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Who Knows "The Truth"? What is Truth? Where is Truth Found?

203 posts · 11 participants · started Mar 27, 2016, 11:58 AM

BonitaParticipant
Apr 21, 2016, 2:42 PM

Mark Kurtz wrote: My first encounter with TUB was fraught with doubt, skepticism, mockery, curiosity, and some degree of frustration, even some degree of anger. As time passed, there came to mind joyful feelings and new clarity. And still more joy later. Why not share that!!!!!!

Mark, if your first encounter with TUB caused doubt, mockery and anger, why are you surprised that others have the same reaction? You said it took time for it to sink in for you. Why not allow others time too? There’s nothing wrong with exposing people to new ideas even if they slam the door in your face (figuratively speaking). Let it settle. The words spoken will register somewhere in their minds and when the time is ripe, may resurface for reconsideration. That’s what happened to you and it can happen to anyone. But it’s not our job to force fit our version of truth it into another person’s thought structure.

I have faith in letting the Spirit of Truth do his own work. I say what I believe is true knowing that it is a relative representation of truth that may not fit into another person’s thought structure the way I present it. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is to share it and let Michael do his own work in translating it to the other person in his own time. If I stay out of it, chances are it makes his work easier. It’s not our kingdom; it’s his.

p1932:1 178:1.16 Do not forget that you are commissioned to go forth preaching only the good news. You are not to attack the old ways; you are skillfully to put the leaven of new truth in the midst of the old beliefs. Let the Spirit of Truth do his own work. Let controversy come only when they who despise the truth force it upon you. But when the willful unbeliever attacks you, do not hesitate to stand in vigorous defense of the truth which has saved and sanctified you.

p1592:6 141:6.4 Do not strive with men–always be patient. It is not your kingdom; you are only ambassadors. Simply go forth proclaiming: This is the kingdom of heaven–God is your Father and you are his sons, and this good news, if you wholeheartedly believe it, is your eternal salvation.”
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 22, 2016, 10:52 AM
Sage advice Bonita:

…Let the Spirit of Truth do his own work.… 1932:1 178:1.16

How does “he” work?

…in every dark hour, at every crossroad in the forward struggle, the Spirit of Truth will always speak, saying, “This is the way.” ^(383.2) ^34:7.8

We can recognize a certain amount of truth through ordinary experiences and experiments. But divine truth receives the validation, the “conviction”, of the Spirit of Truth. Disseminating this confirmed and living truth makes us happy. The quality of the truth we live and give is the measure of our spiritual progress. Becoming personal yet perfect living truth is the supreme goal of the ages.

This Spirit of Truth appears after religion, philosophy and science have lifted society to that level whereon revealed truth can be recognized, studied and adapted to local life. But the roots of Truth always lead back to Paradise where truth, beauty and goodness exist in absolute perfection–in Father. They are the conceptual pillars of God’s character and nature on which we build the framework to comprehend and eventually live spiritual reality.

The Spirit of Truth arrives after divine visitations like Jesus’ appearance on Urantia 2100 years ago. It is a bestowal of the Father of all gifts down-stepped to little worlds like ours through our Bestowal Sons, the Michaels. Jesus was Michael number 611,121st’s identity when on Urantia. He is now the provider and sustainer of the Spirit of Truth on millions of worlds of the ‘local universe’. His Spirit Comforter is gradually and tenderly leading Nebadon’s worlds into an age of “light and life”, even perfection.

…When Jesus was on earth, he lived his life as one personality–Jesus of Nazareth. As the indwelling spirit of the “new teacher,” the Master has, since Pentecost, been able to live his life anew in the experience of every truth-taught believer…. ^(2062.10) ^194:3.1

The Spirit of Truth is what the name suggests. It is a personal, ever ready, ever true guide to assist us in choosing the best route to the divine shining on Paradise, to perfection of truth discernment and living. This Spirit sustains our truth seeking souls while we acquire basic cosmic education here in the flesh. Next stop–the Mansion Worlds–where we will attend schools of truth, goodness and beauty. The SofT will sojourn with us there too.

…The bestowal Spirit of Truth which invests the human minds of Urantia is unerringly responsive to truth–the living spirit relationship of all things and all beings as they are co-ordinated in the eternal ascent Godward…. ^(647.4) ^56:10.13

It should be noted there is no individualized Spirit of Goodness nor a Spirit of Beauty. Can we assume those two will be found within, or at least adjacent to the Spirit of Truth since all three are elements of love?

…Divine goodness is more fully shown forth in the loving ministry of the manifold personalities of the Infinite Spirit. But love, the sum total of these three qualities, is man’s perception of God as his spirit Father…. ^(647.8) ^56:10.17

We are told the SofT and beauty are intimately connected:

…The spirit which my Father and I shall send into the world is not only the Spirit of Truth but also the spirit of idealistic beauty…. ^(1732.4) ^155:6.11

Richard E Warren
BonitaParticipant
Apr 22, 2016, 4:24 PM

Rick Warren wrote: It should be noted there is no individualized Spirit of Goodness nor a Spirit of Beauty. Can we assume those two will be found within, or at least adjacent to the Spirit of Truth since all three are elements of love?

Does this quote shine any light on that question:

56:10.17 Universal beauty is the recognition of the reflection of the Isle of Paradise in the material creation, while eternal truth is the special ministry of the Paradise Sons who not only bestow themselves upon the mortal races but even pour out their Spirit of Truth upon all peoples. Divine goodness is more fully shown forth in the loving ministry of the manifold personalities of the Infinite Spirit. But love, the sum total of these three qualities, is man’s perception of God as his spirit Father.
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 22, 2016, 4:30 PM

Bonita wrote:

Rick Warren wrote: It should be noted there is no individualized Spirit of Goodness nor a Spirit of Beauty. Can we assume those two will be found within, or at least adjacent to the Spirit of Truth since all three are elements of love?

Does this quote shine any light on that question:

56:10.17 Universal beauty is the recognition of the reflection of the Isle of Paradise in the material creation, while eternal truth is the special ministry of the Paradise Sons who not only bestow themselves upon the mortal races but even pour out their Spirit of Truth upon all peoples. Divine goodness is more fully shown forth in the loving ministry of the manifold personalities of the Infinite Spirit. But love, the sum total of these three qualities, is man’s perception of God as his spirit Father.

It does!

Richard E Warren
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 25, 2016, 11:59 AM
Ever since Pentecost (May 18, 30 AD) the Spirit of Truth has been an unfailing revealer, comforter, adviser, affectionate friend and wise philosopher to every soul that welcomes him. We are never forced to accept divine help, but the Spirit of Truth is always available to point us away from error–untruth, and toward the Father of TRUTH on Paradise.

Genuine religious experience becomes more common and more profound on worlds where the Spirit of Truth has been bestowed. He causes our expanding religious experience to coalesce with the indwelling spirit guide, the Adjuster, to provide us with the philosophical foundations of an impregnable faith. Faith rests on genuine religious experience, and is supplemented by revelations of divine truth, personal and epochal.

