28 Lesson 3 - Solutions to the review exercises

 

Set A: TRUE or FALSE (2 points per item)

1. Our fate is in our own hands. TRUE. A basic teaching is the principle of personal responsibility. This means that we get only what we deserve, no more and no less. The present is the result of all that we have done in the past. And we are building our tomorrow with the things that we do today. Our future, therefore, is entirely up to us.

2. To serve our fellowmen is to serve God. TRUE. We are, all of us, part and parcel of God. We are parts of the Whole. When we help a part, we serve the Whole, we serve God. 

3. No one can understand light without experiencing darkness. TRUE. In order to learn, before we can really know, we have to experience all sides and opposite ends of every thing.

4. Without conflict, no one can gain strength. TRUE. We exercise and use weights to build muscles and develop physical strength. In like manner, if we do not experience problems, crises and other forms of conflict, we won’t be able to develop our spiritual strength.

5. What we now own indicates how successful we are. FALSE. There is a marked difference between material success and success in the spiritual sense. This course only takes up the spiritual aspects. In the spiritual sense, God owns everything, we ourselves own nothing. All our material possessions are simply loaned to us so that we may learn to use them as God intended them to be used. And should we suffer the loss of them, then we would all the more come to appreciate their true worth. Hence, these physical things or possessions are to be viewed only as learning aids that are given and taken away for the purpose of instruction. Also, the real gauge of whether or not we are successful in the spiritual sense is not what we have but what we are. See Par 3:19 and Ver 3:21.

6. The truly spiritual person is necessarily also a vegetarian. FALSE. What we eat affects only the body. On the other hand, our level of spirituality is determined by our character which is the result of all our thoughts and deeds. Christ also said, “It is not what enters our body but what comes out of it (the things we do) that defiles us.” Therefore, our being a vegetarian doesn’t really matter in the least, spiritually speaking. As a further proof, Christ himself ate fish.

7. We are directly and personally liable for all our thoughts and deeds. TRUE. We are directly accountable for all that we do and we personally will have to pay for our own mistakes. See Par 3:06 and Par 3:08.

8. We should rid the world of all evil. FALSE. The evil in the world is vital to the development of man. Without the opportunity to experience evil, no one can progress. See Par 3:12.

9. What is good for me is certainly good also for everyone else. FALSE. Different people have different needs and wants. See Par 3:05.

10. God doesn’t just look at our deeds, but He also considers our motives. TRUE. God realizes that we are prone to error because we don’t know everything yet inasmuch as we are still in the early stages of spiritual development. Therefore, what is more important to Him at this point in time is what is in our hearts.

11. If we always do what our elders tell us to do, we can never go wrong. FALSE. Yes, we should heed the counsel of our elders. However, we must nevertheless learn to think and decide for ourselves. Review Par 3:06.07 and Sol 2:C.10.

12. In order to progress, we also need to undergo painful experiences. TRUE. Some lessons are especially difficult to learn. It is unfortunate but, nevertheless, true that the more painful the lesson is, the more effectively we are able to learn it. See Par 3:12.

13. God sends both good and evil. TRUE. All things come from God, according to His divine plan. See Par 3:12.

14. We should learn to think for ourselves. TRUE. In all matters, we should think for ourselves. How else can we attain to perfection? See Par 3:05.06.

15. The way of the world is not the way of God. TRUE. This is the point of the whole Lesson and this truth is expressly stated in Par 3:22.

16. Love will conquer all. TRUE. In the end, in God’s kingdom, this is inevitable. Love is the key that opens every door.

17. It is God’s wish that all males should be circumcised. FALSE. God being Spirit is concerned only with the things of the Spirit. Since circumcision has nothing at all to do with spirituality but pertains only to the body, therefore, it is really of no concern to God whether we have ourselves circumcised or not.

18. We should learn to rely on ourselves and on our own efforts. TRUE. Definitely, we should. We won’t be able to progress, otherwise. The principle of personal responsibility is an important part of the divine teachings.

19. Rather than fight evil, we need only strive to learn the spiritual lessons they bring. TRUE. Christ said, “Don’t resist evil.” This is because he knew very well the true spiritual value of the evil in the world. See Par 3:12. Therefore, let us just learn our lessons and then evil will have no more reason for being a part of our life. More on this in Lessons 5 and 6.

20. We receive not because we ask not. FALSE. Whether we ask or not is of no consequence whatever. God knows what we need and He provides accordingly. There will be more on this in subsequent lessons. See Sol 3:C.8.

Set B: (2 points per item)

1. “Man must love God with all his heart, with all his mind and with all his strength; and he must love his neighbor as he loves himself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer altar animals and other sacrifices to God” (MK 12).

2. “Don’t stop him, because those who are not against us are working with us” (LK 9).

3. “Watch out and guard against covetousness, for a man’s worth does not depend on the abundance of his possessions” (LK 12).

