The Abridged Urantia Papers

440 Pages·2006·3.31 MB·English

by  Meredith Justin Sprunger

Meredith Justin Sprunger

THE
A
BRIDGED
U
RANTIA
P
APERS
Copyright © 2008 Square Circles Publishing
All rights reserved.
www.squarecircles.com
ISBN#978-0-9768896-2-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008904453
INTRODUCTION
MANY people are intimidated by the Urantia Book's size. Others find some of
its concepts difficult to understand and would prefer a simplified presentation.
Michelle Klimesh's fine condensation of the Urantia Papers—The Story
of Everything—addresses these concerns, but The Abridged Urantia Papers
follows the Urantia Book's format and wording more closely. In writing this
abridgment, I had in mind ministers and others who are interested in the Urantia
Book but will not take the time to read the entire book.
I wish to thank Saskia Raevouri, who did the technical work of preparing The
Abridged Urantia Papers for publication and who, along with Matthew Block
and Merlyn Cox, made extensive editorial suggestions. Sincere and grateful ap-
preciation also to Derek and Sue Tennant, who financed the publication of this
volume.
Meredith Justin Sprunger
May 2008
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I: THE CENTRAL AND SUPERUNIVERSES
A Simplification of the Foreword 1
1. The Universal Father 5
2. The Nature of God 7
3. The Attributes of God 9
4. God’s Relation to the Universe 11
5. God’s Relation to the Individual 13
6. The Eternal Son 15
7. Relation of the Eternal Son to the Universe 17
8. The Infinite Spirit 19
9. Relation of the Infinite Spirit to the Universe 21
10. The Paradise Trinity 23
11. The Eternal Isle of Paradise 25
12. The Universe of Universes 28
13. The Sacred Spheres of Paradise 31
14. The Central and Divine Universe 32
15. The Seven Superuniverses 34
16. The Seven Master Spirits 38
17. The Seven Supreme Spirit Groups 41
18. The Supreme Trinity Personalities 43
19. The Co-ordinate Trinity-Origin Beings 45
20. The Paradise Sons of God 47
21. The Paradise Creator Sons 49
22. The Trinitized Sons of God 51
23. The Solitary Messengers 53
24. Higher Personalities of the Infinite Spirit 55
25. The Messenger Hosts of Space 56
26. Ministering Spirits of the Central Universe 58
27. Ministry of the Primary Supernaphim 61
28. Ministering Spirits of the Superuniverses 63
29. The Universe Power Directors 65
30. Personalities of the Grand Universe 66
31. The Corps of the Finality 69
PART II: THE LOCAL UNIVERSE
32. The Evolution of Local Universes 72
33. Administration of the Local Universe 74
34. The Local Universe Mother Spirit 76
35. The Local Universe Sons of God 79
vii
viii THE ABRIDGED URANTIA PAPERS
36. The Life Carriers 82
37. Personalities of the Local Universe 84
38. Ministering Spirits of the Local Universe 86
39. The Seraphic Hosts 88
40. The Ascending Sons of God 91
41. Physical Aspects of the Local Universe 93
42. Energy—Mind and Matter 95
43. The Constellations 98
44. The Celestial Artisans 100
45. The Local System Administration 102
46. The Local System Headquarters 103
47. The Seven Mansion Worlds 105
48. The Morontia Life 107
49. The Inhabited Worlds 110
50. The Planetary Princes 112
51. The Planetary Adams 113
52. Planetary Mortal Epochs 115
53. The Lucifer Rebellion 117
54. Problems of the Lucifer Rebellion 120
55. The Spheres of Light and Life 122
56. Universal Unity 125
PART III: THE HISTORY OF URANTIA
57. The Origin of Urantia 129
58. Life Establishment on Urantia 131
59. The Marine-Life Era on Urantia 133
60. Urantia During the Early Land-Life Era 135
61. The Mammalian Era on Urantia 137
62. The Dawn Races of Early Man 139
63. The First Human Family 141
64. The Evolutionary Races of Color 143
65. The Overcontrol of Evolution 146
66. The Planetary Prince of Urantia 149
67. The Planetary Rebellion 152
68. The Dawn of Civilization 152
69. Primitive Human Institutions 156
70. The Evolution of Human Government 159
