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Summary: It's like actually being with Jesus during his life.
Review: I bought this book 26 years ago. In that time I have never run across anyone else that owns the book. I have been very impressed with Amazon.com for other book orders and stopped in to see if this book was still in print. Every four years we spend the year in study of the New Testament. I don't use the Urantia book in church, but when I am concentrating on the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in class, I am reading the Life of Jesus from the Urantia book at home. I don't consider the book to be equivalent to scripture, but it is the closest thing to actually being with the Savior that I have found. I find that as I spend several months reading from the chapters on the Life of Jesus, I can not help but be totally immersed in thinking about Jesus Christ.When I get past the book of Acts, I turn in the same way to "The Apostle", a book by Sholem Asch. This book does for Paul what the Urantia book does for Jesus. I am afraid that I would have been like the man that fell out of the window during Pauls all night talk. I find Paul so intense that it is often hard to keep reading his letters in the Bible. Having a novel to read that puts me more in touch with the person and the situations he is involved in makes the Bible really come alive. I have a bit harder time with the beginning pages of the Urantia book that describe in complex detail about how the universe is organized and about the history of our planet. It may well be that way, but I have nothing to compare it to and I am satisfied to wait until I have a better view of those things. The Life of Jesus, for me, makes the Urantia book one of my favorites. Every time I read it, my life is enriched again and again.
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Summary: A Clever Deception
Review: The URANTIA Book (UB) is a 2097-page, 1.25 million-word compilation of several papers allegedly authored by a group of "divine revelators" claiming to representatives of God's vast celestial hierarchy. These "ghostwriters" (pun intended) were commissioned by their heavenly "supervisors" to enlighten the human inhabitants of this planet (which they call Urantia) as to how mankind has been supposedly misled throughout human history by the errors of religious thinking. The primary target for which the UB "authors" claim is in need of "correction" in the arena of religion is the Bible, with all its misconceptions regarding the nature of God, who Jesus was, etc. Thanks in part to what the famous skeptic Martin Gardner points out in his book entitled URANTIA: The Great Cult Mystery, I find it difficult to accept the truth-claims that these alleged celestial authors present, in light of several factors. To begin with, Gardner takes exception to the many scientific errors within the pages of the UB. Much of the UB's vast science content has been rendered outdated because of discoveries made since (and in some cases prior to) its publication in 1955. Some of the scientific data, however, is outright erroneous to begin with (such as the surface temperature of the sun and the number of chromosomes in a human cell). These alleged higher minds of the heavenly host attempt to excuse the outdated science by evoking a "prime directive," supposedly handed down by their celestial superiors, which admonishes them not to reveal any unearned science to us evolving mortals and to present their scientific treatises within the limits of our then-current vernacular. However, this excuse does not bode well because at the same time these intergalactic messengers are bedazzling us with their brilliance as pertains to things known, they also baffle us with a fantastic model of the universe that is beyond our wildest dreams and which is, of course, unearned science. Ample more compelling evidence is provided by Gardner that suggests the UB was the brainchild not of celestials, but of mere terrestrials. The all-too-human concept of racism and a blatant promotion of eugenics are given full endorsement by the "divine revelators." Furthermore, many revealing cases of plagiarism on the part of the visiting spirits are cited. But what tips the scale of human invention is the weight of Seventh Day Adventist influence to be found in the UB. The angelic authors wholeheartedly adopt such 7DA doctrines as soul-sleep, the annihilation of the wicked, the denial of the existence of hell, and that Jesus Christ is (the archangel) Michael. (The UB prescribes a variation on this Adventist theme in that Jesus is just one of several hundred thousand Sons of God throughout the vastly populated universe, born prior to his human incarnation into the celestial aristocratic order of Michaels. He surreptitiously died on the cross at the hands of evil men not to atone for your sins, but to cap his own career as celestial sovereign to our little corner of the universe.) But just because these similarities exist between the UB and a "Christian" sect does not mean that the UB and the Bible are compatible with one another. If the reader is endowed with even a basic knowledge of the Bible, then many particular contrasts will stand out clearly when comparing notes. In exchange for bestowing divinity upon the would-be believer, the UB vehemently denies all major historic Christian doctrines including the Atonement, Virgin Birth, bodily resurrection, and Deity of Christ. And this is not all that is to be gleaned from the UB papers regarding Christianity. These are but a few of the observations that a discerning Christian will make when comparing the UB with the Bible. The UB author(s): 1) Claim that the Old Testament represents the evolved religion of a superstitious desert clan; 2) Rewrite the four Gospels to fit their own preconceived agenda; 3) Write up a history of Jesus' years as a youth and young adult, again agenda-driven; 4) Disparage Paul as having influenced Christianity by injecting Hellenism and Paganism; 5) State that Jesus was not the Messiah, nor did He claim to be; and the list goes on and on. Speaking of the apostle Paul, how easy it seems for these resplendent revisionists to lop off nearly two thirds of the New Testament by declaring his works irrelevant. Could there be a motive behind their redactory method? I will quote just one Bible verse in this review, written by Paul nearly two thousand years ago (which the divine revelators no doubt would prefer that it be ignored), and let the reader decide whether or not the shoe fits: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8) Why does the UB attract so many faithful adherents, despite its questionable trustworthiness? The answer is simple; because the UB makes elegant use of (quite literally) the oldest trick in the book. It strokes the reader's ego by telling the would-be believer what he or she wants to hear (2Tim. 4:2,3); that despite their occasional tendency to "err," they have within them a divine agent that renders them Godlike. This same pretty package has been rewrapped countless times and continues to be offered today in the guise of the New Age movement. You can read about the first time this ploy was used (and its rather successful results) in the Bible (Gen. 3:5 et seq.).
