/lit/ - Literature

is this pretty much like gnosticism

>>15027482
depends what you mean by gnosticism I suppose

It definitely does not support the concept of the Demiurge

196:3.35.And God-consciousness is equivalent to the integration of the self with the universe, and on its highest levels of spiritual reality. Only the spirit content of any value is imperishable. Even that which is true, beautiful, and good may not perish in human experience. If man does not choose to survive, then does the surviving Adjuster conserve those realities born of love and nurtured in service. And all these things are a part of the Universal Father. The Father is living love, and this life of the Father is in his Sons. And the spirit of the Father is in his Sons' sons—mortal men. When all is said and done, the Father idea is still the highest human concept of God.

Does it accept Jesus as its Lord and Savior

I had enjoyed some of the urantia postings, ty.

>>15027478
what is Urantia?

>>15027478
How should we pray?

What does it say about Islam? About Hinduism? The last supper?

What did you find to be most profound about it?

>>15027478
Do you have the pasta on hand on ~ "civilizations/peoples can fall to depths that are irrecoverable"? Can't find it searching the text

>>15028222
Yes.

100:7.18.Jesus was the perfectly unified human personality. And today, as in Galilee, he continues to unify mortal experience and to co-ordinate human endeavors. He unifies life, ennobles character, and simplifies experience. He enters the human mind to elevate, transform, and transfigure it. It is literally true: "If any man has Christ Jesus within him, he is a new creature; old things are passing away; behold, all things are becoming new."
-------------------------

196:3.33.Be not discouraged; human evolution is still in progress, and the revelation of God to the world, in and through Jesus, shall not fail.

>>15028607
ty

>>15028800
The name for Earth by celestial/angelic beings who supposedly authored this book which is a divine revelation

>>15029069
>How should we pray?
144:2.2."Prayer is entirely a personal and spontaneous expression of the attitude of the soul toward the spirit; prayer should be the communion of sonship and the expression of fellowship. Prayer, when indited by the spirit, leads to co-operative spiritual progress. The ideal prayer is a form of spiritual communion which leads to intelligent worship. True praying is the sincere attitude of reaching heavenward for the attainment of your ideals.

144:2.3."Prayer is the breath of the soul and should lead you to be persistent in your attempt to ascertain the Father's will.

https://bigbluebook.org/144/2/

>>15029069
>What does it say about Islam?
One of 'the seven major religious epochs of post-Adamic Urantia:'

92:5.14.6. The sixth century after Christ. Mohammed founded a religion which was superior to many of the creeds of his time. His was a protest against the social demands of the faiths of foreigners and against the incoherence of the religious life of his own people.
-------------------------
92:6.19.Islam is the religio-cultural connective of North Africa, the Levant, and southeastern Asia. It was Jewish theology in connection with the later Christian teachings that made Islam monotheistic. The followers of Mohammed stumbled at the advanced teachings of the Trinity; they could not comprehend the doctrine of three divine personalities and one Deity. It is always difficult to induce evolutionary minds suddenly to accept advanced revealed truth. Man is an evolutionary creature and in the main must get his religion by evolutionary techniques.
----------------------------
(95:7.6) The strength of Islam has been its clear-cut and well-defined presentation of Allah as the one and only Deity; its weakness, the association of military force with its promulgation, together with its degradation of woman. But it has steadfastly held to its presentation of the One Universal Deity of all, "who knows the invisible and the visible. He is the merciful and the compassionate." "Truly God is plenteous in goodness to all men." "And when I am sick, it is he who heals me." "For whenever as many as three speak together, God is present as a fourth," for is he not "the first and the last, also the seen and the hidden"?

Where did the book come from

Why should I accept anything in it?

>>15029069
>About Hinduism?

(92:6.14) The most advanced religions of ancient times were Judaism and Hinduism, and each respectively has greatly influenced the course of religious development in Orient and Occident. Both Hindus and Hebrews believed that their religions were inspired and revealed, and they believed all others to be decadent forms of the one true faith.
--------------
94:3.1.While the highest phase of Brahmanism was hardly a religion, it was truly one of the most noble reaches of the mortal mind into the domains of philosophy and metaphysics. Having started out to discover final reality, the Indian mind did not stop until it had speculated about almost every phase of theology excepting the essential dual concept of religion: the existence of the Universal Father of all universe creatures and the fact of the ascending experience in the universe of these very creatures as they seek to attain the eternal Father, who has commanded them to be perfect, even as he is perfect.

