HKBP is part of the world's Lutheran Church. But if we look at the layout and the altar-seat benches in the church we are, in general, does not reflect the Lutheran church. Generally, the layout of the church altar we adopt the layout of the church Calvinis, where the podium telling the word of God is in the midst of the altar, and is in a high position. Lutheran Church put the pulpit telling word in the left altar, as seen in the church HKBP Menteng, road Cashew 46, Jakarta. (HKBP Petojo has changed the position of telling it. Formerly they place the platform in the middle as usual. HKBP Balige any place on the podium to the left, but the high-pitched.)
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Indeed, our understanding of the layout is not uniform. Many people who became the architect of the church building is not a theologian. They lay on the layout, so that consideration of their aesthetic value, and only other consideration, based on the view without teologis. Many members of the church who do not understand its meaning. Even many workers who do not even understand. I often question the meaning of the flowers put on the table at the altar! Generally, the reason for people to put flowers there just for purely aesthetic. In the case is not so according to me in private sparingly. GPIB light candles on the table is, of course there is the meaning of the candle. HKBP generally place a flower. What is the meaning of flowers? We light a candle in there on sunday Advent, headless. We also cover the things in the altar cloth with a certain color, that is headless. Once again what is the meaning of flowers?
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When we entered the church building (the sort order of the church as the location Lutheran Church teaching) then we can say that the church space can be divided into two parts. The first part is the seat for a member of the church, the seat-benches in the park in the building. I understand this first part as the 'region of the world.' That was taught to us at the time of the study as a candidate sintua. While the second is the 'altar'. The altar of the Church that we understand as' the holy '. The second part is defined as' the heavenly.' Therefore, also, for us, that is holy altar there.
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In the middle of the altar, there is a rectangle box, exactly under the cross attached to the wall. Box that is engraved with the beautiful, is understood 'as a table of the Lord.' Why is it called a case table of the Lord? Box is called so, because on the table is placed the bread and wine receptions. According to the sparing me, that we give offering to God, should be put on the table of the Lord. Offering something that is holy, so there where the most fit. Not like now in the heavenly region outside, outside the 'altar'. Table eating area is the most in one's home, only family members who sit in there. Table is a kind of 'inner chamber' in a house. How beautiful, if we are invited to attend the ceremony to eat together around the table of the Lord in the holy banquet events. Unfortunately, now is the practical meaning has come to replace God in the holy banquet, so that I no longer came near to the table of the Lord in the holy banquet.
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We on the left, on the side table of the Lord, there are water storage vessel for holy Baptism. Martin Luther said that baptism is also good news - the Gospel - for us. That is in line with its position on the right side of the podium, where the Gospel is made verbal. So the Gospel given to us through word and sacrament. I'm afraid, people come to church Sunday, without trying to ponder the meaning of the layout of objects in the room in the Church. I fear we have lost the meaning of the layout in our worship.
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Among the good news according to the sacrament, and the good news says, near the table of God, stand a mediator, between 'the divine' with 'the world'. We see the eye shadow, a sintua standing there. But on substance, in faith, he was standing was the Lord Jesus Christ. For only He can offering man with God. He is the only mediator with God's people. So sintua that stands in the altar is the representation of Christ. Therefore, the importance of sintua 'liturgist' is aware of how pure the duty is to lead worship sunday. He stood there in the name of God, to lead the worship of the church with the meeting between his God. Worship is our sunday worship encounter with God. We know there is no man who can unite the people of God except the Lord Jesus Christ. So clearly, the task sintua 'liturgist' God is with men unite in the worship sunday.
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From the layout 'table of the Lord' with a bench-seat, we see the distance is far enough. Indeed, the distance between a holy God with the man of sin is also far enough. Distance heaven and the world is also far enough. That is required of a mediator, so that there will be meetings and communication in the meeting. When the Lord Jesus standing at the altar, and in the self sintua become liturgis, the man who sits on the bench-seat that can make communication with the heavenly region, the 'altar'. Now the question becomes is whether sintua who served as liturgis realize the significance of these duties? My impression, maybe I wrong, friends sintua not realize it. I see them often act as' master of ceremony 'in the church. In fact, there are not ready, it is not visible from the sintua follow sing song songbook of the church. If we have a period of decline the understanding that the sintua become liturgis is representative of Christ in leading the church, so if he leads in a liturgy, then we can say Christ also! Are we aware of it? Let us ponder it in our subconscious in the most.
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We come to Church on Sunday, not only to listen to the word of God. If we only come to listen to the word of God, that we can do in the house. We come to Church to worship and meet with the risen Lord. Sunday worship in it, we reflect the worship by the angels in Heaven. In 'Our Father Prayer,' Lord Jesus teaches us that we pray: "Be thy will on earth as in heaven." According to the book of Revelation chapter 4 and 5, there is loyalty in Paradise seen by the Apostle John. Worship in Heaven is focused on worship He sat on the throne and He is standing in the middle of the throne tangah that, as the slaugther Lamb, Jesus Christ alone with all his works. So the core essence of Christian worship by sparing me is: to worship God with a raised work of Jesus Christ. Christ is the center of Christian worship. Unlike the religious charismatic, the weight of the Holy Spirit with the gift-the gift of His worship HKBP heavenly worship that reflect the book of Revelation was reported.
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According to DR. A. A Sitompul in a book about the governance of worship, he said that there is a place of worship in three. The first worship was held in Heaven, as reported by the book of Revelation. Worship both in the Earth, in the meaning of worship sunday we are doing. Worship, the third is in our hearts. the Third must be in a union of harmony, such as the 'cord' in rhythm to music. Heaven take the tone 'do', while we took sunday devotions tone 'mi', and the last, we take heart in the tone 'sol'. After that they each sing praise to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! When the tone song they do not fit, then it will feel chantey Fals.
Many people say that the worship HKBP is commonly, without first excavate the meaning of worship itself. Charismatic of worship, which is very popular today, even in the heart of HKBP, according sparing me, are very expressive. It is a goal dreamed to be in worship that is the man. I do not see what they reflexion through the worship! God paper that should be reflected in the worship, and give people respond to it through the paper his worship. The subject of the most dominant in the worship that is God. That is reflected HKBP worship according me. Where we stand with the church is very different Charismatic.
Before the service started, parhalado usually gather in the first consistori. At the bottom is not the officer who dijadwal on that day which must be present in the consistori, but all members parhalado to come to church in it. For parhalado is a 'corps,' they are responsible for the implementation of these devotions. So even though I was not on duty that day, I must go to consistori, at least pray for those who served on that day. That is the realization of my responsibilities to God, who has called me to be His servant in the church. While it is the form of my responsibilities to the 'corps parhalado'. Very be pitied, also many friends sintua who does not realize it.
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Consistori in that we check all the events we will hold, on the feasibility. And events that we already check that congregation we bring to God in prayer. All events from the beginning of the end of till submitted in prayer, as if we say to God, is what we will do in front of you. Anything that does not prayed in consistori, should not be performed in worship. Unless the news is very urgent. Be pitied, but very often we see additional events have delivered to liturgis in the midst of the congregation. Choir we often see up to sing twice, in the case in the event list only one time.
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After parhalado pray, the bell of the Church be pronounced. A premonition that a King of kings and Lord of all Lord will enter the place of worship. Members of the church also provides a response to the toll increase is the personal prayers to God's presence. So parhalado also entered the room. Worship ready implemented.
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Church events
1. Church singing
Begins with a church congregation singing. Usually selected for the libretto is in compliance with sundays in the name almanac HKBP. As we know ecclesiastical calendar composed on the basis sunday, sunday as much as 52 in one year. Not organized in the month as we met together. Questions now asked of us, why we sing? The libretto of our church, is as a response to what the God spoken of his altar. Sunday worship the shape is responsoria. Our response to God in worship is the way to pray and sing. So what we want reflexion in the first event in the church? Answer to that according to me is scanty: communication between us has been made possible with God. For a mediator has been standing in the altar. Now I will be able to communicate with God. Without the presence of a mediator, imposible for me to talk to God in the church. So it is a singsong response to the presence of God in the church.
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2. Votum / Introitus / Haleluya / Prayer
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What meaning votum? Means according to me is the dedication sparingly. Votum With that, we believe God is present in the event. When God says "be light," the light that is so. As the meaning of votum. With spoken by liturgis, "In the name of God the Father, and in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and in the name of the Holy Spirit, Who created the heavens and the earth," then God is real, present in the worship. The presence of God the Trinity is the basis of meeting these. Not so clear because the clan, or custom, the worship is conducted. Not because the fathers, not because of background economic, social, cultural, political, but because God's name solely. God is our Father, in the worship that He received His children. He is the Father who keep our lives. Jesus as the Son, is the brother of sinners save us from us, He is the 'help' to call, and sanctify the Church is with him.
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To reflect all that he has done that, we gather to meet with him. In the meeting, he said the content of his heart to us through word and sacrament. Meanwhile, we express the content of our hearts through prayer and the libretto. Many people do not understand the meaning of worship that we like that, so they says that we worship commonly, in case they do not understand it. Had he followed with the understanding as we said above, what he still says that we worship commonly? In addition to the meaning votum as we already said above, then we can also say that with God's holy presence in the worship, the people present in the worship that is sanctified by a holy God. Therefore, the people at the bottom is not expected to come late, because he will not take part sanctified through votum earlier. But the fact is, many people who come too late! Question now is whether those who participated in the late sanctified or not? The answer can be yes, may also not. This depends on the person who is late before. If guilty he admitted that before God, he participated sanctified. If not approved, he would not participate sanctified.
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Votum After that, the next event is the introitus. God says He will fill the hearts through the words that match the name that sunday. While the names of the sunday is the reflection of the work of Christ, from the beginning to the end. As we said above, our congregation is reflective, then from the beginning, God has stated the content of his heart to us through the introitus before. Nas that will guide us in sunday we will Go. Verse is the verse for us. As a response to our word on that, then we render Haleluya three times. We should sing it with joy. But in reality we see in our church, we often sing Haleluya with slow. Worship in on sunday, said that we should render it Haleluya quickly. The argument submitted is like the withdrawal of the shout 'fire ... fire ... fire ...' surely we shout it with a quick and full of emotion. Haleluya is the expression of joy because God has said to us, in the case of God not discuss our sins.
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After Haleluya, we hear that the medium of prayer. As a mediator, he is in the two sides. The first, on the divine and the human side in the second. Votum when he said, he is in the hand of God. When he said prayers, then it is a man of prayer, then he is on the human side. Some people say that the Anglican Church, liturgis it when he said votum, he stood on the altar, but when he raised the prayer, he moved from the altar to the church, and turned to the altar for a prayer is. There's very clear that he is in the two sides. Should we worship in any such case must be implemented. But because it's not implemented since the beginning, then we do not know that such means.
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As we said above, the increase sintua prayer of the church and, therefore, pray that the Lord Jesus is in the self sintua, then we can say the prayer that God will be heard. Lord Jesus also carries the prayers of the church that was in the heart when they are praying in the church-bench when not starting. Because prayer is that our prayers as well, then we must also pray that say: amin in our hearts.
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3. Church singing
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As explained above, the libretto is a response to God, because he was present, He sanctifies us, He has accepted our prayers. How beautiful, if we sing the praise with all your heart. For that we should first have to know the lyrics of the libretto, because we have read the first, because we do not come late, so we can prepare well.
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4.Hukum God
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While we express the content of the heart through the libretto, liturgis will claim the content of the heart of God. He said: "Hear the law of God ..." God is a holy God, in His love He received the faith. But we must know ourselves. Law of God in the Church we are like mirror. God's Law is the will of God, the road that must be adopted by his people. At the time we hear the law of God is read, ougth we find ourselves in the perspective of the will of God. Certainly as a response to that case we ask to pray for strength to do God's will is.
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5. Church singing
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We give a response to the law of God with the libretto. Surely we will sing with all your heart.
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6. Recognition of Sin
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At the time we listen to God's law and we make it as a mirror, then surely we will find ourselves in error. Therefore, we stand before God to confess our sins. Only those who do not realize that one's sins would not stand in front of the Most Holy God, to confess one's sins. Liturgis from the human sin that brings recognition to God. The existence of such liturgis we know that is not read out the sentence-sentence in the agenda, but the event act before God. Therefore, the intonation of voice sintua when the prayer is different from the intonation of speech news remission of sins. Where on this side, he is in the divine when he say remission of sins.
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Because of the application that is Jesus Christ himself, then surely will be granted. That is why we immediately heard God's promise of forgiveness of sin. Whether automatic remission was experienced by every person present in the worship? ofcourse not! Remission was only received by those who truly confess his sin. That is in our worship in the way of Cashew, liturgis after the prayer is finished, we are given the opportunity to confess our sins in private. All the sins that we do it in sunday. Then we hear God's promise of forgiveness of sin. People confess sin and longing will let his sin, they get a remission of sins. Because forgiveness is up to us, then it calls liturgis "Glory to God in a very high place." He was the voice of the human hand. The church will welcome this doxologi with "amin." Current are the we sat back.
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7. Church singing
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Once we receive the remission of sins, so we give a response with the librettist expressed with all our heart and all your soul. As already said above. Worship is our dialogue forms. Through dialogue such, we have encounter with God.
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8. Epistel
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After the singing, the voice liturgis nas epistel for that sunday. Epistel give practical guidance about the direction in daily life. Nas explanation of this we have heard in our church "partangiangan Wijk" we held church every sunday. Now let us listen again to do this on sunday. What about people who do not come at the partangiangan Wijk? Surely he will prepare at home before coming to church, because we have HKBP almanac. Epistel is a practical guide, the liturgis close reading word of God with the greeting "Happy is the people who hear the word of God and do it."
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9 Church singing
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We give a response in the form of a libretto. Lyric surely a statement as to the word of God.
