The Urantia Book

The Urantia Book  (1955)  Anonymous

related portals: Religion. sister projects: Wikipedia article. The Urantia Book (sometimes called the Urantia Papers or The Fifth Epochal Revelation) is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, Jesus, science, cosmology, religion, history and destiny. It originated in Chicago sometime between 1924 and 1955. The exact circumstances of the origin of The Urantia Book are unknown. The book and its publishers do not name a human author. Instead, it is written as if directly presented by numerous celestial beings appointed to the task of providing an epochal religious revelation. For each paper, either a named celestial being, an order of being, or a group of beings is credited as its author. As early as 1911, William S. Sadler and his wife Lena Sadler, physicians in Chicago and well known in the community, are said to have been approached by a neighbor who was concerned because she would occasionally find her husband in a deep sleep and breathing abnormally. She reported that she was unable to wake him at these times. The Sadlers came to observe the episodes, and over time, the individual produced verbal communications that claimed to be from "student visitor" spiritual beings. This changed in early 1925 with a "voluminous handwritten document," which from then on became the regular method of purported communication. The Sadlers were both respected physicians, and William Sadler was a debunker of paranormal claims, who is portrayed as not believing in the supernatural. In 1929, he published a book called The Mind at Mischief, in which he explained the fraudulent methods of mediums and how self-deception leads to psychic claims. He wrote in an appendix that there were two cases that he had not explained to his satisfaction. The other exception has to do with a rather peculiar case of psychic phenomena, one which I find myself unable to classify.... I was brought in contact with it, in the summer of 1911, and I have had it under my observation more or less ever since, having been present at probably 250 of the night sessions, many of which have been attended by a stenographer who made voluminous notes. A thorough study of this case has convinced me that it is not one of ordinary trance...In no way are these night visitations like the séances associated with spiritualism. At no time during the period of eighteen years' observation has there been a communication from any source that claimed to be the spirit of a deceased human being.... Eighteen years of study and careful investigation have failed to reveal the psychic origin of these messages... Psychoanalysis, hypnotism, intensive comparison, fail to show that the written or spoken messages of this individual have origin in his own mind... Its philosophic content is quite new, and we are unable to find where very much of it has ever found human expression... Its philosophy is consistent. It is essentially Christian and is, on the whole, entirely harmonious with the known scientific facts and truths of this age. In 1924, a group of Sadler's friends, former patients, and colleagues began meeting for Sunday intellectual discussions, but became interested in the strange communications when Sadler mentioned the case and read samples at their request. Shortly afterwards, a communication reportedly was received that this group would be allowed to devise questions and that answers would be given by celestial beings through the "contact personality." Sadler presented this development to the group, and they generated hundreds of questions without full seriousness, but their claim is that it resulted in the appearance of answers in the form of fully written papers. They became more impressed with the quality of the answers and continued to ask questions, until all papers now collected together as The Urantia Book were obtained. The group was known as the Forum. A smaller group of five individuals called the Contact Commission, including the Sadlers, was responsible for gathering the questions from the Forum, acting as the custodians of the handwritten manuscripts that were presented as answers, and arranging for proofreading and typing of the material. The Sadlers and others involved, now all deceased, claimed that the papers of the book were physically materialized from 1925 until 1935 in a way that was not understood even by them, with the first three parts being completed in 1934 and the fourth in 1935. The last Forum gathering was in 1942. After the last of Part IV was obtained in 1935, an additional period of time supposedly took place where requests for clarifications resulted in revisions. Sadler and his son William (Bill) Sadler, Jr. at one point wrote a draft introduction and were told that they could not add their introduction. The Foreword was then "received." Bill Sadler is noted to have composed the table of contents that is published with the book. The communications purportedly continued for another two decades while members of the Forum studied the book in depth, and according to Sadler and others, permission to publish it was given to them in 1955. The Urantia Foundation was formed in 1950 as a tax-exempt educational society in Illinois, and through privately raised funds, the book was published under international copyright on October 12, 1955. Only the members of the Contact Commission witnessed the activities of the sleeping subject, and only they knew his identity. The individual is claimed to have been kept anonymous in order to prevent undesirable future veneration or reverence for him. Martin Gardner states that an explanation concerning the origin of the book more plausible than celestial beings is that the Contact Commission, particularly William Sadler, was responsible. Gardner's conclusion is that a man named Wilfred Kellogg was the sleeping subject and authored the work from his subconscious mind, with William Sadler subsequently editing and authoring parts. A statistical analysis using the Mosteller and Wallace methods of stylometry indicates at least nine authors were involved, and by comparatively analyzing the book against Sadler's The Mind at Mischief, does not indicate authorship or extensive editing by Sadler, without ruling out the possibility of limited edits. — Excerpted from The Urantia Book on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

T H E   U R A N T I A   B O O K

T H E

U R A N T I A

B O O K

®

Copyright 1955

URANTIA FOUNDATION

© 1955

URANTIA FOUNDATION

All rights reserved, including translation
in the United States of America, as well as in Canada
and other countries of
the International Copyright Union.
All rights reserved under Pan-American Copyright Conventions
and under the Universal Copyright Convention.

