williamsadler53

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Posts posted by williamsadler53

  1. Enoch is a most revealing book!

    The comparison with “Origins of Asgaard” is intriguing.

    What more do you know about the "world between the worlds" mentioned? Is the narrative considered to be factual, legendary, mythical, or what?

    The seven gods mentioned at the end hold positions remarkably similar to those explained in The Urantia Book as held by "officials" in the staff of the Planetary Prince [Caligastia -- more or less the one known as the "Devil"].

    Rev. Bill

  2. See this in context HERE

    II. God

    Evolving mortal creatures experience an irresistible urge to symbolize their finite concepts of God. Man’s consciousness of moral duty and his spiritual idealism represent a value level — an experiential reality — which is difficult of symbolization.

    Cosmic consciousness implies the recognition of a First Cause, the one and only uncaused reality. God, the Universal Father, functions on three Deity-personality levels of subinfinite value and relative divinity expression:

    GOD is a word symbol designating all personalizations of Deity. The term requires a different definition on each personal level of Deity function and must be still further redefined within each of these levels, as this term may be used to designate the diverse co-ordinate and subordinate personalizations of Deity; for example: the Paradise Creator Sons — the local universe fathers.

    1. Prepersonal — as in the ministry of the Father fragments, such as the Thought Adjusters.

    2. Personal — as in the evolutionary experience of created and procreated beings.

    3. Superpersonal — as in the eventuated existences of certain absonite and associated beings.

    The term God, as we make use of it, may be understood:

    The term God always denotes personality. Deity may, or may not, refer to divinity personalities.

    By designation — as God the Father.

    By context — as when used in the discussion of some one deity level or association. When in doubt as to the exact interpretation of the word God, it would be advisable to refer it to the person of the Universal Father.

    The word GOD is used, in these papers, with the following meanings:

    1. God the Father — Creator, Controller, and Upholder. The Universal Father, the First Person of Deity.

    2. God the Son — Co-ordinate Creator, Spirit Controller, and Spiritual Administrator. The Eternal Son, the Second Person of Deity.

    3. God the Spirit — Conjoint Actor, Universal Integrator, and Mind Bestower. The Infinite Spirit, the Third Person of Deity.

    4. God the Supreme — the actualizing or evolving God of time and space. Personal Deity associatively realizing the time-space experiential achievement of creature-Creator identity. The Supreme Being is personally experiencing the achievement of Deity unity as the evolving and experiential God of the evolutionary creatures of time and space.

    5. God the Sevenfold — Deity personality anywhere actually functioning in time and space. The personal Paradise Deities and their creative associates functioning in and beyond the borders of the central universe and power-personalizing as the Supreme Being on the first creature level of unifying Deity revelation in time and space. This level, the grand universe, is the sphere of the time-space descension of Paradise personalities in reciprocal association with the time-space ascension of evolutionary creatures.

    6. God the Ultimate — the eventuating God of supertime and transcended space. The second experiential level of unifying Deity manifestation. God the Ultimate implies the attained realization of the synthesized absonite-superpersonal, time-space-transcended, and eventuated-experiential values, co-ordinated on final creative levels of Deity reality.

    7. God the Absolute — the experientializing God of transcended superpersonal values and divinity meanings, now existential as the Deity Absolute.This is the third level of unifying Deity expression and expansion. On this supercreative level, Deity experiences exhaustion of personalizable potential, encounters completion of divinity, and undergoes depletion of capacity for self-revelation to successive and progressive levels of other-personalization. Deity now encounters, impinges upon, and experiences identity with, the Unqualified Absolute.

    Have a great day!

    Rev. Bill Sadler

  3. Ways in which the Urantia Book was NOT received:

    • 1. Automatic Writing
    • 2. Automatic Talking
      • a. Speaking in "Tongues"
      • b. Trance Mediums
      • c. Spirit Mediums
      • d. Catalepsy
    • 3. Automatic Hearing -- Clairaudience
      • a. Hearing "Voices"
    • 4. Automatic Seeing
      • a. Dream States -- Twilight Mentation
      • b. Visions -- Automatic Dramatization
      • c. Hallucinations (Shifty "Reality" Feelings)
    • 5. Automatic Thinking
      • a. Automatic Fearing -- Anxiety Neurosis
      • b. Automatic Ideation -- Mental Compulsions
      • c. Automatic Judgements -- Intuition, "Hunches"
      • d. Automatic Association of Ideas -- Premonitions
      • e. Automatic Guessing -- E.S.P. -- Extra-Sensory Perception
      • f. Automatic Deductions -- Delusions -- Dreams and Hypnosis
    • 6. Automatic Remembering
      • a. Clairvoyance -- Automatic Memory Associations
      • b. Telepathy -- Mind Reading (?) [question mark in original]
      • c. Fortune Telling (Largely Fraudulent)
      • d. Musical and Mathematical Marvels
    • 7. Automatic Acting
      • a. Automatic Behavior -- (Major Hysteria, Witchcraft.)
      • b. Automatic Motion -- Motor Compulsions
      • c. Automatic Overdrives -- Manic Episodes
      • d. Automatic Walking -- somnambulism
    • 8. Automatic Personalization
      • a. Automatic Forgetting -- Amnesia
      • b. Automatic Dissociation -- Double and Multiple Personality
      • c. Schizophrenia -- Split Personality
    • 9. Combined and Associated Psychic States

    Note: The technique of the reception of the Urantia Book in English in no way parallels or impinges upon any of the above phenomena of the marginal consciousness.

