© 2000 David Carrera Ibañez, Jeanmarie Chaise, Jeffrey Wattles, Gard Jameson, Neal Waldrop III, Peep Sõber
© 2000 International Urantia Association (IUA)
¶ In this number
- World News
- Urantia: a sect ? — David Carrera Ibáñez, Spain
- You say: The fifth epochal revelation — Jeanmarie Chaise, France
- Spreading a changing message — Jeffrey Wattles, United States
- The importance of worship and prayer — Gard Jameson, USA
- Footsteps on the sand — Neal Waldrop III, United States
- Revelation as spiritual inspiration — Peep Sõber, Estonia
¶ World News
¶ Colombia: recognition of a new association
In 1997, the Urantia Association of Colombia was officially recognized; there were then sixty-two founding members. On September 30, in Medellin, the first local association in this country received its charter. There were fourteen enthusiastic members there who came from all strata of society: a physicist, an engineer, a doctor, a residential construction contractor, an opera singer, students… All these very diverse people are linked together. them by the higher teachings of the Urantia Book.
Medellin is a very beautiful city, located about 45 minutes from the capital, Bogota. At the bottom of a valley, mountains surround it. The permanent tropical temperature and daily rains have made it the City of Flowers. The people there are warm, friendly. There are few vestiges of the pre-Columbian era; but it is easy to discern the attachment to the Catholic tradition.
Below you can read an excerpt from the speech that the president of the association, Dr. Fernando Alberto Montoya Patino, gave during the installation.
“It is our mission to proclaim the truth, to liberate those who are spiritually captive, to announce joy to all those chained by dogmas and to teach the way that leads to the Father.
“Humanity has lived in slavery to superstition, feared to live under the influence of revealed truth. Too many still conform to the dictates of traditional religious institutions.
“We read in The Urantia Book that men and women today avoid the religion of Jesus because they fear its possible effects on their lifestyles. Indeed, this religion transforms and fulfills its faithful by introducing them into this fraternity of altruistic service.
“As members of the Father’s family, as brothers and sisters, as faithful to the teachings of the book, we fear nothing negative from God - the most powerful of all presences, the most real of all realities, the living principle of all truths, the warmest, most loyal friendship and the divine principle which energizes all values from within. We therefore have the conviction that an experience of universal scope awaits us after this life.
“Today, as 2000 years ago when Kingdom ambassadors were exhorted to share the teachings of Jesus, we, members of the Urantia Association of Medellin (AUM), have the immense privilege of receiving the same mission, to have been illuminated by the Fifth Revelation, to line up behind the new leaders of the religion of Jesus, to be the current ambassadors of the Kingdom of the Father. »
It was a great joy and honor for me to participate in this ceremony. Let’s welcome this new group of zealous readers. In harmony with the Foundation, they will work to disseminate the teachings of the Urantia Book.
Cathy Jones
¶ Book sale in 2000
Sales reports for the first six months of 2000 show that The Urantia Book broke records. For the same period last year, the Foundation sold 9,650 copies. As of June this year, sales reached 15,910 copies. If the trend continues, we will have the best year in our forty-five-year history in terms of sales.
¶ News from the A.F.L.L.U. French
Each year, the AFLUB holds two three-day congresses to which all French readers are invited. This year, the first congress was held in May at Notre-Dame des Lumières Abbey, located at the foot of Goult Hill in southeastern France. The second congress took place in October. The theme was: Post-Urantian life — from the Mansion World to Paradise.
On average, around thirty people attend these fraternal meetings and share their thoughts in three workshops. Evenings are reserved for informal discussions among readers of the book. The last morning is usually devoted to administrative matters.
The main decisions mentioned in the minutes are as follows:
The members in office, who wished to remain there, were all reappointed; the vice-president, Jean Royer, resigned, but we could not replace him, the assistant vice-president being absent;
Séverin Desbuisson was elected president to replace François Le Rohellec who resigned to devote more time to the 2002 international meeting; Philippe D’Amore was elected to replace Séverin as responsible for the organization of the two annual congresses of the AFLUB; François Le Rohellec and Patrick Papini were respectively elected organizer and negotiator for the 2002 international meeting — they will coordinate a team of twelve people;
We highlighted the entry into office of Christine Beaussain as secretary of the Urantia association in Paris.