…On the day of Pentecost the religion of Jesus broke all national restrictions and racial fetters. It is forever true, “Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” On this day the Spirit of Truth became the personal gift from the Master to every mortal…. p.2063

It is not well known that the Pentecost bestowal marked the end of the possibility of spirit invasion, so called ‘demonic possession’ by rebel beings. Some still believe in it, the Catholic Church still practices exorcism. The pouring out of the Master’s Spirit of Truth also effectively terminated the Lucifer rebellion. And when this Pentecost Spirit was inaugurated, social and religious progress was quickened, limitless human potential was unleashed. Urantia has made more spiritual, social and material progress in the last two thousand years than in any period before.

The Spirit of Truth is the local expression of Universal Truth and another source of our wisdom. He offers the spiritual assistance needed to create a righteous character that allows us to advance in wisdom, love, and service over time and in eternity. We never own this Spirit, but he is one of our personal, loyal and faithful companions on the long, long trip to Paradise.

When we allow it, the Spirit of Truth transforms us and supplies the wisdom and direction to know and do Father’s will. And he always affirms that we are children of God, ever consorting with the presence of the Father, that “still, small voice” within, the one that hails from Paradise.

Truth, beauty and goodness are divinely intertwined concepts that attempt to convey Father’s real and partially fathomable nature. When we know one we will in some measure realize the other two. Symmetry of development is required. Spiritual, conceptual and material balance are essential to soul progress. The Spirit of Truth is the great revealer of God’s nature, and that nature is best known and realized by a soul in equal pursuit of perfection in goodness, truth and beauty. Recall these lines pointing to the need for balance?

…At one time the hope of the survival of Occidental civilization lay in the sublime Hebraic concepts of goodness and the advanced Hellenic concepts of beauty…. (1011:15) 92:6.17

…The great mistake of the Hebrew religion was its failure to associate the goodness of God with the factual truths of science and the appealing beauty of art…. (43:2) 2:7.9

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Richard E Warren
BonitaParticipant
Apr 25, 2016, 1:25 PM

Rick Warren wrote: The Spirit of Truth is the local expression of Universal Truth and another source of our wisdom. . . . When we allow it, the Spirit of Truth transforms us and supplies the wisdom and direction to know and do Father’s will.

I just want to tease out a few really fine hairs here. The Spirit of Truth provides the means by which we gain spiritual wisdom, but like material wisdom, we have to earn it by our own effort and experience. The Spirit of Truth does not actually supply us with ready-made wisdom. He endows our souls with the ability to interpret spiritual meanings and values which leads us to the recognition of and experience with spiritual wisdom in the soul. Soul level wisdom is more like mota. Wisdom of the mind is a function of the Creative Spirit, or Divine Minister, in the form of the seventh adjutant spirit, the spirit of wisdom.

Also, the Spirit of Truth is more than just a local expression of final truth. The Spirit of Truth reveals truth on the level of the Supreme. He is living truth and is therefore experiential, evolutionary and part of the experience of Supremacy. Final truth, or Universal Truth, as you call it, is not living truth; it’s uniform and . . . well . . . final, yet we know that existential truth has no beginning or end, so there really is no such thing as final. In using the word “final”, I think they mean complete and perfect. Perfect truth only exists on Paradise and ever will only exist on Paradise. God sent us a fragment of his existential perfection so we could use it in an experiential life. Even when we fuse, we’re a hybrid of existential and experiential, thus never really final or complete, always with more potential for finality and completeness.

And moreover, although almost everyone thinks that the Spirit of Truth is limited in his ministry to this local universe, it is not so. The Spirit of Truth will continue to minister to us during our entire ascension because he is part of the Supreme. The Spirit of Truth is the way to the Father, the only way to the Father, and he stays with us until we get there.

p1286:7 117:5.9 While such spiritual influences as the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth are local universe ministrations, their guidance is not wholly confined to the geographic limitations of a given local creation. As the ascending mortal passes beyond the boundaries of his local universe of origin, he is not entirely deprived of the ministry of the Spirit of Truth which has so constantly taught and guided him through the philosophic mazes of the material and morontial worlds, in every crisis of ascension unfailingly directing the Paradise pilgrim, ever saying: “This is the way.” When you leave the domains of the local universe, through the ministry of the spirit of the emerging Supreme Being and through the provisions of superuniverse reflectivity, you will still be guided in your Paradise ascent by the comforting directive spirit of the Paradise bestowal Sons of God.
GeneParticipant
Apr 25, 2016, 1:54 PM
Teasing out fine, not splitting – hairs.

Nice.

so much to be “earned” by the bottom line ” our own effort and experience”.

Can never evade that one.
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 26, 2016, 11:06 AM

Bonita wrote:

Rick Warren wrote: The Spirit of Truth is the local expression of Universal Truth and another source of our wisdom. . . . When we allow it, the Spirit of Truth transforms us and supplies the wisdom and direction to know and do Father’s will.

I just want to tease out a few really fine hairs here. The Spirit of Truth provides the means by which we gain spiritual wisdom, but like material wisdom, we have to earn it by our own effort and experience. The Spirit of Truth does not actually supply us with ready-made wisdom. He endows our souls with the ability to interpret spiritual meanings and values which leads us to the recognition of and experience with spiritual wisdom in the soul. Soul level wisdom is more like mota. Wisdom of the mind is a function of the Creative Spirit, or Divine Minister, in the form of the seventh adjutant spirit, the spirit of wisdom. Also, the Spirit of Truth is more than just a local expression of final truth. The Spirit of Truth reveals truth on the level of the Supreme. He is living truth and is therefore experiential, evolutionary and part of the experience of Supremacy. Final truth, or Universal Truth, as you call it, is not living truth; it’s uniform and . . . well . . . final, yet we know that existential truth has no beginning or end, so there really is no such thing as final. In using the word “final”, I think they mean complete and perfect. Perfect truth only exists on Paradise and ever will only exist on Paradise. God sent us a fragment of his existential perfection so we could use it in an experiential life. Even when we fuse, we’re a hybrid of existential and experiential, thus never really final or complete, always with more potential for finality and completeness. And moreover, although almost everyone thinks that the Spirit of Truth is limited in his ministry to this local universe, it is not so. The Spirit of Truth will continue to minister to us during our entire ascension because he is part of the Supreme. The Spirit of Truth is the way to the Father, the only way to the Father, and he stays with us until we get there.

p1286:7 117:5.9 While such spiritual influences as the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth are local universe ministrations, their guidance is not wholly confined to the geographic limitations of a given local creation. As the ascending mortal passes beyond the boundaries of his local universe of origin, he is not entirely deprived of the ministry of the Spirit of Truth which has so constantly taught and guided him through the philosophic mazes of the material and morontial worlds, in every crisis of ascension unfailingly directing the Paradise pilgrim, ever saying: “This is the way.” When you leave the domains of the local universe, through the ministry of the spirit of the emerging Supreme Being and through the provisions of superuniverse reflectivity, you will still be guided in your Paradise ascent by the comforting directive spirit of the Paradise bestowal Sons of God.

