© 2021 Chris and Nicole Raguetly
© 2021 Association Francophone des Lecteurs du Livre d'Urantia
Chris and Nicole Raguetly
Presenting the Urantia Book is not an easy thing. This was actually pointed out to Dr. Sadler himself when he wanted to write an introduction. (William Sadler is the psychiatrist who examined the contact personality and thanks to whom the book was able to be printed). He was told: “You don’t shine a flashlight on the sun.” This same Dr. Sadler had drawn up a list of points that seemed original to him in the Urantia Book; he had listed 47 of them and I could quote a few of them at the end if you wish.
As for me, I wondered what the listeners would have in common and I bet on one point: research, and for many, the search for truth.
I will therefore say what makes, in my opinion, from personal experience, that the Urantia Book deserves a careful reading. However, what will make or not the success of this conference is less what I am going to tell you than the questions that you will be kind enough to ask the organizers of this day and myself. We often learn more from the questions than from the answers.
As an introduction, and for all those who are not at all familiar with the Urantia Book, I would like to read to you what two of us intended for non-French readers.
Throughout the 19th century, and even at the beginning of the 20th, works appeared, both in Europe and in the United States, which wished to mark their time with an approach that was intended to be complementary to ancient Christianity. Most of the authors said they were inspired. To name just a few:
JOSEPH SMITH, presenter of the Book of Mormon.
MARY BAKER EDDY, with her Key to the Scriptures
ABD-RU-SHI, with “In the Light of Truth.” They had some impact on the people of their time and beyond.
How do the proponents of The Urantia Book differ from the followers of these personalities? Perhaps in part because of what bothers so many potential readers of this book. We could know Mary Baker Eddy, we knew Joseph Smith, we knew Alexander Bernhardt, each had his own charisma, but who wrote The Urantia Book?
Those who sometimes (wrongly?) call themselves Urantians, carefully evade the question in two ways:
It is obvious that examining these two answers does not satisfy anyone, a priori. Indeed, the signatures are those of non-human beings, with more or less esoteric names such as: A Brilliant Evening Star, A Lanonandek, a Vorondadek Son, etc. What serious reader, in search of truth, would be taken in by such antics, certainly poetic, but science fictional?
We have been accustomed to judging a work by the more or less recognized quality of its author; we buy and read an author, but we also do not want to be led down unknown paths by people who hide and conceal their position and their intentions; in case they make us take bubbles for lanterns! In short, we want to know who we are dealing with. I believe that this is precisely what the Urantia Book calls an honest doubt.
That said, we will have to judge. And it is not because we know the name of the author that the book will be good, and it is not because we think we know the name of the author that the book is really his. The story begins with Moses who tells his own death and continues with Homer who could well be multiple and in modern times by Shakespeare. But in fact what does it matter whether it was a certain Homer or a certain Shakespeare who wrote? The texts have made and still make the delight of millions of readers and spectators.
You have to agree to undertake reading The Urantia Book with a touch of frustration. You will say: I do not know the name of the contact personality who made the publication of this book possible. Fine, but I am going to be very critical. Well, bravo! Be critical, but stay honest! The book itself talks about sincerity! It even says that these are the keys to the kingdom: Sincerity, more sincerity and more sincerity… UB 39:4.14 It is when leaving the theater that you can say I liked the play, not after five minutes, when the characters are not even definable and the spectator knows nothing about the action. Do the same with the Urantia Book, read it in its entirety and only then can you say: No, it’s a parody, I’m keeping my skepticism or my traditional religion, or: Yes, but there are things I don’t agree with.
Take advantage of it because for now, no one can impose a belief on you, and I believe that if you read this book no one will ever be able to impose a belief on you again.
