Holy Spirit cannot be God

Compiled by Engineer Afsaneh Cooper  Some body inquired of Imam Husayn (a.s.) regarding the Spirit which was breathed into Adam (p.b.u.h.) as are the words of Allah:

Qur'an (15:28-29)     "And when your Lord said to the angels; See, I am creating a mortal of a clay of mud moulded. When I have shaped him and breathed My spirit in him fall you down, bowing before him."

The Imam said, 'This spirit is a creation of Allah and the spirit breathed into 'isa (jesus - p.b.u.h.), was also a creation (of Allah).

 Some body inquired of Imam Husayn (a.s.) regarding these words of Allah, to Whom belongs Might and Majesty:

Qur'an (4:171)    "People of the Book, go not beyond the bounds in your religion, and say not as to Allah but the truth. VeriIy, aI-Masih [the Messiah], 'isa ibn Maryam [Jesus, son of Mary], was only the Messenger of Allah, and His Word that He committed to Maryam), and a Spirit from Him. (So believe in Allah and His Messengers, and say not; 'Three'. Refrain; better is it for you. Surely, Allah is only One god. Glory be to Him - that He should have a son! To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth."

The Imam said, the spirit referred to is the created Spirit of Allah which He created in Adam and 'isa (Jesus)."

 Some body inquired of Imam Husayn (a.s.) regarding these words of Allah, to Whom belongs Might and Majesty,

Qur'an  (15:29)    "And breathed My Spirit in him."

How did the breathing of the spirit take place?  The lmam replied, 'Verily, the spirit is mobile as the air is. The spirit has been named 'ruh' because the word 'ruh' has been derived from (the word) 'rih' meaning air. Hence the word 'ruh' is a derivated of the word 'rih' which means air - for the reason that the spirits are of the same kind as air. Verily, Allah has ascribed the Spirit to Himself since He has selected the Spirit (breathed into Adam and Jesus), out of all other spirits. As out of all other houses Allah has said of one house 'Ka'bah', "My House"; and as out of all prophets, He has said of one "My friend" (Abraham), and so on and so forth. And all these (spirits) are the creations created and made later on. They are all brought up and managed (by Allah).' 

Imam Husayn (a.s.): "Six things are out of man's jurisdiction to do (anything) about them: knowledge of Divine commandments; ignorance of them; pleasure; anger; sleeping and waking up."

A certain group of people imagined that Allah, the Hallowed, the High, comes down to the lowest firmament. Imam Husayn (a.s.): "verily, neither does Allah come down nor does He stand in need of doing so. Since any view, distant or near, is the same to Him. Neither does anything near become distant to Him, nor does anything distant become near to Him. He does not need anything, but all things need Him and He is the Bountiful. None is god except Him, the Almighty, the All-wise. Those who relate that Allah, the Hallowed, the High descends, are the people who ascribe decrease and increase to Allah. Every mobile object is always in need of a stimulus by and through which it comes into action (thus to think that Allah descends is to think Him mobile and in need of a stimulus). Thus, whoever guessed in such a way in respect of Allah met his doom. So, beware in respect of Allah's attributes lest you should confine Him within any limits by putting on Him the degrees of decrease and increase or attributing to Him any mobility or stimulating Him into some action, or taking Him to be liable to decay or abdication, or thinking Him to be standing up or sitting down. Verily, Allah is too far above the attributes given to Him by their authors. He is over and above the qualifications accorded to Him by the qualifiers. He is too far above the thoughts of the thinkers. Have full faith in (Allah) the Almighty, the Merciful.

Qur'an  (26:217-219)    "Who sees thee when thou standest and when thou turnest about among those who prostrate (in obeisance unto Allah)."

Some body asked: "If Allah is at some place and not at the other, the air is bound to join and encompass Him, since air consists of fine matter and surrounds all things in proportion to its own mass."  According to the above illustration, how can air (with its limitation) encompass Allah, the Great in His praise?'

In reply, Imarm Husayn (a.s.) wrote: "ln this respect, Allah knows better and He is the best assessor of the place He is at. You must know only this that when Allah is on the lowest heaven He is, at the same time, on the throne. All things are equally known, controlled, owned and encompassed by Allah."

 John BiddIe, the Father of Unitarianism in England (1615-1662). He published a pamphlet entitled "Twelve Arguments Refuting the Diety of the Holy Spirit." It was seized and Biddle was imprisoned. He was called to appear before Parliament but still refused to accept the Deity of the Holy Spirit. He reprinted the pamphlet in 1647. On the 6th of September of the same year, Parliament ordered that the pamphlet be burnt by the hangman, and this Was done. On the 2nd of May, 1648, a "Severe Ordinance" was passed. lt stated that anyone who denied the Trinity, or the divinity of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, would suffer death without the benefit of clergy.

A summary of the "Twelve Arguments", the cau$e of such extreme measures, follows:

 TWELVE ARGUMENTS

1) He that is distinguished from God is not God.

The Holy Spirit is distinguised from God.

Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

Biddle further explained this syllogism with these words:

The major premise is quite clear inasmuch as if we say that the Holy Spirit is God and yet distinguished from God then it implies a contradiction. The minor premise that the Holy Spirit is ditinguished from God is confirmed by the whole current of scripture. The argument that the Holy Spirit is distinguished from God if it is taken personally and not essentially is against all reason:

First, it is impossible for any man to distinguish the Person from the Essence of God, and not to frame two Beings or Things in his mind. conseqently, he will be forced to the conclusion that there are two Gods.

Secondly, if the Person be distinguished from the Essence of God, the Person would be some lndependent Thing. Therefore it would be either finite or infinite. If finite then God would be a finite thing since according to the Church everything in God is God Himself. So the conclusion  absurd. If infinite then there will be two infinites in God, and consequently the two Gods which  is more absurd than the former argument.

Thirdly, to speak of God taken impersonally is ridiculous, as it is admitted by everyone that God is the Name of a Person, who with absolute sovereignty rulles over all... None but a person can rule  over others  therefore to take otherwise than personally is to take Him otherwise than He is.

2) He that gave the Holy Spirit to the lsraelites, is Jehova Alone. Then the Holy Spirit is not Jehova or God.

3) He that speakest not for himself is not God.  The Holy Spirit speaks not for himself.

Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

4) He that is taught is not God.  He that hears from another what he shall speak is taught. Christ speaks what he is told.  Therefore Christ is not God.

Here Biddle quotes John 8.26 where Jesus says: "Whatsoever I have heard from Him these things I speak."

5) ln John 16.14 Jesus says: "God is He that giveth all things to all."

He that receives from another is not God.

6) He that is sent by another is not God.

The Holy Spirit is sent by God. There fore the Holy Spirit is not God.

7) He that is not the giver of all things is not God.

He that is the gift of God is not the giver of all things.

He that is the gift of God is himself given.

The gift is in the power and at the disposal of the giver.

lt is therefor absurd to imagine that God can be in the power or at the disposal of another.

Here Biddle quotd Acts 17.25: "God giveth to all, life, breath and all things."

8)  He that changes place is not God.

The Holy Spirit changes place.

Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

Biddle further explained this syllogism in these words: "If God changes place then he would cease to be where he was before and begin to be where he was not before, which is against his Omnipresence, and His Deity. Therefore it was not God who came to Jesus but an Angel sustaining the Person in the Name of God."

9) He that prays to Christ to come to judgement is not God.

The Holy Spirit does so.

Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

10) ln Rommns 10.14 it reads, "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard. He in whom men have not believed, yet were disciples."

He who is not believed in is not God.

Men have not believed in the Holy Spirit, yet were disciples.

Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

11) He that hears from God at the second hand, viz the Christ Jesus, what he shall speak has an understanding distinct from God.

He that heareth from God what he shall speak is taught of God.

The Holy Spirit does so.  Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

12)  He that has a will distinct in number from that of God is not God.

The Holy Spirit has a will distinct in number from God.  Therefore the Holy Spirit is not God.

Here Biddle quotes Romans 8:26-27 which reads: " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth...for we know not how to pray as we ought but the Spirit maketh intercession for us with groans unutterable...he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

Biddle also discussed the one verse in the New Testament which the established church quoted to support their view of Trinity. It is John 5.7 which reads: "For there are three that bear record in heaven - the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are One." Biddle said the verse was contrary to common sense. lt contradicted other verses in the scriptures, and it only signified union of consent and agreement but never of essence. Furthermore, the verse did not even appear in the ancient Greek copies of the gospel, nor in the Syriac translations, nor in the very old Latin editions. lt seemed therefore that the verse had been interpolated, and was rejected as such by interpreters both ancient and modern. 

Milton (1608-1674) writer of the book of "A Treatise relating to God" was another famous unitarian. In his book he lists some of the attributes of God: Truth, Spirit (I am that I am), lmmensity and lnfinity, Eternity, lmmutability (I change not), lncoruptibility, lmmortality,  Omnipresence and finally, Unity, which he says "proceeds necessarily from all the foregoing attributes."  Milton then lists the following proofs from the Bible:  DEU  4:35,  DEU  5:39, DEU 32:39, 1KI   8:60, 2KI  19:15,  ISA  44:8,  ISA  45:5,  ISA  45:21,  ISA  45:22,  ISA  46:9

***For the biography of the following unitarians in Christianity refer to reference.

Iranaeus (130-200 A.D.), Tertullian (160-220 A.D.), Origen (185-254 A.D.), Diodorus, Lucian (Died in 312 A.D.), Arius (250-336 A.D.), Michael Servetus (1511-1553), Lelio Francesco Maria Sozini (1525-1562), Fausto Paolo Sozini (1539-1604), John Biddle (1615-1662), Milton (1608-1674), John Locke (1632-1704), Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), Thomas Emlyn (1663-1741), Theophilus Lindsey (1723-1808), Joseph Priestly (1733-1804), William Ellery Channing (1780-1842)