Editing The Urantia Book (section)

== Overview ==
<!-- per [[WP:MOST#Punctuation]], do not place punctuation within quotation marks of titles unless the punctuation is part of the title -->
''The Urantia Book'' is approximately 2,000 pages long, and consists of a body of 196 "papers" divided in four parts, and an introductory foreword:
* Part I, titled "The Central and Superuniverses," addresses what the authors consider the highest levels of creation, including the [[eternity|eternal]] and [[Infinity|infinite]] "Universal Father," his Trinity associates, and the "Isle of Paradise."
* Part II, "The Local Universe," describes the origin, administration, and personalities of the local universe of "Nebadon" the part of the cosmos where Earth resides. It discusses the inhabitants of local universes and how the work of different orders of beings, including humans and [[Angel|angels]], is coordinated within a scheme of ascension and spiritual progress.
* Part III, "The History of Urantia," presents a broad history of the Earth, offering an explanation of the origin, evolution, and destiny of the planet and its inhabitants. Topics include [[Adam and Eve]], [[Melchizedek]], essays on the concept of the Thought Adjuster, "Religion in Human Experience," and "Personality Survival."
* Part IV, "The Life and Teachings of Jesus," is the largest part at 775 pages, and is often noted as the most accessible{{sfn|Gooch|2002|p=12}} and most impressive.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=312}} It narrates a detailed biography of Jesus that includes his childhood, teenage years, family life, and public ministry, as well as the events that led to his [[crucifixion]], death, and resurrection. Its papers continue with appearances after he rose, [[Pentecost]] and, finally, "The Faith of Jesus."

=== Nature of God ===
According to ''The Urantia Book'', God is the creator and upholder of all reality{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=139}}—an [[omniscience|omniscient]], [[omnipresence|omnipresent]], [[omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[infinity|infinite]], and [[eternity|eternal]] spirit personality.{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|loc=Paper 3}} The most fundamental teaching about God in the book is that the human concept that most closely approximates the nature of God is that of a Father.{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=618}}  Specifically, "the Father idea is [still] the  highest human concept of God."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p= 2097}}    It is also said that, "The face which the Infinite turns toward all universe personalities is the face of a Father, the Universal Father of love."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=1153}}

God, according to the book, is one Deity who functions on a range of different levels of reality, both personal and impersonal. God is said to exist in a [[Trinity]] of three perfectly individualized persons who are co-equal: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit.{{sfn|Mather|Nichols|1993|p=219}} These persons are referred to by additional titles in the book, primarily as the "Universal Father," "Eternal Son," and "Infinite Spirit."{{sfn|Mather|Nichols|1993|p=219}}{{sfn|House|2000|p=260}} While stating that the concept of one God in three persons is difficult to fully understand, the book says that the idea: "...in no manner violates the truth of the divine unity. The three personalities of Paradise Deity are, in all universe reality reactions and in all creature relations, as one."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=31}}

The Father, Son, and Spirit are considered "existential" persons of Deity, those in existence from the eternal past to the eternal future.{{sfn|House|2000|p=259}}  In addition, three persons of Deity are described who are "experiential," or incomplete and in the process of actualizing:  God the Supreme; God the Ultimate; and God the Absolute.{{sfn|House|2000|p=259}}  Of these three, God the Supreme, or "the Supreme Being," is given the most explanation, as the person of Deity evolving in time and space to unify finite reality and the infinite. The persons of God the Ultimate and God the Absolute are considered to be remote from the possibility of comprehension and are covered on a limited basis.

