© 1991 Dick Bain
© 1991 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
Well, who would’ve thought my article in Cosmic Reflections would have started such a ruckus? Fact is, I think that you are doing folks in the URANTIA movement a service by airing the ideas of people like Joe Pope, Sananda, etc., so folks are aware of these unusual people and their teachings. Then each person can decide how they wish to react.
It seems that apocalypticism has been with us for a long time. If you remember, the early Christians, because of a mis-interpretation of Jesus’ words, stopped working and banded together in communes in Jerusalem in anticipation of the end times. Paul, fearful that they would starve to death, requested that donations be sent to them, and told them to get back to work. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have several times predicted the end, retreated to caves, then had to come up with a cover story when the end didn’t arrive. Recently, a “prophetess” predicted the end and had her followers build concrete bunkers in the hills of a western U.S. state. A lot of folks fell away when the end date came and went without incident. The list goes on and on. Makes me wonder why seemingly rational, intelligent people would quit their jobs, sell everything and go and live in a cave to become the laughing stock of the media because of some Pied Piper of apocalypticism
And what of the self-proclaimed prophets and channellers in our movement, what is their motivation? Maybe one or two are genuine. Perhaps some have had a profound spiritual experience on which they base their ideas. The URANTIA Book says that many strange ‘isms’ have arisen because of overreaction to such an experience. Others may have a pathological need for attention. Their strange or catastrophic claims bring either attacks or praise; either is a form of attention. But the ones who bother me the most are those who seek power and money, either consciously or not.
The suicide of Jim Jones’ followers in his colony in South America shows how far things can go. And enough people in the URANTIA movement took a ‘prophet’ in California seriously enough to cause divisions and distress within the movement.
There are a few other problems that false prophets and channellers can cause in our movement. One of these is dilution of purpose. There is much worthy work that needs to be done inside and outside the movement. I think it would be a shame to neglect the important work in order to prepare for an end that never comes. It seems to me that there is too much negative emotion involved in this end time business. We may fear that we will be taken unaware by a catastrophe or sudden world transformation. The fear may cause us to focus inwardly, on self preservation. Our only service role may be that of Chicken Little, spreading alarm wherever we go.
Another problem I can see is the movement’s image. People’s initial impressions of The URANTIA Book and the movement will often be their impression of us or our publications. If our movement is perceived as apocalyptic, many may be turned off by that, and never give the book a chance. It’s hard enough explaining the strange names of the authors of the papers; I don’t think that we need additional handicaps! Perhaps the appropriate task for those who don’t go along with the self-proclaimed prophets and channellers is to make sure that voices of moderation are given equal time.
But I would be less than honest if I didn’t look at the other side of the coin. Some people have come to The URANTIA Book by rather unconventional paths, such as A Course In Miracles, Transcendental Meditation, the teachings of Edgar Casey or Yogananda, the study and practice of Eastern religions, etc. Because people’s psychology differs, different paths appeal to them. The teachings of some of the self-proclaimed prophets may open a door for a few people that leads to study of The URANTIA Book. If the self-proclaimed prophet or channeller is not an exploiter, if they don’t use fear tactics, if they aren’t trying to build a personality based cult, then they may sometimes perform a valuable service for the movement. I recall that Jesus said,
“In the generations to come many who are not wholly worthy will do many strange things in my name, but I will not forbid them.” (UB 159:2.1)
Some people in the movement may do strange things that make us feel uncomfortable, but providing they are bearing spiritual fruits, we should welcome them as spiritual brothers and sisters. We don’t have to agree with them, but we can agree to disagree agreeably. After all, we wouldn’t want to be caught with rocks in our hands when a real prophet finally appears!
Dick Bain, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA