© 2016 Georges Michelson-Dupont
© 2016 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| The Translation of The Urantia Book: State of Play | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 74 — June 2016 | Interactive Study Group |
¶ The role of French in the dissemination of the Teachings of the Urantia Book in the World.
At the beginning of the 19th century Émile de Girardin wrote: “To govern is to foresee”; it is crucial for us and for the two following generations of students of The Urantia Book, to know the statistical projections of the world population in 2050, even up to 2100 to understand the issues and the role that French as a language can play in the near and medium future and to determine where our efforts must focus to share the incomparable teachings of The Urantia Book, in particular in relation to the African continent whose population is expected to grow from 1 billion in 2014 to nearly 2 billion in 2050 and more than 4 billion or even 6 billion according to certain scenarios in 200.
¶ Growth in world population between 2016 and 2100 (Projection).
In terms of linguistic statistics by country and by language(s), the data differ considerably depending on the organization (Anglophone or Francophone) that produces them, the method chosen and the criteria used such as the mother tongue alone, or the official languages or languages actually spoken by the population of the country considered. For most European countries, the ambiguity does not exist, the United Kingdom has English as its only language and France, French. The main difficulty comes from the multilingualism resulting from the history of the countries according to whether they were colonized (African countries) or occupied (Middle Eastern countries) and the evolution of their population according to certain scenarios. This study is based on the statistical forecasts country by country and continent by continent of the United Nations. (See: http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Graphs/Probabilistic/POP/TOT/)
It took 2000 years for the population of Urantia to increase from 250 million to 6 billion. According to the average scenario (See above “Projection of the world population”.
According to the United Nations report, entitled “World Demographic Prospects, 2012 Revision”, it is Africa that will account for more than half of the growth in the world population, increasing from 1.1 billion inhabitants to 2.4 billion in 2050 and to 4.2 billion in 2100. The population in the rest of the world is only expected to increase by 10% between 2013 and 2100 while Europe will see its population decrease by 14%. (See the table on page 23)
| World population projections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Low variant | Medium variant | High variant |
| 2020 | 7,688,595,000 | 7,758,157,000 | 7,827,607,000 |
| 2030 | 8,179,515,000 | 8,500,766,000 | 8,821,836,000 |
| 2040 | 8,532,257,000 | 9,157,234,000 | 9,789,249,000 |
| 2050 | 8,710,042,000 | 9,725,148,000 | 10,801,105,000 |
| 2060 | 8,685,876,000 | 10,184,290,000 | 11,859,342,000 |
| 2070 | 8,508,032,000 | 10,547,989,000 | 12,937,258,000 |
| 2080 | 8,199,956,000 | 10,836,635,000 | 14,083,297,000 |
| 2090 | 7,780,520,000 | 11,055,270,000 | 15,305,652,000 |
| 2100 | 7,293,830,000 | 11,213,317,000 | 16,577,065,000 |
| Source: (en) [xls] UN (World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision) | |||
¶ Demographics: Africa’s challenge.
Population growth is currently three times faster overall in Africa than in the rest of the world, and almost 6 times faster for Sub-Saharan Africa alone. The forecasts for 2050 and 2100 are alarming; Africa will never be able to meet the food and water needs of its inhabitants. Several United Nations studies have looked into the causes of the acceleration of the fertility rate on the African continent and, depending on the countries studied, have shown common causes but also a great disparity.
The table above lists the 30 most populated countries in 1950, 2000, 2013, 2050, and 2100. The figures indicated are based on an average fertility rate. It should be noted that in 1950, of the African countries, only Nigeria, Egypt and Ethiopia appeared in the list of the 30 most populated countries totaling 78 million. In 2000, Congo DR and South Africa were added, with 347 million (naturally the other African countries continue to progress). In 2013 it was Tanzania’s turn, with a total of 520 million.
From 2013 to 2050, or 37 years, we find 11 African countries among the 30 most populated which, alone, total 1444 million. The projection of 2100 shows 16 African countries in the list of thirty, or more than half, totaling more than 3 billion inhabitants, a figure which does not take into account the 39 other African countries which then total more than 4 billion inhabitants.
¶ Growth of French language speakers between 2016 and 2100 (Projection).
This strong growth of French is due to the galloping demographics of African countries speaking or using French. The following figures should be taken with caution because they are based on scenarios and probability. Nevertheless, they all indicate a real trend: French is entering a period of great vitality.
By consulting Wikipedia: “List of countries with French as their official language” we can read: "According to official UN sources, the total population of countries with French as their official language (444 million) or commonly used but not official (98 million) is 542 million inhabitants in 2016, which represents the 4th linguistic area in the world after English, Chinese (Mandarin) and Hindi, and ahead of those of Spanish, Arabic and Portuguese. Among these 542 million inhabitants, 223 million are French-speaking, or 41% of the population. Between 2015 and 2016, the population of countries with French as their official or co-official language increased by $ +2.2%, or 10 million inhabitants, going from 434 to 444 million inhabitants.
