An Analysis of The Urantia Book and Brief Description

The Urantia Book , a philosophical and spiritual work that shows us our origin as human beings and relationship with God. It tells our story and gives a perspective on what our destiny as humanity could be.

Origen

The Urantia Book is a literary work that reveals many of the mysteries of science, humanity, and about Jesus Christ and our relationship with him. This work was written during 1922 and 1939, but published for the first time in 1935 in the United States.

A curious fact is that the author or authors of this book today remain an unrevealed mystery. There are theories about whether this text was written by celestial or “superhuman” creatures through a sleeping human being, since it contains very revealing information, even about our destiny as humanity, who could handle this kind of information?

At the moment, the Urantia Book is an unsolved mystery, but it offers us countless anecdotes and mysteries that have been revealed to us and from which we can learn.

Of course, like all great mysteries, it has generated various interpretations, both spiritual and philosophical, however, there are people who maintain that the Urantia Book is nothing more than a work of science fiction that has generated scandal.

The interpretation must then be purely personal and although the message is the same, it will vary according to the beliefs of each of its readers.

“Urantia” is in fact, curiously, the name that our planet receives in the Urantia Book by these “celestial beings” and “Urantian” is the term used (and synonymous) to refer to “Earthling”.

The Urantia Book has been translated into more than fifteen (15) different languages, among them: Spanish, Korean, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, among others, and there are at least another five (05) more languages ​​that you are waiting for to be translated.

Currently, there are millions of copies worldwide, and even in pdf format, perfectly adapted to different languages, although the Urantia Foundation (Illinois headquarters) are the ones who have been in charge of publishing, translating and owning the copyright of said book.

A Brief Overview of The Urantia Book

The Urantia Book remains a mystery both in its content and in the interpretation of its messages, but what exactly is the Urantia Book? What do we know about its “real” origin? what are his teachings? What is the role of God and spirituality in your texts? What unknown part of Jesus’ life is echoed in the book? These are, without a doubt, some of the questions that the Urantia Book generates and intrigues us.

Perhaps one of the biggest questions is who dared to publish it? Beyond who could have been the intellectual author or authors. There is a story behind this.

Dr. William Sadler in which the whole process revolves around the revelation, since he found out about a man who spoke in his dreams and since he had a special interest in mediums and channeling, I did not hesitate to go see him.

It was a very long process, but from that moment on, what this man said in his dreams (initially), and later, was obtained in written form, was what gave rise to the famous and mysterious Urantia Book.

As we mentioned, the intellectual author or authors are unknown, as is the identity of the man who served as an “information transmitter” through his dreams.

These manuscripts appeared one day at Dr. Saldler’s house, without any explanation and with a lot of interesting information, but without any person named as their author. In fact, a curious event is that its publication was made without any human authorship.

It was not wanted to fall into idolizing the people who received such messages, but rather to focus on the message to be transmitted as such. It was an extensive process, it went through many stages, first, the reception of messages through these “receivers” who, beyond that, were nothing more than an ordinary person.

Later, it was polished through textual documents and finally, Dr. Sandler, with the help of friends and patients, created something called “The Forum”, which enters the scene from 1923 to 1935 where the reception of information ends.

This revelation was the fifth. Many years ago, different revelations have been offered by historical figures such as Adam and Eve, Jesus Christ himself and beings from other worlds. The last part of this book refers to the life of Jesus.

As long as the book was not published, the members of the forum made a pact of silence and could not comment on what was happening in the forum meetings.

The Urantia Book contains information on religion, history, politics, sociology, cosmology, science. In fact, it is a very complete book, rich in a diversity of themes and mysteries, which are perfectly integrated in a harmonious way. Its true value lies in its content, but not in its origin.

Many people claim that reading The Urantia Book has given them a new perspective on life and has even inspired them to serve humanity. His texts explain to us in a divine way our relationship with God from our human nature and points out that we are all children of a loving God, that is, we all, without exception, come from the same source.

Overview

The Urantia Book expresses the story of our creation from the origin of our planet, the story of the life of Jesus with revealing facts, the universe and much more. We will then develop each part contained in this mysterious book of 2037 pages, consisting of a prologue and one hundred and ninety-six (196) documents distributed in four (4) parts.

What is the urantia book ? Although it is an “updated” book for the time (approximately 1935) it does not stop containing very revealing data about the course that humanity should follow, for example.

If something catches the attention of the Urantia Book when it is read for the first time, it is the level of coherence that it possesses and the continuous reflections that it invites us to carry out, even if it does not express it textually and literally.

The main purpose of The Urantia Book is the salvation of souls, and the second motive is to “enlighten” our human mind.

Foreword

Human beings have a conceptual poverty, therefore, the urantia book begins by defining important concepts that sometimes generate confusion such as Divinity, deity, entity, creator, God, among others, as well as certain descriptions with great amount of details, because they will be developed throughout the different documents, and the idea is not to generate pauses or gaps that prevent understanding the messages that they want to convey.