U R A N T I A   F O U N D A T I O N

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

1955

First Printing

Library of Congress Catalog

Card Number 55-10554

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The Parts of the Book

PART I

THE CENTRAL AND SUPERUNIVERSES

Sponsored by a Uversa Corps of Superuniverse Personalities
acting by authority of the Orvonton
Ancients of Days

PART II

THE LOCAL UNIVERSE

Sponsored by a Nebadon Corps of Local Universe
Personalities acting by authority of
Gabriel of Salvington

PART III

THE HISTORY OF URANTIA

These papers were sponsored by a Corps of Local Universe
Personalities acting by authority of
Gabriel of Salvington

PART IV

THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS

This groups of papers was sponsored by a commission of twelve
Urantia midwayers acting under the supervision of
a Melchizedek revelatory director.
The basis of this narrative was supplied by a secondary
midwayer who was onetime assigned to the superhuman
watchcare of the Apostle Andrew.

The Titles of the Papers

PART I.   THE CENTRAL AND SUPERUNIVERSES

Paper	Author	Page
Foreword	Divine Counselor	1
1. The Universal Father	Divine Counselor	21
2. The Nature of God	Divine Counselor	33
3. The Attributes of God	Divine Counselor	44
4. God's Relation to the Universe	Divine Counselor	54
5. God's Relation to the Individual	Divine Counselor	62
6. The Eternal Son	Divine Counselor	73
7. Relation of the Eternal Son to the Universe	Divine Counselor	81
8. The Infinite Spirit	Divine Counselor	90
9. Relation of the Infinite Spirit to the Universe	Divine Counselor	98
10. The Paradise Trinity	Universal Censor	108
11. The Eternal Isle of Paradise	Perfector of Wisdom	118
12. The Universe of Universes	Perfector of Wisdom	128
13. The Sacred Spheres of Paradise	Perfector of Wisdom	143
14. The Central and Divine Universe	Perfector of Wisdom	152
15. The Seven Superuniverses	Universal Censor	164
16. The Seven Master Spirits	Universal Censor	184
17. The Seven Supreme Spirit Groups	Divine Counselor	197
18. The Supreme Trinity Personalities	Divine Counselor	207
19. The Co-ordinate Trinity-Origin Beings	Divine Counselor	214
20. The Paradise Sons of God	Perfector of Wisdom	223
21. The Paradise Creator Sons	Perfector of Wisdom	234
22. The Trinitized Sons of God	Mighty Messenger	243
23. The Solitary Messengers	Divine Counselor	256
24. Higher Personalities of the Infinite Spirit	Divine Counselor	264
25. The Messenger Hosts of Space	One High in Authority	273
26. Ministering Spirit of the Central Universe	Perfector of Wisdom	285
27. Ministry of the Primary Supernaphim	Perfector of Wisdom	298
28. Ministering Spirits of the Superuniverses	Mighty Messenger	306
29. The Universe Power Directors	Universal Censor	319
30. Personalities of the Grand Universe	Mighty Messenger	330
31. The Corps of the Finality	Divine Counselor and One Without Name and Number	345

PART II. THE LOCAL UNIVERSE

32. The Evolution of Local Universes	Mighty Messenger	357
33. Administration of the Local Universe	Chief of Archangels	366
34. The Local Universe Mother Spirit	Mighty Messenger	374
35. The Local Universe Sons of God	Chief of Archangels	384
36. The Life Carriers	Vorondadek Son	396
37. Personalities of the Local Universe	Brilliant Evening Star	406
38. Ministering Spirits of the Local Universe	Melchizedek	418
39. The Seraphic Hosts	Melchizedek	426
40. The Ascending Sons of God	Mighty Messenger	443
41. Physical Aspects of the Local Universe	Archangel	455
42. Energy—Mind and Matter	Mighty Messenger	467
43. The Constellations	Malavatia Melchizedek	485
44. The Celestial Artisans	Archangel	497
45. The Local System Administration	Melchizedek	509
46. The Local System Headquarters	Archangel	519
47. The Seven Mansion Worlds	Brilliant Evening Star	530
48. The Morontia Life	Archangel	541
49. The Inhabited Worlds	Melchizedek	559
50. The Planetary Princes	Secondary Lanonandek	572
51. The Planetary Adams	Secondary Lanonandek	580
52. Planetary Mortal Epochs	Mighty Messenger	589
53. The Lucifer Rebellion	Manovandet Melchizedek	601
54. Problems of the Lucifer Rebellion	Mighty Messenger	613
55. The Spheres of Light and Life	Mighty Messenger	621
56. Universal Unity	Mighty Messenger and Machiventa Melchizedek	637

