The Urantia Book inspires readers to strive for lofty goals; and a gem of wisdom for how to pursue these goals glimmers and gleams in Urantia Foundation’s Declaration of Trust. There we find a key phrase that has also become part of the charters of Urantia Association International and The Urantia Book Fellowship. The wisdom in this shared phrase has never received due recognition; but it still stands ready to guide us to unity and effectiveness as we seek to serve in cooperation with our unseen friends. The phrase comes from Section II of the Declaration of Trust.
2.1. PRINCIPAL OBJECT: The object for which this Foundation is created is the promotion, improvement, and expansion among the peoples of the world of the comprehension and understanding of Cosmology and the relation of the planet on which we live to the Universe, of the genesis and destiny of Man and his relation to God, and of the true teachings of Jesus Christ; and for the inculcation and encouragement of the realization and appreciation of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man--in order to increase and enhance the comfort, happiness, and well being of Man, as an individual and as a member of society, through the fostering of a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man's intellectual and cultural development.
2.2. CONCORDANT OBJECTS: The concordant objects for which the Foundation is created are to perpetually preserve inviolate the text of The Urantia Book and to disseminate the principles, teachings, and doctrines of The Urantia Book.
In the first paragraph, behold the glorious planetary goals, and observe that this grand sentence culminates with a mandate about the means to pursue them, through “the fostering of a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man's intellectual and cultural development.” This is the shared phrase, the gem of wisdom, which launches a program of specifics on which we can cooperate.
Note that the noble goals of the second paragraph are classified as concordant. Concordia is the Latin word for harmony, and this heading implies that the second group of goals should be pursued in a way which is harmonious with the goals and means of the principal object.
The familiar teaching about how organizations are to pursue a cluster of lofty planetary goals is wisdom which perfectly specifies the receptivity principle—adjust your teaching to the other person’s receptivity—as that principle is applied to communication that is intended for the peoples of the world.
To foster a timely religion, philosophy, and cosmology fits well with the teachings of The Urantia Book. Jesus said, “Let me emphatically state this eternal truth: “If you, by truth co-ordination [of science and religion], learn to exemplify in your lives this beautiful wholeness of righteousness, your fellow men will then seek after you that they may gain what you have so acquired” (155:1.5/1726.2). And the wise coordination of science and religion is portrayed in the outline for a new philosophy of living. “The overstressed and isolated morality of modern religion, which fails to hold the devotion and loyalty of many twentieth-century men, would rehabilitate itself if, in addition to its moral mandates, it would give equal consideration to the truths of science, philosophy, and spiritual experience, and to the beauties of the physical creation, the charm of intellectual art, and the grandeur of genuine character achievement” (2:7.9/43.2).
Honest thinkers can disagree in their interpretation of what it means to foster “a religion, a philosophy, and a cosmology which are commensurate with Man's intellectual and cultural development.” But a wise constitution includes terms that must be re-interpreted from generation to generation and age to age.
Those of us who contemplate the opportunity to unite our organizations face a challenge. How shall we bridge between spiritual unity, which we increasingly enjoy, and the practical demand to find language that we can agree on as we set up a framework that is not merely adequate in its formal structure but also meaningfully specific? If we sincerely accept this gem of wisdom it will help us unite in loving service.
December 11, 2016