Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book

Q: There are several inconsistencies in the Urantia Book, such as these from the Wikipedia page on the Urantia Book. Such as:

1) The described formation of the solar system is consistent with the Chamberlin-Moulton planetesimal hypothesis.[1] Though popular in the early part of the 20th century, by the early 1940s it was discarded by Henry Russell's argument that it was incompatible with the angular momentum of planets such as Jupiter.[2] The currently accepted scientific explanation for the origin of the solar system is based on the nebular hypothesis.

2) The age of our universe is stated to be more than 1,000,000,000,000 (one trillion) years old and the universe is said to periodically expand and contractâ€”respireâ€”at 2-billion-year intervals. Current observations, however, suggest that the true age of the universe is approximately 13.7 billion years.

3) The big bang theory is not supported.

4) A fundamental particle called an "ultimaton" is proposed, with an electron being composed of 100 ultimatons. The particle is not known to be described anywhere else and the concept is not supported by modern particle physics.

5) Some species are said to have evolved suddenly from single mutations without transitional species. The theory originated with Dutch botanist Hugo De Vries, but was short-lived and is not now supported.

6) 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. Later, Adam and Eve produced a violet race. In the book's account, the blue, yellow, and red races were considered "primary", and the green, orange, and indigo "secondary". The green and orange races were driven to extinction, and the rest mixed over time. Modern evolutionary theory does not support this account.

7) The book repeats the idea prevalent at the time of its origin that one side of the planet Mercury always faces the sun due to tidal locking. In 1965, radio astronomers discovered that Mercury actually rotates fast enough for all sides to see exposure to the sun. In the same passage, the book states that tidal friction will slow the rotation of a planet or other orbiting body "until axial revolution ceases". However, current understanding is that revolutions do not cease, but stabilize such that the time to complete one revolution will become equal to the time needed to complete an orbit.

8) The book says that a solar eclipse was predicted in 1808 by the Native American prophet Tenskwatawa. The eclipse was actually predicted in late April 1806 and occurred on June 16, 1806."

can these be explained easily?

A: The list you've provided includes many of the discrepancies people bring up in order to discredit the validity of The Urantia Book. You've concluded by asking "Can these be explained easily?" and for the most part, the answer is yes, they can be explained easily.

The simple explanation is that good science is constrained to support hypotheses that can be proven. If it can't be proven then it's not scientifically viable. For that reason scientific discovery is always in a state of adjustment as new facts are learned and hypotheses are upgraded. And as you've indicated in this question, some of these scientific findings of the early 1900s have gone through just such change and redefinition. Are there any scientific explanations today that are 100% correct and will never be altered? Are there any areas in which a scientist of today knows and understands all there is to know so that it can be set aside as a truth forevermore?

One of the fundamental purposes of the Urantia teachings is to make it obvious that science and spiritual truth (what is often thought of as religion) are not at odds... that an intelligent and logical thinker does not have to toss religion to the side in order to embrace science or toss science aside in order to embrace religion. Science and religion might not always agree, but what bridges the gap between them is philosophy. We've found ourselves tending to gather at the poles, saying that it's science that has the answers or that it's religion that is true and we've neglected the need for reconciling those poles through philosophical thought.

Besides corroborating the value of scientific inquiry The Urantia Book demonstrates that spiritual truth is of even more valid since science could not exist were it not for the spiritual underpinnings of creation. But science cannot prove that spirit even exists. Science has its own arena of expertise but that arena at most encompass only half of reality. Spiritual underpinnings permeate all of creation which is comprised of both spiritual and material reality.

Here are my non-scientific answers to the issues you've presented:

For 1) â€“ Today's currently accepted scientific explanation may become tomorrow's discarded hypothesis.

For 2) â€“ Today's currently accepted scientific explanation may become tomorrow's discarded hypothesis.

For 3) â€“ The Big Bang is no longer a popular theory.

For 4) â€“ Yes, this particle is unknown.