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10. Recognition of Faith
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Libretto after the rise we were invited to stand so that the Recognition of Faith Rasuli. Words are as follows: "Together with the brothers in the faith all over the world ..." the question needs to asked, who intended the brethren in the faith throughout the world? That is certainly not only those who attend Christian at that time, also not the only Christian people who live in the world today, but also Christians who have preceded us. They are brothers, our faith. So when we claim to stand for the faith to believe, is that it means what I say about my faith, it is not different than what the be faith by Nomensen, as well as the Batak people who first receive the Gospel. Just as they stand confess that faith is pure, so we also revealing. Even not only that. There also attend Christian people from generation to come. They present themselves in Christ. For HKBP is one of the shown body of Christ who came from every nation on earth. Christ Church is the body that is not visible, covering all the totality Christians first, now and later. When we understand the HKBP is one shown body of Christ, then when we worship, is the worship of the body of Christ. But there are also people present who do not attend. Just as the Moses in the desert to the nation of Israel, "Not only with you I only binding agreement and the promise of this oath, but with everyone who is here on this day with us, who stand before the Lord our God , and also with every person who is not here this day with us. (Ex. 29:14-16)
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People who attend worship in that - the faith-but not physically present, they are the next-generation predecessor, the period of the next generation and the future. So, if a young man standing there and claim to faith, then in her children's grandchildren also attend soon. Together with the youth, children who have grandchildren in him, and also present to take part in confession. The argument for it is said above, that is in Christ. We say additional argument here, is the Hebrew letter, Levi in Abraham, the father leluhurnya, it also presents tithing to Melchizedek, Abraham, when present in tithing. (Ibr. 7:4-10). In the case at that time Levi has not been born. Levi said the succession presents? Because he is in himself to Abraham, father descendant. Just as it is my understanding when I say the confession stand. I say it is in Christ, and in Christ, present also first-generation and later generations. Would that we agungnya worship!
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In understanding the time, I see, when we say the confession is, I say, before God and his angels; in front of people believe in all time, and also before the evil spirits in the air! The saints who have preceded us, the author of Hebrews called as witnesses, Ibr.12: 1. At that time also, in my imaginary spiritual journey, from the creation of the universe, - as God is the creator of heaven and earth - to Bethlehem, where Christ was born, to Golgata, when Christ was crucified and buried there. Travel is forwarded to the empty tomb, and to Bethany where He ascended to Heaven, even in Heaven with the apostle John, saw the throne and the twenty-four elders are crowned, where we worship them with him. After that came down to earth again, see the ancient Church, the Church until the mid-century Church in the era of Nomensen, to our Church today. Even to the throne soon judgment, which all being judged, and judged me as a person right in front of him. The description is expressed as pastor Pakpahan in the book about the meaning of religious devotions HKBP. Question now is: how to you?
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11 Church News
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Once we confess our faith to believe, it was time we heard the news of fellow members of the family of God. People standing on the side of me that, in addition to the front and behind, is the brother of one father in the Lord. In alliance with God and with each family of God, we heard the news from God, and news from each other. In the news of the church, we heard the news about the birth of a child in the family of faith brother. Normally news that always end with a prayer "I hope God bless the children and their parents." We also participated in the amin-kan is in the heart. When we meet with both parents who are happy that, then we are happy to congratulate them, as an active response to the news we have.
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With the news that is we will hear the plan to be married sister. We must also examine the feasibility of the people who will be married to. When there are things that do not fit according to the RPP (Ruhut Parmahanion Paminsanon = Law maneuver) of our Church, then we must notify it to the clergy to follow them up. But if we do not have to know things like that, then we pray wajiblah plan the wedding, because they are our brother. If we meet them, both parents or both parties, we will remember them, to show that we participated besukacita up the wedding plans.
We also heard the news about the death sorrow the family of God. News senatiasa closed with this prayer: "May God give solace and strength of faith for family members who berdukacita that" we also support prayer is in the heart. As shown from amin said that, then we also went to the house of mourning journey. We reassure people that the sorrow and grief in the house they pray at home each of us, because they are brothers in the Lord.
In the news we hear news about church finances, and other news-weekly. Overall it should be responded to in accordance with kemapuan each of us. Therefore, we should hear the news with a vengeance. However, if we note the attitude of the members of the church in the event, many of them are indifferent, many chat. This is happening because they certainly did not understand the meaning of the news of the church in our worship.
12. Church singing
As news of the repons with that, we shared the same praise to God, while preparing to hear the word of God. Always Remember our response in prayer and praise.
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13 sermon
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As described above, liturgis standing at the altar at the bottom but he is not Christ who stood there, as well as with the clergy who stood at the podium. Priest is the representative of Christ. That is the first word out of the mouth is the 'peace that exceeds all the intellect and heart will keep your mind in Christ Jesus. Amen. "If we see the stand that he is human, then surely there is no blessing that he came from. However, if the eyes of faith we see that he was standing on the altar is the Lord himself, then surely the blessings will flow from him.
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We come to worship in the sunday not only hear for the word of God, but to meet with him and meet with fellow brothers in the family of God. Even if the pastor was preaching not fit with the content of our hearts, but we must realize the goal of worship itself. We will still have the blessing of the meeting. nas Epistel if we say, is practical guidance in life, Evangelium is the Christian doctrine of the faith. So that there is a balance between ethics - practic instructions - that is epistel and doctrine, namely evangelium.
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After the preacher delivered the contents of the heart of God, then as a deputy he was the man of prayer intercession for the content of the world. We also participated in the prayer amin in our hearts. Emphasized the need here, preaching is not the essence of worship sunday. The entire event, the encounter with God is the meaning of worship in HKBP sunday.
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14. Church singing / offerings
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After we heard the sermon, the content is in the breasts of God to do this on sunday, then we shall give a response with the offering. I often hear liturgis said "let,s singing while collecting offerings." Indeed, such events are made. From the expression, the visible event that is the principal singing; in the main event is collect offerings. I should be sparing the words is the "let's collect offerings to God while singing. "The event was not the sideline. In the book of Exodus we read that God commanded Israel that if it came to him, to come with the offering and may not be with empty hands (Kel. 23:15). In addition, we must understand that offering something that is holy, so that the offering should have been prepared from home. We submit that with the joy, because that is God the Father to receive us. Mouth we praise God, praise hands while he was in the dl. If we are consistent with the understanding that the stand at the altar is that he represents the Lord Jesus Christ, according to the scanty liturgis that I have to accept the offerings of the collector. More also must be offered in the table of God, not like now in the box itself. I can not understand what the meaning of the box.
I see in HKBP Bandung Jl. Riau, which liturgis receive offerings, not as in Jl. Cashew, readers who receive news of the church. I really like if we follow HKBP Bandung.
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15 Conclusion: the Prayer + Prayer Our Father + Berkat
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The event will end, we again stand before God, to sent back into daily life. We submit that the more we advance in prayer. He offered to bring it to the presence of God through the prayer liturgis. We also amin prayer in the heart. He received the offering, and we give a response to the libretto: "the grace of thy Lord ...." We not only presents us the money, but the totality of life that is presented to God. As we hear the closing prayer prayer Our Father, we response with doxologi "because you have that ..." After that we sent home with the blessing, namely: the blessing and protection, the attention (I understand the meaning of the Lord set his face "in the understanding of attention , atensi) and His grace. Shine is the glory of the face, it also is with me, just as Moses get it on the mountain of Sinai. Thanks to the last one is peace. Syalom God. And our response is to last three times Amen. Amen, this is not only blessing amin but to amin for each event that we follow from beginning to end. So if we follow the events of worship in the week as described above, we will go home with the blessing of our Lord. We will be changed into a new man in Christ.
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Note end
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Questions arising in the subconscious in the most! When HKBP teach it to the citizens ? At the time I catecism in the year 1965 in HKBP Balige, as long as I remember, it was not taught to us. When the study became sintua in HKBP Menteng, that it is taught to us. But not all sintua understand the meaning of worship in the week that perspective that has been described above. How do the members of the church? Hopefully what is written here can strengthen our faith, and enable us feel beauty and majesty and mystery of worship us. So not too easy to say HKBP worship as something that commonly! Hopefully!
Posted by eben ezer munthe at 05:49 0 comments
Monday, 29 December 2
Senin, 20 April 2009
Jumat, 17 April 2009
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
This article is about the Holy Spirit in Christian belief. For the Holy Spirit in Islam, see Holy Spirit (Islam).
The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. Musée Condé, Chantilly. The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove in the topmost area of painting.
In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ (literally, Anointed), is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ). The Christian theology of the Holy Spirit, or pneumatology, was the last piece of Trinitarian theology to be fully explored and developed. For this reason, there is greater theological diversity among Christian understandings of the Spirit than there is among understandings of the Son (Christology) and of the Father. Within Trinitarian theology, the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the "Third Person" of the Triune God - with the Father being the First Person and the Son the Second Person. There are also distinct understandings of the Holy Spirit by non-Trinitarian groups and some non-Christian groups that also use the term. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, "I am going to sit at the right hand of my father and when I do I will send a helper to you." Most Christians believe that the "helper" Jesus was referring to was the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove in Marian art in combination with The Father, Jesus, the Virgin Mary and angels, as in this scene by Rubens, 17th century.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Doctrine
o 1.1 New Testament background
o 1.2 Mainstream Christianity
* 2 Particular Christian views
o 2.1 Roman Catholicism
o 2.2 Orthodoxy
o 2.3 Pentecostalism
o 2.4 Dispensationalism
o 2.5 The Churches of God movement
o 2.6 Third Wave
o 2.7 Branch Davidian, Some Messianics, and others
* 3 "Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost"
* 4 Gifts and fruit
o 4.1 Fruit of the Spirit
o 4.2 Gifts and filling of the Spirit
+ 4.2.1 Life in the Spirit'
* 5 Functions of the Holy Spirit
o 5.1 The Conviction of Sin
* 6 Depiction in art
* 7 Non-Trinitarian Christian views
o 7.1 Latter-day Saint views
o 7.2 Jehovah's Witness views
o 7.3 Oneness Pentecostalism
o 7.4 Unity Church views
o 7.5 Roman Catholic views on Unitarianism
* 8 Non-Christian views
o 8.1 Bahá'í Faith
o 8.2 Islam
o 8.3 Judaism
o 8.4 Mandaeanism
o 8.5 Rastafarian view
o 8.6 Sant Mat
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links
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The first mention of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology is in the words of Jesus, speaking to his disciples (John 14:15-18) shortly before his death. He characterizes the Holy Spirit to them as the 'Spirit of Truth'. Chronologically, the Holy Spirit first appears in Luke 1:35 when the angel Gabriel told Mary after being asked how she could conceive a child without having sex, that the Holy Spirit 'will come upon you,' and then at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, when he is baptized in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:31-33). In the latter account, the Holy Spirit is described as descending upon Jesus 'like' or 'as' a dove.
In John's Gospel, emphasis is placed not upon what the Holy Spirit did for Jesus, but upon Jesus giving the Spirit to his disciples. This "Higher" Christology sees Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, and as coming among mankind in order to grant the Spirit of God to humanity.
Although the language used to describe Jesus' receiving the Spirit in John's Gospel is parallel to the accounts in the other three Gospels, John relates this with the aim of showing that Jesus is specially in possession of the Spirit for the purpose of granting the Spirit to his followers, uniting them with himself, and uniting them with the Father. (See Raymond Brown, "The Gospel According to John", chapter on Pneumatology). In the Gospel of John, the gift of the Spirit is equivalent to eternal life, knowledge of God, power to obey, and communion with one another and with the Father.
[edit] Mainstream Christianity
Christians believe that the Holy Spirit leads people to faith in Jesus and gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Holy Spirit dwells inside every Christian, each one's body being his temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit is depicted as a 'Counsellor' or 'Helper' (paracletus in Latin, derived from Greek), guiding people in the way of the truth. The Holy Spirit's action in one's life is believed to produce positive results, known as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. A list of "spiritual gifts" that the Spirit is said to bestow include charismatic gifts of prophecy, tongues, healing, and knowledge. Christians holding a view known as cessationism believe these gifts were given only in New Testament times. Christians almost universally[citation needed] agree that certain spiritual gifts are still in effect today, including the gifts of ministry, teaching, giving, leadership, and mercy (for example, see Romans 12:6-8). Experiencing the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as being anointed.
Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the promised "Advocate" (i.e. "strengthener", "fortifier") in John 14:26. After his resurrection, Christ told his disciples that they would be "baptized with the Holy Spirit", and would receive power from this event (Acts 1:4-8), purportedly fulfilled in the events recounted in the second chapter of Acts of the Apostles. According to the biblical account, on the first Pentecost, Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem when a mighty wind was heard and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard the disciples speaking, and each of them heard them speaking in his or her native language.
The Holy Spirit's existence is affirmed in the Apostles Creed and responsibility for the Virgin Birth of Jesus is asserted. In the Nicene Creed (an extensive elaboration of the Apostles Creed), the Holy Spirit is further affirmed to proceed from either one or both of the other members of the Trinity (God the Father and God the Son) (see filioque controversy). This is taken to further imply that the Holy Spirit is consubstantial and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is also asserted to be the "Lord and Giver of Life".
The Gospel of Matthew 12:31-32, states that the one sin that God will not forgive, and will result in eternal condemnation is blasphemy against the holy spirit: "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
[edit] Particular Christian views
[edit] Roman Catholicism
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, in the first paragraph dealing with the Apostles Creed's article, I believe in the Holy Spirit: "No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who 'has spoken through the prophets' makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who 'unveils' Christ to us 'will not speak on His own.'" According to the Catechism, "the world cannot receive [the Spirit], because It neither sees him nor knows him", while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because He dwells with them."
Painting depicting the Marriage of the Virgin; the Holy Spirit descends of the on the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, by Ludovico Carracci, 1587.
As regards the Holy Spirit's relationship with the Church, the Catechism states: "The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit...Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity...Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the Head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church's sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body."
The Catechism also speaks of various symbols used in the Bible for the Holy Spirit:
* Water - signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism. As "by one Spirit we were all baptized", so we are also "made to drink of one Spirit". (1 Corinthians 12:13) Thus the Spirit is also personally the living water welling up from Christ crucified (John 19:34; 1 John 5:8) as its source and welling up in us to eternal life. (Cf. John 4:10-14; John 7:38; Exodus 17:1-6; Isaiah 55:1; Zechariah 14:8; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Revelation 21:6; 22:17) However, in the Bible, John's baptism of water alone is incomplete.
The Holy Spirit is depicted in a variety of settings in Roman Catholic Marian art, as in this scene by Filippo Lippi, 1459.
* Anointing - The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. (Cf. 1 John 2:20,27; 2 Corinthians 1:21) In Christian initiation, anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation, called "chrismation" in the Eastern Churches. Its full force can be grasped only in relation to the primary anointing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, that of Jesus. Christ (in Hebrew, messiah) means the one "anointed" by God's Spirit.
* Fire - symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. In the form of tongues "as of fire", the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself.
* Cloud and light - The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and overshadowed" Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'" (Luke 9:34-35)
* The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. (John 6:27; cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:3) Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by these three unrepeatable sacraments.
* The hand. It is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The Epistle to the Hebrews lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of its teaching. The Church has kept this sign of the all-powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its sacramental epicleses.
