Rebuttal to Sam Shamoun

Is the Holy Spirit Omniscient?

Abdullah Smith

 

 

The article can be accessed here http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/q_spirit_omniscient.htm

 

HE WROTE:

Question:

According to Jesus, no one knows the day or hour of his coming in judgment except the Father (cf. Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32). No one obviously includes the Holy Spirit. Yet, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t know everything how can he be God?

Answer:

This is a severe misunderstanding of Jesus’ words since Christ wasn’t including the Holy Spirit in his discussion. His point was that no human being, no angel, not even himself, knew the exact date of his coming to judge Jerusalem. Here are Jesus’ exact words which helps to illustrate this point:

"But of that day and hour no one knows, NOT EVEN the angels of heaven, NOR the Son, but the Father only." Matthew 24:36

"But of that day or that hour no one knows, NOT EVEN the angels in heaven, NOR the Son, but only the Father." Mark 13:32

 

RESPONSE:

The text does not directly mention the Holy Spirit, but the indication is clear that it includes the Holy Spirit, who possesses the same nature as the “angels in heaven”. The Greek word for “spirit” is pneuma, the Hebrew translation is ruach.

The Greek translation of the Old Testament known as LXX renders the following context:

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:

Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever. (Psalms 104:3-5)

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)

The word spirit is applied to angels; therefore the Holy Spirit is categorically an angel because he is also Spirit. We know the Gospel of John applies the Greek word to God (4:24), it simply means that God is the Highest of the spirits (angels), the Creator of the angels, but does not mean God is an angel, or that angels share in His divinity. The Jews worshipped the Canaanite god Baal, but they still acknowledged the Sovereignty of Yahweh. The pagan Arabs worshipped Allah as the Highest God, but they also worshipped 360 false gods. Similarly, the Christians today worship “inter-mediators” between God and men, a sheer falsehood and physical blasphemy.

The Bible attributes the word pneuma to human beings (Numbers 16:22, 27:16), it basically refers to the “soul” which God Himself breathes into human beings (Psalms 104:30, Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Shamoun’s objective is to prove the trinity by reconciling passages that speak of divine knowledge, because the knowledge of God, the Holy Ghost, and Jesus must be exactly one to prove they are “one” in essence, or else the trinity does not work.

The missionary denies the trinity in his own words:

“…His point was that no human being, no angel, not even himself, knew the exact date of his coming to judge Jerusalem”.

The infidel asserts that Jesus is All-knowing, so therefore he must be God. Yet the Gospels explicitly deny that Jesus was All-knowing:

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

"You see the people crowding against you," his disciples answered, "and yet you can ask, 'Who touched me?' "

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. (Mark 5:30-32)

The Gospel of Luke narrates the same thing:

She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

"Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."

But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me." (Luke 8:44-46)

Jesus didn’t know it wasn’t fig season:

Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. (Mark 11:13)

 

The early Christians never believed Jesus was God; being transformed into “God incarnate” by emperor Constantine who was not aware the Gospels speak of Jesus growing in knowledge, and showing limitations of knowledge, so the Holy Ghost must also lack full knowledge because only God is the Source of complete knowledge, and its inheritor.

Most biblical scholars agree that the earliest strata of New Testament tradition never designated Jesus as "God." Indeed in the primitive tradition God was the source of the action and Jesus was the one acted upon. (John Shelby Spong, Resurrection: Myth or Reality, p. 88)

According to Orthodox Christian belief, Jesus was perfect man and perfect God at the same time.  This belief is necessary for salvation according to the Athanasian creed held dear by most Christians.  Modern Christian scholars reject this idea not because it is difficult to understand but because it cannot be meaningfully expressed.  The doctrine cannot be stated in any way that is free from contradictions.  It is impossible for Jesus to have been perfect man and perfect God at the same time, for this would mean that he was finite and infinite at the same time, that he was fallible and infallible at the same time.  This cannot be.

What the creed denies is also quite significant.  The creed was formulated in response to the claims of various early Christian groups, and so includes clauses that deny the beliefs of those groups.  In response to the Arians who believed that Jesus was not God, the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.) decreed that he was fully God.  In response to the Apollinarians who believed Jesus was God but not fully human, the council of Constantinople (381 A.D.) decreed that Jesus was fully human.

