ANSWER #1: The
Urantia Book is a revelation of truth given to the peoples of our
planet, Urantia. It instructs us on God, angels, life after death, the
structure of the universe and its divinely planned developments, the
origin and history of our planet, the life and teachings of Jesus, and
our eternal destiny as perfected citizens of a friendly universe. It
provides an enlightening picture of reality in which science, religion
and philosophy are unified. It give us the "big picture" and
shows us where we, as individuals, fit into it.
ANSWER #2:
The Urantia Book provides
powerful evidence that our world is part of a friendly, intelligent and
well-ordered universe. Many believe it to be the most important
revelation of truth to our world since Jesus. The book truly provides a
deep appreciation and understanding of the origin, history and destiny
of mankind while illuminating our place in the cosmic family of freewill
intelligent beings. It reveals as never before an infinite circle of
creation at the center of which reigns our infinite, almighty and loving
Creator.
ANSWER #3:
The teachings of the Urantia Book blend science,
philosophy, and religion seamlessly into a beautiful narrative that
challenges, informs, and integrates truth in a new way. The entire
subject matter of the book seeks to make clear our divine and eternal
destiny, "the age-long process from animal to angel, from angel to
spirit, from spirit to God." (P. 558). The teachings include information
on the organization, places, and personalities of the cosmos; the
history of our planet, Urantia; a description of our continuing
spiritual evolution; a new view of reality by explaining the concepts of
personality, mind, and soul; how we experience supreme evolution of our
progression towards God in partnership with spirit in our minds; and
lastly a new and enlarged account of the life and teachings of Jesus.
ANSWER #4:
The Urantia Book may be the
most powerful evidence ever that there is intelligent life in the
universe. The Urantia Book boldly claims to be a revelation of truth to
our world from the headquarters of the superuniverse. A
revelation in book form, it is intended to help guide humankind into the
next era of evolutionary progress. The Urantia Book provides a deeper
appreciation and understanding of our own planetary family, as well as
of our place in the cosmic family of freewill intelligent beings. It
reveals as never before an infinite circle of creation, at the center of
which reigns our beneficent and loving Creator.
ANSWER #5:
It is a 2097-page text containing beautiful spiritual teachings,
including a unique perspective on deity that integrates science and
physics with religion in a way that has never been done before. It
depicts the history of our universe, our planet and civilization, and
contains a profound, in-depth account of the life and teachings of Jesus
far beyond what has ever been written. It provides a detailed analysis
on the state of our religious institutions and their shortcomings, and
guidance on what needs to be done for them to keep pace with advancing
civilization. Ultimately, it provides guidance on realizing world peace.
ANSWER #6:
The Urantia Book is the fifth epochal revelation to our planet. It is a
2097-page compendium of cosmology, science, philosophy, history and
religion. It is unified, consistent, inspiring and beautifully written.
One third of it is a restatement of the life and teachings of Jesus, the
fourth epochal revelation.
ANSWER #7.
It has been called the handbook for learning to
become a cosmic citizen. It has also been called a revelation of truth
of epochal significance. But no amount of talking about it is adequate
to find out what it is you’ll just have to read it for yourself and draw
your own conclusions.
ANSWER #1: The Urantia
Book could be regarded as the greatest New Age book of them all—an
authoritative bridge from the Old Age into the New Age. It has been
called (the handbook for the New Age).
ANSWER #2: Depending
upon your definition of (New Age,) the answer could be yes or no.
Mainstream religionists tend to group New Age religion under an umbrella
covering a myriad of groups and scores of authors basically teaching the
following:
1. All is one: all reality is a unitary whole responsive to
various forms of magic;
2. Everything is God and God is everything;
3. You are God. You are divine;
4. You will never die; You have lived before and you will live
again (reincarnation);
5. You can create your own reality or transform your own
consciousness;
6. All religions are true and, therefore, one.
In a literal sense such New Age teachings are not supported by the
Urantia Book; so the answer is no, it is not a New Age book. However,
many Urantia Book students have discovered the book because of their New
Age quests. It could be called the ultimate New Age book because it
dispels superstition, clarifies fuzzy, hazy thinking and nebulous
concepts, and provides intelligent, logical and meaningful answers to
the kinds of questions New Agers, among others, ask.