* The finger of God. "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God", then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." (Exodus 31:18; 2 Corinthians 3:3)
* The dove. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. (Matthew 3:16)
[edit] Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy proclaims that the Father is the eternal source of the Godhead, from whom the Son is begotten eternally, and also from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally. Note that unlike the Roman Catholic Church and western Christianity in general, the Orthodox Church does not espouse the use of the Filioque ("and the Son") in describing the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is believed to eternally proceed from the Father, not from the Father and the Son. Orthodox doctrine regarding the Holy Trinity is summarized in the Symbol of Faith (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). Oriental Orthodox usage coincide with Eastern Orthodox usage and teachings on the matter.
[edit] Pentecostalism
See also: Pentecostalism
The Holy Spirit descending at Pentecost by Anthony van Dyck, circa 1618.
The Christian movement called Pentecostalism derives its name from the event of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit when Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem (see Acts 2). Pentecostals believe that when a believer is "baptized in the Holy Spirit", the gifts of the Spirit (also called the charismata) are activated in the recipient to edify the Body of Christ, the Church. Some of these gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12.
The Pentecostal movement places special emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, and especially on the gifts mentioned above, believing that they are still given today. Much of Pentecostalism differentiates the 'Baptism with the Holy Spirit' from the salvific born again experience, considering it a usually distinct experience in which the Spirit's power is received by the Christian in a new way, with the belief that the Christian can be more readily used to perform signs, miracles, and wonders for the sake of evangelism or for ministry within the church. There are also many Pentecostals who believe that Spirit baptism is a necessary element in salvation, not a "second blessing". These Pentecostals believe that in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit is released in their lives.
Many Pentecostals believe that the normative initial evidence of this infilling (baptism) of the Holy Spirit is the ability to speak in other tongues (glossolalia), and that tongues are one of several spiritual manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual believer's life.
[edit] Dispensationalism
According to dispensationalism, we are now living in the Age of the Spirit, or Church Age. The Old Testament period, under this view, may be called the Age of the Father, or of the (Mosaic) law; the period covered by the Gospels, the Age of the Son; from Pentecost until the second advent of Christ, the Age of the Spirit (see also Joachim of Fiore).
The Mosaic Law was still in effect up to the time when Jesus Christ (the second person of the Trinity) died on a Roman cross, was buried and rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). The church age was fully established at Pentecost where the disciples were given the Holy Spirit, and sent out by him to plant his church in the world.
The church age is said to close with the second coming of Christ.
[edit] The Churches of God movement
In Scripture, the Hebrew word most frequently used for "spirit" is ruach (רוח) meaning "breath, wind, spirit". In the Greek Scriptures, the word is pneuma, having a similar meaning.
The The Anderson Churches of God[1] believe that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons within the Holy Trinity. As the promised comforter (John 16:7),[2] the Holy Spirit comes into the life not only as a gift but an experience. Through the infilling and work of the Holy Spirit a Christian grows in their relationship with God and there is an instilling of wisdom, understanding, and an increasing of faith and strength. The Holy Spirit is offered generously through God's love, but given only to those that seek him.
[edit] Third Wave
The expression Third Wave was coined by Christian theologian Charles Peter Wagner around 1980 to describe what followers believe to be the recent historical work of the Holy Spirit. It is part of the larger Neocharismatic movement. The Third Wave involves those Christians who have allegedly received Pentecostal-like experiences. Most third wave people, like the vineyard churches do see themselves as a part of the world wide Pentecostal movement, with the charismatic movement as the second and the Pentecostal movement as the first wave. Today all three waves of Pentecostal movements are increasingly mixed into each other.
[edit] Branch Davidian, Some Messianics, and others
There are numerous Christian groups who base their understanding of the Holy Spirit on the fact that the Hebrew word for Spirit, ruach, is feminine. They give no weight to the facts that the Greek word for Spirit (pneuma) is neuter, and the Latin term is masculine, because the Logos ("oracles" - words) of God are said to be given unto the Jews (Rom. 3:1, 2).
Foremost among these groups, and the most vocal on the subject are the Branch Davidian. In 1977, one of their leaders, Lois Roden, began to formally teach that the feminine Holy Spirit is the heavenly pattern of women. In her many studies and talks she cited numerous scholars and researchers from Jewish, Christian, and other sources.
They see in the creation of Adam and Eve a literal image and likeness of the invisible Godhead, Male and Female, who is "clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. 1:20). They take the oneness of God to mean the "familial" unity which exists between them, which unity is not seen in any other depiction of the Godhead by the various non-Hebrew peoples.
Thus, having a father and mother in heaven, they see that the Bible shows that those parents had a son born unto them before the creation of the world, by whom all things were created. The final element in their belief that mankind is literally made in the image and likeness of Gods is that of a divine daughter, a feminine counterpart of the son. They say that the concept has it roots in the Bible and the Jewish concept of the Matronit. They believe that the King James translators understood the concept of Christ having his own spirit (feminine counterpart), by using the terms "Holy Spirit" (Mother - Spirit of God), and "Holy Ghost" (Daughter - Spirit of Christ).[3][4][5][6]
There are some other independent Messianic groups with similar teachings.[7]
Some scholars associated with more "mainstream" denominations, while not necessarily indicative of the denominations themselves, have written works explaining a feminine understanding of the third member of the Godhead.[8][9] For example, R.P. Nettlehorst, professor at the Quartz Hill School of Theology (associated with the Southern Baptist Convention) has written on the subject.[10] Evan Randolph, associated with the Episcopal Church, has likewise written on the subject.[11]
[edit] "Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost"
The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Annunciation by Rubens, 1628
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, the Catholic Douay Rheims Bible and the King James Version (KJV), and is still widely used in England and Scotland, and by other English speakers whose religious vocabulary is largely derived from the KJV. The term is still retained in the traditional-language rites of the Anglican Church. The original meaning of the English word ghost closely paralleled 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.[12]
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.
[edit] Gifts and fruit
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[edit] Fruit of the Spirit
Main article: Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Christians believe the "Fruit of the Spirit" consists of virtues engendered in an individual by the acceptance of the Spirit and his actions in one's life. They can be found in the New Testament (Galatians 5:22-23): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love (Gk: agape), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control". The Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1832), lists 12 segments making up the Fruit of the Holy Spirit: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, [and] chastity." Many Christians believe that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is enhanced over time by exposure to the written word of God and by the experience of leading a Christian life. They further believe that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit consists of products of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: "wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord."
[edit] Gifts and filling of the Spirit
Main article: Spiritual gift
The Holy Spirit, The Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel in an Annunciation scene by Philippe de Champaigne 1644.
Some Christians believe that when they align themselves with God through Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit dwells inside of them. Some consider conversion to be the point of filling; others hold to a "later filling", "second work of grace", or "baptism of the Spirit" when a believer begins manifesting various gifts and abilities. The Holy Spirit empowers the believer for ministry in the church and world and allows him or her to commune with the Creator.
The Sevenfold or Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out on a believer at baptism (accordant to Saint Ambrose) are the: 1. Spirit of Wisdom; 2. Spirit of Understanding; 3. Spirit of Counsel; 4. Spirit of Strength; 5. Spirit of Knowledge; 6. Spirit of Godliness; 7. Spirit of Holy Fear; (from De Sacramentis 3.8). Ambrose believed that all of these were poured out on the believer at baptism.
Another understanding of Gifts of the Spirit holds that different gifts are given to different people, perhaps even at different times, according to the needs of the church, to carry out God's work on earth. Saint Paul believed that all Christians should work together, each with different functions like the parts of a human body, as discussed at 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
From this perspective, the Holy Spirit can manifest gifts of many kinds, that may enable a person to:
* Be called as an 'apostle' (sent one, missionary), a pastor, or a holy person;
* Consistently open one's home in hospitality;
* Discern needs for, and extend, mercy
* Discern spiritual, physical and mental conditions;
* Evangelize (spread the Good News);
* Exorcise evil spirits from the possessed;
* Feel the presence of God, powerful sensations through the body, or an overwhelming sense of joy;
* Have a strong, personal connection to God;
* Have visions;
* Hear God speak;
* Love and forgive supernaturally;
* Perform miracles
* Possess special wisdom, revealed knowledge or supernatural faith;
* Prophesy;
* Raise the dead;
* See angels and demons.
* Speak in or interpret different languages, including glossolalia (speaking in tongues) or religious xenoglossia (speaking in an unlearned language);
* Understand the Word of God and teach from it;
* Use one's life to help others;
There are four listings of gifts of the Spirit in the Bible. Isaiah 11:2-3, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-12, and Romans 12:6-8. In each of these references it is made clear that these gifts are for the building up of the Body of Christ, or the Church. Paul taught that spiritual power manifests its presence, role and importance in the church. These are to be distinguished from talents that all people enjoy because they are created in the image of God. Spiritual gifts provide the power and abilities needed to do the work of Christ in the world.
Some Christians, especially of Eastern Orthodoxy, believe that early fathers were especially guided by the Holy Spirit, making their writings almost as canonical as the Testaments.
Numerous other supernatural occurrences have been linked to the Holy Spirit, and it is believed by many Christians that the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested more in some than it is in others depending on the individual's openness to God using them and the Spirit's sovereign will.
[edit] Life in the Spirit'
Evangelical Christians generally hold that Life in the Spirit is often spoken of in the Bible, based on comments from various theological scholars, including Dr. Gilbert Stafford, who states in his book, Theology for Disciples, "The church was empowered both to increase numerically and to live a quality of life." In view of this, they maintain that the work of the Holy Spirit should be evident in the lives of all Christians. This can be seen as three separate movements, the conviction of sin, the holiness of character, and for power in service.
[edit] Functions of the Holy Spirit
[edit] The Conviction of Sin
This is an on going ministry and work of the Holy Spirit. It was first spoken of by Jesus as recorded in John 16:8.[13] His purpose is to turn people towards God. The Holy Spirit convicts non-Christians of their sin (of rejecting Jesus as the Christ) so that they might believe in Jesus Christ and be saved (verse 9). The Holy Spirit then convicts (or reminds) Christians of their righteousness or "right standing" before God through the blood of Jesus Christ (verse 10). The presence of the Holy Spirit will bring to light any sin in a Christan so that the person can repent and live a life pleasing to God, but he will not accuse a person of past sins or stir up guilt.[14] Guilt and condemnation within a Christian are from the devil.[15]
Holiness, and the Holiness movement, at times has been looked upon as legalism, and sometimes went that path. Yet the call to holiness of character should not be perverted by history. One who follows Jesus and is indwelled by the Spirit and submitting to that Spirit will live a life that has the fruit of the Spirit coming out of it, but this is not only for the recipients' benefit, but to serve God and others. The purpose of service within the Kingdom of God is to glorify God, and to extend the purposes and ministry of the kingdom, as stated in Acts 1:8.[16]
[edit] Depiction in art
Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino, circa 1498
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, based on the account of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove when he was baptized in the Jordan. In many paintings of the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit is shown in the form of a dove, coming down towards Mary on beams of light, representing the Seven Gifts, as the Archangel Gabriel's announces Christ's coming to Mary. A dove may also be seen at the ear of Saint Gregory the Great - as recorded by his secretary - or other Church Father authors, dictating their works to them.
The dove also parallels the one that brought the olive branch to Noah after the deluge (also a symbol of peace), and Rabbinic traditions that doves above the water signify the presence of God.
The book of Acts describes the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles at Pentecost in the form of a wind and tongues of fire resting over the apostles' heads. Based on the imagery in that account, the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized by a flame of fire.
[edit] Non-Trinitarian Christian views
In the belief of many nontrinitarian religions — Christadelphians, Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses, for instance — the Holy Spirit is God's spirit or God's active force, and not an actual person. These beliefs may be drawn from passages such Luke 1:35: "The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" Here the phrase Holy Spirit is taken by non-trinitarians to be Synonymous parallelism with the power of the Most High. Thus their claim that Holy Spirit is considered to be God's power, not a person. However, Trinitarians take this very phrase to indicate a distinct entity, separate from God the Father, being that this usage is no different from a phrase such as "The Ambassador will present himself to the President, and represent to her the Graces of the Emperor " does not mean that the Ambassador is not a distinct entity from that of the Emperor (which is the view of the non trinitarians).
Some Christadelphians believe that one way God uses his Holy Spirit is in the form of his angels.[17] They also believe that sometimes the phrase Holy Spirit refers to God's character/mind, depending on the context that the phrase is in.[17], but reject the orthodox Christian view that we need strength, guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, believing instead that the spirit a believer needs within themselves is the mind/character of God, which is developed in a believer by their reading of the Bible and trying to live by what it says during the events of their lives which God uses to help shape their character. It has therefore some similarities with Pelagianism with the belief that our free will combined with Biblical knowledge alone can create the mind/ character of God in us through the events of life.
[edit] Latter-day Saint views
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the name "Holy Spirit" has many references, depending on its usage and the context in which it appears. The term "Holy Spirit" can denote the Holy Ghost; Spirit; the Spirit of God; Spirit of the Lord; Spirit of Christ (or Light of Christ) or even Spirit of Truth. Latter-day Saints teach that these terms are distinct from one another, showing the many aspects and/or functions of God. For example, the Spirit of God has been used as a synonym for the "Holy Ghost", which is a usage that denotes the nature of the Holy Ghost, a distinct personage of the Spirit and an actual distinct and separate person of the Godhead. Spirit of God has also been used to denote a force or power which is impersonal and fills the immensity of space. This latter use is not the Holy Ghost, but denotes a "non-personage", as the Power of God or the Light of God that emanates everywhere.
Examples of these distinctions are shown within the Bible (King James Version) verses as:
* Holy Spirit - Psalm 51:11; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 1:13
* Spirit - Romans 8:16
* Spirit of God - Genesis 1:2; Exodus 31:1; 1 Samuel 11:6; Romans 15:19
* Spirit of the Lord - Judges 3:10; Isaiah 11:2; Acts 8:39
* Spirit of Christ - Romans 8:9 (notice here how the word "Spirit" is linked to "Spirit of God" and the "Spirit of Christ"); 1 Peter 1:11
* Light of Christ - 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 5:14; 1 John 1:7
* Spirit of Truth - John 14:17; John 16:13; 1 John 4:6
There are many other such references within the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Holy Ghost is considered a third and individual member of the Godhead; by virtue of their holy nature and the everlasting covenant existent between them, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit operate as 'One God' (united in the attributes of perfection and pursuit of a common, divine goal). The Holy Spirit exists as a distinct and separate being from the Father and the Son, having a body of spirit with no flesh and bones, whereas the Father and the Son are said to be resurrected individuals having glorified immortalized bodies of flesh and bone. Though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is technically "Non-Trinitarian", their belief in the Godhead is often misinterpreted as an endorsement of Trinitarianism.
