Notice of change on the UAC Board

Please note:

Effective May 19, 2024, the Board of Directors of Urantia Association of Canada is composed as follows:

Alain Cyr – President
Nathen Jansen – Vice-President
Mark Blackham – Secretary and Treasurer
Brent St.Denis – Membership Committee Chairman

The board hopes to breathe new life into the Association, and is eager to promote the unification of all students of The Urantia Book.

What Is Faith?

Aalmeidah / Pixabay

We often think of faith as religious doctrine—the beliefs, rules, and rituals incorporated in an organized religion, such as the Christian faith, Muslim faith, or Buddhist faith. Faith can also refer to different branches or sects of these religions, like the Catholic faith, Sunni faith, or the Theravāda faith.

When used in this way, faith defines a system of religious rules, ideologies, and traditions. If you wish to affiliate with any particular religious group, you are expected to believe what they believe and to do what they do.

But when faith is defined (or confined) this way, it is not spiritually productive. Whenever we accept dogmatic teaching as the whole truth, it can inhibit our spiritual sensitivities; it can restrict our thinking and, therefore, inhibit our search for enhanced spiritual meanings or blind us to the full extent of spirit realities.

Modern religion finds it difficult to adjust its attitude toward the rapidly shifting social changes only because it has permitted itself to become so thoroughly traditionalized, dogmatized, and institutionalized. 99:2.6

– The Urantia Book

Faith is better defined as simply having complete confidence or trust in someone or something. It’s a firm belief in something for which there is no empirical or objective proof. For instance, you could have resolute faith in the triumph of science, or persistent faith that your sports team will win. You cannot prove an event will occur, or that some spiritual force will act on your behalf, but you have unequivocal faith that it will.

When my son was just a toddler, he wanted to climb onto the mantelpiece above the fireplace (when houses had fireplaces). Cautiously, I stood him up on the shelf. He looked at me with a big smile and then, bursting a laugh, he jumped from the ledge and flew right at me with his arms wide open. I was stunned for an instant but caught him midair.

My son’s complete trust in me—his unwavering faith that I would catch him in my arms—is the same deep and trusting faith we have in the eternal love and infinite goodness of our Divine Parent. This is the uninhibited and courageous leap of faith, one completely free of religious doctrine.

The faith you have in God is the same faith a child would have in the actions of a loving and wise parent. Accepting and believing that you truly are a spiritual child of God is an attitude of mind that underscores your sincerity and trust in the loving support and divine guidance of a caring universe. It’s an essential attitude of mind for receiving the spiritual gifts of God. I cannot begin to over-emphasize the spiritual importance of such trusting faith.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times.

– Martin Luther

While it’s easy to dismiss faith as false hope or a belief in fantasy, everyone believes in something—everyone has faith in something—otherwise we could not begin to function in the world. We all operate within an ideological framework we accept as true, and we all have strong convictions about the true nature of reality, with or without proof.

If you are an atheist, you have faith there is no Deity, although you cannot prove it. If you are a humanist, you have faith in the inherent goodness of humanity, but you cannot prove it. If you are a materialist, you have faith that all reality is material in nature, but you cannot prove it. You can have faith in anything you choose, so what will you choose?

Having faith in God means we choose to have faith in the eternal goodness, infinite love, and wise counsel of the holy Presence within us. We have faith that God will always help in the long run, even if it may not appear so from our limited viewpoint, and even if we are not consciously aware of that help. Ultimately, we have faith in our divine destiny.

While faith implies there is no empirical or objective proof, the outcome of faith is firmly bolstered with subjective proof. In other words, the evidence of the power of faith is found in your personal spiritual experiences and in your relationships with others. While you can never prove these experiences to others, you know them to be true.

For those with faith, no evidence is necessary; for those without it, no evidence will suffice.

– Thomas Aquinas

The confidence of spiritual faith is a personal experience best described as a positive and trusting attitude toward divinity. Instead of a creedal formula or a set of principles, faith becomes a frame of mind in which we place enduring trust in the existence of spirit life, one coupled with our strong conviction about the goodness, wisdom, and love of this divine life.

A crucial point about faith is that God and his angels function more effectively through a believing and willing mind. No spirit being, force, or influence will ever interfere with your freewill. When you freely believe in the truth about God, when you have complete faith in his love and help, you enable spirit forces to participate in your spiritual life.

Imagine, accept, and believe that God is helping you.

