© 1989 Carol Weatherford, Kaye Cooper, Tony Rudd, Kathleen Swadling, Ann Bendall, David Hepworth, Audrey Morris
© 1989 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
2 Salisbury Crt, Glen Waverley, Victoria, AUSTRALIA, 3150.
¶ Contents
- Letters To The Editor
Gary Servidio and Gary Garrett from California sound a warning cry. - Life After Death
Review of the Jesusonian publication by Carol Weatherford - Introduction To The Urantia Book
Review by Kaye Cooper - Old Coins In A Shoebox
Tony Rudd shares with us some of the far-sighted ideals his amazing grandfather had back in the last century. - Greetings From The Sydney Study Group
A reach-out gesture from Kathleen Swadling. - Psychic Or Spiritual?
Ann Bendall reflects on some of the Thought Adjuster’s difficulties. - You Can Never Watch Yourself Grow
Kathleen Swadling replies to Ann Bendall’s question “Why aren’t they knocking on my door?” - Dear Six-0-Six
From our Estonian correspondent Urmas Lipand. - Urantian Influence And Parenthood
David Hepworth tells us how he and his wife found the Book and of the effect it has had on their lives. - Crossword
For a bit of fun Audrey Morris is testing your knowledge.
¶ “Thought For The Month”
“The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness. Such a new and righteous vision of morality will attract all that is good in the mind of man and challenge that which is best in the human soul. Truth, beauty, and goodness are divine realities, and as man ascends the scale of spiritual living, these supreme qualities of the Eternal become increasingly co-ordinated and unified in God, who is love.” The URANTIA Book UB 2:7.10
¶ Letters To The Editor
“Always does the socialized religion of a new revelation pay the price of compromise with the established forms and usages of the preceding religion which it seeks to salvage.”(The URANTIA Book, UB 144:7.1)
Dear People,
I am writing this letter to as many directors as possible, for I believe we are in the process of making a grave error that will harm the cause of The URANTIA Book. I realize that the creation of the magazine “Life After Death” plus the “Introduction” booklets (20th Century Revelation) were done with tenderhearted love and good intentions (ideals are most important, not ideas), but ideas can cause great harm. We know what happened with Christian history. Shortly after the death of Jesus, the pagan superstitions of evolutionary religion were incorporated into and onto the teachings of Jesus and today Christianity is largely paganism with the name of Christ stamped on it. We must not make the same mistake with The URANTIA Book.
- On page 6 of the magazine there is a picture of an angel with wing and feathe rs and a “halo” with strange clothes and it is a woman! This is something we see on a stained glass window of a church. The URANIIA Book says angels do not have wing (let alone feathers!) True, transport angels have shields but that is not wings (transport angels don’t carry people’s souls to the first mansion world, anyway). The book may use the term “she” as a type of negative/positive — agressive/passive, but that does not mean they are women. The angel on page 9 looks like a chubby 16-year-old girl playing a viol in (not to mention page 15 of the magazine). In the Introduction booklet the angel is struming a guitar (page 4). We must leave old ideas (tradition) about angels out of books, magazines, etc., as people will think The URANTIA Book teaches this stuff and will reject it.
- There is a picture of a group of Christians with candles on page 8 of the Introduction booklet. Candles in religious services are a carry-over from the sacred fires/ghosts/fears of long ago. This is a 20th Century Revelation, not superstition. We m u s leave this kind of picture out.
- The pictures of Jesus in the magazine, booklets and pamphlets have him with long hair like the traditional Jesus. The URANTIA Book speaks out against this sort of thing. Jesus looked like a Jew of his day. It was a shame for men to have long hair like this in that day. Some took a Nazarite vow and let their hair grow like Samson or John the Baptist, until they fulfilled the vow, but Jesus was not a Nazarite. The Jews had a style more like the Romans of that time. We must not make pictures of Jesus like this or people will think the URANTIA Book teaches this image (UB 141:3.6, The URANTIA Book).