One may feel the influence of the Holy Ghost before baptism, but may not have the Gift of The Holy Ghost.
[edit] Jehovah's Witness views
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that personification of the Holy Spirit in the Bible does not necessitate that it is a person. They refer to scriptures where the Holy Spirit is referred to impersonally to assert that references of this manner would not occur in such frequency if this was a divine member of God, just as it does not occur with the Father or the Son. They also make reference to the Jesus' baptism at Matthew 3:16, at which time Jesus received God's spirit, which they believe conflicts with the idea that the Son was always one with the Holy Spirit. They also cite as conspicuous, scriptures that mention the Father and the Son, but that do not mention the Holy Sprit, such as Mark 13:32 and Acts 7:55, 56.
In regard to scriptures that mention the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together (as in 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; Matthew 28:19), they assert that none of these verses offer any evidence of the equality of nature or authority among them, just as the numerous simultaneous references to "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" or "Peter, James and John" do not imply equality. Alvan Lamson says in The Church of the First Three Centuries: "The modern popular doctrine of the Trinity . . . derives no support from the language of Justin Martyr: and this observation may be extended to all the ante-Nicene Fathers; that is, to all Christian writers for three centuries after the birth of Christ. It is true, they speak of the Father, Son, and . . . Holy Spirit, but not as co-equal, not as one numerical essence, not as Three in One, in any sense now admitted by Trinitarians. The very reverse is the fact." In fairness however, it should be noted that while not explicitly expressing the Trinity in words these very Apocrypha writings from Justin Martyr and many others of ante-Nicene Fathers from A.D. 70 on, do refer to the duality of Jesus and the Father, Jesus being worshiped and referred to as their God.[18]
[edit] Oneness Pentecostalism
Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God himself both in action and in person. They believe the Holy Ghost is not a distinct individual in personage, or in personality apart from or together with God. They believe the Holy Spirit simply is God. They also believe that the Holy Spirit is the life giving power of the body of the man Jesus Christ both before death and after his resurrection, and that in heaven Jesus will be the visible appearance of God on the throne, of whom the church will be his bride. They believe the Spirit of Jesus is the same Spirit that moved over the face of the waters in Genesis 1, spoke to Moses from the burning bush,is the Comforter of John 14, and filled believers in the book of Acts. They believe his human flesh was created by himself and that he chose to dwell with man in this way. They believe that Jesus' body had a spirit until death, just as any live body has a spirit until separated by death, but believe the spirit of Jesus Christ is the Holy Spirit of God and therefore was able to return to and raise his human body from the grave. They believe the Holy Spirit had been manifested many times throughout biblical history as the burning bush, a pillar of fire, a finger writing on a wall, or even as angelic forms that spoke to Abraham, Gideon, and even wrestled with Jacob, but the greatest of all manifestations of the Holy Spirit was in the infant human form that was born of the virgin Mary in the city of Bethlehem. The Bible says he was conceived by the Holy Sprit, and that he would be called Emanuel, meaning God with us. This was the only form that God ever took that was born flesh and blood, and that could legally take away the sins of the whole world in which he loves so dearly. In this manifestation he would have to be tempted in all ways such as us, yet without sin. He was unlimited as God, but chose limit himself to the form and weaknesses of a natural, finite man. He would have to mind and obey his parents, pray to and obey his heavenly Father, live through life's tempations, yet remaining perfect, with out sin. This was only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside his earthly body.
[edit] Unity Church views
The Unity Church's co-founder Charles Fillmore considered the Holy Spirit a distinctly feminine aspect of God.
To the Christian metaphysician the Holy Spirit is just what the name implies, the whole Spirit of God in action. In the Hebrew Jehovah is written Yahweh, Yah being masculine and weh feminine.
In the New Testament Christ stands for Jehovah. Jesus talked a great deal about the Holy Spirit: that it would bear witness of him, come with him, and help him to the end of the age.
Do not be misled by the personality of the Holy Spirit and the reference to it as "he." This was the bias of the Oriental mind, making God and all forms of the Deity masculine.
Holy Spirit is the love of Jehovah taking care of the human family, and love is always feminine. Love is the great harmonizer and healer, and whoever calls upon God as Holy Spirit for healing is calling upon the divine love. Jesus Christ Heals, pp. 182-183
[edit] Roman Catholic views on Unitarianism
The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove by Tiepolo, in a scene of the Assumption, 1767
There are many Roman Catholic writings that attempt to explain how the Holy Spirit, prior to Pentecost, might have been mistaken as not being a Person of the Trinity. One, the New Catholic Encyclopedia states: "The O[ld] T[estament] clearly does not envisage God's spirit as a person … God's spirit is simply God's power. If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly. … The majority of N[ew] T[estament] texts reveal God's spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God." (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 14, pp. 574, 575).
If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly (Isa. 48:16; 63:11; 32:15). Very rarely do the OT writers attribute to God's spirit emotions or intellectual activity (Isa. 63:10; Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-7). When such expressions are used, they are mere figures of speech that are explained by the fact that the RUAH was regarded also as the seat of intellectual acts and feeling (Gen. 41:8).
Neither is there found in the OT or in rabbinical literature the notion that God's spirit is an intermediary being between God and the world. This activity is proper to the angels, although to them is ascribed some of the activity that elsewhere is ascribed to the spirit of God"
This encyclopedia further states:
"… the NT (New Testament) concepts of the Spirit of God are largely a continuation of those of the OT. … The majority of NT texts reveal God's spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God.
When a quasi-personal activity is ascribed to God's spirit, e.g., speaking, hindering, desiring, dwelling (Acts 8:29; 16:7; Rom.8:9), one is not justified in concluding immediately that in these passages God's spirit is regarded as a Person; the same expressions are used in regard to rhetorically personified things or abstract ideas (see Rom.6:6; 7:17).
Thus the context of the phrase 'blasphemy against the spirit' (Mat.12:31; cf. Mat.12:28; Luke 11:20, see also Eternal sin) shows that reference is being made to the power of God".
Thus, it must be noted that Roman Catholic teaching has always held the Holy Spirit, however depicted, to be a distinct Person of the Trinity, not just an aspect or manifestation of some attribute of the Father or the Son.
According to those who hold the minority (and, for Catholics, heretical) view of Binitarianism, the Holy Spirit is not a separate being, but the Father and the Son are. One such group, the Living Church of God teaches this about the Holy Spirit, "The Holy Spirit is the very essence, the mind, life and power of God. It is not a Being. The Spirit is inherent in the Father and the Son, and emanates from Them throughout the entire universe (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7; Jeremiah 23:24). It was through the Spirit that God created all things (Genesis 1:1-2; Revelation 4:11). It is the power by which Christ maintains the universe (Hebrews 1:2-3). It is given to all who repent of their sins and are baptized (Acts 2:38-39) and is the power (Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:6-7) by which all believers may be "overcomers" (Romans 8:37; Revelation 2:26-27) and will be led to eternal life" (Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs).
The view that the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person has been considered to be heretical by mainstream Christianity, including Roman Catholicism. For example, Epiphanius of Salamis referred to some of those as Semi-Arians and Pneumatomachi ("spirit-fighters") and called them, "A sort of monstrous, half-formed people of two natures … Semi-Arians … hold the truly orthodox view of the Son, that he was forever with the Father...but has been begotten without beginning and not in time … But all of these blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and do not count him in the Godhead with the Father and the Son" (Epiphanius. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80), De Fide). Section VI, Verses 1,1 and 1,3. Translated by Frank Williams. EJ Brill, New York, 1994, pp.471–472)
[edit] Non-Christian views
[edit] Bahá'í Faith
In the Bahá'í Faith, the Holy Spirit, also known as the Most Great Spirit, is seen as the bounty of God.[19] It is usually used to describe the descent of the Spirit of God upon the messengers/prophets of God, which are known as Manifestations of God, and include among others Jesus, Muhammad and Bahá'u'lláh.[20] In Bahá'í belief the Holy Spirit is the conduit through which the wisdom of God becomes directly associated with his messenger, and it has been described variously in different religions such as the burning bush to Moses, the sacred fire to Zoroaster, the dove to Jesus, the angel Gabriel to Muhammad, and the Holy Maiden to Bahá'u'lláh.[21] The Bahá'í view rejects the idea that the Holy Spirit is a partner to God in the Godhead, but rather is a pure reflection of God's attributes.[22]
[edit] Islam
Main article: Holy Spirit (Islam)
Holy Spirit in Islam is an agent of divine action or communication commonly identified with the angel Gabriel (ar: Jibreel) or Ruhul Qudus but also alternatively with the created spirit from God by which he enlivened Adam, made Mary pregnant with Jesus, and inspired the angels and the prophets. The belief in Trinity is explicitly forbidden by the Qur'an and called a grave sin. The same applies to any idea of the duality of God (Allah). [23][24]
[edit] Judaism
In Judaism, the idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical (see Deuteronomy 6:4). Nonetheless, the term Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is found frequently in Talmudic and Midrashic literature. In some cases it signifies prophetic inspiration, while in others it is used as a hypostatization or a metonym for God. [25] The Rabbinic “Holy Spirit,” has a certain degree of personification, but it remains, “a quality belonging to God, one of his attributes” and not, as in Christianity, representative of “any metaphysical divisions in the Godhead.” [26]
See also shekhinah.
[edit] Mandaeanism
Main article: Ruha d-Qudsha
[edit] Rastafarian view
As a movement that developed out of Christianity, Rastafari has its own unique interpretation of both the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit. Although there are several slight variations, they generally state that it is Haile Selassie who embodies both God the Father and God the Son, while the Holy (or rather, "Hola") Spirit is to be found within Rasta believers (see 'I and I'), and within every human being. Rastas also say that the true church is the human body, and that it is this church (or "structure") that contains the Holy Spirit.
This article is about the Holy Spirit in Christian belief. For the Holy Spirit in Islam, see Holy Spirit (Islam).
The Descent of the Holy Spirit in a 15th century illuminated manuscript. Musée Condé, Chantilly. The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove in the topmost area of painting.
In Christianity, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the spirit of God. The term Christ (literally, Anointed), is also used to refer to this presence. That is, the Spirit is considered to act in concert with and share an essential nature with God the Father and God the Son (Jesus Christ). The Christian theology of the Holy Spirit, or pneumatology, was the last piece of Trinitarian theology to be fully explored and developed. For this reason, there is greater theological diversity among Christian understandings of the Spirit than there is among understandings of the Son (Christology) and of the Father. Within Trinitarian theology, the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as the "Third Person" of the Triune God - with the Father being the First Person and the Son the Second Person. There are also distinct understandings of the Holy Spirit by non-Trinitarian groups and some non-Christian groups that also use the term. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, "I am going to sit at the right hand of my father and when I do I will send a helper to you." Most Christians believe that the "helper" Jesus was referring to was the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove in Marian art in combination with The Father, Jesus, the Virgin Mary and angels, as in this scene by Rubens, 17th century.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Doctrine
o 1.1 New Testament background
o 1.2 Mainstream Christianity
* 2 Particular Christian views
o 2.1 Roman Catholicism
o 2.2 Orthodoxy
o 2.3 Pentecostalism
o 2.4 Dispensationalism
o 2.5 The Churches of God movement
o 2.6 Third Wave
o 2.7 Branch Davidian, Some Messianics, and others
* 3 "Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost"
* 4 Gifts and fruit
o 4.1 Fruit of the Spirit
o 4.2 Gifts and filling of the Spirit
+ 4.2.1 Life in the Spirit'
* 5 Functions of the Holy Spirit
o 5.1 The Conviction of Sin
* 6 Depiction in art
* 7 Non-Trinitarian Christian views
o 7.1 Latter-day Saint views
o 7.2 Jehovah's Witness views
o 7.3 Oneness Pentecostalism
o 7.4 Unity Church views
o 7.5 Roman Catholic views on Unitarianism
* 8 Non-Christian views
o 8.1 Bahá'í Faith
o 8.2 Islam
o 8.3 Judaism
o 8.4 Mandaeanism
o 8.5 Rastafarian view
o 8.6 Sant Mat
* 9 See also
* 10 References
* 11 External links
[edit] Doctrine
[edit] New Testament background
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The first mention of the Holy Spirit in Christian theology is in the words of Jesus, speaking to his disciples (John 14:15-18) shortly before his death. He characterizes the Holy Spirit to them as the 'Spirit of Truth'. Chronologically, the Holy Spirit first appears in Luke 1:35 when the angel Gabriel told Mary after being asked how she could conceive a child without having sex, that the Holy Spirit 'will come upon you,' and then at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, when he is baptized in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, John 1:31-33). In the latter account, the Holy Spirit is described as descending upon Jesus 'like' or 'as' a dove.
In John's Gospel, emphasis is placed not upon what the Holy Spirit did for Jesus, but upon Jesus giving the Spirit to his disciples. This "Higher" Christology sees Jesus as a sacrificial lamb, and as coming among mankind in order to grant the Spirit of God to humanity.
Although the language used to describe Jesus' receiving the Spirit in John's Gospel is parallel to the accounts in the other three Gospels, John relates this with the aim of showing that Jesus is specially in possession of the Spirit for the purpose of granting the Spirit to his followers, uniting them with himself, and uniting them with the Father. (See Raymond Brown, "The Gospel According to John", chapter on Pneumatology). In the Gospel of John, the gift of the Spirit is equivalent to eternal life, knowledge of God, power to obey, and communion with one another and with the Father.
[edit] Mainstream Christianity
Christians believe that the Holy Spirit leads people to faith in Jesus and gives them the ability to lead a Christian life. The Holy Spirit dwells inside every Christian, each one's body being his temple (1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit is depicted as a 'Counsellor' or 'Helper' (paracletus in Latin, derived from Greek), guiding people in the way of the truth. The Holy Spirit's action in one's life is believed to produce positive results, known as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. A list of "spiritual gifts" that the Spirit is said to bestow include charismatic gifts of prophecy, tongues, healing, and knowledge. Christians holding a view known as cessationism believe these gifts were given only in New Testament times. Christians almost universally[citation needed] agree that certain spiritual gifts are still in effect today, including the gifts of ministry, teaching, giving, leadership, and mercy (for example, see Romans 12:6-8). Experiencing the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as being anointed.
Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the promised "Advocate" (i.e. "strengthener", "fortifier") in John 14:26. After his resurrection, Christ told his disciples that they would be "baptized with the Holy Spirit", and would receive power from this event (Acts 1:4-8), purportedly fulfilled in the events recounted in the second chapter of Acts of the Apostles. According to the biblical account, on the first Pentecost, Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem when a mighty wind was heard and tongues of fire appeared over their heads. A multilingual crowd heard the disciples speaking, and each of them heard them speaking in his or her native language.
