The Cosmic Citizen

On this show, returning guest Angie Thurston will share her experience at Harvard Divinity School (HDS), where she recently completed a Master of Divinity degree. Angie will describe how she and her colleague, Casper ter Kuile, became Ministry Innovation Fellows at HDS, where they are now working to build support systems for the rapidly changing landscape of American spiritual community. Angie and Casper have authored two reports, 'How We Gather' and 'Something More', which profile surprising new ways that Americans are congregating - from CrossFit and SoulCycle to Muslim small groups and innovative church plants. As religious disaffiliation continues, Angie and Casper are invested in strengthening emerging communities and their leaders across the so-called sacred-secular divide, as well as supporting denominations in adapting to this new context. Angie will talk about how the teachings of the Urantia Book motivate and inform her commitment to this work, and how her discoveries from this emerging landscape might inform us as we seek to foster community among Urantia Book readers. Angie is as lively as she is informative. If you are still searching for a religious or values based community to belong to, or if you wonder how and where young people engage spiritually, this show will, surprise, interest and inspire you. For more info visit: http://angiethurston.com/ http://howwegather.org/

During the past two shows we have studied Urantia Paper 52: Planetary Mortal Epochs. Cross references to this paper came up several times on our show about Ancient Aliens and we thought it would be timely to review what the revelation says about how beings evolve on the inhabited worlds. We've currently read and discussed the first 4 planetary epochs. Pre-Planetary Prince Man: Characterized by Primitive men who are mighty hunters and fierce fighters. The law of this age is the physical survival of the fittest; the government of these times is wholly tribal. Post-Planetary Prince Man: An era which witnesses a spiritual dawn, and the different races and their various tribes tend to develop specialized systems of religious and philosophic thought. Post-Adamic Man: An era in which the original impetus of evolutionary life has run its biologic course, when man has reached the apex of animal development And Post-Magisterial Son Man: This age opens with the mortal races blended and biologically fit. All nations are literally one and the brotherhood of man flourishes, and the nations are learning to live on earth in peace and tranquility. We've had a splendid discussion about these epochs of mortal evolution.  Paper 52 is full of insightful information about humankind's origin, history and destiny. It covers 7 planetary epochs, defined as a period of time in history, typically marked by notable events or particular characteristics. Each epoch is characterized by what the book calls an Epochal Revelation. The next 3 mortal epochs remain: Post-Bestowal Son Man - Human beings upon the bestowal of a Paradise Son, in our case Jesus. Post-Teacher Son Man - Humanity's entry into the era of Light and Life. The Era of Light and Life - The dawn of Utopian civilization. Hope you can join!

Last week we began a study of Urantia Paper 52: Planetary Mortal Epochs. It came up several times on our show with Derek Samaras about the ancient Sumerian texts and visitations from higher universe personalities, whom some would call ETs and others...aliens. We got through the first to planetary epochs, the first being Pre-Planetary Prince Man, characterized by Primitive men who are mighty hunters and fierce fighters. The law of this age is the physical survival of the fittest; the government of these times is wholly tribal. The second section was on Post-Planetary Prince Man, an era which witnesses a spiritual dawn, and the different races and their various tribes tend to develop specialized systems of religious and philosophic thought. We had a lively discussion about two these epochs of mortal evolution. Paper 52 is full of insightful information about our history and destiny. It reveals how one level of civilization builds upon another and gives us a way to measure our current situation and progress. It's actually a good yardstick for personal evolution too. It covers 7 planetary epochs, each one is being characterized by what the book calls Epochal Revelations. An epoch is defined as a period of time in history, typically marked by notable events or particular characteristics. How amazing to realize the extraordinary lengths our loving Creator Son and his loyal subordinates have gone to, to catch us up with the normal course of evolution.  The next 5 mortal epochs remain: Post-Adamic Man - Human beings after the bestowal of Adam and Eve. Post-Magisterial Son Man - Human beings after the bestowal of a Magisterial Son. Post-Bestowal Son Man - Human beings upon the bestowal of a Paradise Son, in our case Jesus. Post-Teacher Son Man - Humanity's entry into the era of Light and Life. The Era of Light and Life - The dawn of Utopian civilization. Please join!

