the Urantia Book: Legitimate Religion or Satan-inspired Cult?

Extra-Biblical Revelation
The following appears in the Urantia Book's Forward:

We may resort to pure revelation only when the concept of presentation has had no adequate previous expression by the human mind.  p.16

...in making these presentations about God and his universe associates, we have selected as the basis of these papers more than one thousand human concepts representing the highest and most advanced planetary knowledge of spiritual values and universal meanings. Wherein these human concepts, assembled from the God-knowing mortals of the past and the present, are inadequate to portray the truth as we are directed to reveal it, we will unhesitatingly supplement them, for this purpose drawing upon our own superior knowledge of the reality and divinity of the Paradise Deities and their transcendent residential universe.  p. 17

The Holy Spirit, via the Apostle Paul, instructs believers that spirit beings were capable of communicating with human beings and warned the Christians living in the providence of Galatia to beware of such apocryphal messages. Christian, never forget this spiritual admonition:

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned [anathema]!" Galatians 1:8.

Growing Christians, who have studied and become clear on the divine origin and nature of the Bible, are generally not vulnerable to the extra-revelatory claims of Pentecostals, charismatics, or various cults.  They rest in the fact that the Bible is God's exclusive channel of written communication to man.  Sadly from time to time, we receive email from vulnerable Pentecostals, charismatics, and liberals who have fallen prey to the Urantia cult and are attempting to rationalize their involvement.

For a more in-depth (albeit tedious) look at Gnosticism, "New Age Christianity" and the coming One World Church, see THE NEW WORLD RELIGION, Gary H. Kah, Hope International Publishing, Inc., 1998.

Numerous study guides and books, available through Christian bookstores, are designed to develop your knowledge of the Bible in this important area.  For example:

THY WORD IN TRUTH, Edward J. Young, Eerdmans Publishing.

FROM GOD TO US, How we got our Bible, Geisler & Nix, Moody Press.

This article is primarily written to warn and protect new-creation Christians.  We can only hope God will grant mercy and rescue some of whom it is said--"the god of this age has blinded the minds" 2 Corinthians 4:4.  Urantia is a blinding light!

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(1)  Seventh Day Adventism (SDA) is commonly, but erroneously, considered "just another fundamentalist Christian sect."  Since its inception, Adventists have worked hard to gain acceptance as fellow "Christians", similar to the efforts of The Church of the Latter Day Saints--Mormons.  One of the best and most comprehensive treatments of the SDA error is Another Look at Seventh-Day Adventism, Norman F. Douty, 1962, Baker Book House.

(2)  For a detailed discussion, see THE UNIVERSE NEXT DOOR, A Basic Worldview Catalog by James Sire and any of the writings, such as Reason in the Balance, by author and law professor Phillip E. Johnson.


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We regularly receive email from Urantia cultists (most hostile and many unprintable) challenging our conservative Christian views.  For the most part, we only respond to those who appear to ask genuine questions.  To the disingenuous, we apply Titus 3:10, "Warn a divisive [Greek: hairetokos - heretic] person once, and then warn him a second time.  After that, have nothing to do with him."

Permission is granted to photocopy and distribute this article to your Christian friends and relatives who may have questions concerning the beliefs of the Urantia cult.

Dan R. Smedra


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