– A. K. Mozumdar

Faith is a mental technique that takes you to the border of God consciousness and then empowers you to enter that domain. It’s a method used to reach beyond the limitations of reason and logic. More so, it’s a way of harmonizing your thoughts and behavior with divine truth even if you cannot fully comprehend that truth.

Spiritual faith extends beyond any belief about the nature of material reality because humanity’s ideas about this vast universe are circumscribed and constantly evolving, just as scientific knowledge, social policies, and governments are evolving—they are subject to constant change and renewal.

Faith, therefore, is more reliably based on supreme values and divine ideals rather than religious doctrines or fixed views about physical reality. Whenever religious beliefs become grounded in perceived material realities or fixed philosophical ideas, they stagnate, whereas faith in the Divine is alive, vibrant, evolving, and adaptable.

Faith is the complete reliance on the power and goodness of Spirit and the firm belief that you’re always connected to this goodness.

– Wayne Dyer

The reason faith in the goodness and wisdom of an infinite and eternal Creator works for the better is because, in all reality, God is always good and perfectly wise. For all who have experienced the presence of God in their lives, he is real, even a fact. Although our minds cannot begin to comprehend the full magnitude and magnificence of this First Source, we can still maintain steadfast faith in the oversight of a loving, friendly, and caring Creator who always urges us to be the best we can be.

Faith is essential because your spiritual thoughts and ideals cannot rise any higher than what you can imagine. Such faithful imaginings become your spiritual compass, the inspiration that invariably points you in the right direction, forever leading you to achieve so much more in life. What a tragedy to limit your hopes and dreams to the dark confines of a cold, empty, and godless materialism. It’s no wonder so many people imagine the future as a bleak and hopeless dystopia.

When you know that you are saved by faith, you have real peace with God. 143.2.6

– Jesus of Nazareth

Humble and positive faith is a tool of consciousness; a spiritual attitude that is necessary and powerful because it’s a frame of mind that opens the door to the Divine Presence within you. This, in turn, allows the Spirit to release its beneficial and powerful superhuman activities into your consciousness. In short, a positive attitude of mind enables God to spiritually transform you.

Faith Is a Bridge

faith is a bridge
Image by Esudroff

Faith is a bridge to spiritual insight. You discern outward beauty with the physical senses, and you discern truth in the intellect. But only through spiritual intuition can you begin to fully grasp divine realities. Having faith in the goodness of your Creator, which is a truth, allows you to enter the reality of the spirit realm despite the intellectual limitations of your mind. It’s your ticket to divinity.

Faith creates a celestial bridge between your material mind and the spirit phase of existence, which is absolutely necessary for your spiritual progress because there is so much about spirit life and the divine nature that your human mind simply cannot grasp with analytical reason alone. Your material thoughts lead you right up to the door of the spirit dimension but, from this point forward, it’s your spiritualized channels of thought, as defined by your faith and as adjusted by your inner Spirit, that lead you Godward.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

– Augustine of Hippo

It’s what you believe rather than what you know that determines what you can achieve in life. All the knowledge in the universe will not help you to be happy or progress in the spirit. Faith goes beyond knowledge by embracing realities you cannot (as yet) comprehend.

Just as there are natural laws of science, there are supernatural laws of the Spirit. One of these immutable laws is that neither God nor any of his celestial assistants will ever try to change or re-create you without your explicit consent. The Creator of a universe wants you to come to him—but only if you want to come of your own freewill.

The Creator refuses to coerce or compel the submission of the spiritual free wills of his material creatures. 1:1:2

– The Urantia Book

It’s this realistic and humble attitude of mind that is so vital to your spiritual life, and it’s the best approach to the magnificence and glory of an eternal and infinite God.

Living Faith

Faith begins with our unwavering conviction about the goodness, wisdom, and love of God, but genuine faith goes one step further. For faith to reach its full potential of bridging the gap between the material and spiritual worlds and thereby transforming our lives in the process, we must live our faith.

The spiritual truths gained through faith manifest in your life when you begin to practice them. The whole notion of living faith is living a life in the spirit eagerly and happily. It’s living a life dedicated to the divine ideals and supreme values you so ardently profess to believe.

It’s impossible to achieve spiritual harmony and divine unity through mind alone. Even though meditation and prayer are excellent ways to enhance spiritual perception and to contact divinity, they are not enough by themselves. Only by acting out your faith in all sincerity, can you coordinate and unite your energies of body, mind, and spirit. By acting out your faith, you actualize it—you make it a reality within yourself and on the world stage.

