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31 - Other Corruptions ~453~CHAPTER THIRTY ONE Corruptions: Other Discoveries T his chapter contains discussion of several errors or contradictions not previously known.NUMBER ONE: Contradiction on Dates In my attempt to discern the events which took place with Jesus, his crucifixion, his resurrection, and the forty-day period to his ascension, I came across another contradiction. I tabulated all the dates provided from the crucifixion of Jesus on April 7 until his ascension on May 18, AD 30. I find three contradictions on dates. The essential paragraphs are as follows: P.2053193:1.1p3 About four o’clock on Sabbath afternoon, May 13, the Master appeared to Nalda and about seventy-five Samaritan believers near Jacob’s well, at Sychar. . . . And this was the seventeenth morontia appearance of the Master.P.2054193:2.1p2 The Master’s eighteenth morontia appearance was at Tyre, on Tuesday, May 16, at a little before nine o’clock in the evening. Again he appeared at the close of a meeting of believers, as they were about to disperse, saying: P.2057193:5.1p3 It was almost half past seven o’clock this Thursday morning, May 18, when Jesus arrived on the western slope of Mount Olivet with his eleven silent and somewhat bewildered apostles. P.2057193:5.5p7 It was about seven forty-five this morning when the morontia Jesus disappeared from the observation of his eleven apostles to begin the ascent to the right hand of his Father, there to receive formal confirmation of his completed sovereignty of the universe of Nebadon. P.2041191:3.3p2 Jesus made the transit to the third stage of morontia on Friday, April 14; to the fourth stage on Monday, the 17th; to the fifth stage on Saturday, the 22nd; to the sixth stage on Thursday, the 27th; to the seventh stage on Tuesday, May 2; to Jerusem citizenship on Sunday, the 7th; and he entered the embrace of the Most Highs of Edentia on Sunday, the 14th. P.2057193:5.4p6 The Master went to Edentia by way of Jerusem, where the Most Highs, under the observation of the Paradise Son, released Jesus of Nazareth from the morontia state and, through the spirit channels of ascension, returned him to the status of Paradise sonship and supreme sovereignty on Salvington. I rearranged the order of the paragraphs to put the transit information together in sequence. In summary: You can see that he went to Jerusem citizenship on Sunday, May 7th. He entered the embrace of the Most Highs of Edentia on Sunday, May 14th.
~454~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationThis was his path back to Paradise Sonship. He appeared to Nalda and 75 Samaritan believers at Jacob’s well near Sychar on Saturday, May 13. This appearance came after he went to Jerusem citizenship. He appeared to a meeting of believers at Tyre on Tuesday, May 16. He appeared to the eleven in the upper chamber on Thursday morning, May 18, when whence they proceeded to Mount Olivet for the ascension. These appearances came after he received the embrace of the Most Highs on Sunday, May 14 th.The statement about the embrace by the Most Highs of Edentia, and then return to Paradise Sonship through the spirit channels on page 2057 clearly demonstrates that he could not have been in the morontia state for the later morontia appearances. We might argue that he could appear to Nalda while he was on Jerusem, because he was still in the morontia state, but few of us would be willing to accept that argument. The two paragraphs on pages 2041 and 2057 are in plain contradiction. You might note that the three contradictions are due entirely to the one offending short paragraph on page 2041, describing his transits. The changes made by Sadler between the first and second printings to page 477 on a scientific contradiction show unequivocally that Sadler was willing to make changes to the text on his own authority. The other text changes between those two printings that I listed in preceding chapters confirm this conclusion. The contradiction on page 477 was also centered in a short paragraph. That contradiction was striking because the two contradictory paragraphs were next to one another. The paragraph on page 2041, showing the transits of Jesus, was isolated and remotely removed from the many dates of the morontia appearances. Since no one apparently detected these contradictions before my discovery, we can understand why. Simply, no one noticed. Not until I began to investigate the substantial error on the 40-day problem did this appear to me. Following is a tabulation of the essential information. I show the offending dates with green shading.