Thanks for the extra ‘tease’ Bonita, much appreciated. To me wisdom and truth overlap considerably, and without a doubt the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Wisdom work as one. The authors never suggest it, but I like the idea that the Spirit of Truth acts as an 8th Adjutant, a coordinator and unifier of the seven.

Interesting to note, in the descriptions of the Adjutants, truth is mentioned in only one, number three: Courage!

…The spirit of courage — the fidelity endowment — in personal beings, the basis of character acquirement and the intellectual root of moral stamina and spiritual bravery. When enlightened by facts and inspired by truth, this becomes the secret of the urge of evolutionary ascension by the channels of intelligent and conscientious self-direction…. ^(402.5) ^36:5.8

We might tease out the connection between truth and courage. It sometimes requires great courage to recognize and live the truth. But then we might also say intuition, understanding, knowledge, counsel, worship and wisdom are required.

Wisdom, the highest adjutant (the one closest to divinity?), must work with the Spirit of Truth in applying the golden rule, but what is the role of the Adjuster in such application?

…Animals have knowledge, but only man possesses wisdom capacity. Truth is made accessible to the wisdom-endowed individual by the bestowal on such a mind of the spirits of the Father and the Sons, the Thought Adjuster and the Spirit of Truth. ^(1111.8) ^101:6.4

Note the close association of Truth and wisdom here:

…Spiritual philosophy, the wisdom of spirit realities, is the endowment of the Spirit of Truth. ^(1108.1) ^101:3.2

And here Jesus uses a Hebrew proverb to teach the relation of knowledge, truth and wisdom:

…It was at Ur that Ganid had a long talk with Jesus regarding the difference between knowledge, wisdom, and truth. And he was greatly charmed with the saying of the Hebrew wise man: “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. With all your quest for knowledge, get understanding. Exalt wisdom and she will promote you. She will bring you to honor if you will but embrace her.” ^(1481.5) ^133:9.3

Wisdom, like the Spirit of Truth, is referred to by gender!

Proverbs 4 is Jesus’ source:

7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

Thanks Mom

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Richard E Warren
BonitaParticipant
Apr 26, 2016, 4:01 PM
Rick, I hope you know I love you and it’s because I love you that I point out little things, tease the fine hairs, so to speak. You mentioned something else that I think needs further teasing:

Rick Warren wrote:To me wisdom and truth overlap considerably, and without a doubt the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Wisdom work as one. The authors never suggest it, but I like the idea that the Spirit of Truth acts as an 8th Adjutant, a coordinator and unifier of the seven.

It’s okay to think that there’s an eighth adjutant, but it’s not the Spirit of Truth, it’s the supermind, the Holy Spirit. The adjutants are mind ministries, the Holy Spirit is the next level of mind ministry. It appears when the mind becomes attuned to spirit. The supermind is more receptive to the discernment of spirit gravity than the adjutants. This, in part, has to do with her personal spirit presence. The Spirit of Truth is a personal spirit ministry. One of the reasons the Spirit of Truth is combined with the Holy Spirit is because her (super)mind ministry makes it possible to discern his personal spirit presence. Long before the Spirit of Truth arrived on this planet, the supermind was the so-called “eighth adjutant”. The supermind is superhuman, its ministry reaches down and pulls up thoughts from the spirits of worship and wisdom so they can be processed and sanctified on a higher level . . . the soul. The supermind is the mind of the soul and the Spirit of Truth works his magic on the thoughts that make it there.

36:5.15 Living mind, prior to the appearance of capacity to learn from experience, is the ministry domain of the Master Physical Controllers. Creature mind, before acquiring the ability to recognize divinity and worship Deity, is the exclusive domain of the adjutant spirits. With the appearance of the spiritual response of the creature intellect, such created minds at once become superminded, being instantly encircuited in the spirit cycles of the local universe Mother Spirit.

Rick Warren wrote:We might tease out the connection between truth and courage.

Sure. It might be useful to point out that the descriptions of the adjutants in 36:6-12 are as they function in a personality, not in animals. However in the animal world, the spirit of courage is the first spirit that gives animals a crude sense of protective self-consciousness (62:6.3). We know that only personalities truly have self-consciousness, so you might wonder what the purpose of this in the animal world. It’s an individual survival sense that encourages the animal to have the courage to fight for survival. In a personality, particularly one that has entered the seventh psychic circle and is being ministered to by the Spirit of Truth, the fight for survival changes focus. When the mind is inspired by the Spirit of Truth the courage to fight is focused on eternal survival. Jesus always said, “fear not,” and “fight the good fight of faith.”

Rick Warren wrote:

Wisdom, the highest adjutant (the one closest to divinity?), must work with the Spirit of Truth in applying the golden rule, but what is the role of the Adjuster in such application? …Animals have knowledge, but only man possesses wisdom capacity. Truth is made accessible to the wisdom-endowed individual by the bestowal on such a mind of the spirits of the Father and the Sons, the Thought Adjuster and the Spirit of Truth. (1111.8) 101:6.4

The quote you are referring to means that the Spirit of Truth and the Adjuster are not accessible to anyone who has not come up through all seven adjutants and entered the seventh psychic circle. That’s all it means concerning the adjutant of wisdom. The wisdom endowed individual is one who has entered the seventh psychic circle and given birth to a soul.

The Adjuster is the source of goodness, the ideal of the golden rule. The Spirit of Truth is the interpreter and revealer of the Father’s goodness to the soul. The material mind must discover this, recognize it and accept it. It does this by opening the gateway to the soul (spiritual insight). Unlocking the gateway to the soul is the duty of the spirit of wisdom, the coordinator of all the other adjutants. When you want to open the gateway it is through appeal to the spirit of wisdom. He lines up all the other adjutants, has them face the right direction, puts all their ducks in a row, and whammo, the combination opens the vault to the soul where all the goodies are. When you become addicted to the goodies in the soul and use the whammo wisdom combination to open the vault often enough, it eventually stays open, and the light of the soul flows freely to the material mind. That begins to happen sometime after entry into the third psychic circle where the mind starts to get weaned off the lower adjutants. Up to that point, a person is in the process of learning how to function with better coordination of the adjutants under the coordination of the spirit of wisdom so he can do the unlocking with less effort. After the third circle, the mind doesn’t really need courage (third adjutant) as much. The lure of goodies, or goodness itself, overpowers its fears and hesitations. Okay, so I’ll bet you want quotes now, right? There are so many. How about just two:

36:5.12 The spirit of wisdom — the inherent tendency of all moral creatures towards orderly and progressive evolutionary advancement. This is the highest of the adjutants, the spirit co-ordinator and articulator of the work of all the others. This spirit is the secret of that inborn urge of mind creatures which initiates and maintains the practical and effective program of the ascending scale of existence; that gift of living things which accounts for their inexplicable ability to survive and, in survival, to utilize the co-ordination of all their past experience and present opportunities for the acquisition of all of everything that all of the other six mental ministers can mobilize in the mind of the organism concerned. Wisdom is the acme of intellectual performance. Wisdom is the goal of a purely mental and moral existence.

