Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 14:20:29 -0700
To: FreeUrantia@cuenet.com, UBtalk@Utalk.org,
        Isaac Greenhut <igreen91@simons-rock.edu>
From: Kristen Maaherra <urantian@concentric.net
Cc: urantian@concentric.net, Keeler <rkeeler@allwest.net>, Choi <kchoi@iastate.edu>, du Pont <gdupont@isp.fr>, Siegel <msiegel@ctea.com>, Jameson <gjameson@pbtk.com>, urantial@ubook.org
Subject: FreeUrantia: Re: An open letter to Kristen

    +++

Isaac Greenhut wrote:

 > Greetings, sister Kristen,

> I have wanted to meet you and talk to you but it has not been possible for > me to do this. Since we are at such a critical juncture of things, now, > I thought I might try to write to you of my questions and concerns. I am > also hoping to gain understanding in order to sort out the priorities.

> First I want to apologize to you for Martin Meyers and his treatment of > you. I have given up all membership in the Fellowship and all support for > the Foundation because I do not want to have any part of such divisive > relations. I had to face it. It takes two to tango. With you facing a > permanent injunction rather than this dispute having been resolved, the > Trustees demonstrating their concern to hold on to the copyrights and you > insisting on your rights looks to me like this fight is to the death. The > rest of us are forced to take sides and the movement is ruptured.

> We want to be true to our ideals and take responsibility for our > stewardship... this is the same value that is being expressed by you and > by the trustees. For me, I do not claim to have the answer. on the one > hand I fully agree with you and all the points that you made in your > recent post to FreeUrantia. On the other hand I know Mo and I know of Gard > and my heart tells me that these two men are assigned trusteeship and have > a vital role to play in the publishing of the revelation and getting it > out there safely and in its time.

> If the new trustees didn't care about the copyrights to the Urantia Papers > there would be no problem, but they evidently think that they need it and > that they should have it. You are telling them that if they want to hold > on to the copyright they have to go through you. At least that is what it > looks like from here. Is this true? are you willing to be licensed by the > Foundation to copy the UB on cds or is it the copyright that you are > fighting. From here, it looks like the copyright is what bothers you and > you do not want to have to ask the Foundation for license of any kind.

> My reason for writing this is my deep sense that we have our priorities > mixed up. We have an enormous and very important job to do.The > difficulties of this job are huge and mostly beyond our ken. I do not > feel that they can be carried out in any other way than the Master would > have us do it. I'm certain that you feel the same way as I do about this. > I am also certain that Mo shares this vital concern and from what I know > of Gard, the same would be true for him. I have just sent out a post of > the ordination sermon which spoke to my heart telling me that we are not > exactly doing things His way. That is what made me think of priorities.

> It seemed to me that the copyright question is not the important focus but > how we carry out our work... in what spirit is the copyright held and for > what purposes is it used seems to be the greater question.

> For you to have to ask the Foundation for license to copy the UB could > give them rabbinic control of who uses the revelation and how it is used. > It could also be held in a spirit of stewardship of the revelation... to > see that it isn't broken up into seperate books or changed in its message.

> I really have little idea of what the Foundation thinks it needs the > copyright for. Perhaps the reason that I just gave is the right one. If > that is so, then I would ask you to consider settling with them in such a > way as to let them hold the copyright without continuing this knock-down, > drag-out fight with them. If you cannot find a righteous settlement with > them, one of you is going down with your ship. This cannot be the Master's > will.

> The administrative and political affairs of the spiritual kingdom when > carried out by kingdom believers will yield spiritual fruit regardless of > the legal structures under which they operate. If they are carried out in > paranoia and fear, pride or self-interest, they will yield the fruits of > mammon. As we have clearly seen.

> Kristen, I would like to know what you think of this concept that I am > presenting. I am in prayer for understanding and wisdom for our > receivership of the FER. I seek unity and togetherness in fulfilling our > mission and we are moving in the opposite direction. Something new needs > to happen now.

