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group of friends, stepped up to a piano and, by striking just a few chords, portrayed each person in the group so vividly that no one present had difficulty in knowing which personality was equated with each piece of music! This led to the conclusion that "the essential pattern or Gestalt was communicated without words or other conventions. Minds are metaphoric in nature... The fact that feelings cannot be communicated by testable logical proposition does not argue against their real existence. It is the words that fall short, not the experience. To share the meaning of profound experiences, we must turn to metaphor."
"Minds are metaphoric in nature" - that appears to mean that our minds store important memories in an easily recallable, symbolic form. Perhaps this is the clue to why The Urantia Book is telling us that we must develop a new and appropriate symbolism as an aid to the communication of its revelatory message.
The practical use of symbolism in modern times has been confused by our failure to differentiate between discursive and presentational symbols. For example, the newcomer to the bible, or the teenager seeking to break the ties with parental or religious authority, may ask: "Do you really expect me to believe that a snake tempted Eve with an apple, that a trumpet blast collapsed the walls of Jericho, that a whale swallowed Jonah and, three days later, up-chucked a still living Jonah onto a beach, that a flood wiped out all living animals and people except those taken onto the ark with Noah? You must be kidding!"
Presented as the infallible word of God, such tales invite skepticism and disbelief. But if presented for what they really are - the symbolic tales, legends, and mythology of a desert tribe in their quest to know God, then the same "presentational" stories may acquire a depth of meaning and significance not apparent when looked upon as "discursive" and historical truth.
The Urantia Book has these words for us: "The one distinction between man and the animal is that man can communicate with his fellows by means of symbols which certainly designate and identify meanings, values, ideas, and even ideals." (1775) "It is regrettable that so many modern believers in moral standards and spiritual ideals have no adequate symbolism - no cult of mutual support - nothing to belong to." (965) "The cult is the skeletal structure around which grows the living and dynamic body of personal spiritual experience - true religion." (966) "In the past, truth has grown rapidly and expanded freely when the cult has been elastic, the symbolism expansile. Abundant truth and an adjustable cult have favored rapidity of social progression." (965)
We of the Urantia movement may have been excessively timid in the way we have approached the spreading of the message of the Fifth Epochal Revelation, afraid of the power of symbolism and ritual, afraid of the labels "cult", or "religion", or "church", afraid to sing hymns of worship, afraid to use the cross as "the great symbol of the bestowal life of Jesus" (2019), even afraid to carry out the supper of remembrance, that symbolic rendezvous with Michael, inaugurated by Michael himself!
Recognition by the Urantia movement of the expectation that a new religion should emerge, founded upon the teachings of the Fifth Epochal Revelation, occurs in the Declaration of Trust creating Urantia Foundation. The book tells us that a cult is the skeletal structure around which grows true religion, and that cult members have a need of symbolism. Modern psychology confirms that thesis. The Urantia Book provides this admonition:
"But the great difficulty of finding a new and satisfying symbolism is because modern men, as a group, adhere to the scientific attitude, eschew superstition, and abhor ignorance, while as individuals they all crave mystery and venerate the unknown. No cult can survive unless it embodies some masterful mystery and conceals some worthful unattainable. Again, the new symbolism must not only be significant for the group but also meaningful to the individual. The forms of any serviceable symbolism must be those which the individual can carry out on his own initiative, and which he can also enjoy with his fellows. If the new cult could only be dynamic instead of static, it might really contribute something worth while to the progress of mankind, both temporal and spiritual." (966)
Surely it is time for change. We all have work to do - but each of us must work out their own involvement. Our Thought Adjusters and Jesus' Spirit of Truth are on stand-by to help us.
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