  4. The uncertainties of life and the vicissitudes of existence do not in any manner contradict the concept of the universal sovereignty of God. All evolutionary creature life is beset by certain inevitabilities. Consider the following:


    1. Is courage — strength of character — desirable? Then must man be reared in an environment which necessitates grappling with hardships and reacting to disappointments.

    2. Is altruism — service of one’s fellows — desirable? Then must life experience provide for encountering situations of social inequality.

    3. Is hope — the grandeur of trust — desirable? Then human existence must constantly be confronted with insecurities and recurrent uncertainties.

    4. Is faith — the supreme assertion of human thought — desirable? Then must the mind of man find itself in that troublesome predicament where it ever knows less than it can believe.

    5. Is the love of truth and the willingness to go wherever it leads, desirable? Then must man grow up in a world where error is present and falsehood always possible.

    6. Is idealism — the approaching concept of the divine — desirable? Then must man struggle in an environment of relative goodness and beauty, surroundings stimulative of the irrepressible reach for better things.

    7. Is loyalty — devotion to highest duty — desirable? Then must man carry on amid the possibilities of betrayal and desertion. The valor of devotion to duty consists in the implied danger of default.

    8. Is unselfishness — the spirit of self-forgetfulness — desirable? Then must mortal man live face to face with the incessant clamoring of an inescapable self for recognition and honor. Man could not dynamically choose the divine life if there were no self-life to forsake. Man could never lay saving hold on righteousness if there were no potential evil to exalt and differentiate the good by contrast.

    9. Is pleasure — the satisfaction of happiness — desirable? Then must man live in a world where the alternative of pain and the likelihood of suffering are ever-present experiential possibilities.

    Rev. Bill

  5. "Death added nothing to the intellectual possession or to the spiritual endowment, but it did add to the experiential status the consciousness of survival."1
    A Personal Philosophy of Religion
    An idea is only a theoretical plan for action, while a positive decision is a validated plan of action. A stereotype is a plan of action accepted without validation. The materials out of which to build a personal philosophy of religion are derived from both the inner and the environmental experience of the individual. The social status, economic conditions, educational opportunities, moral trends, institutional influences, political developments, racial tendencies, and the religious teachings of one’s time and place all become factors in the formulation of a personal philosophy of religion. Even the inherent temperament and intellectual bent markedly determine the pattern of religious philosophy. Vocation, marriage, and kindred all influence the evolution of one’s personal standards of life.
    A philosophy of religion evolves out of a basic growth of ideas plus experimental living as both are modified by the tendency to imitate associates. The soundness of philosophic conclusions depends on keen, honest, and discriminating thinking in connection with sensitivity to meanings and accuracy of evaluation. Moral cowards never achieve high planes of philosophic thinking; it requires courage to invade new levels of experience and to attempt the exploration of unknown realms of intellectual living.
    Presently new systems of values come into existence; new formulations of principles and standards are achieved; habits and ideals are reshaped; some idea of a personal God is attained, followed by enlarging concepts of relationship thereto.
    The great difference between a religious and a nonreligious philosophy of living consists in the nature and level of recognized values and in the object of loyalties. There are four phases in the evolution of religious philosophy: Such an experience may become merely conformative, resigned to submission to tradition and authority. Or it may be satisfied with slight attainments, just enough to stabilize the daily living, and therefore becomes early arrested on such an adventitious level. Such mortals believe in letting well enough alone. A third group progress to the level of logical intellectuality but there stagnate in consequence of cultural slavery. It is indeed pitiful to behold giant intellects held so securely within the cruel grasp of cultural bondage. It is equally pathetic to observe those who trade their cultural bondage for the materialistic fetters of a science, falsely so called. The fourth level of philosophy attains freedom from all conventional and traditional handicaps and dares to think, act, and live honestly, loyally, fearlessly, and truthfully.
    The acid test for any religious philosophy consists in whether or not it distinguishes between the realities of the material and the spiritual worlds while at the same moment recognizing their unification in intellectual striving and in social serving. A sound religious philosophy does not confound the things of God with the things of Caesar. Neither does it recognize the aesthetic cult of pure wonder as a substitute for religion.
    Philosophy transforms that primitive religion which was largely a fairy tale of conscience into a living experience in the ascending values of cosmic reality.2
    I would be delighted for you to share your personal philosophy of religion/living.
    Peace,
    Rev. Bill
    1 From Morontia Mota [ HERE ]

    Important: The Urantia Book is in the public domain, and the original holder of the copyright, The Urantia Foundation, has granted permission to reproduce or copy the standardized English text without permission. TIN: UF-ENG-001-World-2009-0.19.SRT

  6. The First Shamans — The Medicine Men

    The shaman was the ranking medicine man, the ceremonial fetishman, and the focus personality for all the practices of evolutionary religion. In many groups the shaman outranked the war chief, marking the beginning of the church domination of the state. The shaman sometimes functioned as a priest and even as a priest-king. Some of the later tribes had both the earlier shaman-medicine men (seers) and the later appearing shaman-priests. And in many cases the office of shaman became hereditary.

