The Holy Spirit: The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead

[Guest guest]

The Holy Spirit:

The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead

J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science

 

" There is currently much talk of " feminine issues, " particularly in

social and political contexts. This growing awareness of gender-

related matters was not something ignored by the early Church and the

writers of ancient religious texts. As we see in this article by Dr.

Hurtak, the notion of femininity played an extremely important and

significant role in the thinking and belief system of the

intertestamental authors. Far from being the overbearing patriarchal

advocates as they are often portrayed, more recent findings reveal an

innate sensitivity and appreciation for the feminine aspect of

Divinity than has been previously suspected. For this reason, this

particular article becomes a meaningful and insightful contribution

to the current discussion of the role of the female in modern times.

Once more we find a rich and profound history reshaping the future

even as it unfolds before our eyes.

 

A new response to the " image " of the Holy Spirit is taking shape

quietly in scholarly circles throughout the world, as the result of

new findings in the Dead Sea Scriptures, the Coptic Nag Hammadi and

intertestamental texts of Jewish mystics found side-by-side the

writings of the early Christian church. Scholars are recognizing the

Holy Spirit as the " female vehicle " for the outpouring of higher

teaching and spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit plays varied roles in

Judeo-Christian traditions: acting in Creation, imparting wisdom, and

inspiring Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament She is the

presence of God in the world and a power in the birth and life of

Jesus.

 

The Holy Spirit became well-established as part of a circumincession,

a partner in the Trinity with the Father and Son after doctrinal

controversies of the late 4th century AD solidified the position of

the Western Church. Although all Christian Churches accept the union

of three persons in one Godhead, the Eastern Church, particularly the

communities of the Greek, Ethiopian, Armenian, and Russian, do not

solidify a strong union of personalities, but see the figures

uniquely differentiated, but still in union. Moreover, the Eastern

Church places the Holy Spirit as the Second Person of the Trinity

with Christ as the Third, whereas the Western Church places the Son

before the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls

the Holy Spirit was known as the Ruach or Ruach Ha Kodesh (Psalm

51:11). In the New Testament as Pneuma (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit

was not rendered as " Holy Ghost " until the appearance of the 1611

Protestant King James Version of the Bible. For the most part, Ruach

or Pneuma have been considered the spiritual force or presence of

God. The power of this force can be seen in the Christian church as

the " gifts of the Spirit " (especially in today's tongues-speaking

Pentecostals). The Holy Spirit was also a source for Divine guidance

and as the indwelling Comforter.

 

Likewise in Hebrew thought, Ruach Ha Kodesh was considered a voice

sent from on high to speak to the Prophet. Thus, in the Old Testament

language of the prophets, She is the Divine Spirit of indwelling

sanctification and creativity and is considered as having a feminine

power. " He " as a reference to Spirit has been used in theology to

match the pronoun for God, yet the Hebrew word ruach is a noun of

feminine gender. Thus, referring to the Holy Spirit as " she " has some

linguistic justification. Denoting Spirit as a feminine principle,

the creative principle of life, makes sense when considering the

Trinity aspect where Father plus Spirit leads to the Divine Extension

of Divine Sonship.

 

The Spirit is not called " it " despite the fact that pneuma in Greek

is a neuter noun. Church doctrine regards the Holy Spirit as a

person, not a force like magnetism. The writings of the Catholic

fathers, in fact, preserve the vision of the Spirit encapsulating

the " peoplehood of Christ " as the Bride or as the " Mother Church. "

Both are feminine aspects of the Divine. In the Eastern Church,

Spirit was always considered to have a feminine nature. She was the

life-bearer of the faith. Clement of Alexandria states that " she " is

an indwelling Bride. Amongst the Eastern Church communities there is

none more clear about the feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit as the

corpus of the Coptic-Gnostics. One such document records that Jesus

says, " Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my

hairs and carry me away to the great mountain Tabor [in Galilee]. "

 

The 3rd century scroll of mystical Coptic Christianity, The Acts of

Thomas, gives a graphic account of the Apostle Thomas' travels to

India, and contains prayers invoking the Holy Spirit as " the Mother

of all creation " and " compassionate mother, " among other titles. The

most profound Coptic Christian writings definitely link the " spirit

of Spirit " manifested by Christ to all believers as the " Spirit of

the Divine Mother. " Most significant are the new manuscript

discoveries of recent decades which have demonstrated that more early

Christians than previously thought regarded the Holy Spirit as the

Mother of Jesus.