God and deity, the divine source, the beginning of everything, therefore, it is not unreasonable that this book also begins by showing us the causes and then the consequences, first God, then man, and so on.

Without a doubt, it is a book to read with a totally open mind. Open to new ideas, new concepts, and even new definitions of what we believe to be “true”, touching on issues and stirring our nerves by mentioning concepts such as the finite, the absolute or the absonite, the perfect and imperfect from a perspective never seen before.

They also talk about the human being as a duality between the perfect and the imperfect; What do we understand by each of these concepts? Are we open to this different way of perceiving ourselves?

Another example is when they touch on the subject of God. The book expresses that God is not an infinite and all powerful being, capable of controlling time or space, or an infinite deity as related by sacred texts, but rather a consequence of an infinite deity. And so, they continue with different topics, for which, not everyone is open or prepared.

However, we must thank Urantian cosmology for making it easier for us to understand complex and profound concepts through extremely detailed explanations, this, to a certain extent, contrasts the various statements that they show us.

Part One: The Central Universe and the Superuniverses

This first part of the Urantia Book describes the Universal Father, as the first source, center of all things and beings that inhabit creation. It also expresses and describes the son as “eternal” and the holy spirit as “infinite.”

In order to understand this, it is necessary to understand the concepts and terms described earlier in the prologue. Starting then from “the source” God is seen first as the creator of everything and everyone, then as a controller, well, it was he who gave us life and controls how long we will enjoy this world.

And finally, it is portrayed as an infinite sustainer, that is, that being that provides us with what we require throughout our lives, lovingly and willing to forgive and receive us as any parent would.

God is then a “universal Father”, a unique God and not a “set of gods”, who controls everything that happens or does not happen both in our life and the life of any other being created by him and that inhabits the earth.

However, the universe, the superuniverses and various elevated personalities are also discussed, again including concepts that allow us to understand the orders of spirits that serve as “ministers” of these superuniverses, among other topics.

Part Two: The Local Universe 

The Urantia Book , in this second part, describes how was the formation and subsequent creation of the local universe? And we enter into interesting concepts such as “Mother of the universe”, “Children of the Universe”, implantation and carrying of life, do they mean the same thing? what do they refer to?

Did you know that there are what they call “Adams and Eves of the Universe? And of course, despite these finite and infinite worlds, mortal and immortal, the rebellion of lucifer (the evil one) is present in these documents.

planetary epochs? Seraphic hosts? Inhabited worlds? universal unity? These are concepts that are also included in this second part of the book.

Part Three: The Story of Urantia 

It describes the history and a sociological, geographical and cultural analysis of our planet earth long before the solar system existed, and takes us little by little, in a coherent and interesting way, to the time when Jesus of Nazareth incarnated, presenting us in a successively the process of our own evolution.

Some topics that are touched on in this part of the book include from the planetary rebellion, the lack of Adam and Eve, what were the consequences of their actions? What was the revelation that Eva had had and which she decided to disobey?

The control of evolution, the origin of thoughts. Marriage and how it has evolved throughout history.

How was the evolutionary process of the colored races? what are the true origins of worship? What does it mean to be supreme? And many more topics that show us where we come from and where we are going, how did our thoughts and beliefs evolve? And it touches once again on the concept of deity, but now includes “reality” and “Thought adjusters.”

Part Four: The Life and Teachings of Jesus

It tells us year after year how the complete and detailed life of Jesus was (in its entirety), from before birth, through his teachings, works and finally death, what are those “secrets” that have been hidden from us until now? What truths have been denied us or adapted to the convenience of human beings?

Of course, it includes chapters such as: the birth, childhood and adolescence of Jesus of Nazareth, how were those years of transition for him? What really happened when he isolated himself those long forty (40) days?

What do the twelve (12) apostles represent? who was John the Baptist? The betrayal, arrest, crucifixion and period of the tomb and resurrection of Jesus, makes us question, have we really been told the whole truth about him?

If you believe that the answer is no and that there are many mysteries locked up before, during and after his death, in short, you should take a moment to browse with the due attention it deserves, and with an open and willing mind, and let the book “enlighten” your mind, offering you new, juicy and divine perspectives, from those who have lived throughout this creation and who decided to tell us a part of our origin, or rather, our true origin.

Theological and cosmological content

The Urantia Book has some similarities with Christianity, in the sense that it defines God as “triune”, but also broadens our vision by showing us a God motivated by love and the well-being of each of his creatures that inhabit the world, that world that he created and now controls, but also sustains. ​

It also expresses that God is above all a “Father”, and as such, the most “correct” definition of “love” would be like that overflowing desire to “do good”.