    Since in olden times anything abnormal was ascribed to spirit possession, any striking mental or physical abnormality constituted qualification for being a medicine man. Many of these men were epileptic, many of the women hysteric, and these two types accounted for a good deal of ancient inspiration as well as spirit and devil possession. Quite a few of these earliest of priests were of a class which has since been denominated paranoiac.

    While they may have practiced deception in minor matters, the great majority of the shamans believed in the fact of their spirit possession. Women who were able to throw themselves into a trance or a cataleptic fit became powerful shamanesses; later, such women became prophets and spirit mediums. Their cataleptic trances usually involved alleged communications with the ghosts of the dead. Many female shamans were also professional dancers.

    But not all shamans were self-deceived; many were shrewd and able tricksters. As the profession developed, a novice was required to serve an apprenticeship of ten years of hardship and self-denial to qualify as a medicine man. The shamans developed a professional mode of dress and affected a mysterious conduct. They frequently employed drugs to induce certain physical states which would impress and mystify the tribesmen. Sleight-of-hand feats were regarded as supernatural by the common folk, and ventriloquism was first used by shrewd priests. Many of the olden shamans unwittingly stumbled onto hypnotism; others induced autohypnosis by prolonged staring at their navels.

    While many resorted to these tricks and deceptions, their reputation as a class, after all, stood on apparent achievement. When a shaman failed in his undertakings, if he could not advance a plausible alibi, he was either demoted or killed. Thus the honest shamans early perished; only the shrewd actors survived.

    It was shamanism that took the exclusive direction of tribal affairs out of the hands of the old and the strong and lodged it in the hands of the shrewd, the clever, and the farsighted.

    Do you believe in spirit possession?

    What are your thoughts and/or comments about Medicine Men???

    Rev. Bill

  7. Important: The Urantia Book is in the public domain, and the original holder of the copyright, The Urantia Foundation, has granted permission to reproduce or copy the standardized English text without permission. TIN: UF-ENG-001-World-2009-0.19.SRT

    PLEASE NOTE: This topic is not intended for skeptical criticism. There will shortly be a second topic in this section of the ULC Forum where you are welcome to constructively criticize and ask questions of a skeptical nature to your heart's content.

    I suggest looking [ HERE ] and [ HERE ] before making critical comments.

    "Knowledge is possessed only by sharing; it is safeguarded by wisdom and socialized by love."

    http://www.urantia.org/urantia-book-standardized/paper-48-morontia-life#U48_7_28

    The Urantia Book is the newest major Revelation provided to our world. It is a work of supreme importance, prepared with only the most sincere, loving intentions by many different people [celestial – not material flesh and blood] hailing from the headquarters of our superuniverse [center is the Milky Way], the Central Universe of Havona, and even Paradise itself who want us to find God and become like Him. They have provided this revelation to us in response to the Supreme Mandate to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect. [see Matthew chapter 5 of the Judeo-Christian Bible for Jesus’ comment on the meaning of this mandate – and the mandate itself (5:48).]

    There is not a hint of deception in this work. I do not believe an honest, truth seeking, and God loving soul can sincerely and with positive intention read this supernal work without experiencing a sense of profound awe and even excitement regarding the people, places, and things explained, as well as its revelation of the eternal, ultimate, and final destiny that awaits our attainment. One of the authors of the UB put it this way:

    There is in the mind of God a plan which embraces every creature of all his vast domains, and this plan is an eternal purpose of boundless opportunity, unlimited progress, and endless life. And the infinite treasures of such a matchless career are yours for the striving!

    The goal of eternity is ahead! The adventure of divinity attainment lies before you! The race for perfection is on! whosoever will may enter, and certain victory will crown the efforts of every human being who will run the race of faith and trust, depending every step of the way on the leading of the indwelling Adjuster and on the guidance of that good spirit of the Universe Son, which so freely has been poured out upon all flesh.

    [see this selection in The UB HERE]

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Although a group of humans living in Chicago was involved in the reception of this book from around 1900 to 1935, no human being wrote any part of The Urantia Book. The revelation mandate insisted that whenever a human thought existed that effectively portrayed the intended meaning, that human thought was to be used. There was no intention of stealing anyone’s work without their permission. I cannot imagine how anyone can read the impeccably sincere, wonderfully beautiful, amazingly precise sections of the UB that are obviously pure revelation and for one instant think that the authors needed to STEAL anything from a human--the whole idea is absolutely ludicrous! But there are those who have argued the notion...

    Anyway…

    Although a human “subject” was involved at certain times, this book was not channeled. This book is NOT a product of “automatic writing.” This book does not claim to be inspired. This book is what it is – an unsurpassed revelation of truth, beauty, and goodness brought to us on behalf of the Infinite One; the First Source and Center; that One Uncaused Cause; the Creator, Controller, and Upholder of the Universe -- Our Universal Father -- and all His Sons and Daughters who lovingly administer the Universe of Universes and care for us, we mortal humans at the beginning of our ascendant career – the long and winding road to Paradise!!!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I am highly qualified to discuss topics pertaining to the text of The Urantia Book. The purpose of this ULC forum topic is to post and discuss various sections of interest from The Urantia Book. If The Urantia Book is new to you, take a look at either table of contents via the links below. I am certain you will see some section related to your belief system and of great interest to you. Just copy and paste the relevant text from the UB as a post to this topic along with any of your specific questions or comments related to that text. I will do my best to respond promptly, but please understand that sometimes I am away for several days at a time.