We can see the Urantia Book as a symphony. The introduction gives us the main themes that will be developed later. No one can claim to memorize or understand all of these themes on the first reading. Do not be discouraged and want to understand at all costs. Things become clearer with the various repetitions and modulations. The introduction is a guide to definitions to which we refer later, but which we must have read. We will come back to it…
The Urantia Book can be seen as an educational book. To educate comes from the Latin “educare”, to lead out of. Out of what? Out of commonly accepted traditions and forms. This does not mean the rejection of everything that came before, far from it. The book tells us:
“No professed revelation of religion could be regarded as authentic if it failed to recognize the duty demands of ethical obligation which had been created and fostered by preceding evolutionary religion. Revelation unfailingly enlarges the ethical horizon of evolved religion while it simultaneously and unfailingly expands the moral obligations of all prior revelations.” ([UB 101:9.1)
But you can only read The Urantia Book if you are educable.
No one approaches the book without prejudice. Scientists will be shocked to see that the agreement is not perfect with the science of their time. Let them put aside these disagreements by remembering that science is still very young and that today’s truth may be denied tomorrow. Furthermore, that this is not the essence of the book, that ethical teachings are much more important than scientific information.
Christians may be shocked by the rejection of this or that dogma. Let them put aside these disagreements, remembering that most of the time they are about beliefs and not about faith. Time and reflection will smooth out most of the initial problems encountered by new readers, provided only that they are open and honest and are not totally blinded by prejudice.
I will now read to you, at least in part, what Chris Ragetly wrote as an introduction, and you will listen to it with some of the restrictions I have introduced into your brains in the back of your mind.
I would first like to quote T. Burnet, a 17th century author (A.D. 1692). Here is a paragraph from his book “Archéologica Philosophica”.
"I sincerely believe that there are more invisible beings in the universe than visible ones. But who will explain to us their nature, their rank, their kinship, their distinctive signs as well as their talents? What do they do? Where are they? The human mind has gone around this problem, but has never resolved it. There is however a benefit to be gained, I have no doubt, from contemplating in the mind, as in a painting, the image of a better and greater world; for fear that the intellect, accustomed to the futile details of daily life, does not contract itself within too narrow limits and is content only with trifles.
T. Burnet would have been passionate about The Urantia Book.
The Urantia Book is a revelation. It is the 5th epochal revelation.
The Urantia Book is structured around 4 distinct parts:
1. The central universe and the superuniverses.
2. The local universe.
3. The History of Urantia.
4. The life and teachings of Jesus.
The authors of The Urantia Book are all superhuman personalities. The techniques which were employed in transmitting The Urantia Book are unknown to us and have been deliberately omitted by the authors.
This is to prevent the human habit of devoting a more or less conscious worship to so-called contact persons from making a new St. Paul or a new Calvin of the contact personality. The contents of the Urantia Book speak for themselves to any patient and spiritually interested reader.
Three vital questions arise for every human being:
- The Urantia Papers. The papers, of which this is one, constitute the most recent presentation of truth to the mortals of Urantia. These papers differ from all previous revelations, for they are not the work of a single universe personality but a composite presentation by many beings. But no revelation short of the attainment of the Universal Father can ever be complete. All other celestial ministrations are no more than partial, transient, and practically adapted to local conditions in time and space. While such admissions as this may possibly detract from the immediate force and authority of all revelations, the time has arrived on Urantia when it is advisable to make such frank statements, even at the risk of weakening the future influence and authority of this, the most recent of the revelations of truth to the mortal races of Urantia. (UB 92:4.9)
It seems obvious that only an intelligence above the human, with cosmic wisdom and perspective, can provide the answers. So far all the efforts of theologians, philosophers, educators, gurus and church people do not satisfy us.
The Urantia Book brings us the answers. In depth and with supreme authority. It is the last epochal revelation on this planet after that of Jesus which was the 4th.
URANTIA is the true name of our planet in our local universe, it is recorded as such in the archives of creation.
URANTIA is one of the newest and least advanced planets among the 619 evolutionary worlds of our local system.
