Holy Spirit

In Judaism, the Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is the divine force, quality and influence of God over the universe or his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as an agent of divine action or communication. In the Baha’i Faith, the Holy Spirit is seen as the intermediary between God and man and "the outpouring grace of God and the effulgent rays that emanate from His Manifestation".[1]

For other uses, see Holy Spirit (disambiguation).

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Comparative religion

The Hebrew Bible contains the term "spirit of God" (ruach elochim) which by Jews is interpreted in the sense of the might of a unitary God. This interpretation is different from the Nicene Christian conception of the Holy Spirit as one person of the Trinity.[2]

The Christian concept tends to emphasize the moral aspect of the Holy Spirit more than Judaism, evident in the epithet Holy Spirit that appeared in Jewish religious writings only relatively late but was a common expression in the Christian New Testament.[3] Based on the Old Testament, the book of Acts emphasizes the power of ministry aspect of the Holy Spirit.[4]

According to theologian Rudolf Bultmann, there are two ways to think about the Holy Spirit: "animistic" and "dynamistic". In animistic thinking, he is "an independent agent, a personal power which (...) can fall upon a man and take possession of him, enabling him or compelling him to perform manifestations of power" while in dynamistic thought it "appears as an impersonal force which fills a man like a fluid".[5] Both kinds of thought appear in Jewish and Christian scripture, but animistic is more typical of the Old Testament whereas dynamistic is more common in the New Testament.[6] The distinction coincides with the Holy Spirit as either a temporary or permanent gift. In the Old Testament and Jewish thought, it is primarily temporary with a specific situation or task in mind, whereas in the Christian concept the gift resides in persons permanently.[7]

On the surface, the Holy Spirit appears to have an equivalent in non-Abrahamic Hellenistic mystery religions. These religions included a distinction between the spirit and psyche, which is also seen in the Pauline epistles. According to proponents of the History of religions school, the Christian concept of the Holy Spirit cannot be explained from Jewish ideas alone without reference to the Hellenistic religions.[8] And according to theologian Erik Konsmo, the views "are so dissimilar that the only legitimate connection one can make is with the Greek term πνεῦμα [pneuma, Spirit] itself".[9]

Another link with ancient Greek thought is the Stoic idea of the spirit as anima mundi – or world soul – that unites all people.[9] Some believe that this can be seen in Paul's formulation of the concept of the Holy Spirit that unites Christians in Jesus Christ and love for one another, but Konsmo again thinks that this position is difficult to maintain.[10] In his Introduction to the 1964 book Meditations, the Anglican priest Maxwell Staniforth wrote:

Another Stoic concept which offered inspiration to the Church was that of "divine Spirit". Cleanthes, wishing to give more explicit meaning to Zeno's "creative fire", had been the first to hit upon the term pneuma, or "spirit", to describe it. Like fire, this intelligent "spirit" was imagined as a tenuous substance akin to a current of air or breath, but essentially possessing the quality of warmth; it was immanent in the universe as God, and in man as the soul and life-giving principle. Clearly it is not a long step from this to the "Holy Spirit" of Christian theology, the "Lord and Giver of life", visibly manifested as tongues of fire at Pentecost and ever since associated – in the Christian as in the Stoic mind – with the ideas of vital fire and beneficent warmth.[11]

Abrahamic religions

Judaism
Main article: Holy Spirit in Judaism

The Hebrew language phrase ruach ha-kodesh (Hebrew: רוח הקודש, "holy spirit" also transliterated ruaḥ ha-qodesh) is used in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish writings to refer to the spirit of YHWH (רוח יהוה).[12] The Hebrew terms ruacḥ qodshəka, "thy holy spirit" (רוּחַ קָדְשְׁךָ), and ruacḥ qodshō, "his holy spirit" (רוּחַ קָדְשׁוֹ), also occur (when a possessive suffix is added the definite article ha is dropped).

