BLACK BLUE RED GREEN OTHER
my words SCRIPTURE, or Scriptural perspective WT view / quotes / info PERSONALITY concept EMPHASIS
WT Point "B" ~ NEUTER Gender Nouns & Pronouns

"But on the other hand, we find Jesus repeatedly using IMPERSONAL pronouns when referring to God's holy spirit,
a most DISRESPECTFUL thing to do if the holy spirit were the third person of a trinity, coequal, & cosubstantial with Jehovah God himself....
But if the holy spirit were the third person of the trinity, equal to God & Christ in glory & honor as claimed by the creeds,
could we imagine the Scriptures referring to the holy spirit as ' IT ' ?"
(Watchtower July 15, 1957 p.434)

I received a letter from the Canadian WT headquarters that states:
"If the holy spirit is a person, IT should always be referred to as 'he' in the Bible.
Jesus is a person, & is NEVER referred to as 'it'. Nor is Jehovah God.
But at times the Greek word pneuma is in the NEUTER gender.
That means that IT is considered as neither masculine nor feminine."

Compare the above letter with this quote.
But nowhere do we read of Jehovah God [yes, see B6] and Jesus [yes, see B7]
as being referred to by neuter pronouns, which is the case in regard to the holy spirit.
(w53 1/1 The Scriptures, Reason & the Trinity, p.24)

B1 - Greek grammar requires that if a NOUN is neuter in gender, then technically, associated adjectives & pronouns must also be shown as neuter, even if a person is being referred to (e.g. The Holy Spirit, Jesus, John the Baptist, Jehovah God, angels, demons, infants, children, girls).
[For readability, translators normally adapt to the grammar & idiom of the language chosen.]
B2 - The GREEK word for spirit is "pneuma" - a NEUTER gender noun.
B3 - The HEBREW word for spirit is "ruach" - a FEMININE gender noun!
B4 - The ARAMAIC word for spirit is "rucha" - also a FEMININE gender noun!
[Some Aramaic NT words & phrases are: Abba, Father (Rom.8:15); Maranatha (1Cor.16:22);
Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani (Mk.15:34). Aramaic is a West Semitic language closely related to Hebrew.]
B5 - Because pneuma is always neuter in gender, ALL pneumas are ITS grammatically !
That's why Scripture refers to The Holy Spirit as ' IT '.
B6 - Jehovah God is a (neuter pneuma 'IT') Spirit (see Jn.4:24) !
B7 - In the Greek text, Jesus is referred to as IT - 5x, & as ITS - 5x (see Mt.2:8,11,13,14,20,21) !
B8 - The Holy Spirit is referred to as IT or ITSELF (see Rom.8:26,27; 1Cor.12:11; Heb.10:15,17).
B9 - Angels are (neuter pneuma 'IT') spirits (see Heb.1:14) !
B10 - John the Baptist is referred to as IT - 8x (see Lk.1:59,60,62,63,66,67) !
B11 - Another neuter noun is daimonion - demon (found 60x) !
B12 - Another neuter noun is brephos - infant (see Lk.1:41,44; 2:16; 18:15) !
B13 - Another neuter noun is paidion - child (see Mk.5:39-41) !
B14 - Another neuter noun is korasion - girl (see Mt.9:24,25; Mk.5:41,42) !
B15 - Like Hebrew, & Aramaic, & Greek, other languages have GRAMMATICAL gender, & NATURAL gender words. The French word for "tree" is MASCULINE in gender. Should English people conclude that French trees are "men"; or that Greek neuter nouns, pronouns, & adjectives make THE Father, THE Son, & THE Spirit (& angels, demons, infants, children, girls, John the Baptist, etc.) into " ITS " ?
The WT tries to drive down BOTH sides of the Theological Road on the Same Grammatical Issue
MASCULINE Gender & PERSONAL Pronouns are just Conformity to Grammatical Rules But the WT ALSO claims:
NEUTER Gender & IMPERSONAL Pronouns proves the Spirit is NOT a Person (???)
On the other hand, in the same context, when the Greek pneu'ma is used, John employs a neuter pronoun to refer to the holy spirit, pneu'ma itself being neuter. Hence, we have in John's use of the masculine personal pronoun in association with pa·ra'kle·tos an example of conformity to grammatical rules, not an expression of doctrine. (Insight, Spirit, p.1019) Though personified as a "helper," the holy spirit is not a person, for a Greek neuter pronoun (rendered "it") is applied to the spirit. (Jehovah's Spirit Leads His People, w92 9/15, footnotes p.16)
Thus we can see that Trinitarians point to personal pronouns when these seem to support their view but ignore them when they do not. A careful examination of passages used by Trinitarians, however, reveals that John's use of pronouns -both neuter and masculine- is a matter of grammar and therefore does not support their claim that the spirit is a person, the "third person" of the triune God. (w74 7/15 Is the Holy Spirit Really a Person? p.423) The Greek word for spirit is in itself neuter in gender and is properly referred to, therefore, by the neuter pronoun in English because it does not have personality. (wt61 4/15 Questions From Readers, p.256)

Notice how the use of the neuter gender in referring to the helper shows it not to be a person: "And I will request the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, the spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither beholds it nor knows it. You know it, because it remains with you and is in you." (John 14:16, 17; also AT, ED, Ro) (wt57 11/15, Jehovah's Helper, p.685)
The Bible, not the clergy [ nor the WT ], gives the true information regarding the helper. For one thing, the Greek language, which is the original language of the Christian Scriptures, is a precise language. The Greeks had a word to express the exact meaning or shade of meaning that they wished to convey, and the Christian writers knew that language well. In addition they wrote under inspiration and so would certainly select the correct words to convey the truth clearly.
My favourite WT quote is the following admission.

"It is true that Jesus spoke of the holy spirit as a "helper" and spoke of such helper as 'teaching,' 'bearing witness,' 'giving evidence,' 'guiding,' 'speaking,' 'hearing,' and 'receiving.' In so doing, the original Greek shows Jesus at times applying the personal pronoun "he" to that "helper" (paraclete)." (Insight, Vol.2, p.1019)
If the masculine word parakletos doesn't prove The Holy Spirit is a Person to the WT.
Then the WT can't use the neuter word pneuma to say The Holy Spirit is a Force.
RESEARCH about: " THE > SPIRIT -- THE > HOLY (ONE) "
Is "The Holy Spirit" a FORCE, or a Sentient BEING -- or BOTH ?

The Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society's view on "The Holy Spirit"
deviates dramatically from the over-whelming majority of Bible-believing Christians, scholars, & researchers.
WT dictionaries contain the following very brazen & shocking statement that summarizes their view
 & executes THE SPIRIT THE HOLY ONE !!!.

" The Scriptures themselves unite to show that
God's HOLY SPIRIT is NOT a PERSON
but is God's active FORCE
by which he accomplishes his purpose and executes his will ."
Insight p.1019, & Aid p.1543 ~ INSIGHT On The Scriptures (1988) is the updated version of AID To Bible Understanding (1971)

WOW !!! ~ IF The Holy Spirit is just a force, then I (& any truth-seeker)
would be compelled by intellectual honesty & integrity, to abandon belief in the Trinity & become a JW !!!
An honest, careful, thorough comparison of WT opinion with Scriptural evidence, shows there is no need to accept WT conclusions.
I don't view my work as a THEOLOGICAL DEBATE. There's no prize for the winner.
This research is to help JWs think about their eternal destiny -- it's about you & God, not about me.
If WT teaching is wrong, you are picking a fight with the most AWESOME BEING in the universe!
The Holy Spirit has emotion (intellect & will) & can be INSULTED & OUTRAGED !!!
Heb.10:26-31 warns:
For if we practice sin willfully {or stubbornly, or mindlessly, or blindly, or foolishly} after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, 27 but [there is] a certain fearful expectation of judgment & [there is] a fiery jealousy that is going to consume those in opposition. 28 Any man that has disregarded the law of Moses dies without compassion, upon the testimony of two or three. 29 Of how much more severe a punishment, do YOU think, will the man be counted worthy who has trampled upon the Son of God & who has esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, & who has OUTRAGED THE SPIRIT of undeserved kindness with contempt? 30 For we know him that said: "Vengeance is mine; I will recompense"; & again: "Jehovah will judge his people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of [the] living God.
According to WT opinion:
  • only God the Father is Jehovah
  • The (Paraclete) Holy Spirit = God's Active Force
  • Jesus is a sub-God (a.k.a Michael the archangel).
    		•  According to Scripture:
  • Jesus is our Paraclete (Lawyer / Advocate) ~ 1Jn.2:1
  • The Holy Spirit is also our Paraclete ~ Jn.14:16,26; 15:26; 16:27

    • (Greek allos = another of the same kind -- not different-kind-heteros).