Pascal Coulombe
¶ Quebec News
On November 12, a study and discussion session was held in Montreal. The following topics were on the program: the history of the Urantia Book; how to do a transcendental reading of the book studying the book in a group and with counselors; the establishment of a planetary Urantian movement and the planning of concrete actions that could be taken in Quebec to promote the development of such a movement. Time was set aside for a question period and another during which readers shared the various ways in which they had gone about studying the book.
The Urantia Quebec Association rented stands at several book fairs in this province. Many visitors stopped at these stands and we could particularly note the interest of young people in knowing more about the book.
The Urantia Quebec Association is organizing a French-speaking conference which will be held from August 10 to 13, 2001. The theme will be: “Living your faith”. More information on this event is to come.
¶ Reception of the Book in India
The way the book is received in this country amazes me… I have received warm welcomes in other countries, but never of this intensity.
The attitude of Indians is so receptive, so open to teachings, in comparison with the attitude found in Western countries, that I sense one of the explanations for the considerable disorder which disrupts our societies. Their kind openness to faith is truly inspiring.
Entire congregations pray for the success of my mission. They offer me donations. They offer me accommodation. I even received a monetary donation from a Catholic priest!
Mark Bloomfield
¶ UAI administrator reviews the year
The inhabitants of Urantia are moving ever closer to an imminent spiritual awakening; consequently, the IAU must prepare to adequately respond to growing demands. The seven national associations and twenty-nine local associations encourage and support study groups, deposit copies of The Urantia Book in public and university libraries, publish newsletters, and operate websites. The reader support and follow-up program is very dynamic — it includes, among other things, conferences and regional events. Capable and dedicated volunteers offer advanced courses on The Urantia Book throughout the world through an internet-connected school.
- One of the highlights of the year: the International Conference, held in New York in August.
- Also note: the well underway projects to set up associations in Senegal, Mexico, Russia, Spain and Belgium.
The 1993 charter — and related regulations — has served us well until now. However, as the organization has since grown, this document is currently being revised. Monetary and moral assistance from Urantia Foundation has been of utmost importance to the establishment and development of IAU. We are honored and consider ourselves privileged to extend the initial agreement with the Foundation: on the one hand, the Foundation has the role of publishing The Urantia Book and protecting its copyright; and, on the other hand, we of the IAU, as members of a sister organization, are responsible for distributing the book and making its teachings known.
Catherine Jones
¶ Urantia: a cult?
David Carrera Ibanez
Leon, Spain
This is a legitimate question. Someone who, by chance, hears people talking about the Urantia Foundation or the book, and who knows nothing about it, may well wonder along these lines. We, who have read the book, already know that the best way to find the answer to this question is precisely to read the book. However, it is a fairly voluminous work, which may not yet have been translated into the language of the person asking the question. This is why I wrote this article, the objective of which is to shed some light on those who seek to know more and who have not yet been able to access the book.
We all believe in some explanatory model, which will allow us to justify and order reality. All of us, at certain moments in our lives, ask ourselves: who are we? Where do we come from ? And where are we going? What is our origin and what is the purpose of life? What is our destiny?
¶ You say: “The Fifth Epochal Revelation?”
Jeanmarie Chair
Buzançais, France
It may be that, in our efforts to simplify our lives and to make the revelations of the Urantia Book more accessible to us, we use sweeping formulas, which do not necessarily correspond to the idea that we have. let’s read them.
Thus the formula “Fifth Epoch Revelation” may be surprising in certain respects, notwithstanding the fact that it is indeed the fifth Revelation which occurred on Urantia. Indeed, as we formulate it, it could easily make us believe that our unfortunate planet has made up for all its delay thanks to the pitiful reception it gave to the sovereign of our universe more than two thousand years ago now. Unfortunately this is not the case!
Let us only consider the parallel that Revelation offers us, between what our earth has experienced and what it should have experienced. Only the first planetary epoch, the epoch prior to the coming of the Planetary Prince, resembles what all the other inhabited and normal planets experience, the epoch of primitive man.
¶ Spread a changing message
Jeffrey Wattles
Stowe, Ohio, USA
Booklet 195 gives clear indications for the reorganization of the world. First of all, new teachers of the religion of Jesus exclusively dedicated to the spiritual regeneration of humanity are indispensable, who by triggering a spiritual renaissance will bring forth leaders for social, economic and political restructuring. Therefore, while taking advantage of opportunities by sharing ideas on all kinds of topics with selected individuals who are ready to use them, for us the first priority will be to convey a spiritual message.