~456~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation
31 - Other Corruptions ~457~NUMBER TWO: Contradictions on Government In the following I cite passages to demonstrate my point. In most cases I do not show a complete paragraph, but I give the page reference. You can always check the context to satisfy yourself that I have not taken liberties in my use. Part I: The Rebel Teachings One of my avenues of investigation was the Lucifer methods: P.604 - p4 Self-assertion was the battle cry of the Lucifer rebellion.P.60453:3.6 - p1 He advocated that ascenders should enjoy the liberty of individual self-determination.P.60753:7.2 - p3 Throughout this period Caligastia was advocating the cause of Lucifer on Urantia. The Melchizedeks ably opposed the apostate Planetary Prince, but the sophistries of unbridled liberty and the delusions of self-assertion had every opportunity for deceiving the primitive peoples of a young and undeveloped world.P.75967:5.3 - p1 The Caligastia scheme for the immediate reconstruction of human society (was) in accordance with his ideas of individual freedom and group liberties.We can see that self-assertion, individual freedom, and individual self-determination, was the earmark of the rebel teachings. I emphasize these remarks because they appear in the Revelation where Caligastia perverted the teachings. I shall further elaborate below. But first I must introduce teachings on government. Part II: Ideal Form of Government Consider the ideal form of government used throughout the universe: P.79970:12.8 - p1 Mankind’s struggle to perfect government on Urantia has to do with perfecting channels of administration, with adapting them to ever-changing current needs, with improving power distribution within government, and then with selecting such administrative leaders as are truly wise. While there is a divine and ideal form of government, such cannot be revealed but must be slowly and laboriously discovered by the men and women of each planet throughout the universes of time and space.Many remarks in the Papers show that this statement is not correct . The ideal form of government has been revealed. Consider the following:P.51745:7.3 - p5 The entire universe is organized and administered on the representative plan. Representative government is the divine ideal of self-government among nonperfect beings.
~458~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationP.79870:12.2 - p1 While primitive authority was based on strength, physical power, the ideal government is the representative system wherein leadership is based on ability . . .Here we encounter two explicit contradictions with the first remark above. Compare the “ideal form of government . . . cannot be revealed” with “representative government is the divine ideal of self-government” and “the ideal government is the representative system.”These contradictions appear in the paragraph on page 799. That one statement is contradicted by many other statements. If you consider the history of our planet you will recognize that representative government was being gradually introduced to the human races by the Caligastia Staff after the arrival of the Prince. This means that the remark “ such cannot be revealed but must be slowly and laboriously discovered by the men and women of each planet” is false. It was being revealed by the Caligastia Staff.The immature peoples of those days were under the general supervision of the Staff, as a wise and beneficent dictatorial over-rule. The natives were strongly inclined to regard the Staff as gods. Record of this attitude came down into historic times through the witness of world-wide myths. Plato, for example, described this attitude. Linguistic studies confirm this assessment. The havoc which was later wrought came about because of the “ sophistries of unbridled liberty and the delusions of self-assertion,” and “the Caligastia scheme for the immediate reconstruction of human society (was) in accordance with his ideas of individual freedom and group liberties.”You should note also that when Adam and Eve arrive on a planet, although the framework of representative government has had a lengthy time to develop, it is still under the general supervision of the Staff. The majestic appearance of Adam and Eve, with their great physical height and commanding appearance, surrounded by a halo of light, could not but impress the native people with the magnificence of these representatives of the universe government. Hence it would be the desire of the peoples of a world not torn by rebellion to be subject to this further beneficent over-rule, all the while being nurtured to social self-rule under representative government. Hence, the paragraph from page 799 does not create the correct impression upon us. The remark that “mankind’s struggle to perfect government on Urantia has to do with perfecting channels of administration, with adapting them to ever-changing current needs, with improving power distribution within government, and then with selecting such administrative leaders as are truly wise” ignores the hundreds of thousands of years of prior administrative history through celestial representatives. The impression is one of no such prior history, and of a world devoid of that beneficial influence in its social evolution. The further remark that
