 | Holy Spirit: Encyclopedia II - Holy Spirit - Other views
Holy Spirit - Other views
Holy Spirit - Judaism
Judaism as a whole does not have a developed pneumatology. Most Jews consider the Holy Spirit to be a thoroughly Christian concept. "The designation of the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Ghost, stems from a Hebrew figure of speech, the ruah hakodesh ("holy spirit"). In Jewish usage, however, this concept was never identified with a seperate person, but with a Divine power which could fill men, as, for instance, the prophets." - The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, 1943, 1969, see: "Trinity", pp. 308.
Holy Spirit - Islam
Islamic interpretations consider the Holy Spirit to be another name for the archangel Gabriel. In Sura 2.97, the Qur'an states that Gabriel delivered the word of Allah to the prophet Muhammad, and in Sura 16.102 Gabriel is specifically called "the Holy Spirit". All Quranic references to the Holy Spirit refer, therefore, to this angel. The actual term "Holy Spirit" الروح القدس is used in the following verses in the Quran: 2:87, 2:253, 5:110, 16:102. In these verses, the Holy Spirit is strongly supportive Moses, Jesus, Mohammed in their divine mission. The Qur'an also mentions the Holy Spirit in 21:91, yet there the term used is "Our Spirit". The 91st Ayah of Surah Al-Anbiya, (21:91,) is indeed in reference to Mary and Jesus, while Our Spirit is referring to Gabriel (Jibril). In Islam, Angels are genderless and have no will of their own, meaning it is impossible for them to disobey God, (please see: Angels in Islam). There is also a reasonable debate for Matt 1:18 and Luke 1:26 using the Holy Ghost and the archangel Gabriel interchangeably.
Holy Spirit - Mandaeanism
Main article: Ruha d-Qudsha
Holy Spirit - Hinduism
There are parallels betweend the Holy Spirit and Kundalini, the divine intelligence behind spiritual awakening and maturation in Yoga. Kundalini is both a power that proceeds from the Absolute and a divine person, a Goddess or Shakti. She is also God immanent in the human being.
Several scriptures of Vedic (Hindu) tradition describe that God is present in the heart as the supreme witness, Paramatman (as per 1 Cor. 3:16, sura 50:16 and sura 6:60 of Qur'an). {In reference to Surah 50:16 and Surah 6:60 of the Qur'an: Since God is All-Knowing, (Surah 11:123 and Surah 64:11,) and absolutely everything is known to Him from the start, (including all good and all bad,) he is considered more close to the person, than that person's jugular vein} - Vedanta Sutra 1.2.11, Katha Upanishad 1.3.1, Chandogya Upanishad 8.1.1 and other Upanishads. Bhagavad Gita, a summary of Upanishads, has many verses about Paramatman. Several are:
10.20: "I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings."
15.15: "I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas, I am to be known. Indeed, I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas."
18.61: "The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy."
(quotes from Bhagavad Gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada)
Holy Spirit - Comparisons in fiction
In role-playing games, the measure of Honour or Grace to Paladins can be superficially compared to the views towards the Holy Spirit. The Paladin, by doing good deeds and helping others (the NPCs), is favoured by the god he serves, which translates into points of Experience and Honour. These points mark his ability to do Paladin spells like healing, repulsing undead, blessing, giving strength etc which are usually dependant on the Charisma ability (translates as gift). When doing honourless or evil actions, the god punishes the Paladin by taking away these abilities.
A good parallel is the Force of Star Wars and the Jedi knights, that have many in common with the concept of the Paladins. The Force resembles some interpretations of the Holy Spirit in that it flows between living beings and holds the universe together. A Jedi by having connection to the Force can use it and obtain abilities from it that partially resemble of the 'Fruits' of the Holy Spirit. Note that the Force is more usually compared to the Chi.
J.R.R. Tolkien, Christian fantasy author, in the Ainulindale speaks about the Flame Imperishable by which the Iluvatar the Creator made the Ainur and brought Being to the world of his mythos. The Flame was not a separate being, but was in the Creator. This description is clearly inspired by the appearance of the paracletus on the Pentecost.
Other related archives1901, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Acts, African American, Ainulindale, Ainur, Allah, American Standard Version, Angels in Islam, Anglicans, Annunciation, Apocrypha, Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Binitarianism, Book of Common Prayer, Branch Davidian Seventh Day Adventists, Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholicism, Catholics, Charisma, Chi, Christ the Son, Christian Church, Christian anarchism, Christian denominations, Christian movements, Christian theology, Christian worship, Christianity, Christology, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Eastern Orthodoxy, Ecumenical councils, English, English Revised Version, Epiphanius of Salamis, Filioque, First Epistle to the Corinthians, Flame Imperishable, Gabriel, German, God, God the Father, Goddess, Goddesses, Gospel music, Grace, Great Schism, Greek, Haile Selassie, Hebrew, Hebrew language, Hindu, History of Christianity, Holy Spirit according to Protestantism, Holy Spirit as Revealed in Acts through Revelation, Holy Trinity, I and I, Iluvatar, Islamic, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jedi, Jehovah's Witnesses, Jerusalem, Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, Joachim of Fiore, John, Jordan, Justin [Martyr], King James Version of the Bible, Kundalini, Latin, Living Church of God, Lois Roden, Mary, Montanism, Muhammad, NPCs, New Testament, Nicene, Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, Noah, Old Testament, Orthodox Christianity, Paladins, Paramatman, Pentecost, Pentecostal, Pentecostalism, Pneumatology, Prevenient Grace, Protestantism, Qur'an, Rastafari, Reformation, Revelation, Roman Catholic Church, Romans, Ruha d-Qudsha, Salvation, Semi-Arians, Sermon on the Mount, Shakti, Slain in the Spirit, Sophia, Star Wars, Sura, Surah 11, Surah 50, Surah 6, The Apostles, The Christian Bible, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Crusades, The Ten Commandments, The Trinity of God, Trinitarian, Trinity, Unitarians, United Kingdom, Upanishad, Vedanta, Vedanta Sutra, Vedas, Vedic, Yahweh, Yoga, apostles, archangel, baptized, cessationism, charismatic, church, deity, depicted, dispensationalism, dove, faithfulness, gentleness, getting happy, ghost, glossalalia, goodness, joy, kindness, language, love, manifestation, nontrinitarian, patience, peace, pneuma, prophecy, prophet, resurrection, role-playing games, second advent of Christ, second coming, soul, spiritual gifts, sura 50, sura 6, the Force, tongues, world, written word of God
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Other views", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
