Jesus Delivers a Discourse on Truth and Faith 

It was during the visit to Rome while on the Mediterranean tour with the Indian travelers, Ganid and Gonod, that Jesus met Nabon, a high priest of the Mithraic religion. Although Nabon had expected to convert Jesus to Mithraism, it was Jesus who was preparing Nabon to be an early convert to the gospel of the kingdom through numerous conferences that they shared together. Nabon was particularly impressed by a discussion of truth and faith that he and Jesus – who he knew as the Damascus scribe – had one evening. The things that Jesus said ignited his inner heart and these truths permanently influenced him.

When gospel preachers arrived in later years, Nabon was of great assistance to them because of these early meetings with Jesus.

Restated in modern language, the substance of Jesus’ teaching was:

Truth cannot be captured just through words; truth is comprehended through living experience. Truth surpasses the limitations of knowledge, extending beyond the realm of the observable. Truth intertwines with wisdom, encompassing intangible aspects of human existence, including spiritual and living realities. While knowledge finds its roots in science, wisdom is cultivated through genuine philosophical inquiry, and truth emerges from spiritual experience. Knowledge concerns itself with concrete facts, wisdom with the interplay of connections, and truth with the fundamental essence of reality.

People often view science as hardened truth, attempting to map out philosophy, and they misunderstand truth because they do not care to take the trouble to adjust themselves to the difficulties of life. At the same time, humanity is afraid of the unknown. And people find it difficult to make changes in the way they are accustomed to thinking and acting.

Personally experienced truth – truth that is revealed through experience – brings the greatest joy to the human spirit. It represents the combined effort of the physical mind and the inner spirit. The everlasting survival of the soul which can recognize truth and cherish beauty, is guaranteed by its deep desire and hunger for goodness. This leads the mortal to cultivate a steadfast determination to follow the will of the Father – to seek God – and to be more like him. Genuine knowledge and truth never are in conflict. However, there might be discord between knowledge and human convictions that may be tainted by prejudice, warped by fear, and influenced by the discomfort of confronting new facts of material exploration, or spiritual advancement.

It is faith that determines humanity's successful possession of truth. All of a person's inner attributes – their way of thinking, their insight, their moral values, and their ideals – can only rise as high as their faith, in alliance with their most noble aspirations. To have this kind of faith, one must be willing to demonstrate serious deep thought, sincere willingness to question one’s values, and resolute moral courage. Faith is the inspiration of the spiritized creative imagination.

It is faith that activates the superhuman activity of the immortal spark of God that dwells within the mind of every person; this divine spirit holds the potential of eternal life. Material organisms survive through passing on their genes to succeeding generations. But the soul (personality) of mortal beings can only survive through consciously identifying itself with this indwelling spirit. The indwelling spirit is immortal, and its function is to preserve and sustain the personality of man through continued progress into higher levels of existence in the universe.

Unlike the advancement of subsequent generations in purely material creations, the human soul experiences its second generation of existence in progressive spiritual expression. And this is only the first of a succession of such expressions. This kind of progressive growth only ends when the immortal soul attains the source of its existence – God, the Universal Father. Human life has, as its goal, the purpose of finding God; the human soul – activated by faith – is the vehicle that can never stop progressing until it achieves this goal. Once it has found God it truly becomes like God – eternal.

Spiritual progression is an evolutionary journey marked by a growing and deliberate embrace of the good, true, and beautiful; and this progression is coupled with a gradual decrease in the potential for evil. As one reaches a point of final commitment to goodness and attains a thorough understanding of truth, a state of beauty and righteousness arises. This state prevents the very notion of potential evil from arising. Such a soul, in tune with divine goodness on such a high spiritual plane, is untroubled by the shadow of doubt or evil.

The very fact of the existence of the indwelling spirit of God in the mind of every mortal is in effect, a promise of eternal and progressive existence for any soul who chooses – by faith – to identify with this indwelling spirit spark of the Universal Father.

Progression within the universe is marked by the continual expansion of individual freedom, which arises from the gradual achievement of deeper levels of self-awareness and subsequently, self-control through personal choice. The realization of spiritual self-control signifies the ultimate of universal freedom and personal liberty. Faith orients and sustains the human soul in the vastness of the outer universe, while prayer serves as the unifying force that harmonizes the diverse inspirations originating from the creative imagination and the inner call of the soul that is striving to align itself with the spiritual principles inherent in the divine presence that dwells within the mortal mind.