For 5) â€“ Today's currently accepted scientific explanation may become tomorrow's discarded hypothesis.

For 6) â€“ Today's currently accepted scientific explanation may become tomorrow's discarded hypothesis.

For 7) â€“ Today's currently accepted scientific explanation may become tomorrow's discarded hypothesis.

For 8) â€“ There are actually two errors in that paragraph; you can read the explanation HERE

I'm sure you're aware that aside from disclosing this undiscovered singular material substance from which all material creation is composed (the ultimaton) the book also gives the enigmatic statement that the center of every ultimaton is the Isle of Paradise. That statement gives matter an unknowable quality which will forever baffle science and will force science to come to terms with the reality of the spiritual underpinning to reality through philosophical insight.

Scientific inquiry is a valuable endeavor but it won't provide the answers people most struggle to discover. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen and it is a necessary element in the evolution of human consciousness and insight.

One additional comment. The Urantia Book claims to be a revelation. It could not justify that claim unless it presented new and previously unknown information, information that is not readily understood, information that is not recognized by current scientific standards. Many of those who study The Urantia Book believe it is exactly what it says it is so disparity between its explanations and current scientific thought are of little concern for alarm. If science is a big issue with your ability to believe you might find the website UBTheNews to be of interest as it focuses on current scientific thought versus the teachings of The Urantia Book The website address is http://www.ubthenews.com/

Best wishes and thank you for the question.

Labels: big bang, evolution, Mercury, races, religion, science, solar system, The Urantia Book, ultimaton, universe age

Permalink

Monday, March 22, 2010

Are there any scientific errors in The BIBLE?

Q: Are there any scientific errors in The BIBLE? In Mathew, and in Luke, is the family tree of Jesus shown wrong? I love Jesus very much, please answer me.

A: Thank you so much for your note to Truthbook.com. I see that you wrote two notes, actually, but both are asking the same question regarding scientific errors in the Bible.

You have written your questions to us at a website which is dedicated to furthering the teachings of The Urantia Book, a modern revelation of God to mankind. The Urantia Book contains not only a revelation of the nature and personality of God, but it also illuminates human history, presents previously unknown scientific facts, traces the history of the creation of our earth, and most importantly for you, it contains a complete accounting of the life and teachings of Jesus.

The history of Jesus' family tree in the book of Luke contains about 75 branches, beginning with God and ending with Joseph...is it accurate? More importantly, does it really matter if it is, or is not? Does knowing such things improve your personal relationship with Jesus? One of the things that you might be interested from The Urantia Book in is the history of Jesus' earthly lineage through Joseph and Mary HERE.

As for scientific error in the Bible: I am not a Bible scholar, nor do I exclusively use the Bible for spiritual truth, except as a valuable reference work, but right offhand, I am reminded of the story of Genesis in which it is taught that God created the world in six days. Unless the term "day" has a far different meaning than that which we know, the creation of this world in six days is a glaring and unrealistic error, and one which should inspire thinking people to investigate its accuracy. In light of overwhelming scientific evidences for evolution, the creation story of the Bible seems more reasonable if we think of it as a fable, or a legend rather than an accurate accounting of creation.

Likewise, the story of the creation of the first humans (Adam and Eve) has serious flaws. For example, the teaching that Cain found a wife in the land of Nod after the fall of Eden is a clear evidence (even using the Bible story itself) that this Biblical story is in error. If there were people in the land of Nod during the days of Adam and Eve, how did they get there? The Urantia Book tells us a much different story of the first human beings.

As a historical document, the Bible is primarily a history of the Jewish peoples. It was written in ancient times by people who, while they may have been spiritually inspired, were severely limited in their understandings of the world. The Bible contains much spiritual truth, but as an accurate history, or as an accurate source of scientific fact, it is lacking.

If you rely on the Bible alone as a full and accurate picture of spiritual or scientific truth, you will return again and again to these inconsistencies. This can be very confusing if you are a sincere truth-seeker, and so, I hope you'll at least suspend this belief for a time while you open your mind to a new possibility.

