Urantia Book Commentary and Articles: 2007-08-19

by Donald Shea Green

It all started back in 1981. At the time I was a student at The Boulder School for Students of the Urantia Book founded by John Hay. Merritt Horn designed and taught the two and a half year program. Besides the incremental study of the book, Merritt insisted that we all had to find some sort of community service project. Several of us at the school figured that the University of Coloradoâ€™s Boulder campus (CU) would be a great place to expose students to The Urantia Book. So a few of us decided to try to do something on campus.

In those days, the Student Union building would allow the various student clubs and organizations to set up booths along a large gallery leading into the cafeteria. Hundreds of students would pass by all day, five days a week. It looked like an eastern bazaar with a crazy assortment of campus organizations, sports clubs, fraternities, sororities, along with clubs representing every possible religion. Mixed into this clamor were vendors who could get permission from any of the official clubs to use their booth privileges to sell products and in return give the clubs a percentage. All vying for attention â€“ it was great!

So how the heck would we fit into this hubbub? We decided that weâ€™d call ourselves â€œSynthesisâ€� â€“ as in the synthesis of science, philosophy and religion. Clever, huh? The big question was just how would we present a virtually unheard of big blue book (with no pictures!) which called itself a revelation. We didnâ€™t have a clue. But we decided to jump in. We got one of the non-religious clubs to sponsor us, and we set up a booth. What a mess it was! By booth I mean a folding table â€“ the large, brown, well used, variety. We figured â€“ because of the clever name we chose â€“ if we got a lot of different books relating to philosophy, science and religion and casually stuck The Urantia Book in the midst of them, we might be able to engage some unsuspecting young person into a conversation. And (of course) hook them on the big blue one in the middle. Needless to say, everyone thought we were selling used books! Actually, the only book that got absolutely no interest was â€“ you guessed it â€“ The Urantia Book.

Our next plan was to put some notices around the Student Union announcing a discussion group on how to synthesize science, philosophy and religion. We packed one of the meeting rooms with 5 or 6 of the students from the Boulder School and laid in wait for any curious student that might happen into the room. Two or three stumbled in looking for a meeting taking place next door, and here we were, five guilty looking individuals all with big, blue, books on our laps. Needless to say, they took one look and fled in horror! â€œSynthesisâ€� lasted, as I remember, one semester.

At that time, I lived two blocks from the university and just couldnâ€™t give up the idea of doing something on campus. It dawned on me that our approach was wrong. We wanted to interest, or at least expose, the students to the Urantia Papers â€“ not necessarily trick them into a debate. Why not call our group what it really is about? So I changed the name to The Urantia Book Club.

Now for the booth itself. The table was a mess. From looking at it, no one could figure out what the heck we were doing there. It was cluttered and confusing. It needed a complete change. I picked out a very clean, shiny blue cloth to cover that ratty table top, and placed three copies of The Urantia Book on it â€“ two opened to different places and one in the center closed, showing the book and its cover. Next, I added some brochures and flyers on The Urantia Book. Also displayed was a copy of the Concordex and one of the Paramony. The Urantia Book Club was now open for business, three days a week for two hours a day.

In those days there were no less than 14 Christian clubs active on the CU campus. Many of them had booths set up at the same time we did â€“ sometimes right next to us. That never bothered me. Whenever the kids from one of these groups would stop by to see if he or she couldnâ€™t save me from the grip of the devil, Iâ€™d do my best to try and point out some of the similarities we shared. But usually they would just tell me theyâ€™d pray for me, and theyâ€™d end up going back to their booths shaking their heads.

Periodically, members of the local Urantia Book community would stop by to help out. One was a self-proclaimed bible expert who loved debating these sincere young Christians. On several occasions, he would get the better of them, theologically. I personally considered that a form of bullying â€“ taking instead of giving. I finally told him I thought he was doing more harm than good, so he just stopped coming by. Other members who stopped by to help would get bored with our apparently passive methods â€“ they would want to go after the students aggressively. I responded to that outreach philosophy by referring to a group who used to operate aggressively back in the mid-80s, the Moonies. The Moonies were an example of what I call â€œthe hard sell.â€� They had their evangelists posted at every entrance and exit to the Student Union building. They would literally chase the students down until they got them to take their literature. And then theyâ€™d try to engage them in a dialogue. Kids are very susceptible to pressure tactics. Most of them just havenâ€™t learned to say, â€œGet lost,â€� or â€œNO!!â€� The Moonies did very well with certain types of individuals, but most kids hated to be pushed â€“ and that's just as true today.

