Date: Thu, 01 Jul 2004 19:41:14 -0600
To: "John Hales - UB Fellowship" <fellowship@urantiabook.org>
From: Norm Du Val <nduval@pop.ctctel.com>
Subject: Re: Member-at-large - resignation - Norm Du Val
Cc: David Kantor, Harry McMullan, Kenneth Glasziou, Kristen, Larry Mullins, Paul Bond, Philip Calabrese
Hi John,
Thanks very much for the acknowledgement of my resignation. Sure, leave me on the mailing list. That'd be fine.
I know you didn't ask, but I'd like to say for the record, what finally pushed me to resign was a recent exchange I had with a Fellowship officer. I had suggested to him that the Fellowship help in rebutting the statements of Ken Glasziou which were in the last issue of the Innerface, Ken's soapbox, and which also is posted on the Fellowship's website. Ken has been attacking the Revelation for years, but in that Innerface, in regard to an alleged science error in the Papers, Ken unilaterally announced that, "The Urantia Book's account of the evolution of the earth-moon system is simply impossibly wrong.” I suggested to this Fellowship officer that the Fellowship should have a small committee (which I'd be happy to be on, to the extent that I could help) to deal with such attacks by some readers and non or partial believers such as Ken Glasziou, Dick Bain, Ernest Moyer, Saskia Raevouri, Matthew Block, et al. Is the Urantia Book's account of the evolution of the earth-moon system "simply impossibly wrong,” or not? (Phil Calabrese has since shown that it is not wrong at all.) Can the Fellowship say? Should the Fellowship care to say, or to have a position? If the Fellowship had been around in Jesus' time and someone called Jesus a liar, would the Fellowship have taken a stand? Or would it have stood in mute silence and even have posted and thus rebroadcast the lies against Jesus on whatever passed for a "website" of that time?
I was told by this Fellowship officer that the Fellowship for Readers of the Urantia Book is "just that -- a fellowship for readers…" and that "The Fellowship is not the type of organization that would take a doctrinal position on the book or its teachings.”
I'm more interested in belonging to a FELLOWSHIP FOR BELIEVERS than merely a Fellowship for readers. When the Fellowship becomes that, and when the Fellowship is ready to defend the book against unilateral attacks from every faithless Tom, Ken, and Mary who thinks he or she is an expert on this or that, let me know. It seems like it always falls to individuals to do the Fellowship's work, whether it's freeing the text of the Revelation from the evil Foundation, or rebutting the challenges to the integrity of the Revelation from self appointed experts and know-it-alls.
In the latest Mighty Messenger, in several places it talks about "the teachings," and spreading the teachings, and helping the Fellowship to spread the teachings, etc. I have to ask, how can an organization which "is not the type of organization that would take a doctrinal position on the book or its teachings" even know what the teachings are?
I had always thought that the Fellowship was The Urantia Brotherhood with a new name. But I never thought of The Urantia Brotherhood as simply a "fellowship for readers."
Take care, and thanks again.
Norm http://www.freeurantia.org/
PS- On Mo Siegel's site, http://www.truthbook.com , if you click on the "Copyright Notice" link on the left side of the page it says: "The Urantia Book c The Urantia Foundation, 1955"
Isn't that nice? The lies never stop at UF.
___________________________________________________
At 05:36 PM 7/1/2004 -0500, John Hales wrote:
Norm:
I wish to acknowledge that we have received your letter requesting to be removed as a member of The Fellowship. We have done so.
It is not clear if you wish to remain on the mailing list. Please let me know.
In fellowship,
John
John Hales, Organizational Services
The Urantia Book Fellowship
Email: fellowship@urantiabook.org
Web: www.urantiabook.org
voice 877 288 3772 toll free
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