PART III. THE HISTORY OF URANTIA

57. The Origin of Urantia	Life Carrier	651
58. Life Establishment on Urantia	Life Carrier	664
59. The Marine-Life Era on Urantia	Life Carrier	672
60. Urantia during the Early Land-Life Era	Life Carrier	685
61. The Mammalian Era on Urantia	Life Carrier	693
62. The Dawn Races of Early Man	Life Carrier	703
63. The First Human Family	Life Carrier	711
64. The Evolutionary Races of Color	Life Carrier	718
65. The Overcontrol of Evolution	Life Carrier	730
66. The Planetary Prince of Urantia	Melchizedek	741
67. The Planetary Rebellion	Melchizedek	754
68. The Dawn of Civilization	Melchizedek	763
69. Primitive Human Institutions	Melchizedek	772
70. The Evolution of Human Government	Melchizedek	783
71. Development of the State	Melchizedek	800
72. Government on a Neighboring Planet	Melchizedek	808
73. The Garden of Eden	Solonia	821
74. Adam and Eve	Solonia	828
75. The Default of Adam and Eve	Solonia	839
76. The Second Garden	Solonia	847
77. The Midway Creatures	Archangel	855
78. The Violet Race after the Days of Adam	Archangel	868
79. Andite Expansion in the Orient	Archangel	878
80. Andite Expansion in the Occident	Archangel	889
81. Development of Modern Civilization	Archangel	900
82. The Evolution of Marriage	Chief of Seraphim	913
83. The Marriage Institution	Chief of Seraphim	922
84. Marriage and Family Life	Chief of Seraphim	931
85. The Origins of Worship	Brilliant Evening Star	944
86. Early Evolution of Religion	Brilliant Evening Star	950
87. The Ghost Cults	Brilliant Evening Star	958
88. Fetishes, Charms, and Magic	Brilliant Evening Star	967
89. Sin, Sacrifice, and Atonement	Brilliant Evening Star	974
90. Shamanism—Medicine Men and Priests	Melchizedek	986
91. The Evolution of Prayer	Chief of Midwayers	994
92. The Later Evolution of Religion	Melchizedek	1003
93. Machiventa Melchizedek	Melchizedek	1014
94. The Melchizedek Teachings in the Orient	Melchizedek	1027
95. The Melchizedek Teachings in the Levant	Melchizedek	1042
96. Yahweh—God of the Hebrews	Melchizedek	1052
97. Evolution of the God Concept among the Hebrews	Melchizedek	1062
98. The Melchizedek teachings in the Occident	Melchizedek	1077
99. Social Problems of Religion	Melchizedek	1086
100. Religion in Human Experience	Melchizedek	1094
101. The Real Nature of Religion	Melchizedek	1104
102. The Foundations of Religious Faith	Melchizedek	1118
103. The Reality of Religious Experience	Melchizedek	1129
104. Growth of the Trinity Concept	Melchizedek	1143
105. Deity and Reality	Melchizedek	1152
106. Universe Levels of Reality	Melchizedek	1162
107. Origin and Nature of Thought Adjusters	Solitary Messenger	1176
108. Mission and Ministry of Thought Adjusters	Solitary Messenger	1185
109. Relation of Adjusters to Universe Creatures	Solitary Messenger	1195
110. Relation of Adjusters to Individual Mortals	Solitary Messenger	1203
111. The Adjuster and the Soul	Solitary Messenger	1215
112. Personality Survival	Solitary Messenger	1225
113. The Seraphic Guardians of Destiny	Chief of Seraphim	1241
114. Seraphic Planetary Government	Chief of Seraphim	1250
115. The Supreme Being	Mighty Messenger	1260
116. The Almighty Supreme	Mighty Messenger	1268
117. God the Supreme	Mighty Messenger	1278
118. Supreme and Ultimate—Time and Space	Mighty Messenger	1294
119. The Bestowals of Christ Michael	Chief of Evening Stars	1308