110:6.20 From the seventh to the third circle there occurs increased and unified action of the seven adjutant mind-spirits in the task of weaning the mortal mind from its dependence on the realities of the material life mechanisms preparatory to increased introduction to morontia levels of experience. From the third circle onward the adjutant influence progressively diminishes.

Rick Warren wrote: Note the close association of Truth and wisdom here: …Spiritual philosophy, the wisdom of spirit realities, is the endowment of the Spirit of Truth. (1108.1) 101:3.2

Yes, but notice that the Spirit of Truth is all about spiritual wisdom. The adjutant, the spirit of wisdom, is all about material wisdom about to burst forth into the world of spirit dominance.

Rick Warren wrote: Wisdom, like the Spirit of Truth, is referred to by gender! Proverbs 4 is Jesus’ source: 7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. 8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

Yes, the spirit of wisdom is the principal thing if you want to open the gateway to the soul where the Spirit is, then get your understanding on the spiritual level. And the reason why the spirit of wisdom, a mind helper, is referred to as a “she” is because she belongs to the Creative Spirit, the Universe Mother Spirit, the source of our minds.
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 27, 2016, 12:02 PM

Bonita wrote:

Rick, I hope you know I love you and it’s because I love you that I point out little things, tease the fine hairs, so to speak…

Your love is one of my dearest treasures, Bonita. Thanks for it, and for adding your perspective in such exquisite detail and laser-like clarity.

I use eighth adjutant to denote hierarchy more than function, which your words and quotes do well define. And you are right the supermind should not be ignored nor neglected. In the paragraph before the one you quoted the Solitary Messenger offers this definition of ‘supermind’:

…the liaison domain of human and divine interrelationship…. ^(1208.2) ^110:5.3

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One of the names associated with the Spirit of Truth is Pentecost. It appears in 51 paragraphs of the UB, the first appearance is about one of the changes wrought by the bestowal of the SofT:

…The secondary midwayers should not be confused with the primary order, who date from the near times of the arrival of the Planetary Prince. On Urantia a majority of these earlier midway creatures went into rebellion with Caligastia and have, since Pentecost, been interned. Many of the Adamic group who did not remain loyal to the planetary administration are likewise interned…. ^(583.6) ^51:3.7

How do scholars view Pentecost? There is terrible confusion, here you can glimpse how such confusion evolved:

Pentecost (Ancient Greek: “the fiftieth [day]”) is the Greek name for Shavuot (lit: “Weeks”), the Feast of Weeks, a prominent feast in the calendar of ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law to Moses at Sinai. In Christianity, Pentecost is celebrated fifty days after Easter Sunday, inclusively (i.e., 49 days with the first day counted, seven weeks), hence its name.[1][2] In Judaism, Shavuot is on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (late May or early June). Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday (which itself is 40 days after Easter).

The feast is also called White Sunday, or “Whitsunday“, especially in the United Kingdom, where traditionally the next day, Whit Monday, was also a public holiday. In Eastern Christianity, Pentecost can also refer to the entire fifty days between Easter and Pentecost, hence the book containing the liturgical texts for Paschaltide is called the Pentecostarion.

In the New Testament, Pentecost was the occasion of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the Acts of the Apostles 2:1–31. and therefore in the Christian liturgical year, it became a feast commemorating this occasion. For this reason, Pentecost is described by some Christians as the “Birthday of the Church”.[3] The Pentecostal movement of Christianity derives its name from this New Testament event, as the movement emphasizes direct personal experience with God, akin to the Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.

Source/more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecost

And so you see how the forty days became fifty, and how the Holy Spirit is conflated with the Spirit of Truth.

This paragraph explains the confusion with Jewish tradition:

…The apostles had been in hiding for forty days. This day happened to be the Jewish festival of Pentecost, and thousands of visitors from all parts of the world were in Jerusalem. Many arrived for this feast, but a majority had tarried in the city since the Passover. Now these frightened apostles emerged from their weeks of seclusion to appear boldly in the temple, where they began to preach the new message of a risen Messiah. And all the disciples were likewise conscious of having received some new spiritual endowment of insight and power…. ^(2060.1) ^194:1.1

The actual date of the bestowal was May 18, 30 AD.

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Richard E Warren
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 28, 2016, 10:38 AM
There is another word, a somewhat uncommon word, that is sometimes associated with the Spirit of Truth–Paraclete. And like Pentecost, Paraclete confuses the Holy Spirit with the SofT. And it appears in classical Greek philosophy, Judaism, even Islam.

From Wikipedia:
Etymology

Paraclete comes from the Koine Greek word παράκλητος (paráklētos, that can signify “one who consoles or comforts, one who encourages or uplifts; hence refreshes, and/or one who intercedes on our behalf as an advocate in court”).[1] The word for paraclete is passive in form, and etymologically (originally) signified “called to one’s side”. The active form of the word, parakletor, is not found in the New Testament but is found in Septuagint in Job 16:2 in the plural, and means “comforters”, in the saying of Job regarding the “miserable comforters” who failed to rekindle his spirit in his time of distress.

…In the Greek New Testament the word is most prominent in the Johannine writings. It appears in the Gospel of John (14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7) where it may be translated into English as “counselor”, “helper”, encourager, advocate, or “comforter”.[7]

The early church identified the Paraclete as the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5,1:8,2:4,2:38)[8] and in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5 v. 4 Jesus Christ uses the verb παρακληθήσονται, paraclethesontai, traditionally interpreted to signify “to be refreshed, encouraged, or comforted”. The text may also be translated as vocative as well as the traditional nominative.[9] Then the meaning of ‘paraclethesontai’, also informative of the meaning of the name, or noun Paraclete, implicates ‘are going to summon’ or ‘will be breaking off’… The Paraclete may thus mean ‘the summoner’ or ‘the one, who, or that which makes free’ [10]

In 1 John 2:1, “Paraclete” is used to describe the intercessory role of Jesus Christ who pleads to The Father on our behalf. And in John 14:16, Jesus says “another Paraclete” will come to help his disciples, implying Jesus is the first and primary Paraclete.

In Matt 3:10-12 and Luke 3:9-17, John the Baptist says a powerful one coming after him “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (NIV)

Verses like these are often used by Christians in Trinitarian theology to describe how God is revealed to the world and God’s role in salvation. According to Trinitarian doctrine, the Paraclete or Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who among other things provides guidance, consolation, strength, and support to people. Other titles for the Holy Spirit include ‘Spirit of Truth’, Lightful Spirit of God Almighty, Holy Breath, Almighty Breath, Giver of Life, Lord of Grace, Helper, ‘Comforter’, ‘Counselor’ and ‘Supporter’.