It is good to know that you love Jesus. Here at Truthbook.com, we love, and are dedicated to Jesus as well. If you have an open mind, and truly desire to know the truth about Jesus and what he himself had to say about sacred Scripture, I invite you to visit our site and explore The Urantia Book.

I have supplied in this reply several links which, if you click on them, will open the text and help you to understand what The Urantia Book has to offer you in the way of a better understanding - not only of Jesus, but of some of the Biblical stories which I mentioned in the beginning of my reply. The Bible has much to offer us in the way of spiritual truth - Jesus himself was very fond of using Scripture - but the time has come to use our God-given intellects to discern whether belief in the strict authority of the Bible is necessary in order to know God, to know Jesus, and to secure eternal life.

Loving Jesus - knowing Jesus - has little to do with whether the Biblical stories about him are accurate. Jesus was - and is - the light of the world and the hope of all mankind. He is available to all, with or without any written words. His Spirit of Truth inspires all sincere souls. Jesus can be known in your heart and your mind, regardless of whether you believe the Bible, or whether you may choose to discover him anew through The Urantia Book.

I might suggest that you consider signing up for our "Quote of the Day" service. You can subscribe for free, and unsubscribe at any time. With this service, you will receive a Urantia Book quote daily (many contain the words of Jesus, or are about Jesus) to help you stay closer to the Master.

Thanks again for writing, and I hope that this reply has been helpful to you...

Labels: Adam and Eve, Bible, Jesus, science, Spirit of Truth, The Urantia Book

Permalink

Friday, March 19, 2010

Does spiritual death mean the final destruction of the SOUL?

Q: Can spiritual death occur even while man is still materially alive? Paper 112:3.2 (Part 1) says "if mortal man has willingly rejected survival the Thought Adjuster leaves him although the Seraphim is still with him". Does it mean the individual still goes on living without the Thought Adjuster as he possess cosmic energies till his material death? My question: "Does spiritual death mean the final destruction of the SOUL? In such a situation how can soul be called immortal?

A: Thanks for this interesting question...

I am going to cite the entire passage that you quoted:

(112:3.2) 1. Spiritual (soul) death. If and when mortal man has finally rejected survival, when he has been pronounced spiritually insolvent, morontially bankrupt, in the conjoint opinion of the Adjuster and the surviving seraphim, when such co-ordinate advice has been recorded on Uversa, and after the Censors and their reflective associates have verified these findings, thereupon do the rulers of Orvonton order the immediate release of the indwelling Monitor. But this release of the Adjuster in no way affects the duties of the personal or group seraphim concerned with that Adjuster-abandoned individual. This kind of death is final in its significance irrespective of the temporary continuation of the living energies of the physical and mind mechanisms. From the cosmic standpoint the mortal is already dead; the continuing life merely indicates the persistence of the material momentum of cosmic energies.

To answer your question briefly - the answer is yes. According to this passage, spiritual death means the final destruction of the soul. In such a case, the soul of that person no longer possesses immortality, because it has died, but "the continuing life merely indicates the persistence of the material momentum of cosmic energies." At natural death, the personality will also (presumably) be extinguished.

Now, it is likely that there is still something of value that remains - perhaps some soul-growth that took place before this final determination of soul-death. Such values are indeed immortal and they do survive. In such a case, it would seem safe to assume that that value, as well as the personality of that person, will be added to the "oversoul of creation," or it will survive in the Adjuster, as explained here:

(2:3.4) ...When the continued embrace of sin by the associated mind culminates in complete self-identification with iniquity, then upon the cessation of life, upon cosmic dissolution, such an isolated personality is absorbed into the oversoul of creation, becoming a part of the evolving experience of the Supreme Being. Never again does it appear as a personality; its identity becomes as though it had never been. In the case of an Adjuster-indwelt personality, the experiential spirit values survive in the reality of the continuing Adjuster.

