Many people make this false assumption of equating the spirit of truth with the trinity Holy Spirit. There has been a proof of multiple occurrences of the spirit of truth, including Luther, Calvin and Zwingli.
The NT provides a pretty good job description for the Comforter, aka Spirit of Truth, and none of these gentlemen meet that job description. So the false assumption would be on your side.
I think you are confusing fanaticism with God’s direct influence. Although much good came from the Reformation it is the old story of over compensation and replacing one extreme with another. Many people have claimed God’s guidance, even Hitler. That does not make it so. There is no doubt that there was need for a change but , as usual, men will go beyond what God is showing them and add to it.
I do not know why you are “defending” the Holy Spirit, but he does not need it.
Richard
The spirit of truth worked through the reformers to restore the Word. I am not talking about the trinity Holy Spirit.
Why do you think it was not the Holy Spirit at work?
God plants the seeds but He does not enforce how they are nurtured or what thorns may grow with them. Just because the reformation went beyond what God might have wanted does not mean that it was not Inspired (God breathed!) by the Holy Spirit. Just as the Scripture contains parts of the authors, so the Reformation contained parts of the instigators. Neither was /is perfect.
There is only one Spirit of God. There is no separate “Spirit of Truth”, only the Holy Spirit.
Richard
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And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God (Rev 4:5)
This is why I distinguish between the trinity doctrine and the Bible. The bible says there are many spirits in service of God - the Comforter, the Teacher, the Spirit of Truth and the seven spirits of God to name a few.
I have a major problem with this statement. But I do not have the time to fully unravel it. Suffice it to say that I see the Trinity as being in the Bible not apart from it. And, I do not see many Spirits from God, only one. Revelation is full of imagery that does not relate to reality, so I reject the existence of your seven Spirits in actuality, only symbolically.
Richard
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You got me intrigued there. I’m no specialist on the subject(although watched a tonne of documentaries when younger) but very recently heard it’s been confirmed as fake, maybe another media bias but on the other hand we know there were lots of fake relics soo…
I know it’s steering away from the topic but I just find it interesting and would be great if you could expand on that one.
Best wishes, Marta
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Just a wild guess, when the devil (in the presence of God) rebelled God wanted to send the devil and those who joined him into hell. The devil accused God of being unloving, unmerciful and more of that.
And God said, I will create Myself new creatures and give them the most precious I have (Jesus) to show you are wrong and those who without seeing Me (contrary to you) will love Me in return.
It is good to be skeptical. That is the way of science. Having said that, let me say I have suspected the shroud is the burial cloth of Jesus ever since I read “A Doctor at Calvary” by Pierre Barbet. As a professor of human anatomy and physiology and pathophysiology, I recognized that what he was describing about the image and substances on the shroud was anatomically and physiologically correct. Furthermore, the position of the nail wounds in the wrist in the shroud was not something a forger would portray since the accepted location for those wounds by the church at the time its provenance became securely known, were in the palms. I have followed the progress on the research since, including the claims it is a forgery. I find the latter unconvincing. Interestingly, just as I received your reply, I also received a paper from my Academia account: “The Shroud of Turin, the most analyzed artifact in the world.” It appears to be a 2013 publication so it might be a little dated, but it does provide a succinct review up to that point and that review shows nothing to make me doubt the shroud’s authenticity. However, its author, Russ Breault, does make a living lecturing on the shroud, so that skepticism I mentioned at the beginning needs to be engaged. His website, https://shroudencounter.com/, provides more information. If you click on the “Marketing Materials” tab and then on “Fact Sheet” you will see the article I mentioned above.
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There’s this about the shroud:
I should have included attribution for the above link – it came from here:
Dear Dale,
What does the shroud have to do with the tread about proof of God? Jesus is not God and God is not of this world.
Best Wishes, Shawn
Dear Shawn,
It was in reply to @mentiscopia, just above.
You are badly mistaken.
That is a truism.
You need more than best wishes,
Dale
So how can both be true? Jesus was of this world and God is not. The trinity is illogical.
Things can be true that we don’t understand.
Are you invoking mystery on me?
Are you telling me that you want to get your head around God?
I have my mind around God. God created the natural laws, and it therefore as logical as the laws He created. Besides, when Jesus says 14 times in the NT that He is not God, I tend to believe Him.