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CONGRUITIES AND INCONGRUITIES BETWEEN THE BIBLE AND THE QUR'AN |
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The Holy Spirit is a deity and the third entity of the Trinity. This subject is studied under three headings: namely, the believers are strenghtened with the Holy Spirit, the role of the Holy Spirit, and whether the Holy Spirit is God.
THE BELIEVERS ARE STRENGTHENED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
« And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.» (Acts 2/1-4)
« If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? »(Luke 11/13)
Jesus Christ, Messiah, requests God the Father, to send the Holy Sirit to the Community of Believers. He is a helper, the spirit of Truth; he lives among us and with us.
« And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. »(John 14/16, 17)
THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
« And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.» (Luke 12/11, 12)
« But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. »(Acts 1/8)
The Holy Spirit infused into the hearts of Christians showed them the right and the wrong and gave them an insight into God's infinite wisdom. The believers empowered by the Holy Spirit began spreading the word of God. … holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1/21)
ARCHANGEL GABRIEL
« And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. »(Luke 1/19) « And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.» (Luke 1/26-31)
Information about Gabriel is available only in the Gospel of St.Luke. Christianity does not accept the Holy Spirit and Gabriel as the same entity.
According to the Qur'an, Gabriel is the messenger that brings down the revelation and strengthen prophets.
IS THE HOLY SPIRIT GOD?
« Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.» (2 Corinthians 3/17, 18)
« There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; …One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.» (Ephesians 4/4, 6)
In the Gospels, there is no explicit statement regarding the Holy Spirit's identity with God. In the letter of Paul there are allusions to it, the principal of these are in the above verses. The concept of 'Lord's Spirit' which is often encountered both in the Old Testament and in the Qur'an does not mean that God and his Spirit is the selfsame thing. It has reference to the descent of angels, to prophets and even to men. In another letter of Paul, we have the following expression:« But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.» (Romans 8/9) We can see that 'The Spirit of God' mentioned here is no other than the Holy Spirit. That the Holy Spirit is God is not explicitly stated in the Gospels and in the letters of Paul. In 325, the Council of Nicaea had met to solve the dispute that had arisen in connection with the divinity of Christ by the good offices of the Church and the Emperor Constantine. In this Council, the divinity of Christ was approved by the participants despite the protestation of Arius. Moreover, in the Council of Constantinople in 381 the divinity of the Holy Spirit was officially incorporated in the concept of Trinity. In this way, Christianity departed from the monotheistic creed and assumed a polytheistic character.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE QUR'AN