The Urantia Book, also sometimes referred to as "The Urantia Papers," is reported by its authors to be The Fifth Epochal Revelation to the world. It was first published in 1955 by The Urantia Foundation.
Celestial beings collaborated to write the papers of The Urantia Book as a revelation to the dimming of spiritual truth in the world, in cooperation with two physicians, Drs. Lena and William S. Sadler, who lived in the vicinity of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The doctors were actively involved with the celestial beings to produce the papers. To assist, there was a "Forum" of approximately seventy volunteers who formulated questions to ask the celestial beings. The answers to the questions were given as papers and were ultimately gathered to form The Urantia Book. All material in the book is presented as authored by the celestial beings. The full text of this book is available on the internet if you look for it on google.
While being skeptical or dismissive of its religious claims, some people still have considered the book to be exceptional from a creative writing and literary point of view. It has been enjoyed as a form of science fiction or fantasy. The Urantia Book is noted for its high level of internal consistency and its advanced writing style. As fiction it is enjoyed as mythology and as literature as philosophy. The entire tome draws on numerous topics related to religion, science, history, and philosophy all of which can be viewed as either fact or fiction.
Compared to the bible:
The book somewhat erroneously has been associated with the New Age movement, likely because its origin is thought by some to be through channeling or a mysterious type of materialization. Of all current world religions, The Urantia Book's teachings are likely most consistent with the teachings of Christianity. There are differences between The Urantia Book and common Christian beliefs. Many believers see it as extending Judeo-Christian religious concepts in a way that is somewhat analogous to how the New Testament can be considered a growth of Old Testament ideas.
Jesus is held in high regard by The Urantia Book, as he is in the Bible. More than one third of the page count in The Urantia Book is devoted to a narrative that retells his life. The divinity of Jesus is fully embraced by the authors of the book as is his human nature.
The following are attributed to Jesus, as in the Bible:
- He was a Son of God incarnate, born to Mary and Joseph
- He was God in man; both human and divine
- He lived a perfect life
- He is "the light of the world"
- He revealed God to man as "the way, the truth, and the life"
- He revealed God as a loving Father
- He performed many of the miracles described in the Bible, such as the resurrection of Lazarus, the turning of water into wine, the feeding of the five thousand, and numerous healings of the blind, diseased, and infirm
- He taught twelve apostles, eleven of whom who went on to spread his teachings
- He settled a rebellion with Satan
- He was crucified and three days later rose from the dead
- He will return again someday
The Urantia Book shares the following general concepts of God with most Christian faiths:
- God is described as a loving personality
- God is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, infinite and eternal
- God is a Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
- God has a "heavenly host"
- God is love, truth, and beauty and there is no sin, unrighteousness, or evil in Him
- Believers can have a personal relationship with God
- Believers will survive death
- God knows what people need before they ask it
- God provides angels to guard and minister to people throughout their lives