fr-Chapter 49 - Religion and the Administration of Justice 

No religion or denomination is the only true one

1. I do not come to stir up religious fanaticism among people; my teaching is far from teaching falsehoods; I seek improvement, faith, charity, and spiritualization. Fanaticism is a dark blindfold over the eyes, an unhealthy passion, and darkness. Be vigilant, lest this evil seed take root in your hearts. Consider that fanaticism sometimes takes on the appearance of love.

2. Understand that this darkness has afflicted humanity in this age. Recognize that, although the pagan peoples have vanished from the earth and the majority of humanity professes to worship the true God, people neither know Me nor love Me; for their wars, their hatred, and their lack of harmony are proof that they do not yet allow Me to live in their hearts.

3. Above the darkness of this religious fanaticism and idolatry, great whirlwinds are approaching that will purify the spiritual cult of this humanity. When this work is accomplished, the rainbow of peace will shine in the infinity. (83, 60–62)

4. I have permitted religions to exist on earth, for they are paths for the soul leading to God. Every religion that teaches goodness and love and extols mercy is good, for it contains light and truth. When people wither away within them and turn what was originally good into evil, the path is lost amid materialism and sin.

5. Therefore, in this time I show you anew My truth, which is the Way, the Essence of Life, and the Law, so that you may seek this Law—which is a lighthouse and a guiding star—beyond forms and rites, beyond all that is human. Whoever seeks Me in this way will be a spiritualist. (197, 10–11)

6. No one will be lost; some will arrive sooner on the path I have shown you, and others later on the paths they follow.

7. In all religions, man can accept the teaching he needs to become good. But if he does not achieve this, then he blames the religion to which he professes his faith and remains the person he has always been.

8. All religions are paths; some are more perfect than others, but all aim for the good and strive to come to the Father. If something about the religion you know does not satisfy you, do not lose faith in Me. Walk the path of love for your neighbor, and you will find salvation, for My path is illuminated by the power of love. (114, 43)

9. Religions are small side paths that guide souls to the true path, on which they can ascend step by step until they come to Me. As long as people on earth profess different religions, they are divided. But once they are on the path of love and truth, they will be united; they will become one with that single Light; for there is only one truth. (243, 5)

10. The unification of religions will come when the spirit of humanity rises above materialism, traditions, prejudices, and fanaticism. Then people will have united spiritually in a single worship: that of doing good out of love for God and for one's neighbor. When this happens, humanity will enter a period of perfection. (187, 43)

11. The spiritual division among people stems from the fact that some made use of one branch (of the tree of divine revelations) while others made use of another branch. There is only one tree, but its branches are many. Yet people did not wish to understand My teachings in this way, and their disputes separate them and deepen their differences of opinion. Everyone believes they possess the truth; everyone feels they are in the right. Yet I tell you: As long as you taste only the fruit of a single branch and reject that of the others, you will not come to realize that all fruits come from the divine tree, and that only their totality represents the complete truth.

12. When I speak to you of these truths, do not think that the Master is referring to the external forms of worship of the various religions, but rather to the fundamental principle upon which each of them is based.

13. A strong storm wind is now making itself felt. Its gusts, as they shake the tree, cause its various fruits to fall, and they will be tasted by those who had not known them before.

14. Then they will say: "How misguided and blind we have been, when—driven by our fanaticism—we rejected all the fruits our brothers offered us, simply because they were unknown to us!"

15. A part of my light is in every group of people, in every community. Let no one therefore boast of possessing the whole truth. Understand, then: If you wish to penetrate further into the core of the Eternal, if you wish to go further than where you have come so far, then you must first unite the insights of one group with those of another, and in this way with all others. Then, from this harmony, a clear and very bright light will shine forth—the light you have sought in the world until now without finding it.

16. "Love one another"—this is My maxim, My highest commandment for humanity, regardless of creed or religion.

