“When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.”
Whereas the etymological meaning of Satan, Diabolus, is the Accuser, the Slanderer, that of Paraclete, is the Advocate, the Counselor, the Helper.
That underscores what I have been thinking.
Accusation, criticism, slander–all these stem from the spirit of the enemy of the brethren, the one who “accuses God’s people night and day.” The Holy Spirit, on the contrary, is the advocate, the helper, the one who intercedes on our behalf.
And in a world of exaggeration and white lies, it is important to be truthful in all things, so that we might increasingly experience the presence of the Spirit of Truth within us.
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NIV footnote, The Paraclete is a Counselor or Helper. It is a legal term, but with a broader meaning than “counsel for the defence.” It referred to any person who helped someone in trouble with the law.
Rene Girard, a Christian anthropologist / philosopher, argues that paraclete ought to be translated as the defense attorney who is defending human beings against the assaults of Satan (the Prosecuting Attorney, the Accuser, the fomenter of violence).
The paraclete is often translated as to pneuma (the spirit) to hagion (the pure one) the Holy Spirit.
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