Many types of celestial beings are enumerated in the book, and one of particular note is a joint "offspring" of the Universal Father and Eternal Son called a "Creator Son."{{sfn|House|2000|pp=261–262}}{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=141}} A divine Creator Son is considered the highest personification of the Universal Father and Eternal Son that is possible for people to know and: "...is, to all practical intents and purposes, God."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=66}} [[Jesus]] of [[Nazareth]] is identified as a Creator Son who [[incarnation|incarnated]] on Earth,{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=141}} and the central theme of the book's section recounting his life and teachings is that the religion he preached is the highest known to the world.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=31}}

The final paper states:{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=2090}}

{{blockquote|To "follow Jesus" means to personally share his religious faith and to enter into the spirit of the Master's life of unselfish service for man. One of the most important things in human living is to find out what Jesus believed, to discover his ideals, and to strive for the achievement of his exalted life purpose. Of all human knowledge, that which is of greatest value is to know the religious life of Jesus and how he lived it.}}

=== God and the individual ===
God is described as the Father of each individual, and through the direct gift of a fragment of his eternal spirit, called a '''Thought Adjuster''', is said to be able to guide the individual toward an increased understanding of him.{{sfn|House|2000|p=271}}{{sfn|Gooch|2002|p=9}}  The Thought Adjuster is a central teaching of the book{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=235}} and is also referred to as a "Mystery Monitor" and "indwelling presence,"{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=235}} as well as a "divine spark."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=1459}} The idea is compared within the book to the [[Hindu]] [[Atman (Hinduism)|atman]] and the ancient [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] [[Egyptian soul|ka]]. In relation to biblical traditions, the Thought Adjuster is said to be the meaning behind the phrases "being made in God's image" and the "kingdom of God is within you":{{sfn|''The Urantia Book''|1955|p=1193}}

{{blockquote|The Adjuster is the mark of divinity, the presence of God. The "image of God" does not refer to physical likeness nor to the circumscribed limitations of material creature endowment but rather to the gift of the spirit presence of the Universal Father in the supernal bestowal of the Thought Adjusters upon the humble creatures of the universes.}}

Each person is said to receive one such fragment at the time of his or her first independent [[morality|moral]] decision, on average around the age of five years and 10 months.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=235}}{{sfn|House|2000|p=271}} The Adjuster then serves noncoercively as a divine partner in the mind of the individual for the rest of life, and to the extent that a person consents with their [[free will]] to want to find God, it leads the person toward more mature, spiritualized thinking. A person's Thought Adjuster is described as distinct from either the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] or the [[conscience]]. In ''The Urantia Book''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s teachings, the degree to which a human mind chooses to accept its Adjuster's guidance becomes the degree to which a person's soul "grows" and becomes a reality that can then survive death. The soul is in essence an embryonic spiritual development,{{sfn|House|2000|p=272}} one parental factor being the divine Adjuster and the other being the human will.{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=70}}

The book says: "But you yourself are mostly unconscious of this inner ministry.  You are quite incapable of distinguishing the product of your own material intellect from that of the conjoint activities of your soul and the Adjuster."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=1207}} The book is strongly [[fideism|fideistic]] and teaches that neither science nor logic will ever be able to prove or disprove the existence of God, arguing that faith is necessary to become conscious of God's presence in human experience, the Thought Adjuster.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=31}}{{sfn|Lewis|2007|p=206}}

Persistently embracing [[sin]] is considered the same as rejecting the leadings of the Adjuster, rejecting the [[will (philosophy)|will]] of God. Constant selfishness and sinful choosing lead eventually to iniquity and full identification with unrighteousness, and since unrighteousness is unreal, it results in the eventual annihilation of the individual's identity.{{sfn|House|2000|p=276}}{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=37}} Personalities like this become "as if they never were." The book says that: "...in the last analysis, such sin-identified individuals have destroyed themselves by becoming wholly unreal through their embrace of iniquity."{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=37}} The concepts of [[Hell]] and [[reincarnation]] are not taught.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=166}}{{sfn|Gooch|2002|p=10}}

The book says that a person ultimately is destined to fuse with his or her divine fragment and become one inseparable entity with it as the final goal of faith.{{sfn|House|2000|p=274}} Uniting with the Adjuster fragment is the "reward of the ages," the moment when a human personality has successfully and unalterably won eternal life,{{sfn|House|2000|p=274}} described as typically taking place in the afterlife, but also a possibility during earthly life.{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|loc=Paper 112}} The result during human life is a "fusion flash," with the material body consumed in a fiery light and the soul "translated" to the afterlife. The Hebrew prophet [[Elijah]] being taken to heaven without death in "chariots of fire" is said to be a rare example in recorded history of a person who translated instead of experiencing death.

