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Table of Contents 1) Survival is a Choice by Derek Samaras and Chuck Thurston 2) Our Soul is the Secret by Derek Samaras and Chuck Thurston 3) Survival is a Choice by Derek Samaras and Chuck Thurston Is there Life after Death? Part 1 Survival is  Choice by Derek Samaras and Chuck Thurston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc5pFwv5RyY  This is the first in a series of episodes where we take on the question: Is There Life After Death? This study is a follow-up to our previous podcasts about eternal destiny and realizing our true potential.  We begin with a story from Jesus’ childhood where he confronts Joseph, his human father, about beliefs in an angry and wrathful God. Jesus refused to accept the idea that the heavenly Father could love his children any less than Joseph loved him. (155:6.7 [1731.5]) The loving nature of God is the fundamental reality that frames our understanding of the possibility of life after death.  In this episode we explore the revelation that our survival is actually a choice. Sooner or later, we will have the opportunity to consciously make this decision. While our Creator Father (like all good fathers) desires the survival of all of his children, and will lovingly respond to the “faintest flicker of faith” (155:6.17 [1733.5]), we must also have the desire to become something more than a transient material phenomenon. While survival is a gift, it must be desired to become a reality. (110:2.2 [1204.6])  We learn that our willingness to cooperate with the divine spirit that has been graciously given to live within us, coupled with our loving desire to find God and thereby attain divine perfection, are the motivations that inspire our spiritual growth. (40:5.19 [447.4]) Spirit identification constitutes the secret of personal survival and determines the destiny of spiritual ascension. (40:5.4 [445.5])   SUBSCRIBE on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04XhrM_STMSDx_bHFfymkA UBN Facebook https://www.facebook.com/urantiabooknetwork Click Here to See Video Is there Life after Death? Part 2 Our Soul is the Secret by Derek Samaras and Chuck Thurston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCABr6ipn34 The only way to survive the death of our physical body is to evolve a new selfhood “vehicle” that is not physical. Only a non-physical version of ourselves can be taken from this world to the next, where we begin the next chapter in our eternal adventure. In this episode of Study Group, we learn that the “secret” of eternal selfhood is our endowment with the spirit of the Father that lives within us. This gives birth to our soul and establishes us as sons and daughters of God.  Through self-identification with God’s eternal spirit, we receive the “gift of eternal life” and are thereby able to survive beyond this material lifetime. (146:3.5 [1642.1]) This transfer of our “seat of identity” to the more enduring and potentially immortal soul enables our escape from dependence on “the continuing function of the material life vehicle.” While the Father’s indwelling spirit is a gift, this transfer of identity is an achievement. It is made possible by the “sincerity, persistence, and steadfastness” of our God-seeking decisions. (112:2.20 [1229.7])  “The imitation of God is the key to perfection; the doing of his will is the secret of survival.” (111:5.2 [1221.3]) Before concluding, we consider the meaning of this all-important principle of doing God’s will. This determination on our part is what establishes the combined human-divine “parentage” of our immortal soul. (112:5.12 [1234.1]) SUBSCRIBE on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04XhrM_STMSDx_bHFfymkA UBN Facebook https://www.facebook.com/urantiabooknetwork Click Here to see Video Is there Life after Death?  Part 3  Principles of Soul Growth by Derek Samaras and Chuck Thurston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crThhZQ6yjY In this, the third episode in our series about life after death, we pick up on the idea of the soul from the last episode and look more closely at what we can do to foster the growth of this dimension of ourselves. Jesus once counseled a young lad to not only feed the body, but to also learn how to “feed the soul,” while knowing that God is always with us and goes before us. (130:8.3 [1440.3]) Jesus makes clear in one of his post-resurrection appearances that the fact of his rising from the dead is intended to help us realize that we can also survive mortal death, depending on whether or not we have been “previously born of the spirit of truth-seeking and God-finding.” (193:2.2 [2054.3])  Our appreciation of goodness and truth empowers us to make the kinds of choices and decisions that are essential to eternal survival. (132:2.3 [1457.6]) We learn that this attainment of survival status is achieved by forming a personal “alliance” with our “immortal spirit endowment.” (133:6.6 [1478.5]) This is what grows our soul, and having done this, there is nothing that can prevent our survival and ascension in the universe. Even now, we can receive the assurance of eternal life, which is “personal and progressive, not merely mechanical or even passively perfect.” (75:8.7 [846.6]) SUBSCRIBE on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC04XhrM_STMSDx_bHFfymkA UBN Facebook https://www.facebook.com/urantiabooknetwork Click Here to see Video Disclaimer We strive to publish a variety of views, understanding that students of The Urantia Book can differ significantly in their interpretations of the teachings. The opinions and descriptions of the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of The Urantia Book Fellowship or initiatives that The Urantia Book Fellowship supports. Articles are being published in the interest of allowing the expression of a diversity of viewpoints held within the reader community. Standard Reference Text Citations You may see in-text citations for Urantia Book quotations in this publication that look like this: (62:5.1 [707.7]). 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