© 1996 Richard I. Bain and Meredith J. Sprunger
© 1996 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
The great majority of the teachings of The Urantia Book reinforce and enhance the insights and truths of traditional Christian theology, and the highest concepts in all of the world’s religions. However, it is sometimes good to point out the most controversial aspects of a new paradigm to sharpen its distinction from a traditional paradigm and thereby stimulate critical thinking.
The Urantia Book presents a rich source of religious information and insight. In its more than 2000 pages it covers a wide spectrum of topics. But even more challenging, it projects a new vision of the cosmos. Just as Jesus brought a new paradigm to the religion of his day, while at the same time reinforcing the best spiritual insights of the Old Testament, The Urantia Book brings a new paradigm to the religion of our day, while simultaneously enhancing the basic spiritual concepts of contemporary Christianity and other world religions. Epochal revelation always upsteps the best teachings of evolutionary religious development. Even though it enhances the old spiritual verities, considerable time is required for religious institutions and culture to critically examine and adjust to a new vision of spiritual Reality.
It may be possible to expedite this process by examining some of the major deviations of the new paradigm from the old frames of reference. Following the historic normal curve of change, some of us feel more comfortable with the traditional theological forms, while others are energized and inspired by the new vision of reality. The challenge of creatively evaluating enlarged spiritual concepts and values requires courage, balance, and open-mindedness — especially when they appear to challenge our established beliefs.
The strange names of the authors and some of the paper titles immediately suggest to most people that the book has some sort of esoteric origin. About the only thing those with a theological orientation can associate it with is the Gnosticism movement in the early Christian church.
On first exposure to The Urantia Book most people examine the table of contents and observe the names of the authors of the papers and read sections here and there. The strange names of the authors and some of the paper titles immediately suggest to most people that the book has some sort of esoteric origin. About the only thing those with a theological orientation can associate it with is the Gnosticism movement in the early Christian church. Gnosticism was a pre-Christian syncretistic mysticism. The Gnostics believed in “knosis” — a special source of knowledge. They denied the real humanity and actual death of Jesus. Jesus’ body only appeared to be material — a view known as docetism. Gnostics taught the dichotomy of matter and spirit; matter is evil and spirit is good. Gnostics saw salvation being achieved by proper knowledge rather than through faith. When one becomes acquainted with the content of The Urantia Book, it soon becomes clear that it is not a Gnostic document.
In the Christian faith, we believe that God inspired certain individuals with spiritual truth. These inspired prophets shared this message with their fellows. Over the years these teachings were edited numerous times and eventually were evaluated by church councils and made a part of the scriptural canon. The Urantia Book speaks of two basic types of revelation: (1) epochal revelation which is periodic, successive, and evolutionary; and (2) continuous revelation insofar as the indwelling Spirit of God reveals truth to individuals.
The authors of The Urantia Book acknowledge difficulty in translating spiritual realities into human concepts and language. They say that thousands of human concepts and statements have been used to facilitate comprehension and communication. The authors also tell us they are rigorously restricted, and are not allowed to anticipate developments in the future. The science and cosmology of the book, we are told, are not inspired, and will soon be in need of revision.
Knowledge must be achieved by evolutionary discovery, but it is integrated and given spiritual value by revelation. This saves much time by eliminating the errors and distortions of evolution. Revelation is never too far removed from the thought process of the age in which it is given. It is rooted solidly in evolutionary foundations. It can only be validated by experience, and is never complete until we meet the Universal Father on Paradise.
The Christian conception of Deity is centered in the doctrine of the Trinity. We have had problems understanding how three persons can exist and function as a monotheistic entity. The Urantia Book clarifies the concept by describing the unique functions of each person of the Trinity as well as affirming their absolute unity. This concept is further enhanced by pointing out that there is a nonpersonal Trinity reality which has universe functions.
