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The question being pondered is, “What is the relationship between biblical language and biblical liberty, is this relative for the discernment between soul and spirit, and what is the relationship between psyche, pneuma, hedonism and depression?

A great article by Diarmaid O’Muirithe (lexicographer) notes a trickle-down effect on how certain words can become what they are today. We all have seen language evolve miraculously since the year 2000 alone, and the progression is only increasing as it rides the tailcoat of technological advancement. Diarmaid references a woman named Grace who at 100 years old was not comfortable being blessed by the ‘Holy Spirit’ because when she was a child it was referred to as the “Holy Ghost’. This change of name was felt to be a change in person, and so she did not want to damage the blessings that the Holy Ghost had given.

This is not an uncommon train of thought to be resistant to subtle changes. The phrase, ‘give an inch and take a mile’ comes to play when considering the accumulation of subtle changes adding up to a far removed situation or version of the truth. This concept has also been a hop-topic when considering the era of misinformation brought about by media outlets owned by corporations who are paid to push agendas as opposed to pushing the truth of information. A true journalist should always remain stoic, without emotion, and certainly without bias. A true journalist should be a conduit for truth to the masses.

Anyways, Diarmaid traces Ghost to ‘gost or gast’ in Middle English and ‘ruah ha-godesh’ in Hebrew. From Hebrew to Greek the phrase became ‘pneuma hagion’. The Latin variant is ‘spiritus sanctus’. All of these variants still mean breath or wind today. From Latin, the AngloSaxons used ‘halig gast’ which through slang became hali gast. By the 20th century the churches collectively adopted the Holy Spirit as being a ‘more appropriate’ representation of what was meant when referring to the third part of the trinity after the father and son.

Generational gaps have always led about confusion, and the promise of change (whether warranted or unwarranted) is always to make things better than what they were. As the church has evolved from gentiles gathering in Antioch of modern day Turkey to gathering in stadiums across the globe, as a believer, we can notice some language shifting. Some claim this shift to be leading or stepping away from tradition. Others claim it to be better explaining what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. This leads to more versions of scripture along with endless theological discussion and debates as to what ancient greek or Hebrew words best translate to modern linguistics.

And so, what of liberty? The definition of liberty is best defined with two outlooks. The first is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views. The second is the power or scope to act as one pleases. Now, if we take away Jesus and Christianity we are left with a rather dangerous, rebellious, and revolutionary position that would scare most authorities around the world today. With Jesus, liberty becomes the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s way of life, behavior, or political views in the name of Jesus. It becomes the power or scope to act as one pleases which is the action of loving others as Jesus loves us.

Now, what happens when two words have utmost similar meanings, or it two words are interchangeable even when they do not have relative meanings. Words become both subjective and objective. Words become based off of connotation and/or denotation. Words become offensive to some or meaningless to others. Words become irrelevant, outdated, without power, and seemingly without purpose. A complex example from C. S. Lewis is the comparison between ‘psyche’ and ‘pneuma’ in relation to natural and supernatural. Now, when addressing almost a century later we see psyche as the human soul, mind, or spirit whereas pneuma is in relation to breath or wind. Pneuma is rooted beginning of the Holy Spirit. And so, what is the difference?

Some feel the difference between psyche and pneuma to be soul vs spirit. If the words both mean the same thing, then it must be the way in which the words are used. Lewis clearly states that this difference is hand in hand with natural vs supernatural. As a believer in Christianity this concept becomes more tangible (or should), but to an outsider this becomes purely connotation. John Nelson Darby says notes that ‘psyche’ is specifically the voice of the inner man and that it is a reference to tangible unanimously experienced life. ‘Pneuma’ then becomes the reflection of God Himself in one’s life.

Noting that spirit and ghost have been interchangeable the word of focus becomes the adjective ‘Holy’ beforehand. Why is the common name Holy Spirit and not Holy Soul? The answer should fit tightly into the theological debate of spirit vs soul, psyche vs pneuma, or in deeper context pneo vs psuche.