The Holy Spirit's existence is affirmed in the Apostles Creed and responsibility for the Virgin Birth of Jesus is asserted. In the Nicene Creed (an extensive elaboration of the Apostles Creed), the Holy Spirit is further affirmed to proceed from either one or both of the other members of the Trinity (God the Father and God the Son) (see filioque controversy). This is taken to further imply that the Holy Spirit is consubstantial and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is also asserted to be the "Lord and Giver of Life".
The Gospel of Matthew 12:31-32, states that the one sin that God will not forgive, and will result in eternal condemnation is blasphemy against the holy spirit: "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."
[edit] Particular Christian views
[edit] Roman Catholicism
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, in the first paragraph dealing with the Apostles Creed's article, I believe in the Holy Spirit: "No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now God's Spirit, who reveals God, makes known to us Christ, his Word, his living Utterance, but the Spirit does not speak of himself. The Spirit who 'has spoken through the prophets' makes us hear the Father's Word, but we do not hear the Spirit himself. We know him only in the movement by which he reveals the Word to us and disposes us to welcome him in faith. The Spirit of truth who 'unveils' Christ to us 'will not speak on His own.'" According to the Catechism, "the world cannot receive [the Spirit], because It neither sees him nor knows him", while those who believe in Christ know the Spirit because He dwells with them."
Painting depicting the Marriage of the Virgin; the Holy Spirit descends of the on the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, by Ludovico Carracci, 1587.
As regards the Holy Spirit's relationship with the Church, the Catechism states: "The mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit is brought to completion in the Church, which is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit...Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the Church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity...Because the Holy Spirit is the anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the Head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church's sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body."
The Catechism also speaks of various symbols used in the Bible for the Holy Spirit:
* Water - signifies the Holy Spirit's action in Baptism. As "by one Spirit we were all baptized", so we are also "made to drink of one Spirit". (1 Corinthians 12:13) Thus the Spirit is also personally the living water welling up from Christ crucified (John 19:34; 1 John 5:8) as its source and welling up in us to eternal life. (Cf. John 4:10-14; John 7:38; Exodus 17:1-6; Isaiah 55:1; Zechariah 14:8; 1 Corinthians 10:4; Revelation 21:6; 22:17) However, in the Bible, John's baptism of water alone is incomplete.
The Holy Spirit is depicted in a variety of settings in Roman Catholic Marian art, as in this scene by Filippo Lippi, 1459.
* Anointing - The symbolism of anointing with oil also signifies the Holy Spirit, to the point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit. (Cf. 1 John 2:20,27; 2 Corinthians 1:21) In Christian initiation, anointing is the sacramental sign of Confirmation, called "chrismation" in the Eastern Churches. Its full force can be grasped only in relation to the primary anointing accomplished by the Holy Spirit, that of Jesus. Christ (in Hebrew, messiah) means the one "anointed" by God's Spirit.
* Fire - symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions. In the form of tongues "as of fire", the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself.
* Cloud and light - The Spirit comes upon the Virgin Mary and "overshadows" her, so that she might conceive and give birth to Jesus. On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the "cloud came and overshadowed" Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and "a voice came out of the cloud, saying, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'" (Luke 9:34-35)
* The seal is a symbol close to that of anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. (John 6:27; cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:3) Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by these three unrepeatable sacraments.
* The hand. It is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The Epistle to the Hebrews lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of its teaching. The Church has kept this sign of the all-powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its sacramental epicleses.
* The finger of God. "It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons." If God's law was written on tablets of stone "by the finger of God", then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written "with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts." (Exodus 31:18; 2 Corinthians 3:3)
* The dove. When Christ comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes down upon him and remains with him. (Matthew 3:16)
[edit] Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy proclaims that the Father is the eternal source of the Godhead, from whom the Son is begotten eternally, and also from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds eternally. Note that unlike the Roman Catholic Church and western Christianity in general, the Orthodox Church does not espouse the use of the Filioque ("and the Son") in describing the procession of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is believed to eternally proceed from the Father, not from the Father and the Son. Orthodox doctrine regarding the Holy Trinity is summarized in the Symbol of Faith (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). Oriental Orthodox usage coincide with Eastern Orthodox usage and teachings on the matter.
[edit] Pentecostalism
See also: Pentecostalism
The Holy Spirit descending at Pentecost by Anthony van Dyck, circa 1618.
The Christian movement called Pentecostalism derives its name from the event of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit when Jesus' disciples were gathered in Jerusalem (see Acts 2). Pentecostals believe that when a believer is "baptized in the Holy Spirit", the gifts of the Spirit (also called the charismata) are activated in the recipient to edify the Body of Christ, the Church. Some of these gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12.
The Pentecostal movement places special emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit, and especially on the gifts mentioned above, believing that they are still given today. Much of Pentecostalism differentiates the 'Baptism with the Holy Spirit' from the salvific born again experience, considering it a usually distinct experience in which the Spirit's power is received by the Christian in a new way, with the belief that the Christian can be more readily used to perform signs, miracles, and wonders for the sake of evangelism or for ministry within the church. There are also many Pentecostals who believe that Spirit baptism is a necessary element in salvation, not a "second blessing". These Pentecostals believe that in the baptism in the Holy Spirit, the power of the Spirit is released in their lives.
Many Pentecostals believe that the normative initial evidence of this infilling (baptism) of the Holy Spirit is the ability to speak in other tongues (glossolalia), and that tongues are one of several spiritual manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit in an individual believer's life.
[edit] Dispensationalism
According to dispensationalism, we are now living in the Age of the Spirit, or Church Age. The Old Testament period, under this view, may be called the Age of the Father, or of the (Mosaic) law; the period covered by the Gospels, the Age of the Son; from Pentecost until the second advent of Christ, the Age of the Spirit (see also Joachim of Fiore).
The Mosaic Law was still in effect up to the time when Jesus Christ (the second person of the Trinity) died on a Roman cross, was buried and rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). The church age was fully established at Pentecost where the disciples were given the Holy Spirit, and sent out by him to plant his church in the world.
The church age is said to close with the second coming of Christ.
[edit] The Churches of God movement
In Scripture, the Hebrew word most frequently used for "spirit" is ruach (רוח) meaning "breath, wind, spirit". In the Greek Scriptures, the word is pneuma, having a similar meaning.
The The Anderson Churches of God[1] believe that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons within the Holy Trinity. As the promised comforter (John 16:7),[2] the Holy Spirit comes into the life not only as a gift but an experience. Through the infilling and work of the Holy Spirit a Christian grows in their relationship with God and there is an instilling of wisdom, understanding, and an increasing of faith and strength. The Holy Spirit is offered generously through God's love, but given only to those that seek him.
[edit] Third Wave
The expression Third Wave was coined by Christian theologian Charles Peter Wagner around 1980 to describe what followers believe to be the recent historical work of the Holy Spirit. It is part of the larger Neocharismatic movement. The Third Wave involves those Christians who have allegedly received Pentecostal-like experiences. Most third wave people, like the vineyard churches do see themselves as a part of the world wide Pentecostal movement, with the charismatic movement as the second and the Pentecostal movement as the first wave. Today all three waves of Pentecostal movements are increasingly mixed into each other.
[edit] Branch Davidian, Some Messianics, and others
There are numerous Christian groups who base their understanding of the Holy Spirit on the fact that the Hebrew word for Spirit, ruach, is feminine. They give no weight to the facts that the Greek word for Spirit (pneuma) is neuter, and the Latin term is masculine, because the Logos ("oracles" - words) of God are said to be given unto the Jews (Rom. 3:1, 2).
Foremost among these groups, and the most vocal on the subject are the Branch Davidian. In 1977, one of their leaders, Lois Roden, began to formally teach that the feminine Holy Spirit is the heavenly pattern of women. In her many studies and talks she cited numerous scholars and researchers from Jewish, Christian, and other sources.
They see in the creation of Adam and Eve a literal image and likeness of the invisible Godhead, Male and Female, who is "clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made" (Rom. 1:20). They take the oneness of God to mean the "familial" unity which exists between them, which unity is not seen in any other depiction of the Godhead by the various non-Hebrew peoples.
Thus, having a father and mother in heaven, they see that the Bible shows that those parents had a son born unto them before the creation of the world, by whom all things were created. The final element in their belief that mankind is literally made in the image and likeness of Gods is that of a divine daughter, a feminine counterpart of the son. They say that the concept has it roots in the Bible and the Jewish concept of the Matronit. They believe that the King James translators understood the concept of Christ having his own spirit (feminine counterpart), by using the terms "Holy Spirit" (Mother - Spirit of God), and "Holy Ghost" (Daughter - Spirit of Christ).[3][4][5][6]
There are some other independent Messianic groups with similar teachings.[7]
Some scholars associated with more "mainstream" denominations, while not necessarily indicative of the denominations themselves, have written works explaining a feminine understanding of the third member of the Godhead.[8][9] For example, R.P. Nettlehorst, professor at the Quartz Hill School of Theology (associated with the Southern Baptist Convention) has written on the subject.[10] Evan Randolph, associated with the Episcopal Church, has likewise written on the subject.[11]
[edit] "Holy Spirit" or "Holy Ghost"
The Holy Spirit as a dove in the Annunciation by Rubens, 1628
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, the Catholic Douay Rheims Bible and the King James Version (KJV), and is still widely used in England and Scotland, and by other English speakers whose religious vocabulary is largely derived from the KJV. The term is still retained in the traditional-language rites of the Anglican Church. The original meaning of the English word ghost closely paralleled 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.[12]
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.
[edit] Gifts and fruit
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[edit] Fruit of the Spirit
Main article: Fruit of the Holy Spirit
Christians believe the "Fruit of the Spirit" consists of virtues engendered in an individual by the acceptance of the Spirit and his actions in one's life. They can be found in the New Testament (Galatians 5:22-23): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love (Gk: agape), joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control". The Tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1832), lists 12 segments making up the Fruit of the Holy Spirit: "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, [and] chastity." Many Christians believe that the fruit of the Holy Spirit is enhanced over time by exposure to the written word of God and by the experience of leading a Christian life. They further believe that the Fruit of the Holy Spirit consists of products of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: "wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord."
[edit] Gifts and filling of the Spirit
Main article: Spiritual gift
The Holy Spirit, The Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel in an Annunciation scene by Philippe de Champaigne 1644.
Some Christians believe that when they align themselves with God through Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit dwells inside of them. Some consider conversion to be the point of filling; others hold to a "later filling", "second work of grace", or "baptism of the Spirit" when a believer begins manifesting various gifts and abilities. The Holy Spirit empowers the believer for ministry in the church and world and allows him or her to commune with the Creator.
The Sevenfold or Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out on a believer at baptism (accordant to Saint Ambrose) are the: 1. Spirit of Wisdom; 2. Spirit of Understanding; 3. Spirit of Counsel; 4. Spirit of Strength; 5. Spirit of Knowledge; 6. Spirit of Godliness; 7. Spirit of Holy Fear; (from De Sacramentis 3.8). Ambrose believed that all of these were poured out on the believer at baptism.
Another understanding of Gifts of the Spirit holds that different gifts are given to different people, perhaps even at different times, according to the needs of the church, to carry out God's work on earth. Saint Paul believed that all Christians should work together, each with different functions like the parts of a human body, as discussed at 1 Corinthians chapter 12.
From this perspective, the Holy Spirit can manifest gifts of many kinds, that may enable a person to:
* Be called as an 'apostle' (sent one, missionary), a pastor, or a holy person;
* Consistently open one's home in hospitality;
* Discern needs for, and extend, mercy
* Discern spiritual, physical and mental conditions;
* Evangelize (spread the Good News);
* Exorcise evil spirits from the possessed;
* Feel the presence of God, powerful sensations through the body, or an overwhelming sense of joy;
* Have a strong, personal connection to God;
* Have visions;
* Hear God speak;
* Love and forgive supernaturally;
* Perform miracles
* Possess special wisdom, revealed knowledge or supernatural faith;
* Prophesy;
* Raise the dead;
* See angels and demons.
* Speak in or interpret different languages, including glossolalia (speaking in tongues) or religious xenoglossia (speaking in an unlearned language);
* Understand the Word of God and teach from it;
* Use one's life to help others;
There are four listings of gifts of the Spirit in the Bible. Isaiah 11:2-3, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-12, and Romans 12:6-8. In each of these references it is made clear that these gifts are for the building up of the Body of Christ, or the Church. Paul taught that spiritual power manifests its presence, role and importance in the church. These are to be distinguished from talents that all people enjoy because they are created in the image of God. Spiritual gifts provide the power and abilities needed to do the work of Christ in the world.
Some Christians, especially of Eastern Orthodoxy, believe that early fathers were especially guided by the Holy Spirit, making their writings almost as canonical as the Testaments.
Numerous other supernatural occurrences have been linked to the Holy Spirit, and it is believed by many Christians that the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested more in some than it is in others depending on the individual's openness to God using them and the Spirit's sovereign will.
[edit] Life in the Spirit'
Evangelical Christians generally hold that Life in the Spirit is often spoken of in the Bible, based on comments from various theological scholars, including Dr. Gilbert Stafford, who states in his book, Theology for Disciples, "The church was empowered both to increase numerically and to live a quality of life." In view of this, they maintain that the work of the Holy Spirit should be evident in the lives of all Christians. This can be seen as three separate movements, the conviction of sin, the holiness of character, and for power in service.
[edit] Functions of the Holy Spirit
[edit] The Conviction of Sin
This is an on going ministry and work of the Holy Spirit. It was first spoken of by Jesus as recorded in John 16:8.[13] His purpose is to turn people towards God. The Holy Spirit convicts non-Christians of their sin (of rejecting Jesus as the Christ) so that they might believe in Jesus Christ and be saved (verse 9). The Holy Spirit then convicts (or reminds) Christians of their righteousness or "right standing" before God through the blood of Jesus Christ (verse 10). The presence of the Holy Spirit will bring to light any sin in a Christan so that the person can repent and live a life pleasing to God, but he will not accuse a person of past sins or stir up guilt.[14] Guilt and condemnation within a Christian are from the devil.[15]
Holiness, and the Holiness movement, at times has been looked upon as legalism, and sometimes went that path. Yet the call to holiness of character should not be perverted by history. One who follows Jesus and is indwelled by the Spirit and submitting to that Spirit will live a life that has the fruit of the Spirit coming out of it, but this is not only for the recipients' benefit, but to serve God and others. The purpose of service within the Kingdom of God is to glorify God, and to extend the purposes and ministry of the kingdom, as stated in Acts 1:8.[16]
[edit] Depiction in art
Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino, circa 1498
The Holy Spirit is often depicted as a dove, based on the account of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus in the form of a dove when he was baptized in the Jordan. In many paintings of the Annunciation, the Holy Spirit is shown in the form of a dove, coming down towards Mary on beams of light, representing the Seven Gifts, as the Archangel Gabriel's announces Christ's coming to Mary. A dove may also be seen at the ear of Saint Gregory the Great - as recorded by his secretary - or other Church Father authors, dictating their works to them.
