The information in the Papers that relates directly to this question is scattered right throughout the text of their pages. Extraordinarily, the mandate defining the “universe rules” of revelation is not described until midway through the Papers, and the authors’ explanations of their use of human sources are split between near the beginning and two thirds of the way through. Such important references surely ought to have been in a preface or in an introduction?
Expositions on the relativity and evolutionary nature of truth get mentioned in many different places. This peculiarity of presentation has made it quite difficult to obtain a coordinated and unbroken overview of the degree of authority to be afforded to revelation that stems from a variety of celestial sources—some admittedly of only marginally higher status than the intended recipients.
Possibly because of its association with that frequently declared claim that the Bible is the infallible word of God, for many of us this word “revelation” carries the subconscious connotation of being “God-ordained, hence infallible.” Perhaps it is not surprising that a similar expectation for divine infallibility has been widely accorded to the text of the Urantia Papers. But is this really a valid expectation? The scattered nature of the evidence makes it difficult to decide. So is there a way to improve our comprehension in such circumstances?
Recent research has shown that, for many of us, the graphical presentation of information is a valuable supplementary aid to understanding. The flow diagrams presented on the following pages employ this medium in the hope of clarifying the significance of these unique and remarkable Papers
flowchart TD
s1("What do their author's say?")
s2("Physical facts are fairly uniform, but truth is a living and flexible
factor in the philosophy of the universe. Evolving personalities are only
partially wise and relatively true in their communications. They can be
certain only as far as their personal experience extends. That which
apparently may be wholly true in one place may be only relatively true in
another segment of creation. [UB 2:7.2]
Divine truth, final truth, is uniform and universal, but the story of
things spiritual, as it is told by numerous individuals hailing from
various spheres, may sometimes vary in details owing to this relativity in
the completeness of knowledge and in the repleteness of personal experience
as well as in the length and extent of that experience. [UB 2:7.3]")
s3("Are the Papers The
Absolute Truth?")
s4("All finite knowledge and creature understanding are
relative. Information and intelligence, gleaned from
even high sources, is only relatively complete, locally
accurate, and personally true. [UB 2:7.1]
...Nothing which human nature has touched can be
regarded as infallible. Through the mind of man divine
truth may indeed shine forth, but always of relative
purity and pattial divinity. The creature may crave
infallibility, but only the Creators possess it. [UB 159:4.8]")
s5("Revelation, Truth, and
Completeness")
s6("The papers, of which this is one, constitute the most recent
presentation of truth to the mortals of Urantia. These papers differ from
all previous revelations, for they are not the work of a single universe
personality but a composite presentation by many beings. But no
revelation short of the attainment of the Universal Father can ever be
complete. All Other celestial ministrations are no more than partial,
transient, and practically adapted to local conditions in time and space.
While such admissions as this may possibly detract from the immediate force
and authority of all revelations. the time has come arrived on Urantia when
it is advisable to make such frank statements, even at the risk ofweakening
the future influente and authority ofthis, the most recent of the
revelations oftruth to the mortal races of Urantia. [UB 92:4.9]")
s7("Limitations to Revelation—Cosmology")
s8("Because your world is generally ignorant of origins, even of physical
origins, it has appeared to be wise from time to time to provide
instruction in cosmology. And always has this made trouble for the future.
The laws of revelation hamper us greatly by their proscription of the
impartation of unearned or premature knowledge. Any cosmology presented as
a part of revealed religion is destined to be outgrown in a very short
time. Accordingly, future students of such a revelation are tempted to
discard any element of genuine religious truth it may contain because they
discover errors on the face of the associated cosmologies therein presented.
[UB 101:4.1]
Mankind should understand that we who participate in the revelation of
truth are very rigorously limited by the instructions of our superiors. We
are not at liberty to anticipate the scientific discoveries of a thousand
years. Revelators must act in accordance with the instructions which form a
part of the revelation mandate. We see no way of overcoming this
difficulty, either now or at any future time. We full well know that, while
the historic facts and religious truths of this series of revelatory
presentations will stand on the records of the ages to come, within a few
short years many of our statements regarding the physical sciences will
stand in need of revision in consequence of additional scientific
developments and new discoveries. These new developments we even now
foresee, but we are forbidden to include such humanly undiscovered facts in
the revelatory records. Let it be made clear that revelations are not
necessarily inspired. The cosmology of these revelations is not inspired.
It is limited by our permission for the co-ordination and sorting of
present-day knowledge. While divine or spiritual insight is a gift, human
wisdom must evolve. [UB 101:4.2]
")
s9("Use of Human Sources")
s10("In formulating the succeeding presentations having to do with the
portrayal of the character of the Universal Father and the nature of his
Paradise associates, together with an attempted description of the perfect
central universe and the encircling seven superuniverses, we are to be
guided by the mandate of the superuniverse rulers which directs that we
shall, in all our efforts to reveal truth and co-ordinate essential
knowledge, give preference to the highest existing human concepts
pertaining to the subjects to be presented. We may resort to pure
revelation only when the concept of presentation has had no adequate
previous expression by the human mind. [UB 0:12.11]
Acknowledgment: In carrying out my commission to restate the teachings and
retell the doings of Jesus of Nazareth, I have drawn freely upon all
sources of record and planetary information. My ruling motive has been to
prepare a record which will not only be enlightening to the generation of
men now living, but which may also be helpful to all future generations.
