daveh@tekcrl.UUCP (Dave Hatcher) (09/13/86)
Message-ID: <289@isieng.UUCP>kiki@isieng.UUCP (Kiki Herbst) >Third (and to me most crucial),when Jesus was resurrected He sent the comforter >--the Holy Spirit--which definitely plays a great impact on Christian morality >and faith. That, by the ways, is also what makes Christianity unique from any >other faith. >The Holy Spirit is the Lord's way of bringing man into a unique relationship >with Himself, that through their very lives and personalities He imparts His >own nature and life to others and touches and changes them. >"I have come to give life and to give it abundantly" What I see here is *form*. Could you please go a little deeper and explain at a knowing/experiencing/truth level the above paragraphs. Here are some questions I have that may help your response. What is the Holy Spirit? How does the Holy Spirit touch Man? Why does the Holy Spirit touch only a select few? Or is it touching everybody, and only a few see the Holy Spirit? What does one do in order to open up to the Holy Spirit? How universal is the Holy Spirit? How is the Holy Spirit experienced? If every thing (not everything) was all ready created, wasn't the Holy Spirit around before Jesus? (this is really a part of the first question) Here are some related questions. Why does the inner teachings of all the great religions recognize in their own vocabulary the Holy Spirit? How would you explain the saints and mystics that all religions have? >"I have come to give life and to give it abundantly" What does this statement mean to you? Dave Hatcher
kiki@isieng.UUCP (09/16/86)
In article <1002@tekcrl.UUCP> daveh@tekcrl.UUCP (Dave Hatcher) writes: >Message-ID: <289@isieng.UUCP>kiki@isieng.UUCP (Kiki Herbst) > >>Third (and to me most crucial),when Jesus was resurrected He sent the comforter >>--the Holy Spirit--which definitely plays a great impact on Christian morality >>and faith. That, by the ways, is also what makes Christianity unique from any >>other faith. > >>The Holy Spirit is the Lord's way of bringing man into a unique relationship >>with Himself, that through their very lives and personalities He imparts His >>own nature and life to others and touches and changes them. > >>"I have come to give life and to give it abundantly" > >What I see here is *form*. Could you please go a little deeper and explain >at a knowing/experiencing/truth level the above paragraphs. > >Here are some questions I have that may help your response. These are some great questions! Here's off the top answers on these questions. I hope some other readers will try to answers these as well. I'd be interested in knowing what impact the Holy Spirit has had on other Christians. > What is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is God. God takes three parts which is known as the trinity: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Webster's Dictionary defines the Holy Spirit as "the active presence of God in human life constituting the third person of the Trinity." > How does the Holy Spirit touch Man? The Holy Spirit is given to all people who have accepted Christ as their savior. When Jesus was on earth, he said in John 14, "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever--the Spirit of Truth....But the Counselor the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Thus the Holy Spirit "touches" all Christians to remind us of who God is, to provide instruction, and to comfort us. >Why does the Holy Spirit touch only a select few? > Or is it touching everybody, and only a few see the Holy Spirit? It is available to anyone who believes and obeys Jesus. It is guaranteed from Jesus to all believers, but non-believers do not know or see the Holy Spirit. In John 14 Jesus says, "The world cannot accept Him because it neither sees him nor knows him." > What does one do in order to open up to the Holy Spirit? I'll tell you what I did. I'm sure others have different experiences. When I was in college, I studied different religions trying to determine whether there was a God. One way I tested was by going to a church. At church, the pastor said the verse about if anyone comes and knocks at the door God will open it. I remembered friends in the past who had accepted God and their lifes had changed in tremendously positive ways. So it struck me that if this is true, and what the Bible says is true (which by the ways I needed to research before I would accept that), then God is saying he will reveal himself to anyone who looks. Sothen I wondered how do I look? The same day the pastor said if you'd like to know God, pray that if He exists to make himself known in your life. I remember going home and trying to pray that prayer. I remember thinking that it was an utter crock. Well, I continued to go to church because I found myself very interested in the lectures which were in Romans. I felt no one was pushing me and being "Jesus freaks," so I kept going. One day about three months later (after reading and studying all of Romans, praying to God, asking tons of questions of a Christian roommate, etc.), on Easter ironically, I went for a long run in the countryside. It was a beautifulspring day and all the grass hills were bright green. And all of a sudden I knew that God was there running with me and I was feeled with His Spirit. It was like all of a sudden I was running with someone, only I couldn't see him. But I talked to him. I felt a sense of peace in my life that has never left. I knew God existed and he was there