Dr Paul Allen

The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove, surrounded by angels, by Giaquinto, 1750s. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Most scholars take “spirit” in Isaiah 34:16 to mean breath, since it is parallel to “mouth.” Many today also find difficulty in rendering Genesis 1:2 as “Spirit.” The New English Bible , following some Jewish and most liberal scholars, reads, “The earth was without form and void, with darkness over the face of the abyss, and a mighty wind that swept over the surface of the waters,” possibly to keep the waters in check. Actually, the Hebrew word for spirit (ruach) like the Greek word (pneuma) can mean wind, breath, or spirit. It is used to represent a wide range of expressions in relation to nature, the life of animals and man, and God . Someone has figured up that there are at least thirty-three different shades of meaning that the word may have in different contexts.1 In Exodus 14:21, the word ruach is used of the strong east wind that kept blowing until the Israelites cou

Image via Wikipedia The Bible teaches, from Genesis 3 onward, the antithesis . Antithesis is a rather fancy theological term that simply affirms that the people of God live their lives in the context of the battle between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.  While we are called to love our enemies, we are called to recognize them as enemies. Though the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, we are at war. We are called to be set apart, distinct, separate from the world around us.  One could even translate  ekklesia , which is usually translated “church” in our English Bibles this way, “the called-out ones.” We seem to have forgotten the antithesis in our day, strategizing that if we will become more like the world we might make a difference, that the way to be salt and light is to mask our savor and cover our light.  We are of the light, and they of the dark. We are of our Father in heaven, they children of the Father of lies . We are, by the grace of God, the f