User:Richiar/Urantia

User talk: Richiar

Urantia Book experimental chalkboard
Back to Talk: The Urantia Book

The Urantia Book is a book whose authors are portrayed as spiritual beings, and is said to have been composed by them for the purpose of communicating a revelation to our planet about God. The book discusses a variety of topics about God, science, religion, history, and destiny. The book originated in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. sometime between 1924 and 1955, but its authorship is considered to be a mystery. (See mysterious origin).

The Urantia Book does not present a formal religion, but discusses the fundamental nature of religion itself, and how the combination of religion with other areas of human experience, can act together to improve life. The word Urantia is introduced by the book as the name given to refer to the planet Earth.

The Urantia Foundation first published The Urantia Book in 1955 in English. Translations into numerous languages are available with several new translations in process. In 2001, Urantia Foundation lost the U.S. copyright to the English version in a court decision and it went into the public domain.

Overview
The Urantia Book consists of a forward and four sections. The foreword presents an outline of what the Urantia Book considers to be the nature of reality and some basic divisions of deity and the universe. The first section elaborates on the Urantia view of the universe. The second section discusses the development of local universe inhabited by earth. Part 3 describes an alleged history of planet earth. Part four is a depiction of the life of Jesus within the Urantia view of the universe. --Richiar (talk) 04:44, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Mysterious origin
The exact circumstances of the origin of The Urantia Book are unknown. There is not a human author associated with the book. It is written as if directly presented by numerous celestial beings appointed to the task of providing a new spiritual revelation to humankind.

It is reported that a person of unknown identity received the material from celestial intelligences while asleep. The individual, known as the "sleeping subject" or "contact personality", is said to have been kept anonymous in order to prevent undesirable future veneration or reverence for him.

As early as 1911, William S. Sadler and his wife Lena Sadler (born Lena Kellogg), both practicing physicians in Chicago, Illinois, became the attending physicians of the sleeping subject after the individual's wife reported that she could not wake him. Over time, the unconscious subject produced communications from entities who claimed to be personal spiritual beings. Lena and William Sadler were respected physicians in Chicago and well known in the community. William Sadler had a reputation as a debunker of paranormal claims and is generally portrayed as not believing in supernatural claims.

In 1924, a group of Sadler's friends, former patients, and colleagues originally began meeting for Sunday intellectual discussions, but became interested in the strange communications of the sleeping subject when Sadler mentioned the case, and read samples at their request. Shortly afterwards, a communication was received that this group would be allowed to devise questions and that answers would be given by the celestial beings through the contact personality. Out of this a process developed where the discussion group would write questions down and deliver them to Sadler. It is claimed the papers then materialized on their own.the papers of the book were physically materialized from 1925 until 1935 in a way that was not understood even by them, with the first three parts being completed in 1934 and the fourth in 1935. The last Forum gathering was in 1942. Also documented are methods of reception that Sadler refuted as the way the papers were received. The group was known as the Forum.

according to Sadler and others, permission to publish the book was given to them in 1955. An organization called Urantia Foundation was formed from early believers, and through privately raised funds, the book was published under international copyright on October 12, 1955.--Richiar (talk) 02:59, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

The Nature of God
In the Urantia Book view there are a number of dimensions of God: the "Universal Father", is considered to be the primal source of universe realtiy. God then distinquishes himself into a second and third personality, forming a trinity. In the Urantia view "universe reality" is said to be divided into actual and potential, deity and nondeity, as well as other divisions as spirit, mind, and personality, and energy-matter. The divisions are composed of a variety of qualities and together they combine into different dimensions of "universe reality".

A dimension of deity described as "experiential" and evolutionary is a major focus, and is called the "Supreme Being". This is said to be the means for finite humans to interact with God.

Many types of celestial beings are described in The Urantia Book; Jesus is said to be an order of being that is created by the first and second central deity personalities. These beings then are said to be the creators of the many local space and time universes.--Richiar (talk) 02:40, 22 March 2008 (UTC)--Richiar (talk) 02:43, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

God and the individual
The central deity called "the Universal Father" is stated to impart a spirit fragment part of himself to live in the individual human mind. These spirit fragments then work with the human mind and will to produce the "soul".

