The Urantia Book Fellowship

The Challenges of Faith in the Quest for Cosmic Citizenship

4. How Do We Progress Through the Stages of Faith?

How Do We Progress?

How do we go about traversing these stages of growth?  These stages should not be viewed as levels of achievement, but rather descriptions of stages we will encounter in a natural, evolutionary process.  Our efforts should be directed toward the tasks of the stage in which we find ourselves, rather than an effort to force a transition to the next stage.

In our efforts to traverse the psychic circles, we might ask, "What is it that retards our growth and prevents us from moving into the next higher circle?"  The answer is "fear."  It is fear, The Urantia Book tells us, which is the opposite of faith.  We are told that one of the great tasks of mortal life is to transmute the fear inherited from our evolutionary origins into the faith of our spiritual heritage.

It is fear which keeps us from progressing—most often a fear that critical evaluation of our beliefs and assumptions might expose illusions which we have found comforting and upon which we have come to depend for identity.  One of the greatest betrayals of spiritual integrity in which we might engage is to use the concept of "faith" as an excuse to avoid critical evaluation.  "Unreasoned fear is a master intellectual fraud practiced upon the evolving mortal soul."

The boundary between our present circle of attainment and the next circle is really the boundary between our faith and our fear; the boundary represents unconquered fear.  For example, in the seventh circle when the ascender's social consciousness is based on the immediate family and the family's community, it is fear and uncertainty regarding personal relationships outside this boundary which keeps the ascender confined to this circle. 

When this fear is transmuted into faith, the ascender's social boundaries expand and it is possible to move into the next higher circle.  This higher circle, in turn, has a boundary of fear which must be conquered before additional progress may be made.  Thus it is a process of transmuting fear into faith which enables us to traverse these circles and eventually become comfortable functioning as a cosmic citizen.  Any time we find that we are dividing people up into "us" and "them" categories and relating to members of the different categories with different sets of values, we can be sure that we are in one of the lower stages of development and that fear—conscious or unconscious—is playing a dominant role in shaping our behavior.

The admonitions to spiritual growth which we find in The Urantia Book will work at any stage and will faithfully guide us on our path.

These admonitions for growth are:

  • The continual seeking of the Father’s will.
  • Worship—evolving friendship with God. 
  • Service—the unselfish service of our fellows. 
  • The unending quest for truth

One of the beauties of the teachings of Jesus is that if we simply follow his great commandment, which leads to worship and service, we will find ourselves progressing in a natural manner.  Jesus was not an administrator who came to give us rules and regulations, he is our creator and he came to tell us how to live progressively and meaningfully within the system which he created.

1773:5  160:1.8 “The wise and effective solution of any problem demands that the mind shall be free from bias, passion, and all other purely personal prejudices which might interfere with the disinterested survey of the actual factors that go to make up the problem presenting itself for solution. The solution of life problems requires courage and sincerity. Only honest and brave individuals are able to follow valiantly through the perplexing and confusing maze of living to where the logic of a fearless mind may lead. And this emancipation of the mind and soul can never be effected without the driving power of an intelligent enthusiasm which borders on religious zeal. It requires the lure of a great ideal to drive man on in the pursuit of a goal which is beset with difficult material problems and manifold intellectual hazards.”

1209:4  110:6.4 "When the development of the intellectual nature proceeds faster than that of the spiritual, such a situation renders communication with the Thought Adjuster both difficult and dangerous. Likewise, overspiritual development tends to produce a fanatical and perverted interpretation of the spirit leadings of the divine indweller. Lack of spiritual capacity makes it very difficult to transmit to such a material intellect the spiritual truths resident in the higher superconsciousness. It is to the mind of perfect poise, housed in a body of clean habits, stabilized neural energies, and balanced chemical function--when the physical, mental, and spiritual powers are in triune harmony of development--that a maximum of light and truth can be imparted with a minimum of temporal danger or risk to the real welfare of such a being. By such a balanced growth does man ascend the circles of planetary progression one by one, from the seventh to the first."

These factors, if embraced, can lead us through these stages of growth.  Not only do they lead from one stage to another, but they provide for a full realization of the potentials within each stage.   Jesus commented to John that he must have “. . . faith in the effectiveness of the supreme human desire to do the will of God—to be like God.” 

But perhaps the best way to study this path of faith development would be to study the process as it unfolded in the life of Jesus. References and guidance for such a study may be found in Developmental Stages in the Life of Jesus.

Distribution of Stages of Faith by Age in the Research Sample

Research of Dr. James Fowler
(Stages with two numbers such as 5-6 indicate persons in transition between the two stages.)

Stage

Ages 0-6

Ages 7-12

Ages 13-20

Ages 21-30

Ages 31-40

Ages 41-50

Ages 51-60

Age 61+

6

              

1.6 %

5-6

                

5

        

14.6 %

12.5 %

23.5 %

16.1 %

4-5

      

3.3 %

18.8 %

21.9 %

5.9 %

14.5 %

4

    

5.4 %

40.0 %

20.8 %

56.2 %

29.4 %

27.4 %

3-4

    

28.6 %

33.3 %

8.3 %

    

14.5 %

3

    

50.0 %

17.8 %

37.5 %

9.4 %

35.3 %

24.2 %

2-3

  

17.2 %

12.5 %

4.4 %

      

1.6 %

2

  

72.4 %

3.6 %

1.1 %

    

5.9 %

  

1-2

12.0 %

6.9 %

            

1

88.0 %

3.4 %

            

Suggested reading:

  • Fowler, James W., Stages of Faith, Harper: San Francisco, 1981
  • Jung, C. G., The Undiscovered Self, Penguin: New York, 1958
  • Tillich, Paul, Dynamics of Faith, Harper: New York, 1958


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