₦airaland Forum

Source: http://knowittoday.org/religion/is-the-holy-spirit-the-same-with-the-holy-ghost/

God-TrinityTrue to the topic, there are controversies in Christendom as it affects the true identity of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost. One school of thought thinks the Holy Spirit differs in identity and function from the Holy Ghost while the other perceives to the contrary - meaning they are one and the same.



In the Christian religion, and in some of the many denominations, there exist the belief known as the belief of the Trinity God. This concept presents a situation of having 1+1+1=1. This, to the layman or literally is impossible. In order to be more convincing in this belief system, most thinkers as well as preachers divinely inspired by the Supreme Godhead claim convincingly that the trinity concept or belief is not about three entities, beings, essence, breaths nor personalities, but rather these are the three offices or operational dimensions of one which is God the Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. Join me to celebrate the work of Paul in 1st Cor. 12 v 5 & 6.


The operational dimensions of God in three offices can be simply put forward as God Projecting Himself as:


God the Father (office of the Father) - First operational dimension.


God the Son (office of the Son)- second operational dimension


But the nomenclature or identity or label of the third office or operational dimension is still being debated upon or contended with and it is this bone of contention the topic of discuss seeks to address.

The topic of discuss, as well as the Holy Bible and other Christian literatures, present to us two labels which can possibly and to an extent are commonly used in similitude and differentials. These labels are THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE HOLY GHOST.


Before I go further to proving whether or not the Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are the same, I like to make us see that certain features about the two concepts are unique and same.


They both have the preceeding word - ‘HOLY’ meaning heavenly or of God; perfect and flawless.


Both entities are literarily invisible to the human eyes - spirit and ghost are invisible entities.


Both terms are evident in the Holy Bible - they are both mentioned in the Holy Bible.



The expression – ‘Holy Ghost’ occurs ninety (90) times in the King James Version of the Bible. This expression is used in Matthew 1:18, to tell us that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Ghost.

‘now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the HOLY GHOST ‘.


It also occurs in Mark, where we are told that King David spoke by the Holy Ghost. Mark 12:36

‘For David Himself said by the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool’.


The Holy Ghost also came upon Jesus Christ at His baptism. Luke 3:22

‘’And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him…..’’


On the other hand, the word ‘Holy Spirit’ is only used seven times in the Holy Bible. In the Old Testament we have it appearing in Psalm 51:11

‘’cast me not away from your presence and take thy Holy Spirit from me’’.

See also Isaiah 63:10. While in the New Testament we have it in Luke11:13

‘…..how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.’

See also Ephesians 4:30 and 1st Thessalonians 4:8



THE ORIGIN OF THE WORDS – HOLY SPIRIT AND HOLY GHOST

The terms ‘’Holy Spirit’’ and ‘’Holy Ghost’’ find their roots from two basic Greek words - ‘Hagios' and ‘Pneuma’. ’Hagios’ meaning Holy and 'Pneuma' meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘ghost’. Over time, bible translations such as American Standard Bible, New International Version and in many other versions, the words 'Hagios' and 'Pnuema' were translated as Holy Spirit. As in many languages when there are two terms (or even more) of approximately the same meaning , either one becomes extinct or the two terms diverge in meaning, which is the same here for Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost.


The sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were a time of tremendous flux and change in the English language. As time went on, people started seeing the word Ghost as more appropriate to represent the invisible son of man after death and spirit as life and power of God hence the distinctions.

However the holy bible never gave any clue as to whether the two terms ( Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost) are distinct.



Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the King James Version translation makes a distinction between the two and merely chose the term they preferred for explaining in a particular passage - no difference is implied by their choice of usage. It merely reflects an ambivalence in English at the time between the Latin derived 'spirit' and the more common English term - 'ghost'.

How be it, this is not enough to substantiate my point. The question is ‘IS THE HOLY SPIRIT SAME AS THE HOLY GHOST?’ To this end, I say an emphatic YES! The Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are same and one. My points are biblical and logical, and they are thus:


1.NO CLEAR DISTINCTION EXISTS IN THE HOLY BIBLE - Having studied the two terms closely in the context that they feature in the Holy Bible, I have come to terms that there are no distinctions. Their personalities or identities and functions do not differ. In the Old Testament, the Holy Bible makes us to see how dangerous it is to provoke or lie to the Holy Spirit


Isaiah 63:10

“But they rebelled and vexed the holy spirit , therefore he was turned to be their enemies. He fought against them”.



The story above explains how the children of Israel were destroyed for vexing the Holy Spirit. Paul the Apostle knows how dangerous it is to grieve the Holy Spirit, and thus he warned the Ephesian church in his letter to them chapter 4:30

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God…”

More so Jesus Christ was also referring to the same Holy Spirit when he said “wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto you but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Matthew 12:31.


