In Reply to: Re: To Mr Don re: Bush posted by Mr. Don on August 28, 2007 at 17:36:48:
Gendering the HS
I haven't studied this issue in a very long time, so I'm kinda rusty on some things. ONE of several words used in the Old and New Testament for Holy Spirit is the Greek "Parakletos," which is "counselor." The fact that "parakletos" is a masculine noun does not mean that the counselor is by default a male. It means the idea of advocacy and counsel is attributed to masculine energy as an active rather than passive force.
But Parakletos is not the only symbolic word used in sacred scripture to refer to God's Holy Spirit. What about other Hebrew and Greek words that reference God's Spirit, such as "ruach" and "pneuma," denoting "breath" (see Ezek. 37:8-10 and Rev. 11:11)--? These are also gendered nouns--feminine--used to reference the Holy Spirit that goes out from the Father and is received as life. By the way, the word "spirit" comes from the Latin "espiritus," for breath. In Latin, it's a masculine noun. The noun is gendered male in Latin to denote exhalation, or the masculine attribute of "going outward." In Greek and Hebrew, the word for breath denotes inhalation, the feminine attribute of "going inward" or being received. The "Breath" of God does both things: It goes out and it is received.
A gendered noun does not mean the thing represented by the noun is of that biological gender. Biological gender is about the flesh, while gendered nouns are about characteristics of the idea denoted by a word. In the languages of the Bible, the idea of God's Holy Spirit has both masculine and feminine characteristics.
Can the Spirit of God have a biologically-based gender, e.g., an identity that is linked to genitalia and hormones, the things that make men have beards and muscles or make women have breasts and soft lips? No, of course not. Don't make the same mistake Berg did: The Holy Spirit is not male or female and cannot be fully represented by either gender.
It may be more convenient to refer to the Holy Spirit as "He," especially since the English word "spirit" comes from a Latin masculine noun or because the English word "ghost" (Holy Ghost) is derived from a German masculine noun which also denotes "breath." That doesn't mean the Holy Ghost is a male. It means that in the Latin and German, the idea of breath ("espiritus" or "giest") has the masculine attribute of going out rather than being received.