Explanation for withdrawal from UB Media Committee
Date: Sun, 02 Aug 1998 14:29:20 -0500
To: FreeUrantia@cuenet.com, UBtalk@Utalk.org
From: <Ericon606@aol.com>
Cc: urantian@concentric.net
Subject: FreeUrantia: UB Media Committee - by Eric Cosh
From: <Ericon606@aol.com>
Date: Sun, 2 Aug 1998 12:26:58 EDT
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Subject: UB Media Committee
“Explanation for withdrawal from UB Media Committee”
This letter started off as an explanation to my fellow members of the committee. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that it should be directed to all Believers of our beloved revelation.
To put this all into perspective, please allow me to give you a very brief history of my involvement in this revelation.
I was first introduced to the UB in 1972 by Roy Toma of Denver, Colorado. It wasn’t until 1976 that myself and my then wife purchased the UB. That was one of the greatest moments in my life! I was on fire. In less than two weeks, I turned off my entire family, her family, and half of the State of Colorado. My thought adjuster had a nervous breakdown and contacted Divington to make sure I was in fact the person He volunteered for.
In 1981 I joined The Urantia Brotherhood! That was the second greatest day. Harry McMullin & Larry Mullins were also members of the Oklahoma Society and were there to witness the occasion. I received my gold pin. The Banner Of Michael. That was later taken away from me by The Foundation.
I was a charter member of Grand Canyon Society for (Believers) of The Book. I was one of the first people to be denied UB’s from The Foundation. (That by the way was an honor that I still cherish; not being denied UB’s, but being on their “hit” list!)
That’s it! I told you it was going to be brief!
Now to the main point. Several weeks ago I was asked to be a member of the media committee that was going to put together an introduction to the UB. I’ve always wanted to do that being that I’m in video production, so this seemed like the perfect time to get started on it. Next thing I knew, the IUA was involved! To make matters even worse, this guy Travis starts talking about copyright and trademark considerations. When I asked Lorrie who invited the IUA in the first place, she said “The Fellowship”. Well that was news to me. I didn’t remember being consulted about going into partnership with the IUA. ( For those of you who don’t know who the IUA and what they stand for, I’ve included excerpts from their charter that Norm Du Val was kind enough to email me. Read their charter and then ask yourself if you’d like to be involved with this kind of group. They take there orders directly from The Foundation! They were formed by The Foundation so they would have someone to control. At the time, the Foundation and the Fellowship were not on speaking terms.)
Here are a few of my questions: Why would anyone want to do a joint project with a group of people who are bent on the destruction of our Beloved Revelation? Are these words tooooooo strong? Think about it! The Foundation claims humans helped to write the Urantia Papers. Do you believe that? If you do, then what parts of the Papers did they write and what parts did our “unseen friends” write? Do you see a problem here? After you read the below excerpts from the IUA charter, can you really tell me that you want five men (no more women) to represent OUR BELOVED REVELATION to the rest of the world? Do you want them to tell you how to believe? That’s what they do to the IUA members. READ IT!!! When you put together the into with them, do you really think that you’re going to be able to leave their name out of the video? Guess again!! Who will you be promoting. The UB or the Foundation? Remember that these are the same people who refuse to drop the lawsuit against Kristen and Eric. Please don’t get me started on this issue. All I will tell you is that Kristen and Eric are the most dedicated two Urantians that I’ve ever met in my life. I’ve known them long before the lawsuit. I knew them when they would work all day long at a cement plant, come home so exhausted that they couldn’t move, and spend most of the night putting together an index for the Urantia Book. They did it for FREE!!!! It was a work of love! In any case, these are just some of the reasons I’ve withdrawn from the committee.
Where do we go from here? I think that’s going to be up to each individual. For myself, I’ve reached a point where I’m just tired of bailing water out of a ship that’s sinking. I would continue to bail if I though someone else cared and would be willing to start patching the holes, but so far, I just don’t see that happening. I belong to an organization that let Kristen and Eric fend for themselves. I belong to an organization that now wants to “Rush to Unity” with an organization that lies and deceives not only others, but more importantly, themselves! I belong to an organization that continues to make decisions behind closed doors “Because they know best”!