And yet, in the celestial hierarchy, our little backward and presently quarantined Urantia is the sentimental favorite among these 10 million worlds. For Michael of Nebadon, a Paradise Creator Son, creator of our universe, in his last bestowal, was born on URANTIA as a normal, mortal baby. And he lived here as a man—God incarnate in Jesus—the Christ—of Nazareth.
The first two-thirds of The Urantia Book give us the immeasurable panoply of the cosmos, in which our vast local universe is but a tiny peripheral unit of only 10 million inhabited planets out of a total of 7 billion.
The last third of the 2097 pages of The Urantia Book is the detailed narration of the life of Jesus, year by year, almost day by day, without emphasis or omission, including all his teachings.
The most important thing that any man anywhere in this universe can learn if human civilization does not destroy itself—is the knowledge that this all-wise Creator (Jesus) has taught—and is teaching—to men, to enable any society, primitive or advanced, to prosper and progress. The Urantia Book is splendid and complete in the full presentation of its teachings.
The Urantia Book gives you the religion OF Jesus. The various Christian religions teach us a religion ABOUT Jesus.
It is unlikely that a person can read and meditate on the life of Jesus and not be changed. The Urantia Book will change you, if you are predisposed to learn.
Do not be afraid to embrace The Urantia Book, because you believe today that you are not as ready as you think you will be one day. The Urantia Book will make you a much better man or woman, a better companion, a better friend, a husband, a wife, a parent, a son or a daughter. Yes, it will do all of these things! You will find the answers there. They will prove to be far beyond your wildest imagination. [1]
We will now examine some particularities of the book which should encourage any curious person and any seeker of truth to read it.
But first I would like to clarify a point that has been mentioned previously without explanation. The Urantia Book is said to be the 5th epochal revelation, what does that mean?
Technically it is simply that four revelations preceded it, at least four revelations not individual or private as the Catholic Church says (we will come back to this point later), but affecting the entire human community.
These revelations were:
All of these revelations are made by a character. The fifth revelation is not made by a character but is offered by means of a book.
All these successive revelations have the characteristic of taking up the previous one by completing it according to time. The 4th revelation recalled the previous one by saying that God was Father and that consequently we were brothers, but it insisted on the spiritual aspect and on the love of the Father. What more does the 5th revelation bring? It adds a dimension, that of cosmic citizenship, which is why it must develop certain physical aspects which were totally ignored by the previous ones, but this cosmic dimension also allows us to give a new meaning to many past events.
If I said from the outset that presenting The Urantia Book is not an easy thing, it is because The Urantia Book is not an easy book. Like any original author, it uses a vocabulary in a sense that may be particular to it and, moreover, it presents concepts that are not familiar to the reader. In most books in French, the explanations are given in notes at the end of the volume. The authors, here, wanted to give a certain number of explanations in the introduction. They tell us:
In the hope of facilitating comprehension and of preventing confusion on the part of every mortal who may peruse these papers, we deem it wise to present in this initial statement an outline of the meanings to be attached to numerous English words which are to be employed in designation of Deity and certain associated concepts of the things, meanings, and values of universal reality. (UB 0:0.3)
This is really an overview of the senses and we are not going to tell you everything in these 17 or so introductory pages.
This is why it is good to approach the book through its introduction; but we must remain very modest. If they tell us that this preamble is given “in the hope of facilitating understanding and avoiding confusion” it is because every reader starts with certain prejudices and certain ignorances. If this book is a revelation it will open up new perspectives for us and when concepts are new it takes everyone time to assimilate them.
But in order to formulate this Foreword of definitions and limitations of terminology, it is necessary to anticipate the usage of these terms in the subsequent presentations. This Foreword is not, therefore, a finished statement within itself; it is only a definitive guide designed to assist those who shall read the accompanying papers dealing with Deity and the universe of universes which have been formulated by an Orvonton commission sent to Urantia for this purpose. (UB 0:0.4)
From then on, we must expect clarifications, but also that many things will remain mysterious.