- The pictures of the seven superuniverses are very disturbing. Did you contact an astronomer to see if this kind of thing exists out there? Astronomy is a love of mine, and l went over all the things in the books on the subject and got a different picture altogether. The closest large galaxy to us is Andromeda to the north (#1?). We can see it with the naked eye and it’s very large even with a cheap telescope. It is moving ahead of us, but it is much farther away than in the pictures (and there is none in between). If there were seven pieplate spiral galaxies like this picture, this close to us, we would see some ahead and behind (except through the Milky way as it has too many stars to see through). Where are they? Plus there would be unpervaded space above us if we had Sagittarius to our left and the first ring to our right — where is it? The book did not say they are all spiral galaxies. There are many types of galaxies. Plus, if they were this close, the gravity would be a disruptive factor. Remember, Orvonton is the entire gravitational pull of the Milky Way, which goes out much farther than the spiral, carrying tramp galaxies and star clusters, etc. The book also says all seven are in an ellipse, not a circle. I could go into more detail, but I don’t want to appear redundant. Kemenber, astronomers are going to see this picture too (is it real?) I think it is very wise to leave “ideas” about angels, Jesus, customs, and science out of the literature until we can prove it to all who may tilke us to task on it, such as scientists, historians, etc. We don’t want to sink the ship before it gets out of the harbor. Soon there will be many “ideas” about The URANTIA Book like “ideas” about the Bible. We may not be able to stop it, but we don’t want to start it. The rest of the pictures about the family, love, hope, are great.
I know this was a strong and long letter which sounds negative, but I did it on purpose to get your attention, for I love The URANTIA Book and I don’t want to see it misunderstood. Have a good day and Good health. May God bless us all.
Let’s let the book interpret itself.
Gary Servidio, Redding, CA, USA
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This letter is a warning cry about the dangers of pamphlets and brochures as a device to introduce The URANTIA Book to new readers. I think that anything less than The URANTIA Book itself as an introduction to the book is inherently wrong. Any human effort to entice people to read the book is prone to error. A case in point is the magazine put out by the Jesusonian Foundation in Boulder, Colorado.
First impressions and initial images can hold strong sway with anyone. Colored photos of chubby teenage girls with medieval dress represented as angels is just the kind of image I do n o t want associated with The URANTIA Book. It conjures up all of the superstitious and antiquated feelings that are associated in my mind with the troubled Christian religion. Further, I think it an error to portray Jesus in the “old way”, long haired and bearded. We don’t know what he looked like, and I believe everyone should use their imagination to visualize him and not some crystallized imige from the past.
If these brochures by the Jesusonian Foundation, are going out by the thousands with these erroneous perceptions of Jesus, the angels, the structure of the seven superuniverses and so on, I can only sigh in exasperation at the possible harm it might do to the initial impression of The URANTIA Book.
Finally, I don’t think you can soft soap or mollycoddle anyone to read The URANrIA Book. We can only hope to locate those thousands who are dying to read the book but don’t know of its existence.
Gary Garrett, Project City, CA, USA
The religion of the spirit requires only unity of experience — uniformity of destiny — making full allowance for diversity of belief. The religion of the spirit requires only uniformity of insight, not uniformity of viewpoint and outlook. (UB 155:6.9)
¶ Life After Death
Life After Death is an issue of The Jesusonian magazine published for readers newly introduced to The URANTIA Book. It explains, “… the written summaries, universe maps, and graphic overviews presented here are designed as a book review to illustrate the seven stages of our journey from Earth to Paradise, as described in Parts I and II of The URANTIA Book.”
The first thing I noticed about Life After Death was the title itself. It is an eye catching subject. The cover is beautiful and the art and photography are visually appealing. I bought multiple copies right away.
I have given copies of ‘Life After Death’ to friends who have family members or friends who are facing death. In our conversation I ask if they think the family member or friend is afraid of dying. They usually say, “Yes”. Then I offer the magazine by saying, “I have a magazine that you might want to share with your mother (or whoever is facing death). Read it first and see what you think.” Their comments later are usually something like this: “Is this part of your church? It was very interesting.”
I have also left copies in hospital waiting rooms, being sure to leave the order form inside. I have had no feedback from these placements since I left no way to be contacted.
‘Life After Death’ has been very well received by the new readers I have given it to. They have enthusiastically culled it the most beautiful magazine they have ever seen. Its excellent reception by new readers indicates that it has hit the mark it was designed for very well indeed.
‘Life After Death’ is a beautiful and professionally produced magazine which can be a very useful tool as well.
Carol Weatherford, Spring, TX, USA
From: The Circles, Winter 1988
¶ Introduction To The Urantia Book
If the Jesusonian Foundation were to publish nothing else, it will have won its place in the “Service Hall of Fame” by producing its “Introduction to The URANTIA Book”. This 12 page pamphlet is beautifully illustrated in full colour. It comes with two separate covers which should appeal to a variety of prospective readers.
