In as much as it may be a revelation, there are a number of alternative possible opinions that may even grade into one another:
1. Perhaps it contains revelation.
2. It is certainly a revelation, partially divine, partially supernatural, partially auto-revelation of inspired human origin, and partially non-revelatory—most material in this category being derived from current (i.e. mid-1930’s) human thinking and speculation.
It is a divinely dictated revelation, to be revered as the sacrosanct word of Deity.
It is of purely human origin, the work of well-meaning but misguided individuals.
> We can only know a little, and the question is merely whether or not we know this well.
> Goethe
What may be the most important statement in _The Urantia Book_ is found in Jesus’ discourse on true religion, given to his apostles as they proceeded on their mission to Phoenicia. In it, Jesus said:
> “. . . we will shortly begin the bold proclamation of a new religions religion which is not a religion in the present day meaning of that word, (but rather) a religion which makes its chief appeal to the divine spirit of my Father which resides in the mind of man; **a religion which shall derive its authority from the fruits of its acceptance** that will so certainly appear in the personal experience of all who really and truly become believers in the truths of this higher spiritual communion.” (
[UB 155:5.12](/en/The_Urantia_Book/155#p5_12))
In the present state of affairs on this planet, no religion attributed to Jesus is likely to gain acceptance on the basis of the authority of any book, not _The Bible_, not _A Course in Miracles_, not _The Urantia Book_, and certainly not by decree of any human group or person laying claim to authority. The religion of Jesus will derive its acceptance when, and only when, the fruits of the spirit unfailingly appear in the lives of those who purport to be Jesus’ followers! The authority for that acceptance will be derived from those fruits and will be observable in those fruits.
Why did the revelators ascribe overriding importance to this discourse? In introducing it, they state, “Jesus delivered one of the **most remarkable addresses** which his apostles ever listened to throughout all their years of association with them.”
And they commence with this comment: “**This remarkable discourse** on religion, summarized and restated in modern phraseology, gave expression to the following truths. . . ” The revelators are not prone to exaggeration, what they say, they say for a reason. The discourse begins by drawing attention to three manifestations of the religious urge:
1. **Primitive religion.** The religion of the physical senses and the superstitious fears of the natural man, the instinctive urge to fear mysterious energies and to worship superior forces.
2. **The religion of civilization.** A religion of the mind—the intellectual theology of the authority of established religious tradition.
3. **True religion—the religion of revelation.** A religion of supernatural values, insight into eternal realities, a glimpse of the goodness and beauty of the infinite character of the Father, the religion of the spirit as demonstrated in human experience.
The fruits of the fear and superstition within primitive religion were often frightful to behold. The transition state of society from such practices may become a civilization, but such can only be maintained by mutual submission of its members to a set of rules and regulations that must be enforced by delegated authority. Civilizations are maintained by authority. So are religions that are founded upon any divine dictation theory. When a religion becomes organized, inevitably its teachings require interpretation, hence arises the need for an authoritative body to promulgate, then enforce creeds.
> ***The Fruits of the Spirit***
>
> "And the fruits of the divine spirit which are yielded in the lives of spirit-born and God- knowing mortals are: loving service, unselfish devotion, courageous loyalty, sincere fairness, enlightened honesty, undying hope, confiding trust, merciful ministry, unfailing goodness, forgiving tolerance, and enduring peace. If professed believers bear not these fruits of the divine spirit in their lives, they are dead; the Spirit of Truth is not in them; they are useless branches on the living vine, and they soon Will be taken away. (
[UB 193:2.2](/en/The_Urantia_Book/193#p2_2))
The religion that Jesus gave to his apostles, the same one as we are given in _The Urantia Book_, is a purely personal religion existing by virtue of the communion of its adherents with the indwelling spirit of the Father. Its adherents are given no authority from on high over one another, but they may elect leaders. The sole spiritual power any individual exerts over another comes about through the direct effects of the fruits of the spirit that is perceived in that person’s life. In those perceived fruits of the spirit resides the power that can attract men and women to undertake those decisions that will ultimately endow them with eternal life. In doing so, they become freewill sons and daughters of the living God and give obedience to the injunction of the Master to “_love one another even as I have loved you. And by this will all men know that you are my disciples if you thus love one another._” (
[UB 180:1.1](/en/The_Urantia_Book/180#p1_1))
_The Urantia Book_ appears to have been written so as to be consistent with the requirement that the authority of its teachings should be demonstrated via the fruits of the spirit manifesting in the personal experience of those who accept its revelatory status.
