There is a book available in many bookstores and libraries of the world from the middle of the last century, but yet unknown to many people. Most people, who know this book agree, that the book - The Urantia Book - has no human origin, no human author. Some call it the best-kept secret of the twentieth century. But how did it come to earth? It materialized in Chicago and there are many stories relating to its appearance. However nothing can be known with absolute surety, except that The Urantia Book exists and stimulates spiritual insight and happiness of all its readers. There are over 2000 pages in the book, which narrates the origin of the cosmos, the philosophical meanings of God, the eventful origin of humankind and the relationships of all religions to God. The Urantia Book's view of science, philosophy and religion is perhaps the clearest and most concise integration of these subjects available to contemporary man. The book confirms the existence of Jesus and his magnificent, superhuman origin, but it finds today's Christianity greatly distorted by human misunderstanding of his teaching. Origin The exact, detailed circumstances of the origin of The Urantia Book are unknown for two reasons. The human beings most directly involved in the transactions leading to the subsequent publication of The Urantia Book in 1955 took and honored what they described as a sacred promise of secrecy, and all are now deceased. The book is purportedly authored by numerous celestial personalities appointed to the task of providing an epochal revelation of religious significance to the human beings on our planet, referred to as “Urantia” in the book. In the Foreword of The Urantia Book the purported purpose of the revelation is “to present enlarged concepts and advanced truths, in our endeavor to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception.” In 1911, William S. Sadler and his wife Lena Sadler, both physicians living in Chicago, came into contact with a neighbour who was exhibiting unusual night time behaviour including the expression of verbal communications asserting origination with celestial beings existing beyond the range of human perception. Increasingly over time these communications became more detailed and included all of the information that was subsequently published in 1955 as The Urantia Book. Both Sadlers were respected physicians in their community. In addition, Dr William Sadler authored numerous books, including in 1929 The Mind at Mischief, in which he examined what he believed were fraudulent methods of mediumship, the paranormal, and supernatural phenomena. Though known as a debunker of supernatural phenomena, he wrote in the appendix to The Mind at Mischief that there were two cases of claimed psychic phenomena for which he had no explanation. The specific instance that referred to the communications that eventually became The Urantia Book was described this way: “The other exception has to do with a rather peculiar case of psychic phenomena, one which I find myself unable to classify, and which I would like very much to narrate more fully; I cannot do so here, however, because of a promise which I feel under obligation to keep sacredly. In other words, I have promised not to publish this case during the lifetime of the individual. I hope sometime to secure a modification of that promise and be able to report this case more fully because of its interesting features. I was brought in contact with it, in the summer of 1911, and I have had it under my observation more or less ever since, having been present at probably 250 of the night sessions, many of which have been attended by a stenographer who made voluminous notes. A thorough study of this case has convinced me that it is not one of ordinary trance. While the sleep seems to be quite of a natural order, it is very profound, and so far we have never been able to awaken the subject when in this state; but the body is never rigid, and the heart action is never modified, though respiration is sometimes markedly interfered with. This man is utterly unconscious, wholly oblivious to what takes place, and unless told about it subsequently, never knows that he has been used as a sort of clearing house for the coming and going of alleged extra-planetary personalities. In fact, he is more or less indifferent to the whole proceeding, and shows a surprising lack of interest in these affairs as they occur from time to time. Eighteen years of study and careful investigation have failed to reveal the psychic origin of these messages. I find myself at the present time just where I was when I started. Psychoanalysis, hypnotism, intensive comparison, fail to show that the written or spoken messages of this individual have origin in his own mind. Much of the material secured through this subject is quite contrary to his habits of thought, to the way in which he has been taught, and to his entire philosophy. In fact, of much that we have secured, we have failed to find anything of its nature in existence. Its philosophic content is quite new, and we are unable to find where very much of it has ever found human expression.” In 1924, a group of Sadler's friends, former patients, and colleagues began meeting for Sunday intellectual discussions. This group, eventually known as the Forum, became interested in the neighbor’s communications when Sadler mentioned the unusual case and read samples of the information communicated. Over time a message reportedly was received that this group would be allowed to devise questions and that answers would be given by celestial beings through the neighbour who was referred to only as the “contact personality.” A smaller group of individuals referred to as the Contact Commission, including William and Lena Sadler, was responsible for gathering the questions from the Forum to be answered by the celestial personalities, acting as the custodians of the handwritten manuscripts that were compiled as a result of this process, and arranging for typing and proofreading the material.The Sadlers and the other members of the Contact Commission confirmed before their deaths that the information that comprised the papers of the book was communicated and transcribed from 1925 until 1935 with the first three parts completed in 1934 and the fourth in 1935. The last official Forum gathering was in 1942. However, the communications purportedly continued for another two decades while members of the Forum studied the book in depth. According to Sadler and others, permission to publish The Urantia Book was given to them in 1955. Urantia Foundation was formed in 1950 as a tax-exempt educational society in Illinois, and through privately raised funds, the book was published under international copyright on October 12, 1955. Dr. William S. Sadler died in 1963, pre-deceased by his wife, Lena. The identity of the Contact Personality does not appear in The Urantia Book and was never revealed either by the Sadlers or other members of the Contact Commission, the only persons who actually knew who he was. Notwithstanding speculative claims to the contrary by Martin Gardner and other researchers, no factual evidence of his identity has ever been found and no person has ever come forward to claim such identity. Source: Lewis, James R. and Hammer, Olav (2007). The Invention of Sacred Tradition. Cambridge University Press. Larry Mullins with Dr. Meredith Justin Sprunger (2000) A History of the Urantia Papers. Penumbra Press
Contents Part I consists of 31 papers that address God as Creator of the universe and Father of all beings. Among many attributes of eternal God the book puts particular emphasis on his love, and calls him “Universal Father”. Then follows the description of Trinity, located in Paradise, which is the goal of destiny for humankind and other inhabitants of the universe. Numerous spiritual beings are described in detail and also their functions in the vast universe. Structure of cosmos is also narrated as well as the organisation and celestial administration of galaxies, stars and planets.
