Rodan’s Philosophy of Living

And His New Religion of Maturity

Revised August 2020 William Cooper

A dictionary definition of “philosophy”: A system for guiding life. A body of principles of conduct, religious beliefs, or traditions.

Rodan was an extraordinary philosopher of Jesus’ time and a follower of Jesus. His writings are lost to history. He was a Greek Jew of Alexandria in Egypt. He visited Jesus’ camp at Bethsaida for a period of time and carefully observed the way Jesus lived his religious life. He commented on Jesus’ practices with strong approval. It is a high honor that he is the only mortal given space for presentation of his beliefs in several pages of the Fifth Epochal Revelation of truth to this planet. This honor suggests that his ideas are of particular value to us and deserve our special attention.

Rodan spoke directly to two things the Urantia Book revelators identified as centrally important. 1) He was a careful and educated observer of the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it—Jesus’s art of living. 2) He was an advocate of personal religion based on a philosophy of living in cooperation with God and with the goals of finding God and becoming like him. The Urantia Book salvages these lost achievements of Rodan by presenting them in detail. The following comments explore 1) Rodan’s philosophy of pursuing really startlingly ambitious goals of God consciousness and Godlikeness, 2 ) Rodan’s admiration of Jesus’ art of using spiritual resources directly in solving life’s problems, and 3) the way Rodan connected his philosophy, Jesus’ gospel and Jesus’ art of spiritual living into a new and superior religion .

Rodan’s Philosophy

Goals, ideals, and the new religion of maturity

UB reference: (P.1774:6 – 1775:1) [161:1.14-15]

Rodan observed, “In a continually changing world, in the midst of an evolving social order, it is impossible to maintain settled and established goals of destiny if they are based only on what history and the current circumstances indicate goals should be. Stability of personality can be experienced only by those who have discovered and embraced the living God as the eternal goal of infinite attainment. And thus to transfer one’s goal from time to eternity, from earth to Paradise, from the human to the divine, requires that a person shall become regenerated, converted, be born again; shall become the re-created child of the divine spirit and thus gain entrance into the family of God. All philosophies and religions which have goals that fall short of these ideals are immature. The philosophy which I teach, linked with the gospel which you preach, represents the new religion of maturity, the ideal of all future generations. And this is true because God, our ideal, is final, infallible, eternal, universal, absolute, and infinite.

“My philosophy gave me the urge to search for the realities of true attainment, the goal of maturity, of Godlikeness. But my urge was impotent; my search lacked driving power; my quest suffered from the absence of certainty of directionization. I did not know for certain where to find God. And these deficiencies have been abundantly supplied by this new gospel of Jesus, with its enhancement of insights through seeking the leading of the Inner Spirit, elevation of ideals, and settledness of goals by wholehearted joining in God’s goal of uniting the entire universe by the attraction of love. Without doubts and misgivings, I can now wholeheartedly enter upon the eternal venture. 161:1.15 (P.1775 – §1)

Questions to ponder:

What is the ideal of this new religion of maturity which Rodan boldly says is “final, infallible, eternal, universal, absolute, and infinite? Is pursuing and progressive achievement of Godlikeness all of these things?
Rodan’s search for the “realities of true attainment” was lacking “driving power and certainty of directionization. He says his deficiencies were supplied by three aspects of Jesus’ new gospel and his art of living: enhancement of insights (experiencing insights from the Spirit Within), elevation of ideals (aspiring to goodness like God), and settledness of goals (becoming like God and working with God to achieve God’s goals). Can we see how his philosophy would help us in our search for insights, ideals, and settled goals? Would becoming an ever more capable partner with God and the celestial family in implementing God’s plan for all time and all space give you driving power and certainty of directionization regardless of changing of intermediate goals caused by increasing complexities over time?

Philosophy of Remastering the art of living

UB reference: (P.1772:4) [160:1.3]

The art of living is exercising creativity in adjusting to society’s here and now condition while maintaining loyalty to the ultimate objective. The art of living is the art of not losing one’s way while negotiating the chaos. The art of living reconciles the goal with the way things are, the way things should be with the present situation. The art of living applies principles and habits of character (values) to define the correct present action.

“The more complex civilization becomes, the more difficult will become the art of living. The more rapid the changes in social usage, the more complicated will become the task of character development. Every ten generations mankind must learn anew the art of living if progress is to continue. And if man becomes so ingenious that he more rapidly adds to the complexities of society, the art of living will need to be remastered in less time, perhaps every single generation. If the evolution of the art of living fails to keep pace with the technique of existence, humanity will quickly revert to the simple urge of living—the attainment of the satisfaction of present desires. Thus will humanity remain immature; society will fail in growing up to full maturity.