    THE URANTIA BOOK

    The Parts of the Book

    PART I.
    The Central And Superuniverses
    [ HERE ]

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

    PART II.
    The Local Universe
    [ HERE ]

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

    PART III.
    The History Of Urantia
    [ HERE ]

    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
    [ HERE ]

    This group 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.

    To see an exhaustive table of contents including all 196 Papers and all sections within each paper click [ HERE ].

    Peace,

    Rev. Bill Sadler

  8. [important: The Urantia Book is in the public domain, and the original holder of the copyright, The Urantia Foundation, has granted permission to reproduce or copy the standardized English text without permission. TIN: UF-ENG-001-World-2009-0.19.SRT ]

    Fellow ULC Forum Participants,

    As you probably realized by now, I am new not only to this forum but also to online forums in general. My intention in this Urantia Book post is to share with you what is according to my knowledge and in my experience the best, most valuable written resource regarding facts, ideas, and relations; things, meanings, and values; matter, mind, and spirit; truth, beauty, and goodness; Universal Father, Eternal Son, and Infinite Spirit; and Jesus of Nazareth—son of man and Son of God—on our planet today.

    Because I am making an appeal to my own knowledge and experience as part of this presentation/discussion, I believe it important to share a bit of my background with you.

    When you investigate the origins of The Urantia Book, you are likely to have certain questions about me; so, I am going to state here that my name is Bill Sadler [legal name is William J. Sadler, Jr.]. I am a natural born citizen of the United States of America; born in Oklahoma City; and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. I am 55 years of age and have resided in Houston, Texas since 1984.

    According to my birth mother, the first question I verbalized was “Is Santa Claus a Spirit like God?” And, I have been on the long and winding road to God since that time ;) . I have investigated many of the major world religions and some of the not so well known approaches to the Infinite. I have been with and searching for God, and he has been with and revealing himself to me as far back as I can remember.

    In 1978, within days of a profound, materially inexplicable [i.e., spiritual] experience that was directly related to critical teachings [then unknown to me] of the UB, and while helping a friend pick out a bible for his brother at an Oklahoma City bookstore, I found The Urantia Book. I opened it to a section on the Indwelling Spirit and immediately knew I had to own and read that book. Ever since, The Urantia Book has been a formative influence in my life.

    For 35 years, I have investigated the UB in depth, and all concerns I ever had about its origin, facticity, and sincerity have been more than adequately answered. I have true experience not only with the application of the beautiful teachings but also with some of the good and loving persons described in the book. Further, I have had a somewhat unique relationship to and with key persons responsible for the establishment and operation of the Urantia Foundation and some who were involved with the reception of the Urantia Papers.

    After finding The Urantia Book, I earned a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Houston with Honors in Major (4.0 {all “A’s”} in major). I then went on to complete a M.A. in Pastoral Studies and 36 additional graduate hours in sacred scriptures, theology, and ministry from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas.

    My roots are decidedly Christian, but there are important areas where my belief system is greatly divergent therefrom. I have had a life full of experience with the Universal Father, Eternal Son, Infinite Spirit, and the Spirit of Truth [the latter is something akin to the “soul” of Jesus of Nazareth—son of man and Son of God].

    The bottom line is that I am no dummy, and I know from experience the truth of The Urantia Book. The Urantia Book cannot be both true and untrue at the same time—it is a highly integrated work. There is, however, one point that needs clarification, the science/cosmology presented in the UB is correct with the one caveat--that some material which had to be included [at least minimally] in order to provide a coherent explanation was beyond the limits of the actual revelatory mandate [i.e., prime directive :yes: ] and so existing concepts had to be used and elaborated upon as best as possible.

    In other words, there are isolated instances where the information presented of necessity as part of an overarching explanation was considered factually correct by existing Urantia scientists at the time the book was received, and, due to the nature of the particular knowledge involved, no additional facts could at that time be included. Such information was then included in its existing form along with the written disclaimer that some of the science in the book would eventually become outdated as new discoveries were made by Urantia scientists.

    For very interesting scientific information pertaining to the UB written for various levels of educational background click [ HERE ].

    Importantly, I have found that when the science of the UB is examined thoroughly in light of TODAY’S existing scientific knowledge, very, very little is actually out of date and much of the scientific information in the UB actually PREDICTED discoveries and even inventions that followed decades [up to 100 years, so far] after reception of the Urantia Papers began [the process was underway before 1911].

    I am going to change my approach regarding this post. I want to provide answers regarding various sincere concerns and criticisms of and about The Urantia Book. However, my primary purpose is to share the text itself; answering questions about that text; and discussing the meaning of that text—all the while learning from you about your beliefs and experiences related to the topic being examined. Sincere skeptical criticism is best treated separately, in my opinion. Thus, criticism of the book and discussion of the text—will be dealt with in two unique topic headings.