One of the most important issues you need to consider is your real motive for wanting to do something like this. Most of the people who come up to the university to help â€“ with a few exceptions â€“ do it a few times and then decide they just donâ€™t have the time or the inclination just to sit there. And believe me, most of the time thatâ€™s just what youâ€™re doing â€“ sitting and watching the kids pass. It may appear they don't even glance in your direction, and they don't ask as much as a single question. You know, I think most of us â€“ when we start doing outreach like this â€“ tend to think of it as a numbers thing. â€œHow many people have I had a meaningful dialogue with or at least connected with today?â€� If the answer is, â€œNone,â€� then the natural tendency is to think I must be doing something wrong â€“ or perhaps they just donâ€™t like my looks â€“ or I need to be more aggressive. Wrong! What we need to look at very hard is just what weâ€™re trying to do. After many years of experimenting with all kinds of methods, Iâ€™ve come to one clear conclusion. Itâ€™s not about us, and whether we feel weâ€™re being accepted, or if weâ€™re doing a good enough job. Itâ€™s about those students who are passing by.

Keep in mind, every time someone walks by your booth, whether it appears so or not, that person has given your display a very brief glance, and they may have even stared at it. In any event, from that point on, they will remember, on some level, that there is such a thing as The Urantia Book. In other words, The Urantia Book is no longer something theyâ€™ve never laid eyes on. Now the Adjusters and the angels can do their work to underline the revelation. Now their subject can recognize it. It may not have church endorsement, but theyâ€™ve seen it somewhere, and that gives it a degree of authority and familiarity. That in my mind makes all the hours Iâ€™ve spent sitting at the university worthwhile. If youâ€™re looking for, â€œOh, thank you, sir, for turning me on to this revelation,â€� you may have a long wait.

Believe me, weâ€™ve learned that the passive approach is the best. Now I donâ€™t even sit at the booth, but at another table near by. Students are more likely to stop and look it over when there is no one sitting behind the table ready to leap. If I see that someone is looking it over with interest then I might approach with, â€œFeel free to take some of the literature.â€� The approach is very relaxed. â€œAny questions just ask.â€� And sometimes they do.

There are always those encounters that make your heart leap: when some kid really wants to talk and asks all kinds of questions. The more you become a recognized fixture on campus, youâ€™ll find that more and more kids will stop and pick up a brochure or one of the magazines we give out. I think itâ€™s important that when you do set up a booth or table, you try to make it at the same time and day. That gives the impression of stability and safety. And you are easy to find another day.

On the CU campus if you have whatâ€™s called an On-Campus-Club status, you are entitled to use almost any of the university buildings and services at no charge. So there is a lot of room for new approaches to disseminating the teachings of The Urantia Book. This would include interfacing with many of the other religious clubs, utilizing the campus radio station by producing programs and ads, hosting study groups with guest speakers, staging events, and potentially lots of other activities. We post short quotes from The Urantia Book on bulletin boards around campus with our name The Urantia Book Club in small print down in the corner. Like many of the clubs on campus, The Urantia Book Club will soon have its own website for students to browse. The internet will also make it possible to dialogue with anyone who wants more information on how to set up their own Urantia Book Club at colleges and universities across the country.

Over the years, The Urantia Book Club has evolved to where it is today, and we believe the best is yet to come. Weâ€™ve had a lot of help along the way and learned how to operate and maintain an on-campus organization. Now I feel itâ€™s time for you to take it to other colleges and universities. We know the educated young people â€“ not only of this country but of the world â€“ are the future of this fabulous revelation.

Labels: book club, Christianity, Donald Shea Green, motivation, students, The Urantia Book

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Science in Jesus' Life

by Jeffrey H. Wattles
Scientific Symposium I
1988

We all want to live the integrated life, with science as part of a growing mind in a progressive personality. But how do we do it? How do we approach this great ideal?

Are we all just supposed to go out and get super-involved with science? Somehow it seems that there's more to it than that.

