Answer
The Urantia Book was supposedly dictated to a Chicago psychiatrist named W.S. Sadler from 1934 to 1935 by a man who spoke in his sleep on behalf of alien super-mortals called revelators. Sadler formed a group to discuss these revelations, from which the Urantia Foundation was formed in 1950. The Urantia Foundation began publishing the Urantia Book in 1955. Although there is no official religion based upon the Urantia Book, there are groups, like the Jesusonian Foundation, who teach others what is contained in the Urantia Book.
It is difficult to summarize the Urantia Book, as it encompasses many subjects and ideas, from science to politics, from philosophy to history. It is divided into four parts: Part I: The Central and Superuniverses; Part II: The Local Universe; Part III: The History of Urantia; Part IV: The Life and Teachings of Jesus. Consider a few of the teachings found in this book:
* The cosmos is divided into seven concentric rings, the center ring being the Isle of Paradise, where God resides.
* The Urantia Book supersedes the Bible as the ultimate source of truth.
* God exists in three separate trinities: the existential Paradise Trinity, the experiential Ultimate Trinity, and the experiential Absolute Trinity.
* God is known as the Universal Father and is the father of all humanity.
* Jesus Christ is one of many Creator Sons.
* Perfection is attained by continually seeking goodness over the course of many lifetimes, on many different planets.
Obviously, this book and its adherents are not representative of biblical Christianity—not by any stretch of the imagination. The Urantia Book is very similar to Mormonism and Christian Science beliefs, and little, if anything, found within its pages, is scriptural. Consider the following, in contrast to the teachings listed above: the Bible is our one authoritative source for truth (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16–17), not writings gleaned from spirits or aliens (Galatians 1:8); Jesus is not merely an example of God but rather the One in whom the Godhead fully dwells (Colossians 2:9); man only lives once, not many times, before He faces eternal judgment from God (Hebrews 9:27); salvation does not come through anything that humans can do but is a gift from God (Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8–9).