    Check back for the two new topics:

    Reading The Urantia Book -- Discussion of various selections from the UB

    and

    The UB, Critical Questions -- A forum for skeptics to tactfully voice their skepticism


    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Click [ HERE ] to be directed to an Online Study Edition of THE URANTIA BOOK With Integrated Bible, Topical Index, and Audio Links

    Below are active links to main four parts of The Urantia Book online. Click on any one to go to the main table of contents associated therewith:

    PART I. The Central And Superuniverses

    PART II. The Local Universe

    PART III. The History Of Urantia

    PART IV. The Life And Teachings Of Jesus

    Click [ HERE ] to be directed to an expanded table of contents that includes subsection heading links.

    Rev. Bill

  9. Shamanism — Medicine Men and Priests

    The evolution of religious observances progressed from placation, avoidance, exorcism, coercion, conciliation, and propitiation to sacrifice, atonement, and redemption. The technique of religious ritual passed from the forms of the primitive cult through fetishes to magic and miracles; and as ritual became more complex in response to man’s increasingly complex concept of the supermaterial realms, it was inevitably dominated by medicine men, shamans, and priests.

    In the advancing concepts of primitive man the spirit world was eventually regarded as being unresponsive to the ordinary mortal. Only the exceptional among humans could catch the ear of the gods; only the extraordinary man or woman would be heard by the spirits. Religion thus enters upon a new phase, a stage wherein it gradually becomes secondhanded; always does a medicine man, a shaman, or a priest intervene between the religionist and the object of worship. And today most of our systems of organized religious belief are passing through this level of evolutionary development.

    Evolutionary religion is born of a simple and all-powerful fear, the fear which surges through the human mind when confronted with the unknown, the inexplicable, and the incomprehensible. Religion eventually achieves the profoundly simple realization of an all-powerful love, the love which sweeps irresistibly through the human soul when awakened to the conception of the limitless affection of the Universal Father for the sons of the universe. But in between the beginning and the consummation of religious evolution, there intervene the long ages of the shamans, who presume to stand between man and God as intermediaries, interpreters, and intercessors.

    How does your belief system include or exclude the medicine man, shaman, or priest? Should religion be secondhanded?

    In your belief system, is there someone who acts as an intermediary, interpreter, and/or intercessor?

    What about intercessory prayer???

    Does the God of your belief system need to be coaxed into loving and helping you and/or others???

    In your opinion, did the Judeo-Christian God of Love really NEED Jesus of Nazareth to be crucified as a SACRIFICE to convince him not to PUNISH humanity for the SINS of Adam and Eve, or is the typical Christian position/teaching regarding the reasons for the betrayal and execution of Christ a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of God and His will??? What do YOU think???

    Peace, Rev. Bill

  10. Continuing with the forward...more food for thought....
    I. Deity and Divinity

    The universe of universes presents phenomena of deity activities on diverse levels of cosmic realities, mind meanings, and spirit values, but all of these ministrations — personal or otherwise — are divinely co-ordinated.

    DEITY is personalizable as God, is prepersonal and superpersonal in ways not altogether comprehensible by man. Deity is characterized by the quality of unity — actual or potential — on all supermaterial levels of reality; and this unifying quality is best comprehended by creatures as divinity.

    Deity functions on personal, prepersonal, and superpersonal levels. Total Deity is functional on the following seven levels:

    The finite level of reality is characterized by creature life and time-space limitations. Finite realities may not have endings, but they always have beginnings — they are created. The Deity level of Supremacy may be conceived as a function in relation to finite existences.

    1. Static — self-contained and self-existent Deity.

    2. Potential — self-willed and self-purposive Deity.

    3. Associative — self-personalized and divinely fraternal Deity.

    4. Creative — self-distributive and divinely revealed Deity.

    5. Evolutional — self-expansive and creature-identified Deity.

    6. Supreme — self-experiential and creature-Creator-unifying Deity. Deity functioning on the first creature-identificational level as time-space overcontrollers of the grand universe, sometimes designated the Supremacy of Deity.

    7. Ultimate — self-projected and time-space-transcending Deity. Deity omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Deity functioning on the second level of unifying divinity expression as effective overcontrollers and absonite upholders of the master universe. As compared with the ministry of the Deities to the grand universe, this absonite function in the master universe is tantamount to universal overcontrol and supersustenance, sometimes called the Ultimacy of Deity.

    The absonite level of reality is characterized by things and beings without beginnings or endings and by the transcendence of time and space. Absoniters are not created; they are eventuated — they simply are. The Deity level of Ultimacy connotes a function in relation to absonite realities. No matter in what part of the master universe, whenever time and space are transcended, such an absonite phenomenon is an act of the Ultimacy of Deity.

    The absolute level is beginningless, endless, timeless, and spaceless. For example: On Paradise, time and space are nonexistent; the time-space status of Paradise is absolute. This level is Trinity attained, existentially, by the Paradise Deities, but this third level of unifying Deity expression is not fully unified experientially. Whenever, wherever, and however the absolute level of Deity functions, Paradise-absolute values and meanings are manifest.