 

One text is the Gospel of Thomas which is part of the newly

discovered Nag Hammadi texts (discovered 1945-1947). Most are

composed about the same time as the Biblical gospels in the 1st and

2nd century AD. In this gospel, Jesus declares that his disciples

must hate their earthly parents (as in Luke 14:26) but love the

Father and Mother as he does, " for my mother (gave me falsehood), but

(my) true Mother gave me life. " In another Nag Hammadi discovery, The

Secret Book of James, Jesus refers to himself as " the son of the Holy

Spirit. " These two sayings do not identify the Holy Spirit as the

mothering vehicle of Jesus, but more than one scholar has interpreted

them to mean that the maternal Holy Spirit is intended.

 

So far in Western traditional theology, the voices advocating a

feminine Holy Spirit are scattered and subtle. But for them, it is a

view theologically defensible and accompanied by psychological,

sociological, and scientific benefits of recognizing " the new

supernature " developing within vast consciousness changes happening

in the human evolution.

 

The German theologian Jürgen Moltmann, a well-known thinker in

mainline Protestantism, says " monotheism is monarchism. " He says a

traditional idea of God's absolute power " generally provides the

justification for earthly domination " - - -from the emperors and

despots of history to 20th century dictators. Moltmann argues for a

new appreciation of the " persons " of the Trinity and the community or

family model it presents for human relations.

 

According to Professor Neil Q. Hamilton at Drew University School of

Theology, the Gospel of John shows us how " the Holy Spirit begins to

perform a mothering role for us that is unconditional acceptance,

love and caring. " God then begins to parent us in father and mother

modes.

 

A Catholic scholar, Franz Mayr, a philosophy professor at the

University of Portland, also favors the recognition of the Holy

Spirit as feminine. He contends that the traditional unity of God

would not have to be watered down in order for scholars to accept the

feminine side of God . Mayr, who studied under the renown German

theologian Karl Rahner, said he came to his view during his study of

the writings of St. Augustine (AD 354-430) who saw that a significant

number of early Christians must have accepted a feminine aspect of

the Holy Spirit such that the influential church father of North

Africa castigated this view. St. Augustine claimed that the

acceptance of the Holy Spirit as the " mother of the Son of God and

wife-consort of the Father " was merely a pagan outlook. But Mayr

contends that Augustine " skipped over the social and maternal aspect

of God, " which Mayr thinks is best seen in the Holy Spirit, the

Divine Ruach Ha Kodesh. St. Jerome, a contemporary of Augustine's,

and two church fathers of an earlier period, Clement of Alexandria

and Origen, quoted from the pseudopigraphic Gospel of the Hebrews,

which depicted the Holy Spirit as a " mother figure. "

 

A 14th Century fresco in a small Catholic Church southeast of Munich,

Germany depicts a female Spirit as part of the Holy Trinity,

according to Leonard Swidler of Temple University. The woman and two

bearded figures flanking her appear to be wrapped in a single cloak

and joined in their lower halves showing a union of old and new

bodies of birth and rebirth.

 

In conclusion, we are living at a time of profound and revelatory

discoveries of archaeology and ancient spiritual texts that point the

way to the future. Christ, himself, was said to have female disciples

as disclosed in Gnostic literature and recent archeological findings

of early Christian tombs in Italy. A beginning has been made to

reclaim " the Spirit " of the Ruach found in the mountain of newly

discovered pre-Christian texts and Coptic-Egyptian texts of the early

Church . It is becoming clear in re-examining the first 100 years of

Christianity that an earlier Christianity was closer to the " Feminine

Spirit " of the Old Testament, the Ruach or the beloved Shekinah. The

Shekinah, distinct from the Ruach, was seen as the indwelling Divine

Presence that activated the " birth of miracles " or the anointed self.

Accordingly, the growth of traditional Christianity made alternative

adjustments of the original position of the " birth of gifts " as

Christendom compromised for the privilege of becoming an

establishment.

 

The new directions of spiritual and scientific studies are showing

that it is now possible that the Holy Spirit, Ruach Ha Kodesh, can be

portrayed as feminine as the indwelling presence of God, the

Shekinah, nurturing and bringing to birth souls for the kingdom.

Spiritual insights recorded in the Book of Knowledge: Keys of Enoch

carefully remind us that we are being prepared to understand that

just as the Old Testament was the Age of the Father, the New

Testament the Age of the Son, so this coming Age where gifts are

poured forth will be the Age of the Holy Spirit. "

 

J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science

[Guest guest]

Dear Jagbir,

 

Could you please add this article to " Editor's Choice " at Holy Spirit/Shekinah?

Thanks.

 

regards,

 

violet

 

 

 

, " jagbir singh "

<adishakti_org wrote:

>

> The Holy Spirit:

> The Feminine Aspect Of the Godhead

> J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science

>

> " There is currently much talk of " feminine issues, " particularly in

> social and political contexts. This growing awareness of gender-

> related matters was not something ignored by the early Church and the

> writers of ancient religious texts. As we see in this article by Dr.