The position of The Urantia Book towards religion is one of reliance on faith: it says neither science nor philosophy alone can prove or disprove the existence of God. Religion is said to be a unique dimension of human experience. Ideally, religion for the individual is to be blended with philosophy, morality, science and revelation. --Richiar (talk) 18:53, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Cosmology
The Urantia Book presents the universe structure as being composed of seven outer superuniverses that revolve around a central stationary base. (The name given of this central base is "paradise"). In between Paradise and the superuniverses is another system of planets that also circle paradise. There are many complex relationships that are describecd in the Urantia Book about these universe systems.--Richiar (talk) 04:28, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Evolutionary History
The Urantia Book states that the origin of our planet is said to have begun 875 billion years ago forming out of a nebulae. The nebulae underwent development, creating numerous suns. A general timeline given by the book for our planet is given as follows:


 * our sun was formed 6 billion years ago.


 * our solar system was formed out of the sun 4.5 billion years ago.


 * a passing star system exerted gravitaional force on the sun, pulling a column of gases out into space. This is said to have become the solar system of which our earth is a part.


 * 2 billion years ago, a primitive atmosphere was forming due to the heated interior, and the cooling crust of our earth. This was followed by an age of volcanic activity. As the surface continued to cool, a period of constant rain developed, that combined with the heated surface of the earth, formed a planet of steam.


 * 800 million years ago a landmass appeared, which eventually broke up into the continents we currently have. Further cooling and moisture eventually led to the formation of a planet-wide ocean.


 * 550 million years ago primitive marine life forms were implanted by celestial beings, and the process of biological evolution began.


 * about one million years ago,the immediate ancestors of mankind appeared.

Social evolution
The Urantia Book presents that a planned evolutionary process is intended for for the social arrangment of the planet. The stages go through primitive life conditions of hunting and gathering, through the formation of governments and nations, advancing into industrial and technological civilizations. Religion is supposed to become increasingly important as civilization advances, and eventually an age of world-wide peace should occur.

--Richiar (talk) 04:22, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Comparison with other religions
Christianity

Of all current world religions, The Urantia Book ' s teachings are likely the most consistent with the teachings of Christianity. There are significant differences between The Urantia Book and commonly accepted Christian beliefs though. Many believers see it as extending Judeo-Christian religious concepts in the same way the New Testament may be considered an extension of Old Testament ideas.

Jesus is held in high regard by The Urantia Book, as he is in the New Testament of the Bible. Part IV, more than one third of the content in The Urantia Book, is devoted to a narrative of his life and teachings.

The following are attributed to Jesus, as in the Bible


 * He was a Son of God incarnate, born to Mary and Joseph
 * He was God in man, both human and divine
 * He lived a perfect life
 * He revealed God to man as "the way, the truth, and the life"
 * He performed many of the miracles described in the Bible, such as the resurrection of Lazarus, the turning of water into wine, the feeding of the five thousand, and numerous healings of the blind, diseased, and infirm
 * He taught twelve apostles, eleven of whom went on to spread his teachings
 * He was crucified, and on the third day after his death, rose from the dead
 * He will return to our world again some day

The Urantia Book shares the following general concepts with most Christian faiths


 * God is the creator of all reality
 * God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinite, and eternal
 * God is described as a loving personality–"God is love"
 * God is a single deity that exists in a Trinity of three persons
 * God has a vast "heavenly host"
 * Believers who have a personal relationship with God are "born of the spirit"
 * Those having faith survive death
 * Angels and divine personalities exist and can be sent to guard and minister to people throughout their lives.

Some differences with Christianity include


 * Jesus' crucifixion was not an atonement for the sins of humanity. The crucifixion was an outcome of the fears of religious leaders of the day, who regarded his teachings as a threat to their positions of authority.
 * God is never wrathful or angry. He is a personality entirely motivated by Father-like love.
 * Jesus is the human incarnation of "Michael of Nebadon," one of more than 700,000 "Paradise Sons" of God, or "Creator Sons." Jesus is not considered the second person of the Trinity as he is in Christianity. The book refers to the Eternal Son as the second person of the Trinity.
 * Jesus was born on earth through natural means of conception. The Virgin Birth is the product of human myth developed later.
 * Jesus did not walk on water or perform some of the miracles that are attributed to him in the Bible. These were attributed to him after his life.
 * Jesus rose from the dead in a "more glorified form," a transitional stage between material and spiritual existence known as the "morontia" form. As with all mortals, his physical body was subject to decomposition, but celestial beings removed his body from the tomb for the immediate dissolution of his remains through a process of "accelerated time."
 * The book says that Jesus may return to the world many times. Common Christian eschatology doctrines, such as the Rapture, where Jesus returns to take faithful believers to heaven and leaves behind unbelievers for tribulation, are not supported.

