Is the Holy Spirit a person?

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Catholic : One Thread

Jehovah Witnesses says the Holy Spirit is an active force. Therefore, the Spirit is not a person.

What does the Catholic teach or believe?

-- Henri (kxhenri@yahoo.com), June 03, 2004

Answers

Catholics believe only what Jesus Christ revealed. He said that He and His Almighty father would not leave the church alone. ''I will ask the Father (a Person); and He will give you another Advocate to dwell with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you shall know Him because He will dwell with you, and be in you.'' (John 14, :16-17) The word HE means the Holy Spirit is truly one Person,

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), June 03, 2004.

eugene,

thank you. So does the Holy Spirit has a body if he is a person?

-- Henri (kxhenri@yahoo.com), June 03, 2004.


no, henri. person does not mean what you're indicating at this point. it represents a singularity, a spiritual force... not a person as you or i are.

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), June 03, 2004.

paul h,

are you saying that the Holy Spirit has no emotion, knowledge and hmm..(what are the other characteristics) like us?

I thought a person would has those human characteristics...you sound like the Jehovah Witnesses...that Holy Spirit is an active force of God...

-- Henri (kxhenri@yahoo.com), June 03, 2004.


The Holy Spirit is not a "force". Like God the Father and God the Son, God the Holy Spirit is fully a person, with a mind, an intellect and a will. Among the activities ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the scriptures are: revealing, inspiring, leading, guiding, dwelling, sanctifying, testifying, speaking, teaching, sending, reminding, comforting, and descending in bodily form. Can a mindless force carry on such activities? We are also warned against lying to the Holy Spirit; blaspheming against the Holy Spirit; and grieving the Holy Spirit. Can a "force" grieve? Can someone lie to a force? Or blaspheme against a force? No, everything in scripture indicates that the Holy Spirit is fully a person.

Having a physical body is not essential to being a person. It is only essential to being a human person.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), June 03, 2004.



Paul M,

with your explanation, I am fully understand. The Holy Spirit is a devine being who has a form of a person. God is very powerful, He can come as wind, fire or anything.

Thanks.

-- Henri (kxhenri@yahoo.com), June 03, 2004.


Not a ''form''. That stands for existence in space and time. Force stands for an activity in or out of space and time.

God is pure Spirit. It is revealed He is ONE. It is further revealed that He is three Persons in One God. Not three forms, or gods, Just each Person within the Godhead, A single entity revealed as God. The sole ''form'' or physical body is Jesus Christ. He assumed flesh, in space and time. But He pre-existed from all eternity as pure spirit. So has God the Father Almighty, and so has the Holy Spirit. One but in three separate Persons. This is the revealed mystery of the Holy Trinity.

-- eugene c. chavez (loschavez@pacbell.net), June 03, 2004.


Force: A person or group capable of influential action; A capacity for affecting the mind or behavior; efficacy; One that possesses such capacity

Force: Any action between two bodies which changes, or tends to change, their relative condition as to rest or motion; or, more generally, which changes, or tends to change, any physical relation between them, whether mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or of any other kind; as, the force of gravity; cohesive force; centrifugal force.

Force: To be of force, importance, or weight; to matter.

Force: An agent of change.

You know, following these dictionary definitions of force, it seems it would be impossible to declare that the Holy Spirit is NOT a force.

Paul M, you stated: Among the activities ascribed to the Holy Spirit in the scriptures are: revealing, inspiring, leading, guiding, dwelling, sanctifying, testifying, speaking, teaching, sending, reminding, comforting, and descending in bodily form

and then you questioned if a mindless force could do these things. nobody said anything about the Holy Spirit being a mindless force, it is a mindFUL force in our daily lives. even a person can be a force... so it is not to deny the person of the Holy Spirit in saying that the Holy Spirit is an active agent in this world (ie, a force).

What DOES need to be clarified is that the Holy Spirit is a person UNLIKE human persons. the Spiritual presense of God is entirely unlike the human soul. the physical manifestation of God is entirely unlike the human body. God's emotional movements are entirely seperated from our understanding of emotion. while we are similar to God in that we have emotion, and we are beings which are essentially spiritual in nature, we do not understand God by likening Him to a person (unless we speak specifically of Christ, but even to describe Christ as simply human is innacurate, because He was also fully God). So does the Holy Spirit have a person? yes. is it anything that we can grasp in human terms? no, not really.

-- paul h (dontsendmemail@notanaddress.com), June 04, 2004.


Human being and divine being. Does the physical look the same? When Moses and Isaiah came to talk to Jesus on the mountain, they still have human body, aren't they? The disciples who saw Moses and Isiah knew who they are. They are still person, not vapor of clouds.

Anyway, we'll get our answers when we are with God in heaven.

-- Henri (kxhenri@yahoo.com), June 04, 2004.


The answer is (YOU).

-- Bern (chub13@localnet.com), August 06, 2004.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