Eugenics, Race, and The Urantia Book

This paper is primarily written for people who are relatively unfamiliar with The Urantia Book. The purpose is to present and comment on two controversial and easily misunderstood subjects that are addressed in the book—eugenics and race. Even within the community of people who believe The Urantia Book is what it claims to be—a new revelation of truth of epochal proportion that was authored by “angels”—there has been ongoing debate and a wide variety of opinions expressed regarding what the book has to say about eugenics and race.(1) Because these subjects are controversial within the community of Urantia Book believers, a secondary purpose is to contribute to the progressive appreciation of this topic among those who consider themselves to be Urantia Book “reader-believers.”

The timing and inspiration to write this paper is directly related to the development of the UBtheNEWS project.

The UBtheNEWS project documents how new discoveries and scientific advances are increasingly corroborating historic and scientific information in The Urantia Book. When the book was published in 1955, much of what it said regarding history and science was either in conflict with the scholarship of that day or had not yet been considered. New anthropological and archaeological discoveries along with advances in genetics research are increasingly supporting the veracity of statements in The Urantia Book regarding genetics and race. The most notable example of this so far is the Adam and Eve Report. Because UBtheNEWS reports are bringing attention to the subjects of eugenics and race, it has become timely to address these issues directly.

Though this paper is an integral part of the UBtheNEWS project, the issues regarding eugenics and race in The Urantia Book go well beyond this project and have been written about by others. Though previous writings will not be identified and responded to directly, the issues these writings have raised will be directly addressed. Even still, this paper is primarily intended for those who are relatively ignorant about The Urantia Book and have no experience with other apologetics or critiques. Consequently, some issues will likely be brought up that are not “your issue” and information will be provided with which some people are already familiar. Some readers may be discouraged with the time it takes to do a comprehensive review of this subject; The Urantia Book has a lot to say about eugenics and race. Please bear with the process. Once enough time has passed for me to get and incorporate critical feedback, an overview will be written.

Aside from offering commentary on The Urantia Book’s statements about eugenics and race, this paper is also intended as a reference tool. It will provide an organized and comprehensive presentation of the book’s statements on eugenics and race. To my knowledge this is the first paper that has ever attempted to do this job. Quoting extensively from The Urantia Book not only is a necessary part of providing such a reference tool, but also allows the book to speak for itself. Of course, this also adds considerably to the paper’s length. I hope you will find that this very important subject is worth your time.

One of the goals of this paper is to explain, “defend,” and honor The Urantia Book’s statements about eugenics and race. Defense, in this case, for the most part is nothing more than providing the full context in which statements in The Urantia Book are made. The most common shortcoming on the part of critics has been the failure to note the qualifications associated with the statements it makes and to take words out of context. The most common example of this tendency being the projection onto its comments about qualitative physical differences that these are statements denying our spiritual equality. The Urantia Book does not need to be defended so much as it needs to be appreciated for what it actually does and does not say.

For readers who find themselves in general agreement with The Urantia Book, hopefully this paper will provide you with new ways of expressing ideas or beliefs that you already hold, thus making you more effective in your conversations with others about these issues. As well, by becoming familiar with the contents of the paper, you will be able to reference it and refer people to it from the more credible position.

Another goal of this paper is to make a contribution towards upgrading humanity’s discourse about eugenics and race. These are terribly controversial issues that affect all of our lives. Even if you do not believe The Urantia Book is an authentic revelation and even if you do not share its viewpoint, because the assertions it makes regarding human history are unique, it stimulates new ways of thinking about eugenics and race that can be helpful in our efforts to grapple with the complex problems that humanity faces regarding these issues.

As the one who initiated and leads the UBtheNEWS project, I have full editorial control over the project’s website—www.ubthenews.com— and am responsible for the contents of this paper, notwithstanding that I received a lot of valuable assistance in its preparation from those listed above and others. Primary publication of this paper is through the UBtheNEWS website and revisions may be made from time to time. Constructive criticism is always welcomed; this paper should be thought of as a “living” and progressive document, not a finished statement.(2) If you quote from it, please include the date of the version you are quoting.