The dove also parallels the one that brought the olive branch to Noah after the deluge (also a symbol of peace), and Rabbinic traditions that doves above the water signify the presence of God.
The book of Acts describes the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles at Pentecost in the form of a wind and tongues of fire resting over the apostles' heads. Based on the imagery in that account, the Holy Spirit is sometimes symbolized by a flame of fire.
[edit] Non-Trinitarian Christian views
In the belief of many nontrinitarian religions — Christadelphians, Unitarians and Jehovah's Witnesses, for instance — the Holy Spirit is God's spirit or God's active force, and not an actual person. These beliefs may be drawn from passages such Luke 1:35: "The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" Here the phrase Holy Spirit is taken by non-trinitarians to be Synonymous parallelism with the power of the Most High. Thus their claim that Holy Spirit is considered to be God's power, not a person. However, Trinitarians take this very phrase to indicate a distinct entity, separate from God the Father, being that this usage is no different from a phrase such as "The Ambassador will present himself to the President, and represent to her the Graces of the Emperor " does not mean that the Ambassador is not a distinct entity from that of the Emperor (which is the view of the non trinitarians).
Some Christadelphians believe that one way God uses his Holy Spirit is in the form of his angels.[17] They also believe that sometimes the phrase Holy Spirit refers to God's character/mind, depending on the context that the phrase is in.[17], but reject the orthodox Christian view that we need strength, guidance and power from the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, believing instead that the spirit a believer needs within themselves is the mind/character of God, which is developed in a believer by their reading of the Bible and trying to live by what it says during the events of their lives which God uses to help shape their character. It has therefore some similarities with Pelagianism with the belief that our free will combined with Biblical knowledge alone can create the mind/ character of God in us through the events of life.
[edit] Latter-day Saint views
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the name "Holy Spirit" has many references, depending on its usage and the context in which it appears. The term "Holy Spirit" can denote the Holy Ghost; Spirit; the Spirit of God; Spirit of the Lord; Spirit of Christ (or Light of Christ) or even Spirit of Truth. Latter-day Saints teach that these terms are distinct from one another, showing the many aspects and/or functions of God. For example, the Spirit of God has been used as a synonym for the "Holy Ghost", which is a usage that denotes the nature of the Holy Ghost, a distinct personage of the Spirit and an actual distinct and separate person of the Godhead. Spirit of God has also been used to denote a force or power which is impersonal and fills the immensity of space. This latter use is not the Holy Ghost, but denotes a "non-personage", as the Power of God or the Light of God that emanates everywhere.
Examples of these distinctions are shown within the Bible (King James Version) verses as:
* Holy Spirit - Psalm 51:11; Luke 11:13; Ephesians 1:13
* Spirit - Romans 8:16
* Spirit of God - Genesis 1:2; Exodus 31:1; 1 Samuel 11:6; Romans 15:19
* Spirit of the Lord - Judges 3:10; Isaiah 11:2; Acts 8:39
* Spirit of Christ - Romans 8:9 (notice here how the word "Spirit" is linked to "Spirit of God" and the "Spirit of Christ"); 1 Peter 1:11
* Light of Christ - 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 5:14; 1 John 1:7
* Spirit of Truth - John 14:17; John 16:13; 1 John 4:6
There are many other such references within the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price.
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Holy Ghost is considered a third and individual member of the Godhead; by virtue of their holy nature and the everlasting covenant existent between them, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit operate as 'One God' (united in the attributes of perfection and pursuit of a common, divine goal). The Holy Spirit exists as a distinct and separate being from the Father and the Son, having a body of spirit with no flesh and bones, whereas the Father and the Son are said to be resurrected individuals having glorified immortalized bodies of flesh and bone. Though The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is technically "Non-Trinitarian", their belief in the Godhead is often misinterpreted as an endorsement of Trinitarianism.
One may feel the influence of the Holy Ghost before baptism, but may not have the Gift of The Holy Ghost.
[edit] Jehovah's Witness views
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that personification of the Holy Spirit in the Bible does not necessitate that it is a person. They refer to scriptures where the Holy Spirit is referred to impersonally to assert that references of this manner would not occur in such frequency if this was a divine member of God, just as it does not occur with the Father or the Son. They also make reference to the Jesus' baptism at Matthew 3:16, at which time Jesus received God's spirit, which they believe conflicts with the idea that the Son was always one with the Holy Spirit. They also cite as conspicuous, scriptures that mention the Father and the Son, but that do not mention the Holy Sprit, such as Mark 13:32 and Acts 7:55, 56.
In regard to scriptures that mention the Father, Son and Holy Spirit together (as in 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; Matthew 28:19), they assert that none of these verses offer any evidence of the equality of nature or authority among them, just as the numerous simultaneous references to "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" or "Peter, James and John" do not imply equality. Alvan Lamson says in The Church of the First Three Centuries: "The modern popular doctrine of the Trinity . . . derives no support from the language of Justin Martyr: and this observation may be extended to all the ante-Nicene Fathers; that is, to all Christian writers for three centuries after the birth of Christ. It is true, they speak of the Father, Son, and . . . Holy Spirit, but not as co-equal, not as one numerical essence, not as Three in One, in any sense now admitted by Trinitarians. The very reverse is the fact." In fairness however, it should be noted that while not explicitly expressing the Trinity in words these very Apocrypha writings from Justin Martyr and many others of ante-Nicene Fathers from A.D. 70 on, do refer to the duality of Jesus and the Father, Jesus being worshiped and referred to as their God.[18]
[edit] Oneness Pentecostalism
Oneness Pentecostals believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God himself both in action and in person. They believe the Holy Ghost is not a distinct individual in personage, or in personality apart from or together with God. They believe the Holy Spirit simply is God. They also believe that the Holy Spirit is the life giving power of the body of the man Jesus Christ both before death and after his resurrection, and that in heaven Jesus will be the visible appearance of God on the throne, of whom the church will be his bride. They believe the Spirit of Jesus is the same Spirit that moved over the face of the waters in Genesis 1, spoke to Moses from the burning bush,is the Comforter of John 14, and filled believers in the book of Acts. They believe his human flesh was created by himself and that he chose to dwell with man in this way. They believe that Jesus' body had a spirit until death, just as any live body has a spirit until separated by death, but believe the spirit of Jesus Christ is the Holy Spirit of God and therefore was able to return to and raise his human body from the grave. They believe the Holy Spirit had been manifested many times throughout biblical history as the burning bush, a pillar of fire, a finger writing on a wall, or even as angelic forms that spoke to Abraham, Gideon, and even wrestled with Jacob, but the greatest of all manifestations of the Holy Spirit was in the infant human form that was born of the virgin Mary in the city of Bethlehem. The Bible says he was conceived by the Holy Sprit, and that he would be called Emanuel, meaning God with us. This was the only form that God ever took that was born flesh and blood, and that could legally take away the sins of the whole world in which he loves so dearly. In this manifestation he would have to be tempted in all ways such as us, yet without sin. He was unlimited as God, but chose limit himself to the form and weaknesses of a natural, finite man. He would have to mind and obey his parents, pray to and obey his heavenly Father, live through life's tempations, yet remaining perfect, with out sin. This was only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit living inside his earthly body.
[edit] Unity Church views
The Unity Church's co-founder Charles Fillmore considered the Holy Spirit a distinctly feminine aspect of God.
To the Christian metaphysician the Holy Spirit is just what the name implies, the whole Spirit of God in action. In the Hebrew Jehovah is written Yahweh, Yah being masculine and weh feminine.
In the New Testament Christ stands for Jehovah. Jesus talked a great deal about the Holy Spirit: that it would bear witness of him, come with him, and help him to the end of the age.
Do not be misled by the personality of the Holy Spirit and the reference to it as "he." This was the bias of the Oriental mind, making God and all forms of the Deity masculine.
Holy Spirit is the love of Jehovah taking care of the human family, and love is always feminine. Love is the great harmonizer and healer, and whoever calls upon God as Holy Spirit for healing is calling upon the divine love. Jesus Christ Heals, pp. 182-183
[edit] Roman Catholic views on Unitarianism
The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove by Tiepolo, in a scene of the Assumption, 1767
There are many Roman Catholic writings that attempt to explain how the Holy Spirit, prior to Pentecost, might have been mistaken as not being a Person of the Trinity. One, the New Catholic Encyclopedia states: "The O[ld] T[estament] clearly does not envisage God's spirit as a person … God's spirit is simply God's power. If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly. … The majority of N[ew] T[estament] texts reveal God's spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God." (New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Vol. 14, pp. 574, 575).
If it is sometimes represented as being distinct from God, it is because the breath of Yahweh acts exteriorly (Isa. 48:16; 63:11; 32:15). Very rarely do the OT writers attribute to God's spirit emotions or intellectual activity (Isa. 63:10; Wisdom of Solomon 1:3-7). When such expressions are used, they are mere figures of speech that are explained by the fact that the RUAH was regarded also as the seat of intellectual acts and feeling (Gen. 41:8).
Neither is there found in the OT or in rabbinical literature the notion that God's spirit is an intermediary being between God and the world. This activity is proper to the angels, although to them is ascribed some of the activity that elsewhere is ascribed to the spirit of God"
This encyclopedia further states:
"… the NT (New Testament) concepts of the Spirit of God are largely a continuation of those of the OT. … The majority of NT texts reveal God's spirit as something, not someone; this is especially seen in the parallelism between the spirit and the power of God.
When a quasi-personal activity is ascribed to God's spirit, e.g., speaking, hindering, desiring, dwelling (Acts 8:29; 16:7; Rom.8:9), one is not justified in concluding immediately that in these passages God's spirit is regarded as a Person; the same expressions are used in regard to rhetorically personified things or abstract ideas (see Rom.6:6; 7:17).
Thus the context of the phrase 'blasphemy against the spirit' (Mat.12:31; cf. Mat.12:28; Luke 11:20, see also Eternal sin) shows that reference is being made to the power of God".
Thus, it must be noted that Roman Catholic teaching has always held the Holy Spirit, however depicted, to be a distinct Person of the Trinity, not just an aspect or manifestation of some attribute of the Father or the Son.
According to those who hold the minority (and, for Catholics, heretical) view of Binitarianism, the Holy Spirit is not a separate being, but the Father and the Son are. One such group, the Living Church of God teaches this about the Holy Spirit, "The Holy Spirit is the very essence, the mind, life and power of God. It is not a Being. The Spirit is inherent in the Father and the Son, and emanates from Them throughout the entire universe (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 139:7; Jeremiah 23:24). It was through the Spirit that God created all things (Genesis 1:1-2; Revelation 4:11). It is the power by which Christ maintains the universe (Hebrews 1:2-3). It is given to all who repent of their sins and are baptized (Acts 2:38-39) and is the power (Acts 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:6-7) by which all believers may be "overcomers" (Romans 8:37; Revelation 2:26-27) and will be led to eternal life" (Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs).
The view that the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person has been considered to be heretical by mainstream Christianity, including Roman Catholicism. For example, Epiphanius of Salamis referred to some of those as Semi-Arians and Pneumatomachi ("spirit-fighters") and called them, "A sort of monstrous, half-formed people of two natures … Semi-Arians … hold the truly orthodox view of the Son, that he was forever with the Father...but has been begotten without beginning and not in time … But all of these blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and do not count him in the Godhead with the Father and the Son" (Epiphanius. The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis, Books II and III (Sects 47-80), De Fide). Section VI, Verses 1,1 and 1,3. Translated by Frank Williams. EJ Brill, New York, 1994, pp.471–472)
[edit] Non-Christian views
[edit] Bahá'í Faith
In the Bahá'í Faith, the Holy Spirit, also known as the Most Great Spirit, is seen as the bounty of God.[19] It is usually used to describe the descent of the Spirit of God upon the messengers/prophets of God, which are known as Manifestations of God, and include among others Jesus, Muhammad and Bahá'u'lláh.[20] In Bahá'í belief the Holy Spirit is the conduit through which the wisdom of God becomes directly associated with his messenger, and it has been described variously in different religions such as the burning bush to Moses, the sacred fire to Zoroaster, the dove to Jesus, the angel Gabriel to Muhammad, and the Holy Maiden to Bahá'u'lláh.[21] The Bahá'í view rejects the idea that the Holy Spirit is a partner to God in the Godhead, but rather is a pure reflection of God's attributes.[22]
[edit] Islam
Main article: Holy Spirit (Islam)
Holy Spirit in Islam is an agent of divine action or communication commonly identified with the angel Gabriel (ar: Jibreel) or Ruhul Qudus but also alternatively with the created spirit from God by which he enlivened Adam, made Mary pregnant with Jesus, and inspired the angels and the prophets. The belief in Trinity is explicitly forbidden by the Qur'an and called a grave sin. The same applies to any idea of the duality of God (Allah). [23][24]
[edit] Judaism
In Judaism, the idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical (see Deuteronomy 6:4). Nonetheless, the term Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) is found frequently in Talmudic and Midrashic literature. In some cases it signifies prophetic inspiration, while in others it is used as a hypostatization or a metonym for God. [25] The Rabbinic “Holy Spirit,” has a certain degree of personification, but it remains, “a quality belonging to God, one of his attributes” and not, as in Christianity, representative of “any metaphysical divisions in the Godhead.” [26]
See also shekhinah.
[edit] Mandaeanism
Main article: Ruha d-Qudsha
[edit] Rastafarian view
As a movement that developed out of Christianity, Rastafari has its own unique interpretation of both the Holy Trinity and the Holy Spirit. Although there are several slight variations, they generally state that it is Haile Selassie who embodies both God the Father and God the Son, while the Holy (or rather, "Hola") Spirit is to be found within Rasta believers (see 'I and I'), and within every human being. Rastas also say that the true church is the human body, and that it is this church (or "structure") that contains the Holy Spirit.
Global Warming
Global warming
For past climate change, see paleoclimatology and geologic temperature record.
Featured article
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Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990
Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990
Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980
Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century.[1][A] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,[1] and that natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect afterward.[2][3] These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science,[B] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.[4][5]
Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature will probably rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.[1] The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing climate sensitivity, and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100, even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[6][7]
Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts.[8] The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the Amazon rainforest and Boreal forests, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions and changes in agricultural yields.
