Lessons from the Cross
A source study of sections 4 and 5 of Paper 188

by Matthew Block, June 25, 2011

IN 101:5.1 we are told: "Revelation is a technique whereby ages upon ages of time are saved in the necessary work of sorting and sifting the errors of evolution from the truths of spirit acquirement." In a similar vein, John Baillie notes, in The Interpretation of Religion: An Introductory Study of Theological Principles (1928), that some of his fellow theologians believe that Jesus’ great service to religion primarily consisted in his sorting and sifting of the Hebrew religion. He writes:

It has sometimes been suggested that the trouble with the religion of the Hebrews, and especially with that of Jesus’ own contemporaries, was not that the ideas which Jesus emphasised were not contained in it, but rather that so many other ideas, persisting from earlier stages of the nation’s religious development, were contained in it too.... On this view the service rendered to religion by Jesus is to be taken as having consisted primarily, not in the discovery of new gold, but rather in the separation of gold which was already in mankind’s possession from that heavy admixture of dross which had hitherto rendered it too little available for use (B 432).

Though Baillie finds that this view "does less than justice to the real newness of the religion of Christ," he grants: "That there is much truth in this view is not to be denied."

The Interpretation of Religion is the main source for the derived sections of Paper 101 as well as a major source for Papers 102 and 103. (Note: At the time of this writing, I have already posted parallel charts on this site for the latter two papers; the chart for Paper 101 is coming shortly.)

In the book Baillie published a year later, The Place of Jesus Christ in Modern Christianity (1929), he himself attempts a comprehensive sorting and sifting of the traditional Christian doctrines about the person and work of Jesus Christ. The book’s nine chapters cover the gamut of Christology - the Incarnation, the Atonement, the Trinity, the person of Christ, the nature of the Church, etc. In his treatment of each subject, Baillie points out the difficulties modern minds have with the traditional doctrine(s) associated with it, and then goes on to uncover the often obscured meanings and values of those doctrines

His chapter, "Atonement" (pp. 150-184), is clearly the main source for sections 4 and 5 of Paper 188, as the accompanying parallel chart shows. In this chapter, Baillie first focuses on the problems of St. Anselm’s doctrine of atonement and then sheds light on its value for the modern-minded Christian.

Section 4 of Paper 188 parallels Baillie’s critique of the unsatisfactory aspects of Anselm’s doctrine, and section 5 largely reflects Baillie’s insights into "the great truths embedded" in it.

A passage in 188:4.2 - "In your well-meant efforts to escape the superstitious errors of the false interpretation of the meaning of the death on the cross, you should be careful not to make the great mistake of failing to perceive the true significance and the genuine import of the Master’s death" - mirrors Baillie’s own critical project, namely, to find the gold among the dross in Anselm’s doctrine. The UB author, however, doesn’t restrict himself to Anselm, and this larger compass results in insights not to be found in Baillie.

I found The Place of Jesus Christ in Modern Christianity in 2002, and discovered last week that the full text of the book is online. Click here to read the book . Biographical and bibliographical information on John Baillie can be found in J.T. Manning’s Source Authors of the Urantia Book: Papers 85-103, and Others, which can be ordered here.

I encourage all serious readers to read the whole chapter on Atonement. Doing so enabled me to get a better grasp of 188:4 and 188:5. I found, and still find, some of the UB’s remarks in 188:5.2 confusing, particularly the statement, "Salvation does not slight wrongs; it makes them right", and the descriptions of 'forgiveness'. I find Baillie’s corresponding remarks (as displayed in the parallel chart) clearer and more consistent.

I also discovered, last week, a small but significant parallel in a book by Christian evangelist Dwight L. Moody, the founder of Chicago’s Moody Bible Institute, a school which William S. Sadler attended. It occurs in 188:5.7.