KTG

     Of course it will always matter to some, particularly when they are new readers. But a small survey shows that the longer an individual has been reading this book, so does their intellectual need decline for an authoritarian statement about what one should or should not believe.

    It seems likely that such readers unconsciously begin to take for granted a comment made in the book that their Adjuster will always participate in helping them know what is really right or really wrong, and not merely what they think is right or wrong. The book itself confirms that this Adjuster activity proceeds even when the human partner is not conscious of it. (1192)

    What if hard evidence came to light that Dr Sadler conspired with others to write and present the Urantia Papers as if they were a revelation from celestial beings? Would the truths to be discovered in the Papers be less true? Or less authoritarian?

    For many the answer is no. Truth in The Urantia Book and truth from any other source remains true regardless of the source. The Gospel of John revealed to us mortals that the Spirit of Truth would come after Jesus "went away."  Its purpose would be to guide our lives and to lead us into all truth.

    The Spirit of Truth was "poured out" at Pentecost. It was so effective that the apostles made more spiritual progress in one month after its bestowal than in four years of personal and daily contact with Jesus. This happened despite the fact they had no written guide book. (2061)

    The need for divine, authoritarian revelation appears to be proportional to the current uncertainty and insecurity of the individual. Perhaps that is to be expected. We all must start somewhere.

    However when uncertainty and insecurity develop into a pathological need for an "infallible" guide book to truth--whether it be the Bible, the Koran, the Urantia Book, or any other document--rather than demonstrating their possession of an undeviating faith as many assert, it really reflects a lack of faith.

   "Faith has to be unreasonable. If we have reason for faith, it is not faith, it is logic. Faith simply must be unreasonable." (B. Appleyard) Jesus taught us, "Faith is the open door for entering into the present, perfect, and eternal love of God." The book teaches:

    "But long before reaching Havona, these ascendant children of time have learned to feast upon uncertainty, to fatten upon disappointment, to enthuse over apparent defeat, to invigorate in the presence of difficulties, to exhibit indomitable courage in the face of immensity, and to exercise unconquerable faith when confronted with the challenge of the inexplicable. Long since, the battle cry of these pilgrims became: 'In liaison with God, nothing--absolutely nothing--is impossible.'" (291)

    A careful reading of The Urantia Book shows that none of its authors, not even the Divine Counselors, are actually of divine status. The book also says that only those of divine Creator status can know absolute truth.

    The authors of the Urantia Papers make no claim that their work carries divine authority or even divine sanction. The pathway to truth is evolutionary and progressive. Hence it may have to proceed by a series of approximations. Revelation can still be revelation, yet not be truth.

     The Biblical fundamentalists have brought much derision upon themselves and the Christian religion. In recent years the word "revelation" has become contaminated. Because of this, any attempt to attach divine revelatory status, hence divine authority, on the Urantia Papers (something to which the authors make no pretence) can only retard the progress of its magnificent and desperately needed message.