After a person fuses with his or her fragment of God, "then will begin your real life, the ascending life, to which your present mortal state is but the vestibule."{{sfn|House|2000|p=274}} A person continues as an ascending citizen in the universe and travels through numerous worlds on a long pilgrimage of growth and learning that eventually leads to God and residence on Paradise.{{sfn|House|2000|p=275}}{{sfn|Gardner|1995|pp=14–17}} Mortals who reach this stage are called "finaliters."{{sfn|House|2000|p=274}} The book goes on to discuss the potential destinies of these "glorified mortals."

The book regards human life on earth as a "short and intense test,"{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=158}} and the afterlife as a continuation of training that begins in material life.{{sfn|House|2000|p=272}} The "religion of Jesus" is considered to be practiced by way of loving God the Father, thereby learning to love each person the way Jesus loves people; that is, recognizing the "fatherhood of God and its correlated truth, the brotherhood of man,"{{sfn|House|2000|p=273}} resulting in unselfish service to others.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=132}}{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=2083}}

=== Cosmology ===
The book describes that at the center of the cosmos is the stationary Isle of Paradise—the dwelling place of [[God]]—with Paradise being surrounded by "Havona," an eternal universe containing a billion perfect worlds, around which seven incomplete and evolutionary "superuniverses" circle.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=12}}{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=140}}

The word "universe" in the book is used to denote a number of different scales of organization.  A "superuniverse" is roughly the size of a [[galaxy]] or group of galaxies, and the seven superuniverses along with Paradise-Havona are together designated as the "grand universe." A "local universe" is a portion of a superuniverse, with 100,000 local universes being in each superuniverse.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=12}}  Beyond the seven superuniverses, uninhabited "outer space levels" are described.  The term "master universe" refers to what in modern usage would be the total universe—all existing [[matter]] and space taken as a whole.

Urantia is said to be located in a remote local universe named "Nebadon," which itself is part of superuniverse number seven, "Orvonton." The physical size of a local universe is not directly stated, but each is said to have up to 10 million inhabited worlds.{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=12}}

=== History and future of the world ===
The book's extensive teachings about the history of the world include its physical development about 4.5 billion years ago, the gradual changes in conditions that allowed life to develop, and long ages of organic evolution that started with microscopic marine life and led to plant and animal life in the oceans, later on land. The emergence of humans is presented as having occurred about a million years ago from a branch of superior [[primate]]s originating from a [[lemur]] ancestor. The first humans are said to have been male and female twins called Andon and Fonta, born "993,419 years prior to 1934."{{sfn|Gardner|1995|p=21}}{{sfn|House|2000|p=270}}

''The Urantia Book'' teaches not only biological evolution,{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=129}} but that human society and spiritual understandings evolve by slow progression, subject both to periods of rapid improvement and the possibility of retrogression. Progress is said to follow a divine plan that includes periodic gifts of revelation and ministry by heavenly teachers, which eventually will lead to an ideal world status of "light and life" in the far distant future.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=130}}

Although there is the ideal and divine plan of progression, it is said to be fostered and administered by various orders of celestial beings who are not always perfect. Urantia is said to be a markedly "confused and disordered" planet that is "greatly retarded in all phases of intellectual progress and spiritual attainment" compared to more typical inhabited worlds, due to an unusually severe history of rebellion and default by its spiritual supervisors.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=140–141}}{{sfn|The Urantia Book|1955|p=578}}