Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago
If a loving Deity exists, are there also heavenly legions of compassionate angels? According to secular modernity, such a God is a human projection, and angel’s lives don’t matter and don’t exist—nor do those of demons. An integral worldview may affirm the existence of benign Deities or interdimensional beings—but what about the biblical myth of rebellious angels, or Nephilim, who sponsor evil in opposition to Deity? Can it be that such off-planet beings foment some portion of the horrendous evils we see on earth, sometimes working in collusion with dark ETs? Or is evil always sourced from the depths of the human heart and from lower-right-quadrant systems that are unjust? In this talk, these and other possibilities are unified in an original four-quadrant model of integral theodicy (i.e., the problem of evil in theology). We’ll also survey the history of the problem of evil, ranging from pre-modern biblical Christianity to the postmodern teaching known as The Urantia Book, plus a glance at Buddhist views of evil and the reality of angels and demons.
Byron Belitsos is the author of Truths about Evil, Sin, and the Demonic (Wipf & Stock, 2023) and Your Evolving Soul (Origin Press, 2017), and the prize-winning editor and publisher of numerous other titles. He holds a B.A. in history of ideas from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was an inaugural member of Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute and is founder of Rodan Institute. Byron has appeared on Gaiam TV and Coast-to-Coast AM Radio and will speak on the topic of angels and demons at Contact in the Desert. His forthcoming book is entitled Discernment of Spirits.
Conveners:
Dr. Jim Garrison
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If a loving Deity exists, are there also heavenly legions of compassionate angels? According to secular modernity, such a God is a human projection, and angel’s lives don’t matter and don’t exist—nor do those of demons. An integral worldview may affirm the existence of benign Deities or interdimensional beings—but what about the biblical myth of rebellious angels, or Nephilim, who sponsor evil in opposition to Deity? Can it be that such off-planet beings foment some portion of the horrendous evils we see on earth, sometimes working in collusion with dark ETs? Or is evil always sourced from the depths of the human heart and from lower-right-quadrant systems that are unjust? In this talk, these and other possibilities are unified in an original four-quadrant model of integral theodicy (i.e., the problem of evil in theology). We’ll also survey the history of the problem of evil, ranging from pre-modern biblical Christianity to the postmodern teaching known as The Urantia Book, plus a glance at Buddhist views of evil and the reality of angels and demons.
Byron Belitsos is the author of Truths about Evil, Sin, and the Demonic (Wipf & Stock, 2023) and Your Evolving Soul (Origin Press, 2017), and the prize-winning editor and publisher of numerous other titles. He holds a B.A. in history of ideas from the University of Chicago and an M.A. in systematic theology from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was an inaugural member of Ken Wilber’s Integral Institute and is founder of Rodan Institute. Byron has appeared on Gaiam TV and Coast-to-Coast AM Radio and will speak on the topic of angels and demons at Contact in the Desert. His forthcoming book is entitled Discernment of Spirits.
Conveners:
Dr. Jim Garrison
-----
To join Humanity Rising Mon-Fri live via Zoom or make a voluntary contribution to support the Humanity Rising team, please see our contribution form.
https://humanityrising.solutions/#supportformore
Join our global community of changemakers at ubiquityuniversity.org
Ubiquity University offers certification programs as well as MA/PhD pathways that invite you to go deep into a topic related to who we need to become to be able to solve our current global challenges. We draw on the age-old insights from the wisdom traditions as well as the latest insights from modern science.
Choose your preferences and sign up for the latest Ubiquity University news at : share.hsforms.com/1JxEUyycRRtuaIEJzyIScsg2op4l
Explore some of our latest offerings at https://linktr.ee/ubiquityuniversity
Shop UU merchandise at https://ubiquity-universitys-store.sellfy.store/