>>15029069
>What did you find to be most profound about it?

The advanced writing style and polymathic sophistication of content. It dares to teach authoritatively about God, religion, history, etc.

101:5.1.Revelation is a technique whereby ages upon ages of time are saved in the necessary work of sorting and sifting the errors of evolution from the truths of spirit acquirement.

101:5.2.Science deals with facts; religion is concerned only with values. Through enlightened philosophy the mind endeavors to unite the meanings of both facts and values, thereby arriving at a concept of complete reality. Remember that science is the domain of knowledge, philosophy the realm of wisdom, and religion the sphere of the faith experience.

>>15029599
>Where did the book come from
The authors are unknown, it claims divine authorship; it originated in Chicago in the early 20th century.

>Why should I accept anything in it?
If it really was written by celestial beings with a divine mandate then its spiritual teachings would be of immense value. Whether you believe it is true or not is for you to discern.

All I know about this book I learned from a guy asking for money outside a Walgreens when I was fourteen.
He also showed me some pictures of coral he found that spelled out "I <3 JC"

>>15029084
that phrase doesnt ring a bell

>>15029662
Its the inspiration for this song by Deadsy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfFBj9Hrh68

>>15027478
I have posted in multiple Uranitia threads asking for examples of quality writing in the book, which is something the OP constantly purports, and have never received a reply with more than mediocre grocery-list-like writing. Because of this I don't think these threads belong on /lit/.

>>15030679
You are not the arbiter of what quality is.
Post something you think is of high enough quality to be allowed on lit, so we may judge your sensibilities.

>>15029657
>Divine authorship
>Chicago
Ayo, waz dis shiet written by a brotha?

>>15027478
Why is it such a relatively new book, if the divine had a message wouldnt it have provided it earlier on?

Does it have a community or organisation for believers in it, how are disputes over its contents settled?

>>15030922
92:4.4.There have been many events of religious revelation but only five of epochal significance. These were as follows:
1. The Dalamatian teachings. The true concept of the First Source and Center was first promulgated on Urantia by the one hundred corporeal members of Prince Caligastia's staff.
2. The Edenic teachings. Adam and Eve again portrayed the concept of the Father of all to the evolutionary peoples.
3. Melchizedek of Salem. This emergency Son of Nebadon inaugurated the third revelation of truth on Urantia.
4. Jesus of Nazareth. Christ Michael presented for the fourth time to Urantia the concept of God as the Universal Father, and this teaching has generally persisted ever since.
5. The Urantia Papers. The papers, of which this is one, constitute the most recent presentation of truth to the mortals of Urantia.

>>15030922
>>15030922
>Why is it such a relatively new book, if the divine had a message wouldnt it have provided it earlier on?
God and religious realities are revealed by religious leaders in every age, but some are of epochal importance. Dont fall into the trap that something needs to be ancient in order to contain Truth.

>>15030922
>Does it have a community or organisation for believers in it, how are disputes over its contents settled?
There is no central organization or authority. The Urantia Foundation, who published the book, lost the copyright claim to it in court, because the authorship was 'deemed to have been neither a composite work nor a commissioned work for hire', so it is in the public domain legally.

>>15030646
Is this suppose to imply that urnatia is falling for the trap of institutional religion? What is this suppose to imply?

What is god and what is man's relationship with him?

>>15031100
No, Urantia eats those things for breakfast

195:10.8.Ecclesiasticism is at once and forever incompatible with that living faith, growing spirit, and firsthand experience of the faith-comrades of Jesus in the brotherhood of man in the spiritual association of the kingdom of heaven. The praiseworthy desire to preserve traditions of past achievement often leads to the defense of outgrown systems of worship. The well-meant desire to foster ancient thought systems effectually prevents the sponsoring of new and adequate means and methods designed to satisfy the spiritual longings of the expanding and advancing minds of modern men. Likewise, the Christian churches of the twentieth century stand as great, but wholly unconscious, obstacles to the immediate advance of the real gospel—the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

>>15031103
1:0.1.THE Universal Father is the God of all creation, the First Source and Center of all things and beings. First think of God as a creator, then as a controller, and lastly as an infinite upholder. The truth about the Universal Father had begun to dawn upon mankind when the prophet said: "You, God, are alone; there is none beside you. You have created the heaven and the heaven of heavens, with all their hosts; you preserve and control them. By the Sons of God were the universes made. The Creator covers himself with light as with a garment and stretches out the heavens as a curtain." Only the concept of the Universal Father—one God in the place of many gods—enabled mortal man to comprehend the Father as divine creator and infinite controller.

