© 1999 K. Richard Keeler
© 1999 Urantia Foundation
¶ Special Issue
Some events have been brewing over the past year and have finally culminated in an action taken by a fellow reader of The URANTIA Book. This individual has printed all but the first paper of Part IV of The URANTIA Book. It is entitled Jesus—A New Revelation and has a picture of Christ of St. John of the Cross, by Salvador Dali, on the front cover.
We dedicate this special issue of URANTIAN News to retelling the history of URANTIA Foundation, to explaining its function, to apprising you of recent events, and to explaining the Foundation’s position on these events.
The primary goal of URANTIA Foundation has always been to protect the integrity of the inviolate text of The URANTIA Book and to see that it is delivered to the world and to future generations, in its entirety, as it was delivered to us.
In addition to making the book widely available, the Foundation in recent years has granted rather generous permission to individuals to use the text as part of their dissemination efforts and to use the registered marks for religious and personal use. A copy of the new Copyright and Registered Marks Policies may be obtained from URANTIA Foundation or may be viewed on our website at: www.urantia.org
If you have questions or desire more information, please contact us.
¶ From The President
by K. Richard Keeler
Along with three other Trustees, I recently attended the Fellowship’s International Conference (IC99) in Vancouver, Canada. I experienced there, on the part of the attendees, what I would call a general feeling of support for unity and healing within our young movement. Many members of the International URANTIA Association (IUA), as well as the Fellowship, attended the conference; local members of both organizations worked cooperatively to support the conference. Such local expressions of cooperation appear to be growing. This is very gratifying.
The Trustees were invited to talk about the work of URANTIA Foundation. Mo Siegel spoke about the distribution of the book and suggested that we should “fish where the most fish are,” that is, translate the book first into languages spoken by the most people. Kwan Choi spoke of the injunction to spread the teachings of Jesus throughout the world and referred to the experience of the early Christian community. He also spoke of the Foundation’s translation work and the great importance of teamwork. Gard Jameson spoke of the Foundation’s commitment to the publication of an inviolate text and of the need for cooperation in our efforts to disseminate the book and its teachings. I shared the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to healing and unity within the movement. I emphasized the need to communicate, to support and love each other, and to pray for one another. We must learn to love and to forgive.
Like other readers, the Trustees have experienced the power of the book’s teachings to move us to reach higher and deeper. We know that the whole revelation is far greater than the sum of its parts, that in some mysterious way, the true power of the revelation exists as a pattern or fabric that holds the words, concepts, and teachings together in a unity of truth, allowing the revelation to live and breathe in our hearts, minds, and souls.
For this and other reasons, we dedicate ourselves to the preservation of the whole text in its inviolate form, so that future generations will have the same opportunity that we have had to be touched so deeply in mind and soul with new truth. As Trustees, our particular path of service may be through URANTIA Foundation, but all faith sons and daughters of God drink from the same well—the well of revealed truth, given in trust to all willing recipients, who in turn bestow this truth, along with goodness and love, upon their fellows.
We pray that every reader touched by this revelation will join with us in the work of preserving the original text for those who follow us, while at the same time expressing its truths in uniquely creative and personal ways to help others experience its transformative power.
We are well aware that some readers do not agree with the Foundation’s means to preserve the text. Though we would not presume to ask any person to give up his or her sincere expression of dissent, we would ask, in the spirit of this revelation and in the spirit of the Master, that all of us, as members of the reader community, raise the quality of our dialogue and interpersonal relationships to a level inspired by our unity of purpose and restrained by mutual respect and love for one another. There is a great task ahead for those willing to live these teachings. With a unity of purpose, supported by a spirit of teamwork, and with God as our partner, great things will happen. Where there is love, there are always miracles.
We know that we shall be supported in our efforts of dissemination by the angels of our supervision to the extent we fulfill Jesus’ heartfelt desire that we all be one, even as he and his Father in heaven are one.
May we forever remember the words of the Master:
“. . . I would have you perform still greater acts of love in the kingdom of the believing brotherhood. And so I give you this new commandment: That you 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.” (The URANTIA Book, UB 180:1.1)
“And when the world sees these fruit—bearing branches—my friends who love one another, even as I have loved them—all men will know that you are truly my disciples.” (UB 180:2.1)
¶ Illegal Printing of Part IV of The URANTIA Book
We are sad to report that Harry McMullan III, a General Councilor, a member of the Executive Committee, and the Treasurer of the Fellowship, has chosen to print Part IV of The URANTIA Book (excluding Paper 120, The Bestowal of Michael on Urantia.) Two of the Trustees, old friends of Mr. McMullan’s, as well as numerous other individuals, have repeatedly appealed to him not to pursue this unwise action, this illegal and unauthorized publication.
