Table Of ContentA C M
OURSE IN IRACLES
URTEXT MANUSCRIPTS
COMPLETE SEVEN VOLUME COMBINED EDITION
TEXT * WORKBOOK * MANUAL * USE OF TERMS
PSYCHOTHERAPY * SONG OF PRAYER
GIFTS OF GOD
The seven volumes of the Urtext contained in this
PDF file are also available
• in book form through
http://www.miraclesinactionpress.com
• and as HTML (web page) files which can be
viewed and searched on-line with your web
browser through
http://www.miraclesinactionpress.com/dthomp74/2009
• and in a Concordance through
http://www.miraclesinactionpress.com/dthomp74/2008
Comments and inquiries can be addressed to:
[email protected]
About the cover art
In this remarkable painting the
thematic resonance with A
Course in Miracles is apparent.
In the bottom of the painting the
soldiers slumber. They are lost in
their dreams and oblivious to the
presence of the Heavenly Host,
the Angel moving the stone from
the tomb, and the Son of Man
rising from the grave. The theme
here is of “Awakening” demon-
strating “there is no death.” The
emphasis is on the resurrection
rather than the crucifixion. While
striking some as “Catholic,” this is
a Reformation (Protestant) artist.
Its theme echoes both
Protestantism and the Course in
its emphasis on the resurrection
and the empty tomb rather than
bodily suffering and sacrifice.
The theme of ascension and
awakening symbolized by the resurrection motif transcends all denominations
however, and even Christianity itself in its resonance with the Perennial
Philosophy.
The Resurrection by Pieter Lastman
Dutch, 1612 - Oil on oak panel
Unframed: 43.2 x 32.4 cm (17 x 12 3/4 in) Framed: 66 x 54.9 x 4.1
cm (26 x 21 5/8 in)
The original is located at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California. Used
by permission.
Pieter Lastman (1583? - 1633)
Dutch painter, born in Amsterdam, probably in 1583. He was a pupil of the Manerist
painter Gerrit Pietersz Sweenlinck. More important for his artistic development was a
stay in Italy from c.1603 to 1607, presumably in Venice and Rome; here he was
subject to many influences, in particular the workshop of Adam Elsheimer. Lastman
spent the rest of his life as an esteemed and successful artist in Amsterdam, where
he died in 1633. Jan Lievens and Rembrandt were his most important pupils.
i
A COURSE IN MIRACLES
URTEXT MANUSCRIPTS
COMPLETE SEVEN VOLUME COMBINED EDITION
Published by Miracles in Action Press, LLC
52 Fitzgerald Drive, Jaffrey, NH 03452
www.miraclesinactionpress.com
First Printed in 2009
Copyright © 2008 Doug Thompson
All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-9816984-0-3 – cover with painting and dvd
978-0-9816984-3-4 – burgundy cover and dvd
978-0-9816984-4-1 – cover with painting and dvd order form
978-0-9816984-5-8 – burgundy cover with dvd order form
The printed books are in a different format than this E-text edition
The Original Dictation of A Course in Miracles is in the public
domain by virtue of the Scribes’ assertion that it is an original
composition by Jesus of Nazareth. As such, it is not eligible for
copyright protection under current US copyright law. The Scribes’
role was to record and share the teaching. Copyrighted material
includes Publisher’s Note, Preface, footnotes, appendices and the
original contents and compilation of the companion DVD.
Author: Jesus of Nazareth
Scribes: Helen Schucman & William Thetford
Editor: Doug Thompson
Publisher: Doug Monkton
This build generated 2009-11-02
ii
A C M
OURSE IN IRACLES
U M
RTEXT ANUSCRIPTS
COMPLETE SEVEN VOLUME COMBINED EDITION
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER v
PREFACE ix
ABOUT THE E‐TEXT xxvi
1. TEXT 1
2. WORKBOOK 993
3. MANUAL 1655
4. USE OF TERMS 1735
5. PSYCHOTHERAPY 1755
6. SONG OF PRAYER 1789
7. GIFTS OF GOD 1825
APPENDIX I ‐ THE VERSIONS 1849
APPENDIX II ‐ IDENTIFICATION 1883
APPENDIX III ‐ THE REFERENCES 1921
APPENDIX IV ‐ THE DIFFERENCES 1953
APPENDIX V ‐ EDITORIAL POLICIES 1969
APPENDIX VI ‐ WHAT’S ON THE DVD 1975
iii
iv
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
The manuscripts collection of A Course in Miracles known as
the “Urtext Manuscripts” represents the oldest available typed copy
of the words dictated by a “voice” to Scribe Helen Schucman. The
voice, claimed Schucman, was Jesus. Most of the very personal
material1 found early in the original Shorthand Notes is omitted and
significant “dictated without notes” material which is not found in
the original Notes is included in this edition. A small amount of re-
writing also appears between the Notes and the Urtext. The Urtext is
not "the first" or "the original" copy of the Course, but it is very
close, much closer than any other version in print. In extensive
appendices, Doug Thompson maps out the complex ancestry of the
five known historical scribal versions of the Course and the
significance of some of the differences between them which amount
to as many as 48,000 words.2
The word “urtext” refers to a “piecing together”3 of earlier
primary source material to capture as accurately as possible an
author’s original intent with no additions, omissions or
modifications. The Urtext Manuscripts are just that. Drawing from
both the original dictation in the Notes and subsequent clarifications
and expansions, Schucman and co-Scribe William Thetford present
in this document almost the whole of the author’s original dictation
1 While the intent was apparently to remove only the “personal material,” some
sentences which appear to
belong to the Course, including two miracle principles which were buried within
omitted pages of “personal
material” were also omitted. These suspected “inadvertent omissions” of
apparently authentic dictation are
included in footnotes in this edition
2 Word count chart by Doug Thompson (approximate totals as measured by MS Word):
Version Word Count Incremental difference
Urtext: 337,373 38,184 words omitted from Urtext to HLC
HLC: 299,189 10,221 words omitted from HLC to FIP
FIP: 288,968 48,405 words omitted from Urtext to FIP
Annotated HLC: 301,647 35,726 words omitted from Urtext to Annotated HLC
Annotated HLC 301,647 2,458 words added to the original HLC
3 From Encyclopedia Britannica; see Appendix II “What is the Urtext?” for an
expanded discussion
v
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
with minimal editing and only a few minor and apparently
inadvertent omissions.