with me. It's hard to explain a concept such as the Holy Spirit to someone who has never experienced it. It's like a concept such as love where you understand the sentiments if you have experienced it. When friends talk about the Holy Spirit to me I can see and appreciate the blessing in their lives, because I have felt it in my own. If I didn't have the Holy Spirit in my life, I don't think words could ever explain it. There is also a lot to learn about the Holy Spirit that is written in the Bible.Experiencing the Holy Spirit changes and becomes more strong as you understand how He works in your life. It's a continual learning experience. > How universal is the Holy Spirit? If I understand this question correctly, all Christians should experience the Holy Spirit in their lives. > How is the Holy Spirit experienced? The Holy Spirit is experienced in thousands of ways. Here are some big ways: The Holy Spirit is a teacher. As a Christian I pray that the Holy Spirit will teach me as I read the Bible. I pray for the Holy Spirit to help me put Biblical concepts into words. 1 Cor. 2:13 "This is why we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words." (I often feel the Holy Spirit's presence at times when I am talking to people about God. When the Spirit is working in my speech, the words come out a lot more logically and often I learn things as I speak!) The Holy Spirit gives us patience, love, guidance, peace, hope, etc. When I am open to the Holy Spirit (notice it is not the Holy Spirit that closes off but me that often ignores the spirit) there is no distortion in my life. I live an undivided life. That doesn't mean that everything is always coming up roses, it means that God is the center of my life, he is actively there showing me how I should be living on earth. > If every thing (not everything) was all ready created, wasn't the > Holy Spirit around before Jesus? (this is really a part of the > first question) The Holy Spirit, like I said before, is God. It was there from the beginning. It always existed. > >Here are some related questions. > Why does the inner teachings of all the great religions recognize > in their own vocabulary the Holy Spirit? I don't think any of them do. Most try to do self fulfillment means of reaching nirvana or follow the instruction of some teacher. None that I know of have the Holy Spirit. Do you know of anything in particular? I have several books that compare different religions and I could look it up if you name one. > How would you explain the saints and mystics that all religions > have? Again, I don't know of saints and mystics, not in Buddhism, Muslim, Islam, Judaism, etc. Could you provide an example? > >>"I have come to give life and to give it abundantly" > What does this statement mean to you? > > Dave Hatcher To me that means: I have come to show you what love God has for you. I have given you an idea of what heaven is and what it will be like there. I have come to live in the lives of your Christian friends so you can experience a bit of heaven while you are still on earth. I have come to do all these things because I love you deeply and want you to make the choose to come to heaven with me. I want you to know and experience what is good for your life. I give this abundantly to any person who wants it. Thanks for all the excellent questions Dave. I hope to hear some more replys and questions. Kiki
cc100jr@gitpyr.UUCP (Joel Rives) (10/03/86)
In article <296@isieng.UUCP> kiki@isieng.UUCP (Kiki Herbst) writes: >In article <1002@tekcrl.UUCP> daveh@tekcrl.UUCP (Dave Hatcher) writes: >> >>Here are some related questions. >> Why does the inner teachings of all the great religions recognize >> in their own vocabulary the Holy Spirit? > >I don't think any of them do. Most try to do self fulfillment means of >reaching >nirvana or follow the instruction of some teacher. None that I know of have >the >Holy Spirit. Do you know of anything in particular? I have several books that >compare different religions and I could look it up if you name one. I, for one, would like you to look it up Kiki. Do not look in those comparative religion books you refer to, though. Instead, go to the source. Read through the Holy Scriptures of Hinduism - the Vedas, the Upanishad. Also, I recommend looking into the Shaman culture of the western plains Amerinds. Study, with an open mind, the remnants of Druidical culture that has come down to us. Explore the mysteries of Orpheism out of Greek culture. Best of all, perhaps, because of it's influence on Judeo-Christian concepts, study the religion of the ancient Persians - they developed many of the concepts that were later borrowed by the children of Israel after being released from captivity. >> How would you explain the saints and mystics that all religions >> have? > >Again, I don't know of saints and mystics, not in Buddhism, Muslim, Islam, >Judaism, etc. Could you provide an example? Perhaps, Kiki, you should ask a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Sufi or a Druid or a Wiccan or a Hindu or a Taoist or a ............. I think you get the picture. There are even net groups dedicated to various societies (Indian, Celtic, etc...). Perhaps, you could query there. -- Joel Rives gatech!gitpyr!cc100jr { * }-------{ * }-------{ * }-------{ * }-------{ * }-------{ ^ }-------{ * } There is no place to seek the mind; It is like the footprints of the birds in the sky. { * }-------{ * }-------{ * }-------{ * }--------{ * }-------{ * }-------{ * }