During his period as a hermit in the mid 12th century, Peter Abelard dedicated his chapel to the Paraclete because “I had come there as a fugitive and, in the depths of my despair, was granted some comfort by the grace of God.[11]

See also
Source/more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraclete
***

Paraclete does not appear in most English translations of the New Testament, but Catholicism knows it from the Greek and Latin, indicating advocate or counselor:

Paraclete, Comforter (L. Consolator; Greek parakletos), an appellation of the Holy Ghost. The Greek word which, as a designation of the Holy Ghost at least, occurs only in St. John (14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), has been variously translated “advocate”, “intercessor”, “teacher, “helper”, “comforter”. This last rendering, though at variance with the passive form of the Greek, is justified by the Hellenistic usage, a number of ancient versions, patristic and liturgical authority, and the evident needs of the Johannine context. According to St. John the mission of the Paraclete is to abide with the disciples after Jesus has withdrawn His visible presence from them; to inwardly bring home to them the teaching externally given by Christ and thus to stand as a witness to the doctrine and work of the Saviour. There is no reason for limiting to the Apostles themselves the comforting influence of the Paraclete as promised in the Gospel (Matthew 10:19; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11, 21:14) and described in Acts 2. In the above declaration of Christ, Cardinal Manning rightly sees a new dispensation, that of the Spirit of God, the Sanctifier. The Paraclete comforts the Church by guaranteeing her inerrancy and fostering her sanctity (see CHURCH). He comforts each individual soul in many ways. Says St. Bernard (Parvi Sermones): “De Spiritu Sancto testatur Scriptura quia procedit, spirat, inhabitat, replet, glorificat. Procedendo praedestinat; spirando vocat quos praedestinavit; inhabitando justificat quos vocavit; replendo accumulat meritis quos justificavit; glorificando ditat proemiis quos accumulavit meritis”. Every salutary condition, power, and action, in fact the whole range of our salvation, comes within the Comforter’s mission. Its extraordinary effects are styled gifts, fruits, beatitudes. Its ordinary working is sanctification with all it entails, habitual grace, infused virtues, adoption, and the right to the celestial inheritance. “The charity of God”, says St. Paul (Romans 5:5), “is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is give to us.” In that passage the Paraclete is both the giver and the gift: the giver of grace (donum creatum) and the gift of the Father and the Son (donum increatum). St. Paul teaches repeatedly that the Holy Ghost dwells in us (Romans 8:9, 11; 1 Corinthians 3:16).

That indwelling of the Paraclete in the justified soul is not to be understood as though it were the exclusive work of the third Person nor as though it constituted the formalis causa of our justification. The soul, inwardly renovated by habitual grace, becomes the habitation of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity (John 14:23), yet that indwelling is rightly appropriated to the third Person who is the Spirit of Love. As to the mode and explanation of the Holy Ghost’s inhabitation in the soul of the just, Catholic theologians are not agreed. St. Thomas (I, Q. XLIII, a. 3) proposes the rather vague and unsatisfactory simile “sicut cognitum in cognoscente et amatum in amante”. To Oberdoffer it is an ever acting force, maintaining and unfolding habitual grace in us. Verani takes it to be merely objective presence, in the sense that the justified soul is the object of a special solicitude and choice love from the Paraclete. Forget, and in this he pretends to bring out the true thought of St. Thomas, suggests a sort of mystical and quasi-experimental union of the soul with the Paraclete, differing in degree but not in kind from the intuitive vision and beatific love of the elect. In so difficult a matter, we can only revert to the words of St. Paul (Romans 8:15): “You have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry: Abba (Father).” The mission of the Paraclete detracts nothing from the mission of Christ. In heaven Christ remains our parakletos or advocate (1 John 2:1). In this world, He is with us even to the consummation of the world (Matthew 28:20), but He is with us through His Spirit of whom He says : “I will send Him to you. He shall glorify me; because He shall receive of mine, and shall shew it to you” (John 16:7, 14). See HOLY GHOST.

Source: Catholic Encyclopedia

Richard E Warren
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 29, 2016, 11:12 AM
One of the beauties, and functions, of revelation is to correct the accumulated errors of spiritual understanding and religious dogma, therefore do we, as a planet, have much remedial work to do.

Before the Urantia Book arrived, the Roman Catholic Church might have been the final authority on the Spirit of Truth, at least in the West. Unfortunately the RCC has it confused with the third person of deity, a part of the Trinity.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The doctrine of the Catholic Church concerning the Holy Ghost forms an integral part of her teaching on the mystery of the Holy Trinity, of which St. Augustine (On the Holy Trinity I.3.5), speaking with diffidence, says: “In no other subject is the danger of erring so great, or the progress so difficult, or the fruit of a careful study so appreciable”. The essential points of the dogma may be resumed in the following propositions:
- The Holy Ghost is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity.
- Though really distinct, as a Person, from the Father and the Son, He is consubstantial with Them; being God like Them, He possesses with Them one and the same Divine Essence or Nature.
- He proceeds, not by way of generation, but by way of spiration, from the Father and the Son together, as from a single principle.
Such is the belief the Catholic faith demands.
The Eastern Orthodox Church disagrees somewhat with the the Roman church:

Orthodox Christians believe in the Trinity. The Holy Trinity is three, distinct, divine persons (hypostases), without overlap or modality among them, who share one divine essence (ousia Greek ουσία)— uncreated, immaterial and eternal.[85] These three persons are typically distinguished by their relation to each other. The Father is eternal and not begotten and does not proceed from any, the Son is eternal and begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is eternal and proceeds from the Father. Orthodox doctrine regarding the Holy Trinity is summarized in the Nicene Creed (Symbol of Faith).[86]

Source/more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Orthodox_Church#Trinity

And there is yet more variation, and confusion, in Protestant sects:

The majority of mainstream Protestantism hold similar views on the theology of the Holy Spirit as the Roman Catholic Church, but there are significant differences in belief between Pentecostalism and the rest of Protestantism.[1][60] Pentecostalism has a focus on “Baptism with the Spirit”, relying on Acts 1:5 which refers to “now you will baptize with the Holy Spirit”.[61] The more recent Charismatic movements have a focus on the “gifts of the Spirit” (such as healing, prophecy, etc.) and rely on 1 Corinthians 12 as a scriptural basis, but often differ from Pentecostal movements.[62]

Source/more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit_%28Christianity%29

Someday Urantia will know the Spirit of Truth, not as part of the Paradise Trinity, but as Michael’s Spirit who, ever and anon, works seamlessly with the other two indwellers of the human mind, the 7 Adjutants and the Adjuster.

***

Richard E Warren
BonitaParticipant
Apr 29, 2016, 12:02 PM

Rick Warren wrote: Someday Urantia will know the Spirit of Truth, not as part of the Paradise Trinity, but as Michael’s Spirit who, ever and anon, works seamlessly with the other two indwellers of the human mind, the 7 Adjutants and the Adjuster.

Hey there, you forgot the Holy Spirit! After all my work on getting folks to know her, you forget her? Aaaargh! The Spirit of Truth can’t do anything without her. Boohoo to you for ignoring his partner. (Just teasing the fine hairs again.)

And only the Adjuster indwells. The Spirit of Truth sojourns. The adjutants and the Holy Spirit minister.

