© 1995 Dick Bain
© 1995 The Brotherhood of Man Library
Is the Urantia community a religion? How do we see ourselves? How do others see us? Will there ever be a Urantia church? Should there be a Urantia church?
The terms “church” and “religion” are often used to mean the same thing, so I will define what I mean when I use the terms. I take my cues from Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. By church, I mean socialized and organized religion with buildings and clergy. By religion, I mean a community in which the individuals share a common set of spiritual beliefs and attitudes relating to God. Early Christianity was a religion but only later became a church.
If some in our community find the idea of a Urantia religion objectionable, then they would no doubt view the idea of a Urantia church as a scandal! The distaste of many in our community for a church or even for a religion is understandable. Some rather despicable things have been done in the name of religion or the church. The church has often been a roadblock in the way of social, scientific and even spiritual progress. Wars have been fought and people have been persecuted because of disagreements over theology. On the other hand, socialized religion as embodied in the church, synagogue or mosque has at times been a conservator of values and even of valuable knowledge. It has also provided a community of loving support for many in times of trouble. And because of its conservative nature, the church has at times been a governor on the engines of change to prevent too rapid or too radical changes. Weaknesses can sometimes be strengths.
Another objection that people have to socialized religion, especially as seen in the church, is that it isolates groups from one another; it promotes the “us vs. them” syndrome. If people begin to see the Urantia community as just another religion or church with its own holy book, will this inhibit them from looking at The Urantia Book? Will we thereby limit our growth? Do the advantages of a Urantia church outweigh the potential problems?
Some people will see the development of a Urantia church as a great sell-out, the beginning of bureaucracy and the death of real religion. I would ask this question of such folks: How many practicing Gnostics do you know? The Gnostics were against a professional clergy and they were against overmuch organization; without organization they had no power. Gnosticism wilted away beside the power of the organized Christian church. Humans are institution builders because institutions are the machines that carry out the great tasks of civilization. The Urantia community will have difficulty accomplishing large, long term programs without the power of a well-organized church.
On UB 97:10.7, the authors of The Urantia Book offer an additional reason for the development of a socialized religious institution such as a church: “The Jewish religion persisted also because of its institutions. It is difficult for religion to survive as the private practice of isolated individuals.” (UB 97:10.7) And again on UB 98:6.1: “While it is true that the institutionalization of religion has usually detracted from its spiritual quality, it is also a fact that no religion has thus far succeeded in surviving without the aid of institutional organization of some degree, greater or lesser”. If a Urantia religion exists or is developing, then it seems it will eventually need to organize to survive.
But even if a Urantia church develops, not everyone in the Urantia community will rush to join it. Such a church will only be a piece of the community, not the whole, and will not speak for the whole. I see three different sorts of Urantians in relationship to a future Urantia church. The first is the totally independent person. Many in the Urantia community are anti-institution and would have nothing to do with a Urantia church. These independent people will be valuable to the community because they will be free to introduce the book to people who are unaffiliated like themselves. The second type of Urantian is one who embraces the teachings of the book, but remains a loyal member of his or her religious organization. This person is an asset to the Urantia community because they are positioned to introduce the book to people of their church or other religious organization with which they are affiliated. They are missionaries of a sort. The third type of Urantian is one who longs for a church that provides the sort of support and organizational functions that the Christian church provides, but a church composed of students of the book and a church that embodies the teachings of The Urantia Book.
What of those who embrace the emerging Urantia religion but choose to remain a part of the traditional Christian church? Can anyone be intensely involved in this Urantia religion and be a Christian (Moslem, Jew, etc.) as well? Maybe. It depends on the brand of religion with which we are involved. The fundamentalist sects of the various religions have very little tolerance for ideas outside their theology. The few people I have spoken to who are both students of the book and members of Christian fundamentalist churches choose to conceal their involvement with the book to avoid problems with their church. On the other hand, based on personal experience, a liberal Christian has little difficulty in this religious coexistence because the theology of the book is compatible with that of the liberal Christian church. But this coexistence isn’t without its consequences to the Urantia community.
Islam has liberated man’s worship from confinement to specific places. Islam regards every place—whether it is one’s dwelling place, the back of an animal, the deck of a vessel on the surface of the sea, or a mosque specifically built for worship—as pure enough for the performance of worship. Wherever a man might be, he can turn towards his Lord and enter into communion with Him.
Mustafa Ahmad al-Zarqa, The Islamic Concept of Worship
Jesus to his followers: “we Will so shortly begin the bold proclamation of a new religion—a religion which is not a religion in the present day meaning of that word, a religion that makes its chief appeal to the divine spirit of my Father which resides in the mind of man; a religion which shall derive its authority om the fruits of its acceptance that will so certainly appear in the personal experience of all who really and truly become believers in the truths of this higher spiritual communion.” (UB 155:5.12)
When a Urantian is a part of an established religious organization such as the Christian church, I suspect that in most cases the organization or church gets more of the person’s money, time and loyalty than any Urantia organization gets. Of course, there is a good reason the Christian church gets the lion’s share of everything. It has the infrastructure which the Urantia community in general does not have. It offers worship services on Saturday or Sunday, and professional clergy who can counsel people, perform weddings, and represent the Christian community to the rest of the world. At its best, the church offers a social/spiritual structure within which people feel they have a place and an identity. The Urantia community struggles at a disadvantage because it lacks much of this structure; therefore it cannot command the loyalty and resources the Christian church can. Furthermore, in a culture that is so largely Christian, the Christian church has the approval and sanction of society; the Urantia community does not. When the Urantia community/religion does develop such an infrastructure, then it will begin to command more of the loyalty and resources of students of the book. For those who long for a church that embodies the teachings of The Urantia Book, there is an unmet need. It appears we already have a Urantia religion; I believe it is only a matter of time before some sort of Urantia church emerges from this religion.