We see Mr. McMullan’s publishing Part IV separate from Parts I, II, and III as counterproductive for the following reasons:
- The authors of the book have given us a carefully painted picture of the cosmos, its origin, history, and destiny in relation to the life and teachings of Jesus, our Creator Son, as he is carefully portrayed in Parts I, II, III, and IV of the book.
- It presumes to second guess the intentions of the Revelatory Commission who gave us the text as an entirety. It does not preserve the text, as it was given to us—the entire text—inviolate.
- It presents the Urantia teachings as a Christian cult—especially with the crucified Christ on the cover—rather than as the fifth epochal revelation with its magnificent teachings to our entire world with all its diverse cultures and religions.
- It encourages other people to break up the book, to break the law, and to violate the copyright.
- It is an affront to the very purpose of URANTIA Foundation and its trust.
- It is illegal—please refer to the Library of Congress website: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
On UB 19:1.4-5, a Divine Counselor of Uversa warns us:
[T]here is always great danger of succumbing to the error of the circumscribed viewpoint, to the evil inherent in a segmentalized conceition of reality and divinity.
For example: The human mind would ordinarily crave to approach the cosmic philosophy portrayed in these revelations by proceeding from the simile and the finite to the comilex and the infinite, from human origins to divine destinies. But that path does not lead to spiritual wisdom. Such a procedure is the easiest iath to a certain form of genetic knowledge, but at best it can only reveal man’s origin; it reveals little or nothing about his divine destiny. (UB 19:1.4-5)
The Trustees and staff of URANTIA Foundation, the leadership of the International URANTIA Association, and many members of the Fellowship have vigorously in thought, word, and deed promoted and pursued a policy of unity and cooperation among readers and reader groups. Acting on his own, without the approval of the Fellowship’s General Council, Mr. McMullan, the Treasurer of the Fellowship and owner and Chairman of Alliance Steel, has illegally printed 15,000 copies of Part IV of The URANTIA Book. In so doing, he is causing controversy and divisiveness within the community of readers.
Sources close to Mr. McMullan inform us that he would invite a lawsuit from the Foundation, and that he would expend millions of his personal fortune to break the Foundation’s ownership of the copyright and thereby drive it into the public domain. By expressing such sentiments he indicates his determination to “destroy” URANTIA Foundation.
¶ Unity Initiatives
An independent group of readers, who called themselves “The Millennium Initiative Committee,” came together recently to explore ways to foster better relations within the URANTIA Book reader community reader community. This committee was composed of a group of volunteers who are now or have been active in either the Fellowship or the International URANTIA Association.
The committee expressed to the readership that the goals of the Fellowship and the International URANTIA Association (IUA) are strikingly similar. Yet relations between these two reader groups have been strained, causing substantial amounts of time and energy to be diverted from the true objectives and purposes of both organizations.
The participants presented a recommendation to the IUA and the Fellowship that they form a working alliance in order to continue the unity process. Their intent was to encourage the two organizations to initiate dialogue in order to reach a higher, more meaningful level of harmony and cooperation, with a unity of spirit, within the reader community.
These initiatives have now been shaken by the illegal publishing of Part IV of The URANTIA Book.
The Charter of the IUA declares support for the Foundation’s copyright and marks and agrees to work in cooperation with the dissemination goals. Members of the IUA consider the preservation of the inviolate text of The URANTIA Book to be an important aspect for the successful worldwide dissemination of the revelation.
¶ The URANTIA Book and an Overview of Epochal Revelations
Your planet is a member of an enormous cosmos; you belong to a well-nigh infinite family of worlds, but your sphere is just as precisely administered and just as lovingly fostered as if it were the only inhabited world in all existence. (UB 19:1.4)
In the turbulent history of our planet, we have been blessed with five epochal revelations of truth as part of the celestial plan of evolution. A study of The URANTIA Book reveals to us the plans and strategies undertaken by the celestial supervisors for the implementation and management of each one of the epochal revelations.