The Urantia Book picture of Deity and Reality is a much more complex reality structure than the Christian concept of Deity. In addition to the Trinity, The Urantia Book describes Absolutes of potentiality and an evolutionary aspect of Deity, called God the Supreme. The Supreme grows as the personalities in the evolving universes attain Godlikeness. This evolving Deity Reality is very close to contemporary concepts in the writings of Jung, Tillich, Teilhard de Chardin, and Whitehead. Process Theology speaks of “the consequent nature of God” which is similar to the image of the Supreme in The Urantia Book and essentially the same as the immanence concept of God in traditional theology. There are other aspects of Deity and Reality in The Urantia Book which further augment the complexity of the God-concept in the universe of universes. As humanity is beginning to learn more of the immense diversity of the microcosmos and the macrocosmos, it should not surprise us that a more mature concept of God will also reveal an expanded complexity of Reality.
The Christian faith has lived with a rather simplistic spiritual cosmology. Heaven, supposedly, was a place of perfection with “pearly gates” and “golden streets,” populated by angels and other spiritual beings. Mainline theologians have grown increasingly skeptical about angels, and have had very little to say about eschatology. In the meantime, knowledge of our material astronomical cosmology has exploded by light-years, picturing an almost unlimited cosmos. Some of us have been acutely aware of the inadequacy of our Christian spiritual cosmology. One obvious distinction between the Bible and The Urantia Book is that the Bible is a “prescientific” book, while The Urantia Book contains scientific concepts that are generally in harmony with modern scientific views. The Urantia Book presents an enlarged view of spiritual cosmology which is commensurate with our gigantic material creation. Along with it is given an overview of a vast array of spiritual personalities that function in a hierarchical system of ability and power. Such a universe of supermortal personalities must exist if we are to make any sense of the spiritual cosmos.
The Lucifer rebellion alluded to in Isa.14:12 and the “war in heaven” between “Michael and his angels” and “the dragon and his angels” described in the 12th chapter of Revelation are clarified in The Urantia Book. The broad substantive view of these personalities in the Bible is essentially the same as in The Urantia Book; however, the authors of The Urantia Book present a spiritual cosmology and hierarchical picture of universe and planetary administration which clarifies and structures the ambiguities of the Bible. The Biblical picture of the war in heaven suggests some sort of physical battle, while The Urantia Book account paints a struggle just as terrible for the souls and spirits of many beings but waged between Lucifer’s rebellion propaganda and Gabriel’s defense of the Universal Father and his universe plan.
In the center of all things is the Isle of Paradise, the residence of the Paradise Trinity. Surrounding this enormous Isle are concentric levels of astronomical creations. The first of these universe levels is composed of the perfect pattern worlds of the Central Universe, Havona. This universe of perfection is in many ways similar to Plato’s vision of the “perfect patterns” of Ultimate Reality and the conception of heaven in traditional Christianity — without the naive picture of golden streets and pearly gates.
Paradise and the Central Universe are encompassed by seven evolutionary universes with their countless astronomical galaxies and teeming inhabited planets. Each superuniverse is composed of local universes, and the local universes are made up of constellations, systems, and inhabited planets. The basic administrative unit of the seven superuniverses is the local universe. Our planet, Urantia, resides in a local universe whose Sovereign is Christ Michael, who incarnated on our planet as Jesus of Nazareth.
The traditional Christian view of Adam and Eve as the first human beings on earth has been relegated by Biblical scholarship to the realm of folklore. Theologians now refer to the creation story as a religious myth — a narrative conveying important spiritual truth, but not actual history. The Biblical record itself reveals that a civilization existed before the advent of Adam and Eve. The Urantia Book presents a fascinating story of the origin of the human race and the development of civilization which is broadly harmonious with current scientific views.
The authors describe the dynamics of evolution as a process that eventually exhausts its inherent natural potentials. At this juncture in human evolution on inhabited planets, a higher order of material son and daughter, an Adam and Eve, is sent from the local universe system to upstep the human race. They are required to establish a large population of their progeny, the violet race, before any mixing with the native peoples is allowed. Because of the isolation of our planet, due to the Lucifer rebellion, the task of Adam and Eve on our world was particularly difficult. The so called “fall” of Adam and Eve was the result of their well intentioned decision to start this genetic mixing prematurely.
In common with most mainline Christian theologians, the authors of The Urantia Book reject the virgin birth theory and acknowledge that Jesus was conceived in the same manner as are all human children. There are many reasons why theologians do not accept the virgin birth theory. Only two of the four gospels record it and no where else in the New Testament is it mentioned. The earliest gospel, Mark, and the latest gospel, John, do not mention it. One would expect all of the gospel writers to mention such an important event. Furthermore, there are many instances of supernatural conception and virgin birth recorded in the annals of religious history. This was the characteristic method by which ancient peoples designated the divine origin of their prophets and leaders.
