Customer Reviews
Be skeptic of the skeptic - By: , 11 Aug 1999 
Marvin Gardner has a formula to be the prolific writer that he is. He looks for a subject with considerable interest & takes an opposing & controversial view. Using his own logic, Marvin could not prove that China exists. A five minutes perusing through the pages of the Urantia Book would convince any reasonable person that such a stupendous amount of knowledge & wisdom cannot possibly originatein the human mind. To affirm that it does demonstrates that Marvin believes that not only is he capable to write a book of this caliber, but that his superior mind can tell that it is possible for another being to do so. What a gratification for his ego. After having studied the Urantia Book for 20 years, it is mind bogling to me how consistant & absent of error this Revelation is for any midly intelligent human being. But the Urantia book does reveal that not all humans are endowed with the same capacity to seek out & discover the truth. Marvin is only interested to make a buck & needs his own cult of followers: the people who buy his books. P.S. The Urantia Book is rather sanguinary on mathematicians, which may explain Marvin's ardor against the teachings of the Fifth Epochal Revelation. (The Urantia Book)
Engaging expose' of the Urantia movement - By: , 13 Apr 1999 
Martin Gardner's book entitled URANTIA: The Great Cult Mystery is a skeptic's critique of The URANTIA Book (UB), a 2097-page compilation of several papers allegedly authored by several 'divine revelators,' each one claiming to be a representative of God's vast celestial hierarchy. These 'authors' were commissioned by their heavenly 'supervisors' to enlighten the inhabitants of this planet (which they call Urantia) as to how mankind has been supposedly misled throughout human history by the errors of religious thinking. The primary target for which the UB 'authors' claim is in need of 'correction'in the arena of religion is the Bible, with all its misconceptions regarding the nature of God, who Jesus was, etc. Mr. Gardner, although not a Bible-believer himself, finds it difficult to accept the truth-claims that these alleged celestial authors present,in light of several factors. To begin with, Gardner takes exception to the many scientific errors to be discovered within the pages of the UB. He devotes two full chapters of his book to illustrate portions of the UB's vast science content which have been rendered outdated because of discoveries made since its publicationin 1955. In some cases, the science content became outdated even before the UB was published, &in still others, the purported scientific 'facts' were already incongruent with the science of the time, which can only be attributed as outright errors on the part of these alleged higher minds! Why would these divine revelators allow the publishing of such self-damning evidence? Gardner points out a disclaimer insertedin an attempt to 'inform' the reader that the authors were given a 'prime directive' by their superiors not to reveal any unearned science to us evolving mortals & to write their scientific treatises within the limits of our then-current vernacular. However, Gardner does not buy this pitch, because at the same time these intergalactic messengers are bedazzling us with their brilliance as pertains to things known, they also baffle us with a fantastic model of the universe that is beyond our wildest dreams & which is, of course, unearned science. One might be compelled to ask how the UB allegedly got into printin the first place, assuming it was commissioned by unseen heavenly beings. In probing for answers to this question, Gardner provides more compelling evidence that the UB was the brainchild not of celestials, but of mere terrestrials. The UB authors purport that its papers were presented through the thought patterns of a certain unnamed human contact whose disposition was suitable for said transferences of knowledge. By some 'unrevealed' process, these revelations were transposed into a written format, from whence we got the UB after several of these 'contact' sessions. The term 'channeling' comes to mind, although UB adherents vehemently deny that this was the method used, preferring instead to keep both the method & the human contact a mystery for the sake of mystique. However, Gardner's skeptical nose smells a rat. He reports that a man named Wilfred C. Kellogg, patient & brother-in-law of then psychiatrist William S. Sadler III, was the 'human contact' from whose subconscious the revelations began to emanate. In addition to the spiritual content of the early sections of the UB (the source of which may well have been Kellogg's channelings), Gardner cites Sadler as a major contributor to the making of the UB. Gardner provides ample evidence to substantiate his assertion. Dr. Sadler's earlier published books reveal him to be a racist & a proponent of eugenics, both concepts of which