews witnessed by Saul of Tarsus who then became a believer in the gospel and created the Christian church, and Jesus preparing these thirty religious’ leaders for the coming preachers of the new gospel. And again, none of these men ever realized that the man who opened their hearts to God was the one they were to worship as the world’s savior. In later years Paul, Peter, and the other Christian teachers in Rome heard tales about this scribe of Damascus who had prepared their way, but they never knew that it was Jesus. Paul did figure out that the tentmaker of Antioch and the scribe of Damascus were the same person, but the apostles were all sure, or so they thought, that Jesus had never gone to Rome.
True Values
Angamon was the leader of the Stoics. Early on during Jesus’ time in Rome the two had a long talk and Jesus taught him about true values. This man later became a good friend of Paul. Jesus explained that the standard for true values must be taken from the spiritual world: from the divine level of eternal reality. On Earth all values are partial, inferior, and impermanent. The scientist is limited to how material facts relate to one another. A true scientist must stay true to the scientific method, and cannot claim to be either an idealist or a materialist since both of those attitudes represent the essence of philosophy.
The unlimited advancement of a materialistic culture that is not balanced with moral insight and the spiritual advancement of humanity can become a menace to civilization. Pure materialism holds the potential seed of its own destruction. The extremes of idealism and materialism will always be in conflict. But that is not the case for those idealists and scientists who possess a common standard of moral values. In service to humanity these people must put aside their bickering and work to continually bring forth a more worthy science and religion in devotion to human progress.
Good and Evil
The leader of the Cynics in Rome was Mardus, and he and Jesus became good friends. Mardus had many questions about good and evil. Jesus explained that good and evil are just words that show our ability to understand the universe. He said there are social standards of good and evil for the ethically lazy, and religious standards of good and evil that are morally unprogressive and bound to tradition. But the standard for the eternal soul that will reside with God is following the divine spirit in our minds and hearts when we choose between good and evil.
Truth and goodness are relative and contrasted against that not perfect, evil. Being able to perceive these qualities of truth and goodness is essential to our eternal survival. Blindly following religious dogma, scientific facts, or social etiquette places us in danger of losing our moral and spiritual freedom; we become intellectual parrots, social automatons, and slaves to religious authority. For mortals, goodness is more of a desire than an achievement. Goodness is the progressive and ever-expanding experience of reaching higher levels of spiritual personality in our journey to oneness with God. A good experience increases our sense of beauty, strengthens our will, sharpens our perception of truth, and enhances our ability to love and serve humanity. Our ability to discern truth and goodness is directly related to our personal progress. Error and evil remain part of our experience until we finally meld with our Thought Adjuster and become one with God. Our ability to know what is true or good and then choose between the two is proof of humanity’s morality. And while we do not have to actually experience evil in our journey to God, we do have to experience the possibility of choosing evil to strengthen our moral will and faith in God.
Truth and Faith
The leader of the mystery cults in Rome was Nabon, a Greek Jew; he and Jesus talked at length about many subjects. Nabon was impressed with Jesus’ explanation of truth and faith. Jesus explained that truth extends the knowledge we gain from observing the material world by melding it with our experience of continually reaching for higher levels of spiritual reality. Knowledge is science: facts, and truth is the religious experience of spiritual living. At their highest level, truth and knowledge become one. Until then there may be conflict between knowledge and our human fears, beliefs, and prejudices. Knowing truth requires faith—our belief in reaching the next level of wisdom. Faith is what allows our Thought Adjuster to identify with our mortal personality so it can carry the essence of our human personality into our next level of existence. The next life after death is our first life in a long succession of lives: our personalities will manifest in bodies that are of continually finer spiritual mater until we reach ultimate perfection of oneness with God. This is our reason for existence, and once we start we cannot stop short of reaching our destiny of eternal life.
Personal Ministry
Jesus met and talked with almost five hundred people during his six months in Rome. The only places he refused to go were the public bath houses because of the casual sex. Jesus considered his time in Rome one of his most fantastic experiences on Earth. He was a listener: Jesus would start a conversation by asking questions, and listen as people told him their problems. Almost always the conversation would end with the person in turn asking Jesus questions, and then before parting ways Jesus would take immense pleasure in doing some little thing for the person. And as always, he assured people of the love and mercy of God—that they were God’s children, and that this bond was personal because God was actually in their hearts and minds.