ANSWER #3: The
teachings of The Urantia Book are certainly new in many respects, and in
a sense its presence here bears witness to a new age on earth. However,
the book is also a reiteration of a message that is anything but new to
mankind. The proclamation that every human being is a member of the
family of God and that each person can come to realize this fact by
faith and through grace is surely not (New Age.) The book exquisitely
weaves the past with the present and the future to give us a wholistic
vision of our existence. The Urantia Book is truly unprecedented, and is
nearly impossible to label.
ANSWER #4: The last
few decades have seen an emergence of various forms of teachings and
groups coming from channelers, mystics, avatars, and the like. Many of
these contain an esoteric approach to spirituality and some groups
become cultlike with rituals, practices and doctrines to be adhered to.
If we consider these as a definition of (New Age,) the Urantia Book does
not fall into this category. The Urantia Book stresses that we do not
have to be mystics with esoteric knowledge in order to live a
spiritually meaningful life. It teaches that God is no respecter of
persons and that average persons can attain high levels of spiritual
understanding and live their lives accordingly. It refers to the times
we live in and are about to enter into as the (New Age,) but this is in
the context specific to the book’s teachings on modern times. Through a
thoughtful reading of its contents, applying our best judgment and
listening to our indwelling spirit, we can arrive at our own
conclusions.
ANSWER #5: It entirely
depends on what one means by (New Age.) This book does indeed offer
information that can help people move toward a new age in religious
thinking and social peace. The Urantia Book redefines (religious) as the
experiencing of divinity in the consciousness, and as one’s personal
spiritual experience. Thus experience and values, not belief, is the
essence of religion. It would indeed usher in a new age in religion if
beliefs ceased to be a barrier between groups of religionists. . . . One
of the fruits of religion is the ability to recognize religious living
in others, and this could open up a new age in the socialization of
religion, one that allows interchange and respect between religionists
whose beliefs differ. It is such teachings that constitute the Urantia
Book the most important new age book around. . . .
ANSWER #1: To
understand who wrote the book one must believe in angels. The true
authors are a team of higher beings in the universe who were assigned
the task of giving us this knowledge. Because humans and superhumans
cannot communicate directly with each other, a uniquely talented human
being was used as a transmitter. Nobody knows who he was or how it was
done, and those who knew at one time died without revealing the secret
to prevent us from creating another (gallery of saints.) What we are
left with is a stupendous 2097-page revelation of truth that will stand
or fall on its own merits.
ANSWER #2: Twenty-three separate authors are attributed to be
responsible for the content of the 196 Papers and Foreword of the
Urantia Book. They’re described and their credentials are provided
within the book itself. As the Urantia Book contains much of the best
historical, scientific, philosophical, and religious thought from across
the ages, there is currently considerable research underway to identify
the original authors of the supporting material.
ANSWER #3: The Urantia Book is the result of a team effort by
many personalities. Who these personalities are and how they relate to
us is described in the writings and explained in the cosmology presented
therein.
ANSWER #4: No human being is listed as author of the Urantia
Book. The book itself refers to the authorship as a collaborative effort
by many superhuman and celestial beings, each of whom brought to this
endeavor individual areas of knowledge and expertise. They are listed in
the Table of Contents and at the end of each of the 196 Papers. The
Foreword describes how these beings were commissioned to bring to our
world this revelation intended to provide us with a cosmic perspective
of who we are and how we fit into the greater flow of cosmic events.
ANSWER #5: The authors are beings claiming to be celestial
personalities of various kinds angels, archangels, Melchizedeks, and
others. The content of the book explains the origins and functions of
all of these orders of celestials. The best way for anyone to assess
these extraordinary claims is to read the entire book and assess it as a
whole.
ANSWER #6: Its authors are celestial beings with names like
Divine Counselor and Mighty Messenger. It came through a single human
being in Chicago. Who that person was, or the exact method of its
transmission, is unknown. The person most closely associated with it was
Dr. William. S. Sadler. He wrote many books himself, but his writing
style is quite different from the Urantia Book, and he was probably not
the author.
ANSWER #7: Oral tradition holds that the book was received from
superhuman revelators working through a human contact personality. This
information was assembled into 196 papers over a twenty-year period
which resulted in The Urantia Book. Dr. William S. Sadler, a Chicago
psychiatrist, was involved in this process although the contact
personality was never identified. In the appendix to his book The
Mind at Mischief, Dr. Sadler stated the information imparted from
this source was always consistent within itself and said it was (in a
class by itself.)
