Free Thoughts on God, the Universe, Man, Freemasons, Rosicrucians, and the Philosopher's Stone

...assures him that since the Church of Christ Original: "Kirche Christi" was first planted, supernatural spiritual effects Original: "Geisteswirkungen" — the visible or miraculous manifestations of divine power, such as healing or speaking in tongues. are no longer required. However, because he is accustomed to reasoning from the effect back to the cause, he concludes that since no supernatural spiritual effects are perceived among the members of this church, the poured-out Spirit of God Original: "ausgegossene Geist Gottes" mentioned in Holy Scripture Original: "Heilige Schrift" cannot be present among them either. He reasons that if it had truly united with the human spirit, it would, by its very nature, have to act supernaturally. *)

*) To avoid any misunderstanding, the concept regarding the Spirit of God is defined as follows: the first Christian congregations experienced the Spirit of God acting upon and into them, or within their souls, but they did not possess the Spirit of God dwelling and ruling within their souls. They possessed this Spirit in a broader sense. The Apostles, however, following the remarkable outpouring Original: "Ausgießung" — referring to the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost as described in the New Testament., possessed it in a narrower In this context, "narrower" implies a more concentrated or specific divine possession. sense. In the former case, the Spirit of God gave the soul a good direction, yet the soul remained active and self-directed; in the latter, however, it acted—