© 2018 Dennis Marshall
© 2018 The Urantia Book Fellowship
¶ First impression
Back in 1971 when I was just becoming enchanted with the Urantia Papers, I was deeply disturbed by sections of the book that discussed race using terms such as “inferior” that, for me, conjured images of the Ku Klux Klan and lynching.
In spite of my discomfort with those sections of the book dealing with race, I continued reading it and eventually came away with a sense of wonder at the love, patience, and hope that permeated the book. There wasn’t any part of the book that gave greater caring or devoted love to any one race not given to all others. So now, some forty-five years later, I find myself wanting to reconcile the seemingly inconsistent issues of racial superiority/inferiority and the genuine love found in the Urantia Papers.
I grew up a white Irish catholic in the west end of Pittsburgh which was then notorious for having ready slurs for any and all ethnic groups. Not surprisingly, other than my father I didn’t know an un-prejudiced adult until I was twenty-one. At about that time I found myself in a New Orleans cement masons union where I found myself the only “white boy” (or man) in the union of 200+ journeymen. To my great benefit, the experience was a visceral epiphany about these men that I worked with. These men, in their dreams, their sense of honor, and their willingness to work hard were just like my Dad, they could have been my Dad.
Of course, there was a small group that really didn’t want to know me in any way that would challenge their prejudice towards all whites. As a result of this, a secondary epiphany highlighted to me how much prejudice hurts. Regardless of whether it’s occasional or persistent it always hurts, it’s always infuriating, and it’s almost always based on non-sense and unfortunately it is everywhere:
Japanese towards Koreans, Chinese to Indians,
Protestants to Catholics, Believers to non-believers,
Jews to gentiles, Parisians to Americans,
the Intelligent to those less so,
the Beautiful to those not.
Men to Women, the Powerful to the Powerless
I could go on but I think you get the idea, prejudice and its social dysfunction is not difficult to find.
¶ Contemporary non-Urantian views of Race
Prejudice, of course, is often supported by ideas that racial superiority or inferiority is established by “facts” but when you look at the research and literature, you discover that the studies usually revolve around the age-old debate of whether nurture or nature is the basis for individual and/or racial/cultural character. Remarkably, both sides believe that the argument has been decided in their favor. Because advances in genomics have failed to provide definitive proofs, there is still little scientific fact concerning differences in the races, so people too often pre-decide what truth they prefer and select studies or apocrypha that supports that opinion.
¶ Urantian view oF race
The Urantia Book states that there were originally six races of color each with their own characteristics. Unfortunately, descriptors in The Urantia Book (inferior, secondary etc.) that nowadays are considered insults. For those who have read the entire Urantia Book, the sting of these words seems to be the opposite of the otherwise pervasive love, respect, and encouragement given to all races in the Book. So, what is to be done so that readers offended by these words do not begin to question The Urantia Book ’s value? Is there some way these AD 1934 words can be adapted to AD 2018 interpretation? Should we even try?
In one section of the book readers are warned that some scientific statements found in the book will require revising in the future because the book’s authors were forbidden to present unearned knowledge. Once new scientific facts require such revision, readers were not to let such adaptations cloud the authenticity and credibility of the rest of the book. In a similar manner I am assuming the authors would expect us to adapt “sensitive characterizations” for the contemporary ear as long as the underlying meanings and value of the passages were kept true. The following is an attempt to do just that.
¶ Superior vs. Inferior Races
There is a conviction in the mind of many that if they belong to a “superior” race, then they are superior in every way to anyone of an “inferior” race. This is easily found to be untrue. Statistically, it may be possible to comment about an entire people, but such statistical assertions will have little to do with anyone as an individual, except to indicate the probability that anyone else will share some particular racial attribute.
A trite example of this would be someone believing that because “white men can’t jump” that every black person could outjump me, a white man. Well, I don’t doubt that a vast majority of blacks can outjump me but I know from personal experience that not all of them can do so. The obvious conclusion is that there exists a range of gifts and capabilities within otherwise homogenous groups. Though today there are almost no truly homogenous or pure races.
¶ A Different Perspective
To illustrate a point, I’ve assumed six, relatively homogenous, hypothetical races and arranged them in a simple graph. The races each have different sized populations and those populations are differentially talented musically in relation to the other races. The vertical axis measures the upper and lower range of musical ability within each race.
I have placed a short-dash line in the middle of each race to indicate its average (mean) and used this measure to stipulate RACE 2 as the musically superior race because it had the highest musical average. Furthermore, a long- dash line has been placed to indicate my ability in relation to all of the races. It can be seen that, regardless of which race I personally belong to, the graph shows there will be people with musical talent both greater and lesser than my own. Other observations include:
- RACE 3 and RACE 5 have persons’ superior to anyone in the superior RACE 2.
- RACE 5 has the most superior and most inferior individuals of all the races.