The most important thing seems to me to be that a first reading eliminates certain beliefs that we have inherited from history. Each and every one of us will find elements of immediate understanding and elements of incomprehension. We should not worry about this. But we must absolutely remember that the introduction is a guide to definitions and that we can refer to it each time a term bothers us.
For example: The human mind would ordinarily crave to approach the cosmic philosophy portrayed in these revelations by proceeding from the simple and the finite to the complex and the infinite, from human origins to divine destinies. But that path does not lead to spiritual wisdom. Such a procedure is the easiest path to a certain form of genetic knowledge, but at best it can only reveal man’s origin; it reveals little or nothing about his divine destiny.
Even in the study of man’s biologic evolution on Urantia, there are grave objections to the exclusive historic approach to his present-day status and his current problems. The true perspective of any reality problem—human or divine, terrestrial or cosmic—can be had only by the full and unprejudiced study and correlation of three phases of universe reality: origin, history, and destiny. The proper understanding of these three experiential realities affords the basis for a wise estimate of the current status.
When the human mind undertakes to follow the philosophic technique of starting from the lower to approach the higher, whether in biology or theology, it is always in danger of committing four errors of reasoning:
- It may utterly fail to perceive the final and completed evolutionary goal of either personal attainment or cosmic destiny.
- It may commit the supreme philosophical blunder by oversimplifying cosmic evolutionary (experiential) reality, thus leading to the distortion of facts, to the perversion of truth, and to the misconception of destinies.
- The study of causation is the perusal of history. But the knowledge of how a being becomes does not necessarily provide an intelligent understanding of the present status and true character of such a being.
- History alone fails adequately to reveal future development—destiny. Finite origins are helpful, but only divine causes reveal final effects. Eternal ends are not shown in time beginnings. The present can be truly interpreted only in the light of the correlated past and future.
Therefore, because of these and for still other reasons, do we employ the technique of approaching man and his planetary problems by embarkation on the time-space journey from the infinite, eternal, and divine Paradise Source and Center of all personality reality and all cosmic existence. (UB 19:1.5-12)
Therefore, again I say that it is good to have read the introduction, even if it seems difficult.
We may wonder why this book appears in the 20th century?
Is it because the previous ones lacked faith? I don’t think so. Urantia mythology tells us that the midwayers asked permission to make a new revelation as early as the 13th century. But it could hardly have been presented in the form in which we know the Urantia Book because at those relatively distant times, knowledge of the universe was still very meager. And not only astronomical knowledge, but all of the sciences.
Previous centuries have only lived and thought by the logic of Aristotle, still very useful now, but completely insufficient when we speak of the Absolutes and the Infinite. This logic is based on the principles of identity, non-contradiction and the excluded middle. It was practically necessary to wait until the 20th century to see the appearance of more general logics, as in mathematics it was necessary to wait until the middle of the 19th century with Lobachevsky and Riemann to escape Euclidean geometry and also the 20th century in physics to admit both Einstein’s relativity and Planck’s quantum physics.
The Urantia Book from its introduction indicates that its authors are relativists (not in the sense of Einstein); they tell us that a strict application of Aristotle’s logic can only result in paradoxes and the method recommended for understanding everything that concerns something other than the finite is that of levels. Let’s take an example:
GOD is a word symbol designating all personalizations of Deity. The term requires a different definition on each personal level of Deity function and must be still further redefined within each of these levels, as this term may be used to designate the diverse co-ordinate and subordinate personalizations of Deity; for example: the Paradise Creator Sons—the local universe fathers. (UB 0:2.6)
Within each level, we can use the principles of traditional logic, but this is not applicable to all levels.
A book which, without denying anything of classical logic, is capable of going beyond it, deserves to be read.
