What is The Urantia Book?

What Does Urantia Mean?

(yoo ran' cha): The name by which our world (planet) is known in the universes.

Comprehensive Answers to Age-Old Questions

What is The Urantia Book? It is a 2,097-page text that presents comprehensive answers to age-old questions about the nature and personality of God.

The book integrates science and philosophy with religion. It brings forth ideas about the purpose of life and how to grow spiritually. The book depicts the history of our universe, our planet, and our civilization. It describes a near-infinite universe containing millions of inhabited worlds similar to Urantia (the universe name of our planet Earth), each lovingly fostered by a vast host of celestial personalities.

The book also provides a detailed description of the life and teachings of the being we call Jesus from before his physical birth on this planet to now. 

The Urantia Book reveals God as our loving parent, one who cherishes each of us with an affection that surpasses human understanding.

We Each Have a Fragment of God within Us

God's spirit indwells each of us, inspiring us with intelligent advice that we can perceive more clearly as we spiritually grow. This indwelling spirit helps us to build our souls as we face the manifold problems of earthly existence. After this life, we continue our spiritual ascent through continued growth until, in the far-distant future, our perfected souls find God in person on Paradise after which, we continue to grow and serve.

What Does The Urantia Book Say about Life after Death?

The authors of the book give a detailed and thrilling account of our progressive journey as we travel through higher levels of existence, a journey that causes us to grow spiritually and intellectually as we pursue our own inner perfection.

We don't, upon physical death, go directly to heaven or paradise. God's plan for us is far grander. We have much more to do, much more growth to experience, before we attain that wonderful goal.

Most importantly, the attainment of paradise and God is not the end. It is a new beginning to our next chapter of growth, experience, and service.

Quote from The Urantia Book:

The mortal-survival plan has a practical and serviceable objective; you are not the recipients of all this divine labor and painstaking training only that you may survive just to enjoy endless bliss and eternal ease. There is a goal of transcendent service concealed beyond the horizon of the present universe age. If the Gods designed merely to take you on one long and eternal joy excursion, they certainly would not so largely turn the whole universe into one vast and intricate practical training school, requisition a substantial part of the celestial creation as teachers and instructors, and then spend ages upon ages piloting you, one by one, through this gigantic universe school of experiential training. The furtherance of the scheme of mortal progression seems to be one of the chief businesses of the present organized universe, and the majority of innumerable orders of created intelligences are either directly or indirectly engaged in advancing some phase of this progressive perfection plan. (Paper 48)

What Is Unique about the Book’s Teachings?

There are several sections that could be considered unique, either as entirely new concepts or as innovative approaches to existing knowledge.

Probably the most unique or new concept is on an aspect of deity called God the Supreme. This is an aspect of God which is actually evolving as all experiential beings, such as ourselves, are evolving towards perfection. Every action, thought, and decision that has spiritual value actually contributes to the evolving of God the Supreme. What is significant about this is that it will take the entire family of humankind, on this world and others, to bring the full completion of God the Supreme to fruition. With this realization we can find great meaning in our actions in this life and we are encouraged to do our part in serving others and empowering them spiritually.

Another new concept described in The Urantia Book is that of the Thought Adjuster—a spirit fragment of God that indwells the mind. Although most religions speak of the inner presence of God, The Urantia Book goes into great detail about this part of God that is bestowed on human beings. The Thought Adjuster is what allows God to maintain close contact and provide spiritual guidance to each human being.

Also included are advanced teachings on the nature of deity, the Trinity, and a previously unrevealed view of the physical structure of the universe in which we live.

The Urantia Book also talks about reality on the cosmic level of progression. There is information in The Urantia Book that has not been previously revealed, such as God’s attributes and personality and God’s potential ascension plan for human beings.

We are helped to understand the purpose of our existence and why our understanding can be so limited, a perspective that often contributes to our notion that life seems unfair. This can free up one’s thinking and elevate the individual to a superconscious level where there may begin the recognition of the light of truth, and of beauty and goodness.

A challenging and rewarding reading experience is available for adventure-seekers who can discover an enlarged way of living and loving.

How We Study The Urantia Book

Students of The Urantia Book come from all religious backgrounds and are united in their understanding that The Urantia Book is what it claims to be—the latest revelation of God to man.

Some students do come together in groups to study the book with others. Some larger organizations such as The Urantia Book Fellowship have formed in order to organize activities among students and to help make the book more widely available. The Urantia Book Fellowship is very involved in bringing together groups of people to learn and to get to know each other.

You can buy The Urantia Book here.

Or download it free in English or in multiple translations here.