It's not easy.

o Modern technology can be so complex that some people just get turned off.

o There is so much poor science these days that fails to distinguish correlation from causation.

o There is so much confusing dispute between the experts.

o And there are the well-known ethical problems with science.

So how are we going to strengthen the scientific component in our lives? My two-part answer is philosophic and biographic.

I can put the philosophic part very briefly. We can begin by recognizing and affirming our God-given intuitive capacity for recognizing facts and discerning causal relationships. Some popular books today tell their readers about releasing the mystic within you or releasing the artist within you. We could equally well speak of actualizing the scientist within you. We all have capacities beyond what most of us usually use. We simply need the courage to affirm and sharpen our scientific intuition.

The biographic part of the answer is a reflection on Jesus' life.

The apostles had not been successful in their teaching. They were fleeing through northern Galilee and bewildered about what was going on. Jesus' blunt explanation to them included these words:

"Consider the Greeks, who have a science without religion, while the Jews have a reli- gion without science. And when men become thus misled into accepting a narrow and confused disintegration of truth, their only hope of salvation is to become truth-co-ordinated--converted.

"Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired." (*1726)

We can understand this teaching by looking at Jesus' life.

First, Jesus became acquainted with nature as a child and continued his interest into adulthood. "Jesus' earliest training, aside from that of the home hearth, had to do with a reverent and sympathetic contact with nature." (*1364) He asked lots of questions concerning science. (*1365) He studied the habits of the fish on the Sea of Galilee so closely that he could predict catches that others regarded as miraculous.

Next, Jesus understood the essential truths of philosophy of science, as we see in his discourse on science. He knew the limitations of science and taught a friendly universe in which fact and value have a common cause in the Paradise Father. (*1477)

Next, Jesus got to know all kinds of people well. In order to understand how Jesus exemplified his teaching about science and the beautiful wholeness of righteousness, we need to expand the concept of science to include social science. The scientific component in his righteousness included more than a superb knowledge of weather and the habits of fish. Jesus carried out a thorough study of how men make a living. (*1371) We are told that "The real purpose of his trip around the Mediterranean Basin was to know men. He came very close to hundreds of humankind on this journey. He met and loved all manner of men, rich and poor, high and low, black and white, educated and uneducated, cultured and uncultured, animalistic and spiritual, religious and irreligious, moral and immoral." (*1424)

Next, Jesus thoroughly studied the scriptures and associated literature. One of the humanistic sciences is the science of interpreting texts. At the age of 13 Jesus began a painstaking topical study of the scriptures and associated literature in order to deal with every implication they might hold for his life work. (*1390-91) At age 26 in Capernaum,"he spent at least five evenings a week at intense study." (*1420) During the four months of intensive training with the first six apostles, Jesus explained that "they should spend three hours every evening in study and preparation for their future work." (*1533)

Jesus never wore his learning on his sleeve; his apostles were surprised to hear him discourse on a sophisticated level. But his masterful knowledge was always there when he needed it, for example, during his last week in the flesh, when he was challenged by the Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection. They were the professional specialists in the first five books of the Bible. Jesus showed that from those very scriptures a subtle inference could be drawn to overturn their skeptical doctrine: "And even your Father Moses understood this, for, in connection with his experiences at the burning bush, he heard the Father say, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' " (*1900) The present tense of that verb--I am the God of Abraham, rather than I was the God of Abraham--implies that the relationship is a present one, and hence that Abraham has been resurrected. Jesus saw the implication that the specialists had missed--but he didn't go around showing off this grammatical subtlety. It was merely ready in case it was ever needed.

Next, Jesus courageously faced the hard facts. We are told that "Science is the source of facts, and mind cannot operate without facts." (*1222) My point is complementary: facts are the beginning of science. One of the reasons for Judas' downfall is that "he did not like to face facts frankly." (*2056)

We have a tendency to think that science has to do with those facts that are remote from us. We tend not to use our scientific abilities on intimate matters. But rigorous and tough-minded thinking must invade the realms of daily life. Scientific integrity begins at home.

Jesus at the age of 12 had been called by the celestial messenger to be about his Father's business; but then he found himself after Joseph's death faced with a family emergency. He faced the facts and "rightly reasoned that the watchcare of his earthly father's family must take precedence of all duties." (*1389)

Jesus told his followers about the hard facts of the social environment in which they were laboring for truth. In the Ordination Sermon he said, "In all the business of the kingdom I exhort you to show just judgment and keen wisdom. Present not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample your gems under foot and turn to rend you. I warn you against false prophets who will come to you in sheep's clothing, while on the inside they are as ravening wolves." (*1571)

Throughout Jesus' public career he was keenly aware of the political situation, staying clear of danger early in his public career when opposition began to mount in Jerusalem; confronting challenges in the Epochal Sermon when open conflict had become inevitable; telling his followers to be realistic--to count the cost of being a disciple; warning his disciples about the downfall of Jerusalem and the enmity of the world; all the while proclaiming the primal facts of the sovereignty of God and the love of the Father for the individual.

Finally, Jesus organized his knowledge into idea-decisions. So often we collect a piece of knowledge and leave it there, sitting on the shelf of the mind. We gather information, but we don't wrestle issues to the point of judgment, decision. We become passive consumers of information in a scientistic culture. But we have an alternative: to take that piece of knowledge and to bring to actualization its contribution to decision and action.

"Revelation teaches mortal man that, to start such a magnificent and intriguing adventure, he should begin by the organization of knowledge into idea-decisions." (*1112)

Right after his baptism, Jesus prepared for his great decisions by recalling his full range of planetary knowledge. We are told, "Jesus thought over the whole span of human life on Urantia, from the days of Andon and Fonta, down through Adam's default, and on to the ministry of the Melchizedek of Salem." (*1514)

We would like to know much more than we do about Jesus the scientist. We are given very little of the data he collected empirically. But we are given, from time to time, results of his knowledge of humankind. Jesus organized his knowledge into idea-decisions--and also into instructions for his followers. Consider a few of his teachings which embody the knowledge of cause and effect, of action and result:

He had his apostles begin with personal ministry before public preaching.

He taught that sharers of truth should "not undertake to show men the beauties of the temple until you have first taken them into the temple." (*1593)

And he predicted that "The persistent preaching of this gospel of the kingdom will some day bring to all nations a new and unbelievable liberation, intellectual freedom, and religious liberty." (*1930)

And what knowledge of humanity is embedded in his new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you."!

There is a danger for us: we have not acquired the empirical foundation for these teachings; we may fail to understand why they are important; we may act contrary to their implicit wisdom; and we may have to rediscover their truth through a harvest of unhappiness.

We have the priceless opportunity of intelligent participation in the evolution of our universe. Science is on trial before the bar of human need. Will we utilize our scientific capacities to understand and act in accord with divine teaching or will we do something else with these abilities? Science requires courage and honest adventure. And it touches upon the beliefs at the root of our actions. Will we follow the Master fully in our devotion to truth?

"If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired." (*1726)

* * *

We can live in a more truth-co-ordinated way by basing our lives more perfectly on what we can learn from science. (This might involve exercise, nutrition, rest, recycling, or a more intelligent approach to our work or study.) What personal growth project would you like to undertake along these lines? Write down one or more needs that you would like to work on.

For each of these needs, answer the following questions:

1. How does this need require you to become more of a scientist yourself, making observations, testing hypotheses, etc.?

2. How does this need require you to explore more of what science has already discovered?

3. How does this need require you to put into practice what you already know?

A service of
The Urantia Book Fellowship

Labels: growth, Jeffrey H. Wattles, Jesus, science, technology, The Urantia Book

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Learning to Teach

by Ken Glasziou

Sooner or later Urantia Book readers are going to need to heed the calls put out by its revelators. One such is on page 43:

"The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness."

A high priority is assigned to bringing Christianity back from its present status of authoritarian religion to what it was always meant to be--a religion of the spirit centered on the relationship between the individual, the Spirit of Truth, and the Father Spirit within. This priority is emphasized in at least ten paragraphs in the Papers, such as:

"Christianity has indeed done a great service for this world, but what is now most needed is Jesus. The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth in the experience of spirit-born mortals who effectively reveal the Master to all menâ€¦."(2084)

Those Urantia Book readers who have already taken this task seriously have learned a lot about what is unlikely to achieve much in the way of long term success.

