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Urantia Book Paper 74 Adam And Eve
SPIRITWEB ORG, PROMOTING SPIRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS ON THE INTERNET.
Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART III: The History of Urantia
: The Origin Of Urantia Life Establishment On Urantia The Marine-life Era On
Urantia Urantia During The Early Land-life Era The Mammalian Era On Urantia The
Dawn Races Of Early Man The First Human Family The Evolutionary Races Of Color
The Overcontrol Of Evolution The Planetary Prince Of Urantia The Planetary
Rebellion The Dawn Of Civilization Primitive Human Institutions The Evolution
Of Human Government Development Of The State Government On A Neighboring Planet
The Garden Of Eden Adam And Eve The Default Of Adam And Eve The Second Garden
The Midway Creatures The Violet Race After The Days Of Adam Andite Expansion In
The Orient Andite Expansion In The Occident Development Of Modern Civilization
The Evolution Of Marriage The Marriage Institution Marriage And Family Life The
Origins Of Worship Early Evolution Of Religion The Ghost Cults Fetishes,
Charms, And Magic Sin, Sacrifice, And Atonement Shamanism--medicine Men And
Priests The Evolution Of Prayer The Later Evolution Of Religion Machiventa
Melchizedek The Melchizedek Teachings In The Orient The Melchizedek Teachings
In The Levant Yahweh--god Of The Hebrews Evolution Of The God Concept Among The
Hebrews The Melchizedek Teachings In The Occident The Social Problems Of
Religion Religion In Human Experience The Real Nature Of Religion The
Foundations Of Religious Faith The Reality Of Religious Experience Growth Of
The Trinity Concept Deity And Reality Universe Levels Of Reality Origin And
Nature Of Thought Adjusters Mission And Ministry Of Thought Adjusters Relation
Of Adjusters To Universe Creatures Relation Of Adjusters To Individual Mortals
...
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Paper 74 Adam And Eve
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Introduction
ADAM AND EVE arrived on Urantia, from the year A.D. 1934, 37,848 years ago. It
was in midseason when the Garden was in the height of bloom that they arrived.
At high noon and unannounced, the two seraphic transports, accompanied by the
Jerusem personnel intrusted with the transportation of the biologic uplifters
to Urantia, settled slowly to the surface of the revolving planet in the
vicinity of the temple of the Universal Father. All the work of rematerializing
the bodies of Adam and Eve was carried on within the precincts of this newly
created shrine. And from the time of their arrival ten days passed before they
were re-created in dual human form for presentation as the world's new rulers.
They regained consciousness simultaneously. The Material Sons and Daughters
always serve together. It is the essence of their service at all times and in
all places never to be separated. They are designed to work in pairs; seldom do
they function alone.
1. ADAM AND EVE ON JERUSEM
The Planetary Adam and Eve of Urantia were members of the senior corps of
Material Sons on Jerusem, being jointly number 14,311. They belonged to the
third physical series and were a little more than eight feet in height.
At the time Adam was chosen to come to Urantia, he was employed, with his mate,
in the trial-and-testing physical laboratories of Jerusem. For more than
fifteen thousand years they had been directors of the division of experimental
energy as applied to the modification of living forms. Long before this they
had been teachers in the citizenship schools for new arrivals on Jerusem. And
all this should be borne in mind in connection with the narration of their
subsequent conduct on Urantia.
When the proclamation was issued calling for volunteers for the mission of
Adamic adventure on Urantia, the entire senior corps of Material Sons and
Daughters volunteered. The Melchizedek examiners, with the approval of
Lanaforge and the Most Highs of Edentia, finally selected the Adam and Eve who
subsequently came to function as the biologic uplifters of Urantia.
Adam and Eve had remained loyal to Michael during the Lucifer rebellion;
nevertheless, the pair were called before the System Sovereign and his entire
cabinet for examination and instruction. The details of Urantia affairs were
fully presented; they were exhaustively instructed as to the plans to be
pursued in accepting the responsibilities of rulership on such a strife-torn
world. They were put under joint oaths of allegiance to the Most Highs of
Edentia and to Michael of Salvington. And they were duly advised to regard
themselves as sub-
top of page - 829
ject to the Urantia corps of Melchizedek receivers until that governing body
should see fit to relinquish rule on the world of their assignment.