(Shabir Ally, Is Jesus God? The Bible Says No)

 

HE WROTE:

The questioner erroneously has assumed that the phrase "no one knows" is inclusive, that it necessarily includes every single entity with the exception of the Father. On the contrary, the fact that Jesus goes on to mention that neither he nor the angels know clearly indicates that Christ wasn’t referring to every single entity but to a more restricted group. After all, if the phrase "no one knows" meant everyone then there was no need for Christ to mention the angels and himself since they would have naturally been included. Thus, Christ’s statement regarding angels and the Son not knowing demonstrates that Jesus was referring to a specific class of individuals, namely human beings, when he said that no one knows. In other words, Jesus was saying that no human being knows the day he would come to bring judgment upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem for rejecting him, neither the angels, not even himself. This explains why the King James Version rendered the Greek in the following manner:

"But of that day and that hour knoweth NO MAN, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." Mark 13:32

The translators correctly inferred from the context that "no one" meant no man.

RESPONSE:

Jesus included himself by saying “neither the Son”, which also includes the Holy Spirit because, according to the Gospels, Jesus is supposed to be “filled with the Holy Spirit”, implying that his limited knowledge is part of the Holy Spirit, therefore the latter also limited (in knowledge) did not know the day.

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. (Isaiah 42:1)

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, (Luke 4:1, KJV)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, (NIV)

Despite the fact that many other characters were “filled with the Holy Spirit”, they are not considered divine personages, Jesus is regarded as “God incarnate” and “second person of the trinity” according to the Nicene Creed, yet he was not omniscient but filled with the Holy Spirit, this implies the Holy Spirit possesses the same nature as Jesus, because they are both supposed to be one. The Apostolic Creed does not include the trinity, it teaches the Oneness of God that would later be distorted by the Nicene Creed, signed by emperor Constantine in 325 CE.

The 12 disciples never preached the concept of trinity, the early Christian gospel known as the Didache (97 CE) contradicts the trinity and teaches the Oneness of God.

Jesus did include the Holy Spirit when he said “not even the angels of heaven” (Matthew 24:36) because the Holy Spirit is the Angel of the Old Testament. The Bible speaks of angels as “spirits” therefore the Holy Spirit is an angel. We shall discuss this below.

The Holy Spirit is not All-knowing because only God is All-knowing; the New Testament implicatively abolishes the trinity when Jesus distinguished the Holy Spirit:

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. (Luke 12:10)

I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." (Mark 3:28)

According to these verses, the Holy Spirit is superior to Jesus, whatever sins against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven, whereas sins against Jesus can be forgiven.

 

HE WROTE:

It must be pointed out that phrases such as "no one," "not one," "all," "everyone" etc., are not necessarily inclusive terms, but can have a more limited sense, just as the following examples prove:

"His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which NO ONE knows but himself." Revelation 19:12

John obviously didn’t mean that the Father didn’t know Jesus’ name since he is the Source of the Son’s revelation and has full knowledge of Christ:

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John," Revelation 1:1

"All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." Matthew 11:27

It is obvious that John meant that no creature knows Jesus’ name.

"What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin, as it is written: ‘NONE IS RIGHTEOUS, no, NOT ONE; NO ONE understands, NO ONE seeks for God. ALL have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; NO ONE DOES GOOD, NOT EVEN ONE.’ ‘Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive.’ ‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’ ‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood, in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they do not know.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Romans 3:9-20

Paul here is dealing with individuals who have rebelled and willfully violated God’s commands. Again, Paul didn’t mean to include Christ, the elect angels, and infants that die within his list of all those that have willfully sinned and broken God’s commands.

"It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But there is a place where someone has testified: ‘What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put EVERYTHING under his feet?’ In putting EVERYTHING under him, God left NOTHING that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see EVERYTHING subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." Hebrews 2:5-9 NIV

 

RESPONSE:

There is hardly anything significant that requires a refutation to what Shamoun has just written.

He assumes that the Holy Spirit is all-Knowing, that is the main argument of his article. Yet, the Bible portrays God as being deficient in knowledge and power. Does this mean God the Creator of the Holy Spirit is inferior to the Holy Spirit?