The soul gains immortality due to the freewill decisions of the possessor of that soul. When a person consistently fails to make such decisions, and instead embraces iniquity (the extremity of sin), their soul ceases to grow and no longer has immortal status. You may recall that consistent iniquity indicates "vanishing personality control," and loss of reality.

Our soul is a spiritual counterpart of our physical beings - a spiritual counterpart which grows throughout a lifetime as a result of freewill decisions made and choices made which are in harmony with God's will. It all comes down to freewill choice. When a person decides to reject survival, when "he has been pronounced spiritually insolvent, morontially bankrupt," his soul has ceased to grow. Once the Adjuster takes leave of that person, that person is, in effect, already spiritually dead. They still possess mortal life, however...

This seems a very harsh - and strange - set of events, and hopefully, not something that occurs very often. It is difficult to imagine going through life without the guidance of the Adjuster, and having no soul, isn't it? However, just its mention in the book means to me that it DOES happen. In my opinion, this would have to be a person who knows full well what they are doing - someone who knows and who has experienced God, and then consistently, willingly, knowingly and deliberately decides to reject him and his plan of survival while still on this earth. Again, it seems a very radical decision to make, and I can't begin to judge whether any person is now living with such a fate.

Larger minds than ours make such determinations, and we have to just keep on with our spiritual lives, staying close to God and trying as best we can to grow our souls with consistent decisions towards grace, faith, trust and love - producing the fruits of the Spirit in our lives, and believing through faith that immortality is ours - not by chance, but by choice.

Again, thanks for this interesting question. I hope that my answer has been of some help to you. For a better understanding, you may enjoy having a look at our topical study on the soul HERE.

Best Wishes...

Labels: death, free will, God, iniquity, personality, soul, The Urantia Book, Thought Adjuster, value

Permalink

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Simplistically, what actually happens when we die?

Q: It's all very confusing, the life after death part! Simplistically, what actually happens when we die?

A: Thanks so much for writing to us with this question about our life after death. Even with the revelatory information about the process that we have from The Urantia Book, it is understandable that there is some uncertainty. Death is still the "great unknown" in a lot of ways. Really, it is simply the "great adventure" that we all have yet to experience.

I suppose if this life here on Earth had been explained to you before you incarnated it would have seemed very confusing too, yet you gradually became aware of your surroundings, your mother and father's faces, eating and sleeping and eventually the greater world around you. It's a natural process and now it's all familiar and natural to you...

Each night when you go to sleep you surrender your consciousness with the expectation that when you awake it will be given back to you just like it was when you went to sleep... and sure enough! Wouldn't you expect that that's pretty much what will occur when you die?

You'll die, for whatever reasons, either peacefully or with struggle. You'll gradually awaken as a newly arrived soul to new surroundings that you'll become familiar with over time as you become aware of the greater world around you. Eventually you'll recall that you'd had a previous life in the flesh, and that your personality had survived that death and that you are now embarked upon a fantastic new adventure.

In any event, you will lose consciousness at death, just as in nightly sleep - but we know from Urantia Book teachings, that we will awaken again on the Mansion Worlds. It is our faith and our desire for survival that ensures our awakening, so try not to be overly concerned - just cultivate faith and trust in God's goodness.

At death, your Thought Adjuster takes leave of your mind, while your soul, your mind and your personality are taken by the angels and kept in perfect safety until your resurrection, which takes place when your soul is re-united with your Adjuster on the Mansion Worlds. You will be unconscious until that resurrection experience, and so it will be just like waking up here, only you'll have that consciousness of having survived the death experience.

And don't forget: Jesus provided the living proof that life continues after death through his resurrection... that we begin over there just as we left off over here. He was a human just as we are human. He rose from the dead, and so will you (except of course, you will awaken on the Mansion Worlds). Trust Jesus.

I hope that this reply has been of some help to you...for some inspiration, please see our flash movie called "After You Die" HERE

And you might also enjoy looking through our study on Life after Death HERE

Thanks again for writing to us.