Questions to ponder:

Based on your own observations, reflections, insights, do you think/believe that we have come to a time when the art of living needs to be remastered every single generation in order to keep pace with the technique of existence? If so, what does remastering the art of living entail? [ For the children of God, remastering the art of living means reconsidering what love should do in the changing circumstances. That actually should be a constant concern, not just an occasional one.]
How do changes in social usage complicate the task of character development? Some changes in social usage which complicate character development include changes in gender equality, changes in sexuality norms, extensions or contractions of democracy, attitudes toward abortion, pregnancy prevention, universal suffrage, racial fairness, economic fairness, equal opportunity, and spiritual versus material purpose for life. Is all life sacred? Is it ok to cheat the ignorant, the poor, the weak and everyone else so long as it is for your own benefit? Does the accumulation of immense wealth in the control of a very few at the same time many suffer from insufficient necessities or comforts suggest the need for adjustments in the values of those in power? Does humanity’s damage to nature call for readjustments in the art of living or will the Rodan-Jesus philosophy and art of living continue to serve? Does the material and ethical destructiveness of warfare suggest we must find other ways to resolve disputes? Does humanity show signs of reversion to the simple urge of living, the attainment of the satisfaction of present desires?

Jesus’ Art of Living According to Rodan

Jesus’ art of the mastery of dependable techniques for solving life’s problems

UB reference (p.1774:3)[160:1.11]

Rodan said: “I am deeply impressed with the custom of Jesus in going apart by himself

to engage in these seasons of solitary survey of the problems of living
to seek for new stores of wisdom and energy for meeting the manifold demands of social service
to quicken and deepen the supreme purpose of living by actually subjecting the total personality to the consciousness of contacting with divinity
to grasp for possession of new and better methods of adjusting oneself to the ever-changing situations of living existence
to effect those vital reconstructions and readjustments of one’s personal attitudes which are so essential to enhanced insight into everything worth while and real.
to do all of this with an eye single to the glory of God – to breathe in sincerity your master’s favorite prayer, “Not my will, but yours, be done.”

Questions to ponder:

If you go apart with God as Rodan observed Jesus doing, what does it feel like? Don’t guess. Do it and feel it.
What does it mean to “actually subject the total personality to the consciousness of contacting with divinity”? What does it feel like?
Does going apart with God “quicken [make more alive] and deepen [give greater meaning] to the supreme purpose of living”? Is character development by deity values incorporation the supreme purpose of living?
Can we do it? How do we do it? Rodan observed that Jesus’ technique was to go apart and visit with God about everything. Is that the way?
Ask your Inner Spirit how to incorporate contact with spirit into daily life.

The benefits of spiritual communion to one’s art of living

UB reference (P.1774:4} [160:1.12]

Rodan said: “This worshipful practice of your Master brings:

that relaxation which renews the mind.
that illumination which inspires the soul.
that courage which enables one bravely to face one’s problems.
that self-understanding which obliterates debilitating fear.
that consciousness of union with divinity which equips man with the assurance that enables him to dare to be Godlike.

“The relaxation of worship, or spiritual communion as practiced by the Master,

relieves tension,
removes conflicts, and
mightily augments the total resources of the personality.

And all this philosophy, plus the gospel of the kingdom, constitutes the new religion as I understand it.”

Rodan was talking about his philosophy of setting and pursuing the goal of Godlikeness linked to Jesus’ good news that we are children of God and can have a relationship of friendship and constant guidance from God as being the fundamentals of a new religion.

Questions to ponder:

What is debilitating fear? Is it fear of failure that prevents you from acting? Is it fear of ridicule, of loss, of punishment, of misinterpretation?
What kind of self-understanding can obliterate debilitating fear? Is it understanding who you really are and the consequences, responsibilities, and privileges that being a child of God brings? Is it the reassurance that you really do know what is right to do?
According to your personal understanding, what does it mean “to dare to be Godlike”? What can happen when we dare to be Godlike? What are the benefits? What are the risks?
Can you recall a personal example of how spiritual communion relieves tension and/or removes conflicts? What do you do? What happens? What is your experience?
Rodan speaks of “the total resources of the personality” which spiritual communion will “mightily augment”? What do you think he is referring to? The total resources of personality would include every influence a person could bring to bear on an issue. These would include psychological powers (self confidence, optimism, self encouragement), intellectual ability (define the problem, identify possible solutions, outline an action plan), spiritual power (engage spiritual resources through prayer, worship, meditation and receptivity), power of creative imagination (ability to frame the issue differently to take advantage of the barriers), and the physical resources of speech and action. Is it possible that communion unifies these resources and gets them working together and stable?

Summary:

Rodan found in Jesus’ gospel of the fatherhood of God and individual relationship with God the missing aspects of his philosophy of living. Rodan’s philosophy said that the individual’s goals should be to know God and to become like him. But the philosophy lacked the motivation and the means, the why and the how to do this. Rodan saw in Jesus’ art of living by active and intimate association with God and following the leading of God, the means to know and to become like God. He saw in the fatherhood of God the promise of a noble and grand destiny of service in achievement of God’s objectives, doing the will of God, thus providing both the confirmation of the possibility of becoming like God and the motivation to engage in the effort. In the unification of these elements of philosophy, gospel and art of living, Rodan saw the possibility of a worthwhile new personal religion. And what a religion it can be!