Living your faith validates your belief that you are a true daughter or son of an affectionate and compassionate Father-Mother God. Invigorated by the same faith, your convictions and ideals become realities in your life. This, in turn, opens the door to even greater potential for spiritual awareness and spiritual living, all of which is further enriched whenever you help others.

Convictions about God may be arrived at through wise reasoning, but the individual becomes God-knowing only by faith, through personal experience. 102.6.5

– The Urantia Book

Living your faith is a divine privilege. It’s a happy endeavor done with enthusiasm and love; it’s meeting daily challenges with vigor and inspiration; it’s remaining undaunted in the face of all disappointments and failures; and it’s cultivating an indomitable spirit that perseveres regardless of life’s difficulties and struggles.

This article is taken from The Ellanora Journal by permission.

Updated features on UAC site

Dear friends,

We have recently added a few items on our site which could be of interest to you.

If you click on the Study tab, followed by the Study Groups sub-tab, you will have available a series of five audio/visual presentations; related with the purpose of a study group and followed through with elaborated methods to create and facilitate one…click on Tips on Study Groups; a must see!

Also –

We have inserted a Donation tab which is now fully functional with both PayPal and credit card options. Please check it out and feel free to test it.

While we do not have a charitable status allowing us the issuing of a tax deduction receipt for your annual income file, a small donation should have little or no impact on it.

All in all, we know the true meaning of your contribution.
Please make the best of the information above and feel free to question us Here

The Center for Unity – Matching Gift Campaign

Be a Game-Changer: Your New Donation Could Be Worth More!

Your gift today can multiply!

Strolling through the park, Emily pondered how she could make a difference in the world. Suddenly, her phone buzzed with an email about a new matching fund. The notification seemed to wink at her, as if saying, “This is your moment.” Inspired by the green of the trees around her, she felt connected to a greater cause. She took the leap.

We invite you to experience a similar moment of inspiration. The Center for Unity has just received a generous matching fund of $100,000 from an anonymous donor. This is not just a call for donations; it’s an invitation to be part of a transformative movement.

Here’s the exciting part:

Between now and the end of 2023, all donations will be matched dollar for dollar. For new recurring donations, we receive the matching funds for the entire first year IMMEDIATELY.

Your RECURRING commitment could help us bring the life and teachings of Jesus into the digital age through projects like our Discover Jesus web app, the AskJesus Chatbot, the Cinematic Jesus film series, and the immersive Jesus Experience at the Sea of Galilee.

This is your chance to make a lasting impact.

Click here to make a new matched donation.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please reply to this email, and we’ll be more than happy to help.

Upcoming Events:

We welcome you to join our monthly ask-me-anything (AMA) meetings, on the 4th Wednesday of every month, at 1:30 PM ET. An invite will be sent separately each month.

Thank you for considering this incredible opportunity to amplify your impact. Together, we can create a world filled with unity and hope.

Donate to match!

The Center for Unity Executive Team

Gabriel Rymberg, Israel
Visionary, Project Management, Translations, CFU President

Rick Lyon, U.S.A
Experience Project Management, Fundraising, WMOJ President

Luis Miguel Morales, Argentina
Human Resources, Organizational Structure

Santiago Kneeland, Mexico
Cinematic Project Management, Sales and Marketing

Our mailing address is:

The Center for Unity
15 Malkhey Israel St.
Zichron Yaakov 3092813
Israel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2024 Urantia Association International Conference

March 29, 2024 – March 31, 2024

The Nature and Nurture of the Soul

Faith is to religion what sails are to a ship; it is an addition of power, not an added burden of life. [Paper 159:3.8, page 1766.4]

Mind is your ship, the Adjuster is your pilot, the human will is captain. The master of the mortal vessel should have the wisdom to trust the divine pilot to guide the ascending soul into the morontia harbors of eternal survival. [Paper 111:1.9, page 1217.4]

Come set sail with us!

Mark your calendars now for the next exciting Urantia Association International Conference in 2024! This will be the 12th International Conference of the Association and is being organized by Urantia Association of the United States (UAUS).

The conference will be held at the Maritime Conference Center (MCC) in Baltimore, Maryland. The MCC is a fabulous and affordable facility with gourmet food, proximity to international airports and many attractions in the nation’s capital region.

