Recently I’ve been occupied in revising part of a publication entitled “The Science Content of _The Urantia Book_” by R. Bain, M. Neibaur, F. Wright & myself. Draft copies of the revision text were sent to a number of Urantia Book readers for comment, and the question was posed as to whether observations upon the wealth of archaeological information contained in Part 4 of the Papers should be included. In part, the reason for the inclusion was the Martin Gardner hypothesis that Dr Sadler and associates were the real authors of the Urantia Papers.
Part 4 of _The Urantia Book_ contains literally hundreds of historical and archaeological references that can be checked against past and current research. This material, as presented in the Papers, could only result from the intensive and scholarly research of experts in the appropriate fields of study. Some readers have already recognized that this is so and have contributed valuable work. Should this work be intensified? There follows a reply received from Matthew Block that, because of its visionary nature, I felt needed to be brought to the attention of other readers. Also included in this issue of Innerface is a recent study on the biblical and archaeological evidence for the existence of two towns in first century Palestine bearing the name Bethsaida, that should make readers aware of why archaeological and historical research will have an important bearing on the future general acceptance of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. Quotations relevant to the two Bethsaidas from Part 4 of the Papers are included for the convenience of our readers.
## External links
- Article in Innerface International: https://urantia-book.org/archive/newsletters/innerface/vol3_3/page6.html