SpiritualFamily.Net

Notes by Peter Holly

Keeping Up with Evolving Words

 

The evolved meaning of the word “meditation” is just one indication -- but a very important one -- that The URANTIA Book, or other future titles of publications of the Fifth Epochal Revelation which it comprises, must be revised from time to time in order to keep abreast of English language evolutionary trends. Obviously this means that we will continue to need authentic copies of the first printing of the first edition (1955) for future comparison by linguists, scholars and other interested people through the coming bi-millennium. The few copies secreted by the URANTIA Foundation cannot be relied upon to supply the entire needs of a millennium. More originals need to be both put into circulation and hidden away in safe, dry, protected places (but see below) where they may be discovered after possible cultural disasters and/or book-burning witch-hunts. It should not be overlooked that the Roman Catholic Church during the last millennial end-time sought out and destroyed nearly every writing of the Cathari, Christian renewed-truth-bearers whom the Church considered to be “heretic”. Only recently have what is believed to be some of their actual writings been unearthed. The destruction of their written doctrines and beliefs, however, did not stop the advance of their spiritual truth, which went forward through a long line of “heretics” and resurfaced in the Protestant Reformation.

The I Ching, or Chinese Book of Changes, also survived a book-burning when, after all copies of it were believed to have been destroyed, one was found secreted in a wall against just such an eventuality. Beyond its possibly superstitious use as an oracle, the work remains a valuable document of evolved Melchizedekian teachings, and was very useful as a Taoist and Confucian scripture during its time.

The former presence on the URANTIA Foundation Board of Trustees of a member with a national security background, Neal Waldrop (NSA), and the presence in the URANTIA Brotherhood/Fellowship’s inner circle of a retired Marine Corps General and former Judge Advocate General, Duane Faw -- the organizational “inner circle” champion of the Teaching Mission (TeaM) -- apart from any conspiracy theory content on this site in its previous perturbation, does reveal beyond a doubt that security regarding the places of concealment of The URANTIA Books is lax, has been possibly breached, and/or is non-existent! These copies of the first edition, first printing were hidden at the request of the supernal Revelatory Commission, and comprise one of the prime objectives for which the Foundation was organized -- to make sure that hard-copies of the revelation survive any possible upheavals, to the end that they will be on hand throughout the book’s (rather, the revelation’s) epochal bi-millennium. That effort will do little good if and when the prophecies are fulfilled and the cyclic drama is once again staged, and a corrupt, truth-hating church-state, wishing to destroy the Urantia Papers can find those hiding places in old government records! Whether or not Waldrop and/or Faw made such a report is problematical. The point is that they could have.

There is also the problem of preservation itself. The URANTIA Book, so far as I know, is NOT printed on acid-free paper. This means that time is its worst enemy and the physical longevity of the texts is quite limited. Since the 1950’s when the books were first hidden new procedures for preserving texts over long periods have been developed, and techniques for neutralizing the acid in the paper have been developed. Whether or not the Foundation is keeping abreast with these changes is unknown by me, but text-preserving techniques must be considered by anyone who conceals texts for our brothers and sisters of future times on his or her own.

To help understand the revelation while the meaning of its very words change -- until the revelation is revised, and even afterwards, because even revisions will be superseded -- having access to a 1934-1935 era dictionary cannot hurt either. Grab one if you can! I also hope eventually to put one or link to one on this site. It is not enough to whip open a modern dictionary to define a seventy-year-old (or older) term, as with the case of meditation, you might find yourself trying to achieve something which The URANTIA Book actually warns against! The best that I can do at this point is a 1913 dictionary at http://www.concordance.com