© 1996 Michael Gillespie
© 1996 The Fellowship for readers of The Urantia Book
By Michael Gillespie
Little UrantiaL is an Internet forum for those who study the Urantia Papers. It exists in cyberspace, in the vast network of computers that are the Internet. It is an offspring of the creation of Michael Million, who founded the first UrantiaL list some four years ago.
Wide-ranging and freewheeling discussion characterizes Little UrantiaL, also referred to as U2. The topics of discussion all relate, in one way or another, to the study of the Urantia Papers. Among the 200 or more subscribers to the list is Claudia Ayers of Sacramento, California. “The list gives me an ongoing, day-to-day relationship with people from all walks of life who share with me a love for the teachings of our great book,” she says. “Everyone who wants to contribute may. The mail is sometimes too heavy, so practice in using the delete key is helpful. I have made new friends and I am looking forward to Flagstaff with greater enthusiasm because I know I will get to meet 30 or 40 people in person who I already know to some degree in cyberspace. One of the greatest thrills is seeing the occasional posts of international readers.”
One such reader is Thieu Klijn of Eindhoven, Holland. “I had been reading The Urantia Book for about 18 years when I got a computer and a modem,” he says. "To test its usefulness, I fed the word ‘Urantia’ into the search engines of the Internet and it came up with a lot of surprising material, including this list.
“During all those years I never had met other readers. If they existed, I was unaware of them. There must be many like me around, who, in their sequestered vale, have perused the book, formed their own ideas, and attained a private understanding. When coming out in the open, so to speak, one is suddenly confronted with other interpretations and explanations, some inspiring, some of them at variance with those which one has developed during the years of solitary study.”
Klijn is quite comfortable meeting and developing friendships with other Urantia Book readers through Little UrantiaL.
“There are people who have a dim view on the possibilities of electronic communication, thinking it a far cry from the real thing,” he says. “But the human personality is quite capable to transcend the inherent limitations of email, so I found out. At least it succeeds to evoke in me the whole gamut of human emotions which I experience in the off-line world. At first the temperature of the ongoing discussions surprised me, lacking much of the gentleness of the dove, as I saw it. But since then I have visited newsgroups of the Sci. Sceptic and the Sci. Archeology, to name two of many, and by comparison, the Little UrantiaLs, though no less prolific in their output, are a gentle, forgiving lot, due to their study of The Urantia Book, I wager.”
Not only are Internet surfers able to establish contact with other Urantia Book readers through the list, in some cases that is the only opportunity they have for group study.
“Isolated as I am, in the Pocono Mountains, Little UrantiaL lęts me be among other readers of The Urantia Book every day of the year,” says George Zuberbuehler of White Haven, Pennsylvania. "I look forward to opening my email each morning and finding familiar voices speaking about things that matter to me.
“This forum provides a stimulus for my mind and spirit. I especially appreciate the discussions that directly address Urantia Book content. And I like the fact that it keeps me informed about what’s happening in the Urantia movement on a timely basis.”
Michelle Klimesh of Danville, California also has noted that the rather impersonal medium, offering so few of the cues common to face-to-face or telephone conversation, sometimes stimulates exchanges that lack some of the politeness that students of the Urantia Papers employ in personal conversation.
“I remember my first shocking week or two of reading this list,” Klimesh says. "Many times I’ve been tempted to unsubscribe because of the arguments between posters. But, I’ve been here almost two years now.
“I think of Little UrantiaL as a gold mine. You have to dig through a lot of rocks and dirt and mud to find the treasures, but the treasures that you find make the dirt seem insignificant. Get your muck boots and your shovel and stick around for awhile. You will learn to recognize those people who always have something worthwhile to say. You will also learn that if you want to see something worth reading, you may have to write it yourself.”
Duane Faw of Laguna Hills, California, writes: "Occasionally there are posts which are inspiring, educational, or amusing. Several regular [writer]s are candidates for Reversion Directors in the future. However, much of the time is spent in chit-chat of a friendly nature - which I enjoy; and an inordinate amount of time on bad-mouthing each other, which I do not enjoy. Being Urantians, they berate each other lovingly, but fiercely.
“It is politically correct to criticize all organizations; some for doing too much, some for doing too little, and some for doing both at the same time. The list has great potential for good, but is going through a very human stage — on the way to the stars? I hope so.”
Dan Massey, who lives in the Washington, DC, area, is a long-time list member. “Perhaps the most interesting thing about Little UrantiaL is its ability to provide nearly real-time interactions with people who are too widely dispersed around the world to meet face-to-face,” he says. "Most subscribers you will never meet personally or share ideas with in the giveand-take of a study group.
“Through the mailing list mechanism ideas can be exchanged, on a daily basis, with a much more varied community of Urantia Book readers than exists anywhere else in the world, with the possible exception of one of the Fellowship’s International Conferences. At the same time, since communication is by exchange of prepared text, ideas can be presented in greater depth than is possible in conversation. In addition, readers who have difficulty expressing their thoughts clearly in a conventional social setting can more easily make their ideas available to the group.”
All you need to join the mailing list is a computer, modem, and access to the Internet through a service provider. There are no dues or fees for membership in Little UrantiaL. All are welcome.
For more information about how to subscribe to Little UrantiaL, contact Mark Turrin in California at (510) 9377473 or email “Urantial@bidnet.bidnet.com."