I. The Planetary Prince and his staff of one hundred were entrusted with the task of implementing the first epochal revelation to our planet. Their plan was to improve the culture of mankind by attracting and then training the best minds in the culture of Dalamatia. We are told that Adjuster guidance led people to the Prince and his staff:
Each of the ten planetary commissions set about slowly and naturally to advance the interests entrusted to them. Their plan consisted in attracting the best minds of the surrounding tribes and, after training them, sending them back to their people as emissaries of social uplift. (UB 66:6.4)
II. After Van and his volunteers had chosen the location for the Adamic bestowal, Adam and Eve and their progeny, were entrusted with the task of implementing the second epochal revelation and were given careful instructions by their superiors:
The instructions given Adam by the Melchizedeks implied that he was to establish racial, continental, and divisional headquarters to be in charge of his immediate sons and daughters, while he and Eve were to divide their time among these various world capitals as advisers and co-ordinators of the world-wide ministry of biologic uplift, intellectual advancement, and moral rehabilitation. (UB 73:7.4)
III. Once the order of Melchizedeks were given permission by the Salvington authorities to embark on their plan for the third epochal revelation, human families, who embodied leadership potentials, were observed before Machiventa Melchizedek chose the place for his bestowal. He was personally entrusted to accomplish very specific tasks:
He came to achieve two tasks: to keep alive on earth the truth of the one God and to prepare the way for the subsequent mortal bestowal of a Paradise Son of that Universal Father. (UB 93:4.15)
IV. Michael of Nebadon, having decided that strife—torn Urantia was to be the stage for his seventh and final bestowal, had Gabriel choose Mary and Joseph of Nazareth to be his earthly parents. He was lovingly instructed by his brother, Immanuel, that his sole responsibility was to reveal the true nature and character of God to mankind.
“In your relations to the social order we advise that you confine your efforts largely to spiritual regeneration and intellectual emancipation. Avoid all entanglements with the economic structure and the political commitments of your day. More especially devote yourself to living the ideal religious life on Urantia.” (UB 120:3.4)
V. And finally we have been blessed with the fifth epochal revelation to our world, The URANTIA Book. Although it is in a different form from previous revelations, we know that the revelators had a plan, gave instructions, and entrusted the management for the dissemination of the book and its teachings to a manmade institution, URANTIA Foundation. (Please see article in this issue, “Copyright Registration in The URANTIA Book” for an excerpt from the Declaration of Trust Creating URANTIA Foundation.)
In the early 20th century, a small number of men and women in Chicago known as the Contact Commission was the human focus group for the materialization of the text of the URANTIA Papers. They were sworn not to disclose details about the transactions in order to preclude future generations from venerating the participants. It was considered important that no individual be exalted through his association with The URANTIA Book. Because of its revelatory nature, the book stands on its own merit, nature, and content.
After the URANTIA Papers were transcribed, they were read to a larger group which had been meeting regularly at the home of one of the Contact Commissioners. This was an informal discussion group that had been meeting to talk about popular subjects of the times. They were invited to study the Papers and ask questions. The answers to many questions appeared in expanded and final versions of the Papers—The URANTIA Book. These early readers formed the first core group of believers in the revelation and became committed to the mission of bringing the teachings of The URANTIA Book to all of mankind.
The Contact Commissioners were told that the book had been given to mankind long before the world was ready to receive its teachings. The plan was to allow enough time to “train leaders and teachers” and to form study groups throughout the world. Time was also needed to translate the book into the major languages of the world. To keep the text safe, while the readership grew and strengthened, the revelators stressed the importance of protecting the text to avoid distortion and misrepresentation. The Contact Commissioners were encouraged to secure international copyrights in the book to accomplish this protection.
After the completion of the Papers, the Contact Commissioners arranged for the establishment of URANTIA Foundation and presented it with the plates for the first printing of The URANTIA Book in 1955. URANTIA Foundation was established on January 11, 1950. Its purpose is to be the custodian of the inviolate text of The URANTIA Book and to ensure that the book’s teachings are spread, with the help of readers and a fraternal organization, to all people. The Foundation is a non—profit organization and is headed by a five—member Board of Trustees who are appointed for life terms. The Trustees’ duties and responsibilities are defined in the Declaration of Trust Creating URANTIA Foundation.
¶ Revelation: Its Spiritual Wisdom and Commercial Logic
In the brief history since the initial reception and subsequent publication of the URANTIA Papers, one issue has consistently attracted the attention of many readers. The issue is whether the commercial motive of humans might supercede the spiritual wisdom of the revelators, who entrusted these Papers to human care. Even before the Papers were published, a few readers advocated modern merchandising techniques to achieve rapid and widespread dissemination of the book. This approach is still advocated today and contrasts with the personal approach recommended by the early leaders and supported by the present Board and all past Boards of Trustees.