    Deity may be existential, as in the Eternal Son; experiential, as in the Supreme Being; associative, as in God the Sevenfold; undivided, as in the Paradise Trinity.

    Deity is the source of all that which is divine. Deity is characteristically and invariably divine, but all that which is divine is not necessarily Deity, though it will be co-ordinated with Deity and will tend towards some phase of unity with Deity — spiritual, mindal, or personal.

    DIVINITY is the characteristic, unifying, and co-ordinating quality of Deity.

    Divinity is creature comprehensible as truth, beauty, and goodness; correlated in personality as love, mercy, and ministry; disclosed on impersonal levels as justice, power, and sovereignty.

    Divinity may be perfect — complete — as on existential and creator levels of Paradise perfection; it may be imperfect, as on experiential and creature levels of time-space evolution; or it may be relative, neither perfect nor imperfect, as on certain Havona levels of existential-experiential relationships.

    When we attempt to conceive of perfection in all phases and forms of relativity, we encounter seven conceivable types:

    1. Absolute perfection in all aspects.

    2. Absolute perfection in some phases and relative perfection in all other aspects.

    3. Absolute, relative, and imperfect aspects in varied association.

    4. Absolute perfection in some respects, imperfection in all others.

    5. Absolute perfection in no direction, relative perfection in allmanifestations.*

    6. Absolute perfection in no phase, relative in some, imperfect in others.

    7. Absolute perfection in no attribute, imperfection in all.

    ********

    I welcome specific questions that include reference to the text of the UB. The purpose of this post is to share the UB with you--not to engage in apologetics. However, if you have sincere concerns of an inquiring nature, send along that/those specific question, and I will respond.

    Peace,

    Rev. Bill

  11. Continuing with the forward...more food for thought....

    The universe of universes presents phenomena of deity activities on diverse levels of cosmic realities, mind meanings, and spirit values, but all of these ministrations — personal or otherwise — are divinely co-ordinated.

    DEITY is personalizable as God, is prepersonal and superpersonal in ways not altogether comprehensible by man. Deity is characterized by the quality of unity — actual or potential — on all supermaterial levels of reality; and this unifying quality is best comprehended by creatures as divinity.

    Deity functions on personal, prepersonal, and superpersonal levels. Total Deity is functional on the following seven levels:

    The finite level of reality is characterized by creature life and time-space limitations. Finite realities may not have endings, but they always have beginnings — they are created. The Deity level of Supremacy may be conceived as a function in relation to finite existences.

    1. Static — self-contained and self-existent Deity.

    2. Potential — self-willed and self-purposive Deity.

    3. Associative — self-personalized and divinely fraternal Deity.

    4. Creative — self-distributive and divinely revealed Deity.

    5. Evolutional — self-expansive and creature-identified Deity.

    6. Supreme — self-experiential and creature-Creator-unifying Deity. Deity functioning on the first creature-identificational level as time-space overcontrollers of the grand universe, sometimes designated the Supremacy of Deity.

    7. Ultimate — self-projected and time-space-transcending Deity. Deity omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Deity functioning on the second level of unifying divinity expression as effective overcontrollers and absonite upholders of the master universe. As compared with the ministry of the Deities to the grand universe, this absonite function in the master universe is tantamount to universal overcontrol and supersustenance, sometimes called the Ultimacy of Deity.

    The absonite level of reality is characterized by things and beings without beginnings or endings and by the transcendence of time and space. Absoniters are not created; they are eventuated — they simply are. The Deity level of Ultimacy connotes a function in relation to absonite realities. No matter in what part of the master universe, whenever time and space are transcended, such an absonite phenomenon is an act of the Ultimacy of Deity.

    The absolute level is beginningless, endless, timeless, and spaceless. For example: On Paradise, time and space are nonexistent; the time-space status of Paradise is absolute. This level is Trinity attained, existentially, by the Paradise Deities, but this third level of unifying Deity expression is not fully unified experientially. Whenever, wherever, and however the absolute level of Deity functions, Paradise-absolute values and meanings are manifest.

    Deity may be existential, as in the Eternal Son; experiential, as in the Supreme Being; associative, as in God the Sevenfold; undivided, as in the Paradise Trinity.

    Deity is the source of all that which is divine. Deity is characteristically and invariably divine, but all that which is divine is not necessarily Deity, though it will be co-ordinated with Deity and will tend towards some phase of unity with Deity — spiritual, mindal, or personal.

    DIVINITY is the characteristic, unifying, and co-ordinating quality of Deity.

    Divinity is creature comprehensible as truth, beauty, and goodness; correlated in personality as love, mercy, and ministry; disclosed on impersonal levels as justice, power, and sovereignty.

    Divinity may be perfect — complete — as on existential and creator levels of Paradise perfection; it may be imperfect, as on experiential and creature levels of time-space evolution; or it may be relative, neither perfect nor imperfect, as on certain Havona levels of existential-experiential relationships.