> Hurtak, the notion of femininity played an extremely important and

> significant role in the thinking and belief system of the

> intertestamental authors. Far from being the overbearing patriarchal

> advocates as they are often portrayed, more recent findings reveal an

> innate sensitivity and appreciation for the feminine aspect of

> Divinity than has been previously suspected. For this reason, this

> particular article becomes a meaningful and insightful contribution

> to the current discussion of the role of the female in modern times.

> Once more we find a rich and profound history reshaping the future

> even as it unfolds before our eyes.

>

> A new response to the " image " of the Holy Spirit is taking shape

> quietly in scholarly circles throughout the world, as the result of

> new findings in the Dead Sea Scriptures, the Coptic Nag Hammadi and

> intertestamental texts of Jewish mystics found side-by-side the

> writings of the early Christian church. Scholars are recognizing the

> Holy Spirit as the " female vehicle " for the outpouring of higher

> teaching and spiritual rebirth. The Holy Spirit plays varied roles in

> Judeo-Christian traditions: acting in Creation, imparting wisdom, and

> inspiring Old Testament prophets. In the New Testament She is the

> presence of God in the world and a power in the birth and life of

> Jesus.

>

> The Holy Spirit became well-established as part of a circumincession,

> a partner in the Trinity with the Father and Son after doctrinal

> controversies of the late 4th century AD solidified the position of

> the Western Church. Although all Christian Churches accept the union

> of three persons in one Godhead, the Eastern Church, particularly the

> communities of the Greek, Ethiopian, Armenian, and Russian, do not

> solidify a strong union of personalities, but see the figures

> uniquely differentiated, but still in union. Moreover, the Eastern

> Church places the Holy Spirit as the Second Person of the Trinity

> with Christ as the Third, whereas the Western Church places the Son

> before the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls

> the Holy Spirit was known as the Ruach or Ruach Ha Kodesh (Psalm

> 51:11). In the New Testament as Pneuma (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit

> was not rendered as " Holy Ghost " until the appearance of the 1611

> Protestant King James Version of the Bible. For the most part, Ruach

> or Pneuma have been considered the spiritual force or presence of

> God. The power of this force can be seen in the Christian church as

> the " gifts of the Spirit " (especially in today's tongues-speaking

> Pentecostals). The Holy Spirit was also a source for Divine guidance

> and as the indwelling Comforter.

>

> Likewise in Hebrew thought, Ruach Ha Kodesh was considered a voice

> sent from on high to speak to the Prophet. Thus, in the Old Testament

> language of the prophets, She is the Divine Spirit of indwelling

> sanctification and creativity and is considered as having a feminine

> power. " He " as a reference to Spirit has been used in theology to

> match the pronoun for God, yet the Hebrew word ruach is a noun of

> feminine gender. Thus, referring to the Holy Spirit as " she " has some

> linguistic justification. Denoting Spirit as a feminine principle,

> the creative principle of life, makes sense when considering the

> Trinity aspect where Father plus Spirit leads to the Divine Extension

> of Divine Sonship.

>

> The Spirit is not called " it " despite the fact that pneuma in Greek

> is a neuter noun. Church doctrine regards the Holy Spirit as a

> person, not a force like magnetism. The writings of the Catholic

> fathers, in fact, preserve the vision of the Spirit encapsulating

> the " peoplehood of Christ " as the Bride or as the " Mother Church. "

> Both are feminine aspects of the Divine. In the Eastern Church,

> Spirit was always considered to have a feminine nature. She was the

> life-bearer of the faith. Clement of Alexandria states that " she " is

> an indwelling Bride. Amongst the Eastern Church communities there is

> none more clear about the feminine aspect of the Holy Spirit as the

> corpus of the Coptic-Gnostics. One such document records that Jesus

> says, " Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my

> hairs and carry me away to the great mountain Tabor [in Galilee]. "

>

> The 3rd century scroll of mystical Coptic Christianity, The Acts of

> Thomas, gives a graphic account of the Apostle Thomas' travels to

> India, and contains prayers invoking the Holy Spirit as " the Mother

> of all creation " and " compassionate mother, " among other titles. The

> most profound Coptic Christian writings definitely link the " spirit

> of Spirit " manifested by Christ to all believers as the " Spirit of

> the Divine Mother. " Most significant are the new manuscript

> discoveries of recent decades which have demonstrated that more early

> Christians than previously thought regarded the Holy Spirit as the

> Mother of Jesus.