This Jerusem pair left behind them on the capital of Satania and elsewhere, one
hundred offspring--fifty sons and fifty daughters--magnificent creatures who
had escaped the pitfalls of progression, and who were all in commission as
faithful stewards of universe trust at the time of their parents' departure for
Urantia. And they were all present in the beautiful temple of the Material Sons
attendant upon the farewell exercises associated with the last ceremonies of
the bestowal acceptance. These children accompanied their parents to the
dematerialization headquarters of their order and were the last to bid them
farewell and divine speed as they fell asleep in the personality lapse of
consciousness which precedes the preparation for seraphic transport. The
children spent some time together at the family rendezvous rejoicing that their
parents were soon to become the visible heads, in reality the sole rulers, of
planet 606 in the system of Satania.
And thus did Adam and Eve leave Jerusem amidst the acclaim and well-wishing of
its citizens. They went forth to their new responsibilities adequately equipped
and fully instructed concerning every duty and danger to be encountered on
Urantia.
2. ARRIVAL OF ADAM AND EVE
Adam and Eve fell asleep on Jerusem, and when they awakened in the Father's
temple on Urantia in the presence of the mighty throng assembled to welcome
them, they were face to face with two beings of whom they had heard much, Van
and his faithful associate Amadon. These two heroes of the Caligastia secession
were the first to welcome them in their new garden home.
The tongue of Eden was an Andonic dialect as spoken by Amadon. Van and Amadon
had markedly improved this language by creating a new alphabet of twenty-four
letters, and they had hoped to see it become the tongue of Urantia as the
Edenic culture would spread throughout the world. Adam and Eve had fully
mastered this human dialect before they departed from Jerusem so that this son
of Andon heard the exalted ruler of his world address him in his own tongue.
And on that day there was great excitement and joy throughout Eden as the
runners went in great haste to the rendezvous of the carrier pigeons assembled
from near and far, shouting: "Let loose the birds; let them carry the word that
the promised Son has come." Hundreds of believer settlements had faithfully,
year after year, kept up the supply of these home-reared pigeons for just such
an occasion.
As the news of Adam's arrival spread abroad, thousands of the near-by tribesmen
accepted the teachings of Van and Amadon, while for months and months pilgrims
continued to pour into Eden to welcome Adam and Eve and to do homage to their
unseen Father.
Soon after their awakening, Adam and Eve were escorted to the formal reception
on the great mound to the north of the temple. This natural hill had been
enlarged and made ready for the installation of the world's new rulers. Here,
at noon, the Urantia reception committee welcomed this Son and Daughter of the
system of Satania. Amadon was chairman of this committee, which con-
top of page - 830
sisted of twelve members embracing a representative of each of the six Sangik
races; the acting chief of the midwayers; Annan, a loyal daughter and spokesman
for the Nodites; Noah, the son of the architect and builder of the Garden and
executive of his deceased father's plans; and the two resident Life Carriers.
The next act was the delivery of the charge of planetary custody to Adam and
Eve by the senior Melchizedek, chief of the council of receivership on Urantia.
The Material Son and Daughter took the oath of allegiance to the Most Highs of
Norlatiadek and to Michael of Nebadon and were proclaimed rulers of Urantia by
Van, who thereby relinquished the titular authority which for over one hundred
and fifty thousand years he had held by virtue of the action of the Melchizedek
receivers.
And Adam and Eve were invested with kingly robes on this occasion, the time of
their formal induction into world rulership. Not all of the arts of Dalamatia
had been lost to the world; weaving was still practiced in the days of Eden.
Then was heard the archangels' proclamation, and the broadcast voice of Gabriel
decreed the second judgment roll call of Urantia and the resurrection of the
sleeping survivors of the second dispensation of grace and mercy on 606 of
Satania. The dispensation of the Prince has passed, the age of Adam, the third
planetary epoch, opens amidst scenes of simple grandeur; and the new rulers of
Urantia start their reign under seemingly favorable conditions, notwithstanding
the world-wide confusion occasioned by lack of the co-operation of their
predecessor in authority on the planet.
