Is the 'holy spirit' female

Answer 1

Opinion:My opinion is that The Holy Spirit is neither a male or a female.

There are some yoga branches which claim that the holy Spirit is Female and is related to pingala Nadi, the left hand side energy chanel in us.

Answer:As yoga has a Buddhist foundation, the Holy Spirit has no place in the Buddhist religion and so the above answer, whilst it may refer to some Buddhist idea, cannot refer to the Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew of the Old Testament, the word for Holy Spirit is ruach' which means 'wind' in Hebrew. As Hebrew is like French with all nouns being male or female, in the Hebrew language this word is a feminine noun.

In the New Testament. which was written in ancient Greek, the word used for Holy Spirit is 'pneuma', which also means 'wind' (from where we get the word pneumatic, or pneumonia). However, in Greek this word is neuter.

So, in a way, it is sensible to think of the Holy Spirit as the feminine side of God, although, as God, he/she transcends all idea of gender as we know it. Although we call the Father 'Father' - it might be more apt to call the Father 'parent' to reflect the feminine side of God.

Sadly throughout history, the 'maleness' imposed by certain Christians on God has caused several heresies. Not least is the extreme adulation of the Virgin Mary by some Catholics as a compensatory feminine side of God rather than accept the idea of the femininity of the Holy Spirit by the words chosen in scripture to describe the Spirit.

The most basic flaw in the idea that the Holy Spirit is feminine in actual gender flows from ignorance of how the Hebrew language works and the inability of some people to grasp the fact that grammatical gender does not always equal actual or biological gender.

For example, in Hebrew the word "father" is naturally masculine in grammatical gender. However, if you want to say "fathers" (plural) you must use a feminine ending, not the masculine one. This also occurs in the reverse, meaning that there are feminine words which have masculine endings when pluralized. This can be confirmed by consulting any standard Hebrew grammar. What this simply means is, you cannot go around building theology based on infantile notions of gender based on simplistic and superficial word studies involving grammatical gender in Hebrew. It will lead to false and distorted doctrines, an example of which can be found in the Related Link below: "Example: The Hidden Link: The Feminine Holy Spirit"

Answer:We are told the story of Ananias, in Acts 5, where he conspired with Sapphira his wife, to boast about giving all the money from the sale of his house as a voluntary gift to the Apostles for the relief of the needy of the Early Church. In Acts 5:3, Peter asked the devious liar: "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?" This was important to the Early Church, since deception would corrupt its purpose and impede its progress. In continuing to question Ananias, Peter in v. 4 asked: "Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God."

The Holy Spirit is called God here, of which part of the Godhead is apparent throughout Scripture, along with Jesus Christ, God's Son. Nowhere in Scripture is God ever called by a feminine appellation. No words such as "she," or "her" ever refer to God. As God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one, it is not reasonable to consider the Holy Spirit other than being male, as God.

As a matter to be seriously considered, Jesus continuously refers to the Holy Spirit as male: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." John 16:13 (plus other references). The verb and pronoun forms in the original Greek cannot be mistaken for the gender represented.

In a classic manner, Jesus answers this, when He promises to send the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him in John 14:15-17. Then He says: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." Verse 18. The Comforter is clearly the Holy Spirit. In verse 23, He says: "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." That is: The Father and the Son will live in us.

How does this occur? Jesus said: "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 Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all one, presented to the believer in the person of the Holy Spirit. He abides (lives) in the genuine Christian, teaching him the right ways of God.

Answer 2

In the Christian religion (which includes Catholicism, Anglicanism, Methodism, Baptism and all other Christian denominations) the God that is worshipped is the Trinitarian God - one God in three Persons. The Holy Spirit, as one person of the Trinity, is commonly thought of (as is the Father and Son) as 'male'. However, this is wrong. The word for Spirit of God in Old Testament Hebrew is " ruach' " - and is a femininenoun - referred to as 'she'. In the New Testament, written in Greek, the word used for Holy Spirit is "pneuma" meaning 'wind' (from where we get the word pneumatic) and this is also a feminine noun, again referred to as 'she'. The convention of the Holy Spirit being 'male' is simply that - a convention, that has arisen because of male domination of theology over the years. The Holy Spirit is actually, Biblically, female - in whatever denomination of the Christian Church you choose. This male domination is primarily seen in the refusal of some churches to ordain women or to allow women to have a leadership role in the church despite Paul's call to the Galatians "In Christ there is no slave nor free, Jew nor Greek, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus", and despite the many women that were in leadership roles within the early church (eg Lydia). In the Roman Catacombs there is a famous fresco called 'Fractio Panis' that dates from the second century AD which protrays a group of Christians taking communion. All are female - even the one presiding at the communion in the role of priest. So with regard to the Holy Spirit - any 'religion' or denomination within the Christian religion that 'believes' that the Holy Spirit is female is absolutely correct - despite what others (usually mysoginistic males!) might claim.

Answer 3

The Holy Spirit is pure spirit without gender. Hence the name Holy Spirit.

Answer 4

Answer:

Spirit is neutral. The two sexes are physical attributes.