17. Draw closer to one another by fulfilling this highest commandment, and you will find Me present in each of you. (129, 36-41)

The Hostility of Religions Toward Development

18. Human life was more important to man than his spiritual life, even though he was often aware that the human is transitory and the spiritual is eternal. This is the reason why, although he has made progress in his civilization and science, he has remained stagnant spiritually and has fallen asleep in his religions.

19. Consider one religion after another, and you will see that none of them shows evidence of development, unfolding, or perfection. Each is proclaimed as the highest truth; yet since those who profess it believe they have found and recognized everything within it, they make no effort to take a step further.

20. The divine revelations, the Law of God, My teaching, and My messages have made it clear to you from the very beginning that man is a being subject to development. Why, then, does none of your denominations affirm or test this truth?

21. I tell you: Only that teaching which awakens the soul, which kindles light within it, which nurtures it and reveals to it what it holds within, which lifts it up every time it stumbles, and allows it to move forward without stopping—only this teaching is inspired by the truth. But is this not precisely what My teaching has revealed to you at all times?

22. Nevertheless, you have long been spiritually stagnant because you were more concerned with what pertains to your life on earth than with what concerns your soul. Yet, so as not to abandon the spiritual entirely, you have shaped your religions in such a way that they do not in the least hinder you from carrying out your work and duties on earth.

23. When you then follow that religious tradition, you think you are doing God justice; you seek thereby to soothe your conscience and believe you are securing your entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.

24. What ignorance, humanity! When will you finally awaken to reality? Do you not realize that when you follow your religious customs, you give Me nothing, and your soul, too, comes away empty-handed?

25. When you leave your churches and say, "Now I have fulfilled my duty toward God," you have fallen into a great error, because you think you have given Me something, even though you should know that you can give Me nothing, yet you can receive much from Me and bestow much upon yourselves.

26. You believe that fulfilling the law is limited to visiting those places, and this is another great error. For these places are meant to be the school where the student learns for the future. Once back in everyday life, he should apply the lesson learned in practice, which is the true fulfillment of the law. (265, 22-27)

The Relationship Between Religion and Science

27. From the beginning of time, the messengers of the Law and the teachings of the Spirit have had the scientist as their adversary. Great battles have raged between the two, and the time has come for Me to tell you something about these conflicts.

28. I created this world to serve as a temporary home for incarnated souls. But before they would populate it, I endowed them with the faculties of the spirit, the mind, and the will.

29. I knew in advance the destiny and development of My creatures. I placed within the earth—its interior, its surface, and its atmosphere—all the elements necessary for the preservation, sustenance, development, and also the refreshment of the human being. Yet so that man might discover the secrets of nature as the source of life, I allowed his intelligence to awaken. Thus were the beginnings of science revealed to man, a science to which you are all capable, although there have always been people of greater talent whose mission was to wrest from nature the secret of its powers and elements for the benefit and joy of humanity.

31. I have also sent great spirits to Earth so that they might reveal to you the supernatural life—that which stands above this nature, beyond science. Through these revelations, the existence of a universal, powerful, creative, almighty, and omnipresent Being was intuited, one who holds in store for humanity a life after death—the eternal life of the soul.

32. Yet since some brought spiritual missions and others scientific missions, both—religions and science—have at all times risen up as enemies in conflict against one another.

33. Today I tell you that matter and spirit are not opposing forces; harmony should reign between the two. My spiritual revelations are light, and the revelations and discoveries of science are also light. Yet if you have heard from Me that I often take issue with the work of scientists, it is because many of them have misused the energy, the previously unknown elements and forces of nature, for destructive purposes—for destruction, hostilities, hatred, and revenge, for earthly domination and an insatiable lust for power.

34. I can tell you that it has given Me joy to reveal great secrets to those who have carried out their mission with love and good intentions—to those who have entered My secret treasuries with respect and humility—for the benefit of My daughter, humanity.

35. Since the beginning of the world, science has led humanity to tread the path of material progress, along which man has found the fruits of science at every turn—some sweet and others bitter.

