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On the Urgent Need for Secondary Works
The Sunshine Coast Study Group, Qld., Australia
Among Urantia Book readers, an idea is widespread that condemns the introduction of the teachings of the book into Christianity by any other means than a direct frontal attack using, the book itself as the assault weapon. To attempt to introduce these teachings through "the back door" by means of secondary works is categorized, in a derogatory manner. as "bootlegging." The Foundation itself is on record as stating, there is no need for secondary works and appears to have pursued a policy for their suppression. When confronted by ourselves three years ago, trustees proved to be unaware of the following, quotation from the book written by a Divine Counselor:
"The religious challenge of this age is to those farseeing and forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a new and appealing philosophy of living out of the enlarged and exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty, and divine goodness. Such a new and righteous vision of morality will attract all that is good in the mind of man and challenge that which is best in the human soul " (43:3).
Can we have any doubt whatsoever that the reference to "exquisitely integrated modern concepts of cosmic truth etc." is a self-referential statement, for where can we find a modern exposition of divine truth that equals or surpasses the revelatory truth of The Urantia Book?
If we take our revelation seriously, this means that readers with some God-g,iven or learned gift for writing or speaking, no matter how small, must feel challenged to participate in the construction of these "new and appealing philosophies of living" that will touch and transform the hearts of mankind by utilizing the cosmic truths that have been revealed lo us--in other words to construct suitable secondary works. Note too that the revelator (a Divine Counselor) is asking us to construct new works from the cosmic truths of the book, not to just use the book itself. This, and other references that follow, imply that secondary works derived from The Urantia Book are to be a major means to spiritually unite the planet.
In view of the prior track record, can authors off secondary works expect to receive Foundation blessing, approval. and cooperation? If not, whom do they obey--the humanly appointed trustees, or the Divine Counselor?
Perhaps our own experience offers hope. As authors of a secondary work entitled "The Apprentice Apostleship Papers," and co-authors of a program for computer interactive instruction on the teachings of The Urantia Book we took the problem to visiting trustees and were encouraged to first do the work and afterwards submit it to the Foundation. Both during preparation and after completion, copies of these works were forwarded to two trustees and an emeritus trustee. Receipt was acknowledged in writing but with no other comment, hence we assumed there were no objections and both projects have been widely circulated. Four years have passed since the first project was forwarded and about three for the second with no reaction, indicating the possibility that our Foundation Trustees are heeding the content of the Divine Counselor's challenge.
Many potential authors of secondary works are probably as ignorant as we were, until recently, of the regulations concerning copyrights. These current instructions to authors come from a major U.S. publishing house: "You must have permission from the copyright owner to quote (a) more than 500 words from any prose work (consecutive lines or otherwise) or (b) more than four lines of poetry."
Ideas and concepts cannot be copyrighted. You can take these and re-state them in your own words without necessarily acknowledging the original source. The authors of the Urantia Papers have done this quite extensively in accordance with their mandate that, "we shall, in all our efforts to reveal truth and co-ordinate essential knowledge, give preference to the highest existing human concepts pertaining to the subjects to be presented." (16)
The quoted statement by the Divine Counselor on page 43 to "those farseeing and forward-looking men and women" is not the sole plea contained in The Urantia Book for the production of secondary works that are firmly based on the truths contained therein. Others are:
"But paganized and socialized Christianity stands in need of new contact with the uncompromised teachings of Jesus; it languishes for lack of a new vision of the Master's life on earth. A new and fuller revelation of the religion of Jesus is destined to conquer an empire of materialistic secularism and to overthrow a world sway of mechanistic naturalism." (2082)
[Note the use of the indefinite article "a" in this quotation: "a new and fuller revelation" not "this new and fuller revelation." This usage is repeated in the next two quotations, hence cannot have been fortuitous.]
"The great hope of Uranlia lies in the possibility of a new revelation of Jesus with a new and enlarged presentation of his saving message which would spiritually unite in loving service the numerous families of his present-day professed followers." (2086)
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