Spiritual Advice and Guidance Blog: Urantia Book

Q: Is the Bible really the true word of God, although it is written by men? Why do we consider the Bible as the word of God? Why are some gospels not included in the new testament? What shows that the Bible is in its original pure form still today?

A: Thank you for your note to Truthbook.com, a website dedicated to the teachings of The Urantia Book.

The Bible is considered by many people to be the true "word of God," even though it is written by men. They believe that the words in the Bible are true because they were "inspired" by God.

I will quote a portion of another reply given to a person who wrote asking a similar question. I hope you will find it helpful:

"Much of the material in the Bible in the Old Testament is older than written language, so it came from oral tradition handed down from generation to generation until eventually written language was able to record it.

All the books of the Bible, Old and New Testament, were separate manuscripts along with the many other traditional "holy" teachings and manuscripts. It wasn't until about 300 A.D. that the decision was made by the church at Rome that only a specific set of these holy materials were to be used as the basis for the Christian religion and then the specific books of the Old and New Testament were decided upon and all the rest were discarded.

Before the printing press was invented documents were copied by hand by monks and rabbis and other holy men. The original manuscripts were written in a number of different languages and were since translated from the original into the various other languages of the world."

As you can see, there really is no "pure form" of the Bible in existence today, if there ever was such a thing at all. Today's Bible is a collection of some of the highest spiritual thought received by holy- and not-so-holy men over the centuries; and prior to the advent of The Urantia Book, it really was about the best that mankind had in the way of "Divine" thought. The Bible has always been, and still is, one of the best sources of inspiration and guidance on the planet. It forms the basis for Christianity as we know it.

The Urantia Book teaches us that revelation is a continuous process in the individual and periodic in the form of epochal revelation. Epochal revelations are rare events in which communication is established between man and Heaven in order to help mankind to progress spiritually. The Urantia Book is one such epochal revelation, and it is meant for the whole world - not just Jews and Christians. The Urantia Book does not intend to supplant or replace the Bible, but it does illuminate its beginnings, and it does clarify for us the meaning of so-called "sacred Scriptures." Jesus himself was a student of Scripture; he used the Scriptures very liberally in his early years, and even in his ministry. But he did not consider them "sacred." and he chose only those passages that supported his own (epochal) revelation of God to mankind.

The true "word of God" is to be found within the heart of any sincere truth-seeker. We know the truth through our own experience - through trial and error - through seeking and finding. We have an inner guide called the Spirit of Truth which ever leads us into all truth. And so, we are wise to read any religious text - even The Urantia Book - with intelligent discernment. Truth will always be apparent to one who is honestly seeking it. Truth is found in many places, and does not belong to any one person or any group of persons. It is available to all who seek.

Thank you again for your note. I hope you will visit our site often and learn about the teachings of The Urantia Book, while you pursue your interest in the Bible.

Labels: Bible, God, The Urantia Book, truth, Word of God