© 2007 Claude Castel
© 2007 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
Study of the URANTIA Book * by Claude Castel
“You will learn that you increase your burdens and decrease the likelihood of success by taking yourself too seriously. Nothing can take precedence over the work of your status sphere—this world or the next. Very important is the work of preparation for the next higher sphere, but nothing equals the importance of the work of the world in which you are actually living. But though the work is important, the self is not. When you feel important, you lose energy to the wear and tear of ego dignity so that there is little energy left to do the work. Self-importance, not work-importance, exhausts immature creatures; it is the self element that exhausts, not the effort to achieve. You can do important work if you do not become self-important; you can do several things as easily as one if you leave yourself out. Variety is restful; monotony is what wears and exhausts. Day after day is alike—just life or the alternative of death.” (UB 48:6.37)
Today’s knowledge allows us to improve plant and animal species relatively well, through selection, hybridization or other methods.
What does The URANTIA Book say about the biological conditions of the human species and possible possibilities for improvement?
He first makes the following general observation:
“There are no pure races in the world today. The early and original evolutionary peoples of color have only two representative races persisting in the world, the yellow man and the black man; and even these two races are much admixed with the extinct colored peoples. While the so-called white race is predominantly descended from the ancient blue man, it is admixed more or less with all other races much as is the red man of the Americas.” (UB 82:6.1)
but there are, on the other hand, on Earth, superior human lineages and inferior lineages.
Superior lineages foster variety of cultural talents and ensure the progress of civilization: “The racial mixtures of the middle and upper classes of various peoples greatly increase creative potential, as is shown by the present population of the United States of North America.” (UB 82:6.5)
The inferior lineages, backward and defective, of defective and degenerate beings greatly delay the development of civilization: “Your primitive peoples did not succeed in discriminating between types in this way, which explains the presence of so many defective and degenerate individuals among the Urantian races of today.” (UB 52:2.9)
The causes of this situation are multiple, but an error also plays a part:
"As a result of an excess of false sentimentality, the Church has long ministered to the underprivileged and the unfortunate, and this was all well and good, but this same sentimentality has led to the reckless perpetuation of racially degenerate lines which have tremendously retarded the progress of civilization. (UB 99:3.5)
“It is the false sentimentality of your partially perfected civilizations that maintains, protects and perpetuates the irremediably defective bloodlines of the human evolutionary races.” (UB 52:2.11)
Various means have been implemented since the beginning of humanity, and primitive peoples practiced eugenics in their own way. In some primitive couples: “deformed or premature children were considered to be young animals that had found a way to enter a woman’s body as a result of imprudent bathing or malicious activities of spirits. Of course, the savages attached no importance to strangling these babies at birth.” (UB 84:1.4)
Then, after the age of the Planetary Prince, Adam and Eve (the biological uplifters) were charged, among other things, with improving the biological conditions of the human species. The problem to be solved was enormous because Lucifer’s rebellion had completely disrupted the normal development planned.
“When they took up the major work of eliminating the degenerate and defective beings from the human lineages, they were quite dismayed. Under normal conditions, the first work of a Planetary Adam and Eve would have been to coordinate and blend the races. But on Urantia this project seemed almost hopeless, for the races were well prepared biologically, but had never been cleared of their retarded and defective lineages.” (UB 75:1.1-2)
After their partial failure, who else will do this work? All that remains for present-day humanity is to find alone, and by means of its own intelligence, the adequate means to improve its condition.
“Mankind on Urantia must solve its problems of mortal development with the human stocks it has—no more races will evolve from prehuman sources throughout all future time. But this fact does not preclude the possibility of the attainment of vastly higher levels of human development through the intelligent fostering of the evolutionary potentials still resident in the mortal races. That which we, the Life Carriers, do toward fostering and conserving the life strains before the appearance of human will, man must do for himself after such an event and subsequent to our retirement from active participation in evolution. In a general way, man’s evolutionary destiny is in his own hands, and scientific intelligence must sooner or later supersede the random functioning of uncontrolled natural selection and chance survival.” (UB 65:3.6)
“Classes in society, having naturally formed, will persist until man gradually achieves their evolutionary obliteration through intelligent manipulation of the biologic, intellectual, and spiritual resources of a progressing civilization, such as:” (UB 70:8.14)
“But while the pure-line children of a planetary Garden of Eden can bestow themselves upon the superior members of the evolutionary races and thereby upstep the biologic level of mankind, it would not prove beneficial for the higher strains of Urantia mortals to mate with the lower races; such an unwise procedure would jeopardize all civilization on your world. Having failed to achieve race harmonization by the Adamic technique, you must now work out your planetary problem of race improvement by other and largely human methods of adaptation and control.” (UB 51:5.7)
“Mankind on Urantia must solve its problems of mortal development with the human stocks it has—no more races will evolve from prehuman sources throughout all future time. But this fact does not preclude the possibility of the attainment of vastly higher levels of human development through the intelligent fostering of the evolutionary potentials still resident in the mortal races. That which we, the Life Carriers, do toward fostering and conserving the life strains before the appearance of human will, man must do for himself after such an event and subsequent to our retirement from active participation in evolution. In a general way, man’s evolutionary destiny is in his own hands, and scientific intelligence must sooner or later supersede the random functioning of uncontrolled natural selection and chance survival.” (UB 65:3.6)
So what methods of adaptation and control does The URANTIA Book offer us?