What I do now I’ve given quite a bit of thought and prayer to. Effective immediately, I hereby resign my membership in The Fellowship. I also resign my membership in the Grand Canyon Society for the same reason. I truly wish both organizations my prayers and support in anything to do positive with our Beloved Revelation.
What we need now is an organization with vision! One that will be large enough to welcome all truth seekers. One that will have representative democracy. One that will fight for an INVIOLATE TEXT. One that will not control but encourage and support its members to make OUR BELOVED REVELATION available to every hungry soul. And most importantly, an organization that will put Jesus of Nazareth & Michael of Nebadon as its leader. Is this asking too much? I don’t think so. I’ve met the kind of individuals that could make a group like this work. Many of them live in the Boulder area. If we really want things to change, we have to be willing to trust and move forward and not keep retreating to the rear. Let’s stop quivering!
In conclusion, the things I’ve talked about in this letter have to do with organizations. It’s not personal. I will continue to support and love my brothers and sisters, regardless of the organization that you belong to. I just can’t support your organization anymore. My sincere prayers go out to the leaders of these organizations that in time they’ll see the light and follow “The Spirit of Truth”, instead of their own ego’s. Have you noticed that I haven’t used one quote from The Urantia Book? That was by design. For every quote I could use, someone else may use a different quote to counter it. This way, you’re on your own.
Closing Prayer:
Father, we ask that you give us the insight to carry your plan to all of our brothers and sisters. We ask for your strength to endure the walls of fear and suspicion that so many times blocks the true course that you’ve set for us. We’re so grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to receive your beautiful revelation of Truth, Beauty and Goodness. I pray that we can show our appreciation for your trust in us by giving forth light to those who sit in darkness.
AMEN,
Eric Cosh
Excerpts from the IUA Charter.
"IUA is not a religious organization, is not associated with any religion..."
"With the approval of URANTIA Foundation, Associations may also devise computer networking systems for readers of The URANTIA Book."
"Equally important is that IUA discourage invasive dissemination. Such invasive dissemination includes T-shirts and bumper stickers; radio, television, and movie advertising; billboard advertising; newspaper and magazine advertising; and open computer networking which is exposed to non-readers."
"Mass-media advertising and promotional gimmicks are inconsistent with the dignity of The URANTIA Book."
"IUA is given the crucial task of representing to the public the name "URANTIA," "Urantian," and the Concentric Circles Symbol--the registered trademarks, service marks, and collective membership marks of the URANTIA Foundation."
"First, IUA is responsible to URANTIA Foundation which holds these marks in trust and, through an explicit licensing agreement, entrusts them to IUA."
"Unless there is a designated group in place which is uniquely authorized to use the marks associated with the book and its publisher, any misled, erratic, or unscrupulous individual (or group) could appear to speak for The URANTIA Book. Anyone can buy a URANTIA Book, read a few pages of it, and proceed to make unwise, uninformed, and even malicious public statements which could prejudice many people, and perhaps even entire groups, against The URANTIA Book. The social presence of IUA, along with its authorized use of the name "URANTIA," "Urantian," and the Concentric-Circles Symbol, will help guard against immature and premature publicity and the interpretive distortions of other groups and individuals."
"One of the basic duties of the Trustees of the URANTIA Foundation is to devise means and methods to disseminate the teachings of The URANTIA Book. In order to fulfill that duty, the Trustees of URANTIA Foundation have created International URANTIA Association. Given the derivative status of IUA, its work depends upon and is related to the Foundation's work; but the focus of IUA is quite different from that of URANTIA Foundation."
"The size of the Coordinating Committee and the selection and terms of its members are decided by the Trustees of the URANTIA Foundation."