Labels: consciousness, death, Jesus, life after death, Mansion Worlds, soul, The Urantia Book

Permalink

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Only some humans have guardian angels, according to The Urantia Book. Why is that...?

Q: Only some humans have guardian angels, according to The Urantia Book. Why is that if God is not a respecter of persons?

A: I want to thank you for writing to us here at Truthbook with this very good question. We always love to hear from our visitors, and from students of The Urantia Book.

You are correct about the guardian angels. In The Urantia Book, we learn that:

(113:1.1) The teaching about guardian angels is not a myth; certain groups of human beings do actually have personal angels.

And then you wonder why, if God is no respecter of persons, all people are not gifted with personal angels. This is a good question, and we can find the answers in this same section I quoted above, called The Guardian Angels

First and foremost, we learn that:

(113:1.2) Originally, the seraphim were definitely assigned to the separate Urantia races. But since the bestowal of Michael, they are assigned in accordance with human intelligence, spirituality, and destiny.

I would suggest that you click on the link and read about the kinds of intellectual categories of human beings. You'll see that, even those people of subnormal mind are fellowshipped by angelic ministry.

The assignment of personal guardians is given according to attainment by an individual - attainment of spiritual benchmarks. These benchmarks are indicated by the "circles of human progress and spiritual development."

You can read more about these circles of human progress HERE

In this section we learn that circle attainment is a result of "successive conquest of the seven psychic circles of mortal potentiality." This indicates that such attainment is through personal initiative towards spiritual growth. Not all persons are inclined to pursue such spiritual growth, and this quote seems to indicate that those that are, and who make progress in this area, are given personal angels because they have been earned, in a sense.

From this section:

(110:6.13) "The seventh circle. This level is entered when human beings develop the powers of personal choice, individual decision, moral responsibility, and the capacity for the attainment of spiritual individuality. This signifies the united function of the seven adjutant mind-spirits under the direction of the spirit of wisdom, the encircuitment of the mortal creature in the influence of the Holy Spirit, and, on Urantia, the first functioning of the Spirit of Truth, together with the reception of a Thought Adjuster in the mortal mind. Entrance upon the seventh circle constitutes a mortal creature a truly potential citizen of the local universe.

"The third circle. The Adjuster's work is much more effective after the human ascender attains the third circle and receives a personal seraphic guardian of destiny. While there is no apparent concert of effort between the Adjuster and the seraphic guardian, nonetheless there is to be observed an unmistakable improvement in all phases of cosmic achievement and spiritual development subsequent to the assignment of the personal seraphic attendant. When the third circle is attained, the Adjuster endeavors to morontiaize the mind of man during the remainder of the mortal life span, to make the remaining circles, and achieve the final stage of the divine-human association before natural death dissolves the unique partnership."

And:

(110:6.17) "The motivation of faith makes experiential the full realization of man's sonship with God, but action, completion of decisions, is essential to the evolutionary attainment of consciousness of progressive kinship with the cosmic actuality of the Supreme Being. Faith transmutes potentials to actuals in the spiritual world, but potentials become actuals in the finite realms of the Supreme only by and through the realization of choice-experience. But choosing to do the will of God joins spiritual faith to material decisions in personality action and thus supplies a divine and spiritual fulcrum for the more effective functioning of the human and material leverage of God-hunger.

It is true that "God is no respecter of persons," and this is shown by the fact that all of his children are given the same chances for spiritual advancement - all have available to them the same spiritual agencies - just as the sun and the rain fall on both the just and the unjust. But not all of God's children have the same spiritual longings or have accomplished the same spiritual achievements - action, and choice-experience. And so, this appears to be the reason for the fact that only certain individuals are given personal angels.

It would be very difficult to discern who has a personal angel and who does not, but it would seem that if we carefully read these sections which are linked above, we can help ourselves to understand what is needed to reach that point where we may at least imagine that we have such heavenly help...of course, staying close to God, dedicating our wills to do his will, and a thorough study of The Urantia Book can only help us as we pursue our spiritual quest...