The URANTIA Papers, presented in their entirety, are a work of linguistic art, requiring the skills of many who were not named as authors. It is they who undertook the task of organizing into a unified text, the different works of a vast assemblage of beings from various ranks of universe citizenship. Even the sequencing of the papers was a labor of love. By revealing that which is infinite, eternal, and divine in the first parts of the book, the revelators lead us down the path of spiritual wisdom (UB 19:1.5). However, the more natural human approach to the study of reality is just the reverse. This is the reason that quite often persons approach, or recommend that others approach, the perusal of the book starting with the beautiful narrative of the Master’s terrestrial life and teachings. This may be the human way, the path to genetic knowledge, as the book describes it, but it is not the path to spiritual wisdom. The Foundation’s position is that the publication of Part IV as a separate volume is fraught with the great danger of succumbing to the error of the circumscribed viewpoint, to the evil inherent in a segmentalized conceition of reality and divinity (UB 19:1.4)—not to mention the fallacy of abstraction (UB 2:7.5).
We accept that the conventional wisdom of commerce would probably support the publication of Part IV as a separate volume as a way to sell more books. But the task of merely selling larger quantities of the book is not one to which we are primarily called. This is but a mechanical process, whereas the experience of personal transformation by the truth revealed in the book is our primary spiritual task. Here, as always, if we seek first the higher and greater goal, the lesser will often be found therein.
There is always a best and right way to do things . . . (UB 25:4.17) which implies that there are other ways to do things. We believe that the “_bes_t and right way” to make the book available is as a whole, not broken into its parts or even smaller units. The Trustees believe, think, and feel that it is their sacred duty to preserve the text inviolate, which, to them, means that Parts I, II, III, and IV must remain together as one unit. We are talking about the wise, patient introduction of epochal revelation to hungry souls, to children of God.
The authors and sponsors of the URANTIA Papers have given the people of this planet a work of art that illuminates higher universe realities. They secured it against fragmentation and distortion by charging the Contact Commission and its successor, URANTIA Foundation, to obtain international copyrights.
Copyright protection and patient, person—to—person dissemination allows for the revelation to slowly take root in the souls, minds, and hearts of those who hunger and thirst for love and the source of all true love, for God himself. Such a method may not be the way of the world, but it is the way of our predecessors and, we believe, the revelators.
URANTIA Foundation was established as a means, and was entrusted with a responsibility to protect and disseminate the revelation. The dissemination of the book, the physical thing, is administered by URANTIA Foundation, while the dissemination of the teachings belongs in the realm of the personal ministry of individuals and fraternal groups. One is a commercial function, the other personal and spiritual. Discernment of this important distinction avoids the conflict which would otherwise ensue upon the elevation of the material fact of this revelation over the truth it reveals. Such a folly would result in a mere religion about the book, with the faith of such devotees being measured by the number of copies each had sold (or given away.)
The promise of this dispensation requires our moving into deeper spiritual waters. Each of us must choose: Will we betray or will we honor the trust and confidence placed in us by the midway commission? Will we put greater trust in our own commercial logic or the spiritual wisdom of those who entrusted the Papers to us?
We are confident that we shall honor this trust. We are confident that we shall eschew the ways of our natural inclinations, which might lead us to become like so many who proclaim their particular revelation with zeal, while forgetting the truth revealed: that personality relationships, that friendship with God and with others is the one true end, and all else but a temporal means.
¶ Copyright Registration In The URANTIA Book
Over the years, some readers of The URANTIA Book have debated the copyright issue. To understand URANTIA Foundation’s position as to why the copyright is used “to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of The URANTIA Book”—the Trustees’ “primary duty” as stated in the Declaration of Trust—we offer the following:
¶ History of Copyright
The very concept of “authorship” is a purely commercial/legal one, its modern form being derived from the period just preceding the era of the printing press hundreds of years ago. In fact, our modern copyright law has an ancestry which reaches back to a decision rendered by a monarch. The case involved two monasteries, one copied a manuscript in its possession which was owned by the other. The conflict that ensued was charged with accusations of spiritual peril, but, fortunately, cooler heads knew otherwise—that indeed this was a legitimate and purely human dilemma. A decision was rendered which granted definite, though limited rights to the owner of the “original.” It also prohibited the “infringer” from making copies, but it recognized the difficulty of keeping anyone from making a copy for personal use from memory. Thus was born the notion of copyright restricted by fair use. Clearly, the revelators knew the difficulty that would attend the novel and bold experiment of an epochal revelation in textual form.