"The Coordinating Committee assists readers to familiarize themselves with and to understand the policies of URANTIA Foundation;"
"While the URANTIA Foundation's main task is to publish The URANTIA Book and preserve the integrity of its text, two other important duties of URANTIA Foundation include translating the book into other languages and executing the business features of pricing, marketing, and distribution. It is the policy of URANTIA Foundation to make the book broadly available in an attractive and dignified form."
"While it is natural for members of IUA to be interested in the distribution of The URANTIA Book, such distribution is the business task of URANTIA Foundation, not IUA. Nonetheless, members of IUA may volunteer for Foundation tasks in their area of expertise or volunteer information which might facilitate the work of URANTIA Foundation."
"While many groups may come into existence for a variety of purposes related to The URANTIA Book, IUA has a unique role to play. Its licensed use of the registered marks benefits the service activities of IUA and supports the Foundation's trusteeship of the copyright and the marks. The explicitly authorized use of the marks by IUA prevents other groups or individuals, good, bad, or indifferent, from usurping them for their own purposes, such as presenting their interpretations and activities as officially representing The URANTIA Book. Were such unauthorized use to occur, orderly liaison and dissemination to the wider public could be disrupted; the marketplace would be confused; and the copyright and integrity of The URANTIA Book itself could be jeopardized."
"In general, those who serve in IUA should do everything possible to promote the goodwill of URANTIA Foundation and do nothing to detract from the goodwill of the organization upon which the safety of the copyright of the book and its associated marks depends."
"Under a separate agreement, each Association will be licensed by the URANTIA Foundation to use the Concentric Circles Symbol, the registered marks, and the name "International URANTIA Association."
"Friends of the Foundation are self-declared supporters of URANTIA Foundation who are unable or do not desire to be part of an Association. As Friends, they declare their support for the Foundation's programs and policies, as well as the Foundation's ownership of the copyright and marks."
"No member shall be expelled from membership in a URANTIA Association unless, as adjudged by such URANTIA Association, the attitude, conduct, or influence of that member shall be prejudicial to the interests and work of the Association. Once expelled, the former member shall cease to be a member of IUA and shall be disqualified for membership in any other URANTIA Association."
"In order to avoid distracting concerns about the mechanical structure of the organization itself, this Charter and the accompanying Bylaws of IUA have been kept as simple and as minimalistic as possible. Should future developments require further additions, corrections, or clarifications, this Charter may be revised by a majority vote of the Trustees of the URANTIA Foundation."
"The name of the Association will be International URANTIA Association (IUA). In order to be part of IUA, a constituent Association must be licensed by URANTIA Foundation. Such a license privileges the constituent Association to use the name "International URANTIA Association" and make authorized use of the "URANTIA" name and URANTIA Foundation's trademarks, service marks, and collective membership marks."
"IUA is a task-oriented, social and service organization formed by the Trustees of URANTIA Foundation..."
"The constituent Associations of IUA, as well as any collective bodies which may be formed over time, shall be governed by the Charter as amended from time to time by the Trustees of URANTIA Foundation."
"Membership Requirements: 5. Supports the work of the URANTIA Foundation as specified in its Declaration of Trust; supports the Foundation's ownership of the copyright and marks; and supports IUA's authorized use of the marks."
"Under a separate agreement, each Association will be licensed by URANTIA Foundation to use the Concentric-Circles Symbol, other registered marks, and the name International URANTIA Association."
"In the event of the revocation of the charter of a constituent Association, or the voluntary or involuntary dissolution of such an Association, all assets shall be turned over to IUA through the Chair of the Coordinating Committee. In the event of the dissolution of IUA itself, all assets shall be turned over to: URANTIA Brotherhood Association 533 Diversey Parkway Chicago, Illinois 60614 U.S.A."
"The International URANTIA Association is legally defined as the reader membership arm of URANTIA Brotherhood Association, an umbrella organization whose Directors are the Trustees of URANTIA Foundation."