The date of the conference will be at the height of the famous cherry blossom season and falls on the Easter weekend in 2024. What a joy it will be to celebrate our Master’s resurrection in-person together as we also explore The Nature and Nurture of the Soul.

View promotion trailer by clicking here.

For more details, including a link to register, see:
https://uaus.urantia-association.org/about-us/events/

Maritime Conference Center

Baltimore, Maryland, United States+ Google Map

3rd Latin American Continental Conference – October 2023

October 26, 2023 – October 29, 2023

The Fifth Revelation in the 21st Century

Come on and join us in Mexico!

Register now for the next Latin American Urantia Continental Conference! This will be the 3rd Latin American Conference and it is being organized by Asociación Urantia de Mexico (AUM). More information on the program of activities and presentations on the overall theme “The Fifth Revelation in the 21st Century” will be available soon.

This Urantia Conference will be held in Mexico, at the Hotel Quinto Sol, close to the interesting and historical pyramids of Teotihuacán. See the promotional video.

Hotel Quinto Sol at 45 minutes from Mexico City, is a refuge of tranquility, harmony, magic and mysticism, nestled in the Magical Town of San Juan Teotihuacán, where comfort, rest and hospitality are mixed, offering unique experiences, outdoor adventure activities, culinary delights, temazcal and holistic spa.

We are inviting Urantia Book students from all over Latin America. The program will focus on the major themes of revelation, to inspire us to grow in our knowledge and understanding of the teachings.

The language spoken during the conference will be Spanish, and presentations will be simultaneously translated into English and Portuguese.

What a joy it will be to see you all in-person together, after so many years of absence during the pandemic, and to study the theme the fifth epochal revelation in the 21st Century at this amazing place in Mexico.

Hotel Quinto Sol

Avenida Hidalgo 26, Centro
55800 San Juan TeotihuacánSan Juan Teotihuacán, Mexico
+ Google Map

Conférence virtuelle : Science vs Religion (French)

Présentée Richard Lachance

Le dimanche 6 mars 2022

De 13 :00 à 15 :00

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84855036078

Nous examinerons de l’état des choses sur les débats actuels parmi les plus éminents scientifiques adhérents vs opposants à la preuve de l’existence de Dieu, du « Dessein intelligent », du créationnisme vs l’évolution.

Nous discuterons de l’athéisme et de l’agnosticisme, de l’exemple de Lucifer, du problème de l’orgueil, et du triomphe de la foi en un Dieu personnel.
Nous étudierons ensuite la compréhension actuelle de la structure de l’univers à grande échelle selon des hypothèses cosmologiques basées sur le Livre d’Urantia à la lumière des dernières découvertes scientifiques.

Lectures suggérées : Fascicules 100 à 103;
Plus particulièrement, pour se mettre en appétit : [101:2.11], [103:8.4], [103:8.5], [103:8.2], [132:2.4]

Participer

 

© 2022 Association Urantia du Québec. Tous droits réservés.

Association Urantia du Québec
569 rue Francine
Ste-Sophie, Québec
J5J 2H7

L’éternel futur – Conférence virtuelle (French)

Temps et espace

Le dimanche, 13 février à 13h

Vous êtes invités à assister à la conférence, L’éternel futur présenté par Éric Tarissan.

Nous savons grâce au Livre d’Urantia que le temps et l’espace sont de toute éternité et qu’il n’y a jamais eu de commencement. Il n’y a jamais eu de Big-bang, d’explosion ou de départ anecdotique semblable.

Tout a commencé avec l’aide des Directeurs de Pouvoir et des Maîtres Architectes, mais allez expliquer à un physicien ou à un astronome que l’univers avec sa multitude de galaxies a été réalisé il y a environ 987 milliards d’années.

Mais qu’en est-il de l’avenir de l’univers et des personnalités qui l’habitent et l’habiteront ?

Qu’arrivera-t-il une fois l’expérience transcendante de l’Ultime parachevé ? Et Dieu l’Absolu avec la Trinité absolue, verront-ils vraiment le jour, et si oui, qu’arrivera-t-il ensuite, les potentiels seront-ils tous consommés ?

Pour vous joindre au groupe, vous cliquez sur le lien suivant 5 minutes avant la rencontre. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82794043873

À la joie de vous y rencontrer et de partager avec vous.