¶ Copyright and Origins of The URANTIA Book
Consider for a moment that “authorship” is an attempt by humans to identify a point of “origin.” When we come to the consideration of the URANTIA Papers and their origin, we must first bear in mind several things:
- This was a collaborative project planned by and involving many personalities—seen and unseen.
- It was authorized by a commission hailing from the superuniverse government.
- It employed many writers, most of whom were identified later by title only, who were subject to editorial panels for intensive review.
- The first drafts of the URANTIA Papers were probably not in English. They were in one of the languages of Orvonton—no doubt a language better suited to express the nature and function of divinity and Deity.
Any good missionary will tell you that when entering another culture to share with them your own values, immersion in the target culture must occur first. Later, success will be found proportionate to the depth of appreciation gained of the language and habits of those with whom contact is desired. This is not possible without real and extended contact.
The Contact Commission and the Forum were probably brought together for this purpose, and the ensuing process over a number of years was that text was presented for comment. It would be reviewed for necessary changes and presented again, many times, over and over, until there was confidence that the “original” had been translated as effectively as could be expected, given the profound limits of the target language of English. In this way, the human participants in this process inescapably shaped the English translation, and still the anguish of the revelatory commission over the eventual distortions is evident throughout the text. This process though is not unique to any special “revelation” but is a given fact in the business of making translations.
Now it becomes ever more obvious that the “human subject” was but a small part of this vast project, even if a critical part. In this context, it would be absurd for him, or anyone else directly involved, to lay claim to the status of “author.” To avoid a cult of personality which would certainly surround him otherwise, and to give us an unwritten lesson that our fascination with “authors” is somewhat more closely related to superstition, the “human subject” divested himself of any interest which would otherwise be legally available to him through copyright. This is certainly the more noble position and is, by comparison with prevailing standards, a very idealistic practice.
Because we inhabit a selfish and materialistic culture, driven largely by commercial interest, pragmatic minds recognized the need to secure this text, admirably disclaimed by its “authors,” against others who later would not be so unassuming. Copyrighting the text of the URANTIA Papers was therefore essential and in accord with the conventions prevailing then and now for submitting a written work for sale to the general public. Since an “author” was required for securing a copyright, URANTIA Foundation, being the institutional outgrowth and successor of the human component of the “authorship,” including the “human subject,” was legitimately named as the “author” for the legal purposes necessary to obtain copyright protection. In effect, the Papers became the corporate property of the Foundation for the sole purpose of keeping others from using it for their own gains. Up to this point, the mandate for this action proceeded from the commission that initially sponsored the Papers on the superuniverse level, but beyond this stage, it was released entirely into the course of human affairs where it now stands.
It seems unfortunate that human involvement in the materialization and indictment of the URANTIA Papers is a stumbling block for so many. Such thinking seems to overlook the real human contribution made to the evolving wisdom of the Supreme. The fact that the papers were explicitly initiated by “non—human” personalities itself affirms the seamless connection which weaves together the finite and infinite and resolves in artful expression, linguistic and otherwise, both human and divine. In this light, revelation becomes simply the engagement of a lesser conversation by a greater one and occurs constantly even if oftentimes in an unrecognized manner.
It is an unappreciated fact that most of the “non—human authors” would not identify themselves by name. It points to the universal recognition that only the Father is original. He alone initiates all things good, true, and beautiful and by his word and action, invites us all into the swirling melodies of conversation which identifies the culture of the cosmos. The URANTIA Papers are evidence of this culture and its corporate nature, borrowing, as it does, even from “human” expression. If personal ownership were unqualified, it would reflect a culture that failed to account for that Original which precedes the emergence of the personal, a culture that succumbed then to the darkness of isolation and chaos.
¶ Obtaining a Copyright Registration
Our records show that the idea to obtain a copyright registration in The URANTIA Book dates back to the early 1930s when the Contact Commissioners made their initial inquiries to the copyright office. Dr. Sadler, the leader of the Contact Commissioners, wrote a history, which he never published but shared with early readers. In this history, he said:
“The [Contact] Commissioners were the custodians of the URANTIA manuscript, keeping the carbon copy of the typewritten transcript in a fireproof vault. They were also charged with full responsibility for supervising all the details connected with the publication of the book, securing the international copyrights, etc.”
