opuntia
Religion is Law
The scriptural tags, revelation, inspiration, Spirit of God, spirit [in us], all signify a certain action on the divine plane.
The words mean nothing to someone who does not understand the operation, therefore, an exposition is necessary to clarify--at least the Christian view--the meaning of the words.
We should begin with the words in the book of Job.
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. (32:8; KJV).
The Hebrew rendition of the action of the inward is ruwach, or spirit in English. The action of inspiration is neshamah.
Ruwach is rendered as wind, by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; fig. life, anger, unsubstantiality, by extens. a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (includ. its expression and functions). Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. We do not find much to express what it is that resides inside us except that it is invisible as the wind. The wind figures in the teaching of Jesus to Nicodemus, a Pharisee:
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:7-8).
Figuratively, the wind blows and we cannot stop it in its tracks, so it is in the inner birth of a man or woman. We cannot see this birth, but Jesus said certain markers could still determine it.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (Matthew 7:16-17).
Anyone who was born of the Church communicated the truths revealed to him or her. Inspiration or neshamah, the action of divine communication of truths to the spirit, quickened the understanding of the individual. It is like the moment when all things being studied come together in clarity and the eyes of the understanding are opened. This is inspiration.
Isaiah the Prophet said:
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:20).
This meant that anyone who was not versed in the truth, not having a testimony or a sureness of its truthfulness, did not possess the light of God, or the light of inspiration by which truth was seen. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. (Isaiah 2:5).
We may see truth in our minds, for where else do we comprehend all things logical and illogical? Paul the Apostle had this in mind when he wrote:
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2).
The body will eventually die, to molder in the grave; but Scripture declares that the inner spirit continues to be cognizant of its surroundings. Cogito, ergo sum, Rene Descartes (1838) maxim, I think, therefore I am, signifies the reality Scripture is attempting to convey to the mortal mind. Descartes formulated his principle of Cartesian dualism, where the world consists of two substances, namely mind and matter. Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy (DK Publishing, Inc., 2001), p. 88. His theory became a part of Western thought until the twentieth century, where dissent became widespread. Some still subscribe to the principle. Id.
We see the logic behind that thought, where the dissolution of the body at death meant total annihilation of the soul (or us). If the brain carries us, the person that is us, then decay will erase our existence. Life then would have little or no meaning beyond mortal existence. The precariousness of this life is made more so by todays technology where nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare could bring the decease of humankind--extinction. Paul observed:
If in this life only we have hope in Christ [no afterlife in resurrection], we are of all men most miserable.
But [he says take courage] now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:19-20).
If this is true, then Descartes dualism is on the mark and the words of Job 32:8 are true.
The words mean nothing to someone who does not understand the operation, therefore, an exposition is necessary to clarify--at least the Christian view--the meaning of the words.
We should begin with the words in the book of Job.
But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. (32:8; KJV).
The Hebrew rendition of the action of the inward is ruwach, or spirit in English. The action of inspiration is neshamah.
Ruwach is rendered as wind, by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; fig. life, anger, unsubstantiality, by extens. a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (includ. its expression and functions). Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. We do not find much to express what it is that resides inside us except that it is invisible as the wind. The wind figures in the teaching of Jesus to Nicodemus, a Pharisee:
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (John 3:7-8).
Figuratively, the wind blows and we cannot stop it in its tracks, so it is in the inner birth of a man or woman. We cannot see this birth, but Jesus said certain markers could still determine it.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (Matthew 7:16-17).
Anyone who was born of the Church communicated the truths revealed to him or her. Inspiration or neshamah, the action of divine communication of truths to the spirit, quickened the understanding of the individual. It is like the moment when all things being studied come together in clarity and the eyes of the understanding are opened. This is inspiration.
Isaiah the Prophet said:
To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:20).
This meant that anyone who was not versed in the truth, not having a testimony or a sureness of its truthfulness, did not possess the light of God, or the light of inspiration by which truth was seen. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD. (Isaiah 2:5).
We may see truth in our minds, for where else do we comprehend all things logical and illogical? Paul the Apostle had this in mind when he wrote:
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2).
The body will eventually die, to molder in the grave; but Scripture declares that the inner spirit continues to be cognizant of its surroundings. Cogito, ergo sum, Rene Descartes (1838) maxim, I think, therefore I am, signifies the reality Scripture is attempting to convey to the mortal mind. Descartes formulated his principle of Cartesian dualism, where the world consists of two substances, namely mind and matter. Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy (DK Publishing, Inc., 2001), p. 88. His theory became a part of Western thought until the twentieth century, where dissent became widespread. Some still subscribe to the principle. Id.
We see the logic behind that thought, where the dissolution of the body at death meant total annihilation of the soul (or us). If the brain carries us, the person that is us, then decay will erase our existence. Life then would have little or no meaning beyond mortal existence. The precariousness of this life is made more so by todays technology where nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare could bring the decease of humankind--extinction. Paul observed:
If in this life only we have hope in Christ [no afterlife in resurrection], we are of all men most miserable.
But [he says take courage] now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (1 Corinthians 15:19-20).
If this is true, then Descartes dualism is on the mark and the words of Job 32:8 are true.
