The Soul, Aeolian Body, Death, Mistranslation of the Word Spirit, Wind of God

[cgaviria]

The word "spirit" does not exist in the original Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, therefore it should no longer be used, because "spirit" does not exist, the correct word to use is "breath" or "wind", for that is what the authors of the scriptures intended to convey with what gives man life, which is moving air, which is our breath, and the form angels transform into, which is wind, which is invisible to the eye, which is called an aeolian body, which is a body of wind, for angels are able to transform into different forms from their form of flesh and bones, which is the body of a man, where aside from transforming into an aeolian body, they are also able to transform into a form of fire, which is a pyronian body, which is the form Moses saw the angel that appeared to him in a burn burning bush, which corresponds with "he makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire", for unlike the bodies of man that come from Adam, angels possess bodies of power, able to transform into different forms. And when an angel takes this form of wind, then he is called "set-apart wind", which is erroneously translated as "holy spirit", for a wind that is set-apart is referring to a body of wind in which an angel of God exists in, which is how it is set apart from other ordinary winds.

Read the full study here http://www.wisdomofgod.co/2018/08/23/the-soul-the-aeolian-body-death-the-mistranslation-of-the-word-spirit-the-identity-of-the-wind-of-god/ .

[lastpost]

In regard to the word "Pneuma" as used in the New Testament, personally, I see no reason to be overly concerned about the Greek to English translation of "spirit" for "pneuma", in the majority of cases.

I find it helpful to look at the overall use of the word as understood by people speaking the Greek language.

"Pneuma" meaning "air in motion, breath, wind," is used in earliest pre-Socrates Greek language as the element from which all else originated.

Later on, the term pneuma used in Greek Stoicism (approximately 300 BC – 3rd century AD) will have undoubtedly affected the way people who spoke or wrote Greek utilised the word itself, and to what they had in mind when using it.

In Stoic philosophy, pneuma is the concept of the "breath of life" a mixture of the elements "air in motion" and "fire as warmth". For the Stoics, pneuma is the active, generative principle that organizes both the individual and the cosmos (David Sedley, "Stoic Physics and Metaphysics").

Still with Stoic philosophy, in its highest form, pneuma constitutes the human soul (psychê), which is a fragment of the pneuma that is the soul of God. As a force that structures matter, it exists even in inanimate objects (John Sellars, "Stoicism").

Cleanthes (successor to Stoicism founder Zeno), wishing to give more explicit meaning to Zeno's 'creative fire', had been the first to use the term pneuma (now clearly in the realm of the modern use of the term 'spirit'), to describe it. Like fire, this intelligent 'spirit' was imagined as a tenuous substance akin to a current of air or breath, but essentially possessing the quality of warmth; it was immanent in the universe as God, and in man as the soul and life-giving principle (Marcus Aurelius [1964] Meditations).

Most people agree that Greek was the "lingua franca" (thus language of commerce, diplomatic communications) of the Mediterranean area. The evidence available shows that the writers of the New Testament records were communicating with those who spoke Greek by writing Greek words for them (and therefore utilising the commonly accepted meanings attached to those words by Greek-speaking people).

It is therefore wholly logical and proper to assume that the intention of the Greek writers, in their use of the word "pneuma", was to permit the use of the word in the Greek language to maintain its commonly accepted and attributable inference and meaning while being read by a Greek-speaking person.

Therefore, in my opinion, a translation such as: John 3:8...

"The wind (pneuma - πνεῦμα) blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit (pneumatos - πνεύματος)"

...is in fact an intelligent and sensitive translation, even though the same word appears for "wind" and "Spirit" – but the first use (πνεῦμα) for "wind" is not identical to the second use (πνεύματος) as "Spirit" in meaning.

Wind (as an aspect of the weather) is of the earth and can blow down trees when strong, but Spirit (as in Unseen Divine Life) is not of the earth yet can permeate trees without blowing them down – the same word but different in meaning.

Therefore, it helps to have an understanding of the context of the uses of the same word. One logically assumes that, in the example of John 3:8, Jesus does not expect us to believe that we are born from an aspect of earthly weather, ie. that aspect produced by the sun heating some areas of the earth's surface more than others, thereby creating lower pressure systems resulting in what we call "wind".

A word can have another meaning born out of itself, eg. A "movement" of something can also be a "Movement". Or "wood" can be something that comes from trees, or "wood" can be a geographical location of trees.

I believe that the use of the translated word "spirit" in certain places in the New Testament, born out of an underlying meaning of the word (ie. "air in movement" and "fire as warmth"), helps the reader to better comprehend the intended meaning of the writers.

So, personally, I will not be rushing to get out the printing press just yet to alter every occurrence of the word "spirit" – in fact, it is helpful in many places to associate it with "something" which is "immanent in the universe as God, and in man as the life-giving principle" - a meaning which the clearly literate writers of the New Testament knew existed in the minds of many of the Greek-speaking people, in one degree of understanding or another - perhaps in some not so definitely, but firmly established as an idea in Greek philosophy it was. 

However, from my personal inquiries into an understanding of "Spirit" from a "spiritual" perspective, I attribute a much purer and unimaginably finer "essence" (for want of a better word to describe the indescribable) to Spirit, than that of the not-quite-material "intelligent aether" of Greek Stoicism.   

[marie glen]

That was very interesting! The only thing that 'bothers' me on this topic is the idea of a soul being inherently immortal.. Ezekiel, I think it is, says "The soul that sins shall die".. and of course how "the wages of sin is death" (not an eternal after life of torment, whether spiritual/mental or physical. :faint:

If there is alternate life in the state of death - before resurrection - I have to think only for those born again in Christ.. but even then that seems a bit disorganized to me and I personally lean toward 1 Thess 4 Which speaks of believers asleep in Jesus.. And I think of the verse how the Lord said some will rise to (a? have to look that up) judgment and some will rise to life, and also "with what sort of body shall they rise?" posed by Paul..

So i'm thinking it's not a matter of words mistranslated (from the Old and the New Testiments) But a mistranslation in perception! Or so I believe.. :gsmile:

[DavidFord]

when an angel takes this form of wind, then he is called 'set-apart wind', which is erroneously translated as 'holy spirit'

No.  In Hebrew, ruach can mean wind, spirit, or breath.  The NT was originally in Aramaic—a sister language of Hebrew—and the Aramaic rukha can mean wind, spirit, or breath.  The Rukha d'Qudsha is the Spirit of Holiness, i.e. Holy Spirit. 

One case of Yeshua (Jesus) having fun with varying definitions of particular words is from his conversation with Niqodemus at John 3:8:
"The Rukha [Spirit or wind]
will nashaba [breathe or blow] where it desires,
and you hear its qala [voice or sound],
but you do not know (from) where it comes or (to) where it goes;
likewise is everyone who is born from Rukha [Spirit]."

Yeshua does wordplay with three Aramaic words. One rendering is,
'The _wind_ will _blow_ where it desires/wills,
and you hear its _sound_,
but you do not know from where it comes or where it goes;
likewise is everyone who is born from _spirit_.'
Another rendering is,
"The _Spirit_ _breathes_ where he desires/wills,
and you hear his _voice_,
but you do not know from where he comes and where he goes;
thus is everyone who is born from the _Spirit_."

Niqodemus was perplexed, probably in part because of the wordplay. Cf. John 20:22, where Yeshua "breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Rukha d'Qudsha'"[Spirit of Holiness].