BD.5764
September 8, 1953

IT IS EASIER TO CONVEY THE TRUTH TO THE IGNORANT THAN TO THE ERRING

It is difficult to enlighten people who hold erroneous concepts while they are convinced that their beliefs represent the truth, whereas a completely ignorant person will accept any offered knowledge willingly and happily if it appears to enlighten him. One who believes himself to possess the truth cannot easily be convinced that his thinking is wrong, and it is even harder to convey to him a different doctrine because he will stick to his original belief and be prepared only to accept something new if he begins to doubt.

And so you find among your fellow men those without any faith, who live a purely worldly life, and those who believe to be religious and advocate their faith with zeal but who defend something that is far from the truth. The first are more numerous and, owing to their disbelief, their situation is deplorable because they do not seek any contact with that world which is their true home and which is their destination.

The believers, however, do think about spiritual things, notwithstanding their false doctrines and erroneous concepts. The latter have just to be rectified, and here on earth as well as in the beyond they are often given the opportunity for that; but it is solely their free will that determines their mental trend. To those who are total disbelievers spiritual knowledge must be conveyed, they must be induced to ponder. First of all they must be acquainted with the reality of the spiritual world and its plausibility and, if the spiritual knowledge is offered to them in the right way, they can be won for it. The more a person has alienated himself from the ecclesiastical beliefs, the harder it is to convey to him even the true church doctrines. However, there is a successful approach to everyone, but it requires a vast knowledge to win such people and, eventually, lead them to where they can find God.

Their disbelief does not always prove their remoteness from God. They may have been forced into disbelief through false teachings, which their intellect could not accept and which resulted in complete rejection of everything. These people must be helped again by their intellect to recognize the truth. Then they will become defenders of the truth and remain firm in their conviction. Both, heart and intellect must be capable of accepting spiritual knowledge. The truth that originates from God will stand up to any intellectual test and does not require blind faith, whilst erroneous concepts and false doctrines will not withstand a serious test by the intellect. Therefore, they demand blind faith, which can never be the will of God. It is much easier for the skeptic to arrive at the truth than for those who do not seek the truth because they believe they have it; who do not make use of their intellect but accept everything without probing its origin.

AMEN