The Urantia Book is in some ways an anti-Theilhard de Chardin. Let me explain. Theilhard starts from his studies of paleontology, from the terrestrial base, to go up to the cosmic Christ, to the Omega. The Urantia Book starts from God the Father to go down from Paradise to our planet via the central universe, the superuniverses and the local universes. It ends with a renewed version of the fourth revelation, that of Jesus of Nazareth, a version illuminated by the knowledge of all that precedes.
How does this first part offer us a new vision?
The ancients had indeed tried to imagine Paradise and the beings who populated it. One only has to read the Gnostics of the first century to see that they did not lack imagination, but they generally started from a false basis which invariably led to paradoxes, inextricable situations simply because since the beginning of Christianity people had wanted to make the Logos, Christ, the second person of the Trinity.
It is obviously not a question of answering all the questions about the Trinity, our finite mind does not allow us to do so, but in a few pages The Urantia Book cuts the Gordian knot that represented the incarnation of a Son of God and thus the quarrel of the homoousios, (of the same nature as the Father) of the homoiousios (of similar nature) and of the anomoios, (of dissimilar nature) which has poisoned the relations of Christians for centuries flies away. The Eternal Son is distinguished from the Creator Sons and if the mystery of the incarnation remains, that of the nature of the Eternal Son is treated in a few lines.
If The Urantia Book had done only that, it would be worth reading.
Let’s not leave the Trinity so quickly. Booklet 10 is dedicated to it.
The early Christians may well have had an idea of the Trinity, but theological reflection on the subject does not seem to appear clearly before the fourth century. Even the Council of Nicaea in 325, while noting the presence of the three persons, the Father, the Son and the Spirit, does not insist on their relations. It was the Council of Constantinople in 381 which proclaimed the equal divinity of the Father, the Son and the Spirit. Let us say once again that the Son and his incarnation posed insoluble problems. The Urantia Book clearly sets out both the primacy of the Father, the reasons which impose the existence of a Trinity (it is the only way to escape the absolutism of personality UB 10:0.1) and the perfect coordination of the three persons. Moreover it tells us that this Trinity does not have so much attributes as functions. Now these functions are linked to the concepts of reality. The concept of reality is in fact the fundamental constituent of the book, it is not approached according to the methods of traditional philosophy but most often following the method of levels of which we have already spoken. The word reality itself is so important that it is found 780 times in the singular in the English version. (real 480 times)
All the philosophers of antiquity were well aware of the existence of a finite reality and an Absolute reality, but none, it seems, had imagined the existence of the Supreme (finite), (although the term Supreme Being was known) of the Ultimate (absonite) and of the Absolute. None had imagined the possibility of several Trinities. Now this concept of trinity is so important that three other fascicles will be necessary to try to make us understand these functions and their relations with total reality.
If The Urantia Book had only this majestic vision of the Deities to offer us, it would be worth reading.
The second part is devoted to the local Universe.
As much as it was possible to believe that the Earth was the center of the world, until Galileo, the knowledge of the size of the universe makes this idea ridiculous to an earthling of the 21st century. Of course, science, which is still very young, has not discovered civilizations in stars close to us, but what seemed to be only science fiction at the beginning of the 20th century is indeed a constituent part of the scientific hypotheses even of the least imaginative of our astrophysicists. The body of exobiologists continues to grow. The number of planets discovered circulating around more or less distant suns has now exceeded a hundred. (170)
The Urantia Book presents us with a panorama of what makes a local universe, both on the physical level and on the level of its inhabitants, ex-human and celestial, and of the expected evolution of these universes. All worlds will one day or another enter the era of light and life.
The last chapter offers a global vision of universal unity, physical unity, mental unity and spiritual unity. By offering us a long-term vision, it takes us out of the limited and catastrophic vision of our daily universe.
If it did only that The Urantia Book would be worth reading.
The third part is called the History of Urantia (that’s what our planet is called).
a) We first discover the origin of our planet and the appearance of life.