> Thank you for your tireless efforts and unshakable fortitude. You have > exposed the ruthless autocracy of the Meyers Foundation and as a result > we have a chance to correct our course. I am hoping that the day will > dawn on the social brotherhood of the kingdom in the Urantia > receivership.

> Sincerely,

> Marty Greenhut

Dear Marty,

Thank you for you letter. Let me try to answer your questions:

1. "You are telling them that if they want to hold on to the copyright they have to go through you. At least that is what it looks like from here. Is this true?"

Over a year ago, the Foundation won their Appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. They won. They "own" a copyright. The trustees could end their court persecution of me this minute — with their copyright intact — if they wanted to.

2. "Are you willing to be licensed by the Foundation to copy the UB on CDs or is it the copyright that you are fighting. From here, it looks like the copyright is what bothers you and you do not want to have to ask the Foundation for license of any kind."

A two part question — copyright and asking the Foundation for a license:

Copyright: I don't care about copyright per se. What bothers me is the disinformation the Foundation has put in the public record in order to keep a copyright.

A copyright on the Urantia Papers announces to the world: "THIS BOOK HAS HUMAN AUTHORSHIP."

That is United States copyright law. Works by superhumans (which is what makes epochal revelation EPOCHAL, and not AUTOrevelation) cannot be copyrighted under United States law.

The Foundation lied to the copyright office in order to obtain its copyright, and it lied to the courts in order to keep a copyright.

I believe the Urantia Papers have superhuman authorship. This is my religion. I have stood up for superhuman authorship consistently in all court documents over the last 7 years.

The Foundation has argued in court that the sleeping subject is the author of the Urantia Papers. The Foundation has argued in court that Bill Sadler (William Sadler, Jr.) is the author of "Parts of the Urantia Book." The Foundation has argued in court that the contact commission "hired" the revelators to write the book for them. The Foundation has called the Urantia Book the Sadler family business (after all, auntie Helen still lives at 533) when Pat Mundelius was a trustee. In every way possible, the Foundation has discredited the Urantia Papers in the public record, in the eyes of the world.

For the Papers to have human authorship means they are not epochal revelation, but part of that body of spiritual works called autorevelation. I believe the trustees' denial of the revelatory nature of the Urantia Papers constitutes a default of their trust.

Asking the Foundation for a license:

Because of the lies the Foundation has told about the revelation in court, I believe the Foundation has lost any rights or authority over the revelation they may once have had. I do not recognize their "stewardship" of the revelation, simply because they have done everything possible to destroy the credibility of the revelation in the eyes of the public.

They may want to be "shamans" of the revelation (after all, we are in the age of shamanism), but I would rather listen directly to God, with no intermediary. I do not want the "religion of authority" the Foundation is trying to push on Urantia believers. You are correct, I do not plan to ask the Foundation for a license for any study aids I might do.

As you say, "For you to have to ask the Foundation for license to copy the UB could give them rabbinic control of who uses the revelation and how it is used."

3. "In what spirit is the copyright held and for what purposes is it used seems to be the greater question."

You write, "It [the copyright] could also be held in a spirit of stewardship of the revelation ... to see that it isn't broken up into separate books or changed in its message."

Which brings me to the topic of why did the Foundation sue me in the first place?

For giving away an index. Really, this lawsuit was not about copyright. The lawsuit began when I started giving away floppy disks containing an index of the Urantia Papers — the "study aid of our dreams." (My husband and I met at the Boulder School for the Urantia Papers — and both agreed that what the school needed was an index — every word, every time it occurred).

I did not "break up" the Urantia Papers into separate books. I did not change a word. (The index conformed to the first printing. I also gave away a list of changes the Foundation had made between printings.)

Now, the Foundation could have done a lot of things. (I believe it should have thanked us, not sued us.) It could have "licensed" us way back then (over 7 years ago). We weren't "political:" we knew next to nothing about the Foundation and absolutely nothing about copyright law.