71. Development of the State 163
72. Government on a Neighboring Planet 165
73. The Garden of Eden 168
74. Adam and Eve 170
75. The Default of Adam and Eve 173
76. The Second Garden 175
77. The Midway Creatures 177
78. The Violet Race After the Days of Adam 180
79. Andite Expansion in the Orient 182
80. Andite Expansion in the Occident 185
81. Development of Modern Civilization 188
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix
82. The Evolution of Marriage 191
83. The Marriage Institution 192
84. Marriage and Family Life 195
85. The Origins of Worship 197
86. Early Evolution of Religion 199
87. The Ghost Cults 201
88. Fetishes, Charms, and Magic 203
89. Sin, Sacrifice, and Atonement 205
90. Shamanism—Medicine Men and Priests 208
91. The Evolution of Prayer 209
92. The Later Evolution of Religion 212
93. Machiventa Melchizedek 214
94. The Melchizedek Teachings in the Orient 217
95. The Melchizedek Teachings in the Levant 222
96. Yahweh—God of the Hebrews 224
97. Evolution of the God Concept Among the Hebrews 226
98. The Melchizedek Teachings in the Occident 229
99. The Social Problems of Religion 231
100. Religion in Human Experience 233
101. The Real Nature of Religion 236
102. The Foundations of Religious Faith 239
103. The Reality of Religious Experience 242
104. Growth of the Trinity Concept 245
105. Deity and Reality 247
106. Universe Levels of Reality 249
107. Origin and Nature of Thought Adjusters 252
108. Mission and Ministry of Thought Adjusters 254
109. Relation of Adjusters to Universe Creatures 256
110. Relation of Adjusters to Individual Mortals 258
111. The Adjuster and the Soul 261
112. Personality Survival 263
113. Seraphic Guardians of Destiny 266
114. Seraphic Planetary Government 268
115. The Supreme Being 270
116. The Almighty Supreme 272
117. God the Supreme 274
118. Supreme and Ultimate—Time and Space 276
119. The Bestowals of Christ Michael 280
PART IV: THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS
120. The Bestowal of Michael on Urantia 283
121. The Times of Michael’s Bestowal 285
122. Birth and Infancy of Jesus 288
123. The Early Childhood of Jesus 292
124. The Later Childhood of Jesus 295
125. Jesus at Jerusalem 297
126. The Two Crucial Years 301
127. The Adolescent Years 303
x THE ABRIDGED URANTIA PAPERS
128. Jesus’ Early Manhood 306
129. The Later Adult Life of Jesus 309
130. On the Way to Rome 311
131. The World’s Religions 314
132. The Sojourn at Rome 317
133. The Return From Rome 320
134. The Transition Years 324
135. John the Baptist 328
136. Baptism and the Forty Days 332
137. Tarrying Time in Galilee 335
138. Training the Kingdom’s Messengers 338
139. The Twelve Apostles 341
140. The Ordination of the Twelve 346
141. Beginning the Public Work 349
142. The Passover at Jerusalem 352
143. Going Through Samaria 354
144. At Gilboa and in the Decapolis 357
145. Four Eventful Days at Capernaum 359
146. First Preaching Tour of Galilee 361
147. The Interlude Visit to Jerusalem 364
148. Training Evangelists at Bethsaida 366
149. The Second Preaching Tour 369
150. The Third Preaching Tour 371
151. Tarrying and Teaching by the Seaside 374
152. Events Leading Up to the Capernaum Crisis 376
153. The Crisis at Capernaum 379
154. Last Days at Capernaum 380
155. Fleeing Through Northern Galilee 382
156. The Sojourn at Tyre and Sidon 384
157. At Caesarea Philippi 384
158. The Mount of Transfiguration 386
159. The Decapolis Tour 391
160. Rodan of Alexandria 394
161. Further Discussions with Rodan 395
162. At the Feast of Tabernacles 397
163. Ordination of the Seventy at Magadan 399
164. At the Feast of Dedication 402
165. The Perean Mission Begins 403
166. Last Visit to Northern Perea 405
167. The Visit to Philadelphia 407
168. The Resurrection of Lazarus 410
169. Last Teaching at Pella 412
170. The Kingdom of Heaven 413
171. On the Way to Jerusalem 415
172. Going to Jerusalem 418
173. Monday in Jerusalem 420
174. Tuesday Morning in the Temple 422