3. ADAM AND EVE LEARN ABOUT THE PLANET
And now, after their formal installation, Adam and Eve became painfully aware
of their planetary isolation. Silent were the familiar broadcasts, and absent
were all the circuits of extraplanetary communication. Their Jerusem fellows
had gone to worlds running along smoothly with a well-established Planetary
Prince and an experienced staff ready to receive them and competent to
co-operate with them during their early experience on such worlds. But on
Urantia rebellion had changed everything. Here the Planetary Prince was very
much present, and though shorn of most of his power to work evil, he was still
able to make the task of Adam and Eve difficult and to some extent hazardous.
It was a serious and disillusioned Son and Daughter of Jerusem who walked that
night through the Garden under the shining of the full moon, discussing plans
for the next day.
Thus ended the first day of Adam and Eve on isolated Urantia, the confused
planet of the Caligastia betrayal; and they walked and talked far into the
night, their first night on earth--and it was so lonely.
Adam's second day on earth was spent in session with the planetary receivers
and the advisory council. From the Melchizedeks, and their associates, Adam and
Eve learned more about the details of the Caligastia rebellion and the result
of that upheaval upon the world's progress. And it was, on the whole, a
disheartening story, this long recital of the mismanagement of world affairs.
They learned all the facts regarding the utter collapse of the Caligastia
scheme for accelerating the process of social evolution. They also arrived at a
full realization of the folly of attempting to achieve planetary advancement
independently
top of page - 831
of the divine plan of progression. And thus ended a sad but enlightening
day--their second on Urantia.
The third day was devoted to an inspection of the Garden. From the large
passenger birds--the fandors--Adam and Eve looked down upon the vast stretches
of the Garden while being carried through the air over this, the most beautiful
spot on earth. This day of inspection ended with an enormous banquet in honor
of all who had labored to create this garden of Edenic beauty and grandeur. And
again, late into the night of their third day, the Son and his mate walked in
the Garden and talked about the immensity of their problems.
On the fourth day Adam and Eve addressed the Garden assembly. From the
inaugural mount they spoke to the people concerning their plans for the
rehabilitation of the world and outlined the methods whereby they would seek to
redeem the social culture of Urantia from the low levels to which it had fallen
as a result of sin and rebellion. This was a great day, and it closed with a
feast for the council of men and women who had been selected to assume
responsibilities in the new administration of world affairs. Take note! women
as well as men were in this group, and that was the first time such a thing had
occurred on earth since the days of Dalamatia. It was an astounding innovation
to behold Eve, a woman, sharing the honors and responsibilities of world
affairs with a man. And thus ended the fourth day on earth.
The fifth day was occupied with the organization of the temporary government,
the administration which was to function until the Melchizedek receivers should
leave Urantia.
The sixth day was devoted to an inspection of the numerous types of men and
animals. Along the walls eastward in Eden, Adam and Eve were escorted all day,
viewing the animal life of the planet and arriving at a better understanding as
to what must be done to bring order out of the confusion of a world inhabited
by such a variety of living creatures.
It greatly surprised those who accompanied Adam on this trip to observe how
fully he understood the nature and function of the thousands upon thousands of
animals shown him. The instant he glanced at an animal, he would indicate its
nature and behavior. Adam could give names descriptive of the origin, nature,
and function of all material creatures on sight. Those who conducted him on
this tour of inspection did not know that the world's new ruler was one of the
most expert anatomists of all Satania; and Eve was equally proficient. Adam
amazed his associates by describing hosts of living things too small to be seen
by human eyes.
When the sixth day of their sojourn on earth was over, Adam and Eve rested for
the first time in their new home in "the east of Eden." The first six days of
the Urantia adventure had been very busy, and they looked forward with great
pleasure to an entire day of freedom from all activities.