What will be the relationship of a Urantia church to other religious organizations, especially the Christian church? It all depends on perceptions. It’s not how we see ourselves or what we call ourselves that counts; it’s how those outside our community perceive us. Because our community is small and not prone to the sort of sensationalism that attracts the press, there is no general awareness of us as a Urantia religion yet. This anonymity will not last forever. When and if a portion of our community evolves into a church we’ll become very visible. If the Urantia church is small, it can no doubt maintain cordial relations with all but the most conservative Christian churches, much as Unitarian Universalists do. If it grows into a real powerhouse and begins to pull in large numbers of members from Christian churches, it may be seen as a threat and perhaps some tensions will develop. If, on the other hand, this postulated Urantia church is or is perceived as a splinter Christian church, then it may blend into the Christian background so well that it’s hardly noticeable. Do we want to be almost invisible to the world?
How will this Urantia church come about? Will the Urantia religion grow within the cocoon of the Christian church and eventually split off to form its own church? Or will the Christian church—or a segment of it—evolve because of its contact with the Urantia community within it and become a Urantia church? If we look to the example of the Christian church and Judaism, we note that the Christian church was built on the foundations of Judaism, but was far more than just a reformed Judaism. But the differences between Judaism and the emerging Christian religion were much greater than are the differences between the teachings of The Urantia Book and Christianity. The theology of the book could almost be seen as Christian theology purged of its negative aspects. I feel that there is a strong possibility of a spin-off sect. The authors of The Urantia Book indicate that either a new church will emerge from within the Christian church, or that the Christian church itself will be transformed from within. On UB 170:5.21 they tell us, “It may be what will emerge does not resemble the Christian church, but it would be hard to believe that it would not at least bear traces of its ancestry.”
It seems that rites and rituals are a necessary part of most religions, and I am sure a Urantia church will be no exception. The rites and rituals that are a part of the Christian religion have a long history and a strong identity and might be appropriated by an emergent Urantia church. Unfortunately, many of the rituals, such as communion, have traditional meanings that are unacceptable to the Urantia community, but they could be redefined so they reflect the more positive teachings of the book. Even if a Urantia church develops totally outside of the Christian church, I suspect that there will be many similarities between the Urantia church and the Christian church. It is much easier, faster, and generally the natural human tendency to adapt existing rites and rituals rather than start from scratch. Symbols may be more of a problem.
In describing the religion that he foresaw would be built upon the teachings of The Urantia Book, Bill Sadler Jr. stated:
A religion the like of which this world has never yet seen. A religion that is full of good humor. A religion which is full of the joy of existence. A religion which is totally devoid of fear of a theological or spiritual nature. A religion which people wear casually yet earnestly. A religion which is gracious in its tolerance, in its leashed strength. A religion which has nothing to do with any one day of a week. A religion which pervades the whole of a human life, twenty four hours a day. A religion which is dealt with in a familiar friendly way. A religion which is part of a human being.
A religion which is inseparable from philosophy, from ethics, from morality, from economics, from political thinking, and everything else. A religion which seeps down through all the levels of a human personality until it becomes indistinguishable from the whole social fragrance of that human being. This, to me, is religion which appeals. And this, to me, is a religion which you don’t find much of in human history.
On UB 87:7.6, the authors inform us that “. . . even the restatement of the religion of Jesus must develop a new and appropriate symbolism.” What then becomes of the primary symbol of traditional Christianity, the cross? It certainly has quite a different meaning for us who are students of The Urantia Book. Can this venerable Christian symbol be purged of its atonement connection and rehabilitated to symbolize the real meaning of Jesus’ life and death? The problem is that the cross is primarily a symbol of Jesus’ death, not his life. Perhaps a shepherd’s crook would be a more appropriate symbol. Another symbol that will surely be appropriated by a Urantia church—despite any trademark laws—is that of the three concentric blue circles. This symbol is so highly regarded by so many in the Urantia community that no organization will be able to keep them from using it. I suspect we will long use well-known symbols before we develop something unique for ourselves.
A Urantia church may be a long way in the future; it will probably be preceded by recognition of our community as a religion. I feel that the Urantia community already is a religion whether or not we perceive ourselves as such. The awareness of this may come from outside our community rather than from within. The early Christians may not have perceived themselves as a religion; they didn’t even name themselves, someone else did. When there comes to be a widespread consciousness of the Urantia community, perhaps we will be named. We may be known as Urantians, Urantia-ites or some other derivative of the word Urantia. The religion will possibly be known as Urantia-ism or perhaps just Urantia.
A case could be made that a Urantia church of sorts already exists. Consider: Church-goers meet periodically for fellowship and worship. Students of The Urantia Book gather periodically for fellowship and occasional worship at conferences. We do not have permanent buildings for these functions, or a priesthood, but we do have those talented teachers and leaders who organize conferences, lead workshops and worship. And we have an underground church of sorts in the study groups who meet in people’s homes. These groups are generally educational and social, but they certainly have spiritual overtones. There was a so-called “house church” movement in the US a few decades ago. The proponents were trying to move the church away from the conventional church buildings and into the home to pray and worship as the early Christians did. Those study groups of our community which have a more spiritual focus certainly have the flavor of a house church. When a Urantia church emerges, even if it does originate from within the Christian church, the real source could be from the seeds of the more spiritual study groups. We may conjecture about from where or how a new religious organization will emerge as a result of the Fifth Epochal Revelation, but the authors of The Urantia Book make it clear that something will emerge. Not if, but when.
Language falls down because it is derived from concrete experience and can be applied only with difficulty to religion, which is the stretching out for more adequate experience not yet existing as a definite and palpable state to which words are specifically appropriate.
Gordon Allport, Waiting for the Lord