Jesus’ conversations often had long-lasting effects. After a discussion with a Roman senator, the man tried for the rest of his life to change the Roman government from it supporting the people to the people supporting the government.After teaching a slave holder named Claudius that people were the sons of God, the next day the man freed one hundred seventeen of his slaves. In another talk, Jesus helped a Greek physician realize that people had minds and souls that needed healing as well as bodies, and this exchange led the doctor to search for even more important ways to be of service to humanity. When talking with a Roman soldier as they walked along the Tiber river, Jesus told him to be brave of heart but to also be brave enough to be just and show mercy; to obey his highest understanding of truth and goodness just like he obeyed his commander, and to love people and seek God with a whole heart.
When Jesus met a poor man who had been falsely found guilty of a crime, he went with him to speak to the judge. Jesus told the judge that the greater the nation, the more it made sure that injustice never happened to even its poorest citizens. He said that there was shame on any country where only those with money could receive justice. Jesus explained that a country’s survival depended on the fairness of its courts, and that it was a sacred duty to let innocent people go and to punish the ones who were guilty. Like religion is based on mercy, government is based on justice. After hearing Jesus speak the judge reopened the case, reviewed the evidence, and found the poor man innocent.
Counseling the Rich Man
There was a rich man, a Roman Stoic, who wanted to know what Jesus would do with his money if he was wealthy. Jesus said that just like he gives wisdom, knowledge, and divine service to people to enrich their mental, social, and spiritual lives he would in a wise manner administer his wealth to better people’s material lives in this and future generations. But the rich man was not satisfied with that answer. So he asked Jesus what he, the rich man, should do with his wealth—should he keep it or should he give it away? Jesus could tell that the man was sincere and that he wanted to know how to best serve humanity for the sake of God. Jesus agreed to answer his question, but only because the man had asked for his advice. Furthermore, Jesus said that the advice was only for him, the rich man, and that he was not to force what he was told onto anyone else.
Jesus explained that there are ten different ways that people can become rich, and that the person has to honestly determine where their money came from to know how to best use it. The first is inherited wealth: that money that gets handed down from our parents. Second, discovered wealth: that money we make off of the Earth’s resources. Third, trade wealth: money earned from honest business. Fourth, unfair wealth: money gained from cheating and enslaving others. Fifth, interest wealth: the profit from investing our capital. Sixth, genus wealth: the money garnered from creative efforts. Seventh, accidental wealth: money by luck. Eighth, stolen wealth: money gained from stealing and dishonesty. Ninth, trust fund wealth: money received that is meant for a specific purpose, and tenth, earned wealth: the fair return for our daily efforts. Jesus said that once the rich man had divided his wealth into these categories that he should then be fair in deciding how to spend each portion of his money, and if he was ever unsure who he should help that he should favor those people in need.
The rich man was still was not satisfied with Jesus’ answer and he wanted to know more. Again Jesus agreed, and again he insisted that the man only use this advice for managing his own money: he was not to take Jesus’ suggestions and use them to dictate over anyone else. Jesus then told the rich man that if he became a steward of inherited wealth to be sure from where it came. If it came from honest sources, then he had both the right to take some of the money for his own use and an obligation to guard some of the money for his children. If the money he inherited came from unfair or dishonest means, he was not bound to continue earning money that way. If he did end up acquiring money that had been gained from fraud or illegal acts, he was free to give it away based on his ideas of justice, generosity, and restitution. Be wise and use sound judgement when leaving your wealth to your children.
Discovered wealth from the Earth’s resources should be shared in ways to help the most number of people. The Earth is here forever, and it is for all people now and in the future, but each of us is only here for one short life. It is right to reward a person for their efforts in taking wealth from the Earth, but at the same time it would be selfish for the person to claim the right to all of the wealth he gains from resources hoarded by the Earth for everyone’s use. Wealth earned by trade or barter is fair and legitimate profit, and you have much say in how to use it. There are many types of trade, and with each one you should first judge the honesty and fairness it holds before proceeding. Wealth earned through the enslavement, unfair exploitation, or the sweat of oppressed people is a moral curse and spiritual shame. Money earned this way should be returned to those who were robbed, or to their children or their children’s children. Fair interest on wealth that was earned correctly is legitimate. Never use your money to take advantage of others in distress, or to charge more interest than is correct on the money you lend to those in need. Wealth gained from bursts of genius and creativity is both due to the person, and to the society in which they live. No person is an isolated entity: all people achieve what they accomplish today because of the efforts of other people on Earth now, and the efforts of the people in the past. Each case is different and each should be handled according to the person’s highest understanding of fairness. Always remember, if you know others as your brothers then your desire should be to do for them what you would want them to do for you.
Accidental wealth should not be hoarded by the people lucky enough to receive it. These riches should be viewed as a trust to be used for the benefit of one’s community. The people receiving the wealth have the right to be paid for their administration of it and they should have the first say in how it is used, but they should not look on it as their personal money. Illegal wealth must be returned to its rightful owners. Make full amends, and make sure your wealth contains no money from unfair or dishonest acts. Wealth that has been given to you in trust for others carries a sacred responsibility. Take only from the trust for yourself what other honest people would consider fair. Wealth earned from your own work, if fair and legal, is your own money. You have the right to use it as you see fit, provided that doing so does not harm others.
Social Ministry
One day when Jesus and Ganid were walking to the library they happened on a young boy who had wandered away from home; he was crying in distress because he could not find his mother. His house was not far away, so they took him home. Afterwards Jesus told Ganid that most people are like that little boy—they spend most of their time crying in fear and wallowing in sorrow when in reality they are only a short way from safety and security, just like the little boy was just a short way from his mother. Those of us who do know our way to the saving light of God should look at it as a privilege, not a duty, to lead those lost people to the comfort of God their Father. That is our greatest joy. From that day on, Ganid committed himself to always being on the lookout for lost children that he could lead home to their Father.
Another day, Jesus and Ganid met a widow with five children whose husband had been killed in an accident at work, just like had happened to Joseph, Jesus’ father, years before. They made many visits to comfort this woman, and Ganid asked his father for money to support her until they found a job for her oldest son so he could support the family.
Trips about Rome
Jesus, Gonod, and Ganid took five trips to places outside of Rome itself. On one of these trips to a lake in northern Italy, Jesus and Ganid talked about why it was impossible to teach people about God if they do not want to know God. Earlier in the day on their way up the mountain trail they had met a pagan, and Ganid wanted to know why Jesus did not stop and speak to him about God like he did with everyone else. Jesus said that the man was not ready for the truth, or to ask for help. He was satisfied with who he was and he was not yet ripe enough to hear God’s message. First the man needed more time meeting life’s trials. Or, he could live with us and maybe through our lives we could show him the Father and arouse his desire to know more. But you cannot show God to people who are not looking for him: you cannot lead people to salvation if they do not want to go. People become hungry for truth either by meeting life’s challenges, or by being around people who already know our Father. We who know God have the duty to reveal him to others through our lives, and in doing so encourage them to ask for help finding God.
When the three of them were in the mountains in Switzerland, they had an all-day talk about Buddhism. Gonod began the discussion with a direct question, and asked Jesus what he thought about Buddha. Jesus replied that Buddha was much better than what became of Buddhism: that Buddha was a remarkable man, even a prophet to his people, but he was an orphan prophet who lost sight of his Father in heaven and that made his story tragic. Jesus explained that Buddha wanted to live and teach like a messenger of God, but without God. He sailed all the way to the entrance of mortal salvation, and then ran his boat aground because he did not know the way forward without God. And there his ship has remained stranded and filled with many generations of people refusing to enter the kingdom of heaven because they had followed Buddha’s philosophical teachings instead of remaining true to his noble spirit. Jesus went on to say that Buddha knew God in spirit but not in mind, and the Jews had found God in mind but failed to know him in spirit. Now Buddhists flounder in confusion because they have a philosophy but no God, while other faiths are enslaved to the fear of God because they do not have a philosophy of life and liberty. By failing to give his followers the vision of God as a spirit and Father, Buddha’s teachings lack the moral energy needed to change people and nations.
Ganid told Jesus that the two of them should make a new religion: one good enough for India, and big enough for Rome. But Jesus said no, that religions are not made. He explained that the religions developed by people have come about over long periods of time, but that revelations of God flash forth in the lives of the people who show God to others. Jesus’ words were prophetic—he was describing his future but Gonod and Ganid did not understand what he meant.
Ganid believed that Jesus was a prophet, and for the rest of his life he continued to create a religion of his own. But little did Ganid know that the entire universe of Nebadon had watched him suggest to the creator of our universe that they should build a new religion. Neither did this young man realize that they were in fact, right then and there, making a new and everlasting religion: the new way to salvation by revealing God to humanity in and through Jesus. And this is how it was then, and how it is now. Whenever a person is in partnership with God great things will happen in accordance with the person’s dedication to doing his divine will.