> “Belief has attained the level of faith when it motivates life and shapes the mode of living. The acceptance of a teaching as true is not faith; that is mere belief. Neither is certainty nor conviction faith. A state of mind attains to faith levels only when it actually dominates the mode of living. Faith is a living attribute of genuine personal religious experience. One believes truth, admires beauty, and reverences goodness, but does not worship them; such an attitude of saving faith is centered on God alone, who is all of these personified and infinitely more.” (
[UB 101:8.1](/en/The_Urantia_Book/101#p8_1))
If we are to accept, by faith, our sonship with the Father and to derive authority for that decision by virtue of the fruits of that faith appearing in our personal experience, then a corollary would be that deriving authority from a book is forbidden. Our celestial supervisors must leave us the room to operate by faith, without any trace of compulsion. Logically that would mean that _The Urantia Book_ must be bathed in uncertainty both in respect to its origin and the authority of its written word. As individuals we will see these things in different ways. Some may be bothered by the apparent and real errors in its science, others by the uncertainty of its origins, by its apparent sexism and racism, or by the stand it appears to take concerning the now urgent necessity for selective breeding. It may not be important which of these contentious issues disturbs us, only that one or another should do so. Without such problems being present in the book, many of its followers would surely be headed in the direction of rabid fundamentalism and exclusivity. And if this happened, then the Fifth Epochal Revelation would suffer the same fate as the Fourth, it would become a static religion of authority—ultimately destined to become moribund.
If we portray this book as a totally divine revelation by taking the fundamentalist view that if any aspect of its science or cosmology conflicts with current opinions it is our human science and cosmology that is wrong and never the book, then we are arrogating authority unto ourselves. We would be presenting the book as infallible doctrine, we would be substituting a religion of authority for what Jesus told us should be an act of personal faith. And we would be denying what the book itself tells us about its science and cosmology not being inspired. (
[UB 101:4.2](/en/The_Urantia_Book/101#p4_2))
At the conclusion of this discourse of Jesus on true religion, Peter wanted more. Among other things, Jesus said: “_I have called upon you to be born again, to be born of the spirit. I have called you out of the darkness of authority and the lethargy of tradition into the transcendent light of the realization of the possibility of making for yourselves the greatest discovery possible for the human soul to make—the supernal experience of finding God for yourself, in yourself, and of yourself, and of doing all this as a fact in your own personal experience._” (
[UB 155:6.3](/en/The_Urantia_Book/155#p6_3))
Our introductory statement proposed four alternative opinions about the revelatory status of _The Urantia Book_. Of these, the first has to account for the fact that virtually all sincere seekers after truth will inevitably discover revelatory material of one sort or another within its pages. The third proposal regarding divine dictatorship is self-eliminating because of what the book itself declares to be true. The fourth proposal is also self-eliminating simply because the sheer beauty of the book’s spiritual content is self- authenticating—it is far beyond the spiritual capacity of any human being, living or dead, to enunciate [see following article]. That leaves us with the second proposal of partial revelation—and with the personal urge to search for and discover truth wherever we may find it. By its fruits we shall know it.
But Jesus told us that the religion of the spirit does not demand uniformity of intellectual views, only unity of spirit feeling. Thus we are all entitled to hold our own viewpoint. What is forbidden is that we should attempt to force others to conform to our particular, personal mold.
> But for you, my children, and for all others who would follow you into this kingdom, there is set a severe test FAITH ALONE will pass you through its portals, but you must bringforth the fruits of nty Father's spirit if you would continue to ascend in the progressive life of the divine fellowship. (
[UB 140:1.4](/en/The_Urantia_Book/140#p1_4))
> Jesus laid great emphasis upon what he called the two truths of first import in the teachings of the kingdom, and they are: the attainment of salvation b yfaith, and faith alone, associated with the revolutionary teaching of the attainment of human liberty through the sincere recognition of truth, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. (