But circumstances dictated otherwise. The experience of the day just past in
which Adam had so intelligently and so exhaustively discussed the animal life
of Urantia, together with his masterly inaugural address and his charming
manner, had so won the hearts and overcome the intellects of the Garden
dwellers that they were not only wholeheartedly disposed to accept the newly
arrived Son and Daughter of Jerusem as rulers, but the majority were about
ready to fall down and worship them as gods.
top of page - 832
4. THE FIRST UPHEAVAL
That night, the night following the sixth day, while Adam and Eve slumbered,
strange things were transpiring in the vicinity of the Father's temple in the
central sector of Eden. There, under the rays of the mellow moon, hundreds of
enthusiastic and excited men and women listened for hours to the impassioned
pleas of their leaders. They meant well, but they simply could not understand
the simplicity of the fraternal and democratic manner of their new rulers. And
long before daybreak the new and temporary administrators of world affairs
reached a virtually unanimous conclusion that Adam and his mate were altogether
too modest and unassuming. They decided that Divinity had descended to earth in
bodily form, that Adam and Eve were in reality gods or else so near such an
estate as to be worthy of reverent worship.
The amazing events of the first six days of Adam and Eve on earth were entirely
too much for the unprepared minds of even the world's best men; their heads
were in a whirl; they were swept along with the proposal to bring the noble
pair up to the Father's temple at high noon in order that everyone might bow
down in respectful worship and prostrate themselves in humble submission. And
the Garden dwellers were really sincere in all of this.
Van protested. Amadon was absent, being in charge of the guard of honor which
had remained behind with Adam and Eve overnight. But Van's protest was swept
aside. He was told that he was likewise too modest, too unassuming; that he was
not far from a god himself, else how had he lived so long on earth, and how had
he brought about such a great event as the advent of Adam? And as the excited
Edenites were about to seize him and carry him up to the mount for adoration,
Van made his way out through the throng and, being able to communicate with the
midwayers, sent their leader in great haste to Adam.
It was near the dawn of their seventh day on earth that Adam and Eve heard the
startling news of the proposal of these well-meaning but misguided mortals; and
then, even while the passenger birds were swiftly winging to bring them to the
temple, the midwayers, being able to do such things, transported Adam and Eve
to the Father's temple. It was early on the morning of this seventh day and
from the mount of their so recent reception that Adam held forth in explanation
of the orders of divine sonship and made clear to these earth minds that only
the Father and those whom he designates may be worshiped. Adam made it plain
that he would accept any honor and receive all respect, but worship never!
It was a momentous day, and just before noon, about the time of the arrival of
the seraphic messenger bearing the Jerusem acknowledgment of the installation
of the world's rulers, Adam and Eve, moving apart from the throng, pointed to
the Father's temple and said: "Go you now to the material emblem of the
Father's invisible presence and bow down in worship of him who made us all and
who keeps us living. And let this act be the sincere pledge that you never will
again be tempted to worship anyone but God." They all did as Adam directed. The
Material Son and Daughter stood alone on the mount with bowed heads while the
people prostrated themselves about the temple.
And this was the origin of the Sabbath-day tradition. Always in Eden the
seventh day was devoted to the noontide assembly at the temple; long it was the
custom to devote this day to self-culture. The forenoon was devoted to physical
improvement, the noontime to spiritual worship, the afternoon to mind culture,
top of page - 833
while the evening was spent in social rejoicing. This was never the law in
Eden, but it was the custom as long as the Adamic administration held sway on
earth.
5. ADAM'S ADMINISTRATION
For almost seven years after Adam's arrival the Melchizedek receivers remained
on duty, but the time finally came when they turned the administration of world
affairs over to Adam and returned to Jerusem.
The farewell of the receivers occupied the whole of a day, and during the
evening the individual Melchizedeks gave Adam and Eve their parting advice and
best wishes. Adam had several times requested his advisers to remain on earth
with him, but always were these petitions denied. The time had come when the
Material Sons must assume full responsibility for the conduct of world affairs.
And so, at midnight, the seraphic transports of Satania left the planet with
fourteen beings for Jerusem, the translation of Van and Amadon occurring
simultaneously with the departure of the twelve Melchizedeks.
All went fairly well for a time on Urantia, and it appeared that Adam would,
eventually, be able to develop some plan for promoting the gradual extension of
the Edenic civilization. Pursuant to the advice of the Melchizedeks, he began
to foster the arts of manufacture with the idea of developing trade relations
with the outside world. When Eden was disrupted, there were over one hundred
primitive manufacturing plants in operation, and extensive trade relations with
the near-by tribes had been established.