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Summary: Urantia book corrects and clarifies mythical aspects of Bibl
Review: This tremendous work is a must for the serious seeker. After reading it through three times the content starts to integrate and a universal picture of a fantastic project regarding the supreme development of all conscious creatures takes shape. There is a promise that those humans who sincerely search for truth will pass at the end of this incarnation into a vast and wonderful adventure of perfection. It gives a synopsis of universe stucture and function of its countless attending beings. Then it moves on to the history of our planet including the evolution of life forms and geologic upheavals. The last section is the spellbinding year to year history of Jesus given by attending beings who remember it as if it happened yesterday.
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Summary: Very deep, fascinating, revelatory and USEFUL information.
Review: This enormous collection of revealed information and wisdom is a must-read for any serious student of religion, spirituality or the cosmos. I have been reading it on and off for the last few years and consider it one of the most credible sources of spiritual understanding I've ever encountered- and I have been a serious seeker, reader and practioner of spiritual discipline(s) for much of my 48 years. On this long, adventurous, survival-of-the-fittest spiritual journey we've all embarked on we need a guidebook or two. This is one of them. Get the book. Read areas that are most appealing to you first. (It's pretty vast.) Take your time. Savor it. You won't be disappointed. It may change your life. If it seems to daunting at first, get Kelly Elstrott's introduction - "The Fifth Revelation" and go from there. (I haven't read Ellstrott's book yet, but from the reviews and excerpts I've read, it's probably a good place to begin.) Happy trails!
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Summary: Stop the World I want to get off!!
Review: I believe that once you stop the world, you do "get off" baby !! You can have the world but your gonna eat it too. To sum up this book I can use one word, "ADVENTURE". I have been reading it only about three months, and I am about 1/3 the way through. Yet, I can say that even the readers who have been reading it for years, over and over, cannot describe in words the intensity of the reading. You have to experience it for yourself. This book is an experience. Read it and your skull, your heart, and your soul will "Get Off"...
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Summary: The greatest advice for today's problems.
Review: The Urantia book identifies the cause of the seperation of religions and the seeming decline in morality. It the offers a clear and simple solution for world peace, guaranteed to work. This, and much, much more.
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Summary: The greatest book I've ever read in my life!
Review: This book, written by angels and celestial beings, answered every question that I ever had about the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the history of this planet, how the major world races came into being, and many other important topics. If you had only one book to read, then this would have to be the one! It's totally changed my outlook on life, my attitudes towards people, and my relationship with God is much stronger. I especially enjoyed the 800-page segment on Jesus of Nazareth, and now I have a very good idea as to how great He is! If only you had any idea as to how much enthusiasm I have for this wonderful book!
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Summary: Revelation or not, very much worth reading!
Review: It does not matter, really, if The Urantia Book is actual divine revelation or a purely human construct. The concepts and advice contained in it are very much worth exploring for anyone who wishes to have greater understanding. One can take from this tome those aspects which resonate with ones inner sense of spirituality and gain greater insight thereby.
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Summary: One of the most extraordinary books ever written!
Review: This is a book that brings many dimensions together, so that one can feel and know the Wholness of Being. In many spiritual books a major problem is that the mortal sphere with its laws is to a certain extent separated from the spiritual spheres. In them, spiritual spheres remain too abstract and somehow devided from the mortal dimension, so that reader is left a little bit alone, although one may feel the Presence of God or may be in connection with God. The Urantia Book transcendes this gap with tremendous plantitude of information in which the Wholness of Everything flows as natural as in Reality it is. The pages that speak of God are maybe the best ones reader could find anywhere in spiritual literature. But the same is with many other parts of the book. So splendid it is. Therefore I woul like strongly to recommand this book for everyone who would like to have the "panoramic view of Everything" - if you are patient enough, because the book consists of more than 2000 pages.
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Summary: If immortality is a desire of yours read on.
Review: For many years I have studied this book and I have found it to be a reliable source of information and inspiration. The conflicts between science and religion are reconciled with an amazingly detailed and scientific overview of the genesis , history and destiny of mankind. We are not alone becomes a consistent message of hope and comfort as you learn of the myriad of celestial helpers and spiritual guides all working with the human personality and the spirit within to evolve an immortal soul capable of embarking on the ultimate adventure, the quest of the ages, eternal life.
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