© 2021 Georges Michelson-Dupont
© 2021 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
Everyone agrees that reading and then studying the book alone is intellectually difficult, thus turning many potential readers away from the benefit they could derive from the revelation for themselves and those around them. We are not here to pass judgment but to try to find solutions.
During a week of sharing during a UBIS course, two legitimate and closely associated questions were invited to the discussion table: How can the intellectual study of the facts presented in the booklets promote personal spiritual progress and develop social fraternity, not that which we read on the pediments of the monuments of the French Republic, a social and secular solidarity, but that which arises from the active awareness of our filiation with God, the Father of all creatures living in the universe of universes.
To the first question, here is an element of response provided by a Solitary Messenger:
The expansion of material knowledge permits a greater intellectual appreciation of the meanings of ideas and the values of ideals. A human being can find truth in his inner experience, but he needs a clear knowledge of facts to apply his personal discovery of truth to the ruthlessly practical demands of everyday life. (UB 111:6.7)
“Science is the source of facts, and mind cannot operate without facts. They are the building blocks in the construction of wisdom which are cemented together by life experience. Man can find the love of God without facts, and man can discover the laws of God without love, but man can never begin to appreciate the infinite symmetry, the supernal harmony, the exquisite repleteness of the all-inclusive nature of the First Source and Center until he has found divine law and divine love and has experientially unified these in his own evolving cosmic philosophy.” (UB 111:6.6)
To the second question, here is an element of response presented by a Melchizedek:
“5. Spiritual insight. The brotherhood of man is, after all, predicated on the recognition of the fatherhood of God. The quickest way to realize the brotherhood of man on Urantia is to effect the spiritual transformation of present-day humanity. The only technique for accelerating the natural trend of social evolution is that of applying spiritual pressure from above, thus augmenting moral insight while enhancing the soul capacity of every mortal to understand and love every other mortal. Mutual understanding and fraternal love are transcendent civilizers and mighty factors in the world-wide realization of the brotherhood of man.” (UB 52:6.7)
So, to answer the two questions, how can the UBIS school help you to appropriate the material knowledge contained in the Urantia papers and to promote the realization of world brotherhood?
Thanks to its teaching methods, its study framework and its organization, the UBIS online school responds perfectly to this dual questioning by offering courses organized in several two-week periods, the first responding to the problem of in-depth study and the second, to the sharing of discoveries with participants from different countries and cultures, thus creating a true fraternity based on the brotherly love of human relations.
“THE experience of dynamic religious living transforms the mediocre individual into a personality of idealistic power. Religion ministers to the progress of all through fostering the progress of each individual, and the progress of each is augmented through the achievement of all.” (UB 100:0.1)
Let’s take a closer look at what happens over a two-week period:
The first week, the student is given a reading list that he must study carefully in order to answer a series of questions related to the subject of the course, questions that will provoke in him a deep reflection leading to the personal discovery of the truth exposed by the revelators. This questioning creates a dynamic of seeking understanding of the truth which sensitizes the mind to the Spirit of Truth and promotes the work of the Thought Adjuster as explained by the Solitary Messenger:
“Mortal mind is a temporary intellect system loaned to human beings for use during a material lifetime, and as they use this mind, they are either accepting or rejecting the potential of eternal existence. Mind is about all you have of universe reality that is subject to your will, and the soul—the morontia self—will faithfully portray the harvest of the temporal decisions which the mortal self is making. Human consciousness rests gently upon the electrochemical mechanism below and delicately touches the spirit-morontia energy system above. Of neither of these two systems is the human being ever completely conscious in his mortal life; therefore must he work in mind, of which he is conscious. And it is not so much what mind comprehends as what mind desires to comprehend that insures survival; it is not so much what mind is like as what mind is striving to be like that constitutes spirit identification. It is not so much that man is conscious of God as that man yearns for God that results in universe ascension. What you are today is not so important as what you are becoming day by day and in eternity.” (UB 111:1.5)
The reading of the selected texts and then the in-depth examination of the facts and their integration into the human mental and conceptual framework is a process of sorting data, associating ideas, classifying knowledge, clarifying confusions, eliminating prejudices and destroying ignorance; all this contributes to the acquisition of a personal culture based on truth, to the spiritualization of the material mind and to the formation of an upright character. Certainly, this intellectual work requires will, energy, perseverance, effort and courage; it is a real intellectual training such as is practiced in the universal universities of the mansion worlds. (Paperback 57, section 7: The Fifth Mansion World).
The second week, Thus, an increased desire to share these new intellectual acquisitions with other believers is actualized in the human mind because even if the truth is personal, it is like love, it asks to be shared. During this week, all the questions are pooled to be shared under the benevolent animation of the facilitator-teacher. Sharing personal discoveries with other truth seekers from different backgrounds and cultures gathered in a UBIS course constitutes a unique opportunity to establish new fraternal relationships based on the desire to know then understand and finally love the other, relationships which build the spiritual fraternity of believers, the kingdom of heaven.