Building on the wonderful show we had with Derek Samaras last week, we thought it might be timely to start a study of Urantia Paper 52: Planetary Mortal Epochs. It came up several times as we discussed the periodic and purposeful visitations to Earth from higher universe personalities, whom some would call ETs and others...aliens. However, the Urantia Book doesn't call them aliens. There are no "aliens" in the universe, just one huge universal family. So, in reality, these visitations have been interventions on behalf of beloved and isolated siblings, the human race. If anyone is alien to the normal and natural order of the universe, it's us humans on Urantia. But we shouldn't dispair. The revelation tells us, "Evolution may be slow, but it is unerringly effective."  And Jesus promises, "And no matter what blunders your fellow men make in their world management of today, in an age to come the gospel which I declare to you will rule this very world." Haven't we all wondered what the future holds for our world? This paper depicts the precise evolutionary plan of progress for all inhabited worlds, including ours. And even though we are not a normal world the entire universe is pulling for us. Paper 52 is full of hope, practical insights and inspiration. It reveals how one level of civilization builds upon another and gives us a way to measure our current situation and progress. It's actually a good yardstick for personal evolution too. It covers 7 planetary epochs, each one is being characterized by what the book calls Epochal Revelations. An epoch is defined as a period of time in history, typically marked by notable events or particular characteristics. It's amazing to realize the extraordinary lengths our loving Creator Son and his loyal subordinates have gone to, to catch us up with the normal course of evolution.  This will be a great study!

The Urantia Books says that a powerful celestial administrator came to this world about 500,000 years ago. He came with a corps of 100 volunteers. This position of governance is a role known on high as the "Planetary Prince." The volunteers are his staff. He took our world into a rebellion against the Universe and we have since called him "the Prince of Darkness."  This group of beings has also come to be known as the Anunnaki or Anunna Gods as described in the Sumerian tablets found in Ur and Nineveh (ancient Iraq). Our guest this week is our co-host, Derek Samaras. He has done extensive research on the connections between human history as described in the Urantia Book and the ancient Sumerian literature that tells the stories of these fabled figures and historical events.We'll discuss, in part, the Prince, Van, Amadon, the Tree of life, Fandors, Adam and Eve, Sumerians, Babylonians, Adamson, rebellion, Dalamatia, Dilmun, Eden 1 & 2, the Nodites and more. Derek hails from Chicago, home of the Urantia revelation as well as the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Derek has utilized the vast amount of Sumerian artifacts collected and catalogued digitally by the Institute and other universities including; UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the British Museum, and others. He is fresh off his presentation in Los Angeles where he discussed the historical evidence of celestial activity with Jason Martell, the host from the TV show Ancient Aliens. (77:4.6 3) A small group at the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers maintained more of their racial integrity. They persisted for thousands of years and eventually furnished the Nodite ancestry which blended with the Adamites to found the Sumerian peoples of historic times. Please join us for an exciting comparison between the rare record of ancient history a revelation tha. A story few have ever heard..

This week, we feature two of the five partners of three amazing web based ministries: TheChristExperiment.org and FaithSonsofGod.org and AnointedJW.org. If you've been to these sites you are aware of the splendid nature of their work. Zshonette Reed, and one of her ministry partners, Don Clementin, will be joining us to talk about how to help new readers not only read the Urantia Book, but how to live it. They will touch on 3 points: (1) personally experiencing the Revelation; (2) taking responsibility for the Revelation; and (3) embracing our new status. Zshonette and her husband, Allen, are skilled ministers and the creators and authors of the web sites. They hail from Southern California. Don, who is located in Boston, joined them as a ministry partner and is spearheading a ministry they call "Into His Harvest." Their other two partners, Australians Janet & Andy Wilson, are responsible for the beautiful posters and artwork on their sites, as well as the new series of videos that give the reader a new way to experience Part IV of the Urantia Book. All are former Jehovah's Witnesses, sincere and devoted students of The Urantia Book, and fellow workers with Michael. They refer to themselves collectively as "The Unit." Zshonette is a writer and attorney. She earned her law degree after reading the Urantia Book, with the intent to protect and advance religious freedoms, and, in particular, to share this beautiful revelation. She and her husband use Urantia teachings to inspire others and "uplift the spiritual conversation worldwide." Don works in the Boston area in the field of architecture. He, too, is a skilled and gifted minister who works with various churches to uplift their ideas and bring them in harmony with the ideals of Christ Michael. Please join us!