What message should we bring? The answer is not as obvious as it seems, because the message adapts to the needs of the moment. We are told that for each generation the Spirit of Truth formulates anew the message of Jesus to effectively resolve our varied and constantly renewed spiritual difficulties [UB 194:2.1]. What are these difficulties, and how is the Spirit of Truth rephrasing the message today? I only have the beginnings of an answer, but I believe we can learn a lot about today’s needs from the book itself.
¶ The importance of worship and prayer
Gard Jameson, United States
Presented at the IUA International Conference August 2000, New York USA
This afternoon I would like to share with you some thoughts on the nature of the many blessings we enjoy in connection with the teachings of Jesus, the experiential love of God, and the service of our brothers and sisters. In his report to the First Triennial Assembly of Delegates and as the first president of the Urantia Brotherhood, William Sadler stated that “The Urantia Book is not an end in itself. Fraternity is not a true end, both are means to an end… The only true End is the Universal Father. » I would like to ask each of you how deeply this call to the experiential realization of “the one true end” has penetrated within you.
I would like to share two intuitive insights that have become the focus of my personal faith journey.
¶ Footsteps on the sand
Neil Waldrop
Geneva, Switzerland
Presented in October 2000, at a meeting of the Mathieu working group, held in Chicago, United States
No one would dream of putting solid fuel for sidereal rockets into the furnace of a steam locomotive, setting it on fire and pushing the throttle all the way on a train overloaded with minerals and designed for reduced speed. … At the first curve, the locomotive and the wagons would roll into the precipice and, after hitting the rock covering the bottom of the abyss, would explode into a multitude of fragments that could not be put back together.
No one would dream of doing such a thing. And yet some readers of the Fifth Revelation, entangled in the Judeo-Christian tradition, attempt to introduce the new ideals within organizational and social models that have evolved over the last two millennia — as if a modest improvement of the container could offer us the ability to practice and promote these radical teachings that we and our successors will eventually have to absorb, integrate and live by.
¶ The revelation of Urantia as the source of spiritual inspiration
Peep Sober
Tallinn, Estonia
From August 18 to 20, 51 Estonian readers gathered at the Karepa children’s camp to participate in our conference. As if it were already a tradition, we had visits from foreign readers. They were Rebecca Oswald from the United States, Seppo Kanerva, Kalevi and Marja-Leena Eklöf from Finland. On the evening of the first day, the Estonian Urantia Association (EUA) held its general meeting. Peep Sõber was re-elected president, Tiia Reiksaar secretary and Helje Heinoja treasurer. The EUA now consists of 16 members and 17 supporters. We decided to publish our own Journal as well as to hold our summer conference in August 2002, immediately after the IU A International Conference in Paris. In this way, many of our friends, young and old, will be able to visit us.
It was Peep Sõber who opened by presenting the translation of the speech he gave at the IUA conference in New York, speech entitled “Sharing our spiritual life”. The second conference entitled “Philosophy of spiritual life” was presented by Veikko Raagmets. This was a wonderful example of the use of modern presentation techniques: a video projector connected to a computer and using the Power Point program. This talk is aimed at new readers and presents the book in an engaging way. The work that Veikko has done can be translated into other languages.
¶ INTERNATIONAL URANTIA ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
International Urantia Association JOURNAL is a quarterly magazine for readers of The Urantia Book, produced by Urantia Association International, 533 Diversey Parkway, Chicago Illinois 60614, USA
Writing
Editor in Chief: Carolyn Prentice
Editors: Pascal Coulombe (France), Cathy Jones (United States), Kari Kuosmanen (Finland), Janet Nilsen (United States), Maggie Pyle (United States), Andrés Rodríguez (Colombia), Trevor Swadling (Australia)
Editorial team in other languages
Supervising Editor: Seppo Kanerva
Translations for Finnish: Seppo Kanerva
Pure French translation: Chris Ragetly, Nicole Ragetly, Jean Royer
Translation for Spanish: Elías García Canseco, Gustavo Proaño, David Carrera Ibáñez, Andrés Rodríguez, Eduardo Jalles
© 2000 Urantia Association International