I hope that this answer has been helpful to you today. Thanks again for writing. Please feel free to write back any time. And, you might enjoy taking a look at our study on Angels HERE - also, we have a lovely short video called "You'll Never Walk Alone" HERE

Labels: choice, faith, God, guardian angels, seven cosmic circles, The Urantia Book

Permalink

Sunday, February 28, 2010

I am very interested in the work of Mary Baker Eddy and the Christian Science movement...does it parallel The Urantia Book?

Q: I am very interested in the work of Mary Baker Eddy and the Christian Science movement. There seems to be many parallels between her revelations and The Urantia Book. Am I close in that observation?

A: Thanks so much for this interesting question to us here at Truthbook.com. It sent me on a research adventure...

Christian Science basically teaches that a person suffering from disease or injury of any kind can be healed, or heal themselves, without help from medicines or other outside means - that all that is needed is prayer, living faith and trust in God. Mary Baker Eddy considered herself to be living proof of this theory when she experienced a cure from a supposedly permanent case of paralysis due to a fall.

Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science was influenced greatly by a man called Phineas Parkhurst Quimby, the commonly accepted father of the "New Thought" movement, which elevated the importance of "mind over matter" in the case of diseases of the body. His teachings have an element of similarity to Urantia Book teachings, in that he declares that the mind and spirit are dominant over matter. The Urantia Book teaches:

(116:6.1) "In the evolutionary superuniverses energy-matter is dominant except in personality, where spirit through the mediation of mind is struggling for the mastery. The goal of the evolutionary universes is the subjugation of energy-matter by mind, the co-ordination of mind with spirit, and all of this by virtue of the creative and unifying presence of personality. Thus, in relation to personality, do physical systems become subordinate; mind systems, co-ordinate; and spirit systems, directive. "

This is taken from a section titled: Spirit Dominance

So, in theory, it does appear that this idea of spirit-dominance that is taught in The Urantia Book does correspond with the teachings of the Christian Science church. And there are other smatterings of similarities, such as the belief that our afterlife is similar to this life and provides the means whereby we can progress towards eternal life, an idea not unlike that of the Mansion Worlds.

Other tenets of the Christian Science religion are definitely in contradiction to Urantia Book teachings - tenets such as the belief that Jesus was not divine and that illness is an error produced by sin or fear.

The Urantia Book teaches us that our biologic makeup is still quite faulty, due to many factors - chiefly that of the default of the Adamic mission which, had it been more successful, would have ridded our bodies of much disease through upstepping our biology with their life-plasm.

(76:4.7) "The body cells of the Material Sons and their progeny are far more resistant to disease than are those of the evolutionary beings indigenous to the planet. The body cells of the native races are akin to the living disease-producing microscopic and ultramicroscopic organisms of the realm. These facts explain why the Urantia peoples must do so much by way of scientific effort to withstand so many physical disorders. You would be far more disease resistant if your races carried more of the Adamic life. "

So, we are still trying to address these physical problems with medical science and in our modern times we have been able to map our genetic code, for one example, and are starting to have the ability to prevent and cure some conditions that have plagued the human races through gene manipulation. And the discovery of penicillin was a great breakthrough in fighting certain diseases. Christian Science denies the importance of medical science.

In a perfect world, the reliance on prayer and faith would always be effective - but the fact is that this world is far from perfect. Having said that, faith is definitely a positive influence on conditions of body and mind, and in Jesus' times, there were many so-called miraculous cures effected by the power of faith. When Jesus ministered to sick people he "inspired the faith and confidence of the sick and suffering." And indeed, this is what appears to have cured them in certain cases, such as the woman with the issue of blood, recounted HERE:

However, in the case of prayer, The Urantia Book states that:

(91:6.2) "Prayer is not a technique for curing real and organic diseases, but it has contributed enormously to the enjoyment of abundant health and to the cure of numerous mental, emotional, and nervous ailments. And even in actual bacterial disease, prayer has many times added to the efficacy of other remedial procedures. Prayer has turned many an irritable and complaining invalid into a paragon of patience and made him an inspiration to all other human sufferers."