But even aside from the professional quality of its artistic and technical aspects, the pamphlet is a superlative introductory presentation of the material in The URANTIA Book. As each of the four parts of the book is described, its content is presented in the basic spiritual context which the book itself employs: the factual information in The URANTIA Book was given to illustrate God’s love for us as it is displayed in his plans for us. The pamphlet continually conveys this basic spiritual context.
It is written in easily understood language and relates directly to the reader and his/her life. The URANTIA Book’s relationship to existing religions is excellently described. The origin of the book is dealt with succinctly and in a straight-forward manner. The section “How to Start Reading The URANIIA Book” contains suggestions which should be quite helpful to a new reader faced with a 2097 page book.
This introduction is a triumph of teamwork and a most welcome aid in sharing The URANTIA Book with our fellows.
Kaye Cooper, Houston, TX, USA
From: The Circles — Winter 1988
Sincerity and truth are the basis of every virtue.
Confucius
¶ Old coins in a shoebox
When I was a young lad, my brother and I used to play in the attic of my parents’ house. There was a shoebox full of old coins we played shop with — “buying” and “selling” things in the attic from one another. We knew they weren’t real money because they all had a picture of a tree fern on one side and a rainbow on the other, and with the coins bearing different inscriptions.
Many years later, I started reading The URANTIA Book, becoming increasingly inspired by its teachings. Then I remembered, for some strange reason, the coins my brother and I played with, and although not paying much attention to the words inscribed on them then, felt that the ideas in the Book, and the ideas on the coins had something in common.
¶ Greetings From The Sydney Study Group
I’d just like to send greetings to the readership around Australia and beyond on behalf of the members of the Sydney study group. The more we go through life and get involved with the many tasks it presents to us, the easier it is to lose touch with the relationships of our fellow human beings who aren’t in our everyday vicinities. For those of us whose lives have been changed and transformed by The URANTIA Book I believe there is a strong bond which joins us together in spiritual brotherhood and fellowship. This invisible brotherhood is a very powerful thing indeed as it has the potential to transform the lives of souls it comes into contact with, giving it a geometric capacity for growth. As it grows it gains momentum. This invisible brotherhood is alive and active only to the degree that its ‘members’ are alive and active. What’s the point in knowing a truth if it isn’t lived? Living the truth can be done by socializing your SELF — i.e. being real and truthful and sincere within your SELF and then socializing your SELF — it’s the natural, unconscious, non-egotistical way of contributing to the unfolding of the Brotherhood of Man — which taken to cosmic levels is contributing to the emergence of the Supreme Being — it’s the way of evolution assisted by revelation.
Kathleen Swadling, Sydney
¶ What Do You Think This Means ?
“And the fruits of the divine spirit which are yielded in the lives of spirit-born and cod-knowing mortals are: loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace. If professed believers bear not these fruits of the divine spirit in their lives, they are dead; the Spirit of Truth is not in then; they are useless branches on the living vine, and they soon will be taken away.” (UB 193:2.2)
¶ Psychic Or Spiritual?
“Stabilize mind by subordination to spirit.” — I am convinced, for most of us, this is the essential prerequisite to the development of our relationship with our Paradise Father, one which allows His rule to truly rule every moment of our lives.
The religious experience is a personal experience, one which defies our mortal mind to describe. But the mortal mind is the arena through which our Adjuster must work, and in traversing the realms of our subconscious, protoplasmic memory banks, emotional background, morals, conscience, ideals, expectations and learning, the Adjuster can have a dreadfully hard task, compounded by the fact that we are often somewhat confused in the role of father, child, the emotion love, and the place Heaven.
The last mentioned The URANTIA Book explains perfectly, and since most of us have a pretty strange fairy tale image of ourselves, dressed in chiffon, being handed wings, a halo and a harp and just rolling around heaven all day, for evermore and a day, which, with the only alternative to this ever after lifestyle, being, no clothes or associated paraphernalia being chucked in a big burning pit which burns us forever more and a day, we naturally opted for heaven.
Ann Bendall, Nambour, QLD
¶ You Can Never Watch Yourself Grow
I’d like to share some thoughts with you all sparked off by the excellent and sincere article by Ann Bendall in Six-0-Six May/June '89 issue named ‘Why Aren’t They Knocking on My Door?’