34:5.6 As individuals you do not personally possess a segregated portion or entity of the spirit of the Creator Father-Son or the Creative Mother Spirit; these ministries do not contact with, nor indwell, the thinking centers of the individual’s mind as do the Mystery Monitors.

0:12.13 But we know that there dwells within the human mind a fragment of God, and that there sojourns with the human soul the Spirit of Truth; and we further know that these spirit forces conspire to enable material man to grasp the reality of spiritual values and to comprehend the philosophy of universe meanings.
Richard E WarrenParticipant
Apr 29, 2016, 1:31 PM

Bonita wrote:

Rick Warren wrote: Someday Urantia will know the Spirit of Truth, not as part of the Paradise Trinity, but as Michael’s Spirit who, ever and anon, works seamlessly with the other two indwellers of the human mind, the 7 Adjutants and the Adjuster.

Hey there, you forgot the Holy Spirit! After all my work on getting folks to know her, you forget her? Aaaargh! The Spirit of Truth can’t do anything without her. Boohoo to you for ignoring his partner. (Just teasing the fine hairs again.) And only the Adjuster indwells. The Spirit of Truth sojourns. The adjutants and the Holy Spirit minister.

34:5.6 As individuals you do not personally possess a segregated portion or entity of the spirit of the Creator Father-Son or the Creative Mother Spirit; these ministries do not contact with, nor indwell, the thinking centers of the individual’s mind as do the Mystery Monitors. 0:12.13 But we know that there dwells within the human mind a fragment of God, and that there sojourns with the human soul the Spirit of Truth; and we further know that these spirit forces conspire to enable material man to grasp the reality of spiritual values and to comprehend the philosophy of universe meanings.

Ah, thanks again Bonita, you are a much keener student of the revelation than I. Think I found the reason for my confusion. There are at least two instances of Jesus using the word indwell in reference to the Spirit of Truth:

180:6:2

“…And when my spirit comes to indwell you, he will illuminate the difference between sin and righteousness and will enable you to judge wisely in your hearts concerning them….”

182:1:6

“…You are in me and I am in you, and I desire that these believers likewise be in us; that both of our spirits indwell them….”

Here the Midwayers refer to the SofT as dwelling within:

194:3:1

…When Jesus was on earth, he lived his life as one personality — Jesus of Nazareth. As the indwelling spirit of the “new teacher,” the Master has, since Pentecost, been able to live his life anew in the experience of every truth-taught believer.

Apologies for the omission of the Holy Spirit. She is the same as the “spirit of the Spirit”, according to this:

194:2:11

Since the bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, man is subject to the teaching and guidance of a threefold spirit endowment: the spirit of the Father, the Thought Adjuster; the spirit of the Son, the Spirit of Truth; the spirit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit.

She does double ministry!

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Richard E Warren
BonitaParticipant
Apr 29, 2016, 2:07 PM

Rick Warren wrote: She does double ministry!

What “she” are you referring to? The Holy Spirit doesn’t really do double ministry, but the Divine Minister does do multiple ministries. The Holy Spirit is actually the spirit presence of both the Infinite Spirit on Paradise and the Creative Spirit on Salvington. The Holy Spirit is a dual presence much like the Spirit of Truth is a dual presence of the Universal Father on Paradise and the Creative Son of Nebadon.

194:2.17 The spirit of the Infinite Spirit and the Universe Mother Spirit — the Holy Spirit, generally regarded as the spirit of the Universe Spirit.

194:2.16 The spirit of the Universal Father and the Creator Son — the Spirit of Truth, generally regarded as the spirit of the Universe Son.

The reason for this I think I pointed out in other threads. Gravity presences in the local universe go through the local Creators before heading to Paradise. (Simply put, that is.)

I agree that the use of the word “indwell” is confusing. Most of the time in TUB it’s used to mean a fragment of Divinity as a permanent resident of the individual mind (with consent of course). It’s only occasionally used as a synonym for “dwelling within” which can mean any spirit ministry within the mind or soul. Although the influence of the Spirit of Truth will stay with us throughout our ascension career, he never becomes an actual part of us that can never be removed. In other words, “indwell” in TUB speak comes with the potential for fusion and permanence. The Spirit of Truth sojourns with our souls, and sojourn means “temporary stay”. This is the same for the Holy Spirit, since they are a couple. Dwelling within, the type of thing they mean when the tell us to open the door of our soul so the Spirit of Truth can sup with us and feed us, is not the same as what the Adjuster does. But yeah, words are confusing. No question about it.
Richard E WarrenParticipant
May 2, 2016, 2:01 PM

Bonita wrote:

Rick Warren wrote: She does double ministry!

What “she” are you referring to? The Holy Spirit doesn’t really do double ministry, but the Divine Minister does do multiple ministries. The Holy Spirit is actually the spirit presence of both the Infinite Spirit on Paradise and the Creative Spirit on Salvington. The Holy Spirit is a dual presence much like the Spirit of Truth is a dual presence of the Universal Father on Paradise and the Creative Son of Nebadon.

194:2.17 The spirit of the Infinite Spirit and the Universe Mother Spirit — the Holy Spirit, generally regarded as the spirit of the Universe Spirit. 194:2.16 The spirit of the Universal Father and the Creator Son — the Spirit of Truth, generally regarded as the spirit of the Universe Son.

The reason for this I think I pointed out in other threads. Gravity presences in the local universe go through the local Creators before heading to Paradise. (Simply put, that is.) I agree that the use of the word “indwell” is confusing. Most of the time in TUB it’s used to mean a fragment of Divinity as a permanent resident of the individual mind (with consent of course). It’s only occasionally used as a synonym for “dwelling within” which can mean any spirit ministry within the mind or soul. Although the influence of the Spirit of Truth will stay with us throughout our ascension career, he never becomes an actual part of us that can never be removed. In other words, “indwell” in TUB speak comes with the potential for fusion and permanence. The Spirit of Truth sojourns with our souls, and sojourn means “temporary stay”. This is the same for the Holy Spirit, since they are a couple. Dwelling within, the type of thing they mean when the tell us to open the door of our soul so the Spirit of Truth can sup with us and feed us, is not the same as what the Adjuster does. But yeah, words are confusing. No question about it.

Appreciate your input on this, Bonita. I think most students have at least some confusion about gender when it comes to the Infinite Spirit, whose gender somewhere reverses as mind ministry is downstepped from Paradise to Urantia. And I would think gravity presences aren’t well understood in relation to our local Creators.

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Richard E Warren
Richard E WarrenParticipant
May 3, 2016, 10:57 AM
The Spirit of Truth is far more than a magnet drawing us to truth and God’s will, it is also associated with manifestation of beauty, a facilitator of affection, a friend, a diminisher of assertiveness, and a promoter of spiritual philosophy. Father’s nature becomes our nature as we better recognize and implement the truth of this living philosophy.