This passage is taken from the section titled: The Province of Prayer

So, to answer your question - yes, there parallels between the Christian Science church and Urantia Book teachings - and there are also contradictions. However, one must use reason and wisdom when standing in expectation of a cure for all dis-ease solely by the power of prayer and faith.

While prayer and faith can be powerful aids in physical healing, they are conditioned by the strength of the individual's capacity for, and commitment to them and belief in them, as in the woman in the above story. Not everyone possesses such a level of faith that they can be cured of all disease, and it appears to me to be a dangerous thing to expect that all people - even children - can be cured by spiritual means alone. Over the years, people have been denied the advances of medical science and have died because of it. Then it is assumed that their faith was lacking, or that they were inherently sinful, causing their untimely death. This seems to be an unfair and unwise practice, and clearly contradicts Urantia Book teachings about sickness and disease, which we learn are not the "frown of God." I remember in particular a case in the news where a young child was denied a blood transfusion which could have saved his life, in favor of a strictly prayerful cure. It did not happen - the child died, and the family was left wondering and doubting the strength of their faith.

The Urantia Book helps us to understand the province of prayer, and also the possibilities of prayer and faith; its teachings encourage us to develop a strong faith and to trust in God. It also extols the value of science, and we would do well to take advantage of the discoveries of science while unifying science with mindal and spiritual realities.

I hope that this reply has been helpful. I might suggest that you do a SEARCH using the word "disease" or "sickness" for even more information. Please write back with any further questions or comments... we love to hear from our visitors.

Labels: biology, Christian Science, faith, healing, Mary Baker Eddy, prayer, science, spiri dominance, The Urantia Book

Permalink

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

JESUS is the name that came from Heaven...Is CHRIST also a given name from GOD...?

Q: We know that JESUS is the name that came from Heaven, from GOD in JOSEPH. What I wish to know: Is CHRIST also a given name from GOD, or the name that Joseph the parent used?

A: Thank you for your note to Truthbook.com. Let me explain about Jesus' name. The name "Jesus" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew "Yeshua" which is the contracted form of Yehoshua. The English translation of Yehoshua is "Joshua" but since the original Gospels were written in Greek we use the name "Jesus". (from "The Life and Teachings of Jesus", by Preston Thomas) It's interesting to note that whenever one works in a foreign language you find out that things you think wouldn't be translated, are... for example names. In Spanish Adam is Adan, Eve is Eva, Mary is Maria... and the same applies to Jesus' name. Jesus was also most likely called Joshua ben Joseph -- Joshua the son of Joseph.

In The Urantia Book section titled "Gabriel's Announcement to Mary" Gabriel instructed Mary to name her baby Joshua -- in the Hebrew language this would have been Yeshua.

"Christ" is a term that was applied to Jesus primarily after his death, during the period of the formation of the Christian Church. Christ is from the Greek "Christos", literally a translation of the Hebrew word "anointed". The Jewish scriptures taught the coming of one anointed by God who would bring about the kingdom of God on earth. He was also known as the "Deliverer" since he was to deliver his people from their bondage. The word "Messiah" is the Hebrew word for "anointed one"; its Greek form is "Christ." (from "The Life and Teachings of Jesus", by Preston Thomas).

So, Jesus' name was given by Gabriel to Mary. Christ is a designation from the Greek language signifying the divinity of Jesus.

Thank you for this interesting question. I hope that you are subscribed to the daily "Quote of the Day," it's an excellent way to begin to learn about the teachings of The Urantia Book. If you're not, just take this link and then click on "subscribe." It is a free service and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Labels: Christ, Jesus' name, The Urantia Book

Permalink

Monthly Archives - Previous Articles
October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010

RSS Feed

The Urantia Book : Pictures of Jesus : Angel Pictures: Inspirational Quotes : Life After Death : Story of Jesus : Truthbook.com : Urantia : The Urantia Book