I found I could relate to Anne’s feelings as there are sections in The URANTIA Book that suggest that certain situations can be taken as y yardstick for one’s degree of development. The quote Anne referred to on UB 155:1.4 is a classic example. Jesus was almost reprimanding the twenty-four for being too chronic in their yearning, too vacillating and indefinite in their teaching conduct. This then left them vulnerable for ridicule by the heathen as flaws could be found easily in their teaching. Jesus said: “If you desire to enter the kingdom, why do you not take it by spiritual assault even as the heathen take a city they lay siege to?” (UB 155:1.3) Then he goes on to state the part that prompted Anne: “Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired. The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness. The extent to which you have to go with your message to the people is, in a way, the measure of your failure to live the whole or righteous life, the truth-co-ordinated life.” (UB 155:1.5)
Kathleen Swadling, Sydney
¶ Dear Six-0-Six
Thank you very much for the Newsletters. You have the advantage there in Australia because you are an English-speaking nation. So you don’t have to’ bother yourself with translations of materials. Here we are having a whole special branch of organization for translating the materials into our native language, Estonian. The URANTIA Book has also been translated already.
You see, in a way, translating o book is quite a pleasant activity, because you have to understand everything you are translating. This is one of the best ways to acquaint yourself deeply und thoroughly with printed material.
For us your region is quite exotic. We have never been there but we have read about Australia and the South Sea Islands and we have seen many films about this region on Finnish T.V. There are also quite a number of Estonians in Australia. Just now one of then is on a brief visit here. She came to see her son. So the world is not so very big.
I keep sending you postcards of Estonia if you don’t mind. And I an very grateful for the postcards you sent to me. It is better to see once than hear twice.
We like your Newsletter very much. It has such a broadminded attitude. Maybe we could also send something to be printed in it someday.
Our group is but a small fraction of a bigger movement, built mainly on a spiritual basis. There are different trends of thought in it and many sub-groups, dealing with different problems. The word Independent is the name of our group and means simply that we are not taking part in any political movement of which there are many in Estonia just now. For most of the religious groups and movements are also connected with different political groupings.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Urmas Lipand, Tallinn, Estonia, U.S.S.R.
¶ Urantian Influence And Parenthood
How We Fond The Book
Dianne, my wife, had been fascinated with the concepts and reportings surrounding death. As such she was intuitively searching for a better explanation. This search had resulted in the study of Astrology in which she reflected the comparisons or patterns of human behaviour between the study and he personal experience. In the course of her many sojourns to th Malvern Library she picked a variety of books relating to Astrology and Astronomy, one of which was (mistakenly) The URANTIA Book.
On reflection, Di said the book nearly fell into her hands as she was searching. She only read the first couple of headings … “Central & Superuniverses”, “The Local Universe” … which was of interest. Had she read further “The Life and Teachings of Jesus”, the book would have been on the shelf before you could wink. Both of us were so put off religion by the double standards and ritualistic “mumbo jumbo” we had been exposed to, that we had built up mental “barriers”. An equally dogmatic intolerance as destructive as the dogma we were protesting about.
David Hepworth
¶ Crossword
1. OUR …
5. VIGIL
8. RELIGIOUS SERVICE
9. BELIEVING
10. PERSIA
12. DISCOURSE ON JONAH
13. EGO
15. HOOFED ANIMAL
16. ANCESTOR
18. SERAPHIM
22. PREACHED TO … (A PLACE)
24. BEGINNING
25. LOYAL COUNCILLOR
26. BOREALIS
DOWN
2. 3 WEEK SOJOURN AT …
3. … BE DONE (2 WORDS)
4. ADAMSON’S WIFE
6. BEAST OF BURDEN
7. CHIEF RULER OF CORINTH SYNAGOGUE
11. JESUS ASKED FOR WATER FROM
12. PATIENCE OF …
14. THICK COAT OF HAIR
16. LAZAR
17. MOTHER OF JESUS
19. DISLOYAL COUNCILLOR
20. STORY OF WITCH OF…
21. PARABLE OF …
23. TIME
This CROSSWORD is a contribution from one of the members of our SUNSHINE COAST STUDY GROUP:
Audrey Morris, Tewantin, QLD
We moderns are faced with the necessity of rediscovering the life of the spirit; we must experience it anew for ourselves. It is the only way in which we can break the spell that binds us to the cycle of biological events.
Carl Jung
¶ Mother Teresa Talks About Prayer
At the Oxford Conference of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on Human Survival Mother Teresa, when asked why she thought prayer and meditation were important in the work of solving the problems of humanity, replied: “If we are to solve the problems we must learn to love one another as God loves each one of us. That is why it’s necessary to bring prayer into our lives. Prayer is the gift of a clean heart, and a clean heart can see God. If you see God in each other then you can love each other as God loves each one of us. It doesn’t matter what religion we belong to, we can all share in prayer because we have all been created by the same loving hand of God, loved to be loved.”