Its not really a matter of the UB vs. the Bible here, since there are other religious texts that do NOT support the efficacy of 'blood atonement', even verses in the Bible itself, although it uses the blood of Christ as 'symbolic' of a cleansing, redeeming life-giving sacrifice, yet there are various ways to 'interpret' it. I think you need to read all the commmentaries and the links in them that I've provided so far, instead of just cherry picking this or that just to CONTEST whatever is written. ALSO, there are various conceptual definitions or kinds of 'atonement' posited about the death of Jesus, so this isnt something written in stone,...its 'figurative', 'allegorical'.
You might also want to read any passage 'in context' like the whole part 5 of Paper 186
here.
Here is some more passage in the section you quote from -
186:5.4 The gospel of the good news that mortal man may, by faith, become spirit-conscious that he is a son of God, is not dependent on the death of Jesus. True, indeed, all this gospel of the kingdom has been tremendously illuminated by the Master's death, but even more so by his life.
~*~*~
186:5.8 Sin and rebellion have nothing to do with the fundamental bestowal plan of the Paradise Sons of God, albeit it does appear to us that the salvage plan is a provisional feature of the bestowal plan.
186:5.9 The salvation of God for the mortals of Urantia would have been just as effective and unerringly certain if Jesus had not been put to death by the cruel hands of ignorant mortals. If the Master had been favorably received by the mortals of earth and had departed from Urantia by the voluntary relinquishment of his life in the flesh, the fact of the love of God and the mercy of the Son—the fact of sonship with God—would have in no wise been affected. You mortals are the sons of God, and only one thing is required to make such a truth factual in your personal experience, and that is your spirit-born faith.
~*~*~
We might question if it was 'predetermined' or forcefully caused by God himself, the death of Jesus, but we could assume that in God's foreknowledge....all possibilities, probabilities and pontentials are known to God, - since God does know all that is knowable. The UB maintains that such a 'death' was not necessary to effect an atonement, since God's love is already fully existing and available to all his sons and daughters, and the life of Jesus,
his revelation of God in the flesh, his manifesting the Father to us, was all that was essential, by the his
bestowal(incarnation) of himself to us. - his gospel of the kingdom includes the revelation that God is our Father, and we are his children and this is enhanced and realized more by faith, the rebirth of the spirit thru the revelation. So,...no blood was needed by a God to merit or obtain for man, God's grace since such grace is ever available
that he can access by faith.
186:5.7 “Jesus is not about to die as a sacrifice for sin. He is not going to atone for the inborn moral guilt of the human race. Mankind has no such racial guilt before God. Guilt is purely a matter of personal sin and knowing, deliberate rebellion against the will of the Father and the administration of his Sons†(bold mine).
Yes,...the narrative says Jesus was not just a sacrifice for sin, neither can the death of a person atone for the sins of another,...this is clearly taught in the OT, see Ezekiel for starters. Even blood of animals did not clean sins, they are only symbolic, there is no 'magic' in the blood, apart from some 'faith' of the worshipper or some spiritual transfer or psychic change within. It still holds as the prophets proclaim, and Jesus and his apostles taught,...."repent, for the kingdom of heaven is come near".
That might work in Sunday School,...but we've already addressed the belief and concept that 'God' wrote the bible personally as if guiding every single word of it,...a belief rather magnificient and mind-boggling, since the volume is by no means without errors, contradictions, variant readings and imperfections. - thats understandable for a collection of books written by different human authors amid varying agendas and copied translations, where some errors, glosses, ommissions, interpolations, redactions, etc. Hence my view that the book is inerrant, infallible is quite a 'stretch', and is unnecessary.
This does not discount any inspiration, good or value in the Bible, of course not, it just recognizes its imperfection, limitations, human filtering. The UB recognizes and honors the truth, wisdom, good that has come down thru the Bible, and is still part of our religious heritage, as a particular 'dispensation'.
This also goes for the UB, mind you, since the celestial authors so assumed used human knowledge of the times (20th century) to expand/expound upon in many areas, so these are somewhat limited to those conceptual frames, and its admitted in the science/cosmology given, that some info. will undergo updating and modification, as new science and discoveries unfold. The authors also admit in some places not knowings certain things and postulating on some things, so the UB does not claim infallibility or innerrancy. It represents a certain dispensation of knowledge/revelation
proportionate to what was allowed during its transmission. It came thru human mediums, filtered thru human instruments more or less, so...it may bear some colouring and imperfections thereby. Such things are to be logically expected, and then again, any religious book or 'revelation' is to be weighed by its own value, meaning, quality, character and CONTENT.
It would be a much better enterprise to take the good from every dispensation, and augment one's own religious philosophy and practice thereby, then to merely 'demonize' every thing that appears to be different, unorthodox or indifferent to one's own religion. Love integrates and includes all good synergistically, while fear divides, condemns and villifies. It might be for us to recognize love and wisdom at the fore, than merely a rigid or dogmatic theology that cramps one's spiritual freedom, rather than sets it free to value all truth, goodness and beauty wherever it is found.