In 2050, according to UN projections established and revised in 2015, the French-speaking area should represent 1.2 billion inhabitants, still the 4th linguistic area after the same mentioned, and according to a study published in 2014 by the investment bank Natixis, French could become the most spoken language in the world in 2050, due to the explosive demographics of French-speaking Africa and a demographic slowdown in China, as well as in Anglo-Saxon and Hispanic countries. The figures are debated, but one observation is clear: In 2050, a quarter of the world’s population will be African and a third in 2100.
¶ Solutions for French-speaking Africa.
Among the main solutions to Africa’s galloping demographic growth, education and particularly that of women, changing the behavior of men towards women, women’s access to equality with men and contraception are those that the official reports of the United Nations and NGOs favor.
All these solutions require two prerequisites:
- An opening of consciences towards the true fraternity that the presentation of the updated Gospel of Jesus to the women and men who desire it cannot fail to produce. The African mind is very receptive to the Spirit, one only has to see the proliferation of various cults and sects imported from North America to be convinced of this.
- An expansion-education of thought through revelation to clarify the relationships between Gods and men, eliminate confusion arising from erroneous beliefs and ancestral customs, eradicate tribal prejudices and restore the status of women in the hearts of men.
From a religious point of view, Africa is dominated by Christianity and Islam, two strongly established monotheistic religions. The big mistake would be to want to oppose them to the teachings of the Urantia Book, which is not a religion in the common sense of the term but a tool for expanding consciousness and spiritual enhancement. The truths must be distilled into the hearts of the men and women of these two religions in a gentle and wise manner to rectify errors and prejudices, clarify their relationship with God, strengthen their personal faith in a God of love and change mentalities.
The development and dissemination of the teachings of the Urantia Book in a given country necessarily involves one or more personalities transformed by the teachings of the Urantia Book, aware of their responsibility towards God the Supreme and the revelators, possessing qualities of leaders and organizers and desiring to get involved in social life because true religion is personal but the fruits are social. This presupposes having access to revelation.
The Urantia Book in its printed form has great difficulty penetrating French-speaking Africa due to transport and delivery difficulties and many Africans have limited access to the Internet. However, the situation is rapidly changing thanks to 5 distinct but complementary facts:
- The Urantia Foundation provides The Urantia Book for free download on its website (urantia.org/ and choose your language), in all kinds of text file formats, PDF, audio and other mobile applications and this in all the languages in which The Urantia Book is translated. (See the table above)
- The rise of cell phones, Smartphones and other tablets is phenomenal in Africa, it allows a growing number of French-speaking Africans to download, read and study the teachings of the Urantia Book with their family, free of charge and without constraints.
- The development of applications for all media such as Skype, FaceTime (for Mac) or even better Zoom (www.zoom.us) now provide the possibility of creating study groups across borders and sharing the teachings of the Urantia Book in a lively and fraternal way.
- The UBIS multilingual school via the Internet (Online) offers free of charge to French-speaking students around the world:
- The possibility of following structured courses based on non-interpretive pedagogy combining reading of the Urantia Book and questions-answers-sharing with other students in a fun, attractive way, free from all spatial-temporal contingencies
- To make new friends from different countries and cultures, to build fraternal relationships with them and to experience authentic friendships.
- To become leader-organizer-teachers to create and lead study and sharing groups.
- Finally, the expansion of the UAI in Africa; the international association of readers of the Urantia Book, whose goal is to create a network of national and local associations to welcome new readers, encourage the formation of study groups, animate associative life, promote the dissemination of the teachings of the Urantia Book and build brotherhood based on the recognition of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men of all races, all colors, all religions and all countries.
¶ Conclusion
The planetary government personnel in charge of the project The Urantia Book anticipated its implementation and development on Urantia by preparing the circumstances that would ultimately lead to the translation and then publication of the French version. Shortly after the publication of The Urantia Book on October 12, 1955, Jacques Weiss received a copy of The Urantia Book, and in 1956 began the translation. Naturally, the choice of Jacques Weiss as translator and then organizer of the French-speaking Urantia movement was not the result of chance; Jacques Weiss was a true captain of industry, a man of many talents, keen intelligence and undeniable charm. He was trained without his knowledge to become the translator of the revelation.
All these events show that there is a general plan and a precise organization put in place by our invisible friends and by the planetary government of the seraphim to evolve the spirituality of Urantia. More particularly and with regard to the French-speaking world, the demographic explosion in Africa is a major future challenge and we must prepare for it. The keys are certainly found in the “publication mandate” and the five points mentioned above are in place: it is up to us to participate to the best of our ability.
“WITH God the Father, sonship is the great relationship. With God the Supreme, achievement is the prerequisite to status—one must do something as well as be something.” (UB 115:0.1)
Georges Michelson-Dupont
| The Translation of The Urantia Book: State of Play | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 74 — June 2016 | Interactive Study Group |