31 - Other Corruptions ~459~“While there is a divine and ideal form of government, such cannot be revealed but must be slowly and laboriously discovered by the men and women of each planet throughout the universes of time and space,” adds to this impression of lack of celestial supervision.The same objection applies to our planetary future. We know that Melchizedek will someday assume the role of Planetary Prince. He will be here for a long, long time. (Ps 72:5 - “May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!”)We also have good reason to speculate that another Adam and Eve will arrive to assume the duties lost 35,000 years ago. Hence, any future planetary government will be nurtured under the auspices of a universe administration, and will not evolve devoid of that over-rule. Yet the impression of the 799 paragraph is a teaching devoid of those planetary destiny elements. This Section of the Papers is called “The Allocation of Civil Authority.” The entire discussion is centered around the concept of a planet devoid of celestial representatives.I personally feel this Section was designed for the immediate future of our planet, before the return of celestial representatives. We will go through an interregnum period where we will still be left on our own. The address of this Section is then devoted to that prospect. But that prospect does not relieve us of the difficulty raised by the assertion on page 799. Consider further remarks: P.59452:3.10 - p1 The post-Adamic epoch is the dispensation of internationalism. With the near completion of the task of race blending, nationalism wanes, and the brotherhood of man really begins to materialize. Representative government begins to take the place of the monarchial or paternal form of rulership.You can see from this remark how representative government is developing under the auspices of a celestial, (Prince and Adamic), over-rule. This same general view is expressed in other remarks. P.59552:4.6 - p1 The political government and social administration of the races continue to improve, self-government being fairly well established by the end of this age. By self-government we refer to the highest type of representative government. Such worlds advance and honor only those leaders and rulers who are most fit to bear social and political responsibilities.P.79770:12.1 - p13 The universe administrators have learned from experience that the evolutionary peoples on the inhabited worlds are best regulated by the representative type of civil government when there is maintained proper balance of power between the well-co-ordinated executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
~460~ The Birth of a Divine RevelationP.80271:2.4 - p3 There are ten steps, or stages, to the evolution of a practical and efficient form of representative government.P.83474:5.7 - p1 Adam and Eve had come to institute representative government in the place of monarchial, but they found no government worthy of the name on the face of the whole earth.P.1489134:5.12 - p3 Peace will not come to Urantia until every so-called sovereign nation surrenders its power to make war into the hands of a representative government of all mankind. Political sovereignty is innate with the peoples of the world. When all the peoples of Urantia create a world government, they have the right and the power to make such a government SOVEREIGN; and when such a representative or democratic world power controls the world’s land, air, and naval forces, peace on earth and good will among men can prevail--but not until then.I think it important, as a passing note, to realize that peace on our world will not come until there is a world-wide representative government. This fact is emphasized: P.1491134:6.13 - p7 The political sovereignty of representative mankind government will bring lasting peace on earth, and the spiritual brotherhood of man will forever insure good will among all men. And there is no other way whereby peace on earth and good will among men can be realized.In summary, we can say that representative government is used throughout the universe, and it is the ideal to someday be realized on our world. The remark on page 799 is false! Part III: Self-Control I now consider other remarks which I feel contradict the planetary scenario described above. P.80371:3.4 - p7 The laws of the ideal state are few in number, and they have passed out of the negativistic taboo age into the era of the positive progress of individual liberty consequent upon enhanced self-control. The exalted state not only compels its citizens to work but also entices them into profitable and uplifting utilization of the increasing leisure which results from toil liberation by the advancing machine age. Leisure must produce as well as consume.This is the theme of the Caligastia betrayal: “individual liberty consequent upon enhanced self-control.” Refer to Caligastia teachings quoted above: “individual freedom” and “self-assertion,” where the words “liberty” now replaces “freedom,” and “self-control” replaces “self-assertion.”