While the expanded spiritual cosmology of The Urantia Book is breathtaking, its Christology is the most radical deviation from Christian theology. From a planetary point of view, the life and teachings of Jesus harmonize with and enhance traditional orthodox theology: Jesus was truly human and truly divine, and the mediator between God and humankind. But from a universe frame of reference, the view is quite different. The authors of The Urantia Book tell us that because of our limited view of universe cosmology, we have assumed that Jesus of Nazareth was the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. This, they assure us, is an understandable misconception. The authentic historical picture, we are informed, is much more complex.
After the Trinity brought the Isle of Paradise and the Central Universe into being at the dawn of eternity, they instituted a delegated creation plan for the finite, evolutionary creation centering in local universes. The Universal Father and the Eternal Son gave origin to Paradise Creator Sons of the order of Michael who are empowered and ordained as creators of the local universes and their worlds of time and space. Our Creator Son is known as Christ Michael and is both the creator and savior of all in our universe. (The prologue of John, Paul in Col. 1: 15-16, and the writer of Hebrews 1:2 speak of Christ as creator, which has always puzzled Christian theologians.) Each Creator Son is accompanied by a daughter of the Infinite Spirit, designated the Universe Mother Spirit whose spiritual presence is known as the Holy Spirit.
From a planetary point of view, the life and teachings of Jesus harmonize with and enhance traditional orthodox theology: Jesus was truly human and truly divine, and the mediator between God and humankind. But from a universe frame of reference, the view is quite different.
Each Creator Son is unique in nature and personality; each is the “only begotten Son” of their universe. A Michael Son is the local universe personification of the Universal Father and the Eternal Son in his universe. All who go to the Father in his universe proceed through his benevolent ministry. Each Creator Son must earn his sovereignty by incarnating in the likeness of the various orders of created beings in his universe. Jesus of Nazareth was Christ Michael’s seventh and final bestowal in which he achieved sovereignty in his universe and, in principle, terminated the Lucifer rebellion. (“I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself,” (John 12:32) and “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me,” (Matt. 28:18) are gospel passages suggesting this sovereignty.) Following Christ’s ascension his Spirit of Truth was bestowed on our planet.
The blood atonement theory had its origin in the conceptual language of Paul. Coming out of the Jewish tradition and writing with Jewish people in mind, Paul used the symbolic idea of Jesus as the “final sacrifice” in their sacrificial system as a missionary approach which made sense to those with a Jewish background. Mainline Christian theologians have long since abandoned this retributive concept of God. Most mainline ministers do not accept this view but many still use the conceptual language of Paul. The Bible commentary most widely used in America today is The Interpreter’s Bible published by Abingdon Press. In volume VIII, p. 510-11, the writer in commenting on John 3:16 says:
Some of the past explanations of the gospel are not overhelpful to us now. Most of us are not at home in the Jewish sacrificial system; and metaphors drawn from it can be confusing rather than illuminating. And some of the interpretations, popular in the Middle Ages, are to us incredible, and even monstrous…So do many, with the Gospels in their hands, appear to see in them a lesser God giving himself to save us from the implacable fury and resentment of the great God, slow and hard to be appeased, and demanding his pound of flesh from someone. That is hideous heresy; and the blasphemy of blasphemies. It was in the eternal plan of God the Father that Jesus Christ lived out in fact: ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself’ (II Cor. 5:19), not standing sullenly aside, and needing himself to be reconciled.