- The most inferior of RACE 2 is almost the average of the RACE 1.
- Virtually half of RACE 3 is superior to the best of RACE 4.
- About half of RACE 4 is superior to the lowest of RACE 3, a superior race.
- Almost half of RACE 1 is inferior to the lowest of RACE 2.
- RACE 5 and RACE 6 have essentially the same average, though RACE 5 is twice the size and monopolizes the extremes.
To repeat, any attempt to draw parallels from such a graph must factor in the worldwide extent of race mixing. There are very few, if any, populations of even moderately pure races.
In light of the above, invoking your race to establish your individual superiority, or another’s inferiority, seems essentially un-informative. Therefore, a guiding principle for individuals regarding the relationship between superior and inferior races could be stated:
NO INDIVIDUAL can be considered SUPERIOR or INFERIOR based solely on Race
¶ Is The Urantia Book Racist?
The reaction of some is to pronounce The Urantia Book as racist because it uses terms such as superior and inferior when discussing race. But The Urantia Book is not racist, quite the contrary, though it purports a multiplicity of differentiated abilities to each race, it states quite clearly that all races have particular values that are intended to be biologically shared with all races once each individual race purged itself of its least worthy members. This was supposed to be accomplished 39,000 years ago but was not because of the earlier Dalmatia default. It left us in the difficult position of trying to remedy our racial situation today fairly, ethically, and morally without much guidance.
“Variety is indispensable to opportunity for the wide functioning of natural selection, differential survival of superior strains. Stronger and better races are to be had from the interbreeding of diverse peoples when these different races are carriers of superior inheritance factors.”_ [UB 64:6.31-32]
So, contrary to historical racist beliefs, The Urantia Book clearly states that there was always a plan to merge the races and not, as some still think, to keep them separate according to “god and the laws of nature”.
¶ Why Are There Secondary Races?
But there is still a question of why there were three primary and three secondary races were necessary. We were told that some planets had just three primary races? What was the point of the secondary races? Why were their races considered inferior while their attributes were considered of sufficient value to be later integrated with all races?
In order to illustrate a point, I would like to arbitrarily assign different attributes to each of our previously mentioned six races. In this demonstration each individual races will be recognized as having the maximum expression of one particular attribute, even though all races will have some amount of every attribute.
I imagine that the differences might in some ways be similar to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. However, the assignment of attributes below are not his nor strictly as found in the Urantia Papers, rather they are assigned by me in order to illustrate my argument. The attributes are allocated as follows:
- Red race – intelligence, individualism
- Blue race – tool making ability, adventurousness
- Yellow race – strong communal & agricultural tendencies
- Orange race – building & spatial ability
- Green race – individual strength and size
- Indigo race – advanced mind/body coordination
Because races in the Urantia Papers are seemingly designated primary (superior) or secondary (inferior) based on their attributes, we need to consider what might make any particular attribute superior to another? Here are two questions that might help us begin a reevaluating process:
- Primary: In establishing a civilization couldn’t Intelligence, Tool-Making, and a strong Communal Tendency be considered absolutely essential for success? Isn’t it likely these attributes would be considered more essential to civilization than might Individual Strength, Building Ability, and Mind/Body Coordination?
- Secondary: And is it so hard to imagine that in the “flowering” of a rudimentary civilization, secondary attributes such as Athletics, Individual Strength, and Building Ability would be indispensable in advancing the quality of life and enhancing the potentials of any population?
Even if you don’t agree with which three attributes are essential and which secondary, you have to agree that this is a respectful and valuing way to view the inter-dependent and indispensable relationship binding primary and secondary races.
¶ Unfair To Secondary Races?
So what about the seeming unfairness of being born into to a secondary race with its “inferior” status? Should these peoples be expected to happily bear the added burden of racial prejudice while trying to pursue a successful life? To the extent their situation is a consequence of Urantia’s general default, shouldn’t all individuals’ feel some obligation to assist those who are struggling due to no fault of their own? This is not suggesting “special rights” pity or charity, but rather an opportunity for each of us as individuals to manifest loving concern for our fellows. Fortunately, of some consolation, is the fact that people of secondary races can look with hope and pride to the Urantia Papers account of their eternal future.
In all this is shown the wisdom of the Creators. It would be just as easy for the Universal Father to make all mortals perfect beings, to impart perfection by his divine word. But that would deprive them of the wonderful experience of the adventure and training associated with the long and gradual inward climb, an experience to be had only by those who are so fortunate to begin at the very bottom of living existence. [UB 32:3.11]
Dennis Marshall discovered The Urantia Book in New Orleans in 1971. He is now retired after thirty years teaching Architectural Engineering Technology at Indiana University/ Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently serving as president of the study group begun by Meredith Sprunger
¶ References
- Article obtained from The Fellowship site