For ages Adam and Eve had been instructed in the technique of improving a world
in readiness for their specialized contributions to the advancement of
evolutionary civilization; but now they were face to face with pressing
problems, such as the establishment of law and order in a world of savages,
barbarians, and semicivilized human beings. Aside from the cream of the earth's
population, assembled in the Garden, only a few groups, here and there, were at
all ready for the reception of the Adamic culture.
Adam made a heroic and determined effort to establish a world government, but
he met with stubborn resistance at every turn. Adam had already put in
operation a system of group control throughout Eden and had federated all of
these companies into the Edenic league. But trouble, serious trouble, ensued
when he went outside the Garden and sought to apply these ideas to the outlying
tribes. The moment Adam's associates began to work outside the Garden, they met
the direct and well-planned resistance of Caligastia and Daligastia. The fallen
Prince had been deposed as world ruler, but he had not been removed from the
planet. He was still present on earth and able, at least to some extent, to
resist all of Adam's plans for the rehabilitation of human society. Adam tried
to warn the races against Caligastia, but the task was made very difficult
because his archenemy was invisible to the eyes of mortals.
Even among the Edenites there were those confused minds that leaned toward the
Caligastia teaching of unbridled personal liberty; and they caused Adam no end
of trouble; always were they upsetting the best-laid plans for orderly
progression and substantial development. He was finally compelled to withdraw
his program for immediate socialization; he fell back on Van's method of
organization, dividing the Edenites into companies of one hundred with captains
over each and with lieutenants in charge of groups of ten.
top of page - 834
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. For the time being Adam abandoned all effort to establish
representative government, and before the collapse of the Edenic regime he
succeeded in establishing almost one hundred outlying trade and social centers
where strong individuals ruled in his name. Most of these centers had been
organized aforetime by Van and Amadon.
The sending of ambassadors from one tribe to another dates from the times of
Adam. This was a great forward step in the evolution of government.
6. HOME LIFE OF ADAM AND EVE
The Adamic family grounds embraced a little over five square miles. Immediately
surrounding this homesite, provision had been made for the care of more than
three hundred thousand of the pure-line offspring. But only the first unit of
the projected buildings was ever constructed. Before the size of the Adamic
family outgrew these early provisions, the whole Edenic plan had been disrupted
and the Garden vacated.
Adamson was the first-born of the violet race of Urantia, being followed by his
sister and Eveson, the second son of Adam and Eve. Eve was the mother of five
children before the Melchizedeks left--three sons and two daughters. The next
two were twins. She bore sixty-three children, thirty-two daughters and
thirty-one sons, before the default. When Adam and Eve left the Garden, their
family consisted of four generations numbering 1,647 pure-line descendants.
They had forty-two children after leaving the Garden besides the two offspring
of joint parentage with the mortal stock of earth. And this does not include
the Adamic parentage to the Nodite and evolutionary races.
The Adamic children did not take milk from animals when they ceased to nurse
the mother's breast at one year of age. Eve had access to the milk of a great
variety of nuts and to the juices of many fruits, and knowing full well the
chemistry and energy of these foods, she suitably combined them for the
nourishment of her children until the appearance of teeth.
While cooking was universally employed outside of the immediate Adamic sector
of Eden, there was no cooking in Adam's household. They found their
foods--fruits, nuts, and cereals--ready prepared as they ripened. They ate once
a day, shortly after noontime. Adam and Eve also imbibed "light and energy"
direct from certain space emanations in conjunction with the ministry of the
tree of life.
The bodies of Adam and Eve gave forth a shimmer of light, but they always wore
clothing in conformity with the custom of their associates. Though wearing very
little during the day, at eventide they donned night wraps. The origin of the
traditional halo encircling the heads of supposed pious and holy men dates back
to the days of Adam and Eve. Since the light emanations of their bodies were so
largely obscured by clothing, only the radiating glow from their heads was
discernible. The descendants of Adamson always thus portrayed their concept of
individuals believed to be extraordinary in spiritual development.
