© 1979 Paul Knott
© 1979 The Urantia Book Fellowship (formerly Urantia Brotherhood)
The URANTIA Book often discusses the importance of the family in human society. For example, we find such statements as, “The family is man’s greatest purely human achievement…” and “As are the families of the race or nation, so is its society. If the families are good, the society is likewise good.” (UB 84:6.8; UB 84:7.1)
It is clear, however, that in most modern Urantia societies, the family as an institution is experiencing difficult times. In the United States, for example, the divorce rate continues to soar, engendering such statistics as the recent projection by the Census Bureau that one-half of all children born this year in the U.S. will spend a substantial portion of their childhood in a home with a single parent. The more one delves into current data on the state of the family, the more negative the overall picture becomes.
As one who works with youth and families, I have been intrigued by the causes of these difficulties. It is easy to derive a long list of such causes, but at heart the essential factor in most cases is a lack of values that inspires family members to reach beyond their own personalistic needs. A positive vision of family life is lacking, and in this vacuum one finds an excessive focus on materialism and self-gratification, the latter often masquerading as self-development. As a result, the youth we work with usually have either vague values or they are thorough-going hedonists, the dangers of which are amplified on p. 943. Child rearing has become so frustrating that there is increased pressure to shift more parental responsibilities to public agencies, and we are warned that such a tendency “… will prove suicidal to the welfare and advancement of civilization.” (UB 84:7.27)
Despite this bleak picture, one sees a deep yearning among both youth and adults for a deeper, richer family life. One can almost see the Mystery Monitors and Spirit of Truth at work. Family life will be regenerated when an enlarged vision of values and goals fires the imagination of significant numbers of persons. Such a vision will stress that child rearing “… entails the supreme responsibility of human existence.” (UB 84:7.25) and, that “…a true family-a good family- reveals to the parental procreators the attitude of the Creator to his children…” (UB 84:7.30) The intelligent and spiritually enriched vision of family life provided by The URANTIA Book is the precise tonic required to fire the motivation of generations to follow through on the hard work and commitments necessary to successful family life.
— Paul Knott, PhD
Arvada, Colorado