There are mainly three of them.
“As long as present-day races are so overloaded with inferior and degenerate strains, race intermingling on a large scale would be most detrimental, but most of the objections to such experiments rest on social and cultural prejudices rather than on biological considerations. Even among inferior stocks, hybrids often are an improvement on their ancestors. Hybridization makes for species improvement because of the role of the dominant genes. Racial intermixture increases the likelihood of a larger number of the desirable dominants being present in the hybrid.” (UB 82:6.7)
“Race blending greatly contributes to the sudden appearance of new characteristics, and if such hybridization is the union of superior strains, then these new characteristics will also be superior traits.” (UB 82:6.6)
“For the past hundred years more racial hybridization has been taking place on Urantia than has occurred in thousands of years. The danger of gross disharmonies as a result of crossbreeding of human stocks has been greatly exaggerated. The chief troubles of “half-breeds” are due to social prejudices.” (UB 82:6.8)
“The post-Adamic epoch is the dispensation of internationalism. With the near completion of the task of race blending, nationalism wanes, and the brotherhood of man really begins to materialize. Representative government begins to take the place of the monarchial or paternal form of rulership. The educational system becomes world-wide, and gradually the languages of the races give way to the tongue of the violet people. Universal peace and co-operation are seldom attained until the races are fairly well blended, and until they speak a common language.” (UB 52:3.10)
Hybridization is therefore a good method, but be careful, there are better and worse ones.
a) The best hybridization is that of superior lines between them.
“Better and stronger races are obtained by crossing various peoples when the different races carry superior hereditary factors. (UB 64:6.32) and if this hybridization is the union of superior lines, then the new characteristics will also be superior traits.” (UB 82:6.6)
“Hybridization of superior and dissimilar stocks is the secret of the creation of new and more vigorous strains. And this is true of plants, animals, and the human species. Hybridization augments vigor and increases fertility. Race mixtures of the average or superior strata of various peoples greatly increase creative potential, as is shown in the present population of the United States of North America. When such matings take place between the lower or inferior strata, creativity is diminished, as is shown by the present-day peoples of southern India.” (UB 82:6.5)
b) The crossing of superior and inferior lines enhances the inferior ones but inevitably degenerates the superior ones.
“Race mixture is always advantageous in that it favors versatility of culture and makes for a progressive civilization, but if the inferior elements of racial stocks predominate, such achievements will be short-lived. A polyglot culture can be preserved only if the superior stocks reproduce themselves in a safe margin over the inferior. Unrestrained multiplication of inferiors, with decreasing reproduction of superiors, is unfailingly suicidal of cultural civilization.” (UB 79:2.7)
“And thus it has ever been on Urantia. Civilizations of great promise have successively deteriorated and have finally been extinguished by the folly of allowing the superior freely to procreate with the inferior.” (UB 64:1.8)
c) Crossing inferior lines with each other often produces hybrids that are better than their ancestors, but this crossing must be very limited and extended over long periods of time.
“As long as present-day races are so overloaded with inferior and degenerate strains, race intermingling on a large scale would be most detrimental, but most of the objections to such experiments rest on social and cultural prejudices rather than on biological considerations. Even among inferior stocks, hybrids often are an improvement on their ancestors. Hybridization makes for species improvement because of the role of the dominant genes. Racial intermixture increases the likelihood of a larger number of the desirable dominants being present in the hybrid.” (UB 82:6.7)
“Present-day prejudice against “half-castes,” “hybrids,” and “mongrels” arises because modern racial crossbreeding is, for the greater part, between the grossly inferior strains of the races concerned. You also get unsatisfactory offspring when the degenerate strains of the same race intermarry.” (UB 82:6.3)
This tends to erase many human inequalities.