TABLE OF CONTENTS xi
175. The Last Temple Discourse 424
176. Tuesday Evening on Mount Olivet 426
177. Wednesday, the Rest Day 427
178. Last Day at the Camp 429
179. The Last Supper 430
180. The Farewell Discourse 432
181. Final Admonitions and Warnings 434
182. In Gethsemane 435
183. The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus 437
184. Before the Sanhedrin Court 438
185. The Trial Before Pilate 440
186. Just Before the Crucifixion 443
187. The Crucifixion 444
188. The Time of the Tomb 447
189. The Resurrection 449
190. Morontia Appearances of Jesus 451
191. Appearances to the Apostles and Other Leaders 453
192. Appearances in Galilee 456
193. Final Appearances and Ascension 457
194. Bestowal of the Spirit of Truth 460
195. After Pentecost 462
196. The Faith of Jesus 466
A SUMMARY OF UNIVERSE REALITY
A Simplification of
The Foreword
Divine Counselor
THE people of Urantia have been confused about the concepts of God, divinity,
and deity. It is exceedingly difficult to present enlarged concepts and advanced truth
when limited by the circumscribed concepts of the English language. We are there-
fore defining our terms as they will be used in this presentation.
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 station-
ary 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 uni-
verse, 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.
I. DEITY AND DIVINITY
Deity may exist as a personality (God) or in prepersonal (Thought Adjusters) and
superpersonal forms. Divinity is the characteristic, unifying, and coordinating qual-
ity of Deity. Mortals comprehend divinity as truth, beauty, and goodness.
II. GOD
God is a word symbol denoting personal aspects of Deity. It may refer to God the
Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, God the Supreme, God the Sevenfold, God the
Ultimate, and God the Absolute.
III. THE FIRST SOURCE AND CENTER
God (the Universal Father), as the first source and center, is primal in relation to
total reality—unqualifiedly. Total, infinite reality is existential in the seven coordi-
nate Absolutes: The First Source and Center, The Second Source and Center, The
Third Source and Center, The Isle of Paradise, The Deity Absolute, The Universal
Absolute, and The Unqualified Absolute.
33
44 THE ABRIDGED URANTIA PAPERS
TThhee mmaaxxiimmuumm DDeeiittyy rreeaalliittyy ffuullllyy ccoommpprreehheennssiibbllee bbyy eevvoolluuttiioonnaarryy ffiinniittee bbeeiinnggss
is embraced within the Supreme Being. Therefore, in order to portray the origin and
nature of universal reality, many of the simultaneous events of eternity must be pre-
sented as sequential transactions. In actuality, the Universal Father, the Eternal Son,
the Infinite Spirit, the Isle of Paradise, and Havona have always existed.
IV. UNIVERSE REALITY
The Universal Father originates all aspects of reality. There are three phases of re-
ality: (1) Undeified reality, (2) Deified reality, (3) Interassociated reality. Paradise is
a term inclusive of the personal and the nonpersonal aspects of all forms of reality.
V. PERSONALITY REALITIES
Personality is a level of deified reality and ranges from the human plane up
through morontia and spiritual levels of being to the finality of personality status.
Personality is the gift of the Paradise Father. The qualities of universal reality associ-
ated with human experience are: (1) Body, (2) Mind, (3) Spirit, (4) Soul. (The soul is
a morontia reality—the warp is spiritual; the woof is physical.)
VI. ENERGY AND PATTERN
Energy and force are inclusive terms referring to spiritual, mindal, and material
realms. PPPooowwweeerrr uussuuaallllyy ddeennootteess lliinneeaarr--ggrraavviittyy--rreessppoonnssiivvee mmaatttteerr.. Physical energy is
a term denoting all forms of physical motion or action. MMMiiinnnddd iiss aa pphheennoommeennoonn ccoonn--
noting the presence-activity of living ministry in addition to varied energy systems.