    When we attempt to conceive of perfection in all phases and forms of relativity, we encounter seven conceivable types:

    1. Absolute perfection in all aspects.

    2. Absolute perfection in some phases and relative perfection in all other aspects.

    3. Absolute, relative, and imperfect aspects in varied association.

    4. Absolute perfection in some respects, imperfection in all others.

    5. Absolute perfection in no direction, relative perfection in allmanifestations.*

    6. Absolute perfection in no phase, relative in some, imperfect in others.

    7. Absolute perfection in no attribute, imperfection in all.

    ***

    I welcome specific questions that include reference to the text of the UB. The purpose of this post is to share the UB with you--not to engage in apologetics. However, if you have sincere concerns of an inquiring nature, send along that/those specific question, and I will respond.

    Peace,

    Rev. Bill

  12. Pastor Dave, thanks for responding to the post. I hope that you will decide to follow through and read the book--sooner rather than later. It is in your best interest to so do.

    Wikipedia is not the best place to find reliable information--certainly not when there are other websites devoted to sharing the actual, original documents in an entirely searchable environment--and that include much in the way of study materials.

    Below are the websites to which I refer:

    The Urantia Foundation [ here ]

    The Urantia Fellowship [ here ]

    Truthbook.com[ here ]

    The Urantia Association International [ here ]

    ***

    The UB did not plagiarize other written works. The authors did make use of existing ideas, and they state that quite clearly. That there would be some similarity between a person's ideas and what they eventually put into writing seems an expected consequence to me. The UB has already been through US Federal Courts regarding various copyright issues. There was no mention of any improper use of other copyrighted work. People, authors, scientists, "stand on the shoulders of Giants" every day. Accepting and using the ideas of others as one's own is part of being a person with a mind.

    I assure you that no intention to defraud or steal "intellectual property" was at any time a motive of the authors of the UB. They were required to use existing human ideas whenever such was available and to the point--otherwise they were permitted to resort to pure revelation [which they frequently did, BTW].

    Again, read the book for yourself before making any judgments.

    The Wiki article contains many incorrect facts, and much that is misleading. If you will read The Urantia Book and then explain to me how you find it misleading, untrue, false, deceptive, or even incorrect, I will certainly listen. I am not going to attack the Wiki authors, that would be fallacious on my part [although I am having some difficulty restraining myself.] I am just going to repeat that there is much in the Wiki article that is not correct. Further, I have reason to believe that a large portion of the criticism presented is of a strongly anti-religious [pro-atheist] motivation--so much so that any possible argument against such a work as The Urantia Book was seized upon and asserted as factual and correct [like deceptive statistics] to steer merely curious individuals away from taking a further look at the book.

    Earlier in this post I provided links to various Urantia websites. I strongly encourage anyone with even the slightest interest in truth, beauty, or goodness to seriously and sincerely examine the book itself--not relying on the opinions of others. [READ The Urantia Book online HERE ] The entire point of the UB is to help the reader understand what has happened, is happening, and is supposed to happen on this planet with the sincere intention of promoting the reader's ability to grow his/her personal relationship with God. There is not one iota of deceptive intent involved with the origin, publishing, or material presented--or anything else involved--with The Urantia Book. but don't take my word for it--or that of anyone else. READ IT FOR YOURSELF.

    Peace,

    Rev. Bill Sadler

  13. Thanks Rev. Rattlesnake, Rev. Al, and Hermano Luis for responding to The Urantia Book--The New Revelation post.

    I have been attempting to provide a response for a couple of hours tonight, but because of my efforts to be thorough, I keep closing this page prematurely and losing all the text of my responses. :( I am a newbie to online forums.

    The point of the post is to share the UB. The UB is all about our relationship with God. It does indeed include much needed explanatory information like commentary on selected historic and other scientific topics. Regarding such, I have already stated my 35 + years experience with expert verification of this book. This post is not about apologetics, however, if you will provide a specific question of your own based directly upon material found in The Urantia Book, I will respond to it. Further, if you have specific questions as the UB origins or history, I will also provide responses.

    (Rev. Rattlesnake, you can find a significant, but not exhaustive, amount of interesting scientific verification compiled for a variety of educational backgrounds [ here ].)

    Importantly, the best way to realize the truth of The Urantia Book is to read it for yourself. Would you rely solely on the opinions of others as the basis for life critical decisions? You can actually experience Truth revealed in The Urantia Book--not virtually or vicariously, but actually and personally. I am willing to work wholeheartedly with anyone who manifests a sincere desire to learn about the topics presented in The Urantia Book--individually or in this open forum.

    The Urantia Foundation [ here ], The Urantia Fellowship [ here ], Truthbook.com [ here ], and The Urantia Association International [ here ] make research into the book and its history simple via the tools on their websites. You can READ and/or LISTEN to the UB book online [ here ]. Further, a Google search on your question will generally produce immediate results if you include "urantia" in your search query, but, as I am sure you realize, there are many points of view on a topic as old and important as this, so you will have a choice of the quality of information you decide to read and whether it be affirmatory or skeptical.

    I am willing to respond even to specific skeptical questions about any aspect of The Urantia Book if you include that/those specific question or concern of your own directly referenced with UB text. In other words, please, at least perform some preliminary research on your own like reading relevant sections in the book before engaging in skeptical comments and inquiry.

    As for me, I have many years experience with this book and its Primary and Personal Topic...I know whereof I speak.

    I have run out of time for now, but I will be back....Peace. Bill Sadler

  14. Has a "celestial" being, like an Archangel, ever shared information with a human? Does it seem reasonable that a BOOK would be used as a tool to share information about the God, the universe, and reality?