36. Now is the time when you must understand that all light belongs to My Spirit, that all that is life originates from My Divinity, for I am the secret treasury, the primal source, and the origin of all creation.

37. Those struggles between the spiritual and the scientific will disappear from human life to the extent that the spiritual, through the " " of science, will be united in a single light that illuminates humanity's path into infinity. (233, 25–34)

The harshness and injustice of earthly justice

38. I come to abolish your erroneous laws, so that you may be governed only by those that are shaped by My commandments and are in harmony with My wisdom. My laws are marked by love, and since they originate from My divinity, they are unchanging and eternal, whereas yours are transient and at times cruel and selfish.

39. The Father's law consists of love and goodness; it is like a balm that brings comfort and lifts up the sinner so that he may bear the atonement for his transgressions. The Father's law of love always offers the transgressor a generous opportunity for moral renewal, whereas your laws, on the contrary, humiliate and chastise the transgressor—and often the innocent and the weak as well.

40. In your administration of justice there is harshness, vengeance, and a lack of mercy. The Law of Christ is characterized by loving persuasion, infinite justice, and the highest integrity. You yourselves are your own judges; I, on the other hand, am your tireless defender; yet you must know that there are two ways to pay for your wrongdoing: one with love and one with pain.

41. Choose for yourselves; you still enjoy the gift of free will. (17, 46–48)

42. I am the Divine Judge who never passes a sentence heavier than the offense itself. How many of those who accuse themselves before Me do I find pure. How many, on the other hand, trumpet their purity, and I find them corrupt and guilty.

43. How unjust is human justice! How many victims of bad judges atone for the sins of others! How many innocent people have seen the prison bars close before their eyes, while the guilty walk free, invisibly carrying their burden of thefts and crimes. (135, 2-3)

44. Because human justice is imperfect, your prisons are full of victims, and the places of execution have been stained with the blood of the innocent. Alas, how many criminals do I see enjoying freedom and respect in the world, and for how many depraved individuals have you erected monuments to honor their memory!

45. If only you could see these beings when they live in the Spiritual World and the light dawns in their souls! Instead of senseless and useless tributes, you would send them a prayer to comfort them in their deep remorse. (159, 44-45)

The Hard-Hearted Self-Righteousness of Man

46. Let love be your guide, so that you may become true messengers of the Divine Comforter. For you, who have not fallen into any abyss, are always quick to accuse and judge. You condemn your neighbors without the slightest compassion, and that is not My teaching.

47. If, before you judge, you would examine yourselves and your own faults—I assure you, your judgment would be more compassionate. You consider those in prisons to be evil, and regard those in hospitals as wretched. You keep your distance from them without realizing that they are worthy of entering the realm of My love. You do not want to consider that they, too, have the right to receive the rays of the sun, which were created to bestow life and warmth upon all creatures without exception.

48. Those people confined in places of atonement are often mirrors in which people do not wish to see themselves, because they know that the image that mirror reveals to them will, in many cases, be one of accusation. (149, 51-53)

Earthly Justice as a Necessary Evil

49. Even now, the justice system existing on earth shows no just deeds. I can see a lack of mercy, a lack of understanding, and the hardness of hearts. Yet everyone will still receive their perfect judgment.

50. I have permitted these trials, and as long as man does not fulfill My laws, as long as he turns away from obeying their commandments, there will be someone on earth who will break his heart, who will wound it.

51. If you were to fulfill the law, there would be no need for judges in the world, there would be no punishment, and you would not need governments. Everyone would determine their own actions, and all would be governed by Me. You would all be inspired by My laws, and your actions would always be benevolent, having spiritualization and love as their goal.

52. But humanity has fallen into deep abysses: immorality, vice, and sin have taken hold of people's hearts, and these are the consequences: You must drink bitter cups, must suffer humiliation at the hands of those people who, though they are your brothers, exercise power on earth.

53. Yet be humble, endure the trials with patience, and remember that I am the perfect Judge. (341, 53)