© 2004 Chris Ragetly
© 2004 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
It was while reading in “Mighty Messenger” from the summer of 2003, the article entitled “Uncertainty in security is the essence of the adventure of Paradise…” (UB 111:7.1), that these few thoughts came to me:
During the 2003 Summer Session of the Fellowship, participants were given the opportunity to study the topic of “Revelation and the Believer” and to delve deeper into the mystery of the use of human sources in The Urantia Book. Matthew Block, the pioneer of research on this subject, candidly shared his personal experiences in exploring dozens of these human sources. Other speakers shared their findings from this research, and there was an opportunity for a genuine investigation of the full range of intellectual and emotional reactions to the discussions, workshops, and lectures, a soul journey as well as an intellectual expedition.
Other topics were of course discussed, but it was this aspect of the use of human sources found in The Urantia Book that caught my attention. Here are some thoughts on this subject:
It may be asked whether we know all the reasons why the authors of The Urantia Book adopted the practice of citing human sources. I do not think so. But among them, this method of proceeding undoubtedly helps the human mind to better understand the teachings of the book. And as time goes on (let us not forget that The Urantia Book is intended to last approximately one thousand years before being followed, no doubt, by a new revelation), during these thousand years, generations of readers will succeed one another, among these some will leave writings on their conceptions of the teachings of the book, successive generations will read these writings, their human experiences will benefit from the experiences and insights of previous generations. It is a safe bet that a thousand years from now, the readers of the book will have a point of view, an understanding, a way of living the teachings of the book, which will be quite different from our present views. No doubt the human sources inserted into the book will have helped in a significant way to the growth of this advanced mental level. We can hope that within a thousand years the human mind will have for the majority of readers of the book a capacity to absorb and understand Urantian teachings, superior to that of today, it will thus be able to prepare to receive the following revelation, whether in book form or the teachings of a personality.
Chris Ragetly