31 - Other Corruptions ~461~P.63055:5.4 - p1 War has become a matter of history, and there are no more armies or police forces. Government is gradually disappearing. Self-control is slowly rendering laws of human enactment obsolete. The extent of civil government and statutory regulation, in an intermediate state of advancing civilization, is in inverse proportion to the morality and spirituality of the citizenship.If the universe, with manifold immortal beings, has an administration of representative government, including the Melchizedek and Adamic regimes, why would it disappear on our world? Refer to pages 385 - 385, and page 515. P.59952:7.5 - p1 Life during this era is pleasant and profitable. Degeneracy and the antisocial end products of the long evolutionary struggle have been virtually obliterated. The length of life approaches five hundred Urantia years, and the reproductive rate of racial increase is intelligently controlled. An entirely new order of society has arrived. There are still great differences among mortals, but the state of society more nearly approaches the ideals of social brotherhood and spiritual equality. Representative government is vanishing, and the world is passing under the rule of individual self-control. The function of government is chiefly directed to collective tasks of social administration and economic co-ordination. The golden age is coming on apace; the temporal goal of the long and intense planetary evolutionary struggle is in sight. The reward of the ages is soon to be realized; the wisdom of the Gods is about to be manifested.Again, we see the contradiction. The only condition under which representative government would vanish is that of the existence of perfect beings. Will our world eventually achieve perfect mortals? I cannot believe so. Physical bodies of flesh and blood cannot achieve perfection. Hence representative government will always exist, although with greatly reduced need on a world of highly developed human mortals. A dozen references to perfected mortals exist in the Papers, but always in the context of celestial levels of universe perfection, after we become spirit beings, and not while we remain as members of the evolutionary races.Hence, I conclude that statements about representative government vanishing on the evolutionary worlds is false teaching, and did not come from beings loyal to Michael. The key is that “individual liberty” and “individual self-control” is emphasized in these statements. This is the earmark of Caligastia. NUMBER THREE: Midwayer Contacts P.86577:8.8 - p1 3. Contact personalities. In the contacts made with the mortal beings of the material worlds, such as with the subject through whom these communications were transmitted, the midway creatures are always employed. They are an essential factor in such liaisons of the spiritual and the material levels. This statement is patently false.
He is God. He can do anything he wants.
~462~ The Birth of a Divine Revelation
At the most the planetary controllers and transformers are used in such transactions. Midwayers are not employed. Caligastia’s method in perverting the Revelation was to alter words, phrases, or sentences and insert them into paragraphs where they could easily slip by without notice. I illustrated this technique with the Moab problem. Lacking in rigorous analytical evaluation, Sadler and the Forum members would not be alarmed by such alterations to the text. After all, they thought the material was coming from celestial sources. And it was. Only from the wrong side. NUMBER FOUR: Location of Celestial Beings This contradiction was brought to my attention by Robert Hurt. I appreciate his contribution. According to several passages Gabriel, the Chief Executive of our Universe, and the Father Melchizedek cannot both be away from Salvington when our Creator is not there present. But they both visited here during the transfiguration of Jesus. The pertinent passages are: P.38535:1.2 - §1 In the universe of Nebadon the Father Melchizedek acts as the first executive associate of the Bright and Morning Star. Gabriel is occupied more with universe policies, Melchizedek with practical procedures. Gabriel presides over the regularly constituted tribunals and councils of Nebadon, Melchizedek over the special, extraordinary, and emergency commissions and advisory bodies. Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek are never away from Salvington at the same time, for in Gabriel’s absence the Father Melchizedek functions as the chief executive of Nebadon.P.1753158:1.8 - §4 When the three had been fast asleep for about half an hour, they were suddenly awakened by a near-by crackling sound, and much to their amazement and consternation, on looking about them, they beheld Jesus in intimate converse with two brilliant beings clothed in the habiliments of the light of the celestial world. And Jesus’ face and form shone with the luminosity of a heavenly light. These three conversed in a strange language, but from certain things said, Peter erroneously conjectured that the beings with Jesus were Moses and Elijah; in reality, they were Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek. The physical controllers had arranged for the apostles to witness this scene because of Jesus’ request.
31 - Other Corruptions ~463~P.1755158:3.6 - §6 After the formal visitation of Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek, Jesus held informal converse with these, his Sons of ministry, and communed with them concerning the affairs of the universe.We could argue that the “visitation” was spiritual, and that Gabriel and the Father Melchizedek were not actually present while Jesus conversed with them through “spirit” channels, but such proposal seems to violate the sense of the statements.
(I am aware of other corruptions. But they involve lengthy discussion, not appropriate for this format. As an example, I suggest that the reader examine page 1913, second paragraph, with the surrounding context, and compare to the historical record of the apostles continuing to live in Jerusalem undisturbed for thirty years.) (I also do not enter into the scientific errors. These have been thoroughly discussed by many other people, including Ken Glasziou and Martin Gardner.)
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