Christilyn Biek-Larson and André Radatus co-host.  Paula is on, much deserved, family vacation this week. We continue our robust discussion this week on serving the new "reader"/student of The Urantia Book.   Back this week is Chris Lepine, the creator of Urantia Book New Reader Services (UBNRS) and Sussi Rowland, UBNRS Facilitator. UBNRS is a web based service designed specifically for new students of The Urantia Book. People who are new to the book quickly realize that it is the most rewarding and challenging book they will ever read. UBNRS exists to help new students with their exploration of the book and with integrating into the greater Urantia reader community. The Urantia Book is a gift for people of every religion, country, continent, and culture. UBNRS can help answer a new reader's initial questions and find references and resources on a wide variety of topics. Whether someone is interested in angels, life after death, spiritual growth, God, evolution, or other profound topics that The Urantia Book covers, UBNRS is dedicated to helping new students of the book understand, find and discover these great and liberating teachings. What’s more, they offer personalized help, as well as online meetings, classes, and events. They can even help people find local Urantia Book readers and communities and they consider it a privilege to help others in their quest for God, truth, and spiritual growth. This episode will be great for any new Urantia Book reader and for anyone who would like to help them. The motto is simple and profound, "You are a child of God. We are family." Please join us! We will be taking your calls.

This week and next week, June 25 and July 2nd, we'll be interviewing Mr. Chris Lepine, the creator of Urantia Book New Reader Services or UBNRS. He’ll also be joined by Sussi Rowland, a UBNRS Facilitator. UBNRS is a web based service designed specifically for new students of the book. People who are new to the book quickly realize that it is the most rewarding and challenging book they will ever read. UBNRS exists to help new students with their exploration of the book and with integrating into the greater Urantia reader community. The Urantia Book is a gift for people of every religion, country, continent and culture. UBNRS can help answer a new reader's initial questions and find references and resources on a wide variety of topics. Whether someone is interested in angels, life after death, spiritual growth, God, evolution, or other profound topics that The Urantia Book covers, UBNRS is dedicated to helping new students of the book understand, find and discover these great and liberating teachings. What’s more, they offer personalized help, as well as online meetings, classes, and events. They can even help people find local Urantia Book readers and communities and they consider it a privilege to help others in their quest for God, truth, and spiritual growth. These episodes will be great for new new Urantia Book readers and for anyone who would like to help them. The motto is simple and profound, "You are a child of God. We are family." Please join us! Due to the extensive material covered during these shows we will not be taking calls.

This week on the Cosmic Citizen we ask, why do we call God Father? What is it about the nature and character of God that makes the name Father a more accurate way to describe him? for that matter, why use gender based language to describe God at all? The first sentence of The Urantia Book says, "THE Universal Father is the God of all creation, the First Source and Center of all things and beings. First think of God as a creator, then as a controller, and lastly as an infinite upholder. The truth about the Universal Father had begun to dawn upon mankind when the prophet said: "You, God, are alone; there is none beside you."  The last sentence of The Urantia Book says, "The Father is living love, and this life of the Father is in his Sons. And the spirit of the Father is in his Sons' sons—mortal men. When all is said and done, the Father idea is still the highest human concept of God." In between these two sentences, the word Father is mentioned 2127 times, Universal Father is mentioned 500 times, Heavenly Father offered 70 times, God the Father shows up 62 times and Our Father 40 times. The authors of The Urantia Book really want us to take in this idea of God as our Father, buy why? One of the authors of the book touchingly says this, "I naturally love one who is so powerful in creation and in the control thereof, and yet who is so perfect in goodness and so faithful in the loving-kindness which constantly overshadows us. I think I would love God just as much if he were not so great and powerful, as long as he is so good and merciful. We all love the Father more because of his nature than in recognition of his amazing attributes. Join us as we present our ideas on God as a Father and we invite you to call in with yours. This show is all about Father. Please join us!

Paula, Christilyn and Andre are away this week.  The Summer Study Session is on in San Antonio so today we are bring back an acclaimed program done by God's Gumshoe. "Easter -A PERSONAL TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE" More God's Gumshoe "SpiritQuest" episodes can be listen to from this Cosmic Citizen Archive. The Urantia Book paper193:0.3."And now you should give ear to my words lest you again make the mistake of hearing my teaching with the mind while in your hearts you fail to comprehend the meaning. You are to go forth preaching the love of God and the service of man. That which the world needs most to know is: Men are the sons of God, and through faith they can actually realize, and daily experience, this ennobling truth. Always in LOVE God's Gumshoe www.godsgumshoe.org On facebook:  God's Gumshoe Twitter: @godsgumshoe YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/godsgumshoe?feature=mhee