Customer Reviews

Up Close and Personal with the Urantia Book - Expanded Edition

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Perhaps there is no more challenging or rewarding book on the planet than the Urantia Book. JJ Johnson has been the most passionate evangelist I know for this extraordinary work. With his new publication, he makes strides for a greater understanding of the Urantia Book. In this new edition, his concept of "COSAR," or the integrating of Science and Religion, is a welcome complement to his philosophy. JJ Johnson makes a firm stand embracing the value of science, while at the same time insisting that science does not have all the answers ... religious insight is needed. His new section featuring research into the complexities of new scientific discoveries and their relation to revelatory information is alone worth the price of his book. Highly recommended.

Wow, this book is incredible. JJ Johnson has distilled years of research with Urantia Study Groups into a personal and comprehensive source book that will stimulate the imaginations of even the most seasoned readers and inspire new readers to read even more deeply. The book starts off a short section that reviews the most important scientific predictions confirmed by modern science. The organization is tight, logical, and clear. Great place to start with that skeptical "geek" at work who is looking for some spiritual meat to go with their scientific mayonaise. From there, Johnson serves us another appetizer of wonderful selections honoring the Spirit of Truth and the Kingdom of Heaven. Short but sweet. Just the kind of reading that every study group could use to set the mood at the beginning of a meeting. Johnson also unabashedly gets evangelistic in the 2nd section with a wonderful sample of selections that encourage the devoted reader to "spread the word." And last but certainly not the least, is a personally collected sample of study aids that range in topics from my favorite, Always Remember and Never Forget, to Pre-Morontia Math 101. At first glance, the selections appear to be computer generated but Johnson claims that each section of the Study Aids was the product of years of study group experience. The way he highlights each section with the topic addressed makes the use of the Study Aids easy, powerful, and relevant.

The achievement of "the coordination of science and religion with the truth of reality" describes the 21st century challenge to philosophy and metaphysics--and to each of us as well. In this latest edition of "Up Close and Personal," JJ Johnson has underscored the importance of this quest and directed the reader to "The Urantia Book," which makes this perspective its primary philosophic thrust. JJ calls it the "COSAR" principle--the necessity of integrating science, philosophy, and religion in order to arrive at a viewpoint which reveals the truth of reality. He asserts that only by this integration--and never by a focus on only one element--may reality be approached. The religionist in the exclusive pursuit of God-consciousness makes the same mistake as the secular scientist and neither one are able to approach the level of consciousness which is achieved through application of the COSAR principle-- true cosmic consciousness.
"Up Close and Personal With The Urantia Book" is an important contribution to efforts at understanding the actual cosmic context within which we live our lives. It is only through a deeper understanding of this context that we can approach problem solving with a degree of wisdom sorely lacking in today's troubled world. Highly recommended for anyone serious about refining their inner life and enriching their potentials for meaningful action in the world.

As a 40+ year reader of The Urantia Book, I must say that this is the best companion text I have seen for The Urantia Book. It is a valuable distillation of JJ's many years of study and active work in spreading the book around the world.

He begins by reminding us of the evangelical imperative contained in The Urantia Book and proceeds to a chapter full of quotes containing the thought, "Always remember and never forget . . ."-- important reminders for individuals concerned with their spiritual lives and the effectiveness of their work in the world.

Chapter 3--"Memorable Passages"--contains a collection of some of the most beautiful and spiritually stimulating paragraphs from The Urantia Book. This alone makes the book an excellent companion text.

The most extensive part of the book--3/4 of the entire text-- is a paper-by-paper summary of key concepts contained in The Urantia Book along with references which point to these key concepts as they are developed elsewhere in the text. Not only does this provide a stimulating review for the experienced reader, it provides a comprehensive introduction for new readers to the concepts contained in The Urantia Book.

Highly recommended for experienced readers as well as those in the process of discovering the Urantia revelation.

The principle which will keep one in ignorance is "Contempt before Investigation" H. Spencer once wrote. Here is an investigative tool everyone can use.


With this added chapter on science, skeptics will have to mightely resist FACTS. Truth lovers will be intrigued to find out more.

I earlier wrote about the First edition:
".. As I read.... I realized what a gem for even those who've never heard of the Urantia Book. A striking challenge to old readers and a wonderful glimpse into the majesty of this latest Revelation to mankind."

The beginning chapter on COSAR rounds out this quick insight into that comprehensive masterpiece, "book of the ages", the Urantia Papers.

The shelf-life of any book depends on its worthiness to the audience it reaches. The Urantia Book is timeless, "book of the ages", as a previous reviewer stated. There will be no expiration date on this Epochal Revelation of Truth. Any secondary work to The Urantia Book that enhances the reader's appreciation and understanding of The Urantia Book will have a tendency to follow the same shelf- life. Up Close and Personal with The Urantia Book - expanded edition could very well fall into this category. With conviction, I wholeheartedly urge new and seasoned readers of The Urantia Book to become acquainted with Up Close - expanded edition.

If you're looking for a Study Companion to the Urantia Book look no further. Over the years that JJ Johnson has been reading the Urantia Book he has compiled one of the best reference works I have found to the Urantia Book. Culminating in Chapter 6 JJ Johnson has done a paper by paper link to other relevant paragraphs found elsewhere within the Urantia Book.

Whether you're a new reader or an experienced student of the Urantia Book, you will find this book to be a priceless companion to the Urantia Book. Experienced readers will probably no longer have to hunt for supporting paragraphs that you vaguely remember reading. JJ Johnson has likely already done the work for you. As a new reader you will find this book to be an invaluable aid to the understanding of some of the complexities within the Urantia Book.

I highly recommend this book to both old and new readers of the Urantia Book.

I knew this book was valuable in a study group setting but as I read the introductory chapters I realized what a gem for even those who've never heard of the Urantia Book.
A striking challenge to old readers and a wonderful glimpse into the majesty of this latest Revelation to mankind.

While what previous reviewer David Kantor says is essentially true, why in the world would anyone want to spend more time (not to mention money) on yet another compilation of passages/companion/study book when they could read the actual Urantia Papers? Why would this "author" publish this book (at considerable expense) without including his own story of how he came to the revelation? From a brief perusal of his effort we can glean that he is obviously imbued with the miraculous nature of the Urantia Book. We can see that he has dedicated time and money to the dissemination of the revelation. We see his picture with Secretary of State Rice but then we are told nothing about that encounter or any other encounter that J.J. Johnson has had in his efforts to spread the wonderful message of the Urantia Book. I would not have purchased this if I had read the review that informs the prospective buyer that this is yet another collection of passages publication. Unfortunately I bought this book when there were as yet no reviews published. Fortunately Amazon has a return policy and I made good use of it. Imagine my dissapointment when I opened the package and both this book and the other in my Amazon order were compilations of someones favorite passages (see my other reviews). In the future hopefully the next Urantia Book devotee who feels compelled to publish his favorite passages and quotes will attach a warning label to the advertisement - much like the labels found on just about everything these days. Maybe something like: Warning - this is only a collection of my favorite passages from the Urantia Book. And - what's up with the cover? Who is that other guy? The one with the non-Western clothing? And - does anyone else out there have a problem with this mans picture so prominently displayed smack up against the word "Urantia"? Call me picayune if you like but I really don't get it............

There is no other book on this planet that can hold a candle to The Urantia Book. Other books have been published to talk about this revelation, and many other publications are in print which claim to know the answer. But The Urantia Book is going to be the Holy Bible of the future. But more than that; it will replace the Koran, I Ching, Lao Tzu, Krishna, etc, etc, as the Fifth Epochal Revelation on our little planet, Earth. This Book will rule.