© 2022 Dick Bain
© 2022 The Urantia Book Fellowship
| Why The Urantia Corps of Truth Revealers Used Human Source Authors | Volume 22, Number 1, 2022 (summer) — Index | Progress Project |
by Dick Bain
I once told a neighbor about The Urantia Book and how I found the answers to many of my questions in it. Thereafter, when we would discuss something heavy, he would ask, “What does Your Answer Book say about that?” I was a bit amused, but there was the ring of truth for me in his new title for The Urantia Book.
Well, yes, The Urantia Book has provided answers to many questions we all may ask. What’s the purpose of life? Is there a God? What is this God like? Is God responsible for the catastrophes we suffer? If not, then why do we suffer? Is there a next life? If so, how do we qualify to go there? Do I have to believe in Jesus to get there? Is there life on other planets? I’m sure the list could go on and on and on.
Many religions try to answer some or all of our questions, but their answers may not agree, or we might find the answers unsatisfying. Are the answers given by The Urantia Book closer to the truth than those from other sources?
Many thousands of people seem to think they are. But each person needs to read it and decide for themselves. If you read it and it doesn’t speak to you, then all the promotion in the world probably won’t change your mind. It spoke to me, perhaps because the answers I found in this book seemed like the truth to me.
It claims to be the fifth epochal revelation but it doesn’t claim to be the Word of God. In fact, the authors tell us that some human thoughts were incorporated in parts of the book, but there are other parts of the book that came from higher spiritual sources.
By this time, you may be asking, “Yes, but what does The Urantia Book say about life, the universe, and everything?” It was first published as a 2,097-page large book. You might well ask, “Why in the world would I want to read such a huge, esoteric book?” If you’ve asked the questions I listed earlier, or others, you might find satisfactory answers in this book.
And then you may ask, “Yes, but what subjects does it cover?” I recently had my annual visit to a cardiologist for my annual checkup. The person who I consulted with was a Nurse Practitioner. I had been reading the Kindle version of The Urantia Book on my smartphone when she came into the examining room. As she was about to leave, she asked me what I had been reading when she came in. I told her that it is a spiritual book called The Urantia Book. And I added that it begins by describing the nature of God and ends with a portion about the life and teachings of Jesus, and that this latter portion describes how Jesus came to this world to demonstrate God’s love for us. I then listed some of the subjects the book covers- subjects like angels, the evolution of life here, some astronomy and cosmology, God’s spirit within us, and marriage and family life. As she was leaving, she said, “It sounds like a very large book.” I said, “yes.” She may never read The Urantia Book, but at least she has some idea of what it’s about.
You might ask where a good place to begin reading in the book might be. Some would suggest reading from the Foreword straight through to the end. This may have some merit, but the Foreword is rather heavy and may discourage some from further reading. My suggestion is to check the index and start reading in a section that especially interests you. That’s what I did, but at some point I decided to read the whole book. I did and I’ve been reading the book ever since.
I believe that it’s valuable to study and discuss The Urantia Book with other people. Fortunately, there are many study groups (see https://urantiabook.org/Study-Groups-List) that meet in person and online. There is a large community of readers both nationally and internationally that would welcome you to join them.
¶ References
- Article obtained from The Fellowship site
| Why The Urantia Corps of Truth Revealers Used Human Source Authors | Volume 22, Number 1, 2022 (summer) — Index | Progress Project |