© 1992 Ann Bendall
© 1992 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
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Further Comments, By Ann Bendall, Nambour, Queensland
As a member of the Sunshine Coast Study Group, I would like to expand on a point raised by ourselves in the previous issue of Six-O-Six on the need or otherwise for copyright.
We feel that there may be confusion in folks’ minds between copyright per se, and the need for the production of an inviolate copy of The URANTIA Book. Judged by all of the evidence available to us, we feel that the mandate from the Revelators was only for the latter.
The human custodians of The URANTIA Book, in their wisdom, attempted to fulfil their mandate by means of taking out the copyright. This was an interpretation of the requirements of the Revelators, which perhaps had some beneficial effects during the “heady” early days of the Urantia movement.
However, the copyright was, as we see it, purely a human idea. An inviolate copy of the book could have, and still can be, produced with or without copyright protection.
It appears that the copyright has always caused problems within the movement. It has come to represent a powerful asset which is fought over with embarrassing regularity.
Worse still, the price paid by all those involved in arguing over, trying to enforce, attempting to thwart, destroy, or gain possession of copyright, serves to delay the further development of The Brotherhood of Man so beautifully envisaged in the book.
A human creation which satisfies human needs by utilizing human laws is being placed as of higher import than the teaching and living of the book. The tragic side-effect is that it is destroying the credibility of all who hold themselves up as believing in The URANTIA Book’s teachings — for we are seen to be breaking Jesus’ greatest commandments.
| More On Text And Copyright | Vol 13 No 2 100th Issue — Index | In The Real World, Inequality Is Only Natural |