From the vast store of information made available to me, I have chosen that
which is best suited to the accomplishment of this purpose. As far as
possible I have derived my information from purely human sources. Only when
such sources failed, have I resorted to those records which are superhuman.
When ideas and concepts of Jesus’ life and teachings have been acceptably
expressed by a human mind, I invariably gave preference to such apparently
human thought patterns. . . .[UB 121:8.12]
My revelatory commission forbade me to resort to extrahuman sources of
either information or expression until such a time as I could testify that
I had failed in my efforts to find the required conceptual expression in
purely human sources. [UB 121:8.13]")
s11("Well, are the Papers divine revelation?")
s12("Truth is always a revelation: autorevelation when it emerges as a
result of the work of the indwelling Adjuster; epochal revelation when it
is presented by the function of some other celestial agency, group, or
personality. [UB 101:4.3]
In the last analysis, religion is to be judged by its fruits,
according to the manner and the extent to which it exhibits its own
inherent and divine excellence. [UB 101:4.4]
Truth may be but relatively inspired, even though revelation is invariably
a spiritual phenomenon. [UB 101:4.5]
That appears to put the decision back onto the individual, each of whom may
enlist the spirit forces within to assist them to formulate their free Will
choice.")
s13("So why were the Papers deemed to be Necessary?")
s14("Even in the study of man's biologic evolution on Urantia, there
are grave objections to the exclusive historic approach to his
present-day status and his current problems. The true
perspective of any reality problem—human or divine, terrestrial
or cosmic—can be had only by the full and unprejudiced study
and correlation of three phases of universe reality: origin,
history, and DESTINY. The proper understanding of these three
experiential realities affords the basis for a wise estimate of the
current status. [UB 19:1.6]")
s15("A missing link is a real knowledge of human DESTINY")
s16("History alone fails adequately to reveal future development—DESTINY.
Finite origins are helpful, but only divine causes reveal final effects.
Eternal ends are not shown in time beginnings. The present can be truly
interpreted only in the light of the correlated past and future.
[UB 19:1.11]
The Urantia Papers provide a detailed knowledge of our potential eternal
destiny, both up to and subsequent to attainment of the Universal Father in
Paradise. This destiny becomes available as the result of our free will
decision to seek ultimately to become God-like.")
s17("So what else can the Urantia
Papers do for mankind?")
s18("They provide us with a conceptual
universe frame in which can
visualize and understand our
universe careers!")
s19("Partial, incomplete, and evolving intellects would be helpless in the
master universe, would be unable to form the first rational thought
pattern, were it not for the innate ability of all mind, high or low, to
form a universe frame in which to think. If mind cannot fathom conclusions,
if it cannot penetrate to true origins, then will such mind unfailingly
postulate conclusions and invent origins that it may have a means of
logical thought within the frame of these mind-created postulates, And
while such universe frames for creature thought are indispensable to
rational intellectual operations, they are, without exception, erroneous to
a greater or lesser degree. [UB 115:1.1]
Conceptual frames of the universe are only relatively true; they are
serviceable scaffolding which must eventually give way before the
expansions of enlarging cosmic comprehension. The understandings of truth,
beauty, and goodness, morality, ethics, duty, love, divinity, origin,
existence, purpose. destiny, time, space, even Deity, are only relatively
true. God is much, much more than a Father, but the Father is man's highest
concept of God; nonetheless, the Father-Son portrayal of Creator-creature
relationship Will be augmented by those supermortal conceptions of Deity
which will be attained in Orvonton. in Havona, and on Paradise. Man must
think in a mortal universe frame, but that does not mean that he cannot
envision other and higher frames within which thought can take place.
[UB 115:1.2]
[Note: The cosmology in the Papers was for the early 1930's, and some is now
outdated. However this has only trivial effects on the usefulness of the
universe frame provided]")
s20("The Final Bonus")
s21("The Papers in Part 1 of The Urantia Book provide a unique exposition
of deity relationships that is quite unprecedented on this planet. Included
is a revelation of the Universal Father that details interrelationships
with absolute, eternal, and infinite aspects of deity and which is
further expanded in Part 3 to provide more information upon trinities,
triunities. triodities, and the First Source and Center, the I AM, the God
of monotheistic religion.
Part 4, the final set of Papers, is devoted exclusively to the life and
teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in his task of revealing the very nature of
the Universal Father—but in a manner comprehensible to the minds of lowly
creatures such as ourselves who are just beginning a life of adventure that
has the potential to bring us into the very presence of God himself")
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