August, 2008
WWW.BlogTalkRadio.com/CosmicCitizen is a weekly internet program, similar to talk radio shows. Hosts Andre Traversa and Paula Thompson discuss the teachings of The Urantia Book with special guests and callers to the live show. These weekly programs began in July of 2008 and are archived so that they can be listened to at any time.
Brief video containing interview of Paula Thompson
Andre Traversa
I've been asked to write a bio for this homepage, but I really don't like the term "bio." How about if I tell you a story instead?
Once upon a time, on January 16, 1970, I was born at 2 o'clock in the afternoon in Chicago Illinois. I was born to immigrant parents; my father's side being from Italy and my mother's side from Ukraine. I grew up bilingual; I learned English and Ukrainian at the same time. This made it easier for me to excel in Russian while in high school, since Russian, like Ukrainian, is a Slavic Language with similar roots.
Though I was born in Chicago, I spent most of my childhood in the town of Rockford, about two hours northwest of the Windy City. It was there, while in 8th grade, that I was introduced to the Urantia Book.
At 14, I wrote this poem in a creative writing class,
I am the fish that swim in the ocean,I shared my poem with my friend Dan Strang, who in turn, shared it with his father, Dave. Dave had been reading the Urantia Book for several years, and he encouraged Dan to share it with me. I began attending study groups for several months, until my family moved to Barrington, another Chicago suburb. For quite some time, I had no fellowship with other readers, and was hungry for spiritual nourishment. While the UB fascinated me intellectually, I wanted a warm, close, intimate relationship with God.
I am the catastrophe after the explosion,
I am the birds that sit in the trees,
I am the leaves that blow in the breeze,
I am the book you read before bed,
I am the thoughts you have in your head,
I am the past, the present, the future,
I am everywhere,
I am.
I had always been fascinated by radio,and would often listen to Christian radio ministries in my travels up and down the dial. I discovered a show called Rock Talk, a program hosted by a couple of former rock musicans who were now born-again Christians. One of them gave out his phone numer on the air, and I called him up and began discussing religion and theology. We spent a lot of time arguing, I would quote the UB, and he would quote the Bible. He eventually introduced me to a book called Seeds of Change, written by Kerry Livgren, formerly with the '70's rock band Kansas. Livgren had been immersed in the UB for a short time, but he too, became a born-again Christian. I read his testimony, and decided that I wanted the warm, intimate, relationship with Jesus Christ that these folks had. At the time I didn't realize I could have that warm, intimate, relationship and still hold to the teachings of the UB. Unfortunately, many of my study group experiences over the years have been strictly intellectual, stripped of the prayer, group worship, and warm fellowship that is more common in Bible-believing churches. Since that time, I've experienced even deeper fellowship and a strong sense of God's presence among UB readers, especially at conferences, but back then, my exposre to UB readers was very limited.
So, after reading Livgren's book, I received Jesus Christ as my Savior and was born again. I was thanking Jesus and praising God in the shower.
But I still didn't have much Christian fellowship either; so I quicly reverted back to the UB. For years I went back and forth like a pendulum, straddling the fence between the Urantia Book and traditional Christianity. My mind was attracted to the UB, but my heart missed the simplicity of the Bible, and I longed for the intimate fellowship I received in Bible-believing churches. While in college, I also reacted against political correctness on college campuses and became a conservative. In 1996, I decided the UB was incompatible with an emerging conservative worldview and I actually rejected the book for about 10 years.
I recount my reasons for rejecting it, as well as why I returned to the revelation, in an open letter I wrote two years ago, which I will also post here. In any case, I am back in the fold, and the UB now resonates in my heart as well as making sense to my mind. I've pursued a radio career for several years since graduating from college; so hosting a radio show like the Cosmic Citizen is a natural fit for me.
For me, this isn't work it's play, and my number one goal here is to have fun; I hope that's evident to my listeners. Remember what Jesus tells us in the UB, "it is a privelege, not a duty, to serve the Lord."
Blessings to all,
Andre
Paula Thompson
Paula Thompson has been an avid student of The Urantia Book since early in 1976, when, as she says, It came into my life at a time of great crisis in answer to a fervent prayer for some good news. Since that time she has been a daily student of the book and has studied it regularly with a group for 30 years.
Paula currently works fulltime for The Urantia Book Fellowship (see link below) in the capacity of Administrative Director. The Fellowship is a nonprofit organization founded in 1955. It is the original social fraternal organization of believers in The Urantia Book and is exclusively devoted to the dissemination of the book and its teachings as well as providing service to those who read and believe in it.
Paula started facilitating public outreach with the book in 1983. In 1989 she went to work for the Jesusonian Foundation and was Director there from 1993 to 2006. In that time she managed many outreach and dissemination efforts and was instrumental in developing numerous study and outreach aids, most notably the Truthbook website (see link below).
Paula has devoted 25 years to active public outreach with The Urantia Book. She has traveled all over the USA as well as to Asia, Africa, Europe and South America to exhibit and introduce the book. She has done radio and TV interviews as well as dozens of public lectures and has trained hundreds of volunteers for Urantia outreach; she can be reached at Fellowship@UrantiaBook.org.
Christilyn Biek Larson
Christilyn grew up in West Africa, as the daughter of medical missionaries. She is a second generation Urantia Book student, who moved from the Midwest to The Rocky Mountains to be a student at "The Boulder School" and has been there ever since.
As an ordained "Interfaith" minister, she remains active in the interfaith movement and has travelled through Europe and Africa as well as North America promoting the concepts in, and giving introductions to, The Urantia Book. She is a writer, speaker, and leads workshops, in the fields of community building, communications and ministry. Her passion is promoting emotionaly and spiritually intimate relationships with others, extended family foster care, and working with youth to educate them on more effective parents and partners.
Christilyn co-hosts the Cosmic Citizen for Paula or Andre as needed.
She and her husband Steve divide their time between Madison Wisconsin and Boulder Colorado.
Links to Urantia Book Information:
The Urantia Foundation website: www.Urantia.org
The Urantia Book Fellowship website: www.Urantiabook.org
The Urantia Association International website: www.urantia-uai.org
Truthbook.com Discover Jesus and The Urantia Book: www.Truthbook.com
Wikipedia internet encyclopedia entry for The Urantia Book: www.wikipedia.org
Videos, movies, & flash presentations about The Urantia Book