Being someone who does believe that The Urantia Book is what it claims to be, I consider its contents and perspective to come from beings who are far better informed and far wiser than myself. In order to be congruent with this belief, I think the burden is on me to make good sense of what the book has to say. Invariably, the objective text is interpreted by the subjective bias of the reader. This bias, however, does not come at the expense of good values, principles, sound logic or critical reasoning. Quite to the contrary, abandoning such things would be in direct conflict with what the book teaches.

The Urantia Book states that Jesus taught:

My Father does not require of you as the price of entering the kingdom of heaven that you should force yourself to subscribe to a belief in things which are spiritually repugnant, unholy, and untruthful. It is not required of you that your own sense of mercy, justice, and truth should be outraged by submission to an outworn system of religious forms and ceremonies. The religion of the spirit leaves you forever free to follow the truth wherever the leadings of the spirit may take you. And who can judge—perhaps this spirit may have something to impart to this generation which other generations have refused to hear?(3)

True and genuine inward certainty does not in the least fear outward analysis, nor does truth resent honest criticism. You should never forget that intolerance is the mask covering up the entertainment of secret doubts as to the trueness of one's belief. No man is at any time disturbed by his neighbor's attitude when he has perfect confidence in the truth of that which he wholeheartedly believes. Courage is the confidence of thoroughgoing honesty about those things which one professes to believe. Sincere men are unafraid of the critical examination of their true convictions and noble ideals.(4)

The Urantia Book also teaches that:

Science sorts men; religion loves men, even as yourself; wisdom does justice to differing men; but revelation glorifies man and discloses his capacity for partnership with God.(5)

But logic can never succeed in harmonizing the findings of science and the insights of religion unless both the scientific and the religious aspects of a personality are truth dominated, sincerely desirous of following the truth wherever it may lead regardless of the conclusions which it may reach.

. . .

What both developing science and religion need is more searching and fearless self-criticism, a greater awareness of incompleteness in evolutionary status. The teachers of both science and religion are often altogether too self-confident and dogmatic. Science and religion can only be self-critical of their facts. The moment departure is made from the stage of facts, reason abdicates or else rapidly degenerates into a consort of false logic.(6)

1) The word eugenics and its use in The Urantia Book

“The word eugenics derives from the Greek word eu (good or well) and the suffix -gen?s (born), and was coined by Sir Francis Galton in 1883, who defined it as 'the study of all agencies under human control which can improve or impair the racial quality of future generations'.”(7) An example of a contemporary dictionary definition of eugenics is: “noun (used with a singular verb); the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, esp. by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits (negative eugenics) or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits (positive eugenics).”(8)

The etymological meaning of the word good has spiritual connotations, coming from the Old English word g?d, in contrast to well, which is related to health. Eugenics, because it fundamentally concerns our physical health, is appropriately understood within the context of physical health—born healthy. The issue is whether a gene is healthy or ill, not whether a person is good or evil.

Notwithstanding that The Urantia Book has rather extensive commentary on issues related to eugenics, genetics, and race, it uses the word eugenics just once. For a subject as controversial as eugenics, this literary technique of using the word once reflects a noteworthy degree of foresight, creativity, and attention to detail. Drawing all those who would consider The Urantia Book’s position on eugenics into awareness of its overarching perspective on this subject, the authors place the word in a chapter about the nature of the soul, appearing in a subsection called The Inner Life.

It is only the inner life that is truly creative. Civilization can hardly progress when the majority of the youth of any generation devote their interests and energies to the materialistic pursuits of the sensory or outer world.

The inner and the outer worlds have a different set of values. Any civilization is in jeopardy when three quarters of its youth enter materialistic professions and devote themselves to the pursuit of the sensory activities of the outer world. Civilization is in danger when youth neglect to interest themselves in ethics, sociology, eugenics, philosophy, the fine arts, religion, and cosmology.

. . .

