Why did you become christian?

[YoursTrue]

I believe the "Holy Spirit" is likely the same as "God's Spirit" in the Tanakh.

Offhand I would say you are correct. Naturally, however, I do not see it as one of the three equal persons said to be one God type thing. As I understand it without going into detail now, it is God's active force. Take care, Metis. I've been thinking about Spinoza since you mentioned it again.

 

[Frank Goad]

I was raised in a Jesus following family.So I prayed to be a Jesus follower at 7.

 

[JACC2312]

So clearly, from the Bible, this shows that the holy spirit is not a person. IMO.

He is a person, Be careful with your statements on the Holy Spirit, the only sin which is not forgetable is the Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The teaching here is that the Holy Spirit Is also Shared by The Lord Jesus, The Holy Spirit is the spirit of The Father and the Son, and Proceeds from the Father and the Son. And The Holy Spirit goes and does as He whishes, He inspires and calls to conversion, He Consolates and He is the Live Action of God in his Creation, The Holy Spirit is the Cause of Life of all things and He is the Vivificant and Healing of all human pains.

 

[clara17]

Though raised by atheists, I was sent to a nearby church that just happened to be Biblically doctrinal. As a young child, I respected the Sunday school teacher and believed everything he said and taught. I thus became a Christian through blind faith and influence.

In my 30's I became seriously involved with a Catholic girl and started studying Catholicism versus Protestantism for the first time. That experience not only led me to reject Catholicism, but started me on a life-long study of Christian apologetics. I no longer have a blind faith, but an intellectually grounded faith based upon a preponderance of the evidence.

Now there is a good amount of historical evidence which verifies the truth of the Bible. https://readthehistory.com/

 

[jimb]

a) I was raised as a Jew, taught Hebrew by a rabbi, and was Bar Mitzvah at age
13.

b) I had a very unhappy childhood, finally resulting in a nervous breakdown at
age 20. My parents had a horrible marriage and the children suffered because of
it. I prayed often to God for my situation to change, but nothing happened.

c) Because of this I became a serious atheist and debated with religious people
about their absurd beliefs.

d) We were living the lives of hippies in Minnesota. A pastor often came to our
farm to tell us all about Jesus and Christianity. I argued with her vehemently
but read the Living Bible to prove my point of view.

e) In March 1977 I was hospitalized with a severe case of asthma. The doctors
were unable to break the spasm.

f) The pastor visited the hospital but my wife was hesitant to let her visit,
fearing I would become too excited. She relented and the pastor visited my
room. She read some Scripture, including Matthew 11:28-30: "Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." KJV (her
preference) Then she prayed, "Jesus, heal this man". -> Immediately <- the
spasm broke and my body was flooded with joy and warmth. => Of course, I
immediately realized that Jesus was real and became a Christian at that moment
<=

g) My wife could NOT understand what had happened to me! She went home and
prayed "God, if this is real, give me a sign". IMMEDIATELY a raven flew past
the window where she was sitting. Even though she was raised "a Christian", she
went to church and gave her heart to the Lord.

h) I remained in the hospital for three days(!) and read the Bible continually.
A friend visited and asked me if I had received my prayer language. When I
replied that I hadn't he told me to ask God. I did and immediately began
speaking in tongues.

i) Of course we began attending her Pentecostal church and I was baptized in a
(cold) local lake.

j) Shortly thereafter, we sold our farm and moved to St Paul to attend a non-
denominational Bible college. I also bought and read the newly-published NIV
and "the lights went on"! (I still have that Bible) After two years we moved
to Tampa, FL where we lived until 1993.

k) In 1993 we moved to New Mexico, where we still live. I attended various
churches, mostly non-denominational, and finally became an elder of the church
that we last attended (prior to COVID).

l) Since that time I have stopped attending physical church and spend my free
time reading the Bible. I am no longer active in any church, but spend quite a
bit of time on various Christian forums, including this one!



As is evident, I feel very strongly about my beliefs. I dislike the concept of
denominations, as they divide the body of Christ. Each one claims to have the
pure truth and, as a result, look down on other denominations, sometimes very
harshly. That is abhorrent to me!!!



The worst of these in my opinion is the Catholic denomination which claims to be
"the first church" (which is unScriptural). I have found that they, including
Mungo, look down on non-Catholics and treat them harshly. I feel that I have
been the victim of this treatment, although I confess to doing my part by
putting forth arguments that were too harsh. It doesn't surprise me in the
slightest that Mungo has banned me permanently. After all, Martin Luther was
excommunicated because he spoke out against the Catholic doctrines, and the
tradition has obviously continued.



I don't want to end on that note! I have been a very, very serious Christian
for 45 years; it is my clear identity as a human being. I have received God's
Spirit, for which I am eternally grateful (an understatement). I will be in
Christ forever! Hallelu-jah!

 

[metis]

Naturally, however, I do not see it as one of the three equal persons said to be one God type thing. As I understand it without going into detail now, it is God's active force.

I'm quite unsure about the "equal" part as I lean in the direction that Jesus and the Holy Spirit reflect "essence", such as saying "Jesus and the Holy Spirit are of the essence of God".

The early authors often used "essence" per the teachings of Aristotle and Plato, so scholars in the Mediterranean area would be quite familiar with its use.

es·sence
[ˈes(ə)ns]
noun

1. the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character:
   "conflict is the essence of drama"
   
   
   • philosophy
     a property or group of properties of something without which it would not exist or be what it is.

 

[YoursTrue]

I'm quite unsure about the "equal" part as I lean in the direction that Jesus and the Holy Spirit reflect "essence", such as saying "Jesus and the Holy Spirit are of the essence of God".

The early authors often used "essence" per the teachings of Aristotle and Plato, so scholars in the Mediterranean area would be quite familiar with its use.

es·sence
[ˈes(ə)ns]
noun

1. the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character:
   "conflict is the essence of drama"
   
   
   • philosophy
     a property or group of properties of something without which it would not exist or be what it is.

Not to get into an argument, and I certainly know you are well learned in many aspects of religious beliefs, but -- 1. the holy spirit is that which emanates from God, and 2. the gender is such that we (humans) can understand the description of God in terms that register better with us. He did make the first person male.

 

[YoursTrue]

Not to get into an argument, and I certainly know you are well learned in many aspects of religious beliefs, but -- 1. the holy spirit is that which emanates from God, and 2. the gender is such that we (humans) can understand the description of God in terms that register better with us. He did make the first person male.

However, @metis -- looking at Genesis 1:2 I see that most translations say the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters or the surface of the waters. Some translations say spirit of God without the capital s, and interestingly enough, some say "mighty wind," or wind. Coming from the Hebrew 'ruach,' which as you probably know can mean wind, spirit, or breath.

 

[clara17]

For me the Bible is the best explanation for what we see and why we see it. You can point out that it can't be proven or that this section or that one doesn't make sense, but you won't offer a better alternative, just doubt and skepticism.