The Urantia Book does not represent an extension of Christianity at all, much less is it a dogma, it simply aims to broaden our goal and understanding of life and ourselves. It allows us to understand our evolution, processes and ways of thinking. Without a doubt, it is a before and after, which marks once we decided to read it with the due importance it requires.

Although he affirms that as there is a father, there is a Mother, in this case Mary is a kind of “spiritual mother”, however, he denies Christian dogmas such as “Mary’s virginity”, hell, original sin, or the resurrection of the flesh, to give a few examples, and offers these as simply theological explanations or religious postures to control the masses, and generate doctrines that allow people to be controlled.

As for the universe, it shows us how it was created, what its evolution has been and how immense, extensive and “infinite” it can be within seven (7) “supercreations” of time and space”. Understanding all this can be a bit complex, so it is important to pay attention to details and concepts.

It also refers to the fact that said “supercreations” were made in the image of diverse but possible triune combinations: father, son and spirit, in which a possible scenario is embodied before each one of them, a reality very different from the other, for put it more simply.

It also tells us how, in addition to these “superuniverses”, there is something known as “outer space”, where there is matter, but not life, and each matter is then “contained and enhanced” a little more than the previous one.

The Urantia Book  maintains that every human being who inhabits this planet and whose mind can be considered “normal” from six (6) years of age is capable of making moral decisions for himself, quite contrary to the belief that we have that a child, including older children, is still “not capable” of making decisions for himself since he is not fully aware of reality, or unable to identify or understand his emotions and feelings.

Once again we see how this extensive document does not stop offering us different perspectives, or including “new” beliefs, and it is not that they are really new, but that we are indoctrinated and conditioned to believe, think, act and even feel in a certain way. If we see it from a more objective point of view, we can say that we are almost “programmed” to follow a path and believe as true what the elders or “important people” (bishops, priests, among others) have told us.

Sin is defined as  the “conscious and voluntary opposition to the will of the Father”, read well, conscious and voluntary opposition, but how is it possible to “oppose” a will that tells us that we can act freely. How can we imagine opposing God’s will when he has made us in his image and wants us to be “free and happy”, isn’t this then a contradiction?

Of course, religions motivate us and promote “not questioning” and submitting to the will of God, but, perhaps, is it just a way of submitting to their own wills?

The Urantia Book offers us a very extensive path of reflection, perfection, new consciousness if you will, to better understand this world, better understand ourselves and our personal experiences, in order to then be able to “transform” our spirit before “reaching to the father”.

Interfaith quotes

“There is but one God, the infinite Father [1 Corinthians 8:6], who is also a faithful Creator [1 Peter 4:19]. The divine Creator is also the Universal Orderer [Atharva Veda 13.4.3,12,20], the source and destiny of souls [Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad 3.9.1,10]. He is the Supreme Soul [Bhagarata Purana 11.18.32], the Primordial Mind [Bhagavad Gita 10.12,13,1,16], and the Limitless Spirit of all creation [Vishnu Purana 1.1.35].

The Great Controller does not make mistakes [Shi Jing 3.3.3.12.8-10]. He shines in majesty and glory [Quran 57:3]. God the Creator is completely devoid of fear and enmity. He is immortal, eternal, self-existent, divine, and magnanimous [Japji, preamble]. How pure and beautiful, how profound and unfathomable is he, the exalted Ancestor of all things!

[Tao-Te-King 4.2,1] The Infinite is more excellent by what he imparts himself to men [Tao-Te-King 41,3]. He is the beginning and the end, the Father of all good and perfect purpose [Yasna 31.8]. With God all things are possible [Matt. 19:26]; the eternal Creator is the cause of causes [Vishnu Purana 1.1.35].”

In the previous paragraph, books of various religions have been cited, can you identify them? Some maybe yes, but others no. The important thing about all this is to understand then that most religions (if not all) seem to share the same path: God’s love for us.

And it tells us how even once we have abandoned our physical body, our soul always remains immortal, free, enjoying the immensity of the universe to the fullest extent of the word.

Symbol

The symbol of the three (3) concentric circles arises from the story contained in the Urantia Book, it is an emblem of holiness that represents universality, infinity and eternity of the universe.

reviews

One of the most notorious and received criticisms is due to its publication and updating at the time of the 50’s.

Some well-known critics like Martin Gardner (chief critic) and author of the book “Urantia, Divine Revelation or Publishing Business?” He states that The Urantia Book has not represented a major influence today, and furthermore, it lacks both theological and scientific foundations.

And he points out that his concepts do not have a divine origin, but a human one, and therefore, it has been able to be adapted and adjusted to their convenience.

Like everything in this life, some believe, others don’t, but the intention of this and any other book or document is to offer us a message, it depends on each one, in a personal way that they can take advantage of and apply in their lives. At no time does the book state that we should adopt it as a dogma, it simply makes us question many issues and reflect on it.