Adam and Eve could communicate with each other and with their immediate
children over a distance of about fifty miles. This thought exchange was
effected by means of the delicate gas chambers located in close proximity to
their brain
top of page - 835
structures. By this mechanism they could send and receive thought oscillations.
But this power was instantly suspended upon the mind's surrender to the discord
and disruption of evil.
The Adamic children attended their own schools until they were sixteen, the
younger being taught by the elder. The little folks changed activities every
thirty minutes, the older every hour. And it was certainly a new sight on
Urantia to observe these children of Adam and Eve at play, joyous and
exhilarating activity just for the sheer fun of it. The play and humor of the
present-day races are largely derived from the Adamic stock. The Adamites all
had a great appreciation of music as well as a keen sense of humor.
The average age of betrothal was eighteen, and these youths then entered upon a
two years' course of instruction in preparation for the assumption of marital
responsibilities. At twenty they were eligible for marriage; and after marriage
they began their lifework or entered upon special preparation therefor.
The practice of some subsequent nations of permitting the royal families,
supposedly descended from the gods, to marry brother to sister, dates from the
traditions of the Adamic offspring--mating, as they must needs, with one
another. The marriage ceremonies of the first and second generations of the
Garden were always performed by Adam and Eve.
7. LIFE IN THE GARDEN
The children of Adam, except for four years' attendance at the western schools,
lived and worked in the "east of Eden." They were trained intellectually until
they were sixteen in accordance with the methods of the Jerusem schools. From
sixteen to twenty they were taught in the Urantia schools at the other end of
the Garden, serving there also as teachers in the lower grades.
The entire purpose of the western school system of the Garden was
socialization. The forenoon periods of recess were devoted to practical
horticulture and agriculture, the afternoon periods to competitive play. The
evenings were employed in social intercourse and the cultivation of personal
friendships. Religious and sexual training were regarded as the province of the
home, the duty of parents.
The teaching in these schools included instruction regarding:
1. Health and the care of the body.
2. The golden rule, the standard of social intercourse.
3. The relation of individual rights to group rights and community obligations.
4. History and culture of the various earth races.
5. Methods of advancing and improving world trade.
6. Co-ordination of conflicting duties and emotions.
7. The cultivation of play, humor, and competitive substitutes for physical
fighting.
The schools, in fact every activity of the Garden, were always open to
visitors. Unarmed observers were freely admitted to Eden for short visits. To
sojourn in the Garden a Urantian had to be "adopted." He received instructions
in the plan and purpose of the Adamic bestowal, signified his intention to
adhere
top of page - 836
to this mission, and then made declaration of loyalty to the social rule of
Adam and the spiritual sovereignty of the Universal Father.
The laws of the Garden were based on the older codes of Dalamatia and were
promulgated under seven heads:
1. The laws of health and sanitation.
2. The social regulations of the Garden.
3. The code of trade and commerce.
4. The laws of fair play and competition.
5. The laws of home life.
6. The civil codes of the golden rule.
7. The seven commands of supreme moral rule.
The moral law of Eden was little different from the seven commandments of
Dalamatia. But the Adamites taught many additional reasons for these commands;
for instance, regarding the injunction against murder, the indwelling of the
Thought Adjuster was presented as an additional reason for not destroying human
life. They taught that "whoso sheds man's blood by man shall his blood be shed,
for in the image of God made he man."
The public worship hour of Eden was noon; sunset was the hour of family
worship. Adam did his best to discourage the use of set prayers, teaching that
effective prayer must be wholly individual, that it must be the "desire of the
soul"; but the Edenites continued to use the prayers and forms handed down from
the times of Dalamatia. Adam also endeavored to substitute the offerings of the
fruit of the land for the blood sacrifices in the religious ceremonies but had
made little progress before the disruption of the Garden.
Adam endeavored to teach the races sex equality. The way Eve worked by the side
of her husband made a profound impression upon all dwellers in the Garden. Adam
definitely taught them that the woman, equally with the man, contributes those
life factors which unite to form a new being. Theretofore, mankind had presumed
that all procreation resided in the "loins of the father." They had looked upon
the mother as being merely a provision for nurturing the unborn and nursing the
newborn.