…The spirit which my Father and I shall send into the world is not only the Spirit of Truth but also the spirit of idealistic beauty. ^(1732.4) ^155:6.11

Our aesthetic sensibilities are derived from the Spirit of Truth who conspires with the indwelling fragment of God and the Holy Spirit to bring about our realization and acquisition of spiritual values–beauty, truth and goodness. Indeed, the very substance of the soul is an accumulation of beautiful spiritual values expressed through our unique personal unfolding out into eternity. Developing a beautiful soul of faith is the only method of transcending death and attaining eternity. Real art, superb music and meaningful stories beautify life and reflect Father’s creativity, sensibilities and purposes.

Jesus followed God’s will, and as Michael, poured out an all-encompassing, loving spirit that nourishes, comforts, enlightens, beautifies, facilitates friendliness, and makes humanity over in God’s image, the image of living Truth, Goodness and Beauty.

…And so must we clearly recognize that neither the golden rule nor the teaching of nonresistance can ever be properly understood as dogmas or precepts. They can only be comprehended by living them, by realizing their meanings in the living interpretation of the Spirit of Truth, who directs the loving contact of one human being with another. ^(1950.6) ^180:5.11

The act of choosing the guidance of the Spirit of Truth has the benign side-effect of drawing us to others. It is a reliable determiner of wisdom, but also a bringer of fraternity. The Spirit of Truth shows us how best to apply the “golden rule”. This rule, when used in light of the Spirit of Truth, is the father of all good families and the mother of global brotherly love.

When we receive inner comfort, we are receiving ministry from this Spirit endowment Jesus left behind.

…The subsequent bestowal of the spirit of the bestowal Sons, on Urantia called the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth. ^(190.8) ^16:4.14

When he departed Urantia as a person, his greater identity and influence were then fully liberated as Michael, one who can be in simultaneous, instantaneous communion with everyone, everywhere in this universe.

…Animals have knowledge, but only man possesses wisdom capacity. Truth is made accessible to the wisdom-endowed individual by the bestowal on such a mind of the spirits of the Father and the Sons, the Thought Adjuster and the Spirit of Truth. ^(1111.8) ^101:6.4

The Spirit of Truth was intended to take Jesus’ place in all our lives subsequent to his passing. He is with us even now, abiding and working in unison with our Indwelling Fragment of Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ Truth Spirit, the Father Fragment, and the Holy Spirit always work as one. Deity is unity. The Spirit of Truth’s guidance does not work independently of other internal spiritual influences even if it ministers in unique ways—God is unified! Indeed, within us operates a miniature Trinity, ministering as one.

…The ministering personality of the guardian seraphim, the God presence of the indwelling Adjuster, the encircuited action of the Holy Spirit, and the Son-consciousness of the Spirit of Truth are all divinely correlated into a meaningful unity of spiritual ministry in and to a mortal personality. ^(1245.6) ^113:4.6

The Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Truth are not the same, but oddly, the focal center of the Spirit of Truth resides in the Holy Spirit, Michael’s eternal mate and Mother of our angels. There is no disunity of purpose or advice from these divine indwellers, they work as one. And these spirit influences intimately co-operate with the indwelling Father Fragment to produce the fruits of the spirit in us. But the Spirit of Truth ever leads, consoles, soothes and cheers us.

Without these indwelling spiritual influences we would be unable to see beyond the animal level, much less seek, find and worship an invisible and transcendent God of Truth. Without them we would be incapable of estimating the value or merits of a philosophy of living. We would be unable to discern the wisest choices for the benefit of self, humanity or God. They are our friends and spiritual assistants whom we eventually know and adore.

The Spirit of Truth is a living spiritual influence, not a belief or a doctrine, not a dead philosophy or a theory, not a mechanism or a concept. He lives and is felt as if the person of Michael/Jesus is available within, because that is the truth.

Neither is the Spirit of Truth a weapon to attack evolved religious practices. Instead it shows how to offer truth in a way that lifts instead of condemns, that works for and not against our divine leading and the better interests of humanity. And if conflict is unavoidable, the Spirit of Truth will speak to and for us, even comfort us. But the Spirit of Truth is not a commodity to be packaged, bought or sold. It is alive in us, but only to the degree that we cultivate a spiritual association, divine attunement, with truth and its values-cohorts, goodness and beauty.

“…As my Father has given me of his spirit, so will I give you of my spirit. And this Spirit of Truth which I will bestow upon you shall guide and comfort you and shall eventually lead you into all truth.” ^(1948.3) ^180:4.2

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Richard E Warren
Richard E WarrenParticipant
May 5, 2016, 11:20 AM

The spiritual provisions for such a fantastically complex, personal, diverse, unified and thoroughly administered Universe as ours are not mere decorations or accessories. They make it possible for us to have every divine gift we can responsibly use. In these gifts we find personal happiness, as we create the conditions for spiritual expansion, always by giving them away.

…Jesus was the truth made manifest in the flesh, and he promised to send his Spirit of Truth into the hearts of all his children after his return to the Father in heaven…. p.1594

This Spirit of Truth descended on Urantia several weeks after Jesus ‘drank the bitter cup’ and rose from death, and after Our Father on Paradise had approved. When the Spirit of Truth was bestowed it overtook the apostles, disciples, and all truth lovers–like a beautiful wind. They felt it in their souls. Forty days after resurrection morn, on May 18, AD 30, Michael, a Paradise Son with our Father’s blessing, sent his Spirit of Truth to everyone on Earth. This prepared the way for Father Fragments to indwell not just a few but everyone who has shown the capacity to make moral choice. But Michael didn’t bestow, and doesn’t maintain, the SofT all by himself:

…The Universe Mother Spirit also participates in this bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, and concomitant therewith there issues the bestowal edict of the Thought Adjusters. Thereafter all normal-minded will creatures of that world will receive Adjusters as soon as they attain the age of moral responsibility, of spiritual choice…. ^(596.4) ^52:5.6

But our moral consciousness and our perception of the Spirit of Truth are not the same. Moral choice is a natural, evolutionary process that makes possible the reception of the Spirit of Truth and the Divine Indweller. Morality continuously evolves in individuals and groups, but the Spirit of Truth and the Paradise Pilots are rock steady, their counsel does not change, waver or recede.

…The Spirit of Truth is concerned primarily with the revelation of the Father’s spirit nature and the Son’s moral character. The Creator Son, in the flesh, revealed God to men; the Spirit of Truth, in the heart, reveals the Creator Son to men…. ^(1111.8) ^101:6.4

This Spirit never falters, indeed it is available to us all the way to Paradise. It hovers around us even now, wanting to teach truth, give enlightenment, and inspire us onward in the long journey Home. It helps us know right from wrong, truth from error, in a world that offers so many perplexing choices, often fraught with ambiguity and dire consequences. Since Divinity has the greatest of all perspectives, therefrom comes the greatest advice.

When the Son came to this world, he was living truth. The actual living of God’s truth forever raised the standard for truth on Urantia. It opened the door of spiritual freedom for all humankind, because truth sets humans free–free from ignorance of our God who is the greatest and most loving of all beings and the most real of all realities. The Spirit of Truth Michael bestowed teaches that true freedom, genuine liberation, is choosing and receiving an eternal role in life and service to the Universe family of divine unfolding and Supreme achievement.