The Urtext Manuscripts predate all other editions of the
Course currently in print. The 1972 Hugh Lynn Cayce (HLC)
manuscript of the Text volume, which is the basis of the “JCIM” and
“Original” editions published by the Course in Miracles Society
(CIMS), is a later heavily edited and abridged reworking of the
Urtext. The 1975 Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) version published
in 18+ languages, is a substantial reworking of the HLC.4
Whether we believe the words of A Course in Miracles were
authored by the historical Jesus of Nazareth, Dr. Helen Schucman or
some other voice or demon calling himself “Christ Jesus,” it is
certainly among the most profound discourses on universal themes
ever conceived. While Schucman claimed the voice was that of
Jesus, one need not accept any claims of authorship to recognize the
enduring value of the thought system and its insights into daily
human life.
In The Urtext Manuscripts, the reader will appreciate the
authenticity of the text as well as the textual scholarship. This is
because it includes over 48,000 words edited out of most previously
published versions; discussions of sex and possession, Freud, the
Bible, Edgar Cayce and Mary Baker Eddy will be new material for
many students and teachers of other versions. While some of this
material consists of “personal asides” not intended to be part of the
Course teaching, much was clearly intended for inclusion.
Sometimes the author’s wish to have a topic included is explicitly
stated as in this remark on sex which was omitted from other
published editions,
“I want to finish the instructions about sex, because this is an
area the miracle worker MUST understand.”
– Urtext T 1 B 40b
4 It should be noted that these observations pertain largely to the Text volume scribed
between 1965 and 1968.Subsequent volumes experienced much less editing and have fewer
differences, version to version.
vi
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
This volume is also the first attempt by any edition to engage
the reader in the author’s unique interpretation of the Bible and
Christianity. With over 1000 (footnoted) references to the Bible and
its apparently Christian language, we might suppose A Course in
Miracles is addressed to a Christian audience. Yet terms such as
forgiveness, salvation, atonement, Christ, and even second coming
are the common vocabulary of universal spiritual reflection upon
which Christianity has no monopoly. It is the vocabulary of the
perennial or universal philosophy5 common to religious and spiritual
expression across the ages. A Course in Miracles has found an
enthusiastic audience among millions of people seeking a new voice
in spiritual, if not Biblical, insight. In the Urtext, Jesus asks us to
consider the Bible anew,
“You have begun to realize that this is a very practical course,
because it means EXACTLY what it says. So does the Bible, if it is
properly understood. There has been a marked tendency on the part
of many of the Bible’s followers, and also its translators, to be
entirely literal about fear and ITS effects, but NOT about love and
ITS results. Thus, “hellfire” means burning, but raising the dead
becomes allegorical. Actually, it is PARTICULARLY the references
to the outcomes of love that should be taken literally because the
Bible is ABOUT love, being about GOD.” – Urtext T 8 I 7
The companion 4.5 Gb. DVD* and website offer a substantial
research library with over 10,000 pages of primary source
manuscripts, concordances and searchable e-texts, the Biblical
5 “Certain pupils have been assigned to each of God's teachers, and they will begin to look
for him as soon as he has answered the Call. They were chosen for him because the form of
the universal curriculum that he will teach is best for them in view of their level of
understanding.” Urtext M 3 A 1
“In philosophy, universalism is a doctrine or school claiming universal facts can be
discovered… In certain religions, Universality is the quality ascribed to an entity whose
existence is consistent throughout the universe.” Wikipedia: Universality (philosophy)
“Universalism can be classified as a religion, theology and philosophy that generally holds
all persons and creatures are related to God or the Divine and will be reconciled to God. In
Christianity, Universalism refers to the belief that all humans can be saved through Jesus
Christ and eventually come to harmony in God's kingdom. Wikipedia: Universalism
vii
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
equivalent of finding the original manuscripts of the canonical
gospels. A fascinating digital audio reading of the 31 chapter text
(and other material) is included exclusively on the DVD. To some it
as if we are listening to the voice of Jesus in real time.
Readers are encouraged to participate in identifying
unmarked Biblical references as well as any errors that may have
slipped through our proofreading. Doug Thompson, scholar,
researcher, commentator, editor and compiler of this remarkable
package further invites reader participation in the process of creating
a “definitive edition” of A Course in Miracles with a dedication to
accuracy being a goal Jesus is certain to appreciate. Aware that such
a project will take many years of collaboration across several
disciplines Mr. Thompson has aptly stated, “The goal here is not to
have the last word on ‘The Word,’ it is simply to move toward the
humbler goal of getting the words right.”
Doug Monkton
Peterborough, New Hampshire, USA
November 2008
viii