4. “‘These people honor Me with their words, but they really have no love in their hearts for Me. Their worship is a farce because they teach people man-made laws as if they were God’s laws!’ You have set aside God’s commands just so that you may keep your own traditions” (MK 7).

5. Jesus turned on Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan. You are an abomination in my sight because you look at things only from the worldly point of view and not from God’s” (MT 16).

6. But one thing is far more acceptable to God than all these senseless offerings and sacrifices. Love — love of God and love for our fellowmen — this is much preferred (Par 3:03).

7. “You hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden but ignore the more important things — justice, mercy and faith. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn’t leave the more important things undone” (MT 23). 

8. “Not everyone who calls me ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do” (MT 7).

9. Life provides many important lessons. All that we see that is right, we should do and what we observe to be wrong, we should not do (Par 3:07).

10. “Beware of false teachers who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really like ravenous wolves and will tear you apart” (MT 7).

11. “For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and every secret shall be made known” (LK 12).

12. God is just and no one can escape His judgment. So will all men be judged according to their deeds (Par 3:08).

13. “Don’t worry about them! They are blind guides leading the blind. And when a blind man leads another, both shall fall into a ditch” (MT 15).

14. Then, at last, they understood that by “leaven” he meant the false teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees (MT 16).

15. And if it were possible, man would eradicate all evil from the face of the Earth. But the evil in the world is vital to the development of man (Par 3:12).

Set C: (3 points per item)

1. All men will be judged according to their beliefs. DISAGREE. It is not enough just to believe. We also need to live as we believe. In effect, we will be judged according to our deeds and according to our motives as mitigated by our present knowledge, abilities and circumstances.

2. Everyone will also come to know all there is to know. AGREE. Perfection includes perfect knowledge of all things.

3. Evil men will rot in hell. DISAGREE. In ancient times, it was deemed advantageous to put a scare into people in the hope that they may be scared straight. However, through Reincarnation and the opportunities it makes available to us, we will be able to reform ourselves and get to heaven, eventually. There really is no such place as hell, except that we will experience continuous hardships in the lower worlds or planes of being until we have proven that we deserve better things in life. Still, according to some other sources, because of the extreme difficulties of life on Earth as compared to life in the higher planes of being, our Earth is considered to be one of the lower hells. These planes will be taken up more in depth in Lesson 7.

4. If we don’t pray and praise the Lord, He will never allow us into heaven. DISAGREE. God is not an insecure or vain God. And so, whether or not we recognize Him and praise Him doesn’t really matter to Him. Instead, He will look at our deeds and our intentions in our dealings with our fellowmen. Still, to some people, doing good is praising the Lord. However, in this course, let us use only the words that clearly convey our meaning. Let us say what we mean and mean what we say, and let us, at all times, speak plainly.

5. God is not just because He allows us to become victims of injustice. DISAGREE. In God’s viewpoint, there are no victims, ever. Instead, everyone here on Earth is a spirit-student undergoing necessary and very valuable spiritual instruction. It is just that we also need to experience the bad effects of evil doings before we can fully realize that such acts are not to be desired.

6. If we are already serving God, then we no longer need to serve our fellowmen. DISAGREE. Quite the contrary, it is only as we serve our fellowmen that we are able to really serve God, since each and every one of us is part and parcel of God. Moreover, God being perfect needs no help from us; instead, it is each of us individually, imperfect as we are, who should extend and receive help.

7. God doesn’t really love us because he takes away our loved ones too soon. DISAGREE. No one is ever taken away. Death is rebirth into the greater life after our lessons are over. And our loved ones will be there waiting for us when we ourselves transition to the life that waits beyond this life.

8. Provided we pray and ask earnestly, believing we will receive, God will always grant our requests. DISAGREE. We can certainly work to attain everything that we want out of life. But whether we ask or don’t ask does not affect matters one bit because, regardless, God always provides what is just, what is needful and what is best in accordance with His Divine Plan.

9. There is no sense to the practice of flagellation or self-inflicted pain. DISAGREE. In regard to our debts, we may repay in kind or through the rendering of service to others. While the latter is very much preferred over the former, nevertheless, both avenues provide relief.

10. Our possession of psychic powers proves that we are highly spiritual. DISAGREE. Spirituality relates to moral character and is not directly related to the possession of psychic powers.

Psychic abilities are natural and inherent properties of every spirit being. Here on Earth at our present level of studies, such powers are not usually available to most of us because if they were, we would be distracted needlessly from the more important matters that we need to focus our attention on. For the most part, psychic abilities upon the Earth are to be viewed only as tools that are made available to us for use in helping others. But, then, in a greater number of instances, there are many other tools, talents and other abilities and resources that may, instead, be availed of to achieve even better results.

Psychic abilities are subjects that we will be taking up and developing more fully in the near future. For most people, it is enough for now that they are given a preview of lessons to come. But they are made more readily available to those who are ready to take up more advanced studies. Especially, if we should choose to develop them, they can provide us with the incontrovertible proofs of spiritual realities, according to our need.