“The races are purified and brought up to a high state of physical perfection and intellectual strength before the end of this era. The early development of a normal world is greatly helped by the plan of promoting the increase of the higher types of mortals with proportionate curtailment of the lower. And it is the failure of your early peoples to thus discriminate between these types that accounts for the presence of so many defective and degenerate individuals among the present-day Urantia races.” (UB 52:2.9)
“Slowly these migrating sons of Eden united with the higher types of the blue race, invigorating their cultural practices while ruthlessly exterminating the lingering strains of Neanderthal stock. This technique of race blending, combined with the elimination of inferior strains, produced a dozen or more virile and progressive groups of superior blue men, one of which you have denominated the Cro-Magnons.” (UB 80:1.7)
“If the present-day races of Urantia could be freed from the curse of their lowest strata of deteriorated, antisocial, feeble-minded, and outcast specimens, there would be little objection to a limited race amalgamation. And if such racial mixtures could take place between the highest types of the several races, still less objection could be offered.” (UB 82:6.4)
“As long as present-day races are so overloaded with inferior and degenerate strains, race intermingling on a large scale would be most detrimental, but most of the objections to such experiments rest on social and cultural prejudices rather than on biological considerations. Even among inferior stocks, hybrids often are an improvement on their ancestors. Hybridization makes for species improvement because of the role of the dominant genes. Racial intermixture increases the likelihood of a larger number of the desirable dominants being present in the hybrid.” (UB 82:6.7)
“No society has progressed very far when it permits idleness or tolerates poverty. But poverty and dependence can never be eliminated if the defective and degenerate stocks are freely supported and permitted to reproduce without restraint.” (UB 71:3.8)
“These six evolutionary races are destined to be blended and exalted by amalgamation with the progeny of the Adamic uplifters. But before these peoples are blended, the inferior and unfit are largely eliminated. The Planetary Prince and the Material Son, with other suitable planetary authorities, pass upon the fitness of the reproducing strains. The difficulty of executing such a radical program on Urantia consists in the absence of competent judges to pass upon the biologic fitness or unfitness of the individuals of your world races. Notwithstanding this obstacle, it seems that you ought to be able to agree upon the biologic disfellowshiping of your more markedly unfit, defective, degenerate, and antisocial stocks.” (UB 51:4.8)
“One of the great achievements of the age of the prince is this restriction of the multiplication of mentally defective and socially unfit individuals. Long before the times of the arrival of the second Sons, the Adams, most worlds seriously address themselves to the tasks of race purification, something which the Urantia peoples have not even yet seriously undertaken.” (UB 52:2.10)
“These six evolutionary races are destined to be blended and exalted by amalgamation with the progeny of the Adamic uplifters. But before these peoples are blended, the inferior and unfit are largely eliminated. The Planetary Prince and the Material Son, with other suitable planetary authorities, pass upon the fitness of the reproducing strains. The difficulty of executing such a radical program on Urantia consists in the absence of competent judges to pass upon the biologic fitness or unfitness of the individuals of your world races. Notwithstanding this obstacle, it seems that you ought to be able to agree upon the biologic disfellowshiping of your more markedly unfit, defective, degenerate, and antisocial stocks.” (UB 51:4.8)
“It is neither tenderness nor altruism to bestow futile sympathy upon degenerated human beings, unsalvable abnormal and inferior mortals. There exist on even the most normal of the evolutionary worlds sufficient differences between individuals and between numerous social groups to provide for the full exercise of all those noble traits of altruistic sentiment and unselfish mortal ministry without perpetuating the socially unfit and the morally degenerate strains of evolving humanity. There is abundant opportunity for the exercise of tolerance and the function of altruism in behalf of those unfortunate and needy individuals who have not irretrievably lost their moral heritage and forever destroyed their spiritual birthright.” (UB 52:2.12)
“What may be regarded as right in one age may not be so regarded in another. The survival of large numbers of defectives and degenerates is not because they have any natural right thus to encumber twentieth-century civilization, but simply because the society of the age, the mores, thus decrees.” (UB 70:9.14)
On a neighboring planet, the government has already taken a number of measures that could inspire us: Efforts to prevent the reproduction of criminals and lunatics were undertaken more than a hundred years ago and have already produced very satisfactory results. There are no prisons or hospitals for the insane. There is a good reason for this, which is that these groups are ten times less numerous than on Urantia.“ (UB 72:10.3) ”The mentally retarded are only taught agriculture and livestock breeding and are sent, for life, to special surveillance colonies where they are separated by sex to prevent procreation, which is forbidden to all abnormals." (UB 72:4.2)
“After all, the real jeopardy of the human species is to be found in the unrestrained multiplication of the inferior and degenerate strains of the various civilized peoples rather than in any supposed danger of their racial interbreeding.” (UB 82:6.11)
“From a world standpoint, overpopulation has never been a serious problem in the past, but if war is lessened and science increasingly controls human diseases, it may become a serious problem in the near future. At such a time the great test of the wisdom of world leadership will present itself. Will Urantia rulers have the insight and courage to foster the multiplication of the average or stabilized human being instead of the extremes of the supernormal and the enormously increasing groups of the subnormal? The normal man should be fostered; he is the backbone of civilization and the source of the mutant geniuses of the race. The subnormal man should be kept under society’s control; no more should be produced than are required to administer the lower levels of industry, those tasks requiring intelligence above the animal level but making such low-grade demands as to prove veritable slavery and bondage for the higher types of mankind.” (UB 68:6.11)
May future young parents think about it and may governments know how to take their responsibilities to achieve a clear improvement in the long term!
© 1955 URANTIA Foundation. © 1994 for the revised and corrected French edition. All rights reserved. Materials used with permission. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the URANTIA Foundation or its affiliates.