Continuing Education by David Kantor
Last updated by Paul Kemp Administrator
Continuing Education
One of the problems with Christian (and Islamic) fundamentalism is that their sacred texts are used in a self-referential manner for all discussions. All arguments are drawn from the texts themselves. There are no external referents drawn upon to pull their arguments into a broader world of intellectual and theological discourse of relevance to anyone other than believers.
The same thing is widely true of readers of The Urantia Book. Only by going outside of The Urantia Book and familiarizing ourselves with discourse and exploration being done on related topics can we begin to really appreciate the book and educate ourselves to more effectively introduce it into the world.
In the revelator's post-Enlightenment preparation for The Urantia Book we can see the fostering of three primary developmental streams in Christian theology which form the background for the revelation.
There was Albert Schweitzer's initiation of the quest to discover the historical Jesus separate from its doctrinal encrustation (1906). There was Karl Barth precipitating a renaissance of Trinitarian theology (writing between 1932 and 1959), and there was Alfred N. Whitehead's development of Process Theology (published in 1929 -- precursor to The Urantia Book cosmology of Supremacy). These developmental streams have been expanded by revelation and brilliantly integrated in The Urantia Book.
These have been supplemented by more recent and rapidly growing work in Personalism, and a growing understanding of reality as relational process, an effort to understand personality and interpersonal relationships (our relationships with God and our relationships with each other) as the foundation of reality, a key element of Urantia Book cosmology and theology.
In addition to this are important advances being made by feminist theologians. Far from simply changing pronouns, mainstream feminist theologians are forging important new insights into our understanding of God and having an impact on core Christian theology. The question is asked, "If the goal of human spiritual striving is to become like God, how do women do that if God is masculine?"
One of today's leading feminist theologians is Anne Carr who is doing a great deal of work on related to Trinitarian theology. Why Trinitarian theology? She concludes that the social model of an interpersonal God as trinity enables us to deepen and enrich our concept of God while transcending the partriarchal monarchical models of God from our past. In her book, "Transforming Grace," she writes:
"The mystery of God as Trinity, as final and perfect sociality, embodies those qualities of mutuality, reciprocity, cooperation, unity, peace, mutual relationship in genuine diversity that are feminist ideals and goals derived from the inclusivity of Jesus' message. The final symbol of the God as Trinity thus provides women with an image and concept of God that entails qualities that make God truly worthy of imitation, worthy of the call to radical discipleship that is inherent in Jesus' message."
The classic text upon which many feminist theologies is based is Sally McFague's 1987 book, "Models of God" -- highly recommended for any Urantian women concerned about gender issues and The Urantia Book.
There is healthy, widespread ferment in the Christian world around concepts that are core to The Urantia Book. I believe the book has an important contribution to make to this conversation. But it can't happen without our educating ourselves; it must be made relevant. Jesus spent long nights with the Apostles in the synagogue library studying before they ever began any public work. Go online and look at the curriculum of any seminary and you'll appreciate how far behind Urantia institutions are in creating infrastructure for propagating an epochal revelation.
It is primarily into the global infrastructure of the Christian world that the book needs to find its way to catalyze the spiritual renaissance already being fostered in that environment by the Spirit of Truth and being promulgated by tens of thousands of dedicated Christians working only from the Biblical revelation.
Do you take time for prayer and worship each day? How much time to you take for fostering intellectual expansion (outside of reading The Urantia Book)?
"When the development of the intellectual nature proceeds faster than that of the spiritual, such a situation renders communication with the Thought Adjuster both difficult and dangerous. Likewise, overspiritual development tends to produce a fanatical and perverted interpretation of the spirit leadings of the divine indweller."
Let's work a little harder.
About the Author
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Urantia Religions
The many religions of Urantia are all good to the extent that they bring man to God and bring the realization of the Father to man. It is a fallacy for any group of religionists to conceive of their creed as The Truth; such attitudes bespeak more of theological arrogance than of certainty of faith. There is not a Urantia religion that could not profitably study and assimilate the best of the truths contained in every other faith, for all contain truth. Religionists would do better to borrow the best in their neighbors' living spiritual faith rather than to denounce the worst in their lingering superstitions and outworn rituals.