PART IV. THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS

120. The Bestowal of Michael on Urantia	Mantutia Melchizedek	1323
121. The Times of Michael's Bestowal	Midwayer Commission	1332
122. Birth and Infancy of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	1344
123. The Early Childhood of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	1355
124. The Later Childhood of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	1366
125. Jesus at Jerusalem	Midwayer Commission	1377
126. The Two Crucial Years	Midwayer Commission	1386
127. The Adolescent Years	Midwayer Commission	1395
128. Jesus' Early Manhood	Midwayer Commission	1407
129. The Later Adult Life of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	1419
130. On the Way to Rome	Midwayer Commission	1427
131. The World's Religions	Midwayer Commission	1442
132. The Sojourn at Rome	Midwayer Commission	1455
133. The Return from Rome	Midwayer Commission	1468
134. The Transition Years	Midwayer Commission	1483
135. John the Baptist	Midwayer Commission	1496
136. Baptism and the Forty Days	Midwayer Commission	1509
137. Tarrying Time in Galilee	Midwayer Commission	1524
138. Training the Kingdom's Messengers	Midwayer Commission	1538
139. The Twelve Apostles	Midwayer Commission	1548
140. The Ordination of the Twelve	Midwayer Commission	1568
141. Beginning the Public Work	Midwayer Commission	1587
142. The Passover at Jerusalem	Midwayer Commission	1596
143. Going Through Samaria	Midwayer Commission	1607
144. At Gilboa and in the Decapolis	Midwayer Commission	1617
145. Four Eventful Days at Capernaum	Midwayer Commission	1628
146. First Preaching Tour of Galilee	Midwayer Commission	1637
147. The Interlude Visit to Jerusalem	Midwayer Commission	1647
148. Training Evangelists at Bethsaida	Midwayer Commission	1657
149. The Second Preaching Tour	Midwayer Commission	1668
150. The Third Preaching Tour	Midwayer Commission	1678
151. Tarrying and Teaching by the Seaside	Midwayer Commission	1688
152. Events Leading up to the Capernaum Crisis	Midwayer Commission	1698
153. The Crisis at Capernaum	Midwayer Commission	1707
154. Last Days at Capernaum	Midwayer Commission	1717
155. Fleeing Through Northern Galilee	Midwayer Commission	1725
156. The Sojourn at Tyre and Sidon	Midwayer Commission	1734
157. At Caesarea-Philippi	Midwayer Commission	1743
158. The Mount of Transfiguration	Midwayer Commission	1752
159. The Decapolis Tour	Midwayer Commission	1762
160. Rodan of Alexandria	Midwayer Commission	1772
161. Further Discussions with Rodan	Midwayer Commission	1783
162. At the Feast of Tabernacles	Midwayer Commission	1788
163. Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan	Midwayer Commission	1800
164. At the Feast of Dedication	Midwayer Commission	1809
165. The Perean Mission Begins	Midwayer Commission	1817
166. Last Visit to Northern Perea	Midwayer Commission	1825
167. The Visit to Philadelphia	Midwayer Commission	1833
168. The Resurrection of Lazarus	Midwayer Commission	1842
169. Last Teaching at Pella	Midwayer Commission	1850
170. The Kingdom of Heaven	Midwayer Commission	1858
171. On the Way to Jerusalem	Midwayer Commission	1867
172. Going into Jerusalem	Midwayer Commission	1878
173. Monday in Jerusalem	Midwayer Commission	1888
174. Tuesday Morning in the Temple	Midwayer Commission	1897
175. The Last Temple Discourse	Midwayer Commission	1905
176. Tuesday Evening on Mount Olivet	Midwayer Commission	1912
177. Wednesday, The Rest Day	Midwayer Commission	1920
178. Last Day at the Camp	Midwayer Commission	1929
179. The Last Supper	Midwayer Commission	1936
180. The Farewell Discourse	Midwayer Commission	1944
181. Final Admonitions and Warnings	Midwayer Commission	1953
182. In Gethsemane	Midwayer Commission	1963
183. The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	1971
184. Before the Sanhedrin Court	Midwayer Commission	1978
185. The Trial Before Pilate	Midwayer Commission	1987
186. Just Before the Crucifixion	Midwayer Commission	1997
187. The Crucifixion	Midwayer Commission	2004
188. The Time of the Tomb	Midwayer Commission	2012
189. The Resurrection	Midwayer Commission	2020
190. Morontia Appearances of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	2029
191. Appearances to the Apostles and Other Leaders	Midwayer Commission	2037
192. Appearances in Galilee	Midwayer Commission	2045
193. Final Appearances and Ascension	Midwayer Commission	2052
194. Bestowal of the Spirit of Truth	Midwayer Commission	2059
195. After Pentecost	Midwayer Commission	2069
196. The Faith of Jesus	Midwayer Commission	2087

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed. For Class A renewals records (books only) published between 1923 and 1963, check the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Rutgers copyright renewal records. For other renewal records of publications between 1922 - 1950 see the Pennsylvania copyright records scans. For all records since 1978, search the U.S. Copyright Office records.