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MILITARY VIRTUE
By nothing have we drawn the sinews out of Christianity more effectually than by our common misinterpretation and disparagement of the doctrine of God's holy Spirit. The word Comforter is in itself a record of the deterioration.
'If ye love me, keep my commandments,' so runs one of the greatest of our Lord's sayings, as recorded in the Fourth Gospel;[1] 'And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth;' and then, 'I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.' 'If you love me, you will keep my commands' is the rendering in modern English by Dr. Moffat; 'And I will ask the Father to give you another Helper to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth;' and, 'I will not leave you forlorn; I am coming to you.' In the original Greek, the word for 'Comforter' is that which we have anglicized as 'Paraclete', and which has the same etymological meaning as the Latin 'Advocate' one who is called to one's side to
- ↑ John 14:15, A.V.