What can we do but express gratitude to God for his Creator Sons and Daughters who venture out into time/space to show us what living truth, beauty and goodness really is. In addition, the Spirit of Truth provides the spiritual framework for planetary progress that leads to the end of humanity’s long search for a utopian peace of global fraternity, the Fatherhood of God and the famlihood of all humans.

…Truth is made accessible to the wisdom-endowed individual by the bestowal on such a mind of the spirits of the Father and the Sons, the Thought Adjuster and the Spirit of Truth…. ^(1111.8) ^101:6.4

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Richard E Warren
BonitaParticipant
May 5, 2016, 2:08 PM

Rick Warren wrote: Without these indwelling spiritual influences we would be unable to see beyond the animal level, much less seek, find and worship an invisible and transcendent God of Truth.

Don’t forget that the spirit of worship is what separates humans from the animal level of thinking and living. The worship trait is sufficient to evolve a system of morals and ethics which are superanimal, albeit subspiritual.

36:5.11 The spirit of worship — the religious impulse, the first differential urge separating mind creatures into the two basic classes of mortal existence. The spirit of worship forever distinguishes the animal of its association from the soulless creatures of mind endowment. Worship is the badge of spiritual-ascension candidacy.

101:5.10 Evolutionary religion is the outworking of the endowment of the local universe mind adjutant charged with the creation and fostering of the worship trait in evolving man. Such primitive religions are directly concerned with ethics and morals, the sense of human duty. Such religions are predicated on the assurance of conscience and result in the stabilization of relatively ethical civilizations.

196:3.25 Morality is the essential pre-existent soil of personal God-consciousness, the personal realization of the Adjuster’s inner presence, but such morality is not the source of religious experience and the resultant spiritual insight. The moral nature is superanimal but subspiritual. Morality is equivalent to the recognition of duty, the realization of the existence of right and wrong. The moral zone intervenes between the animal and the human types of mind as morontia functions between the material and the spiritual spheres of personality attainment.

Say . . . what happened to your last post? It disappeared. I wanted to comment on this statement of yours: “Morality continuously evolves in individuals and groups, but the Spirit of Truth and the Paradise Pilots are rock steady, their counsel does not change, waver or recede.”

The Spirit of Truth’s counsel does indeed change, that’s why it’s called living truth. The first mission of the Spirit of Truth is to personalize truth, which means each person perceives truth differently; truth is relative. The “Jesus message” must be restated anew to each generation because the “Jesus message” is alive and growing along with the Supreme. The Spirit of Truth is a living relationship between all things and all beings, just like the Supreme. The Spirit of Truth is receptive and reactive to all the emerging values in personality, and transmits them to the Supreme. If the Spirit of Truth did not constantly readapt the interpretation of relationships for us, we would be standing still.

Perhaps what you really meant is that the Spirit of Truth is always true to spirit. Spirit gravity never wavers or recedes. Spirit gravity presence will always draw us toward spirit, wherever it may be.

180:5.10 Love, unselfishness, must undergo a constant and living readaptative interpretation of relationships in accordance with the leading of the Spirit of Truth. Love must thereby grasp the ever-changing and enlarging concepts of the highest cosmic good of the individual who is loved. And then love goes on to strike this same attitude concerning all other individuals who could possibly be influenced by the growing and living relationship of one spirit-led mortal’s love for other citizens of the universe. And this entire living adaptation of love must be effected in the light of both the environment of present evil and the eternal goal of the perfection of divine destiny.
Richard E WarrenParticipant
May 5, 2016, 11:53 AM

The spiritual provisions for such a fantastically complex, personal, diverse, unified and thoroughly administered Universe as ours are not mere decorations or accessories. They make it possible for us to have every divine gift we can responsibly use. In these gifts we find personal happiness, as we create the conditions for spiritual expansion, always by giving them away.

…Jesus was the truth made manifest in the flesh, and he promised to send his Spirit of Truth into the hearts of all his children after his return to the Father in heaven…. p.1594

This Spirit of Truth descended on Urantia several weeks after Jesus ‘drank the bitter cup’ and rose from death, and after Our Father on Paradise had approved. When the Spirit of Truth was bestowed it overtook the apostles, disciples, and all truth lovers–like a beautiful wind. They felt it in their souls. Forty days after resurrection morn, on May 18, AD 30, Michael, a Paradise Son with our Father’s blessing, sent his Spirit of Truth to everyone on Earth. This prepared the way for Father Fragments to indwell not just a few but everyone who has shown the capacity to make moral choice. But Michael didn’t bestow, and doesn’t maintain, the SofT all by himself:

…The Universe Mother Spirit also participates in this bestowal of the Spirit of Truth, and concomitant therewith there issues the bestowal edict of the Thought Adjusters. Thereafter all normal-minded will creatures of that world will receive Adjusters as soon as they attain the age of moral responsibility, of spiritual choice…. ^(596.4) ^52:5.6

But our moral consciousness and our perception of the Spirit of Truth are not the same. Moral choice is a natural, evolutionary process that makes possible the reception of the Spirit of Truth and the Divine Indweller. Morality continuously evolves in individuals and groups, but the Spirit of Truth and the Paradise Pilots are rock steady, their counsel does not change, waver or recede.

…The Spirit of Truth is concerned primarily with the revelation of the Father’s spirit nature and the Son’s moral character. The Creator Son, in the flesh, revealed God to men; the Spirit of Truth, in the heart, reveals the Creator Son to men…. ^(1111.8) ^101:6.4

This Spirit never falters, indeed it is available to us all the way to Paradise. It hovers around us even now, wanting to teach truth, give enlightenment, and inspire us onward in the long journey Home. It helps us know right from wrong, truth from error, in a world that offers so many perplexing choices, often fraught with ambiguity and dire consequences. Since Divinity has the greatest of all perspectives, therefrom comes the greatest advice.
When the Son came to this world, he was living truth. The actual living of God’s truth forever raised the standard for truth on Urantia. It opened the door of spiritual freedom for all humankind, because truth sets humans free–free from ignorance of our God who is the greatest and most loving of all beings and the most real of all realities. The Spirit of Truth Michael bestowed teaches that true freedom, genuine liberation, is choosing and receiving an eternal role in life and service to the Universe family of divine unfolding and Supreme achievement.

What can we do but express gratitude to God for his Creator Sons and Daughters who venture out into time/space to show us what living truth, beauty and goodness really is. In addition, the Spirit of Truth provides the spiritual framework for planetary progress that leads to the end of humanity’s long search for a utopian peace of global fraternity, the Fatherhood of God and the famlihood of all humans.

…Truth is made accessible to the wisdom-endowed individual by the bestowal on such a mind of the spirits of the Father and the Sons, the Thought Adjuster and the Spirit of Truth…. ^(1111.8) ^101:6.4

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Richard E Warren

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Who Knows "The Truth"? What is Truth? Where is Truth Found?

Etymology

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