The Contact Commissioners were asked by the revelators to obtain a copyright in The URANTIA Book. The Declaration of Trust Creating URANTIA Foundation is the document that clearly outlines the purpose for which URANTIA Foundation was established and explains the duties of the Trustees. It is the vehicle by which the responsibility of the URANTIA Papers was passed from the Contact Commissioners to URANTIA Foundation. We understand that this was discussed with the revelators as early as the 1930s.
The Trustees, both past and present, firmly believe that the creation of URANTIA Foundation, with the duties and instructions given via the Declaration of Trust, is consistent with the methods of our planetary supervisors and with past epochal revelations that had definite instructions for the way they were to be implemented, managed, and organized.
The following is an excerpt from the Declaration of Trust that outlines the Foundation’s purpose and the Trustees’ responsibilities. This document established the course for URANTIA Foundation and will continue to be its governing charter:
ARTICLE II
OBJECTS
2.1. PRINCIPAL OBJECT: The object for which this Foundation is created is the promotion, improvement, and expansion among the peoples of the world of the comprehension and understanding of Cosmology and the relation of the planet on which we live to the Universe, of the genesis and destiny of Man and his relation to God, and of the true teachings of Jesus Christ; and for the inculcation and encouragement of the realization and appreciation of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man—in order to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well being of Man, as an individual and as a member of society, through the fostering of a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man’s intellectual and cultural development.
2.2. CONCORDANT OBJECTS: The concordant objects for which the Foundation is created are to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of THE URANTIA BOOK and to disseminate the principles, teachings, and doctrines of THE URANTIA BOOK.
ARTICLE III
DUTIES OF TRUSTEES
3.1. PRESERVATION OF TEXT OF THE URANTIA BOOK: It shall be the primary duty of the Trustees to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of THE URANTIA BOOK, and the Trustees shall use and employ such means, methods, and facilities and apply and expend as much of the Trust Estate as in the judgment of the Trustees shall be necessary, proper, or appropriate, for the preserving and the safekeeping of copies of the original text of THE URANTIA BOOK, duly authenticated by the Trustees, from loss, damage, or destruction and from alteration, modification, revision, or change in any manner or in any particular.
3.2. EFFECTING PRINCIPAL OBJECT: It shall be the duty of the Trustees to use and employ such means and methods as they shall from time to time devise and develop and to apply and expend the Trust Estate to promote and effectuate the general purposes as set forth in paragraph 2.1.
3.3. PRESERVATION AND CONTROL OF REPRODUCTION OF THE URANTIA BOOK: It shall be the duty of the Trustees to retain absolute and unconditional control of all plates and other media for the printing and reproduction of THE URANTIA BOOK and any translation thereof, to make or cause to be made such additional plates and other media as shall from time to time be required to print and reproduce THE URANTIA BOOK and any translations thereof, to retain the absolute and unconditional control of the possession, custody, use, and disposition of all such plates and other media for the printing and reproduction of THE URANTIA BOOK and translation thereof, and to apply and use the Trust Estate therefor.
3.4. DISSEMINATION OF TEACHINGS OF THE URANTIA BOOK: It shall be the duty of the Trustees to disseminate the teachings and doctrines of THE URANTIA BOOK and to devise, to develop, and to effectuate means and methods for such dissemination, and to apply and use the Trust Estate for the accomplishment of that end.
We are encouraged throughout The URANTIA Book to work together in teams. We are told that teamwork and cooperation is the way of the universe—it is the way of Christ Michael—that revelation is brought to us with a plan. When individuals choose to deviate from that plan—when attachment to one’s own opinions takes precedence over cooperation and teamwork—confusion and chaos are inevitable.
¶ How Can You Copyright a Revelation?
This question has often been asked. It is important to differentiate between the “revelation” and the material book—the material means by which the revelation is delivered.
The URANTIA Book itself is a physical object, “a material thing.” By contrast, the fifth epochal revelation is the living truth experienced in the hearts, minds, and souls of the individuals who embrace the teachings of The URANTIA Book and apply them to their everyday lives. There is no copyright in a truth; there is no copyright in a meaning. Truth is living, intangible experience—reality. Only something that is material, such as a book or a composite work, enjoys copyright protection and is eligible for copyright registration.
By registering the copyright in The URANTIA Book, the Foundation ensures that the words are kept inviolate so that future generations, in all cultures, in all translations, will have them as they were presented to us and not in a fragmented, distorted, or dismembered form.
The copyright in the original English text of The URANTIA Book is crucial for the spreading of the teachings worldwide through accurate, faithful, and fluent translations. It is very important that we do not distribute multiple versions of translations to non—English speaking countries. Without a copyright in The URANTIA Book, people would be free to introduce multiple, substandard translations in whole or as fragmented parts of the book.
