Up Close and Personal with the Urantia Book, by JJ Johnson

Up Close and Personal with the Urantia Book EXPANDED EDITION JJ Johnson Unless otherwise noted, all referenced passages are taken from the text of The Urantia Book which is in the public domain in the USA. The “COSAR Principle - A Revelatory Proposition” as it is used and described in Chapter One of Up Close and Personal with The Urantia Book in this Expanded Edition is copyrighted. Copyright © 2009 by JJ Johnson The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the Author necessarily endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. JJ Johnson [email protected] Library of Congress Control Number: 2008934637 ISBN 978-0-9795926-1-4 Printed in the United States of America 2009 Dedication Part Two of this book is respectfully dedicated to those cosmic conscious citizens who recognize the time is at hand to “Remove the Apron” and be about our Father's Business. Part Three goes out to those forward-looking men and women of spiritual insight who will dare to construct a religious philosophy of living based upon the highest concepts of cosmic truth, universe beauty and divine goodness as revealed in The Urantia Book. Personally, this book is dedicated to my two sons Michael Andrew and David Matthew who have blessed their mom and dad with such Love and Joy that it continually overflows from our hearts. Also, our beloved grandchildren who are a source of love and inspiration in recent years. Note on Page and Paper References from The Urantia Book Passages from The Urantia Book are referenced by Page numbers and Paragraph number of the Urantia Foundation edition on the left margin. Indicated on the right margin is the Paper, Section, and Paragraph for use with the Uversa Press edition of The Urantia Book. See example below. Page 1091:8 Paper 99:5.9 …It is high time that man had a religious experience so personal and so sublime that it could be realized and expressed only by “feelings that lie too deep for words.” The quote above is the 8th full paragraph on page 1091 of the Foundation edition. It is in Paper 99, Section 5, Paragraph 9 in the Uversa Press edition. Note on Use of Bold Throughout this book, certain words, phrases, or sentences are in bold in order to assist the reader in locating portions of the text that are relevant to the theme. This use of bold is entirely my own, and not in the original text of The Urantia Book. iv Contents Foreword—vii Acknowledgements—ix PART I SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND THE TRUTH OF REALITY Chapter One—The COSAR Principle: a Revelatory Proposition—3 PART II EVANGELISM Prologue to Part II—23 Chapter Two—Evangelism and The Urantia Book—27 Epilogue to Part II—33 Wake Up Call—39 Potpourri—40 PART III STUDY AIDS Chapter Three—Always Remember And Never Forget—45 Chapter Four—Memorable Passages—65 Chapter Five—Arithmetical Insights from a Revelatory Position—75 Chapter Six—Pre-Morontia Math 101: A Glimpse at the Master Mathematicians—85 Chapter Seven—Study Companion: A Conceptual Road Map—99 Index to Chapter Seven—431 Appendix—435 v Foreword Philosopher Mortimer Adler framed a significant academic and cultural problem when he declared in 1940: “One of the troubles [with universities] is that scientists, philosophers, and theologians, or teachers of religion, have long failed to communicate with one another. The structure of a modern university, with its departmental separations, and its total lack of order among specialized disciplines, represent perfectly the disunity and chaos of modern culture ... one might even hope for communication to lead to mutual understanding, and thence to agreement about the truths that could unify our culture. ” Personally, I have always considered the unified relations of science, philosophy, and religion in The Urantia Book as the most important aspect of the work. JJ Johnson has completed his philosophical description of The Urantia Book’s holistic character by adding the new chapter in Up Close and Personal with The Urantia Book, relating science with religion (COSAR). It is an impressive achievement. I congratulate JJ on his extensive research in producing this new chapter. He is one of the most significant students of The Urantia Book who is defining its revelatory insights and balanced approach toward breaking down the barriers between the disciplines of religion and science. Perhaps such tireless efforts will one day lead to the mutual understanding that Adler believed would unify our culture. —Dr. Meredith Justin Sprunger Dr. Meredith Justin Sprunger has had a remarkable career as a college president, professor, and an ordained minister. He has served various United Church of Christ congregations in the Midwest. He taught psychology