© 1991 Merlyn Cox
© 1991 The Christian Fellowship of Students of The Urantia Book
| The Church: A Statement of Purpose and Belief | Spring 1991 — First Issue — Index | Church Members and The Urantia Book |
Some time ago I was discussing The Urantia Book with a fellow pastor and long time friend. After I made some initial positive comments concerning the book, he turned to me and asked, “Does it preach?”
That’s an appropriate question, one that for pastors takes on a special meaning. Preaching is a kind of litmus test for the preacher, a test of truth. Regardless of our personal theologies or intellectual grasp of concepts about religion, if it does not “preach,” then it is not true enough, important enough, or in clear harmony with the Gospels, and can only be of marginal interest to the task at hand.
I thought for a moment, and appreciating the insight of the question, replied “Yes it does.” Indeed, I deeply believe so; but this calls for some clarification. By saying, “yes, it preaches,” I don’t mean that pastors who are readers of The Urantia Book should substitute it for the Gospels in the worship and preaching of the church. There is in the church an implicit covenant that our understanding of the Good News, as well as our worship and proclamation, are based on the records of the Scriptures. To use or substitute any other record as authoritative, without clear public acknowledgment and understanding, would be a violation of that covenant as well as less than honest.
This does not, however, leave The Urantia Book outside the pale of influence concerning what is so basic and central to the life of the church-far from it. I believe The Urantia Book is in such clear harmony with the Good News, and in fact so clarifies and enhances our understanding of it, that it provides the best single resource available for preaching today.
I’m quite aware of the import of this statement, and have no hesitation in making it. I am convinced that the almost eight hundred pages on the life and teachings of Jesus, over one third of the book, will be, even for the most skeptical, a simply extraordinary resource to stimulate the mind and enrich the spirit.
I could hardly begin in one initial column to demonstrate the validity of such a claim, but a major concern of the Journal in future issues will be to do so, dealing with, among other things, specific texts and issues of Biblical interpretation as they “interface” with The Urantia Book, ones of special interest to the preacher.
I hope new readers will test it for themselves. Isn’t the final test of truth for all Christians precisely this — that the Spirit bears witness that it is true? As John records Jesus’ teaching, the central role of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to bear witness to the truth that the Father has revealed through the Son. (John 16:13-14) For those who have found this so in The Urantia Book, it opens treasures beyond measure.
| The Church: A Statement of Purpose and Belief | Spring 1991 — First Issue — Index | Church Members and The Urantia Book |