The Urantia Book (Urantia Papers or The Fifth Epochal Revelation) is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, Jesus, science, cosmology, religion, history, and destiny. It originated in Chicago, Illinois,
sometime between 1924 and 1955. Its authorship remains a matter of
speculation. The authors introduce the word "Urantia" as the name of the
planet Earth
and state that their intent is to "present enlarged concepts and
advanced truth" in an "endeavor to expand cosmic consciousness and
enhance spiritual perception." Among other topics, the book expounds on
the origin and meaning of life, humankind's place in the universe, the relationship between God and people, and the life of Jesus.
The exact circumstances of the origin of The Urantia Book
are unknown. The book and its publishers do not name a human author.
Instead, it is written as if directly presented by numerous celestial
beings appointed to the task of providing an "epochal" religious
revelation. For each paper, either a named celestial being, an order of
being, or a group of beings is credited as its author.
As early as 1911, William S. Sadler and his wife Lena Sadler,
physicians in Chicago and well known in the community, are said to have
been approached by a neighbor who was concerned because she would
occasionally find her husband in a deep sleep and breathing abnormally.
She reported that she was unable to wake him at these times. The Sadlers
came to observe the episodes, and over time, the individual produced
verbal communications that claimed to be from "student visitor"
spiritual beings. This changed in early 1925 with a "voluminous
handwritten document", which from then on became the regular method of
purported communication. The Sadlers were both respected physicians, and
William Sadler was a debunker of paranormal claims, who is portrayed as
not believing in the supernatural. In 1929, he published a book called The Mind at Mischief, in which he explained the fraudulent methods of mediums
and how self-deception leads to psychic claims. He wrote in an appendix
that there were two cases that he had not explained to his
satisfaction.