It's funny how people would make so much of a word where there ought not be any issues. Anyone reading the Bible knows that the Holy Spirit = Holy Ghost = God's Spirit = the Spirit of God = the Spirit of the LORD = the Comforter.

Perhaps we should move on from here and add a little more to the spirited discourse by asking whether Christ is the Messiah and which one is the correct appellation? 

i feel its a waste of time, money, intellectual energy e.t.c to argue on a topic as unprofitable to the christian race as this one. this sort of argument reminds me of that day recorded in the Bible when disciples of Jesus Christ (apostles-to-be) argued-just like we are doing-over who would sit at the right hand of the Lord Jesus in His kingdom. What a waste!

asi-oqua,I couldn't agree more.
and this would be my second and last posting here.
I'll rather be drinking tea.waste of precious time.

For some odd reason, i think i understand what and where dignity is coming from, do i agree with him? i don't know! _{after some thinking} i think so.

The word "ghost" is as scary as the word "spirit".

But the 'Holy Ghost' who is the same 'Holy Spirit' we read of in Scripture is given to believers to live victoriously and not timidly.

I am obviously out of my depth here, but i remember a particular argument (during our zeal-filled SU days) that puts the position like this

The Holy Spirit is appropriate and referenced to be God's persona (always refered to as Spirit in the Bible)

The Holy Ghost is a contrived Roman Catholic characterization of the same aimed at subtly embellishing controversial tenets of the Catholic doctrine with some semblance of truth and biblical authority

example, because we believe in the Holy Ghost and frequently refer to him (not it or an adjective) we can feel comfortable with having Ghosts of our beloved removed from place of suffering to paradise by simply paying monies or a similar ritual, rather than believign that the dead are deader than dead-wood and await judgment on judgement day.

my thots

lagerwhenindoubt:

I am obviously out of my depth here, but i remember a particular argument (during our zeal-filled SU days) that puts the position like this

The Holy Spirit is appropriate and referenced to be God's persona (always refered to as Spirit in the Bible)

The Holy Ghost is a contrived Roman Catholic characterization of the same aimed at subtly embellishing controversial tenets of the Catholic doctrine with some semblance of truth and biblical authority

example, because we believe in the Holy Ghost and frequently refer to him (not it or an adjective) we can feel comfortable with having Ghosts of our beloved removed from place of suffering to paradise by simply paying monies or a similar ritual, rather than believign that the dead are deader than dead-wood and await judgment on judgement day.

my thoughts

Hmmm, more like what I thought!
Somebody with an open mind,and an instructive background is talking here.

Is there any difference between these two phrases:

"The 'Spirit' of the Lord is upon me, "
"The 'Ghost' of the Lord is upon me, "

@ Dignity
LOL, very funny. Dude, what church do you go to?

I think the guy who started this discussion should be ignored. He's one confused brother!
Peace, I'm out.

i think not,  while this thread has packed a majority of posts that either
[list]
[li]"out-and-out" ignore  the purpose behind the question (What is Holy Spirit and What is Holy Ghost) [/li]
[li]simplify the matter soooo much that it starts to play like a bored topic (similar to the kind of behavior with Naija police claiming a political killing is just plain random street robbery, or hoodlums[/li]
[/list]

Ignorance of a "simple" fact is often an indication or admitance of truth or simply a sign of fear, lack of knowledge or a strong belief.
Does Islam (the extreme one) stop women from climbing on the back of a camel with a man because they were too close for comfort?,  fast-forward to the 21st century,  they still stop women from sitting in the back seat of a spacious car with a man,  is that ignorance or reasoning?

Permit me to be slightly off-tangent,  (but on course)
We have a "Spirit" a life form that exists after we kick the bucket.
it is our replacement body for use in another realm (Spirit realm) tis why we can say "demons and evil spirits."
"the spirit is willing but the body is weak" "the crowd moved with one spirit", "the spirit of the lord is upon me".  Always "Spirit of Hell" and not "Ghosts of Hell",  Spirit of the Lord and Not Ghost of the Lord,  unless you believe in the grey-haired God of yonder-years,  then i guess he's permitted to kick the bucket and ghost our earhtly realm every sunday.