It would be irresponsible and unfair to inflict upon our non—English speaking brothers and sisters confusion in their study groups by giving them different texts to study.
Every opportunity is given readers to participate in the improvement and revision of translations, but an orderly system is required to ensure the translations remain true to the original English version, and that the translated book is not fractured and dismembered by the unwise actions of mortals.
¶ What Could Happen If There Were No Copyright in The URANTIA Book?
We know that some people would like to change the words in The URANTIA Book. For example:
- Some readers object to the fact that male gender terms are used to describe deity; they object to references of God as a “Father.” They object to such terms as the “Son of Man,” “mankind,” “sonship” with God, and the “Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.”
- Some readers want to print and, in fact, have printed Part IV, independent of Parts I, II, and III. Some have suggested striking out terms such as “Thought Adjuster,” and “Michael of Nebadon,” terms requiring a knowledge of Parts I, II, and III.
- Some readers are offended by the papers on race. They believe the revelators made a mistake by including them, and they believe that the race papers should be removed from the book.
- A few readers are translating the book (or are involved with translations) and would like to break up the book and print the parts in other countries
Tom Kendall, a former Trustee and President of URANTIA Foundation, said the following:
"Do not lightly dismiss the importance of copyright. The Contact Commissioners were warned that the greatest danger to the revelation would be in the first 50 to 100 years. If the copyright were lost, and the book were to fall into the public domain, the book could be dismembered. It could be chopped up into 197 pamphlets; ‘embarrassing’ portions excised; ‘difficult stuff’ omitted; outdated scientific material updated with new theories; artwork, charts, and footnotes inserted; an introduction and commentary included in the text. Simplified versions would proliferate. None of these was the intent of the Revelators, and, in fact, some were specifically proscribed. The book was intended to be an integrated whole, published without distracting contrivances.
If the Foundation did not have, and enforce, a copyright, there would be no way of protecting the book from the actions described above. People would be free to distort and dismember the original text before it had a chance to take a meaningful hold in the world."
None of us is qualified to question the revelators’ motives for using the words they used. None of us has the right independently to take the future course of the revelation into our own hands, according to our own ideas, and change the words of the text or deliver it in a partial, dismembered form.
Eve’s mistake should serve as a lesson against such error:
But Eve listened to the insidious propaganda of personal liberty and planetary freedom of action. She was led to experiment with the life plasm of the material order of sonship in that she allowed this life trust to become prematurely commingled with that of the then mixed order of the original design of the Life Carriers . . .
Never, in all your ascent to Paradise, will you gain anything by impatiently attempting to circumvent the established and divine plan by short cuts, personal inventions, or other devices for improving on the way of perfection, to perfection, and for eternal perfection (UB 75:8.4-5)
¶ How Will the Inviolate Text Be Recognized After the Copyright Expires in 2050?
URANTIA Foundation registered the words “URANTIA” and “URANTIAN” and the Concentric—Circles Symbol as trademarks, service marks, and collective membership marks. After the Foundation’s copyright in The URANTIA Book expires, there may be multiple publishers of The URANTIA Book. Some of them may publish something other than the inviolate text. But the inviolate text, published by URANTIA Foundation, will be identifiable because it alone will bear the name URANTIA Foundation and the Concentric—Circles Symbol. URANTIA Foundation has used the Concentric—Circles Symbol as a stand—alone registered mark since 1950. The marks are used to identify:
- The authenticity of The URANTIA Book and its translations.
- The existence of a new revelation, distinct from other confusing beliefs.
- URANTIA Foundation’s offices and representatives.
- Organized associations of readers of The URANTIA Book worldwide who work in cooperation with the Foundation to disseminate the teachings.
If these symbols were not registered by URANTIA Foundation or were in the public domain, they could be used to give credibility to publications, activities, and organizations either promoting distorted interpretations of The URANTIA Book or having little or nothing to do with its teachings.
There is little understanding in the world today as to what these symbols and words mean, so it is important that their significance be protected and preserved until there is a wider understanding of the teachings by more of the world’s population.
The Foundation considers the registered marks to be appropriate and fitting symbols to identify the fifth epochal revelation. The recently announced Coiyright and Registered Marks Policies from the Foundation give individuals the freedom to use the text and the marks for their teaching and dissemination efforts. These Foundation policies are available from the website: www.urantia.org and upon request.