One historian remarked that the amazing rapidity in which Pauline Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire was because of the incredible relief it brought to people suffering from overwhelming guilt and the fear of punishment for sin. Apparently this syndrome was endemic and particular so among the many followers of Mithraism.

Today it persists in the form of the atonement doctrine. It is held so strongly that few clergy will risk the close to hysterical reaction that they know would follow if they even cast doubt on that doctrine.

Almost all Christians who are strong on atonement make no connection between what it may say about a God who is love and a God who demands the death of his Son before he will forgive his earthly children for their sins. They live happily with the contradiction that God is perfect love and that Jesus demonstrated God's love by dying as a propitiation for our sins.

So what can Urantia Book readers do to aid Christians to recover a religion of the spirit? A good start is to take notice of what Jesus told us:

"And this was his (Jesus) method of instruction: Never once did he attack their errors or even mention the flaws in their teachings. In each case he would select the truth in what they taught and then proceed so to embellish and illuminate this truth in their minds that in a very short time this enhancement of the truth effectively crowded out the associated error; (1455)

This instruction was later repeated to the apostle Simon:

"Jesus answered: "Simon, Simon, how many times have I instructed you to refrain from all efforts to take something out of the hearts of those who seek salvation? How often have I told you to labor only to put something into these hungry souls? Lead men into the kingdom, and the great and living truths of the kingdom will presently drive out all serious error." (1592)

So telling Christians where they are wrong does not appear to find favor with Jesus and is best laid to rest for good.

Jesus gave us an alternative, "Let the Spirit of Truth do his own work." (1932)

Another failure is to approach Christians with a new revelation. Whereas it may work for a tiny minority, experience has shown it is not the way to go. There may be a multitude of reasons, prominent among them being that Christianity has been satiated with false messiahs, prophets, visionaries, and charismatic would-be leaders. And certainly the warning of dire penalties in the Book of Revelations for changing any biblical teaching does engender wariness about embracing new revelation.

So what can we do? First we must have patience, tolerance, humility, and be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves--all these recommendations come directly from Jesus.

The switch to a religion of the spirit demands, as a first essential step, the establishment of a personal relation of the individual and the Father-Spirit within.

There are more than twenty New Testament verses that tell of our indwelling by the Spirits of the Father and the Son. Some of these are:

John 14:23...if a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him.

John 14:26. The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father shall send in my name will teach you everything and make you remember all that I have told you.

Luke 17:21....for the kingdom of God is within you.
Matthew 10: 20. For it is not you that speaks, but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you.

1 John 4:12. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us.

1 Cor. 3:16. Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Galatians 4:6. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

This means we do not even need to mention The Urantia Book nor the Thought Adjuster. In any case the latter term has acquired unfortunate connotations since the Papers were received because of the use of "brain washing" and "thought control" as instruments for controlling the citizens of countries with totalitarian regimes .

At this stage it would appear to be far better to follow Jesus:

"Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: If you, by truth co-ordination, learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired. The measure wherewith truth seekers are drawn to you represents the measure of your truth endowment, your righteousness. The extent to which you have to go with your message to the people is, in a way, the measure of your failure to live the whole or righteous life, the truth-co-ordinated life." (1726)

"Christianity has indeed done a great service for this world, but what is now most needed is Jesus. The world needs to see Jesus living again on earth in the experience of spirit-born mortals who effectively reveal the Master to all men." (2084)

Note that the emphasis is on us living the God-like life as revealed in Jesus' life and perhaps handing out a Urantia Book after truth seekers are drawn to us. Unless we at least attempt to do that, we make a mockery of the revelation if we identify ourselves as Urantia Book readers.

The phase in which our principal task is to help Christians to become aware of their indwelling may last for hundreds of years. Hence there is little reason to be anxious about what comes next. And in any case we have relevant advice from Jesus:

"You must, in all such matters, wait upon time. Time alone will ripen the green fruit upon the tree.

Season follows season and sundown follows sunrise only with the passing of time. I am now on the way to ..., and that is sufficient for today. My tomorrow is wholly in the hands of my Father in heaven." (1499)

Labels: atonement, Christians, God, Jesus, Ken Glasziou, New Testament, teachers, techniques, The Urantia Book