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Choice of the Sadlers
In considering their choice for a contact group to be prepared for receipt of the revelation, one possibility would have been a forward-looking group from some theological school whose New Testament studies had caused them to be dissatisfied with current interpretations of the gospel message. Many such scholarly groups, with views far closer to those presented in the Urantia Papers than is found in mainstream Christianity, had already existed on Urantia. Starting around the beginning of the seventeenth century, they became progressively stronger and more numerous right through to the present times. But despite the fact that these groups had an effective input into the training of the clergy and priests for all mainline Christian churches, their effect upon established Christian dogma and doctrines was negligible.1
Why did three centuries of effort that culminated in virtually every ordained minister or priest from mainstream Christianity being informed about the fallacies and flaws in Christian dogma, nevertheless fail to impact on Christianity as it is taught to the masses?
Knowledge of why this has been be so could lead to important decisions about how, at some future date, mainstream Christianity could be brought to a state in which reform of its fundamental doctrines and dogmas might become an unavoidable imperative.
In many ways churches operate like a commercial business. Thus, from early times and at its deepest levels, organized religion was, and is, controlled by financial considerations. Put crudely, whatever attracts people to a religion is also likely to attract their financial support. Whatever drives people away (or fails to attract) does the opposite.
Foremost among the 'attractive' forces of mainstream Christianity is the grateful acceptance by sin-conscious Christian congregations of the dogma by which forgiveness for sin is inextricably linked to the sacrificial death of the Christ. Despite how it might reflect upon God's character, the relief brought to guilt laden individuals by this doctrine, plus the preference of many individuals for what they believe is a reliable, authoritative religion, are major contributing factors to the longevity of the Christian Churches. Additionally, the present level of evolutionary advancement of the mind state of most Urantians is one that is still dominated by inherited animal instincts. That includes an intense animal fear of uncertainty--which increases people's receptivity for authoritative religion.
An alternative theology, preached mainly by intellectuals, decries what they characterize as theism--a tyrant God who punishes the sinner, rewards the obedient, destroys their enemies etc. Instead they substitute an impersonal concept of deity that becomes their "Ground of all Being." Unfortunately, their impersonal "Ground of all Being" is virtually meaningless to all but philosophers and theologians.
What the revelators of the Urantia Papers appear to have deemed is our reality discards the tyrant God and personalizes the "Ground of all Being" as the God who is love, truth, beauty, and goodness, and whose spirit indwells us individually, seeking to draw us to him.
How the revelators actually selected the "sleeping subject" as the means of completing a communication pathway or how they went about selecting the recipient group for their revelation is totally unknown.
However, the fact that the Urantia Papers inform us that the free will of man is sacrosanct excludes all actions by the revelators that would interfere with human free will. This means it is virtually impossible for even celestial beings to have any control whatsoever over future planetary events that involve human participation.
In many ways, the revelators' choice of Dr Sadler appears to be inexplicable. Reference to his book, "Soul Winning Texts," first printed in 1909 reveals a picture of a narrow-minded, biblical fundamentalist, intent on saving sinners through the redeeming blood of Christ--and probably as the primary means of walking that straight and narrow path expected by Christian evangelicals to lead to their personal reward of salvation. Sadler, at that time, was a prime example of personal dedication to the type of authoritarian religion that the Urantia Papers' religion of the spirit would seek to displace.
However there were saving attributes. The Sadler group appears to have consisted of people disaffected with the world-view of their particular religious sect. Both Dr Sadler and his wife
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