¶ A Call To Action
The Trustees and staff of URANTIA Foundation reach out to you and ask you for your prayers and support. We are accustomed to challenges to our efforts to protect and make available to the world the fifth epochal revelation. Without your and God’s help, we cannot succeed. With that assistance, we cannot fail in bringing this revelation intact into the next century for our children and our children’s children.
¶ New Editions of The Urantia Book Available
We are pleased to announce that new editions of The Urantia Book and El Libro de Urantia will be available for purchase at the end of October, 1999. The new editions all measure 8-7/16 inches long by 5-1/2 inches wide, just slightly larger than the current soft cover edtions. The English books are available in a new paperback, small hard cover, and leather gift-boxed editions. The gift-boxed editions are bound in a soft royal blueor burgundy leather with gilded pages and are shipped in an embossed two-piece box.
The Spanish editions, also measuring 8-7/16 inches long by 5-1/2 inches wide, are available in a paperback edition and a new hard cover edition.
All of the new editions will have a brand new cover design, as well. We hope that these editions will be more recognizable and attract more attention on the bookstore shelves, in turn making new readers aware of the teachings.
Please refer to the enclosed order form for new pricing. If you are placing an order for the gift-boxed editions (limited quantities available), please be sure to indicate your color preference on your order form.
¶ Announgements
Christmas Open House — Our annual celebration will be held at Foundation headquarters on the afternoon of December 12, 1999. Greater Lake Michigan URANTIA Association and First Sociery of Chicago will once again sponsor a joint program. All are welcome.
Celebrating URANTIA Foundation’s 50th Anniversary —URANTIA Foundation will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year in two ways:
- Beginning on the anniversary of the signing of the Foundation’s Trust Document, January ll, 2000, there will be a candlelight vigil and remembrance at Foundation headquarters scheduled from 5:00pm to 7:30pm. All are welcome. We ask readers, study groups, and fratemal organizations worldwide to join us in thanksgiving and prayer for the fifth epochal revelation and the opportunity to participate in the further emergence of expanded truth.
- On March 15 to 17, 2000, all readers are again invited to Chicago for the weekend to celebrate the frst half-century of the fifth epochal revelation. We will share visions for the revelation in the new millennium. Please mark your calendars for this event. An invitation with details will be forthcoming.
Christmas Discounts — Our holiday discounts will be available, beginning November 1, on many of our products. See the enclosed order form for these and the many new items available.
University and College Library project — URANTIA Foundation is pleased to announce that we are beginning our University and College Library Placement Project. We hope to provide a hard cover English edition of The URANLIA Book to every University and College library throughout the world. In the past, we have had extensive project supplying books to public libraries all over the world and to prison libraries in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
We hope to eventually provide all higher institutions of leaLrning with complimentary copies of rhe URANTIA Bookto provide their students with access to its wonderful teachings.
If you know of a Universigi or College library that would benefit from this contribution, or if you would like to assist us in this or any other project, please contact our Book Department.
Reference Copies of The URANTIA Book to Study Groups and Local Associations — URANTIA Foundation would like to make available a reference copy of The URANTIA Book, English 11th printing (8“ x 10” hard cover) andrhe URANTIA Book concordnLre, tostudy groups and Intemational URANTIA Associations.
Many groups have expressed an interest in having a reference copy available for those in the group that do not have or cannot afford a copy of their own. They would even come in handy should a member forget to bring his or her book to study group. Each group would also be able to provide a copy for visitors or new readers to their study sessions. URANTIA Associations could benefit from this program as well, by having available a copy to loan.
Each reference copy would be sent to your group for a nominal fee of $12 to assist us with our shipping costs.
To request a copy for your group or Association, or if you should have any questions about the new programs, please contact our Book Department.
¶ Reader Comments About The Urantia Book
“I have to say that the Big Blue Book has changed my life. I am more than what I was before I read the book. My relationship with Father and fellow men and women is much more of a rich experience thanks to the Book and those who support and believe in it. Thank you so much for being here and printing the book.”
“I have had this book for approximately 8 years repeatedly reading from cover to cover, being amazed each time. It is my Spiritual food. . . . In no other book have I found such verve and depth. Such high science and literary dynamism. . . . I am literally impressed and overwhelmed.” ~ London, ENGLAND
“My religious background/upbringing has been as a traditional Fundamentalist. I have only read a few papers to date and am in awe at what I have seen so far. It has provided, what I see as, many in depth clarifications yet at the same time has sparked as many if not more questions . . .” ~ Arizona U.S.A.