Political and public debate continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Radiative forcing
o 1.1 Greenhouse gases
o 1.2 Aerosols
o 1.3 Ozone
o 1.4 Solar variation
* 2 Temperature changes
* 3 Feedback
* 4 Climate models
* 5 Attributed and expected effects
o 5.1 Environmental
o 5.2 Economic
* 6 Responses to global warming
o 6.1 Mitigation
+ 6.1.1 Emissions reduction
+ 6.1.2 Geoengineering
o 6.2 Adaptation
* 7 Economic and political debate
* 8 See also
* 9 Notes
* 10 References
* 11 Further reading
* 12 External links
Radiative forcing
Components of the current radiative forcing as estimated by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcings, including changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, variations in Earth's orbit around the Sun,[9][10][11] changes in solar luminosity, and volcanic eruptions.[12] The thermal inertia of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.[13]
Greenhouse gases
Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect
Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[14] It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.[15][C] The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone, which causes 3–7 percent.[16][17]
Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.[18] These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[19] Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2 values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago.[20] Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.[21]
CO2 concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[22] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach this level and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.[23]
Aerosols
Global dimming, a gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth's surface, may have partially counteracted global warming during the period 1960-1990. Human-caused aerosols probably precipitated this effect. Scientists have stated with 66–90% confidence that the effects of human-caused aerosols, along with volcanic activity, have offset some of the warming effect of increasing greenhouse gases.[1] Anthropogenic emissions of other pollutants—notably sulfate aerosols—can exert a cooling effect by increasing the reflection of incoming sunlight. This partially accounts for the cooling seen in the temperature record in the middle of the twentieth century,[24] though the cooling may also be due in part to natural variability. James Hansen and colleagues have proposed that the effects of the products of fossil fuel combustion—CO2 and aerosols—have largely offset one another in recent decades, so that net warming has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases.[25]
Emissions of soot, including emissions from cookstoves as well as diesel engines and coal plants, has been estimated to account for 18% of global warming. Airborne for several days, often settling on glaciers, or on ice in arctic regions, carbon black absorbs heat directly.[26][27] The influences of aerosols, including black carbon, will be most pronounced in the tropics and sub-tropics, particularly in Asia, while the effects of greenhouse gases will be dominant in the extratropics and southern hemisphere.[28]
Ozone
Ozone depletion, the steady decline in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere, is sometimes cited in relation to global warming. Although there are a few areas of linkage the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.[29] Tropospheric ozone is a positive forcing and contributes to surface warming.
Solar variation
Solar variation over the last thirty years.
Main article: Solar variation
It has been suggested that recent climate change may be due to variations in solar output,[30][31] and that climate models may overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing.[32] Even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.[32] Others have suggested that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50 percent of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35 percent between 1980 and 2000.[33] There has been no increase of solar brightness over the last 1,000 years.[34] Solar cycles led to a negligible increase in brightness over the last 30 years, but this effect is too small to contribute significantly to global warming.[35] The combined effect of natural climate forcing, solar variation and changes in volcanic activity, probably had a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 but a cooling effect since.[1] An increase in solar activity should warm the stratosphere, whereas an increase in greenhouse gases should produce cooling there.[36] The observed trend since at least 1960 has been a cooling of the lower stratosphere.[37]
A related hypothesis is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate.[38] Other research has found no relation between warming in recent decades and cosmic rays.[39] [40]
Temperature changes
Main article: Temperature record
Two millennia of mean surface temperatures according to different reconstructions, each smoothed on a decadal scale. The unsmoothed, annual value for 2004 is also plotted for reference.
Global near-surface temperatures have increased by 0.75 °C (1.35 °F) relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the instrumental temperature record. The urban heat island effect is estimated to account for about 0.02 °C of warming since 1900.[41] Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade).[42] Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.12 and 0.22 °C (0.22 and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the one or two thousand years before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period or the Little Ice Age.[citation needed]
Based on estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.[43] Estimates prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the Climatic Research Unit concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.[44][45] Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest El Niño-Southern Oscillation in the past century occurred during that year.[46]
Temperature changes vary over the globe. Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation.[47] The Northern Hemisphere has more land than the Southern Hemisphere so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.[48]
Feedback
A drunken forest in Siberia caused by melting permafrost. Melting of permafrost releases methane into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.
Main article: Effects of global warming
When a warming trend results in effects that induce further warming, the process is referred to as a positive feedback; when the warming results in effects that reduce the original warming, the process is referred to as a negative feedback. The main positive feedback involves the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The main negative feedback is the effect of temperature on emission of infrared radiation: as the temperature of a body increases, the emitted radiation increases with the fourth power of its absolute temperature.
Water vapor feedback
If the atmosphere is warmed the saturation vapour pressure increases, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will tend to increase. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas the increase in water vapor content makes the atmosphere warm further; this warming causes the atmosphere to hold still more water vapor (a positive feedback), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO2 alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the relative humidity stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.[49]
Cloud feedback
Warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud, details that are difficult to represent in climate models.[49]
Lapse rate
The atmosphere's temperature decreases with height in the troposphere. Since emission of infrared radiation varies with the fourth power of temperature, longwave radiation escaping from the upper atmosphere to space is less than that emitted from the lower atmosphere toward the ground. Thus, the strength of the greenhouse effect depends on the atmosphere's rate of temperature decrease with height. Both theory and climate models indicate that global warming will reduce the rate of temperature decrease with height, producing a negative lapse rate feedback that weakens the greenhouse effect. Measurements of the rate of temperature change with height are very sensitive to small errors in observations, making it difficult to establish whether the models agree with observations.[50]
Aerial photograph showing a section of sea ice. The lighter blue areas are melt ponds and the darkest areas are open water, both have a lower albedo than the white sea ice. The melting ice contributes to the ice-albedo feedback.
Ice-albedo feedback
When ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.[51]
Arctic methane release
Warming is also the triggering variable for the release of methane from sources both on land and on the deep ocean floor, making both of these possible feedback effects. Thawing permafrost, such as the frozen peat bogs in Siberia, creates a positive feedback due to the potentially rapid release of CO2 and CH4.[citation needed]
Reduced absorption of CO2 by the oceans
Ocean ecosystems' ability to sequester carbon are expected to decline as the oceans warm. This is because warming reduces the nutrient levels of the mesopelagic zone (about 200 to 1000 m depth), which limits the growth of diatoms in favor of smaller phytoplankton that are poorer biological pumps of carbon.[52]
Climate models
Main article: Global climate model
Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of climate models under the SRES A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.
Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of climate models under the SRES A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.
The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21st century calculated by the HadCM3 climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0 °C (5.4 °F).
The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21st century calculated by the HadCM3 climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0 °C (5.4 °F).
The main tools for projecting future climate changes are computer models of the climate. These models are based on physical principles including fluid dynamics and radiative transfer. Although they attempt to include as many processes as possible, simplifications of the actual climate system are inevitable because of the constraints of available computer power and limitations in knowledge of the climate system. All modern climate models include an atmospheric model that is coupled to an ocean model and models for ice cover on land and sea. Some models also include treatments of chemical and biological processes.[53] These models project a warmer climate due to increasing levels of greenhouse gases.[54] Although much of the variation in model outcomes depends on the greenhouse gas emissions used as inputs, the temperature effect of a specific greenhouse gas concentration (climate sensitivity) varies depending on the model used. The representation of clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in present-generation models.[55]
Global climate model projections of future climate most often have used estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). In addition to human-caused emissions, some models also include a simulation of the carbon cycle; this generally shows a positive feedback, though this response is uncertain. Some observational studies also show a positive feedback.[56][57][58]
Including uncertainties in future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate sensitivity, the IPCC anticipates a warming of 1.1 °C to 6.4 °C (2.0 °F to 11.5 °F) by the end of the 21st century, relative to 1980–1999.[1] A 2008 paper predicts that the global temperature will not increase during the next decade because of short-term natural climate cycles.[59]
Models are also used to help investigate the causes of recent climate change by comparing the observed changes to those that the models project from various natural and human-derived causes. Although these models do not unambiguously attribute the warming that occurred from approximately 1910 to 1945 to either natural variation or human effects, they do indicate that the warming since 1975 is dominated by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Current climate models produce a good match to observations of global temperature changes over the last century, but do not simulate all aspects of climate.[60] The physical realism of models is tested by examining their ability to simulate current or past climates.[61] While a 2007 study by David Douglass and colleagues found that the models did not accurately predict observed changes in the tropical troposphere,[62] a 2008 paper published by a 17-member team led by Ben Santer noted errors in the Douglass study, and found instead that the models and observations were not statistically different.[63] Not all effects of global warming are accurately predicted by the climate models used by the IPCC. For example, observed Arctic shrinkage has been faster than that predicted.[64]
Attributed and expected effects
Environmental
Main article: Effects of global warming
See also: Ocean acidification and Regional effects of global warming
Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the WGMS and the NSIDC.
It usually is impossible to connect specific weather events to global warming. Instead, global warming is expected to cause changes in the overall distribution and intensity of events, such as changes to the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation. Broader effects are expected to include glacial retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and worldwide sea level rise. Other effects may include changes in crop yields, addition of new trade routes,[65] species extinctions,[66] and changes in the range of disease vectors.
Some effects on both the natural environment and human life are, at least in part, already being attributed to global warming. A 2001 report by the IPCC suggests that glacier retreat, ice shelf disruption such as that of the Larsen Ice Shelf, sea level rise, changes in rainfall patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are attributable in part to global warming.[67] Other expected effects include water scarcity in some regions and increased precipitation in others, changes in mountain snowpack, and adverse health effects from warmer temperatures.[68]
Social and economic effects of global warming may be exacerbated by growing population densities in affected areas. Temperate regions are projected to experience some benefits, such as fewer cold-related deaths.[69] A summary of probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report made for the IPCC Third Assessment Report by Working Group II.[67] The newer IPCC Fourth Assessment Report summary reports that there is observational evidence for an increase in intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic Ocean since about 1970, in correlation with the increase in sea surface temperature (see Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), but that the detection of long-term trends is complicated by the quality of records prior to routine satellite observations. The summary also states that there is no clear trend in the annual worldwide number of tropical cyclones.[1]
Additional anticipated effects include sea level rise of 0.18 to 0.59 meters (0.59 to 1.9 ft) in 2090-2100 relative to 1980-1999, [1] repercussions to agriculture, possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation, reductions in the ozone layer, increasingly intense (but less frequent)[70] hurricanes and extreme weather events, lowering of ocean pH, oxygen depletion in the oceans,[71] and the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever,[72][73] as well as Lyme disease, hantavirus infections, bubonic plague, and cholera.[74] One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be extinct by 2050, based on future climate projections.[75] However, few mechanistic studies have documented extinctions due to recent climate change[76] and one study suggests that projected rates of extinction are uncertain.[77]
Increased atmospheric CO2 increases the amount of CO2 dissolved in the oceans.[78] CO2 dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form carbonic acid, resulting in ocean acidification. Ocean surface pH is estimated to have decreased from 8.25 near the beginning of the industrial era to 8.14 by 2004,[79] and is projected to decrease by a further 0.14 to 0.5 units by 2100 as the ocean absorbs more CO2.[1][80] Since organisms and ecosystems are adapted to a narrow range of pH, this raises extinction concerns, directly driven by increased atmospheric CO2, that could disrupt food webs and impact human societies that depend on marine ecosystem services.[81]
Economic
Main articles: Economics of global warming and Low-carbon economy
The projected temperature increase for a range of stabilization scenarios (the colored bands). The black line in middle of the shaded area indicates 'best estimates'; the red and the blue lines the likely limits. From the work of IPCC AR4.
Some economists have tried to estimate the aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across the globe. Such estimates have so far yielded no conclusive findings; in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from US$-10 per tonne of carbon (tC) (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to US$350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide), with a mean of US$43 per tonne of carbon (US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide).[69]
One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the Stern Review. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global gross domestic product by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global per capita consumption could fall 20 percent.[82] The report's methodology, advocacy and conclusions have been criticized by many economists, primarily around the Review's assumptions of discounting and its choices of scenarios.[83] Others have supported the general attempt to quantify economic risk, even if not the specific numbers.[84][85]
Preliminary studies suggest that costs and benefits of mitigating global warming are broadly comparable in magnitude.[86]
According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include banks, agriculture, transport and others.[87] Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming.[88]
Responses to global warming
Main articles: Mitigation of global warming, Kyoto Protocol, Geoengineering, and Adaptation to global warming
The broad agreement among climate scientists that global temperatures will continue to increase has led some nations, states, corporations and individuals to implement responses. These responses to global warming can be divided into mitigation of the causes and effects of global warming, and adaptation to the changing global environment.
Mitigation
Emissions reduction
The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the UNFCCC negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.[89] Only the United States and Kazakhstan have not ratified the treaty, with the United States historically being the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The treaty expires in 2012. International talks began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one.[90] UN negotiations are now gathering pace in advance of a key meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.[91]
Many environmental groups encourage individual action against global warming, as well as community and regional actions. Others have suggested a quota on worldwide fossil fuel production, citing a direct link between fossil fuel production and CO2 emissions.[92][93]
There has also been business action on climate change, including efforts to improve energy efficiency and limited moves towards use of alternative fuels. In January 2005 the European Union introduced its European Union Emission Trading Scheme, through which companies in conjunction with government agree to cap their emissions or to purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia announced its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in 2008. United States President Barack Obama has announced plans to introduce an economy wide cap and trade scheme.[94]
The IPCC's Working Group III is responsible for crafting reports on mitigation of global warming and the costs and benefits of different approaches. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report concludes that no one technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in various sectors, such as energy supply, transportation, industry, and agriculture, that should be implemented to reduced global emissions. They estimate that stabilization of carbon dioxide equivalent between 445 and 710 ppm by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three percent decrease in global gross domestic product.[95]
Geoengineering
Geoengineering is the deliberate modification of Earth's natural environment on a large scale to suit human needs.[96] An example is greenhouse gas remediation, which removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, usually through carbon sequestration techniques such as carbon dioxide air capture.[97] Solar radiation management reduces insolation, such as by the addition of stratospheric sulfur aerosols.[98]
Adaptation
A wide variety of measures have been suggested for adaptation to global warming. These range from the trivial, such as the installation of air-conditioning equipment, up to major infrastructure projects, such as abandonment of settlements threatened by sea level rise. Measures including water conservation,[99] changes to agricultural practices,[100] construction of flood defences,[101] changes to medical care,[102] and interventions to protect threatened species[103] have all been suggested. A wide ranging study of the possible opportunities for adaptation of infrastructure has been published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers[104]
Economic and political debate
Main articles: Global warming controversy, Politics of global warming, and Economics of global warming
See also: Scientific opinion on climate change, Climate change denial, List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, and List of countries by ratio of GDP to carbon dioxide emissions
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Increased publicity of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate.[105] Poor regions, particularly Africa, appear at greatest risk from the projected effects of global warming, while their emissions have been small compared to the developed world.[106] At the same time, developing country exemptions from provisions of the Kyoto Protocol have been criticized by the United States and Australia, and used as part of a rationale for continued non-ratification by the U.S.[107] In the Western world, the idea of human influence on climate has gained wider public acceptance in Europe than in the United States.[108][109]
The issue of climate change has sparked debate weighing the benefits of limiting industrial emissions of greenhouse gases against the costs that such changes would entail. There has been discussion in several countries about the cost and benefits of adopting alternative energy sources in order to reduce carbon emissions.[110] Business-centered organizations, conservative commentators, and companies such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and ExxonMobil have downplayed IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the scientific consensus, and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls.[111][112][113][114] Likewise, environmental organizations and a number of public figures have emphasized the potential risks of climate change and promote the implementation of GHG emissions reduction measures. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years,[115] or called for policies to reduce global warming.[116]
Another point of contention is the degree to which emerging economies such as India and China should be expected to constrain their emissions. According to recent reports, China's gross national CO2 emissions may now exceed those of the U.S.[117][118][119][120] China has contended that it has less of an obligation to reduce emissions since its per capita emissions are roughly one-fifth that of the United States.[121] India, also exempt from Kyoto restrictions and another of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, has made similar assertions.[122] The U.S. contends that if it must bear the cost of reducing emissions, then China should do the same.[123]
For past climate change, see paleoclimatology and geologic temperature record.