Scientists who have followed the evolution of hypotheses on the birth of the Earth risk being very disappointed because the hypothesis retained is not the one that enjoys the favor of the astrophysicists of the moment. Nor, contrary to what a slightly too rapid reading might lead one to believe, is that of James Jeans, it is a completely original hypothesis, that of the approach by a black body (perhaps we should say a black hole?) of our solar system which would have generated the majority of the planets currently existing. James Jeans develops a theory that had first been proposed by Buffon in 1745 and according to which a star would have passed close enough to the sun to tear off part of its gas and form the planets. This theory is refuted for several reasons, one of which is that we do not find a star whose direction would correspond to an abnormal orbit. But we are now finding an increasing number of black holes in our galaxy. We will have to wait for much more specific studies to know if we can find such a black hole which would have passed close to our sun.
If it were only for this hypothesis, unthinkable at the time the book was published, it would be worth reading.
b) We are then shown the evolution of races and the evolution of human institutions.
Let’s say two things right away:
A book that synthesizes human evolution and can make sense of that evolution is certainly worth reading, if only hypothetically.
c) It is also in the third part that we are introduced to the Thought Adjusters and the soul.
The Urantia Book develops a theme here which is known to all religions. What The Urantia Book calls Thought Adjuster is what Christians call “the little light which enlightens every man who comes into this world” John I: 10, but while Christianity sticks to this presence without further explanation, The Urantia Book specifies the conditions of arrival of the Adjuster, its role and its function in particular its role in the creation of the soul, because here too, if the word soul is old the Urantian concept is entirely new and moreover this concept of soul is followed until the establishment of perfection, until the accomplishment of the commandment of Jesus: Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.
If The Urantia Book would only give us this finally clear vision of the Adjuster and the soul it would be worth reading.
Curiously, the fourth part, the life of Jesus, is the one which is most likely to interest the people of this planet and at the same time to arouse the most reluctance on the part of established religious authorities.
We will try to see why, but first let’s look at some particularities of this fourth part of the Urantia Book.
The Urantian myth has it that the first three parts were given to the Contact Commission initially and on questions asked by the members of the Forum, the fourth part came later because the midwayers had made the request to the higher authorities and they would have had the approval not only of these authorities but of Michael himself. This fourth part is presented entirely as the fruit of a Commission of Midwayers. It is said to be based on the traditional Gospels plus notes from the apostle Andrew which have long since disappeared and also on the knowledge that the Midwayers have of the time, because they were all present at that time.
a) What makes it attractive?
First of all, it is an almost day-to-day version of the life of Jesus from his birth to his death and even his ascension. Now, if you want to earn a little money by writing, all you have to do is write a life of Jesus. He is more popular than the Pope or the Dalai Lama. That’s how it is. This character, who lived a little over 2000 years ago, continues to intrigue. Of course, there are the Gospels, but they are somewhat stingy with information about the man and in particular about his youth, his education, and everything that led him to choose 12 apostles who, after his death, would shake up the Greco-Roman world of his time. The Urantia Book fills a gap in information on the parts of the life of Jesus ignored by the Gospels.
If only out of curiosity it is worth reading.
But there is more, The Urantia Book gives us the gospel of Jesus as it was formulated in his spirit and not just in his letter. Many of Jesus’ speeches are prefaced with a formula like: Summarized and put in modern terms, this is what Jesus said.
We are faced with a choice: either those who present this version are making up stories and we are faced with a very beautiful story that deserves to be read, or the Midwayers are what they claim to be and we must trust them. It’s a bit like a new version of Pascal’s Wager.
In both cases you must read the book.
World religions
It is rare that a religious book recommends studying other religions.
b) Why are religious authorities reluctant?
What does the catechism of the Catholic Church published by Mame/Plon legal deposit of November 1992 say, in its Article 1 chapter III, article 66 entitled: There will be no further revelation?