Our soul is what keeps body and spirit alive,  when you astral travel (for those who do) your spirit travels but you are tied to your soul not your physical body(it is your life force because the body is dead)

So unless God is dead,  he cannot have a ghost,  he can have a spirit (don't ask me the specifics because i never reach that level).
besides the Holy Ghost is a dude,  because he is always refered to as "He",  how human to ascribe such a concept a male stereotype,  The Holy Ghost never appears in the Bible,  only human Ghosts like that of prophet Samuel,  called up by a medium who sees evil spirits and stuff.

So there it is. you can rightly ignore it or accept it and move on,  God does not have a Ghost,  holy or otherwise,  When we die,  we die.Spirits yea,  Ghosts,  f'course,  but they are often confused and haunting people or not wanting to go away and rest in the cemetery. I can dig spirits,  but i doubt i'd ever be scared of a Ghost.

As i have pointed out,  centuries of conspiratory brain-washing is having its effect on the world, have you tried questioning each spirit. try doing that with a ghost,

Finally finally, i could not resist, You can be possessed by Spirits or a Spirit (abi you don't believe that too.) simply because our human bodies are a suitable hosts to Spirits, I have never heard or seen anyone being possessed by a ghost. and besides they speak different languages, Spirits speak in tongues, (u dig?) and ghosts simply go "Booo!!' or Mua hah ahha hahaha ahahha. (with echoes and wind effects to boot)

Lagerwhenindoubt
Really good post--i enjoyed it, the end was cool! i was feeling the effects.lol,

[i]The subject is quite catching, but the explanation is too wack. If there are any more of catching subjects like this, I think tim eshould be taken to bring out the light in it so that at least one person will be convinced and other can agitate on it

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Ghost

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Spirit

I just think that we blur the lines between fact and near fact, we dearly love grey areas, sort of like lukewarm christians, it makes it easier to accept a whole lot of unbliblical and unscriptural concepts,

God is not a Ghost, He is a Spirit being and those who worship him must do so in spirit and in truth,, even i an "avowed sinner" knows that

But for those who think along the lines of grammar and semantics, no problem, just one of many arguments that can lead anywhere but a single conclusion (i do no think truth has 2 versions)

Thank you. and adios

But Jesus said, Suffer little children. . . _{Matt. 19:14}

You could just as well search the word 'suffer' in dictionary.reference.com and start a whole round of semantical arguments.

Have people prayed in the Holy Ghost - Jude 1:20? And did God come through "Boooooo-ing" at them? It's just amazing how great a matter we make from small issues.

as i have said,

But for those who think along the lines of grammar and semantics, no problem, just one of many arguments that can lead anywhere but a single conclusion (i do no think truth has 2 versions)

we all know the way metaphors behave be it in english, hausa or yoruba, suffer could mean a lot of things depending on the context , but this is a simple matter that needs no brain wwracking, the few times God or Jesus did not communicate in parables or puzzling dreams, so why is it so difficult to understand that whether its words ("Spirit or Ghost" or meaning ("Living being or dead being" they (adjectives) cannot be used interchangeably and mean the same thing in one sentence cos they transform (qualify) the word after it , all I am saying is while we can comfortably understand when someone says "The Ghost of God moved over the waters" and say, "heck, why did you not just say Spirit instead" can be a matter of what sounds better of the two.

The path most travelled is the same thing as the road most travelled, "raging fire" is not the same thing as "raging inferno' i hope you catch my drift (literally)

But let us quit this already, some people don't mind Spirit or Ghost, some do. the good thing is we catch the drift. Ghost or Spirit we are talking about a celestial, spiritual form or intelligent being who is our comforter and will reveal all things (sadly not the burning mystery of his/its true form)

I try to avoid religious "sacred mystries"

lagerwhenindoubt:

But let us quit this already, some people don't mind Spirit or Ghost, some do. the good thing is we catch the drift. Ghost or Spirit we are talking about a celestial, spiritual form or intelligent being who is our comforter and will reveal all things (sadly not the burning mystery of his/its true form)

Finally, you come round to the same square as others.

lagerwhenindoubt:

I try to avoid religious "sacred mystries"

Wonderful - I see how that is, the previous paragraphs just to the point.

