a holy spirit

----- Original Message -----
From: "caeruleancentaur" <caeruleancentaur@...>


> "Ph. D." <phild@A...> wrote:
>
>>I can understand the difficulty of explaining espousal customs or
>>angels to a different culture, but what's so hard about explaining a
>>manger?
>
> I had in mind missionaries to a culture that had no domesticated
> animals.  They might find it strange that a place had to be provided
> to feed animals.
> BTW (not to you, Ph.D.),
Rather to me, "Sally Caves," since I supplied you, Charlie, with the
friendly supplements.  :)

> neither the Matthean annunciation story
> (1:24) nor the Lucan (1:35) mention The Holy Spirit/Ghost.
Ach du!  Well, I was looking not only at Luke 1:35, but also at 1:14 of my
King James Version of the Bible that was a gift to me at confirmation, much
worn and much written in.  1:14  --"and he shall be filled with the Holy
Ghost, even from his mother's womb."  1:35-- "And the angel answered and
said unto her, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.'"

> In those
> verses the definite article is not used, so the translation would
> be "a holy spirit."  To insert "the" is to paraphrase, to add a
> theological nuance not found in the text.
That's interesting.  I suppose I should go read the original Koine Greek.
Or at least my New English Bible.  But I was looking at what I had in front
of me.  Thanks for the correction.  "A holy spirit" would be easier to
translate, I suppose, than The Holy Spirit.  But since Holy Ghost is
capitalized throughout much of the KJV, how am I to tell when "a holy
spirit" becomes "The Holy Ghost" in the New Testament?  Matthew 12:31 and
the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost?  John 20:22?  Acts 1:8? 2:4? 9:31?
20:28?  Romans 9:1?  "I say in truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost."

Sally

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