Each of the following ten truths comes from the “light of reason” (natural science, medicine, logic, philosophy, psychology, and anthropology) and from the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Each transforming truth has the capacity to make life-enhancing transformations in how we view ourselves, life’s purpose, sense of happiness, our destiny and dignity, self-worth, self-identity, ethics, and suffering well.
Each will also enhance our capacity to contribute to family, community, society, the common good, and the Kingdom of God.
If even one of these truths is neglected, it could cause us to underestimate our dignity and destiny in significant ways.
Our life’s purpose and path closely follow what and who we believe ourselves to be.
The Magis Center has tried to focus on the most significant truths underlying the highest purpose and path for our lives. We are dedicated to doing this in a way that is reasonable and responsible—using the best contemporary peer-reviewed evidence available.
Transforming Truth #1: God Exists
God (a unique pure unrestricted act of existing through itself, who is unrestricted in intelligence and intelligibility, and the continuous creator of all else in reality) exists and is present to all of us.
There is considerable evidence for this from contemporary science and logical proof.
Discover if science can indicate creation in the free sample chapter from Fr. Spitzer's book The Souls Upward Yearning.
Transforming Truth #2: Jesus Christ Is Emmanuel
Jesus Christ rose from the dead in a transformed, exalted state and sent the Holy Spirit (the personal power of God) to his disciples and the Church.
He indicated during His ministry that He was the exclusive Son of the Father and Emmanuel (“God with us”) and revealed this through a ministry of healing, exorcism, and raising the dead by His own authority and power.
There is considerable historical evidence for this.
Transforming Truth #3: God Loves Us Unconditionally
Jesus, speaking as the exclusive Son of the Father, revealed that God is unconditional love, calling Him “Abba” (“Daddy”) and comparing Him to the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).
We can be sure that God, the Father of Jesus Christ, is solely concerned with saving us and bringing us to His heavenly kingdom. We need only to turn sincerely to Him with the prayer of the tax collector:
"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’" —Luke 18:13
There is considerable evidence for this in Jesus’ preaching and actions.
Transforming Truth #4: We Have A Transphysical Soul
We are transcendental beings with transphysical souls destined for eternal life in the unconditional love of God. There is considerable evidence for this in peer-reviewed studies of near-death experiences, the five transcendental desires for perfect and unconditional truth, love, goodness, beauty, and being.
If we live for anything less than our transcendental and eternal nature, we will “under-live” our lives and underestimate our dignity.
Transforming Truth #5: There Are Four Levels Of Happiness
We have four fundamental sets of internal drivers or desires, and each of these, when fulfilled, will make us happy. When unfulfilled, they will make us feel unhappy.
Happiness is the one thing that can be chosen in and for itself—everything else is chosen for the sake of happiness. This means that our dominant view of happiness will become our purpose in life and even our self-definition or identity.
These four kinds of happiness can be ranked according to their pervasiveness, endurance, and depth:
- Happiness from external, material, and sensory pleasing objects.
- Happiness from ego-comparative satisfaction (e.g., status, recognition of intelligence, popularity, control, power, winning, achievement, or any other comparative advantage).
- Happiness from contribution or care (e.g., making a positive difference not only to friends and family but to all of the areas we touch with our lives: our organizations, communities, churches, society, culture, and the kingdom of God).
- Happiness from living for what is ultimate, eternal, spiritual, and transcendent.
There is considerable evidence for this from philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and theology.
Transforming Truth #6: Only Love In Christ Will Be Ultimately Satisfying
If we live for happiness levels one and two (as if they were ends in themselves and the only ways in which we could be happy), then we will begin to feel a gradually increasing sense of emptiness for neglecting levels three and four.
We will also begin to experience emotions of the comparison game: fear of loss of esteem, jealousy, ego sensitivities, inferiority, superiority and contempt, self-pity, rage, and blame (for not being acknowledged enough), and other negative emotions which debilitate both ourselves and others around us.
The way out of this malaise is to pursue the love of God and Neighbor as Jesus defined it in the Beatitudes (humble-hearted, gentle-hearted, compassionate, and forgiving love).
There is considerable evidence for this from philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and theology.
Transforming Truth #7: God Does Not Want Us To Suffer
According to Jesus, God does not want us to suffer and does not cause suffering. God holds us in the highest empathy and compassion during our suffering.
Nevertheless, God must allow us to suffer like any parent must allow their child to go to school and into the real world to make their own decisions—including mistakes, and to learn how to be courageous in the face of fear, to be restrained in the face of desire and passion, to be compassionate instead of disdainful to those who are vulnerable and needy, to choose the high road rather than the low road, and to choose God instead of the glories of this world.
The evidence for this can be found in the preaching of Jesus Christ as well as in contemporary philosophy and psychology.
Transforming Truth #8: God Brings Good And Salvation Out Of All Suffering
According to Jesus, God intends to use every bit of our suffering to bring us and others into His eternal life of unconditional love and joy.
He will also use that suffering to help us toward a virtuous, loving, and transcendent self-definition, enabling us to help others toward virtue, love, and transcendence as well.
When we recognize this, we can transform our suffering from an isolating and embittering experience into one of identity transformation, self-gift, and transcendence.
Transforming Truth #9: We Are Spiritual Beings Influenced By Good And Evil Spirits
Because of our transcendent, trans-physical, and eternal nature, we are also spiritual beings, and we are subject to the suggestions and impressions of other spiritual beings—notably a spirit that loves us and is calling us to eternal love (the Holy Spirit) and other spirits that do not love us and are trying to bring us into their own narcissism and darkness (evil spirits).
Check out Fr. Spitzer's Called Out of Darkness Trilogy! Purchase from the Magis Center Store today.
Whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, we are caught up in a cosmic struggle between good and evil, in which the Holy Spirit and evil spirits are not only trying to bring us to themselves but also calling us to their side—to contribute either to the cause of love and goodness or the side of narcissism and darkness.
The evidence for this can be found in our natural propensity toward the sacred, the prolific evidence of the Holy Spirit and evil spirits in the world, and the preaching of Jesus Christ.
Transforming Truth #10: There Are Ways To Defend Against Evil And Contribute To The Kingdom Of God
According to Jesus, to protect ourselves against the influences of evil and to make a contribution to the side of love and goodness (rather than the side of evil and darkness), we will want to belong to a church community, pray regularly, practice a moral code and to reflect on scripture prayerfully.
Even with these four interrelated life habits, we are quite vulnerable to incursion by evil and resistance to goodness and love; without them, we are virtually defenseless.
The evidence for this is in the preaching of Jesus Christ as well as the teachings and biographies of virtually every saint and holy person throughout recorded history.
