© 1988 Kathleen Swadling
© 1988 ANZURA, Australia & New Zealand Urantia Association
| Black Boxes, Red Shifts And Big Bangs | Vol 9 No 1 Jan 1988 — Index | Reincarnation Or Repersonalization |
Do we ever stop to ponder as to just where The URANTIA Book will be in the relatively not too distant future? Will there still be a URANTIA Brotherhood and will there still be study groups? Perhaps The URANTIA Book will hold a place of honour in the average households of our society or perhaps it will be used as a text book in the public and state schools. Will it become an integrated part of society or will it be confined to a religious sect or cultish type of organization? I see that that there could be two alternative paths this revelation can take and our actions today could play a major role in determining which path it is to take.
For anyone who has totally embraced The URANTIA Book I’m sure you will understand what I mean when I say that there is a natural urge to share The URANTIA Book with the rest of the world. The book moves us to such a degree that there is of ten a surge of emotion which prompts us to say: “What can I do to get this book across to my fellow man?” This urge is very noble indeed. The results of this noble urge manifest in many different ways as we’re all such diverse individuals. Inevitably this very noble urge within the human soul coupled with the diversity and uniqueness leads us to the “business” of sorting out which methods are wise for the Revelation, which methods should be supported by the larger organization and which ones should be rejected. As the movement evolves, so the potential for division, personality clashes, conflicts of ideas etc., etc., will eventuate.
Take a look at Christianity. A small group of people were so genuinely moved by Jesus and his teachings, that the then known world was virtually tipped upside down. There were divisions very early in the evolution of Christianity as we well know. Certain apostles who felt that others were moving away from the teachings of Jesus broke away. Perhaps the only reason Christianity took of f in the direction it did was because of individuals. Perhaps if Paul and Abner had been reversed, Abner’s interpretations may have survived. The divisions in the Church are living proof of the consequences of people being driven by the same force, but disagreeing over ways and means and interpretations.
What will be the situation with The URANTIA Book in 200 or 300 years time? Will we be yet another religious body fight ing and bickering amongst ourselves or will we reflect the maturity the book so wisely portrays? The decisions we make today could largely determine the answers to this question.
I feel as a group or as an organization we should be concerned with the “business” of getting The URANTIA Book into those areas where people will find it. We should concentrate on increasing the supply and demand factor throughout the book trade so that the book establishes itself and can stand on its own merit. If it sells, then it will be displayed. We should concentrate on keeping the book a first hand experience. Gone are the days of Melchizedek and Salem; gone are the days of Moses and the prophets. We now have the printing press. When there were no books and people were illiterate, revelation was solely dependent on teachers and preachers to keep the flame of truth alive from generation to generation. The URANTIA Book is the first Epochal Revelation since the printing press and widespread education. I think the revelation was given to us in this form without any human personality associated with it so that it could stand on its own. Our approach should be entirely different from the approach of our predecessors. As soon as we evangelize or set ourselves up as authorities of The URANTIA Book we miss the point. We must differentiate between spreading the book itself and spreading the teachings of the book. To spread the teachings of the book in an “organizational” manner could be a cultish approach. The teaching should be shared by individuals in the best way they see fit. Transformed individuals will eventually be the key to a transformed world. However if an organization sets itself up to set about transforming the world, then I see untold problems for the future. The organization presumes to be an authority on the teachings and will fall into the same trap that Christianity has fallen into. The “organization” should be concerned with the business of The URANTIA Book as a book only, i.e. seeing to it that the context is kept pure (hence the need for copyright), translations and also marketing the book to get it into the mainstream of society. The individuals of the organization can concern themselves with the spreading of the teachings but the organization should be careful not to get side-tracked in being too involved publicly with these activities.
I strongly feel that the Societies of the URANTIA Brotherhood should not be purchasing the book at their present discount as they are undercutting the book trade and threatening the supply and demand factor. For every book sold by a URANTIA Society member the supply and demand factor in the book trade has been weakened, which is depriving those people out there, who do not know anyone in the “organization”, of finding the book for themselves. If we keep going in this direction the survival of The URANTIA Book will be dependent on the survival of the organization. We’re treading on dangerous waters. We’re heading in the direction of religious bodies and if we are not careful, we will lock the Revelation into that destiny.
When we become a part of an organization it is very easy to become short-sighted and put a lot of energy into the growth of that organization. The purpose of the organization can become secondary, unimportant and, in time, forgotten.
I have often read articles from readers where there is deep concern and sometimes even panic that the readership doesn’t seem to be growing fast enough; that there should be more study groups, more members of the URANTIA Brotherhood, more societies and because growth is too slow, blame is aimed at the “organization”. This way of thinking is detrimental. The individuals of the organization should he more concerned with sowing seeds rather than watching for the fruits. The fruits will bear in their own time and at their own pace. The revelatory commission who put the papers of The URANTIA Book together have obviously gone to a lot of trouble to create this revelation. Let’s have a bit more faith that they will foster its growth as much as they can. But they can’t do much if the ground work isn’t done. We must pre. pare the soil and plant the seeds and nurture them and have faith that they will grow and bear fruit. Our life spans are very short. We will never see this world transformed by this revelation but we must do our bit wisely to ensure that it survives for the future when our society will be transformed by the teachings of Jesus.
I am very much in favour of having an organization to take care of the business side of things — without it we would have anarchy which would be disastrous. However I’m concerned that the organization does not grow out of proportion. Let’s decide amongst ourselves the roles a group should play “as a group” and the role of the individuals within that group. There is a very big difference. For example: The URANTIA group should not get involved in politics, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if our politicians were URANTIA Book readers.
Let’s channel our energies into keeping The URANTIA Book a first hand experience and let the Adjusters lead their companions to the truth.
Kathleen Swadling, Sydney
| Black Boxes, Red Shifts And Big Bangs | Vol 9 No 1 Jan 1988 — Index | Reincarnation Or Repersonalization |