Urantia: The Great Cult Mystery - Hardcover

Gardner, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0879759550 ISBN 13: 9780879759551

Publisher: Prometheus Books, 1995

Synopsis

Martin Gardner, one of America's most acclaimed science writers, has here compiled the first complete history of a growing, modern religious cult. Gardner traces the cult's beginnings back to its "bible," The Urantia Book, a book supposedly revealed solely by celestial beings to correct the flaws in the traditional Bible. Published in 1955 under the direction of cult leader Dr. William Sadler, The Urantia Book (Urantia is the cult's name for the earth) is the largest work ever said to have been channeled by unseen higher beings through human contacts. It differs from earlier channeled "bibles" in that it contains a vast amount of modern science as well as a detailed biography of Jesus Christ, complete with facts not found in the Gospels. As a result, many scientists and scholars are dedicated Urantians.
In addition to discussing the beliefs of the Urantia cult, Gardner reveals two major developments that threaten to splinter the movement. The first is a sectarian rift that has split the movement into two major competing factions. The second is the growing belief of hundreds of Urantians that they, too, are receiving their own messages from the celestials, who they claim are preparing Urantia for a new revelation intended to usher in a utopia of "light and life." Such secondary revelations are seen as jeopardizing the authority of The Urantia Book. Among the other topics addressed are the extent to which Seventh-day Adventist beliefs influenced the writing of The Urantia Book, the flaws in Urantian science, and allegations of plagiarism on the part of the authors of The Urantia Book.

About this title

Review:

The media has temporarily turned its large but constantly blinking eye away from cult-of-the-day reportage after the Waco conflagration, but such organizations continue to collect adherents. Martin Gardner, best known as mathematical-games-meister for Scientific American, turns his refreshingly unblinking gaze on the origin and continuing growth of the Urantian cult. It is a marvellous study of the ways in which ideas can be propagated through society.

About the Author:

Martin Gardner is a founding Fellow of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).

About this edition

• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0879759550
• ISBN 13: 9780879759551
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 445