1:0.2.The myriads of planetary systems were all made to be eventually inhabited by many different types of intelligent creatures, beings who could know God, receive the divine affection, and love him in return. The universe of universes is the work of God and the dwelling place of his diverse creatures. "God created the heavens and formed the earth; he established the universe and created this world not in vain; he formed it to be inhabited."

>>15031025
Thanks for responding,

>Dont fall into the trap that something needs to be ancient in order to contain Truth
That is something I certainly can appreciate, its just that I can also appreciate that a fabricate claim to eternal truth is far more likely to be a modern/recent create.

I often get the sense that new religions often perform something similar to pic related whereby they reinterpret previous traditions under their own lense to artificially mold it to justifying their own belief.

It makes me wonder why say Jesus or Mohamed wouldn't have told people about Urantia or at least stated that they wouldn't be the last messengers/prophets.

>There is no central organization or authority
So how do disputes get resolved over interpretation?

>>15031279
re: your pic
(103:1.4) Religion is primarily a pursuit of values, and then there formulates a system of interpretative beliefs. It is much easier for men to agree on religious values—goals—than on beliefs—interpretations. And this explains how religion can agree on values and goals while exhibiting the confusing phenomenon of maintaining a belief in hundreds of conflicting beliefs—creeds. This also explains why a given person can maintain his religious experience in the face of giving up or changing many of his religious beliefs. Religion persists in spite of revolutionary changes in religious beliefs.
-------------------

Religions can be relatively good or evil, depending on the degree of enlightenment of its religious leaders; they more or less draw upon the same source for inspiration making their essence of a similar thread, regardless of the conflicting beliefs they may promulgate.

>>15031279
>So how do disputes get resolved over interpretation?
They dont. Tney are just differing religious opinions held by various reders of the book.

>>15031355
>>15031364
Thanks anon, I just tend to find myself falling into the trap of feeling inclined to go with the more "exclusive" faiths if only because the consequences are extremely dire for not being a part of them compared to more open and accepting faiths.

>>15031490
Go through and explore those exclusive faiths, there is still value in them; but transcend the fear if you are able.

155:5.9.The acceptance of the traditional religions of authority presents the easy way out for man's urge to seek satisfaction for the longings of his spiritual nature. The settled, crystallized, and established religions of authority afford a ready refuge to which the distracted and distraught soul of man may flee when harassed by fear and tormented by uncertainty. Such a religion requires of its devotees, as the price to be paid for its satisfactions and assurances, only a passive and purely intellectual assent.

155:5.10.And for a long time there will live on earth those timid, fearful, and hesitant individuals who will prefer thus to secure their religious consolations, even though, in so casting their lot with the religions of authority, they compromise the sovereignty of personality, debase the dignity of self-respect, and utterly surrender the right to participate in that most thrilling and inspiring of all possible human experiences: the personal quest for truth, the exhilaration of facing the perils of intellectual discovery, the determination to explore the realities of personal religious experience, the supreme satisfaction of experiencing the personal triumph of the actual realization of the victory of spiritual faith over intellectual doubt as it is honestly won in the supreme adventure of all human existence—man seeking God, for himself and as himself, and finding him.

155:5.11.The religion of the spirit means effort, struggle, conflict, faith, determination, love, loyalty, and progress. The religion of the mind—the theology of authority—requires little or none of these exertions from its formal believers. Tradition is a safe refuge and an easy path for those fearful and halfhearted souls who instinctively shun the spirit struggles and mental uncertainties associated with those faith voyages of daring adventure out upon the high seas of unexplored truth in search for the farther shores of spiritual realities as they may be discovered by the progressive human mind and experienced by the evolving human soul.

>>15031490
(99:5.2) Always keep in mind: True religion is to know God as your Father and man as your brother. Religion is not a slavish belief in threats of punishment or magical promises of future mystical rewards.