THE BRITISH STUDY EDITION OF THE URANTIA PAPERS
PART I
THE CENTRAL AND SUPERUNIVERSES
FOREWORD
0:0.1 In the minds of the mortals of Urantia[1] — that being the name of your world — there exists great confusion respecting the meaning of such terms as God, divinity, and deity. Human beings are still more confused and uncertain about the relationships of the divine personalities designated by these numerous appellations. Because of this conceptual poverty associated with so much ideational confusion, I have been directed to formulate this introductory statement in explanation of the meanings which should be attached to certain word symbols as they may be hereinafter used in those papers which the Orvonton[2] corps of truth revealers have been authorized[3] to translate into the English language of Urantia.
0:0.2 It is exceedingly difficult to present enlarged concepts and advanced truth, in our endeavour to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception, when we are restricted to the use of a circumscribed language of the realm. But our mandate admonishes us to make every effort to convey our meanings by using the word symbols of the English tongue. We have been instructed to introduce new terms only when the concept to be portrayed finds no terminology in English which can be employed to convey such a new concept partially or even with more or less distortion of meaning.
0:0.3 In the hope of facilitating comprehension and of preventing confusion on the part of every mortal who may peruse these papers, we deem it wise to present in this initial statement an outline of the meanings to be attached to numerous English words which are to be employed in designation of Deity and certain associated concepts of the things, meanings, and values of universal reality.
0:0.4 But in order to formulate this Foreword of definitions and limitations of terminology, it is necessary to anticipate the usage of these terms in the subsequent presentations. This Foreword is not, therefore, a finished statement within itself; it is only a definitive guide designed to assist those who shall read the accompanying papers dealing with Deity and the universe of universes[4] which have been formulated by an Orvonton commission sent to Urantia for this purpose.
0:0.5 ¶ Your world, Urantia, is one of many similar inhabited planets which comprise the local universe of Nebadon[5]. This universe, together with similar creations, makes up the superuniverse of Orvonton, from whose capital, Uversa[6], our commission hails. Orvonton is one of the seven evolutionary superuniverses of time and space which circle the never-beginning, never-ending creation of divine perfection — the central universe of Havona. At the heart of this eternal and central universe is the stationary Isle of Paradise, the geographic centre of infinity and the dwelling place of the eternal God.
0:0.6 The seven evolving superuniverses in association with the central and divine universe, we commonly refer to as the grand universe; these are the now organized and inhabited creations. They are all a part of the master universe, which also embraces the uninhabited but mobilizing universes of outer space.
1. DEITY AND DIVINITY
0:1.1 The universe of universes presents phenomena of deity activities on diverse levels of cosmic realities, mind meanings, and spirit values, but all of these ministrations — personal or otherwise — are divinely co-ordinated.
0:1.2 ¶ DEITY is personalizable as God, is prepersonal and superpersonal in ways not altogether comprehensible by man. Deity is characterized by the quality of unity — actual or potential — on all supermaterial levels of reality; and this unifying quality is best comprehended by creatures as divinity.
0:1.3 ¶ Deity functions on personal, prepersonal, and superpersonal levels. Total Deity is functional on the following seven levels:
0:1.4 1. Static — self-contained and self-existent Deity.
0:1.5 2. Potential — self-willed and self-purposive Deity.
0:1.6 3. Associative — self-personalized and divinely fraternal Deity.
0:1.7 4. Creative — self-distributive and divinely revealed Deity.
0:1.8 5. Evolutional — self-expansive and creature-identified Deity.
0:1.9 6. Supreme — self-experiential and creature-Creator-unifying Deity. Deity functioning on the first creature-identificational level as time-space overcontrollers of the grand universe, sometimes designated the Supremacy of Deity.
0:1.10 7. Ultimate — self-projected and time-space-transcending Deity. Deity omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. Deity functioning on the second level of unifying divinity expression as effective overcontrollers and absonite upholders of the master universe. As compared with the ministry of the Deities to the grand universe, this absonite function in the master universe is tantamount to universal overcontrol and supersustenance, sometimes called the Ultimacy of Deity.
0:1.11 ¶ The finite level of reality is characterized by creature life and time-space limitations. Finite realities may not have endings, but they always have beginnings — they are created. The Deity level of Supremacy may be conceived as a function in relation to finite existences.
0:1.12 ¶ The absonite level of reality is characterized by things and beings without beginnings or endings and by the transcendence of time and space. Absoniters are not created; they are eventuated — they simply are. The Deity level of Ultimacy connotes a function in relation to absonite realities. No matter in what part of the master universe, whenever time and space are transcended, such an absonite phenomenon is an act of the Ultimacy of Deity.
0:1.13 ¶ The absolute level is beginningless, endless, timeless, and spaceless. For example: On Paradise, time and space are nonexistent; the time-space status of Paradise is absolute. This level is Trinity attained, existentially, by the Paradise Deities, but this third level of unifying Deity expression is not fully unified experientially. Whenever, wherever, and however the absolute level of Deity functions, Paradise-absolute values and meanings are manifest.
0:1.14 ¶ Deity may be existential[7], as in the Eternal Son; experiential[8], as in the Supreme Being; associative, as in God the Sevenfold; undivided, as in the Paradise Trinity.
0:1.15 Deity is the source of all that which is divine. Deity is characteristically and invariably divine, but all that which is divine is not necessarily Deity, though it will be co-ordinated with Deity and will tend towards some phase of unity with Deity — spiritual, mindal, or personal.
0:1.16 ¶ DIVINITY is the characteristic, unifying, and co-ordinating quality of Deity.
0:1.17 Divinity is creature comprehensible as truth, beauty, and goodness; correlated in personality as love, mercy, and ministry; disclosed on impersonal levels as justice, power, and sovereignty.
[1]
Urantia, pronounced
[2]
Orvonton, is a coined word from the Old English prefix
[3]
Orvonton ... authorized, Only the papers 1-31 (i.e. Part I) were authorized at the superuniverse level. The papers 32-196 (Parts II, III and IV) were revealed under the local universe and system level authorization.
[4]
papers dealing with Deity and the universe of universes, As already noted at 0:0.1, these are limited to papers 1-31 only. Therefore, this Foreword is properly “the Foreword to Part I of the Urantia Papers” and that is where it should be printed. Curiously, this is where the Foreword is found in “The Titles of the Papers” and “Contents of the Book” as printed in the original 1955 edition, although the text of the Foreword is printed just before the Part I title page preceding Paper 1 of that edition. Moving the Foreword outside Part I (as is done in all editions except the present one) shows an attempt to
[5]
[6]
Uversa, is a coined word from the Latin
[7]
existential, Defined at 0:7.3 as “beings of eternal existence, past, present, and future”.
[8]
experiential, Defined at 0:7.4 as “beings actualizing in the post-Havona present but of unending existence throughout all future eternity”.