Dr. Sadler and the Urantia Book: A History of a Spiritual Revelation in the 20th Century by Sioux Oliva
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dr. William Sadler was a highly-respected physician, surgeon, psychiatrist, Seventh-day Adventist minister, lecturer, teacher, author, and investigator by day. By night, from 1911 through 1929, Sadler and his wife Dr. Lena Sadler (who died in 1939) claimed to be in contact with numerous celestial beings who communicated with them through a sleeping man in Chicago. The 196 “papers” that were dictated or delivered to the Sadlers formed the 2,097-page Urantia Book, a treatise on cosmology, God, the history of the local universe, and the life of Jesus and his disciples. William Sadler published the book in 1955.
I had not heard of the Urantia Book until a mutual friend introduced me to Dr. Sioux Oliva last week. I had the good fortune to have coffee with her the next day, after I had an evening to do some background reading about the Urantia Book.
Oliva first read the book when she was a teenager in the 1970s, and she said that its “overwhelmingly positive philosophy” has provided her much comfort throughout her life. A friend asked Oliva, who has a PhD in history, if she would be willing to do a scholarly research study on the origins of the book, which are obviously highly controversial. She accepted the challenge as part of her own spiritual growth.
Sadler said that the celestial entities insisted that the source documents be destroyed once the book was published. He also directed that his personal papers be burned upon his death, in 1969. On top of that, none of the original members of the Sadler’s inner circle (who were either present during the “sleeping man” sessions or part of the forum which posed questions to be answered by the celestials) are still alive. Oliva thus had a daunting research task to locate and examine original source documents related to the development of the book.
Oliva’s book begins with brief biographies of the Sadlers, an examination of their backgrounds particularly in regard to Seventh-Day Adventism and prophecy, and the philosophies that guided their medical practices, published works, and acts of public service. We see nothing in their day-to-day lives that would provide the slightest hint of the remarkable activities in which they were engaged by night. Some of the philosophies for which they were proponents now seem quaint or even shocking—most notably the now-disgraced concept of eugenics. We also see that William repeatedly lifted material from other books to use verbatim (and without attribution) in his own books. This practice forms the basis for some of the reasons to question the origins of the Urantia Book, as it quotes (without attribution) many works published during the years the book was being assembled.
Part II of Oliva’s book discusses the origin, contents, and philosophy of the Urantia book. She covers the forum, through which close associates of the Sadlers posed questions for the celestial beings to answer, and the means by which Sadler claimed that the messages were “indited” to him. He said that he and Lena were both unable to describe the process through which the papers appeared, as they did not understand it themselves. Oliva then provides an overview of each of the book’s four main sections.
Although much of the last section of the book is based on biblical accounts of the life of Jesus, the philosophy of the Urantia Book takes a major departure from Christianity—the Bible took what was supposed to be a religion “of” Jesus and turned it into a religion about Jesus. According to the Urantia Book, Jesus was the human incarnation of Michael of Nebadon, one of the more than 700,000 Paradise Sons of God. Jesus’s teachings and good works are emphasized in the book. His crucifixion is not seen as an act of atonement but rather an act by evil men. The book posits that Jesus taught that God was a true and loving father who would never delight in the punishing of his children.
Extensive quotes from Bill, the Sadlers’ son, provide an interesting perspective on how to use the messages of the Urantia Book in daily life. He said, “This is a religion which you’re good-natured about…You breathe it like you breathe air. You drink it like you drink water…You’re casual with it like you’re casual with clothing that’s well broken in—an old suit of tweeds. It’s a friendly, warm, familiar thing.” (quoted in Oliva, p. 145)
Oliva wraps up the book with her assessment of the origin of the book. Was it truly communicated to the Sadlers by extraterrestrials through the sleeping man? Or was Sadler channeling something in some means like automatic writing? Or did he write it on his own and keep it a secret for fear that it would expose him to ridicule and ruin his medical practice? And if he did write it, why would he undertake such a prolonged, intense effort over decades, and involving hundreds of people, if he then refused to allow a religious group to be formed around the text and its teachings?
I won’t spoil the ending for you.
My only criticism of the book was that it could have used a little tighter editing. There were several passages that appeared multiple times in the book. For example, a sentence on how the Bible mistakenly claims that grass appeared before the sun occurs on page 147 and then again almost exactly the same way on page 152.
But these are minor complaints relative to the quality of the research Dr. Oliva has performed. I found this a very reasoned, scholarly approach to a fascinating topic. I commend Dr. Oliva for having the courage to examine so closely and objectively a book whose tenets have been so important to her throughout her life and spiritual journey.