are given full endorsement by the 'divine revelators.' But what tips the scale of human invention is the weight of Seventh Day Adventist influence to be foundin the UB. Both Sadler & Kellogg were one-time Adventists who were expelled from the church around 1906; & henceforth began the nocturnal 'contact sessions' at the good doctor's residence. The UB authors wholeheartedly endorse such 7DA doctrines as soul-sleep, the annihilation of the wicked, the denial of the existence of hell, & that Jesus Christ is (the archangel) Michael. What Gardner denotes as amazing irony is Sadler's connection with Ellen White, Adventism's seer & prophetess. Prior to his expulsion, Sadler wrote a letter to Sister White (a complete copy of which can be foundin Gardner's book), wherein he began questioning her authenticity as a prophetessin light of her recently-discovered plagiaristic tendencies. One can read between the lines of Sadler's letter that he was really asking whether plagiarism was a legitimate mode of divine revelation (as though he were contemplating the same). Not coincidentally, Gardner lastly reveals & elaborates upon a long list of plagiarisms recently discovered within the pages of the UB! If the reader is endowed with even a basic ground-level knowledge of the Bible, then many particular contrasts will stand out clearly when comparing notes. As Mr. Gardner points out, the UB vehemently denies such historic Christian doctrines as the Atonement & the Virgin Birth. But even though Gardner's book provides ample & compelling evidence that the UB was written by humans, Gardner does not go far enough to expose the spiritual con from this Christian's point of view. In exchange for bestowing divinity upon the would-be believer, the UB compromises traditional Christian doctrine. These are but a few of the observations that a discerning Christian will make when comparing the UB with the Bible. The UB author(s):
1) Claim that the Old Testament represents the evolved religion of a superstitious desert clan; 2) Rewrite the four Gospels to fit their own preconceived agenda; 3) Write up a history of Jesus' years as a youth & young adult, again agenda-driven; 4) Disparage Paul as having influenced Christianity by injecting Hellenism & Paganism; 5) State that Jesus was not the Messiah, nor did He claim to be;
and the list goes on & on (but enough about my personal beef). Martin Gardner's book is a fascinating & entertaining read, if the reader can get beyond his penchant for making condescending remarks toward UB adherents.
Full of errors and bias - By: , 15 Feb 1999 
Martin Gardner bragged online that he wouldn't "waste his time"in a complete reading of The Urantia Book, & his book, with its hundreds of errors & sweeping editorial bias, is definite proof of this.
Poor Martin... - By: , 10 Jun 1998 While it's certainly unintentional, Gardner has done something valuable with this book: it will stand as a useful illustration of one of the more delusionary intellectual sophistries of those who choose to live life without living faith.
What's more, anyone interested enoughin The Urantia Book to bother with his efforts to debunk it, may actually become intrigued enough to read the UB for themselves; & that's the ultimate redeeming value of Gardner's psuedo-scholarship.
I look forward to a Mansion world reunion of the several Urantians Martin inadvertently turns on to The Urantia Book! It could give rise to one of the more memorable crow-eating sessions of Urantian history... (subject matter rates a 10; Gardner's conclusions a sketchy 2.)
An eye opening expose' of gross religous manipulations - By: , 20 Nov 1997
Martin Gardner has clearly done extensive & scholarlyresearchin preparing this book. It was fairly easy to read & quite to the point. I found it very interesting that the Urantia book found it's origin with a group of dis-gruntled ex Seventh Day Adventists. As Martin Gardner points out so clearly E.G. White who founded the S.D.A. church is well known for her blatant plagerisms & her hypocrisy. What a foundation to build another elaborate religious manipulation upon. And this is just what Dr. William Sadler did, he master minded the creation of a compromised Bible filled with outright lies & fiction mixed with stolen truths for those who are unwilling to accept the God of the Holy Bible. I believe that Martin Gardner showed beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Urantia book & the entire Urantia movement which has followed is built on a foundation of shifting sand. The Urantia book is quite clearly not the product of pure divine inspiriation but rather a clever & intricate web of fantasy & deception mixed with faulty S.D.A. doctrines & plagerized truths. I would highly recommend this book especially to those who have believed the lie that the Urantia book was inspired by 'higher beings'. No The Urantia book was inspired & compiled by dishonest, arrogant & power hungry indivduals.
