The Urantia Book introduction

Copyright

(TUB translations, Copyright © Urantia Foundation)

Urantia Foundation is a non-profit organisation. Its primary mission is to preserve the original text of The Urantia Book, to produce high-quality translations into the world's languages, and to manage the printing and distribution of the book. The Foundation held the legal copyright to the original English-language Urantia Book, but the copyright in this respect lapsed with the entry into force of the so-called Berne Convention in 2006. Nevertheless, the Foundation maintains in its archives the preservation and integrity of the original Urantia Book text. The Foundation continues to hold the copyright to all translations of The Urantia Book it has made for 50 years after publication. The Foundation has also registered the Urantia symbol, three concentric blue circles, as its trademark, as well as the words "Urantia" and "Urantian". Trademarks do not have an expiration date, so they remain valid for the foreseeable future.

The link below contains Urantia Foundation's guidelines on the authorised use of its copyright and trademarks.

⇨ Authorised use of Urantia Foundation copyright and trademarks

A Brief Outline of the Contents of the Book

• Origins
  The Urantia Book is a revelation, delivered by celestial beings for the benefit of the peoples of Urantia (Earth). The content of the book was received by a small group of humans (Contact Commission) in Chicago, United States, during the forepart of the 20th century. Not one of the contact commissioners is mentioned by name in The Urantia Book. Only informal tradition knows about them (refer to 'Heijaste_2000-4'). There are many to whom this knowledge is irrelevant anyway, once one has read the book. It was intentional that no human should be placed on a pedestal only because of his or her involvement in the revelatory process. The text of The Urantia Book is fully capable of speaking for itself; it needs no human defenders. All authors of the text, viz. the celestial personalities, on the other hand, are detailedly identified in the book, not in every instance as individuals but rather as representatives of their order of beings, like "Perfector of Wisdom", "Melchizedek", or "Archangel".
  

• Contents
  In its own words, this book is the fifth among the major revelations about Deity and cosmology given to the peoples of Urantia. The first epochal revelation was given already some 500,000 years ago. The Urantia Book is the first-ever revelation delivered in a book format. This book speaks much about Deity, genuine religion, cosmology, science, history of mankind, and philosophy; all commensurate with the thinking and understanding of the modern man. In some places, though, the narration impinges upon the limits of human comprehension. Between the lines, one may read that the authors are highly knowledgeable and authoritative, as well as very respectful, affectionate and lovingly ministering towards us, the universe "minors", mortals of the world. The text is, all through its 2097 pages, logical, consistent, and concise.
  
  The four parts of the book are:

  Part I: The Central and Superuniverses
  Part II: The Local Universe
  Part III: The History of Urantia
  Part IV: The Life and Teachings of Jesus

• Objectives
  Neither The Urantia Book itself nor Urantia movement constitute a religion, cult, sect, or a philosophic school. In short, the book summarises and coordinates knowledge about the current status and the history of Urantia, which constitute the foundations for a new and broader revelation. Whenever the book is quoting the tenets of currently existing religions and philosophies it lays emphasis on their best aspects, in other words, the truth, beauty, and goodness discernible in each of them. The book encourages personal thinking, spiritual growth, and personal religion. Concurrently it paves the way for the progress of social and societal well-being throughout the world. It speaks about the origin and destiny of mankind, at the same time as it gives a detailed description of the purpose of life and of the course of the human evolution, without its being a book of prophecies. The core message of the book is clearly the Fatherhood of God and the consequent sonship and brotherhood of man.


• Who Figure Among the Readers of The Urantia Book?
  The readership of The Urantia Book includes many highly learned scientists as well as less learned laymen; they represent all religious persuasions and races of the world, but there are also those who are ignorant or doubtful about their Creator or even atheists. What unites them is an unreserved desire to know more about the sources of ultimate truths, and The Urantia Book then comes to their rescue in its being an inexhaustible resource portraying the eternal, unchangeable, living and ever self-revealing origin of cosmic truths and wisdom, the one who shapes the universe of universes from one age to the next, and in its portrayal of the chances of man to be saved and gain eternal life. The book does of course discuss an uncountable number of other subjects of human interest as well but lets its reader to exert his own thinking and make his personal judgment.