I reflect on a phrase I have heard before during my conversion process and it is the idea that you can be dead without physically dying. The converted parallel is that you can be alive without living. If this concept does not hit you like a ton of bricks, then you are extremely unique and blessed beyond measure. For almost every single person on earth this idea is the catalyst towards self-improvement, self-growth, self-motivation, self-drive… and the endless other labels for evolving beyond your current self.

In the secular world, without Christ, we are told to live for ourselves. This is a prime example of hedonism that predates the Romans themselves. We know that the Sumerian Civilization held philosophies regarding a quote from the Epic of Gilgamesh,

“Fill your belly. Day and night make merry. Let days be full of joy. Dance and make music day and night…. These things alone are the concern of men.” 

To a follower of Jesus, Hedonism on its own is the most renowned satanic principality, and it is paired fondly with the nature of sin and the power of temptation. In the secular world, we are encouraged through capitalism, nationalism, communism, and forms of socialism to live extraordinarily hedonistic lives. Even churches, who claim to follow and serve the ministry of Jesus himself, live openly to encourage people to live life in a way that makes the individual happy. Hedonism is the practice of serving your own soul while ignoring the Spirit and Will of God. It is also the ignorance of refusing to believe in God, or in some cases being born in a community that has never believed in God. For clarity, to those who have never been directly confronted with the reality of Jesus there is an honest understanding that hedonism is absolutely logical.

If God did not exist, and the life and testimony of Jesus was a fabrication or Western mythology, then the animal instinct of man according to scientific researchers would be to preserve the self. If there is no afterlife or promise of resurrection through Jesus, then why would each man and woman not feed the self-soul daily? It is only natural to have desires whether it be towards lust, gluttony, the pursuit of power, or money. These things feel good and allow the user to be intoxicated with pleasure. The truth is that people in this lifestyle also experience the withdrawal of this type of pleasure which is depression.

Depression is having feelings of severe despondency and dejection. Despondency is a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage. Dejection is a sad and depressed state; low spirits. To reiterate, the definition of depression is a state of low spirits with a loss of hope or courage. Knowing Jesus is knowing that we have been forgiven for our sins. Knowing Jesus is knowing that the Holy Spirit is guiding us daily as we choose to follow God’s Will for our lives towards ultimate reality. We know as believers that the original sin of mankind causes all people to fall short of the glory of God. True love, true peace, true joy, and true life only comes from the Holy Spirit. Depression can not exist in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Now, as days pass, and even as hours pass we become faced with the wears and tears of life. The devil tempts us, and the devil tests us and our loyalty to God. There is nothing more satisfying to the devil than watching churches fall apart, to watching communities fall apart, to watching families fall apart, or watching the relationships of husband and wife, brother and sister, mother and child fall apart for these things in life depress the spirit. These things in life discourage the soul.

We must pray for armor. We must pray for strength. We must pray for enlightenment daily so that the devil’s tricks will not work against us. We must pray that hedonism does not captivate us, and that all things we pursue as pleasurable and self-indulgent become hand in hand or one in one with God’s Will for our lives. When it comes to language and liberty we can find ourselves riding on confusing and complex ideologies that can quickly pull us away from following Jesus. This can lead many towards losing faith. Failure is not possible in a game of grace, mercy, and truth so hold fast to the positivity that despite the triumphs or defeats of this life the overall battle against sin has been won in the name of Jesus.

Now, utilize the power of the Holy Spirit daily in whatever works you may find yourself in. Through your daily duties know that you are growing closer to God day by day and one day you will meet your maker in glory and honor. We must pray for diligence, discernment, deliverance, and diplomacy amongst our communities and nations as we continue to evangelize to the best of our abilities to extend this truth out into the rest of the world while we still can.

As always, God Bless,

James Arthur Ferguson

P.S.- My personal goal is to always encourage and inspire unity within the body of Christ. All ideas are references built off of biblically inspired books, articles, and of course direct Christian scripture.

References:

C.S. Lewis- Christianity and Culture

https://biblehub.com/greek/5590.htm

https://biblehub.com/greek/4154.htm

https://adayofsmallthings.com/soul-and-spirit-psyche-and-pneuma/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonism#Sumerian_civilization