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Criticism Most of the criticism of The Urantia Book is based on Martin Gardner book: Urantia: The Great Cult Mystery (1995) Prometheus Books. The number of mistakes that Martin Gardner made in his book raises a question, has he read The Urantia Book carefully and completely; more information here. Academic world rather disagrees with Martin Gardner conclusions. The Urantia Book was once accused of plagiarism of human thoughts. The opposite is true. We, humans, can plagiarize divine thoughts to push forward our civilization, and these divine ideas are not protected by copyright; we can use them freely. Source: My Review of Martin Gardner's book, “Urantia, The Great Cult Mystery Gardner Book Review by Library Journal from the Library Journal/April 15, 1995 Book Reviews Lewis, James R. and Hammer, Olav (2007). The Invention of Sacred Tradition. Cambridge University Press
Urantia Community Today There is no way to gauge how many adherents there may be as there is no central organization to census. Informal study groups "tend to sprout, ripen, then vanish or splinter" and have not been counted reliably. Readers sometimes join study groups after reading on their own for years or decades, others join them soon after developing an interest in the book, while "for most, worship remains as individual as the act of reading." The movement generally incorporates a non-sectarian view reflective of the values of personal religious experience supporting the contention that individuals with different religious backgrounds can engage the book's teachings as enrichment rather than as a contradiction of their faiths. The movement inspired by The Urantia Book has not developed clergy or institutions such as churches, reading rooms, or temples. Sarah Lewis assesses that the movement is uncontroversial compared to other ones, "lacking the zealous proselytizing found within many other groups,” and that it is therefore likely to remain small and unaffected by opposing views. Urantia Foundation advocated a "slow growth" policy in the past and has not significantly marketed the book. Sales by Urantia Foundation went from 7,000 in 1990 to 24,700 in 1997, and steadily increased to nearly 38,000 in 2000, an "upturn that seems to represent a genuine trend rather than just some spike on a sales chart.” Total worldwide sales since 1955 are estimated to have reached 700,000 at the end of 2011. Since initial publication in English the book has been translated it into 14 other languages. Approximately half of the books distributed by Urantia Foundation are in languages other than English, particularly Spanish and Russian. Since the book was determined to be in the public domain in 2001, other organizations, such as The Urantia Book Fellowship under the publishing name Uversa Press, have also published the book. Copies of The Urantia Book are on the Internet in various formats and it has been adapted to more recent platforms such as the Kindle and the iPhone /iPad / iPod Touch. Several audio books of the text are also on the Internet. Urantia Association International had twenty-six reader associations worldwide as of 2002, and the Urantia Book Fellowship (formerly Urantia Brotherhood, founded in 1955 as the original social fraternal organization) claimed roughly twelve hundred official members, with the highest concentrations in the West of the United States and the Sun Belt, especially California, Colorado, Florida, and Texas. It appears an increasing number of people are forming study groups, participating in Internet discussion groups, online education, and hosting or visiting websites dedicated to The Urantia Book. Reader conferences take place around the world. Source: Gooch, Brad (2002). Godtalk: Travels in Spiritual America. Alfred A. Knopf. Melton, J. Gordon. 1990. New Age Encyclopedia (First Edition). Gale Research Inc. Lewis, James R. and Hammer, Olav (2007). The Invention of Sacred Tradition. Cambridge University Press. 2006 Urantia Foundation annual report Urantia Book related Calendar of Events
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A copy of The Urantia Book is available from amazon.com. Translations of The Urantia Book: Croatian (in progress) Danish (in progress) Farsi(in progress) Turkish(in progress)
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