at Elmherst College and then at the Indiana Institute of Technology, where he was head of the Department of Psychology, Chairman of the Division of Liberal Arts, and as President. A student of The Urantia Book for over fifty years, Dr. Sprunger is the author and contributor of several Urantia Book-related works. vii Acknowledgements The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Beth Wenger. She has been of immeasurable help in bringing the draft manuscript to fruition. As associate editor, Beth has given lavishly of her time and helped make this labor of love much more than it would have been without her. Beth and her husband Bruce are long-time students of The Urantia Book. They reside in Phoenix, Arizona, and are founding members of the Grand Canyon Society for Readers of The Urantia Book. To Larry Mullins, whose door and heart have always been open to me and other Urantians who do not hesitate to call upon his untiring willingness to help see a worthy Urantia project through. Larry is perhaps the most prolific writer of secondary works of The Urantia Book. One only has to look at the list of fourteen other books authored by Larry noted in his book A History of the Urantia Papers, published in 2000, to get a feel of his dedication to the Urantia community for over three decades. Larry and his lovely wife Joan live in Florida. To Bob Debold, who has been a source of inspiration during my assignment in the Washington, D.C. area. As associate editor, Bob also left his thumbprint throughout these pages. Bob’s recent paper “Crouching Deity—Hidden Supreme” exemplifies his deep thinking approach to such topics and his willingness to share with all of us. ix PART I SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND THE TRUTH OF REALITY The Urantia Book disclosed Plate Techtonics and a dozen other facts decades before scientists confirmed it. This new chapter will cover them all. While on assignment in the Sinai in late 2007, I bolted up in bed one day with an impress on my mind: “The COSAR Principle—A Revelatory Propostion.” The following chapter is the fruition of this impress. Impress as used above: To urge, as something to be remembered or done —JJ Chapter One The COSAR Principle —A Revelatory Proposition— The Coordination of Science and Religion (COSAR) with the truth of reality is best achieved by revelation. The Urantia Book, a revelation of epochal significance to our strife torn planet, serves this function with a high degree of satisfaction for the reader. The manner in which the coordination of both science and religion is so exquisitely embedded throughout The Urantia Book, I call the COSAR Principle. The role that the COSAR Principle performs can be valued by approaching The Urantia Book’s development of the truth of reality from either the scientific content or the religious truths that are revealed within its pages. Yet to have a deeper appreciation and fuller awareness of the truth of reality that is revealed in The Urantia Book one must be able to integrate in a meaningful way both the “S” (Science) and “R” factors in the COSAR Principle into his or her personal picture of reality. I address the “R” (Religious/Spiritual) approach in Chapter Two. In fact, my personal motivation for Up Close is expressed in Chapter Two in general and culminates in the “Wake Up Call”. The “S” approach, in COSAR, is offered as a rebuttal to Scientism—a hard “S” position. Scientism is defined as the denial of any reality that science cannot detect and analyze. It perpetuates an offensive against Western religious tradition by marginalizing religious claims that have little chance of empirical support, such as the existence of the soul. To be fair, at the polar opposite, theologies make preposterous claims (like the belief that the earth is 6000 years old) of which science has solid empirical data proving otherwise. This hard “R” position is not acceptable to the deep thinkers and those who are thirsty for truth. Both extremes exhibit a viewpoint that creates an unhealthy confrontation. These S and R extremes encourage a volatile imbalance that produces truth blinders and is mutually destructive. Students of The Urantia Book have been successful in bridging the gap of these two apparently divergent aspects of their intellectual and spiritual nature. Sincere students recognize that this can best be resolved with the COSAR Principle that produces a self-evident elegance throughout The Urantia Book. This revelatory proposition—the Truth of Reality—offered in The Urantia Book creates a harmony of mind and satisfaction of spirit which answers in human experience those cravings on how the Infinite functions in both the “S” and “R” arenas.

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