>

> One text is the Gospel of Thomas which is part of the newly

> discovered Nag Hammadi texts (discovered 1945-1947). Most are

> composed about the same time as the Biblical gospels in the 1st and

> 2nd century AD. In this gospel, Jesus declares that his disciples

> must hate their earthly parents (as in Luke 14:26) but love the

> Father and Mother as he does, " for my mother (gave me falsehood), but

> (my) true Mother gave me life. " In another Nag Hammadi discovery, The

> Secret Book of James, Jesus refers to himself as " the son of the Holy

> Spirit. " These two sayings do not identify the Holy Spirit as the

> mothering vehicle of Jesus, but more than one scholar has interpreted

> them to mean that the maternal Holy Spirit is intended.

>

> So far in Western traditional theology, the voices advocating a

> feminine Holy Spirit are scattered and subtle. But for them, it is a

> view theologically defensible and accompanied by psychological,

> sociological, and scientific benefits of recognizing " the new

> supernature " developing within vast consciousness changes happening

> in the human evolution.

>

> The German theologian Jürgen Moltmann, a well-known thinker in

> mainline Protestantism, says " monotheism is monarchism. " He says a

> traditional idea of God's absolute power " generally provides the

> justification for earthly domination " - - -from the emperors and

> despots of history to 20th century dictators. Moltmann argues for a

> new appreciation of the " persons " of the Trinity and the community or

> family model it presents for human relations.

>

> According to Professor Neil Q. Hamilton at Drew University School of

> Theology, the Gospel of John shows us how " the Holy Spirit begins to

> perform a mothering role for us that is unconditional acceptance,

> love and caring. " God then begins to parent us in father and mother

> modes.

>

> A Catholic scholar, Franz Mayr, a philosophy professor at the

> University of Portland, also favors the recognition of the Holy

> Spirit as feminine. He contends that the traditional unity of God

> would not have to be watered down in order for scholars to accept the

> feminine side of God . Mayr, who studied under the renown German

> theologian Karl Rahner, said he came to his view during his study of

> the writings of St. Augustine (AD 354-430) who saw that a significant

> number of early Christians must have accepted a feminine aspect of

> the Holy Spirit such that the influential church father of North

> Africa castigated this view. St. Augustine claimed that the

> acceptance of the Holy Spirit as the " mother of the Son of God and

> wife-consort of the Father " was merely a pagan outlook. But Mayr

> contends that Augustine " skipped over the social and maternal aspect

> of God, " which Mayr thinks is best seen in the Holy Spirit, the

> Divine Ruach Ha Kodesh. St. Jerome, a contemporary of Augustine's,

> and two church fathers of an earlier period, Clement of Alexandria

> and Origen, quoted from the pseudopigraphic Gospel of the Hebrews,

> which depicted the Holy Spirit as a " mother figure. "

>

> A 14th Century fresco in a small Catholic Church southeast of Munich,

> Germany depicts a female Spirit as part of the Holy Trinity,

> according to Leonard Swidler of Temple University. The woman and two

> bearded figures flanking her appear to be wrapped in a single cloak

> and joined in their lower halves showing a union of old and new

> bodies of birth and rebirth.

>

> In conclusion, we are living at a time of profound and revelatory

> discoveries of archaeology and ancient spiritual texts that point the

> way to the future. Christ, himself, was said to have female disciples

> as disclosed in Gnostic literature and recent archeological findings

> of early Christian tombs in Italy. A beginning has been made to

> reclaim " the Spirit " of the Ruach found in the mountain of newly

> discovered pre-Christian texts and Coptic-Egyptian texts of the early

> Church . It is becoming clear in re-examining the first 100 years of

> Christianity that an earlier Christianity was closer to the " Feminine

> Spirit " of the Old Testament, the Ruach or the beloved Shekinah. The

> Shekinah, distinct from the Ruach, was seen as the indwelling Divine

> Presence that activated the " birth of miracles " or the anointed self.

> Accordingly, the growth of traditional Christianity made alternative

> adjustments of the original position of the " birth of gifts " as

> Christendom compromised for the privilege of becoming an

> establishment.

>

> The new directions of spiritual and scientific studies are showing

> that it is now possible that the Holy Spirit, Ruach Ha Kodesh, can be

> portrayed as feminine as the indwelling presence of God, the

> Shekinah, nurturing and bringing to birth souls for the kingdom.

> Spiritual insights recorded in the Book of Knowledge: Keys of Enoch

> carefully remind us that we are being prepared to understand that

> just as the Old Testament was the Age of the Father, the New

> Testament the Age of the Son, so this coming Age where gifts are

> poured forth will be the Age of the Holy Spirit. "

>

> J. J. Hurtak, PhD, The Academy For Future Science

>