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Decepto-Meter
Deceptive Quote : Trinitarian
Quote only the first of several meaning of Spirit (wind/power) in order to prove the Holy Spirit is nothing but hot air!
Harris, R. Laird: Theological Workbook of the Old Testament
How Anti-Trinitarians quoted the source
What they left out to deliberately misrepresent the source and deceive you:
"His 'spirit' may indicate no more than active power. (Is 40.13)" (Theological Workbook of the Old Testament, Vol 2, page 836-7)
Ruah can exhibit a range of meaning. The "breath" of God may be a strong wind (Isa 40:7; 59:19; cf. Num 11:31). His "spirit" may indicate no more than active power or mood Isa 40:13, "Who hath directed the spirit [intention] of the Lord?" or, "who has known the mind [intention] of the Lord," SO Lxx and I Cor 2:16). At most points, however, context approves and the analogy of the NT strongly suggests that the ruah YHWH is the Holy Spirit, "in the fullest Christian sense" (Theological Workbook of the Old Testament, R. Laird Harris, Vol 2, page 836-7)
Deception Exposed:
This type of quote is typical of how Jehovah's Witnesses and all Anti-Trinitarians deal with the subject of spirit. They pick one of many definitions out of a reference source and say, "See spirit is nothing more than wind" I guess that makes angels, the devil and demons nothing more than hot air!
In fact, Harris, gives the full spectrum of definition in a very responsible manner. He says "Ruah can exhibit a range of meaning" one sentence before the quote JW's use." Then one sentence after Harris states that USUALLY indicates personality and being in the "fullest Christian sense" Such irresponsible selective quoting is deceptive an unscholarly.
But even worse, Arians deliberately fail to tell us that in the same paragraph before their misleading quote, Harris states that RUAH refers to intelligent personal beings including: Man, Devil, demons, angels and God the Father Himself!
Finally they deliberately dropped the phrase "or mood" without ellipses (...) in order to deceive the reader because although "power" does not necessarily imply personality, MOOD DOES!
Full Text:
"The basic idea of rual (Gr. pneuma) is air in motion," from air which
cannot come between a crocodile's scales (Job 41:16 (H 8]) to the blast of
a storm (Isa 25:4; Hab 1: 11 ASV, RSV). The "four winds," ruhot, describe
the four quarters or four directions of the world (Jer 49:36; Ezk 37:9). In
living beings the ruah is their breath, whether of animals (Gen 7:15; Ps
104:25, 29), men (Isa 42:5; Ezk 37:5), or both (Gen 7:22-23); whether
inhaled (Jer 2:24) or on the lips (Isa 11:4; cf. Job 9:18; contrast dead
idols, Jer 10:14; 51:17). God creates it: "The ruah "spirit" [s] of God
(from God) is in my nostrils" (Job 27:3)." ... "Ruah comes finally to
denote the entire immaterial consciousness of man: "With my spirit within
me I will seek you earnestly" (Isa 26:9);'a wise man "rules his spirit"
(Prov 16:32; cf. Dan 5:20), and "in his spirit there is no guile" (Ps
32:2). While the OT generally treats man as a whole (see nepesh -soul,"
often rendered simply as "self"), it also recognizes his essential dualism
(A. B. Davidson, The Theology of the OT, P. 202). Flesh and spirit combine
to form the "self," so that while man may be said to have a Ruah he is a
nepesh (yet he is sometimes said to possess a nepesh, which departs from
his body at death). The Ruah is contained with its bodily nidneh 'sheath'
(Dan 7:15, Aramaic; cf. Zech 12; 1). At death the body returns to dust, but
the immortal spirit returns to God who gave it (Gen 3:19; Eccl 12:7). In
this regard ruah and nepesh, here meaning distinctly "soul," tend to
overlap (Job 7:11 Isa 26:9; cf. Ex 6:9 with Num 21:4; RTWB, P. 234). This
differs from liberal theology, which tends to limit ruah to an impersonal
vital power that becomes individualized only in the nepesh. Thus it claims
that the soul cannot exist independently of the body, i.e. that when the
ruah or ,-Power" departs (Eccl 12:7), the person ceases. to exist (L.
Kdhler, Old Testament Theology, p. 145, opposed by Davidson, op. cit., pp.
200-201). Yet both nepesh and ruah may leave the body at death and exist in
a state separate from it'(Gen 35:K Ps 86:13; cf. I Kgs 17:22 on the rare
case of a soul's return to its body). On a higher plane, ruah may then
designate a supernatural, angelic being, "a spirit from God" (I Sam 16:23,
NASB). The function may be revelatory (Job 4:16[?]; cf. Zech 1:9, 19 [H
1:9; 2:21, mal'ak, q.v). Or, appropriately, God might have his angels serve
as ruhot "winds" (Ps 104:4, not "spirits"; Heb 1:7) or fire (cf. I Kgs
19:11-12). Satan is -the great, accusing spirit" (I Kgs 22:2 1). Other evil
spirits could fall upon men, as decreed by God (I Sam 16:14 18: 10; 19:9).
The preeminent example of spiritual personality is God (Isa 31:3). Ruah can
exhibit a range of meaning. The "breath" of God may be a strong wind (Isa
40:7; 59:19; cf. Num 11:31). His "spirit" may indicate no more than active
power or mood Isa 40:13, "Who hath directed the spirit [intention] of the
Lord?" or, "who has known the mind [intention] of the Lord," SO Lxx and I
Cor 2:16). At most points, however, context approves and the analogy of the
NT strongly suggests that the ruah YHWH is the Holy Spirit, "in the fullest
Christian sense" (Theological Workbook of the Old Testament, R. Laird
Harris, Vol 2, page 836-7)
Go To Alphabetical Index Of Deceptive Quotes
Written By Steve Rudd, Used by permission at: www.bible.ca
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