The Holy Spirit in Judaism generally refers to the divine aspect of prophecy and wisdom. It also refers to the divine force, quality, and influence of the Most High God, over the universe or over his creatures, in given contexts.[13]

Christianity
Main article: Holy Spirit in Christianity

For the large majority of Christians, the Holy Spirit (or Holy Ghost, from Old English gast, "spirit") is the third[14] person of the Trinity: The "Triune God" manifested as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each Person being God.[15][16][17] Two symbols from the New Testament canon are associated with the Holy Spirit in Christian iconography: a winged dove, and tongues of fire.[18][19] Each depiction of the Holy Spirit arose from different accounts in the Gospel narratives; the first being at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River where the Holy Spirit was said to descend in the form of a dove as the voice of God the Father spoke as described in Matthew, Mark, and Luke;[18] the second being from the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover where the descent of the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, as tongues of fire as described in the Acts of the Apostles,[20] as promised by Jesus in his farewell discourse.[21][22] Called "the unveiled epiphany of God",[23] the Holy Spirit is the One who empowers the followers of Jesus with spiritual gifts[24][25] and power[26][27] that enables the proclamation of Jesus Christ, and the power that brings conviction of faith.[28]

Islam
Main article: Holy Spirit in Islam

The Holy Spirit (Arabic: روح القدس Ruh al-Qudus, "the Spirit of Holiness") is mentioned four times in the Qur'an,[29] where it acts as an agent of divine action or communication. The Muslim interpretation of the Holy Spirit is generally consistent with other interpretations based upon the Old and the New Testaments. On the basis of narrations in certain Hadith some Muslims identify it with the angel Gabriel (Arabic Jibrāʾīl).[30] The Spirit (الروح al-Ruh, without the adjective "holy" or "exalted") is described, among other things, as the creative spirit from God by which God enlivened Adam, and which inspired in various ways God's messengers and prophets, including Jesus and Abraham. The belief in a "Holy Trinity", according to the Qur'an, is forbidden and deemed to be blasphemy. The same prohibition applies to any idea of the duality of God (Allah).[31][32]

Baháʼí Faith
Main article: Maid of Heaven

The Baháʼí Faith has the concept of the Most Great Spirit, seen as the bounty of God.[33] It is usually used to describe the descent of the Spirit of God upon the messengers/prophets of God who include, among others, Jesus, Muhammad and Bahá'u'lláh.[34]

In Baháʼí belief, the Holy Spirit is the conduit through which the wisdom of God becomes directly associated with his messenger, and it has been described variously in different religions such as the burning bush to Moses, the sacred fire to Zoroaster, the dove to Jesus, the angel Gabriel to Muhammad, and the Maid of Heaven to Bahá'u'lláh (founder of the Baháʼí Faith).[35] The Baháʼí view rejects the idea that the Holy Spirit is a partner to God in the Godhead, but rather is the pure essence of God's attributes.[36]

Other religions

Hinduism
See also: Shakti

The Hindu concept of Advaita is linked to the Trinity and has been briefly explained by Raimon Panikkar. He states that the Holy Spirit, as one of the Three Persons of the Trinity of "father, Logos and Holy Spirit", is a bridge-builder between Christianity and Hinduism. He explains that: "The meeting of spiritualistic can take place in the Spirit. No new 'system' has primarily to come of this encounter, but a new and yet old spirit must emerge."[37] Atman is Vedic terminology elaborated in Hindu scriptures such as Upanishads and Vedanta signifies the Ultimate Reality and Absolute.[38]

Zoroastrianism

In Zoroastrianism, the Holy Spirit, also known as Spenta Mainyu, is a hypostasis of Ahura Mazda, the supreme Creator God of Zoroastrianism; the Holy Spirit is seen as the source of all goodness in the universe, the spark of all life within humanity, and is the ultimate guide for humanity to righteousness and communion with God. The Holy Spirit is put in direct opposition to its eternal dual counterpart, Angra Mainyu, who is the source of all wickedness and who leads humanity astray.[39]

Gnosticism

The ancient Gnostic text known as the Secret Book of John refers to the supreme female principle Barbelo as the Holy Spirit.[40]

See also

Further reading
  • Bellarmine, Robert (1902). "The Holy Ghost." . Sermons from the Latins. Benziger Brothers.
  • Council of Trent (1829). "Part 1: Article 8 "I Believe in the Holy Ghost."" . The catechism of the Council of Trent. Translated by James Donovan. Lucas Brothers.
  • Deharbe, Joseph (1912). "Eighth Article: 'I believe in the Holy Ghost.'" . A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion. Translated by Rev. John Fander. Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss.
  • Forget, Jacques (1910). "Holy Ghost" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Swete, Henry Barclay (1912). The Holy Spirit in the Ancient Church: a Study of Christian Teaching in the Age of the Fathers. ISBN 0342946455.