Adam taught his contemporaries all they could comprehend, but that was not very
much, comparatively speaking. Nevertheless, the more intelligent of the races
of earth looked forward eagerly to the time when they would be permitted to
intermarry with the superior children of the violet race. And what a different
world Urantia would have become if this great plan of uplifting the races had
been carried out! Even as it was, tremendous gains resulted from the small
amount of the blood of this imported race which the evolutionary peoples
incidentally secured.
And thus did Adam work for the welfare and uplift of the world of his sojourn.
But it was a difficult task to lead these mixed and mongrel peoples in the
better way.
8. THE LEGEND OF CREATION
The story of the creation of Urantia in six days was based on the tradition
that Adam and Eve had spent just six days in their initial survey of the
Garden. This circumstance lent almost sacred sanction to the time period of the
week,
top of page - 837
which had been originally introduced by the Dalamatians. Adam's spending six
days inspecting the Garden and formulating preliminary plans for organization
was not prearranged; it was worked out from day to day. The choosing of the
seventh day for worship was wholly incidental to the facts herewith narrated.
The legend of the making of the world in six days was an afterthought, in fact,
more than thirty thousand years afterwards. One feature of the narrative, the
sudden appearance of the sun and moon, may have taken origin in the traditions
of the onetime sudden emergence of the world from a dense space cloud of minute
matter which had long obscured both sun and moon.
The story of creating Eve out of Adam's rib is a confused condensation of the
Adamic arrival and the celestial surgery connected with the interchange of
living substances associated with the coming of the corporeal staff of the
Planetary Prince more than four hundred and fifty thousand years previously.
The majority of the world's peoples have been influenced by the tradition that
Adam and Eve had physical forms created for them upon their arrival on Urantia.
The belief in man's having been created from clay was well-nigh universal in
the Eastern Hemisphere; this tradition can be traced from the Philippine
Islands around the world to Africa. And many groups accepted this story of
man's clay origin by some form of special creation in the place of the earlier
beliefs in progressive creation--evolution.
Away from the influences of Dalamatia and Eden, mankind tended toward the
belief in the gradual ascent of the human race. The fact of evolution is not a
modern discovery; the ancients understood the slow and evolutionary character
of human progress. The early Greeks had clear ideas of this despite their
proximity to Mesopotamia. Although the various races of earth became sadly
mixed up in their notions of evolution, nevertheless, many of the primitive
tribes believed and taught that they were the descendants of various animals.
Primitive peoples made a practice of selecting for their "totems" the animals
of their supposed ancestry. Certain North American Indian tribes believed they
originated from beavers and coyotes. Certain African tribes teach that they are
descended from the hyena, a Malay tribe from the lemur, a New Guinea group from
the parrot.
The Babylonians, because of immediate contact with the remnants of the
civilization of the Adamites, enlarged and embellished the story of man's
creation; they taught that he had descended directly from the gods. They held
to an aristocratic origin for the race which was incompatible with even the
doctrine of creation out of clay.
The Old Testament account of creation dates from long after the time of Moses;
he never taught the Hebrews such a distorted story. But he did present a simple
and condensed narrative of creation to the Israelites, hoping thereby to
augment his appeal to worship the Creator, the Universal Father, whom he called
the Lord God of Israel.
In his early teachings, Moses very wisely did not attempt to go back of Adam's
time, and since Moses was the supreme teacher of the Hebrews, the stories of
Adam became intimately associated with those of creation. That the earlier
traditions recognized pre-Adamic civilization is clearly shown by the fact that
later editors, intending to eradicate all reference to human affairs before
Adam's time, neglected to remove the telltale reference to Cain's emigration to
the "land of Nod," where he took himself a wife.
top of page - 838
The Hebrews had no written language in general usage for a long time after they
reached Palestine. They learned the use of an alphabet from the neighboring
Philistines, who were political refugees from the higher civilization of Crete.
The Hebrews did little writing until about 900 B.C., and having no written
language until such a late date, they had several different stories of creation
in circulation, but after the Babylonian captivity they inclined more toward
accepting a modified Mesopotamian version.