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However, in this wise the King James Version decided to utilize the word Holy Ghost. Note: as it is dangerous to sin against the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 63:10, so also it is to sin against the Holy Ghost as seen in Mattew 12:31. Ananias and his wife Sapphire failed to learn from what happened to the children of Israel whom were destroyed for provoking the wrath of the Holy Spirit . Hence, they were struck dead by the Holy Ghost. Acts 5:3 -10. Note that the verse nine of the above portion has it that Peter cautioned Sapphire, the wife of Ananias, for tempting the Spirit of God(which is the Holy Spirit). The aftermath of the Ananias and Sapphire's issue made Peter to remind the followers of Christ of what happened to the people of old who provoked the Holy Spirit cum the Holy Ghost.

Acts 7:51-‘’ ye stiff necked and uncircumcised heart and era , ye do always resist the holy ghost, as your fathers did , so do ye’’.



2. THEY BOTH CAN REST UPON MAN - One characteristic of the Holy Spirit is to rest or fall upon someone. When this occurs such a person is empowered to perform greater works. The Holy Bible recalls at different times when either the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost fell on different individuals. Luke 1:35.

“And the angel answered and said unto her, the holy ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall over power thee ….’’See also Acts 1:8. The portions above are only a few out of other Bible verses that indicate that the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit can come upon someone. Judges 14:6

“and the spirit of the lord came mightily upon him…”

1st Samuel 10:10 “……and the spirit of God came upon him and he prophesied among them”.

see also mattew 3:16 “…….and he saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him” John also bare record saying “ I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove ,and it abode upon Him.”


Suffice it to say here that the Spirit of God can only be nothing else than the Holy Spirit. So, if the bible says the Spirit of God descended, it means also that the Holy Spirit descended. In Genesis , the Holy bible records that the Spirit of God (which is the Holy Spirit of God)moved upon the surface of the waters.(Gen.1:26). Hence, the Holy Ghost which has the capacity of descending on someone is the Holy Spirit and can never be a coincidence.



3. THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH IS SAME AS THE HOLY GHOST, COMFORTER ,AND HOLY SPIRIT - Let us examine John 14:16 “and I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter….” Take note of the word – comforter in that text.

John 15:26 “but when the spirit of truth shall come, whom I will send unto you from the father, even the spirit of truth.”

John 16:13 “Howbeit when He, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth………”.

John 14:26 “But the comforter, which is the holy ghost, whom the father will send in my name……”

From the portion read to us, I would like us to consider the choice of words as – Comforter, Spirit of Truth and Holy Ghost. It is true that Jesus Christ made a promise of sending a “Helper” who will lead and direct the path of his followers, therefore the choice of the names used in the portions above to describe this same helper is not an error, because they all mean the same thing and represent the same personality and entity.



4. THEY ARE USED INTERCHANGEABLY - Truth is, if we think that the Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost are two different entities, then we should be prepared to be perturbed of more words or terms. Apart from Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost, there are other terms in the Holy Bible that represent same entity as Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. This makes me feel that the usage of the terms - Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is a matter of language choice. These other terms are:

*Spirit of Truth (John 16:13, John 15:16)

*My Spirit (Isaiah 42:1, Joel 2:28)

*Spirit of the Lord (Judges 3:10,1st Samuel 16:13)

*Spirit of God (Romans 8:9,1st Samuel 10:10)

From the facts above it follows that the usage of Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is just bothering on choice of language else we should also bother on what the above listed terms represents. Hence, Spirit of Truth, My Spirit, Spirit of the Lord, Spirit of God, Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost represents the same entity and that is the third person in the trinity.

The Father, the Son /word and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost. 1st John 5:7-“for there are three things that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and Holy Ghost”



CONCLUSION

Having much said, I strongly believe that my points which are biblical and logically clear and are just enough for all and sundry to understand that the Holy Ghost and Holy Spirit mean the same person, same entity, and represent the third personality of the deity of the trinity God - The Living GodHead.



REFERENCES

1. THE HOLY BIBLE, KING JAMES VERSION

2. THE HOLY SPIRIT BY CHARLES RYIE

Source: http://knowittoday.org/editorial/child-abuse-the-negatives-of-courting-an-under-aged/#more-79

For days I sat, thinking of how to go about this topic. Thoughts of where to start from and how to end plagued my mind, but then it struck me. I thought to myself; why not try fixing yourself in the shoes of the victims, it got to me that they pass through a lot without the knowledge of people around them, they are hurt emotionally, physically, spiritually and otherwise. Sexual abuse is not something amazing. Every day as we wake up and thank God for another beautiful day, an innocent child (male or female) is praying for death. Most of these children are often abused sexually by those close to them, be it an uncle, aunt, father, mother or even a teacher that they might have trusted. They are so frightened to tell anybody because they feel "who will believe me? I’m just a kid".