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:9)

 

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? (Genesis 4:9)

 

The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." (Job 1:7)

 

And the LORD was WITH Judah; and HE drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. (Judges 1:19)

 

According to the Bible, God repents (Gen. 6:6) sleeps (Ps. 44:23, 78:65), forgets (Ps. 13:1, Lam. 5:20) claps (Ezek. 21:17, 22:13) whistles (Isaiah 5:26, 7:18) smokes (2 Sam. 22:9, Ps. 18:8, Job 41:20) shaves your legs (Isaiah 7:20) commands Isaiah to strip NAKED (Isaiah 20:1-3) and RIDES female angels (2 Sam. 22:11) who have BREASTS ( Rev. 15:6) 

Now if the Holy Spirit doesn’t do this, both entities cannot possibly be “one” and co-exist. Read the article http://www.submission.org/god-bible.html

Does the Holy Spirit change his mind? The Bible states that God changed his mind, his plans:

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. (Exodus 32:14)

"Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would minister before me forever.' But now the LORD declares: 'Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.  The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your family line. (1 Samuels 2:30-31)

 

Jesus gives another example that contradicts the concept of the trinity:

"What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.

They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory."

"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?"

"We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared." (Mark 10:36-40, Matthew 20:22-24)

If Jesus and God are one, how can you cut yourself in half and divide functions? Surely if both entities co-exist as equal substances, Jesus would have had the power to grant the wish of Zebedee’s mother. On the contrary, Jesus denied that he possessed the authority to grant these kinds of prayers.

Another good example shows that Jesus was powerless:

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?" (Mark 5:30)

Moreover, there are contradictions between Jesus and God which prove they are not equal:

http://www.answering-islam.com/abdullah_smith/jesus_contradicts_god.htm

 

The Bible rejects the trinity, it clearly says there is no god besides God, there is nothing equal to God.

"To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. (Isaiah 40:25)

I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: (Isaiah 45:5)

I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour. (Isaiah 43:11)

Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. (Isaiah 44:8)

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, (Isaiah 46:9)

Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me. (Hosea 13:4)

 

HE WROTE:

The inspired author of Hebrews cites Psalm 8:4-6 where it says that God has placed everything under the control of man. Now the author of Hebrews didn’t mean that even God himself was made subject to man, even though the expressions "everything" and "nothing" are used. As the Apostle Paul put it:

"Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ‘For God has put all things in subjection under his feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection under him,’ it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one." 1 Corinthians 15:24-28

These examples should help the readers see why caution must be used before assuming that expressions such as "all," "no one," are inclusive, that they necessarily include everyone and everything. The context will help determine whether these words are being used inclusively or in a more limited sense.

More importantly, the Holy Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit knows everything that God knows and fully comprehends the very mind of God!

"God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For what person knows a man's thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God EXCEPT THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might understand the gifts bestowed on us by God." 1 Corinthians 2:10-12

 

RESPONSE:

In actuality, the Holy Spirit does not know everything, and hence does not comprehend the mind of God. The Holy Spirit is among the heavenly beings, and spiritual agents who serve God (Revelations 7:11), angels are described as “spirits” (Psalms 104:4, Hebrews 1:14) so the Holy Spirit (must be) is the “Angel of the Lord” in the Old Testament.

Shamoun is wrong to claim the Holy Spirit is All-knowing. The Bible teaches that only God is All-Knowing, and there is none LIKE him:

For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD ? Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings? (PSALMS 89:6)

"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. (1 Samuel 2:2)

Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, (Psalms 113:5)

"Tomorrow," Pharaoh said. Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God. (Exodus 10:8)

 

The Old Testament refers to the same entity under different titles:

(1) The Spirit of God

(2) The Angel of the Lord or Angel of God (Genesis 21:17, 31:11, Exodus 14:19, etc)

(3) The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (New Testament)

Let us quote the passages for each title; they cannot possibly be three distinct spirits:

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2)

And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? (Genesis 41:38)

And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, (Exodus 31:3)

And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. (1 Samuel 11:6)

 

Now let us quote the passages for the second title, the same being:

And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. (Genesis 16:7)

And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. (Genesis 22:11)

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. (Exodus 3:2)

Specifically, the angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses is the Holy Spirit who appeared to Jesus:

And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (Matthew 3:16)

The Spirit of God and the Angel of the Lord are the same entity; the Bible further clarifies this fact:

Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? (Isaiah 63:11)

(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:39

The Old Testament describes how Jesus will be “filled with the Holy Spirit” in the following prophesy:

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1)

Furthermore, the Bible speaks of how the Spirit will be “poured out” the same way the Holy Spirit was “poured on the disciples” in the New Testament (Acts 2:1-3) including others.

Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. (Isaiah 32:15)

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring: (Isaiah 44:3)

Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 39:29)

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: (Joel 2:28)

The New Testament says that prophecy comes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)

The Old Testament repeats the same thing:

And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. (1 Samuel 10:10)

By reading these verses, it’s clear that the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit are the same entity.

The Gospel of John identifies the Comforter (Paraclete) as the Holy Spirit. The word comforter in the Old Testament can refer to human beings or angels distinctively:

So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter. (Ecclesiastes 4:1, LXX)

The Comforter is a helper, and hence the Prophets were comforters sent by God:

The Paraclete is a parallel figure to Jesus himself; and this conclusion is confirmed by the fact that the title is suitable for both. It is clear from 14:16 that the source thought there were sendings of two Paracletes, Jesus and his successor, the one following the other. (Rudolf Bultmann, Gospel of John, A Commentary, p. 567)

According to the rules of logic therefore, one is brought to see in John's Paraclete a human being like Jesus, possessing the faculties of hearing and speech formally implied in John's Greek text. Jesus therefore predicts that God will later send a human being to Earth to take up the role defined by John, i.e. to be a prophet who hears God's word and repeats his message to man. This is the logical interpretation of John's texts arrived at if one attributes to the words their proper meaning. (Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran, and Science)

 

According to the Bible, God is the creator of evil. (Isaiah 45:7)

Shamoun believes the Holy Spirit is God, therefore he must accept the Holy Spirit is the creator of evil:

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)

The Holy Quran does not say God is the creator of evil, but says it is Satan:

Allah did curse him, but he said: "I will take of Thy servants a portion Marked off; "I will mislead them, and I will create in them false desires; I will order them to slit the ears of cattle, and to deface the (fair) nature created by Allah." Whoever, forsaking Allah, takes satan for a friend, hath of a surety suffered a loss that is manifest. (Al-Quran 4:118-119)

And Satan will say when the matter is decided: "It was Allah Who gave you a promise of Truth: I too promised, but I failed in my promise to you. I had no authority over you except to call you but ye listened to me: then reproach not me, but reproach your own souls. I cannot listen to your cries, nor can ye listen to mine. I reject your former act in associating me with Allah. For wrong-doers there must be a grievous penalty." (Al-Quran 14:22)

 

Shamoun believes the Holy Spirit is God, therefore he must accept the Holy Spirit is not All-knowing:

And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (Genesis 3:9)

 

And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? (Genesis 4:9)

 

The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." (Job 1:7)

 

As we mentioned earlier, how can the Holy Spirit be all-Knowing when God himself, according to the Bible, is not All-knowing?

Shamoun believes the Holy Spirit is God, therefore he must accept the Holy Spirit threatened to kill Moses:

At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met {Moses} and was about to kill him. (Exodus 4:24)

Why did God threaten to kill Moses? The NIV uses the words “sought to kill him”.

The Bible records passages where God murders and commands murder, the Holy Quran is free from such nonsense.

On account of man’s interpolations, many things have been inserted in those Books which are against reality, revolting to reason and an affront to every instinct of justice. There are things which are cruel and unjust, and vitiate man’s beliefs and actions. Furthermore, things have unfortunately been inserted that are obscene, indecent and highly immoral. The Quran is free of all such rubbish. It contains nothing against reason, and nothing can be proved wrong. None of its injunctions is unjust; nothing is misleading. Of indecency and immorality not a trace can be found. From the beginning to the end the Book is full of wisdom and truth. It contains the best of philosophy and the choicest of law for human civilization. It points out the right path and guides man to success and salvation. (Abdul A’la Mawdudi, Towards Understanding Islam, p. 77)

Amazingly, the “angel of the Lord” is responsible for the slaughter of 185,000 people!

That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! (2 Kings 19:35, NIV)

And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. (2 Kings 19:35, KJV)

Let us continue:

If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart. (Psalms 44:20-21)

God knows the secrets of the heart, yet if the Holy Spirit is God, then he must also know the secrets of the heart. Yet, once again, the Bible contradicts this idea.  Jesus was “filled with the Holy Spirit” but he didn’t know who touched him (Mark 5:31).