Buddhism

The Urantia Book considers Buddhism one of the "great international, interracial faiths" and says it "has shown an adaptability to the mores of many peoples that has been equaled only by Christianity."

Gautama Siddhartha is called a prophet whose doctrines were revolutionary for their time. He is credited with being one of the seven outstanding teachers in human history, a group that includes Moses, Laozi, and the Apostle Paul.

The teaching that a divine nature &mdash; the Buddha-nature &mdash; resides in all people, and that through their own endeavors people can attain a realization of this inner divinity.

--Richiar (talk) 04:35, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Critical views
Critcism as a revelation

The claim of revelation in The Urantia Book has been criticized for various reasons. Skeptics such as Martin Gardner say it is a product of human efforts rather than a revelation because some of its science is flawed. Because the book does not support certain fundamental tenets of Christianity, while at the same time presenting an account of Jesus' life with non-Biblical elements, those with a Christian viewpoint have argued it cannot be a genuine divine revelation. Some have considered it to be gnostic, however The Urantia Book does not advocate tenets associated with Gnosticism. Other critics have felt that at over 2,000 pages &mdash; nearly twice the length of the King James Bible &mdash; it is too long, complex, and bureaucratic in its thinking.

The book has been in print since 1955, but in comparison to other religious or holy books that have a recent origin and revelatory claims, such as the Book of Mormon, popularity of The Urantia Book has not grown as fast. The Urantia Book has received limited published or formal critical analysis. Likely the most common points of contention include:


 * Brad Gooch writes, "Because of its insistence on having been written by a committee of extraterrestrial beings, The Urantia Book falls for most people to the far left of believability."


 * From a scientific point of view, parts of the science it describes conflict with modern theories.


 * Some of the concepts are alleged to have been plagiarized.


 * To those who assert that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, it denies some Christian doctrines that are held to be true, and therefore is not acceptable.


 * The small movement inspired by The Urantia Book has not developed institutions such as churches, reading rooms, or temples, and has no membership by which a census of the number of followers can be taken.

The Urantia Book has been enjoyed by some as a form of science fiction, historical fiction, or fantasy. By others it is considered as historical fact. Even the skeptic Martin Gardner, in his critical book, writes that it is "highly imaginative" and that the "cosmology outrivals in fantasy the cosmology of any science-fiction work known to me."

Considered as literature, Part IV is favorably compared to other retellings of Jesus' life, such as The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago and Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock. Martin Gardner considers Part IV to be an especially "well-written, impressive work," and says, "Either it is accurate in its history, coming directly from higher beings in position to know, or it is a work of fertile imagination by someone who knew the New Testament by heart and who was also steeped in knowledge of the times when Jesus lived."

Criticism of the science of the Urantia Book

Skeptics like Martin Gardner see the science in The Urantia Book as clear reflections of the views that prevailed at the time the book is said to have originated. The claim by the authors that no unknown scientific discoveries could be imparted is seen as a ruse to allow mistakes to be dismissed later. That presentation of post-1955 scientific knowledge is avoided is taken to be evidence it was written by humans and not by celestial beings with superior knowledge.

Controversial statements about human races can be found in the book. According to The Urantia Book, multi-colored human races originated suddenly in one generation and in one family, producing brothers and sisters that variously turned blue, yellow, red, green, orange, and indigo when exposed to sunlight. Their offspring subsequently favored the parent color. Supporters state that criticism has arisen mainly due to reading passages out of context. Gardner believes that William S. Sadler, who wrote some eugenicist works, had a hand in editing or writing the book, and that this is how the ideas were included.--Richiar (talk) 18:48, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Symbols
Same as current article