The UBIS school offers you a unique opportunity to establish relationships with student-readers from all over the world, to open up to other cultures and to share at the soul level your understanding of the teachings of revelation with other daughters and sons of God. The fact of not being in person as in a traditional school in no way prevents human relationships from being established. The personality circuit works very well.
We invite you to join us and register for a course.
Some useful information about the school: The UBIS school, founded in 1998 as an educational program of the Urantia Foundation, is multilingual (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and soon Polish and Indonesian). Its web address is new.ubis.urantia.org
It is open to all truth seekers around the world, it is free, hosted by more than 150 volunteer facilitator-teachers specially trained to create courses, develop questions that will provoke thought, and lead the weeks of sharing.
Courses are offered three terms a year, January, April and September. To date, the school has more than 2,000 students from over 80 different countries on 5 continents. Over the past four years, it has offered more than 200 different courses on the four parts of the book as well as on specific themes.
From a student in Ghana after his first UBIS experience. (Hearts on the Inner Adjuster)
This is my first time in the UBIS program. It is wonderful to sit and share in the same class with people from different continents. I enjoyed the experience. The union of our souls in studying the subject of this course was very refreshing for me. Souls from different cultures, from different social, educational and financial backgrounds and from different age groups learning and sharing together with respect for each other — this is my experience during these five weeks. I imagine this experience is similar to what is happening in Jerusem and beyond.
By Walter F. (USA.)
Although I have read The Urantia Book several times already, doing this study format, on a specific topic, and in an interactive and shared way, has “miles” of benefits not covered by self-study! Although both can be spiritual activities, I have no doubt that I have experienced and understood so much more in this study format: focused topic with group sharing.
Daniels HUSSAINI, (Nigeria) Hearts “THE INFINITE ONE” (September 2020)
It is indeed a great honor given to me by the universe to participate in this course (my first course on UBIS). Diving into the exploration of the Infinite has truly expanded my understanding of the I AM and my expectations have been met and even exceeded.
I chose this course because I believe that knowing God would bring me closer to Him and that this course would provide me with additional information on concepts that I have little or no understanding of.
Initially, not knowing the format of the study, I thought that our teacher-facilitator was going to teach us as I had not taken any classes before, but I realized that from the first week, questions were asked by our teacher-facilitator and answers were required, I then realized that the questions asked were to provoke a personal research on different concepts and a communion with the holy spirit to provide personal answers to the questions asked, thus enlightening me through the process of personal discoveries, inspiration and revelation.
With this learning experience, I plan to take other courses for each session that UBIS offers.
Also, I am grateful to our amazing and experienced teacher-facilitators and all the classmates (I think I am the youngest in the house age-wise, LOL).
Nugroho Widi, (Indonesia) Hearts: the infinite ONE. (September 2020)
First of all, I must thank Mr. Guy and Mr. Raymond for their help, especially the quotes.
The first week I saw that this course was so intimidating. The questions are difficult and very far from everyday life. It is about the story of God and the values of the universe! This is the basic theology course. If this is a theology school, then this is part of the Doctrine of God, one of the requirements for success.
Using the space-time explanation which is easier for the human mind, I understand better how God emerges from the Infinitude, becoming the Infinite One, the One personality who has free will and absolute thought, and then comes the I AM as the universe we see today. The unity of God, the Persons of the Trinity, and God as the absolute source of values, versus relative values and human morality.
All this requires deep thought, but I am beginning to see the relationship and importance of each topic covered. So when I find a difficult teaching in college, I will not worry because later I will find its importance in the fabric of reality. For example, why is the father the father of personalities? What is the superiority of the personality over all realities in the universe (spiritual, material, morontia)? I find it in this course.
In sum, it is the doctrine of God and the doctrine of the basic compositions of the universe which are centered in God himself. The history of God himself according to the theologians and celestial philosophers. The study of the fundamental values which survive and are maintained in the entire universe.
We are limited humans with limited minds, so this topic is always very difficult. Yet this topic is so fundamental to the reality we see every day. Some are truly far beyond our current theologies.
Thanks also for all my new friends here. You are advanced thinkers. It is a pleasure to read your comments. Some comments are very witty, others are excellent summaries. Others are really practical. In some ways, I believe students of this book will collaborate often on many occasions, in this world and beyond. See you later.
Note: Will we have another online Zoom meeting for all students in the class? I’m sorry I couldn’t make the previous meeting.
Spirituality becomes at once the indicator of one’s nearness to God and the measure of one’s usefulness to fellow beings. Spirituality enhances the ability to discover beauty in things, recognize truth in meanings, and discover goodness in values. Spiritual development is determined by capacity therefor and is directly proportional to the elimination of the selfish qualities of love. (UB 100:2.4)