This lawsuit, for me, has always been about being able to give away study aids for my religion. (E-mail me your home address, and I'll send you my latest study aid).

Your question is, "In what spirit is the copyright held and for what purposes is it used seems to be the greater question." And I reply that I have often suggested to the Foundation (in speaking to individual trustees, in writing, and through my lawyer) that it would be entirely consistent with the Foundation's Declaration of Trust (which never even mentions copyright or trademark) to use its copyright in order to "police" keeping the text "inviolate" (which the Declaration of Trust does demand).

I suggested to the Foundation that anyone who "keeps the text inviolate" when publishing study aids should be left alone by the Foundation.

That would be a decent purpose to hold a copyright — not to sue someone who was giving away an index that did "keep the text inviolate."

They have not responded to this idea, which seems to be your idea, also. Maybe they would listen to you, Marty.

4. "I would ask you to consider settling with them in such a way as to let them hold the copyright without continuing this knock-down, drag-out fight with them."

First of all, I'm not in a "knock-down, drag-out fight with them." I am simply standing up for the superhuman authorship (with NO HUMAN AUTHORSHIP) of the Urantia Papers. I am standing up for my religious freedom. I mean, this is still America, isn't it? The point is, the Foundation could drop their lawsuit at any time. They could just walk away from it with their copyright intact. So far, they have refused to do that.

And Marty, how can I settle with them? This spring, talking settlement, the trustees made a "1000 word limit" "non-negotiable." I couldn't sign a settlement with those terms. Agree to self-limit my access to the sacred scriptures of my religion to 1000 words? I can't quote Jesus?

Then the Foundation ended the settlement talks by filing the current motion asking the court for a permanent injunction to keep me from using "the text of the Urantia Book." So how do you expect me to "consider settling with them"? It's their show.

5. "Kristen, I would like to know what you think of this concept that I am presenting."

I think you and I have presented a similar solution of "copyright stewardship" to the trustees. With about the same results.

6. "You have exposed the ruthless autocracy of the Myers Foundation."

Marty, as far as I could see, absolutely nothing changed when Martin Myers was voted off the board of trustees. The Foundation continued its "scorched earth" litigation against me with seamless antagonism.

To me, it's always been the Keeler Foundation. Rich Keeler is the trustee who has not changed during this whole lawsuit against me. He was in the courtroom in the first hearing (when I was representing myself) and Rich asked the Judge to tell me to remove the Banner of Michael (which I wear to identify with Jesus and with the Trinity government of all creation) from my person. To me, the circles are holy, spiritual. And yet I have seen a photo of Rich Keeler mooning a camera with three blue concentric circles painted on his head... That was the same courtroom where the Foundation claimed (with Rich Keeler in the courtroom) that "it's not a religious book," and "Bill Sadler wrote it."

And nothing has changed since Mo and Gard became trustees. Except perhaps a lot more PR going on. In fact, the Foundation's latest motion for a permanent injunction is actually an unprecedented power play — they are going for an injunction on everybody, disenfranchising everybody. They say, out of one side of their collective mouth, Kristen doesn't have to pay damages (they waive rights to monetary damages), but out of the other side of that same (collective) mouth, they ask the Court to take away my (and everybody who knows me's) right to quote the revelator's words for all future time . . .

Perhaps this isn't the limp-wristed answer to your letter that you were seeking. I am very indignant at the injustices that have been heaped upon me and my family by this multi-million dollar Foundation. And the mercy process is "first just, then fair," etc. There has been no justice, or fairness yet. How can there be peace of the sort you speak of?

Mo and others from the Foundation have told me, "This lawsuit never should have happened." I agree with that. But the Foundation has always refused to just drop it. It's their lawsuit. They can just drop it — I can't. The doors out of the lawsuit they give me have all included giving up my spiritual beliefs.

I hope this note answers your questions. Thank you for caring. Please write again if you have more questions. Or call me: 303-459-0351.

Love, and God bless you, Kristen.