    What are your beliefs regarding life in the universe? Are we alone on our small blue green world?? Do you believe that there are others "out there" who have a vested interest in our success--or our failure?

    More from the forward--

    "...But in order to formulate this Foreword of definitions and limitations of terminology, it is necessary to anticipate the usage of these terms in the subsequent presentations. This Foreword is not, therefore, a finished statement within itself; it is only a definitive guide designed to assist those who shall read the accompanying papers dealing with Deity and the universe of universes which have been formulated by an Orvonton commission sent to Urantia for this purpose.

    Your world, Urantia, is one of many similar inhabited planets which comprise the local universe of Nebadon. This universe, together with similar creations, makes up the superuniverse of Orvonton, from whose capital, Uversa, our commission hails. Orvonton is one of the seven evolutionary superuniverses of time and space which circle the never-beginning, never-ending creation of divine perfection — the central universe of Havona. At the heart of this eternal and central universe is the stationary Isle of Paradise, the geographic center of infinity and the dwelling place of the eternal God.

    The seven evolving superuniverses in association with the central and divine universe, we commonly refer to as the grand universe; these are the now organized and inhabited creations. They are all a part of the master universe, which also embraces the uninhabited but mobilizing universes of outer space..."

    Don't be shy! What do you think?...what do you believe?...

    Do you want to know the big picture?

    Is there a reason for a new Revelation? Or, do we already know all that is needed?

    Peace,

    Bill Sadler

  15. I present this material for your edification. In the spirit of the ULC and this forum, I ask that comments be logically sound and friendly. Be very certain about your facts/position before you make negative assertions, please, and make any such comments respectfully. This book is every bit as much a "sacred" work or "holy scripture" as any other religious book. Any serious student of any major religious faith/belief system well knows that the written material associated with her/his faith/belief system has its own "unique" characteristics. This new revelation is not alone in its unquestionably atypical origins. I ask that you treat this book and any discussion thereof in this forum with at least the same respect that you afford your own belief system and associated written materials.

    That said...

    There is a modern day Revelation available. It is called The Urantia Book. There are numerous rumors and much incorrect information on the web regarding this book, who brought it, how it got here, and where it came from...I hope to provide some clarification to those with sincere interest in seeking the truth,

    This book is no joke. It is 2096 pages long and includes 196 chapters. I have studied it for over 35 years and, according to the best of both my knowledge and experience, I affirm that it is in truth and fact the 5th Epochal Revelation provided to this world. Questions about the other four? Answers to come very soon [or read the book]!

    **

    In what follows, I may include some editors notes [--ed.] for purposes of clarification.

    From the first page of the forward to The Urantia Book:

    "IN THE MINDS of the mortals of Urantia — that being the name of your world — there exists great confusion respecting the meaning of such terms as God, divinity, and deity. Human beings are still more confused and uncertain about the relationships of the divine personalities designated by these numerous appellations. Because of this conceptual poverty associated with so much ideational confusion, I have been directed to formulate this introductory statement in explanation of the meanings which should be attached to certain word symbols as they may be hereinafter used in those papers which the Orvonton [essentially the Milky Way galaxy--ed.] corps of truth revealers have been authorized to translate into the English language of Urantia.

    It is exceedingly difficult to present enlarged concepts and advanced truth, in our endeavor to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception, when we are restricted to the use of a circumscribed language of the realm. But our mandate admonishes us to make every effort to convey our meanings by using the word symbols of the English tongue. We have been instructed to introduce new terms only when the concept to be portrayed finds no terminology in English which can be employed to convey such a new concept partially or even with more or less distortion of meaning.

    In the hope of facilitating comprehension and of preventing confusion on the part of every mortal who may peruse these papers, we deem it wise to present in this initial statement an outline of the meanings to be attached to numerous English words which are to be employed in designation of Deity and certain associated concepts of the things, meanings, and values of universal reality......"

    **

    Those of you who have read any of my posts know that I am a factual kind of guy. I am straight to the point, and that which I post is solidly backed up with experience and/or evidence. What I am sharing here today has been examined and positively appraised by theologians, philosophers, historians, chemists, anthropologists, eugenicists, biologists, botanists, astronomers, physicists, mathematicians, linguistic experts, psychics, spiritualists, witches, warlocks, military scientists, political scientists, politicians [at least one American President], lawyers, medical doctors, priests, bishops [at least one Pope], ministers, pastors, musicians, nuclear scientists, and I am sure I have forgotten some....

    For each and every field, the information presented in the book that can be verified has been verified. If a topic is pure revelation and cannot be verified by current methods, then it has been deemed plausible and even probably correct. This applies not only to the realm of science but also the realms philosophy and religion. + + + Things...Meanings...Values + + +

    In my personal experience, when a rejection of this book has occurred, it was not because of the material actually presented within the pages of The Urantia Book. Without exception, rejections have occurred only when no actual effort was made by the critic to sincerely read the book, and, when that happens, it is typically because of skepticism surrounding the origin and nature of the book.

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

    Blessings!

    Bill Sadler

    Rev. William J. Sadler, Jr., D.Div.