A Davidian understanding of the Holy Spirit's role in the Trinity

[Ben W]

I found this on Wikipedia's series on Christianity. I think that it is interesting that group can teach on the Trinity being three in one, yet have considerably different interpretations. I had heard of the feminine side of God idea before, but until now did not know where that originated.

- While most Christians think of the person of the Holy Spirit as being a He or It, Branch Davidians, and others, believe that the Holy Spirit is a feminine Motherly Being, deriving this from the Hebrew language, rather than Greek or Latin. They also believe that ancient (and modern) Goddesses, and the veneration of Mary by Catholics, are derived from this truth. They sometimes ascribe the name "Sophia" to the Holy Spirit, following a broadly based tradition of Christian exegesis in which the anthropomorphized "Wisdom" ("Sophia", in the Septuagint Hellenistic Greek translation) of the Book of Proverbs is taken to refer to the Holy Spirit. This gender-association is a minority practice within Christianity, the Holy Spirit in the original Greek language of the New Testament being neuter (??????) or masculine (??????????) and (ruah haqodesh) grammatically masculine in Hebrew and in Aramaic, the native language of Jesus. However, the related term shekhinah, generally understood as a distinct "glory of God" but often associated with the Holy Spirit, is grammatically feminine.

The late Lois Roden, former president of the Branch organization, began teaching this aspect of the Spirit publically in 1977. She published many studies on this subject which cite various scholars and researchers from Jewish, Christian, and other persuasions. Thus Branch believers see the Trinity as an ur-Family in heaven, the image of which is manifest on Earth.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit

 

[SpyHunter]

Sophia worship was a key thing in ancient Gnosticism, and I stronly recommend you keep away from any of that. According to the Sophia heresy, the "One-True-God" (the god of Deism, essentially) has many sub-deities which perform different functions. Yahweh the Creative-Destroyer (a blatant rip-off of the Hindu god Shiva), as Gnostics believed, created things in order to destroy them, and the "One-True-God" had a path of knowledge erected in order to free people from "Yahweh." This is clear blasphemy, but it gets worse: Sophia was meant to be an equivelant of Christ; "Sophia" was the wisdom of God and Christ was the word of God. To "Christian" Gnostics, Sophia and Christ were the first steps down the path of knowledge and salvation. Read Galatians 1:6-9 to get a biblical response to such foolery.

At any rate, while I do believe that God does have feminine qualities, it would be foolish to perceive the Holy Spirit as a "Mother" just because we have the theological term "Father."

Blessings,
SpyHunter

P.S.-- Isn't "Davidian" the group from Waco?

 

[BobRyan]

I have to admit - I know almost nothing about these guys.

 

[SpyHunter]

Which guys?

 

[BobRyan]

Branch Davidians.

Shepherd's Rod.

Davidians.

(I guess "all of them")

 

[SpyHunter]

Look up the Waco, TX fiasco where the ATF was accused of ruthlessly killing a cult which was borderline domestic terrorist in nature. It was the "Branch Davidian Compound."

 

[Ben W]

From what I have been led to believe on reading the internet, the Branch Davidians are rebuilding their compound at Waco, and are expecting the return of David Koresh as the Messiah in 2012. They have a website which isnt very hard to find on Google or Ask.

 

[SpyHunter]

Isn't that twisted?

 

[Ben W]

Here is some more!

In 1955, after Houteff's death, a split of this movement formed the Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists, headed initially by Benjamin L. Roden. "Branch" refers to the new name of Christ. The group established a settlement outside of Waco, Texas, on the property previously occupied by the Davidian group. In 1977, Benjamin Roden's wife Lois claimed to have a message of her own, one element of which was that the Holy Spirit is feminine in gender, causing much controversy in the group. When Ben Roden died the next year, their son George tried to assume leadership, claiming that he was the rightful prophet of the group, but she beat back his attempt.

In 1981 Vernon Wayne Howell (later renamed David Koresh) joined the group as a regular member. In 1983 Lois Roden allowed Howell to begin to teach his own message, opening the door for him to build a following before their split in early 1984. Lois also faced dissent from Canadian Charles Pace. There was a general meeting at Mt. Carmel of all Branch Davidians over Passover 1984 and the end result was that the group split into several factions, one of which was loyal to Howell. At this time George Roden forced Howell and Pace to leave the property.
Howell took his followers to Palestine, Texas, while Pace went to Gadsden, Alabama. But by 1988, George Roden's support had dwindled, and while he was in jail for contempt of court, Howell took charge of the disputed land in his absence. Meanwhile, Lois Roden had died in 1986, and her will appointed Teresa Moore as her successor.

In 1990 Howell changed his name to David Koresh, invoking the biblical Kings David and Cyrus. Koresh centered his teachings around the Seven Seals and his ability as the "Lamb" to open them. Koresh supported his beliefs with detailed biblical interpretation, using the Book of Revelation as the lens through which the entire Bible was viewed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Davidians

Return to Earth

Branch Davidians believe that Koresh will someday return to Earth. Some hoped, based on Daniel 12:12, that this would occur 1,335 days after his death: December 14, 1996. The Hidden Manna faction believed that it would take place on August 6, 1999, then October 20, and now March 2012. Other survivors avoid date-setting. David Koresh said that he would come back when an earthquake has occurred in the town.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh