synopsis of the urantia book

The Urantia Book

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Frequently Asked Questions

Table of contents.

• What is The Urantia Book About?

Where Did The Urantia Book Come From?

Who wrote the urantia book .

• What is Urantia?

Are You a New Religion?

What is the urantia book about.

Any brief summary cannot do justice to the profound insights, original concepts, and innovative character that distinguish The Urantia Book from everything else in print. The book provides in­tensely moving insights that could transform human life and inspire all men and women on our planet, Urantia. The central message is that all human beings are one family, the sons and daughters of one God, the Universal Father.

The authors instruct us on the origin, history, and destiny of mankind and on our relationship with God. They also present a unique and compelling portrayal of the life and teachings of Jesus, open new vistas of time and eternity, and reveal new concepts of Man’s ever-ascending adventure of finding the Universal Father in our friendly and carefully administered universe. The views of science, philosophy, and religion presented in The Urantia Book are per­haps the clearest and most concise integration of these subjects available to contem­porary man.

Among the many thousands of people who have purchased, read, and studied The Urantia Book, there is no question that it can make a significant contribution to the religious and philosophic thinking of all peoples. It truly has the potential to reshape world destiny. Over and over, people from around the world have discovered that the truths of The Urantia Book have profoundly impressed them and changed their lives—inspir­ing them and stimulating them to new levels of spiritual growth and enlightened living.

The authors of The Urantia Book do not describe or advocate a new organized reli­gion. They build on the religious heritage of the past and present, encouraging a personal, living religion based on faith and on service to one’s fellows. This spiri­tual awakening would launch a new and improved era of human relationships, so that we can realize social brotherhood on our planet and achieve lasting peace and good will through the spiritual transformation of each individual and all mankind.

In response to questions regarding the origins of The Urantia Book , our best source of information is the book itself. The papers of Parts I, II, and III were completed in 1934 and 1935 as stated on the last page of each section. The book gives no specific date of completion for Part IV. There are no additional or unpublished parts to the book. The section “The Titles of the Papers,” pages vii through xii, list the authors of each paper primarily by their order of being. Different sections throughout the book describe these orders; you may want to refer to “The Table of Contents” to find the appropriate sections. The Acknowledgment on pages 16-17 and section 8 beginning on page 1341 refer to the human sources for the book’s contents. The limits of revelation are presented on pages 1007, 1008, and 1109. You may also wish to refer to the last full paragraph on page 865 for an explanation of the role of the midwayers and to pages 1208-9 and 1258 for references to the human subject involved in the revelation.

Much speculation exists about the physical origins of The Urantia Book . Information about the specific role of individuals involved and the exact mechanics of how the book was transmitted was wisely withheld from us to circumvent undue regard for the individuals and the book’s origins. We do know, however that in the early 20th century, a physician practicing in Chicago became the head of a group known as the Contact Commission. This small group was the focal point for the production of, and the primary custodian for, the final text of The Urantia Book . They were sworn not to disclose details about the transactions in order to preclude future generations from venerating the participants. Because of its revelatory nature, the book stands on its own merit, nature, and content. The true value of The Urantia Book lies not so much in its origins as in the spiritually significant content of its message.

As the contents of The Urantia Book were being transcribed, the Urantia Papers were read to, and questions were requested from ‘The Forum,’ a group that had been meeting regularly for discussions at the doctor’s house. The answers to these questions were then incorporated into the papers. These early readers formed the first core group of believers in the revelation and became committed to the mission of bringing the teachings of The Urantia Book to all of mankind.

The Urantia Book was published by Urantia Foundation in 1955. The authors of the individual papers are identified as various orders of celestial beings. The book asserts that it is the first epochal revelation to mankind since the coming of Christ to our planet. The section “The Titles of the Papers,” pages vii through xii, lists the authors of each paper primarily by their order of being. Different sections throughout the book describe these orders; you may want to refer to “The Table of Contents” to find the appropriate sections. The Acknowledgment on pages 16-17 and section 8 beginning on page 1341 refer to the human sources for the book’s contents. The limits of revelation are presented on pages 1007, 1008, and 1109. You may also wish to refer to the last full paragraph on page 865 for an explanation of the role of the midwayers and to pages 1208-9 and 1258 for references to the human subject involved in the revelation.

What is “Urantia”?

According to the authors of The Urantia Book , “Urantia” is the name of our planet.  The book recounts a stimulating story about human life on our planet and combines and integrates many intriguing insights into science, philosophy, history, and religion, thereby providing a unified view of reality. The book portrays the history of our planet from the time it began, while telling us how life evolved and how human society developed. It blends these ideas with information about our planet’s destiny and how it relates to the cosmos, while revealing profound insights into the nature of God and describing His plans for us as individuals and as the human race. Physical Details: Part III of the book, “The History of Urantia,” begins on page 651. The author describes the Andronover nebula and the origin of our solar system, then states that the actual history of our planet began 1,000,000,000 years ago, when it had attained approximately its present size. At about that time, our planet was given the name “Urantia” [p. 660, par 3].

The Urantia Book does not advocate a new religion. Rather the teachings of The Urantia Book are intended to build upon the spiritual truths that exist in all the religions of the world and add an expanded view of Deity and the cosmos that is commensurate with modern day thought. The book’s viewpoint builds upon the religious heritage of the past and present; it is designed to act as a leavening ingredient for the thinking and belief systems of the modern day world. Urantia Association does not seek to start a new religion. It is committed to the dissemination of the book and its teachings, the purpose of which is to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception in order to bring about a spiritual rejuvenation among the people of the world.

There is no church or ordained hierarchy associated with the book and its teachings. There are groups and associations of readers all around the world who come together to study the book and its teachings and to fraternize with one another. However there is no official interpretation of the book and no authoritative body that dictates to the readers. Any formal organizations of readers usually exist for the purposes of coordinating and communicating to its members on reader activity, fostering the study of the book, disseminating the teachings, and keeping people in touch with one another.

Many people who read and believe in The Urantia Book , no matter which religion or denomination they come from, find that it takes nothing away from the essence of their existing spiritual beliefs. Although it may challenge their belief in some of the traditional theology and dogmas of their religions, many have said that having become a reader of The Urantia Book has made them a better Christian, or a better Muslim, Buddhist, or Jew. Many remain active in their churches and traditional religions.

¶ What is The Urantia Book?

The Urantia Book is a revelation of truth for our world from higher beings in the universe. Its teachings blend science, philosophy, history, cosmology and religion seamlessly into a big picture revealing our origin, our purpose, and our divine and eternal destiny, “the agelong process from animal to angel, from angel to spirit, from spirit to God.” The Urantia Book , UB 48:8.4

The teachings include information on the composition, organization, administration, and personalities of the cosmos; the history of our planet; our continuing spiritual evolution; a new view of reality by clarifying the concepts of personality, mind, and soul; the evolutionary experience of our progression towards God in partnership with God’s spirit in our minds; and lastly, an enlarged account of the life and teachings of Jesus. (Source: Theoquest & Education Committee)

¶ How Did The Urantia Papers Come to Be?

See How The Urantia Papers came to be according to The Revelators

¶ Why was The Urantia Book written?

The Urantia Book was written “to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception” UB 0:0.2 of the peoples of Urantia, our planet. It provides a panoramic view of the illimitable size of space and time, demonstrating the order of the cosmos and illustrating the unimaginable dimensions of the universe of universes. From beginning to end, The Urantia Book also provides an appreciation of how each human being may enhance their own experience of God, of truth, beauty and goodness and of the unconditional love of God for each of us. The book describes “the whole scheme of living existences on the worlds of space as centered in the divine purpose of elevating all will creatures to the high destiny of the experience of sharing the Father’s Paradise perfection.” UB 2:2.5

¶ What is Urantia Foundation?

Urantia Foundation was established in 1950 to be the publisher and custodian of the inviolate text of The Urantia Book . The Foundation is also responsible for ensuring that the teachings are disseminated throughout the world, and it seeks to achieve this with the help of readers and social organizations.

From an organizational perspective, Urantia Foundation is a non-profit edu­cational foundation that operates under a Declaration of Trust. It has been publishing the original English edition of The Urantia Book since 1955.

Urantia Foundation’s main activities are publishing, distributing, and trans­lating _The Urantia Boo_k. The Foundation endeavors to make The Urantia Book available in libraries and bookstores and from major distributors, including Amazon. Regarding translations, the Founda­tion’s Trustees and staff seek to provide editions that are accurate, attractive, and moving, wording that is as beautiful and appealing to native speakers as if the original text were written in their language.

Over 700,000 copies of The Urantia Book are now in print. The book is available in Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Lithu­anian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. The Romanian translation is available on CD. Many more translations are in the works including Chinese, Japanese and Farsi.

In addition, Urantia Foundation publishes a range of study aids, including an exhaustive concordance, an audio version of the original text in English (MP-3 format), and a computer edition on CD-ROM that contains the original text and several translations, along with the FolioViews search program.

¶ Other Services to Readers

The Foundation promotes the study of The Urantia Book and its teachings by encouraging readers to form or participate in study groups, social organiza­tions, and other networks that enable them to pursue spiritual, philosophic, or social ideals that the authors proclaim. The Foundation also promotes study of the teachings by sponsoring the Urantia Book Internet School.

The Urantia Book Synopsis of Papers

A Synopsis of Paper 34: The Local Universe Mother Spirit

When a Creator Son is ready to create life in a local universe, a new local universe Mother Spirit is personalized. The Mother Spirit, also known as the Divine Minister or the Creative Spirit, possesses all the physical‑control attributes of the Infinite Spirit including antigravity and mind gravity. There is a basic uniformity of spiritual character in all Universe Mother Spirits; there is also diversity caused by the influence of one of the seven Master Spirits. The Creative Spirit and the Creator Son produce, uphold, and conserve every creature in their realms. In personal prerogatives, the Creative Spirit is independent of space but not of time; she is equally present throughout her entire local universe. The Creator Son is usually independent of time, but not always of space. Michael cannot be in two places at once. When working together, the Creative Spirit and the Creator Son are essentially independent of both time and space. Three distinct spirit circuits function in Nebadon: the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, and the intelligence‑ministry circuit of the adjutant mind‑spirits. The Spirit of Truth is the spiritual force that draws all truth seekers towards Michael. It derives from the Creator Son, but functions from within the Divine Minister. The Holy Spirit of the Mother Spirit is active only in her personal presence. By maintaining residence on Salvington, the Creative Mother Spirit serves as the universe focus of both the Spirit of Truth and the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Truth and the Holy Spirit work as one, hovering over the worlds, seeking to enlighten the minds of the ascending creatures. The Spirit of Truth is limited by man's personal reception of the mission of the bestowal Son. The Holy Spirit is partially independent of human attitude, but is most  effective in those mortals who most fully obey divine leadings. As individuals we do not personally possess a portion of these spirits, but our indwelling Thought Adjusters work in perfect harmony with the combined spirits of the Creator Son and the Creative Spirit. As mortals progress in spirit perception, the multiple spirit ministries become more and more co‑ordinate. Adjutant mind-spirits endow human and sub‑human orders of life. The seven adjutant mind-spirits-the spirits of wisdom, worship, counsel, knowledge, courage, understanding, and intuition-are created by the Divine Minister. The Creator Son and the Mother Spirit work on the evolutionary worlds first with lifeless material, then vegetable life, then animal organisms, then early humans, then will creatures. The seven adjutants, by leading the races of mankind toward higher ideals, are largely responsible for this progression. Mortal man first experiences the ministry of the Holy Spirit when he develops receptivity for the adjutants of worship and wisdom. A conspiracy of spiritual forces increasingly subjects mortals to the leadings of the Spirit. When such guidance is freely accepted, the human mind gradually develops consciousness of divine contact and assurance of spirit communion. This consciousness of spirit domination attends an increasing exhibition of the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, long‑suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. On normal worlds, mortals do not experience conflicts between the spirit and the flesh as acutely as Urantians do, but even on the most ideal planets, people must put forth positive effort to ascend. On Urantia, the Calagastia betrayal robbed subsequent generations of the moral assistance of a well‑ordered society. The Adamic default deprived the races of a physical nature that would have been more responsive to spiritual aspirations. In spite of these handicaps, mortals who enter the spirit kingdom enjoy comparative deliverance from bondage in the flesh. Faith sons work on levels far above the conflicts produced by unrestrained or unnatural physical desires. The love of God is shed abroad in all hearts by the presence of the divine Spirit. In every dark hour, at every crossroad in the forward struggle, the Spirit of Truth will always speak, saying, "This is the way."