The phrase sexual abuse is not ambiguous, it is self-explanatory, but some people might not know what it entails. For their sake, definitions will be provided. According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, "sexual abuse is unwanted sexual activity, with perpetrators using force, making threats or taking advantage of victims not able to give consent". The Criminal Code Act tags it as an indecent treatment of girls under sixteen; it includes doing any act which, if done without consent, would constitute an assault. For some people it is any sexual activity involving an adult and an under-aged person, for others it is an unauthorized sex, it could be in form of touching. In the long run all definitions agree on the same thing and it mostly occurs with children. We see in movies young girls being sold out or shipped off illegally to other countries and are trained in the art of prostitution, it may seem unreal but the truth of the matter is that it isn't unreal...things like that happen almost every single day. These innocent children are tortured if they refuse to do as they are instructed; their innocence is taken away from them even before they become teenagers. I often wonder what these pedophiles enjoy when having sexual intercourse with these kids, who do nothing but cry out in pains. It is upsetting to read about how fifty or forty-five year old men defile innocent children. What pleasure do they derive? These pedophiles only end up sexually abusing these kids.
Studies by David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Centre, shows that:
- 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse
- Self-report studies show that 20% of adult females and 5-10% of adult males recall a childhood sexual assault or sexual abuse incident;
- Children are most vulnerable to child sexual abuse between the ages of 7 and 13 (Online).

EFFECTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ON VICTIMS
For those pedophiles that think or feel that their intercourse with these children doesn't affect the kids, then it's rather unfortunate for you because it does and the effects may include:
- A child who is a victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults and can become suicidal.
- Compared to those with no history of sexual abuse, young males who were sexually abused were five times en pregnancy, three times more likely to have multiple sexual partners and two times more likely to have unprotected sex (Journal of Adolescent Health).
- Victims may feel powerless, ashamed and distrustful of others
- Victims may show fear and anxiety in response to people who share characteristics of the abuser i.e. the same sex as the abuse or similar physical characteristics. They may experience difficulties in adult relationships and adult sexual functioning.


These and many more are the effects of sexual abuse on a child. No child deserves to go through such, they deserve better treatment, they deserve to be loved and treated with utmost respect, no need for them to feel scared. If perpetrators of these act think they can get away with it well am sorry but I have to clear that....No Country's law will let you carry such an act and go scout free. By Section 7 of the Sexual Offences Act and Section 218 of the Criminal Code, any person who perpetrates such act is liable, upon conviction, to LIFE IMPRISONMENT i.e. any person who has sexual affairs with any person below eighteen years (18years).
On that note let me delve into the second part of this episode which is on the issue of dating (courting) an under-aged as an adult. Is it right or wrong, legal or illegal to date an under-aged? First of all, who is an under-aged? An under-aged is a person that is too young by law. Under-aged in this case is one below the age of consent which is eighteen years in most countries. In course of my dialogue with some persons concerning this issue, it seems wrong and illegal to date an under-aged person, especially when the relationship has to do with having carnal knowledge of the person involved.

The word under-aged crowns it all; this individual is not autonomous, cannot be held accountable and can be easily manipulated by the other party. It is also wrong because the underage person does not fully understand the implication of his or her actions, and might only be doing it because of the influence of the adult. It is illegal because it is punishable by law. Although some persons feel that they can date a sixteen year old boy or girl depending on his or her level of maturity i.e. in handling issues, truth is; it is still illegal because the law only recognizes maturity by age and not by size or way of thinking. It is normal for teenagers and kids to want to try new things; want to go into a relationship because you feel its LOVE. No one is disputing Love, it's actually a wonderful thing, but then you ought to question yourself on what you will achieve from the relationship. Will it build your intellectual capacity? Will it help you grow spiritually? So on and so forth. Dating (courtship) is not illegal to the best of my knowledge but when sex is involved, it becomes illegal and the male will be punished because he will be charged with defilement (in case of two under-aged dating). For an adult dating an under-aged, the punishment has been stated earlier when dealing with sexual abuse.

Two under-aged persons dating is better described as ‘ the blind leading the blind’, because they have no idea where they are headed and when sexual activities take place the male suffers and ignorance of the law is never an excuse. As an adult your duty is to direct these teenagers or children on the right path and not see it as an opportunity to take advantage of them. The judge will not pardon you for sexually abusing a child, justice must prevail. There are laws regulating our day to day affairs, let us do well to know them because ignorantia juris non excusat (ignorance of the law is not an excuse).



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