ANSWER #8: The authors are a collection of celestial beings who
identify themselves at the end of each paper. It is said that these
papers were transmitted through an individual in Chicago during his
sleep and that when he awoke he was totally unaware of what had
transpired. It was mandated that his identity be kept secret because he
was simply a conduit; that the message was important, not the messenger.
This individual came to the attention of Dr. William Sadler, a noted
psychiatrist and debunker of spiritualism, who began to take great
interest in the material being transmitted. Sadler then gathered a
handful of people who became known as the Contact Commission. They began
recording the information which came through as a series of papers. The
next twenty years were spent reviewing the information, asking questions
of the revelators and taking their revisions.
ANSWER #9: Although the origins of the Urantia Book may seem out
of the ordinary, when we read its contents we are engaged by its
resonance of truth, advanced information, spiritual eloquence, and
powerful message for our generation and those to come. When taken in
full context, the book is self-authenticating. We must also remember
that all of our religions have elements of mystery in their origins.
Yet, over time we have come to accept them because of the
transformational qualities they contain for us individually and
collectively. The same applies to the Urantia Book.
ANSWER #10: There is much detailed speculation and conjecture on
the origin, organization, and method of reception of the Urantia Papers,
but how they actually were obtained constitutes an amazing mystery about
which little is truly known or understood. The authors are listed in the
Table of Contents and at the end of each of the 196 papers comprising
the Urantia Book. The authors identify themselves as a diverse group of
heavenly beings who were commissioned to bring to our world the next in
a series of revelations intended to restore to humankind an
understanding of the true nature of God, of our origin, history, and
destiny, and to provide us with a cosmic perspective of who we are and
how we fit into the greater flow of cosmic events.
ANSWER #11: No human being is listed as author of the Urantia
Book. The book itself refers to the authorship as a collaborative effort
by many superhuman and celestial beings, all of whom brought to this
endeavor individual areas of knowledge and expertise. However, they tell
us from the beginning that they were mandated to give priority to any
human expressions of truth that represented "the highest and most
advanced planetary knowledge of spiritual values and universe meanings"
as would convey the truth "as they were directed to reveal it " before
resorting to their own superior expressions of truth-knowledge. The
various and diverse writings of many human beings were masterfully
coordinated, enhanced, and improved by the authors responsible for the
creation of the Urantia Book.
ANSWER #12: It is known that one human being was utilized as a
"sleeping subject" to produce the Urantia teachings, but this man did
not want to be known for the phenomenon. Records of the events
concerning the book’s origin state that six people knew his identity,
but none ever revealed his name. Witnesses to these events have reported
that the authors of the Urantia Book indicated it was best that he
remain anonymous, because the truth and wisdom of the teachings would
endure on their own merits without a human personality to authenticate
them.
ANSWER #13: In the early 20th century, a physician practicing in
Chicago became the head of a small group known as the Contact
Commission, the primary custodian of and focal point for producing the
text of the Urantia Book. They were sworn not to disclose details about
the transactions in order to discourage future generations from
venerating the participants. It was considered important that no
individuals be exalted through their association with the Urantia Book.
Because of its revelatory nature, the book stands on its own merit. As
the contents of were being transcribed, the individual papers were read
to the Forum, a group that had been meeting regularly for philosophical
discussions at the doctor’s residence. The Forum was encouraged to ask
questions, and many of the answers were then incorporated into the
papers.
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Coming Soon!
Who reads the Urantia Book?
How many people read the Urantia Book?
How many languages has the book been translated into?
Is Urantia a new religion?
Is Urantia a cult?
Do the readers have any rituals, dogmas or religious practices?
Where should I start reading?
What makes this book different from other revelations of truth?
Is this book an "inspired" work?
Isn't the Bible enough? Why do we need the Urantia Book?
How does the Urantia Book compare to the Bible?
Is the Urantia Book a rewriting of the Bible?
The Bible states there can be no other revelation, so how can the UB be
valid?
Is the Urantia Book similar to A Course in Miracles?
Do I have to give up my church if I embrace the Urantia teachings?
Does this book claim to contain all truth for all time?
How can I meet other readers?
How do Urantia Book readers get together? and more!
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