In personality, mind intervenes between spirit and matter. Pattern can be projected
as material, spiritual, or mindal energies. Pattern is the master design from which
copies are made. Paradise is the absolute of patterns. The Eternal Son is the pattern
personality.
VII. THE SUPREME BEING
God the Supreme, God the Ultimate, and God the Absolute are actualizing, experi-
ential Deity personalities. The Supreme is actualizing in the Grand Universe through
the events of God the Sevenfold and is engaged in the ascending mobilization and
perfecting unification of all finite reality to the end of embarking on the attempt to
reach absonite levels of supercreature attainment.
VIII. GOD THE SEVENFOLD
Because of human limitations, the Universal Father has established an evolution-
aarryy aapppprrooaacchh ttoo DDeeiittyy.. TThhiiss sseevveennffoolldd ssppiirriittuuaall llaaddddeerr ccoonnssiissttss ooff tthhee PPaarraaddiissee CCrreeaattoorr
Sons, the Ancients of Days, the Seven Master Spirits, the Supreme Being, God the
Spirit, God the Son, and God the Father. God the Sevenfold provides the mechanism
whereby mortals become immortal; it enables the finite to attain the absonite and to
attempt the attainment of the Ultimate.
IX. GOD THE ULTIMATE
God the Ultimate eventuates from the potentials of divinity residing in the spheres
ooff ssuuppeerrttiimmee aanndd ttrraannsscceennddeedd ssppaaccee ooff tthhee MMaasstteerr UUnniivveerrssee.. TThhee aaccttuuaalliizzaattiioonn ooff
Ultimate Deity signalizes absonite unification of the first experiential Trinity—God
the Sevenfold, the Supreme Being, and the Architects of the Master Universe. The
Paradise Trinity in the eternal future will be personality-complemented by the expe-
riential actualization of associate evolutionary Deities—God the Supreme, God the
Ultimate, and possibly God the Absolute.
AA SSIIMMPPLLIIFFIICCAATTIIOONN OOFF TTHHEE FFOORREEWWOORRDD 55
XX.. GGOODD TTHHEE AABBSSOOLLUUTTEE
The actualization of God the Absolute would be the consequence of the unifica-
tion of the second experiential Trinity, the Absolute Trinity—God the Supreme, God
the Ultimate, and the Consummator of Universe Destiny. But we are not certain re-
garding the total inclusion of all absolute values because we have not been informed
that the Deity Absolute is the equivalent of the Infinite.
XI. THE THREE ABSOLUTES
In the Paradise Trinity the Universal Father has differentiated his Havona pres-
ence from the potentials of infinity. These infinity potentials are encompassed in the
three Absolutes: the Deity Absolute, the all-powerful activator of divine and personal
events in the welfare of the total universe; the Unqualified Absolute, the nonpersonal,
extradivine, and undeified overcontrol in infinity; and the Universal Absolute who so
perfectly equalizes the tensions between time and eternity, finity and infinity, reality
potential and reality actuality, Paradise and space, man and God. In the final analysis
all three are One Absolute.
XII. THE TRINITIES
The Paradise Trinity, composed of the eternal and infinite Deity union of the Uni-
vveerrssaall FFaatthheerr,, tthhee EEtteerrnnaall SSoonn,, aanndd tthhee IInnffiinniittee SSppiirriitt,, iiss eexxiisstteennttiiaall.. TThhee ppootteennttiiaallss ooff
the Paradise Trinity are experiential, therefore God the Supreme, God the Ultimate,
and God the Absolute are in the process of actualizing.
[[[AAAAcccckkkknnnnoooowwwwlllleeeeddddggggmmmmeeeennnntttt:: In formulating Part One of the Urantia Papers we are to give
preference to the highest human concepts pertaining the portrayal of the Universal
Father and the nature of his Paradise associates and the encircling seven superuni-
verses, we are to be guided by the mandate of the superuniverse rulers which directs
that we shall, in all our efforts to reveal truth and co-ordinate essential knowledge,
give preference to the highest existing human concepts. We may resort to pure revela-
tion only when the concept of presentation has had no adequate previous expression
by the human mind.]