We should recognize that most of those who still accept a literal blood atonement theory in our day probably do so out of ignorance and misunderstanding and with no intent to deny the loving nature of God. The Urantia Book observes:
“The people of Urantia continue to suffer from the influence of primitive concepts of God… The barbarous idea of appeasing an angry God, of propitiating an offended Lord, of winning the favor of Deity through sacrifices and penance and even by the shedding of blood, represents a religion wholly puerile and primitive, a philosophy unworthy of an enlightened age of science and truth. Such beliefs are utterly repulsive to the celestial beings and the divine rulers who serve and reign in the universes. It is an affront to God to believe, hold, or teach that innocent blood must be shed in order to win his favor or to divert the fictitious divine wrath.” (UB 4:5.4)
The Bible reflects a sharp distinction between Jesus’ view of human nature and Paul’s doctrine of the “depravity of man.” Paul used the theory of the fall of man to justify his blood atonement theory in the Jewish sacrificial system. Jesus regarded human nature in a much more positive way, seeing human beings as the children of the Heavenly Father. The Urantia Book views human nature in the Jesusonian way. Human beings are mortal sons and daughters of God who have great potential for both good and evil. Each person is indwelt by a fragment (Spirit) of God which, if followed, in time will lead unerringly to the Universal Father by the way ordained by God the Son through the grace of the ministry of God the Spirit. Most Christians also believe in the indwelling presence and guidance of the Spirit of God, although this indwelling presence is not emphasized in Christian theology.
The traditional Christian view of life after death has been simplistic, and in the view of many, naive-we go to heaven and are received by Jesus and made perfect. Here problems and suffering are nonexistent. This instant perfection does not make sense to many thinking people and Christian theologians have had very little to say about life after death. The concept of hell evolved in early Christianity using the analogy of the punishment of sin to being in Gehenna, the burning garbage dump of Jerusalem. Few, if any, mainline Christian theologians take this concept literally. The Urantia Book speaks of the punishing consequences of sin, violating universe law, but there is no “eternal hell.” The ultimate consequence of iniquity is self-destruction, personality extinction.
The Urantia Book describes an eminently reasonable picture of life after death. Our spiritual growth continues just where we left off in our mortal existence. We are resurrected on the “mansion worlds” of our local system with a “morontia” body, which is part material and part spiritual, and gradually acquire a more spiritual existence. The entire spiritual universe is a great educational university of learning and achievement where we are prepared for future service. On our ascending journey, even as on Urantia, we meet with many trials and frustrations.
But long before reaching Havona, these ascendant children of time have learned to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable. Long since, the battle cry of these pilgrims became: “In liaison with God, nothing — absolutely nothing — is impossible.” (UB 26:5.3)
We proceed through the local universe, the superuniverse, the central universe, and graduate to the Isle of Paradise where we meet the Universal Father, and are conducted into the Corps of Finality in preparation for greater service in eternity.
You humans have begun an endless unfolding of an almost infinite panorama, a limitless expanding of neverending, ever-widening spheres of opportunity for exhilarating service, matchless adventure, sublime uncertainty, and boundless attainment. (UB 108:6.8)
This greatly simplified presentation of the major Urantia Book deviations from traditional Christian theology may help those unfamiliar with the book to focus their reading and thinking on areas most critical to the adoption of a new paradigm of spiritual reality. We might answer the topic question of this article by observing that Urantia Book teachings are fairly close to the positions of mainline Christian theology; however Christian fundamentalists and some evangelical Christians would find them heretical.
Since The Urantia Book purports to be the Fifth Epochal Revelation authored by supermortal personalities, it is important to have a clear understanding of the philosophic criteria of truth necessary in evaluating such a claim. First of all, claim of authority is not a valid philosophical criterion of truth. Secondly, knowing the origin and/or authorship of the book may give some helpful insights, but is also not a reliable philosophical criterion. Whether supermortals or human beings wrote the book, it must be evaluated by its content, not by who may have written it.
The central objective in evaluating The Urantia Book should be to assess the quality of its spiritual insight. This must be done by individuals using all their resources for evaluation developed and tested through experience. Are the spiritual quality and insights of the book inferior to, equal with, or superior to our traditional sources? During this period of testing, a consensus will gradually evolve regarding its quality. If that opinion is negative, the book will fade into obscurity. If the consensus is positive, continued evaluation will eventually determine its value. Is it just another useful resource, or does it have the quality of genuine revelation? Our hypothesis is that, if it has the spiritual quality of revelation, its influence will continue to grow.
Our personal views, after many years of study and evaluation, is that the book is of superior quality in at least four categories:
Meredith Sprunger is a pastor and college teacher retired, and editor of The Spiritual Fellowship Journal. Richard Bain is an electrical engineer and an editor of Innerface International.