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)

I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. (John 13:16)

The Holy Spirit is the Servant of God, the Angel OF the Lord; he is not greater than the God who sent him:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; (John 14:26)

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. (John 16:14)

The Holy Spirit (Comforter) will speak whatever God commands him, indicating that he’s not all-Knowing and powerful. He is under the authority of God the way Jesus was:

I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (John 5:30)

The Holy Spirit can do nothing of his own authority.

 

HE WROTE:

The Holy Scriptures explicitly state that God’s thoughts, his ways, his knowledge are infinite and beyond comprehension:

O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36

"O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it." Psalm 139:1-6 ESV

"He determines the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names. Great is our LORD, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure." Psalm 147:4-5

Hence, for the Holy Spirit to know and be able to search the mind of God means that the Holy Spirit is omniscient, that he too knows everything perfectly!

 

RESPONSE:

What a blasphemy to attribute the qualities of God to his created beings! We have clearly demonstrated the Holy Spirit is not omniscient, and the Bible undermines the power and knowledge of God. The Holy Quran corrects the Biblical descriptions attributed to God by the writers. There is no need to repeat ourselves but further evidence can be given.

 

HE WROTE:

We conclude our discussion in the words of the renowned Bible scholar and commentator John Gill who wrote regarding Matthew 24:36:

… no, not the angels of heaven; who dwell there, always behold the face of God, stand in his presence ready to do his will, and are made acquainted with many of his designs, and are employed in the executing of them, and yet know not the time of God's vengeance on the Jews; to this agrees the sense that is given of the day of vengeance in (Isaiah 63:4) it is asked,

“what is the meaning of these words, "the day of vengeance is in my heart?" Says R. Jochanan, to my heart I have revealed it, to the members I have not revealed it: says R. Simeon ben Lakish, to my heart I have revealed it, (ytylg al trvh ykalml), "to the ministering angels I have not revealed it".”

The Ethiopic version adds here, "nor the son", and so the Cambridge copy of Beza's; which seems to be transcribed from (Mark 13:32) where that phrase stands; and must be understood of Christ as the son of man, and not as the Son of God; for as such, he lay in the bosom of the Father, and knew all his purposes and designs; for these were purposed in him: he knew from the beginning who would betray him, and who would believe in him; he knew what would befall the rejecters of him, and when that would come to pass; as he must know also the day of the last judgment, since it is appointed by God, and he is ordained to execute it: but the sense is, that as he, as man and mediator, came not to destroy, but to save; so it was not any part of his work, as such, to know, nor had he it in commission to make known the time of Jerusalem's ruin: but my Father only; to the exclusion of all creatures, angels AND MEN; but not to the exclusion of Christ as God, who, as such, is omniscient; NOR OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, who is acquainted with the deep things of God, the secrets of his heart, and this among others. (Source; underline and capital emphasis ours)

Scripture references taken from the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Holy Bible, unless stated otherwise.

RESPONSE:

 

Once again, the Holy Spirit is the heavenly being created by God, and nothing in the Heavens is like God:

 

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? (Psalms 89:6)

 

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. (Isaiah 40:25)

 

According to the Gospel of John, Jesus said “Before Abraham, I am”.

Let us quote the entire context of the passage:

Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:57-59)

Now read what the Bible says about Solomon:

"The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. When there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; (Proverbs 8:22:24)

Jesus and Solomon were speaking in poetic language; they were not speaking literally, but figuratively.

 

Also, the Hindus believe the god Vishnu existed before his birth, the author of John plagiarized this idea from the religions around him.

 

Lloyd Graham says the “Gospel of John is the most occult gospel”, and David Strauss completely destroyed John’s authenticity.   Scholars agree that John is the most unreliable gospel, there is no need to waste our time expounding upon its occult verses of pagan influence.

 

Once again, the main thesis for Shamoun’s article was to substantiate the false trinity, which does not exist but in the minds of pagans like Shamoun. God is one, there no trinity, our time on earth is precious and we cannot waste our time discussing false pagan ideas which the infidels keep replicating.

 

"God is not the author of confusion. " 1 Corinthians 14:33

 

 

(1) http://www.watchtower.org/library/pr/article_04.htm

 

(2) http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_04.htm

 

(3) http://www.watchtower.org/library/ti/article_03.htm