References
  1. "Some Answered Questions | Bahá'í Reference Library". www.bahai.org. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. Espín, Orlando O. (2007). "Holy Spirit". In Espín, Orlando O.; Nickoloff, James B. (eds.). An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies. Collegeville: Liturgical Press. p. 576. ISBN 978-0-8146-5856-7.
  3. Dunn, James D. G. (2006). "Towards the Spirit of Christ: The Emergence of the Distinctive Features of Christian Pneumatology". In Welker, Michael (ed.). The Work of the Spirit: Pneumatology and Pentecostalism. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-8028-0387-0.
  4. Menzies, William W. and Robert P. "Spirit and Power." Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000.
  5. Bultmann 2007, p. 155.
  6. Bultmann 2007, pp. 156–157.
  7. Bultmann 2007, pp. 157.
  8. Konsmo 2010, p. 2.
  9. Konsmo 2010, p. 5.
  10. Konsmo 2010, p. 6.
  11. Aurelius, Marcus (1964). Meditations. London: Penguin Books. p. 25. ISBN 0-14044140-9.
  12.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Holy Spirit". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Cf. also the term ruaḥ Elohim (Hebrew: רוח אלהים, "spirit/wind of God"). See, for example, Guy Darshan, "Ruaḥ ’Elohim in Genesis 1:2 in Light of Phoenician Cosmogonies: A Tradition's History," Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages 45,2 (2019), 51–78.
  13. Alan Unterman and Rivka Horowitz, Ruah ha-Kodesh, Encyclopaedia Judaica (CD-ROM Edition, Jerusalem: Judaica Multimedia/Keter, 1997).
  14. Gilles Emery (2011). The Trinity: An Introduction to Catholic Doctrine on the Triune God. Catholic University of America Press. ISBN 978-0-8132-1864-9.
  15. Erickson, Millard J. (1992). Introducing Christian Doctrine. Baker Book House. p. 103.
  16. Hammond, T. C. (1968). Wright, David F. (ed.). In Understanding be Men: A Handbook of Christian Doctrine (6th ed.). Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 54–56, 128–131.
  17. Grudem, Wayne A. (1994). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. p. 226.
  18. Bible, Luke 3:22, NIV
  19. Bible, Acts 2:3, NIV
  20. Bible, Acts 2:1–31
  21. Bible, John 14-16
  22. Williams, Charles (1950). The descent of the Dove : a short history of the Holy Spirit in the church. London: Faber.
  23. Kasemann, Ernst (1960). The Beginnings of Christian Theology [W.J. Montague, New Testament Questions of Today] (in German). Philadelphia: Fortress. ISBN 978-1-316-61990-2.
  24. Bible, I Corinthians 13:4-11, NIV
  25. Wesley, John (2003). The Holy Spirit and power. Keefauver, Larry., Weakley, Clare G. ([Rev. and updated ed.] ed.). Gainesville, Fla.: Bridge-Logos. p. 107. ISBN 088270947X. OCLC 53143450.
  26. Bible Acts 1:8
  27. Johnson, Bill. When Heaven Invades Earth. Destiny Image, 2005
  28. Fee, Gordon D. (1994). "God's empowering presence: the Holy Spirit in the letters of Paul." Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson.
  29. Qur'an search: روح القدس. searchtruth.com.
  30. "What Is Meant by the Holy Spirit in the Qur'an?". Islam Awareness. Sheikh Ahmad Kutty. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  31. Griffith, Sidney H. Holy Spirit, Encyclopaedia of the Quran.
  32. Thomas Patrick Hughes, A Dictionary of Islam, p. 605.
  33. `Abdu'l-Bahá (1981) [1904–06]. "The Holy Spirit". Some Answered Questions. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-87743-190-6.
  34. Taherzadeh, Adib (1976). The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853–63. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. p. 10. ISBN 0-85398-270-8.
  35. Abdo, Lil (1994). "Female Representations of the Holy Spirit in Baháʼí and Christian writings and their implications for gender roles". Baháʼí Studies Review. 4 (1).
  36. `Abdu'l-Bahá (1981) [1904–06]. "The Trinity". Some Answered Questions. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. pp. 113–115. ISBN 0-87743-190-6.
  37. Camilia Gangasingh MacPherson (1996). A Critical Reading of the Development of Raimon Panikkar's Thought on the Trinity. University Press of America. pp. 41–32. ISBN 978-0-7618-0184-9.
  38. Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen (2010). Holy Spirit and Salvation. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 431. ISBN 978-0-664-23136-1.
  39. Mary Boyce (1990). Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism. University of Chicago Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-22606-930-2.
  40. Marvin Meyer; Willis Barnstone (June 30, 2009). "The Secret Book of John". The Gnostic Bible. Shambhala. Retrieved October 15, 2021.

Works cited
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