A Synopsis of Paper 77: The Midway Creatures

Most inhabited worlds harbor groups of unique beings who fall into a category between humans and angels. These midway creatures are valuable helpers and are an essential order of planetary ministers. On Urantia there are two types: primary midwayers, whose origin dates back to early Dalamatia, and secondary midwayers, who came into existence during the days of Adam. The physical members of the Prince's staff, though capable of sexual reproduction, had been ordered not to procreate. It came as a surprise to them when, as the result of a non-sexual liaison between a male and a female, the first of the primary midwayers appeared. Upon the discovery that such a creature could be of great service, permission was granted for each couple to produce a similar being. Eventually fifty thousand midway creatures were produced. These midwayers became Caligastia's intelligence corps, studying and observing the human races. They rendered invaluable service in the work of influencing human society. The secondary midwayers also sprang partially from the Nodite race. The Life Carriers had projected that the flesh-and-blood staff members would sometime mate with the best of the Andonites. They planned that resultant offspring would mate with the first generation of Adam and Eve's children to produce a new order of teacher‑rulers. It was assumed that the Prince's staff, having bodies generated by the plasm of the Andonites, would have children resembling other Andonites. But when the rebel members of the Prince's staff resorted to sexual reproduction, their offspring proved to have superior mental, physical, and spiritual capacity. These children became the ancestors of the magnificent Nodite race, the "mighty men of old." After the sinking of Dalamatia, the Nodites founded the city of Dilmun as their new racial and cultural headquarters. Gradually the pure-line Nodites intermingled with the evolutionary races and dispersed to form three great Nodite centers: The western, or Syrian Nodites, moved north and mated with the Andonites; the eastern, or Elamite Nodites, settled near Mesopotamia in "the land of Nod"; and the central Nodites eventually blended with Adamites to establish the Sumerian culture. A fourth strong Nodite center to the north was made up of the loyal followers of Van who had established their center of culture around the shores of Lake Van. Among the children of Adam who elected to stay on earth after the default of his parents was Adamson, the first-born son. Adamson's wife and children had chosen to be transported to Edentia. When he was 120 years old, Adamson traveled north from the second Garden in search of the highland home of Van. Here he met a beautiful woman, Ratta, who claimed to be the last pure‑line descendant of the fallen staff members. Within three months Ratta and Adamson were married. Adamson and Ratta had sixty-seven children and founded a great line of world leaders. Sixteen of these children were of a unique order, often invisible. Ratta was perturbed by and even superstitious of these strange children, but Adamson well knew of the primary midwayers and concluded that these children were somewhat similar to the original midway creatures. He decided to mate male and female; their progeny constituted the origin of the secondary midwayers. The eight sets of male and female children of Ratta and Adamson lived and died as mortals, but produced 1,984 immortal secondary midway creatures. Adamson and Ratta had the benefit of these wonderful helpers throughout their long lives. Adamson lived for 396 years. The culture he and Ratta founded near the Caspian Sea lasted for almost seven thousand years. After the death of Adamson, the secondary midwayers became disorganized. Over forty thousand primary midwayers and nine hundred secondary midwayers were influenced by the philosophy of Lucifer and fell into rebellion against the local universe government. These midwayers are now in custody, waiting for the final adjudication of the case against Lucifer. The United Midwayers of Urantia currently function as a single corps numbering 10,992. Their motto is: "What the United Midwayers undertake, the United Midwayers do." They are able to follow human humor and worship, and enter into the spirit of mortal work, rest, and play. They do not sleep or procreate. Primary midwayers are more like angels than humans. Secondary midwayers are nearer to humans than angels; they exist just outside the range of mortal vision. They can make contact with material things, and have power over the things of time and space. Many acts attributed to angels have been performed by secondary midwayers.

This Synopsis is from "The Story of Everything" by Michelle Klimesh

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• What happens when we die?

Mortal death is a technique of escape from the material life in the flesh; and the mansonia experience of progressive life through seven worlds of corrective training and cultural education represents the introduction of mortal survivors to the morontia career, the transition life which intervenes between the evolutionary material existence and the higher spirit attainment of the ascenders of time who are destined to achieve the portals of eternity. ~ The Urantia Book , 47:10.7 (540.3)

You begin over there right where you leave off down here. ~ The Urantia Book , 47:3.7 (533.5)

“You rejoice to know that the Son of Man has risen from the dead because you thereby know that you and your brethren shall also survive mortal death. But such survival is dependent on your having been previously born of the spirit of truth-seeking and God-finding.” ~ Jesus, The Urantia Book , 193:2.2 (2054.3)

“And when the work down here is over, you shall serve with me on high.” ~ Jesus, The Urantia Book , 192:2.10 (2049.1)

Inspiring Questions

• Are angels real?
• Are we immortal?
• Can religion and science co-exist?
• Did Jesus have brothers and sisters?
• Did Jesus really resurrect?
• Did humans evolve or were they created?
• Does God punish us?
• Does Hell exist?
• Does true love exist?
• How did life start on Earth?
• How do I deal with disappointment?
• How do I find God?
• How do I live like Jesus?
• How do I maintain faith in a crisis?
• How does God love?
• How does forgiveness work?
• Is God inside me?
• Is it wrong to want to acquire material wealth?
• Is our planet special?
• Is there other intelligent life in the universe?
• Should we be afraid?
• To boldly go where no one has gone before
• What Is Our Final Destiny?
• What did Jesus say about Love?
• What did Jesus say about the Golden Rule?
• What does it mean to be saved?
• What is Prayer?
• What is my purpose?
• What is sin?
• What is the Brotherhood of Man?
• What is the Kingdom of Heaven?
• What is the meaning of life?
• What is the soul?
• What is the value of family life?
• What is the will of God?
• Who created our universe?
• Who is Jesus?
• Who were the first humans?
• Will I go to heaven?

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