Greetings!! I am starting this topic – The Urantia Movement – to discuss the issue of unity without uniformity or the harmonious pursuit of the dissemination of both the Urantia Book itself and its teachings by individuals, groups, institutions and their relationships, one to another – that aggregation being the “Movement”.
While the Book itself offers many lessons and patterns of this concept – unity without uniformity – it does not provide clear instruction as to how mortals should best achieve this important goal as a group of individuals or groups of groups. It does provide detailed instruction on how best to promote personal spiritual and circle progress and our source, history, and destiny in this friendly and love filled universe, and the natural result of such spirit progress by the individual should result in a more cooperative and harmonious life in all relationships. Even the Master required of his Apostles, John’s Apostles, the disciples, and the corps of believers that they should work out for themselves this critical instruction of group harmony and unity without uniformity. He gave clear example of loving, personal ministry and group ministry organization patterns to learn from, but did not clearly declare any form of organizational management for the movement created by that ministry. He left the “authority” or “keys” of that in evolutionary mortal hands to work out as they might in time to come.
The history of those efforts and failures are well known to all. But the success of our unseen friends who serve to guide our world into ultimate and certain Light and Life cannot be denied. From mortal lemons, celestials make divine lemonade!! There can be no failure or success without mortal effort. All sincere efforts of faith on behalf of another or all others becomes a cause for which there is an inherent effect. The efforts to “move” forward (cause) become the seeds and the material from which our unseen friends may create “progress” for our world (effect). We are told that each mortal life is far too short to witness or appreciate this evolutionary process of planetary, epochal progress – the celestial cause and effect cycle.
This time frame reality too often results in mortal disappointments and impatience to “make a difference” and witness “results” of efforts made. This time-unit perspective error can convince some to lament that nothing is being done or has been done or is bringing change fast enough or to dwell on the mortal mistakes made in the past with regret, or in some cases, even with resentments toward some that did not conform to their own ideals, and become thereby blinded to reality, despite all the obvious evidence of fruit and progress a longer, more patient and trusting perspective might deliver up. The act is ours but the results are God’s. Shall we not trust Him?
As to the Urantia movement….I was born shortly before the UB was published, became a truth seeker in my late teens, found the UB in my early 20’s, and became an activist in the movement in the 70’s. (This only to provide some context to my perspective of the movement’s past and future.) When I say activist, I mean only that I placed many a book in many a store and library, attended several study groups across the land, organized local and regional conferences, attended national and international conferences, served by election on organizational levels as a group representative, and made many friends and knew many servants of this movement over the decades. My view is but one view of this unfolding and growing movement however and I claim no great objectivity or importance of that view.
The history of the movement is well documented and it is not my intent here to represent or recreate it. It is the past. It does offer some interesting lessons for the future and well demonstrates the struggle of mortals to achieve unity without uniformity by many examples of both failure and success. But for the purpose of perspective only, it should be remembered that today’s Movement began with one text in one room with one study group – The Forum…..which lasted decades. Then came Publication and the Forum created 2 institutions or organizations – one for publication and one for dissemination and sharing. And from one hand to another the Revelation was passed and this first gift of the Revelation from one reader to the next was the birth of the Movement. The few decades that followed (and equaled in time frame that of the original Forum prior to publication) was a slow evolutionary process of trial and error, a display of human frailties and noble courage by individual and group efforts to expand readership and dissemination. There were true heroes and tragic characters both, leaving a grand story filled with inspiration and lessons of much gravity to consider for all who come after.
Today?? Well, I cannot even begin to describe what the mustard seed has already transformed itself into in these few brief decades….especially since the arrival of the digital age just a few short years ago. To be disappointed by any “lack” of progress stupefies me frankly. Under what rock have such ones been hiding themselves?? What blinders do they press to their eyes?? What the heck are they looking at?? Such a view is inconceivable to me….except in the black hole of one’s own navel!! There are so many individual and groups ministries and efforts to behold by any cursory investigation that it boggles the imagination as to the potential just before us today. The Urantia Book has over a dozen translations (Mandarin coming soon) and study groups in 30 countries – and far more countries and cultures represented on-line by dozens – if not hundreds – of websites and blogs and radio shows and “stations” – going on 24 hours a day, every single day. There are international conferences around the globe and a readership growth curve that is amazing to behold.
Some are concerned about the lack of unity and harmony today. I am not. I think the harmony between many individuals and groups is strong and strengthening still. There are old resentments which will die out with the holder of such grudges (there are some advantages after all to such brief life spans) and there are also great differences of opinion as to how best to disseminate the Revelation and teach its many facts and truths to others. The result of these differences is great diversity in both audience and approach to audience…..the individual reader. Now, most all students and believers agree that authoritarianism is both unwelcome and impossible. So then, without authoritarianism as an option for unity but, rather, by definition a source of only uniformity – what is the future of this Movement I wonder. I am quite certain of mortal disappointment regardless of the future evolutionary progress but I am absolutely certain of its inevitable result and conclusion – epochal progress in God’s hands.
What say you on the Movement? And on unity without uniformity? Peace.
"Live loyally today—grow—and tomorrow will attend to itself. The quickest way for a tadpole to become a frog is to live loyally each moment as a tadpole."