The point is, why do we even bother over semantics to 'prove' a better or 'right' word when no one would be confused in reading the Bible and understanding who is being meant in any text by the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit? Everyone's had their good points, but like is said in the quote above, let's quit this already.

One question. Do the words Ghost and Spirit have the same root meaning? At what stage was the word ghost introduced in the translations?

Both words come from the exact root form from Greek and Hebrew. IN 1611 when the KJV translation originated surely the word ghost as translated then, wasn't used to imply the "spirit of a deceased person" as we see the word today. Instead it was used to connote an immaterial being, that is describing the nature of God.

Obviously the expression "Ghost of the Lord" poses a problem only as it relates to how it sounds. It wouldn't be the proper expression to use; soundwise.

Peace.

Hi Friend,
I was just surfing, today,and found this article on "Wikipedia".Throws some light on this discussion,

Here it goes:
[b]
"Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost"[/b]Holy Ghost was the common name for the Holy Spirit in English prior to the 20th century. It is the name used in the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Version of the Bible, and is still used by those who prefer more traditional language, or whose religious vocabulary is largely derived from the King James Version . The original meaning of the English word ghost parallelled the words spirit or soul; only later did the former word come to acquire the specific sense of "disembodied spirit of the dead" and the associated pejorative connotations.

In 1901 the American Standard Version of the Bible translated the name as Holy Spirit, as had the English Revised Version of 1881-1885 upon which it was based. Almost all modern English translations have followed suit. Some languages still use a word that overlaps both English words, such as the German Geist.

In the United Kingdom, Religious Education teachers are told to avoid using "Holy Ghost" as it "suggests a trivial and spooky element to the third part in the Trinity" .
,

OK listen.
the bible is so straight forward.
wheather ghost or spirit,
first understand that bible was original written in Hebrew,some part in Latin (Paul been a scholar)
for science student the word PHOTO is not an English word but in English it is explained as light, brightness,illumination.
the was holy spirit in Hebrew the original script is

πνεῦμα- hebrew

pneuma- greek

pnyoo'-mah- latin

a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.
so dont confuse your self they mean the same thing

Nubians are under a SPELL.The Holy Ghost Spell.
If they can make you believe in spooks, they can make you believe in anything,like the resurrection of jesus christ.You never SEE the real criminals,like the words of a so called man named Paul.

I'm sure someone is coming to cause confusion here. He will tell us how one Orthodox Church introduced this and that. The prophesy must surely come to pass.

Sorry

My dear friends
I will like to make a simple conclusion to this topic in my own opinion.
1. Holy ghost and holy ghost cannot be the same, just as
2.Spirit and ghost are not the same.
Why am i saying this?
The translators of the some various Bibles have errored. It does not mean we must also follow that trend.
Even a child can clarely tell us that , the so-called holy ghost is not the same as Holy Spirit.
Let us get some few explaination.
Holy Spirit: "Holy"from the longman means 1"of God" 2 "something without sin or filt" and "Spirit" means " a being creature without a body"
Still on Spirit , when you look at it meaning and nature we must know that there are numerous kinds of spirits which includes angels,the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God ), living spirit (as in mankind), falling angels, demons, ghost etc. The Holy Spirit is of God almighty. So calling on the Holy Spirit is safe. A ghost is a form or a kind of a spirit.
Let us look at "ghost" means "the spirit of the dead" . When mankind dies the living spirit depart from the body i.e. ghost. Ghost has no power on any living being because its time on earth is up and now in a different place. Ghost has no power.
If with this little explaination we understand ghost then let us combine "holy" with "ghost" holy ghost and imagine their combined meanings, what idear do we find " a holy spirit of the death" so which spirit of the death are you calling on? Could it be a familiar spirit . Some say the holy ghost resulted out of the death of Christ, but not so , The Christ died , resorrected with the body, and ascended to heaven with His body and spirit as well.
Conclusion
Lucifer in his own way has soo many ways to trick children of God to go wrong always. He can easily confuse translators of the Bible to infuse certain words in the Bible to honor him just as the whole conspiracy with christmas , easter, and the sunday worship. The translators were only schoolars who translated the Bible to different languages , they were not moved the the Spirit of God to write the Bible. Brethrens open your eyes Holy Spirit is the spirit of God , holy ghost is an introduction of an unknown familiar spirit.
May God bless you all
Thank you