“The Christian economy, being the new and definitive alliance, will therefore never pass and no new public revelation is therefore to be expected before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ… Article 67, paragraph 2 specifies: The Christian faith cannot accept ”revelations“ which claim to go beyond or correct the revelation of which Christ is the completion. This is the case of certain non-Christian religions and also of certain recent sects which are based on such ”revelations".
We must understand the position of the Church and not only of the Catholic Church, but also of all Orthodox or Protestant fundamentalists. For a long time, and even at the time of Christ, the constituted bodies have opposed change and even if Jesus said: “I have not come to abolish but to fulfill”, the Pharisees accused him, among other things, of not respecting the Mosaic law.
Nothing new imposes itself on established authority and only time and evolution can impose a revision. “Unlike science, religion does not provide for its own progressive correction.” UB 92:3.4
Only two influences can modify and uplift the dogmas of natural religion: the pressure of the slowly advancing mores and the periodic illumination of epochal revelation. And it is not strange that progress was slow; in ancient days, to be progressive or inventive meant to be killed as a sorcerer. The cult advances slowly in generation epochs and agelong cycles. But it does move forward. Evolutionary belief in ghosts laid the foundation for a philosophy of revealed religion which will eventually destroy the superstition of its origin. (UB 92:3.5)
The examples of the difficulties of changing the attitude of religion are known to all, at least for the Catholic religion. The first centuries are filled with anathemas (see Denzinger’s Enchiridion) and everyone knows how long it took to control the Inquisition, for the beginning of ecumenism to manifest itself towards Protestants, for Galileo to be rehabilitated, for evolutionism to be admitted as a possibility or even for Theilard de Chardin not to be put on the Index. This Index which was, we hope definitively, only deleted in 1966. Consider that Blaise Pascal’s Pensées were on the Index in the same way as Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal.
What can make us hope that the rejection of any new revelation will not exclude new potential readers of The Urantia Book? It is a sociological phenomenon prevalent in our societies and which is: “The distancing from religious institutions, which results… in a decline in the religious socialization of the younger generations…” (For a memory of religions / The discovery p.80) Faced with religion-science conflicts, the man of the 21st century wants to be able to choose for himself just as in social or sexual relationships he does not intend to let himself be dictated by the clerics.
After all, what brings us to The Urantia Book?
It is first of all dissatisfaction with the system in which we live, whatever this system may be. Almost all the truths that we learned when we were young in science, literature, and art have either been denied or relativized. (The three kingdoms: mineral, plant, animal, these three kingdoms became 5 in 1969, with Whitteker, 6 in 1977 with Woese, animal, fungus, plant, protist, archaeobacteria, eubacteria; (but there are many other classifications) But in religious matters, where are we? Can we hope to live with a religious system that has barely gone beyond the level of primary school?
I said at the very beginning that I had bet on a common point between all the listeners, namely the search for truth. It was not a question of bringing the truth on a platter, the truth is not static, it does not allow itself to be locked into formulas even from the best of speakers (and I am not speaking for myself) no, it is dynamic. But sensitivity to truth is a gift that we have all received, although accepted in different ways, since the Spirit of Truth was spread on this world and that is why I am sure that those who will make the effort to honestly read The Urantia Book will be sensitive to this Spirit of Truth.
I would not like to close without reminding you that The Urantia Book is a message of joy and hope, a liberating message. In this period when governments too often seek to govern by fear, we should constantly remember this word that Joshua ben Joseph repeated to his listeners: Do not be afraid.
Here are very briefly some of the 47 themes that we could have addressed by following the order adopted by Sadler on the original concepts and teachings of the Urantia Book:
Thank you for your attention and I will answer your questions to the best of my ability.
I have taken and translated with some liberties, some quotes from the introduction to Clyde Bedell’s “Concordex”, in particular, the text of T. Burnet in his “ARCHAEOLOGICA PHILOSOPHICA” (CMR) ↩︎