I would like to introduce you to the Urantia Book. It has been discussed on this site in the past, but not very much. It’s a book unlike any other
and was given to the races of Earth (Urantia) as a gift. It harmonizes Science, Philosophy and Religion and to put it another way Truth, Beauty and
Goodness. It shows that these diverse areas are inter-related. It also shows how God manages the entire Universe as life (both material and
spiritual) is teeming throughout the Universe and how he can know inner life of the individual. The story of it’s origin is also most interesting
as well and if anyone is interested I can relate that story later.
I believe many people are turned off by the book due to it’s size as it is nearly 2100 pages. An audio book version is available for free online
though. It is split into 4 parts , but the book is intended to be read from start to finish as concepts are built up through the papers. The book
starts out talking about God and his divine coordinates and works it way through the Universe and it’s organization to our planet and history and
ends with Jesus’ life and teachings.
Another factor that turns people off is usually one of two things. One, if a person is a member of another religion it is generally frowned upon to
seek knowledge outside their authorized book. Two, if a person has already made up their mind that religion or God in general is not worth their time
they would generally not be interested in reading something about God. I’m hoping to get people from those 2 categories to give it another
thought.
I would like to start with the non-religious person. I’m sure that there are diverse reasons why someone would come to this conclusion. For a good
portion of my life I kind of was in this category. I was made to go to a Christian Church as a child and quickly realized that many things taught to
me did not add up or make sense. Once I got older I no longer attended Church with my Mom. Although I did still have a feeling that God existed, but
I wasn’t sure I fully believed in the Christian God.
To make a long story short, I read about many different beliefs and none seem to make sense until I was introduced to the Urantia Book. I was very,
very skeptical going into it. A guy I worked with introduced me to it and I thumbed through it for a couple weeks, saw some things that interested me
and then checked it out from my local library. After that I bought a copy. This was at the dawn of the Internet and after some searching I found a
Folio version that I began to read and search through. Shortly after that they (Urantia Foundation) released an audio book version and that has been
my favorite way to study as I can listen while driving to and from work.
All of the questions I had I found answers for that Christianity could not or would not answer. After jumping around for a while I began from the
beginning and was blown away by it. It made sense to me, though I will admit that early on there were many words I had to look up the meanings for
and struggled with pronunciation, but the audio book helped with that.
I believe if someone gave it an honest attempt it could change their life as it did mine. One thing to mention is the book was written in 1934 -35,
but was first published in 1955. There is science in the book that is out dated, but the book explains why this was done. While explaining certain
things, unearned knowledge can not be given. Even if they know that the science will change in the near future. Many critics hang their hats on
this. If one little part is wrong, then the whole thing must be wrong. Another thing to mention is that more that was considered “wrong” in 1955
that is in the book has since been proven correct in recent times than what was considered “right” in 1955 and has been proven wrong.
The wisdom and insight that is displayed in the book is without comparison. I have found nothing that is even close to it. One interesting thing is
that it dates humans back nearly 1 Million years, states that the first humans were not from Africa and have a very plausible explanation for the
different colors/races (some of which no longer exist). Most importantly it describes God in a way that is much more believable and the same goes for
Jesus. His life and teachings comprise the 4th part of the book and is quite different than the Bible. The Bible has maybe, 2 months worth of his
life documented. The Urantia Book has his entire life. It goes through his childhood fairly quick, but pretty much talks about his life from a
teenager on. He was a much greater man than even the Bible says.
Now for the religious person, most of which will probably be some flavor of Christianity or Judaism. It is feverishly taught to not seek knowledge
outside the Bible or scared book. I believe this has wrongly put fear in the hearts of people who honestly want to seek deeper truth. They are told
the Devil is making you do this, to have faith and all those sort of things. Tell me, what could be wrong with a book that glorifies God if you
already believe in God?
Now there is one huge obstacle that Christians must get past and that is the Atonement Doctrine. That Jesus’ death was meant to atone for racial
guilt of man and was meant to be the last sacrifice. That his death appeased an otherwise angry God is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus.
This is not what Jesus taught and lived. The common people would hardly have followed someone teaching that. The common people accepted his
teachings because they were simple and ennobling, have faith that you are a son of the living God and you will have eternal life. The Jewish rulers
hated him because of this simple message. Also because it ultimately affected their pocket books and social status.
You will be blown away by some of the speeches Jesus gave. They are very profound and his style of teaching is very unique. His wisdom and logic go
beyond anything I’ve ever read. It was very refreshing to read.
Here are a couple websites where you can either read or listen to the book for free. I would also like to mention that it has been published in 15
different languages.
(
www.urantia.org...)
(
www.truthbook.com...)
edit on 4-1-2012 by UB2120 because: (no reason given)