Since this inner life of man is truly creative, there rests upon each person the responsibility of choosing as to whether this creativity shall be spontaneous and wholly haphazard or controlled, directed, and constructive. How can a creative imagination produce worthy children when the stage whereon it functions is already preoccupied by prejudice, hate, fears, resentments, revenge, and bigotries?

Ideas may take origin in the stimuli of the outer world, but ideals are born only in the creative realms of the inner world. Today the nations of the world are directed by men who have a superabundance of ideas, but they are poverty-stricken in ideals. That is the explanation of poverty, divorce, war, and racial hatreds.

This is the problem: If freewill man is endowed with the powers of creativity in the inner man, then must we recognize that freewill creativity embraces the potential of freewill destructivity. And when creativity is turned to destructivity, you are face to face with the devastation of evil and sin—oppression, war, and destruction.(9)

The Urantia Book is also explicit on the proper attitude of institutionalized religion regarding social issues.

The institutionalized church may have appeared to serve society in the past by glorifying the established political and economic orders, but it must speedily cease such action if it is to survive. Its only proper attitude consists in the teaching of nonviolence, the doctrine of peaceful evolution in the place of violent revolution—peace on earth and good will among all men.(10)

[R]eligion should not be directly concerned either with the creation of new social orders or with the preservation of old ones. True religion does oppose violence as a technique of social evolution, but it does not oppose the intelligent efforts of society to adapt its usages and adjust its institutions to new economic conditions and cultural requirements.(11)

The authors of The Urantia Book placed their single use of eugenics near the end of five chapters that focus on how our relationship to God impacts the growth of our soul. They contrast the creative and socially serviceable consideration of eugenics with the destructive and socially inappropriate expressions of “prejudice, hate, fears, resentments, revenge, and bigotries.” Its commentary not only affirms the potential for human progress, but also emphasizes the personal responsibility that we each have to wisely participate in the process of making cultural progress. In the same section that encourages applying ourselves to the issue of eugenics, “oppression, war, and destruction” are rejected as mechanisms for social change.

The authors emphasize how eugenics effects our souls, how it interrelates with our willingness to express and work towards our ideals as earthly citizens who have a responsibility to choose well how we apply our principles and values. None of the physical aspects of eugenics are addressed in this section of the book, except to the extent it makes clear that, whatever the physical facts may be regarding this subject, eugenics is not to be turned into an excuse for the mistreatment or hatred of others.

Footnotes:

1) The Urantia Book describes many orders of “angels” that exist “between” mortals and God and asserts that various orders of these celestial beings contributed to the authorship of the book. No human being claims to have written the book. The process of getting the text from them to us apparently involved animating a person while he was asleep. Little information was revealed about this process and the person involved chose to remain anonymous. All persons directly associated with this process are now deceased. The generally accepted wisdom for the secrecy is to allow this revelatory gift to humanity to be as unencumbered as possible by association with any particular individual(s).

2) Some Urantia Book detractors, under the guise of providing “historical context,” have criticized the way The Urantia Book addresses issues related to eugenics and race by attacking the ideas of people who were or are believed to have been associated with its authorship and/or publication. This line of attack is not only speculative to the degree that no human being claims to have authored the book, but also implies criticism of and sometimes explicitly denigrates The Urantia Book based on the writings of these individuals. These “guilt by association” tactics are reprehensible for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the implicit, and sometimes explicit, criticism of The Urantia Book adherents for being supportive of the writings of these other authors, writings that sometimes run parallel with The Urantia Book and sometimes run contrary to it. Though critiques that focus on tangential material are, by nature, an easy knot to untangle, such misdirection will not be given attention beyond this footnote. The issue to be addressed is what The Urantia Book says about eugenics and race, not what others have said on the subject.

3) Urantia Book 155:6.5

4) Urantia Book 146:3.2

5) Urantia Book 102:3.7

6) Urantia Book 103:7.5,7

7) Edwin Black, War Against the Weak, Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race. Page 18.

8) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/eugenics

9) Urantia Book 111:4.3,4,9-11

10) Urantia Book 99:2.5

11) Urantia Book 99:0.2