    Therefore:
  • God The Father -- as the Active Force PARACLETE -- is same as Jesus, & must be demoted to the archangel level.


  • Or, God The (Paraclete) Son must be elevated to equality with God The Father.
  • And God The Spirit -- as same as Jesus PARACLETE -- must be promoted to equal Personhood & Godhood !!!

    • In other words, The Trinity is alive & well.
    Like the atheist who doesn't believe in God, JWs are in for a shock when they meet THE SPIRIT THE HOLY Paraclete-Lawyer-Advocate.
    Because of deliberate, consistent, repeated, systematic emphasis, programming & reinforcement
    (a.k.a. re-education, conditioning, mind control, thought reform, brain washing),
    JWs automatically equate & substitute the Bible expression     "The Holy Spirit" with the WT's phrase "Active Force",
    e    ven though     the "Active Force" phrase is a MISTRANSLATION & found only ONCE in their own Bible!!! See the NWT at Gen.1:2.

    Click here for more detail, & the WT's 28 Meanings / Senses / Interpretation-opinions for "ruach" & "pneuma" ( spirit ).

    SCRIPTURE distinguishes between:

  • The Awesome PERSON & the awesome POWER of The Holy Spirit (throughout Scripture)

  • The GIVER & the GIFT -- in Acts 2:4 for example:
    "...they all became filled with HOLY SPIRIT & started to speak with different tongues,
    just as     THE SPIRIT     was GRANTING them to make utterance".
    So obviously "pneuma" is not POWER-only or PERSON-only.
    The truth is that HE is an Awesome PERSON     AND demonstrates HIS Awesome POWER.

    		•
     

    WT Basis for "FORCE" Concept

    My Response

    		  

    Scripture Basis for "PERSON" Concept
    A Absent Greek Definite Article 'the' Fact, BUT... A1 Comparison Chart: - DEMON pneuma (spirit)
    A2 Demon-Pneuma-Spirits are Sentient Beings
    A3 ABSENT Greek 'the' = Awesome POWER
    A4 PRESENT Greek 'the' = Awesome PERSON
    B Pneuma = Neuter Gender noun Fact, BUT... B1 Greek Nouns & Pronouns prove Awesome Person
    C holy spirit Associated with Impersonal Things Fact, BUT... C1 EMOTION = Personality
    C2 INTELLECT = Personality
    C3 WILL = Personality
    D The Holy Spirit has NO Personal Voice F A L S E D1 SPEAKS DIRECTLY & via Humans & Scripture
    E The Holy Spirit has NO Personal Name Unknown,
    but so what?    		 E1 Names / Titles of The Holy Spirit
    E2 Testimony of Jesus (GOD-THE-WORD)
    F A 'Person' only because of Personification WT's FAULTY
    conclusion CONTRADICTS
    a host of
    "inconvenient" Scriptures    		 F1 Testimony of the Whole NT
    F2 Comparison Chart: - PARACLETE (Advocate)
    F3 Awesome Scriptural Warnings
    F4 Greek Facts / Scholarship
    F5 Does the WT Misquote Scholars ?
    F6 Convincing Evidence (& "Michael")
    Click here for Kingdom Interlinear ~ Definite Article chart to see the various spellings of the neuter gender "the".

    Click here to Search a Greek Interlinear NT
    (Good info in "Tips".)
    Under "Online Bible Search" enter "spirit" beside "Search For ".
    Under "Version(s) " scroll down to "Greek Texts" & click on the next entry.
    Go back to "Search For:" box & click "Search:".
    You will be able to see (in the Greek text) when the definite article "the" is Absent (A3) or Present (A4) before or after "pneuma".
         For verses with TWO definite articles see Acts 1:16; 5:3,32; 7:51; 13:2; 20:23,28; 21:11; Heb.3:7; 9:8.
     (For more verses with double articles, click A1 above & see box 5 in all 3 columns.)

    Click here to Search a Greek NT. ~ Enter "pneuma" beside "Search" & click "GO" (top right).
    Click here for MULTIPLE Greek (& other) Bible CHOICES.
    Chart of interesting LINKS & other RESEARCH

    © 1999 - 2009 ~ All rights reserved. But non-commercial use is OK with me ~ etalk99@hotmail.com

    Email me if you feel I've made any errors, or misrepresented Watchtower theology in any way.
    I will make corrections immediately.
    P.S. There are no unanswered emails, so be assured that what I've written is fair, accurate, truthful, correct (& seemingly irrefutable).