Jewish tradition became crystallized about Moses, and because he endeavored to
trace the lineage of Abraham back to Adam, the Jews assumed that Adam was the
first of all mankind. Yahweh was the creator, and since Adam was supposed to be
the first man, he must have made the world just prior to making Adam. And then
the tradition of Adam's six days got woven into the story, with the result that
almost a thousand years after Moses' sojourn on earth the tradition of creation
in six days was written out and subsequently credited to him.
When the Jewish priests returned to Jerusalem, they had already completed the
writing of their narrative of the beginning of things. Soon they made claims
that this recital was a recently discovered story of creation written by Moses.
But the contemporary Hebrews of around 500 B.C. did not consider these writings
to be divine revelations; they looked upon them much as later peoples regard
mythological narratives.
This spurious document, reputed to be the teachings of Moses, was brought to
the attention of Ptolemy, the Greek king of Egypt, who had it translated into
Greek by a commission of seventy scholars for his new library at Alexandria.
And so this account found its place among those writings which subsequently
became a part of the later collections of the "sacred scriptures" of the Hebrew
and Christian religions. And through identification with these theological
systems, such concepts for a long time profoundly influenced the philosophy of
many Occidental peoples.
The Christian teachers perpetuated the belief in the fiat creation of the human
race, and all this led directly to the formation of the hypothesis of a
one-time golden age of utopian bliss and the theory of the fall of man or
superman which accounted for the nonutopian condition of society. These
outlooks on life and man's place in the universe were at best discouraging
since they were predicated upon a belief in retrogression rather than
progression, as well as implying a vengeful Deity, who had vented wrath upon
the human race in retribution for the errors of certain onetime planetary
administrators.
The "golden age" is a myth, but Eden was a fact, and the Garden civilization
was actually overthrown. Adam and Eve carried on in the Garden for one hundred
and seventeen years when, through the impatience of Eve and the errors of
judgment of Adam, they presumed to turn aside from the ordained way, speedily
bringing disaster upon themselves and ruinous retardation upon the
developmental progression of all Urantia.
[Narrated by Solonia, the seraphic "voice in the Garden."]
top of page - 839
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Subjects Archive The Urantia Book Urantia Book PART III: The History of Urantia
: The Origin Of Urantia Life Establishment On Urantia The Marine-life Era On
Urantia Urantia During The Early Land-life Era The Mammalian Era On Urantia The
Dawn Races Of Early Man The First Human Family The Evolutionary Races Of Color
The Overcontrol Of Evolution The Planetary Prince Of Urantia The Planetary
Rebellion The Dawn Of Civilization Primitive Human Institutions The Evolution
Of Human Government Development Of The State Government On A Neighboring Planet
The Garden Of Eden Adam And Eve The Default Of Adam And Eve The Second Garden
The Midway Creatures The Violet Race After The Days Of Adam Andite Expansion In
The Orient Andite Expansion In The Occident Development Of Modern Civilization
The Evolution Of Marriage The Marriage Institution Marriage And Family Life The
Origins Of Worship Early Evolution Of Religion The Ghost Cults Fetishes,
Charms, And Magic Sin, Sacrifice, And Atonement Shamanism--medicine Men And
Priests The Evolution Of Prayer The Later Evolution Of Religion Machiventa
Melchizedek The Melchizedek Teachings In The Orient The Melchizedek Teachings
In The Levant Yahweh--god Of The Hebrews Evolution Of The God Concept Among The
Hebrews The Melchizedek Teachings In The Occident The Social Problems Of
Religion Religion In Human Experience The Real Nature Of Religion The
Foundations Of Religious Faith The Reality Of Religious Experience Growth Of
The Trinity Concept Deity And Reality Universe Levels Of Reality Origin And
Nature Of Thought Adjusters Mission And Ministry Of Thought Adjusters Relation
Of Adjusters To Universe Creatures Relation Of Adjusters To Individual Mortals
The Adjuster And The Soul Personality Survival Seraphic Guardians Of Destiny
Seraphic Planetary Government The Supreme Being The Almighty Supreme God The
Supreme Supreme And Ultimate--time And Space The Bestowals Of Christ Michael
<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD>Ŀ
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