Featured article
Semi-protected
Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990
Global mean surface temperature anomaly relative to 1961–1990
Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980
Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1999 to 2008 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980
Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century.[1][A] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that anthropogenic greenhouse gases are responsible for most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the twentieth century,[1] and that natural phenomena such as solar variation and volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect afterward.[2][3] These basic conclusions have been endorsed by more than 40 scientific societies and academies of science,[B] including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries.[4][5]
Climate model projections summarized in the latest IPCC report indicate that global surface temperature will probably rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century.[1] The uncertainty in this estimate arises from the use of models with differing climate sensitivity, and the use of differing estimates of future greenhouse gas emissions. Some other uncertainties include how warming and related changes will vary from region to region around the globe. Most studies focus on the period up to 2100. However, warming is expected to continue beyond 2100, even if emissions stop, because of the large heat capacity of the oceans and the long lifetime of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.[6][7]
Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts.[8] The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the Amazon rainforest and Boreal forests, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions and changes in agricultural yields.
Political and public debate continues regarding the appropriate response to global warming. The available options are mitigation to reduce further emissions; adaptation to reduce the damage caused by warming; and, more speculatively, geoengineering to reverse global warming. Most national governments have signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Radiative forcing
o 1.1 Greenhouse gases
o 1.2 Aerosols
o 1.3 Ozone
o 1.4 Solar variation
* 2 Temperature changes
* 3 Feedback
* 4 Climate models
* 5 Attributed and expected effects
o 5.1 Environmental
o 5.2 Economic
* 6 Responses to global warming
o 6.1 Mitigation
+ 6.1.1 Emissions reduction
+ 6.1.2 Geoengineering
o 6.2 Adaptation
* 7 Economic and political debate
* 8 See also
* 9 Notes
* 10 References
* 11 Further reading
* 12 External links
Radiative forcing
Components of the current radiative forcing as estimated by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcings, including changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, variations in Earth's orbit around the Sun,[9][10][11] changes in solar luminosity, and volcanic eruptions.[12] The thermal inertia of the oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that climate can take centuries or longer to adjust to changes in forcing. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.[13]
Greenhouse gases
Main articles: Greenhouse gas and Greenhouse effect
Recent increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Monthly CO2 measurements display small seasonal oscillations in an overall yearly uptrend; each year's maximum is reached during the Northern Hemisphere's late spring, and declines during the Northern Hemisphere growing season as plants remove some CO2 from the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.[14] It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface. Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed even by those who do not agree that the recent temperature increase is attributable to human activity. The question is instead how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable.[15][C] The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone, which causes 3–7 percent.[16][17]
Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s.[18] These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores.[19] Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2 values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago.[20] Fossil fuel burning has produced approximately three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.[21]
CO2 concentrations are continuing to rise due to burning of fossil fuels and land-use change. The future rate of rise will depend on uncertain economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. The IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios gives a wide range of future CO2 scenarios, ranging from 541 to 970 ppm by the year 2100.[22] Fossil fuel reserves are sufficient to reach this level and continue emissions past 2100 if coal, tar sands or methane clathrates are extensively exploited.[23]
Aerosols
Global dimming, a gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth's surface, may have partially counteracted global warming during the period 1960-1990. Human-caused aerosols probably precipitated this effect. Scientists have stated with 66–90% confidence that the effects of human-caused aerosols, along with volcanic activity, have offset some of the warming effect of increasing greenhouse gases.[1] Anthropogenic emissions of other pollutants—notably sulfate aerosols—can exert a cooling effect by increasing the reflection of incoming sunlight. This partially accounts for the cooling seen in the temperature record in the middle of the twentieth century,[24] though the cooling may also be due in part to natural variability. James Hansen and colleagues have proposed that the effects of the products of fossil fuel combustion—CO2 and aerosols—have largely offset one another in recent decades, so that net warming has been driven mainly by non-CO2 greenhouse gases.[25]
Emissions of soot, including emissions from cookstoves as well as diesel engines and coal plants, has been estimated to account for 18% of global warming. Airborne for several days, often settling on glaciers, or on ice in arctic regions, carbon black absorbs heat directly.[26][27] The influences of aerosols, including black carbon, will be most pronounced in the tropics and sub-tropics, particularly in Asia, while the effects of greenhouse gases will be dominant in the extratropics and southern hemisphere.[28]
Ozone
Ozone depletion, the steady decline in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere, is sometimes cited in relation to global warming. Although there are a few areas of linkage the relationship between the two is not strong. Reduction of stratospheric ozone has a cooling influence, but substantial ozone depletion did not occur until the late 1970s.[29] Tropospheric ozone is a positive forcing and contributes to surface warming.
Solar variation
Solar variation over the last thirty years.
Main article: Solar variation
It has been suggested that recent climate change may be due to variations in solar output,[30][31] and that climate models may overestimate the relative effect of greenhouse gases compared to solar forcing.[32] Even with an enhanced climate sensitivity to solar forcing, most of the warming since the mid-20th century is attributable to the increases in greenhouse gases.[32] Others have suggested that the Sun may have contributed about 45–50 percent of the increase in the average global surface temperature over the period 1900–2000, and about 25–35 percent between 1980 and 2000.[33] There has been no increase of solar brightness over the last 1,000 years.[34] Solar cycles led to a negligible increase in brightness over the last 30 years, but this effect is too small to contribute significantly to global warming.[35] The combined effect of natural climate forcing, solar variation and changes in volcanic activity, probably had a warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 but a cooling effect since.[1] An increase in solar activity should warm the stratosphere, whereas an increase in greenhouse gases should produce cooling there.[36] The observed trend since at least 1960 has been a cooling of the lower stratosphere.[37]
A related hypothesis is that magnetic activity of the sun deflects cosmic rays that may influence the generation of cloud condensation nuclei and thereby affect the climate.[38] Other research has found no relation between warming in recent decades and cosmic rays.[39] [40]
Temperature changes
Main article: Temperature record
Two millennia of mean surface temperatures according to different reconstructions, each smoothed on a decadal scale. The unsmoothed, annual value for 2004 is also plotted for reference.
Global near-surface temperatures have increased by 0.75 °C (1.35 °F) relative to the period 1860–1900, according to the instrumental temperature record. The urban heat island effect is estimated to account for about 0.02 °C of warming since 1900.[41] Since 1979, land temperatures have increased about twice as fast as ocean temperatures (0.25 °C per decade against 0.13 °C per decade).[42] Temperatures in the lower troposphere have increased between 0.12 and 0.22 °C (0.22 and 0.4 °F) per decade since 1979, according to satellite temperature measurements. Temperature is believed to have been relatively stable over the one or two thousand years before 1850, with possibly regional fluctuations such as the Medieval Warm Period or the Little Ice Age.[citation needed]
Based on estimates by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies 2005 was the warmest year since reliable, widespread instrumental measurements became available in the late 1800s, exceeding the previous record set in 1998 by a few hundredths of a degree.[43] Estimates prepared by the World Meteorological Organization and the Climatic Research Unit concluded that 2005 was the second warmest year, behind 1998.[44][45] Temperatures in 1998 were unusually warm because the strongest El Niño-Southern Oscillation in the past century occurred during that year.[46]
Temperature changes vary over the globe. Ocean temperatures increase more slowly than land temperatures because of the larger effective heat capacity of the oceans and because the ocean loses more heat by evaporation.[47] The Northern Hemisphere has more land than the Southern Hemisphere so it warms faster. The Northern Hemisphere also has extensive areas of seasonal snow and sea-ice cover subject to the ice-albedo feedback. Although more greenhouse gases are emitted in the Northern than Southern Hemisphere this does not contribute to the difference in warming because the major greenhouse gases persist long enough to mix between hemispheres.[48]
Feedback
A drunken forest in Siberia caused by melting permafrost. Melting of permafrost releases methane into the atmosphere, accelerating global warming.
Main article: Effects of global warming
When a warming trend results in effects that induce further warming, the process is referred to as a positive feedback; when the warming results in effects that reduce the original warming, the process is referred to as a negative feedback. The main positive feedback involves the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. The main negative feedback is the effect of temperature on emission of infrared radiation: as the temperature of a body increases, the emitted radiation increases with the fourth power of its absolute temperature.
Water vapor feedback
If the atmosphere is warmed the saturation vapour pressure increases, and the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will tend to increase. Since water vapor is a greenhouse gas the increase in water vapor content makes the atmosphere warm further; this warming causes the atmosphere to hold still more water vapor (a positive feedback), and so on until other processes stop the feedback loop. The result is a much larger greenhouse effect than that due to CO2 alone. Although this feedback process causes an increase in the absolute moisture content of the air, the relative humidity stays nearly constant or even decreases slightly because the air is warmer.[49]
Cloud feedback
Warming is expected to change the distribution and type of clouds. Seen from below, clouds emit infrared radiation back to the surface, and so exert a warming effect; seen from above, clouds reflect sunlight and emit infrared radiation to space, and so exert a cooling effect. Whether the net effect is warming or cooling depends on details such as the type and altitude of the cloud, details that are difficult to represent in climate models.[49]
Lapse rate
The atmosphere's temperature decreases with height in the troposphere. Since emission of infrared radiation varies with the fourth power of temperature, longwave radiation escaping from the upper atmosphere to space is less than that emitted from the lower atmosphere toward the ground. Thus, the strength of the greenhouse effect depends on the atmosphere's rate of temperature decrease with height. Both theory and climate models indicate that global warming will reduce the rate of temperature decrease with height, producing a negative lapse rate feedback that weakens the greenhouse effect. Measurements of the rate of temperature change with height are very sensitive to small errors in observations, making it difficult to establish whether the models agree with observations.[50]
Aerial photograph showing a section of sea ice. The lighter blue areas are melt ponds and the darkest areas are open water, both have a lower albedo than the white sea ice. The melting ice contributes to the ice-albedo feedback.
Ice-albedo feedback
When ice melts, land or open water takes its place. Both land and open water are on average less reflective than ice and thus absorb more solar radiation. This causes more warming, which in turn causes more melting, and this cycle continues.[51]
Arctic methane release
Warming is also the triggering variable for the release of methane from sources both on land and on the deep ocean floor, making both of these possible feedback effects. Thawing permafrost, such as the frozen peat bogs in Siberia, creates a positive feedback due to the potentially rapid release of CO2 and CH4.[citation needed]
Reduced absorption of CO2 by the oceans
Ocean ecosystems' ability to sequester carbon are expected to decline as the oceans warm. This is because warming reduces the nutrient levels of the mesopelagic zone (about 200 to 1000 m depth), which limits the growth of diatoms in favor of smaller phytoplankton that are poorer biological pumps of carbon.[52]
Climate models
Main article: Global climate model
Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of climate models under the SRES A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.
Calculations of global warming prepared in or before 2001 from a range of climate models under the SRES A2 emissions scenario, which assumes no action is taken to reduce emissions.
The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21st century calculated by the HadCM3 climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0 °C (5.4 °F).
The geographic distribution of surface warming during the 21st century calculated by the HadCM3 climate model if a business as usual scenario is assumed for economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In this figure, the globally averaged warming corresponds to 3.0 °C (5.4 °F).
The main tools for projecting future climate changes are computer models of the climate. These models are based on physical principles including fluid dynamics and radiative transfer. Although they attempt to include as many processes as possible, simplifications of the actual climate system are inevitable because of the constraints of available computer power and limitations in knowledge of the climate system. All modern climate models include an atmospheric model that is coupled to an ocean model and models for ice cover on land and sea. Some models also include treatments of chemical and biological processes.[53] These models project a warmer climate due to increasing levels of greenhouse gases.[54] Although much of the variation in model outcomes depends on the greenhouse gas emissions used as inputs, the temperature effect of a specific greenhouse gas concentration (climate sensitivity) varies depending on the model used. The representation of clouds is one of the main sources of uncertainty in present-generation models.[55]
Global climate model projections of future climate most often have used estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES). In addition to human-caused emissions, some models also include a simulation of the carbon cycle; this generally shows a positive feedback, though this response is uncertain. Some observational studies also show a positive feedback.[56][57][58]
Including uncertainties in future greenhouse gas concentrations and climate sensitivity, the IPCC anticipates a warming of 1.1 °C to 6.4 °C (2.0 °F to 11.5 °F) by the end of the 21st century, relative to 1980–1999.[1] A 2008 paper predicts that the global temperature will not increase during the next decade because of short-term natural climate cycles.[59]
Models are also used to help investigate the causes of recent climate change by comparing the observed changes to those that the models project from various natural and human-derived causes. Although these models do not unambiguously attribute the warming that occurred from approximately 1910 to 1945 to either natural variation or human effects, they do indicate that the warming since 1975 is dominated by man-made greenhouse gas emissions.
Current climate models produce a good match to observations of global temperature changes over the last century, but do not simulate all aspects of climate.[60] The physical realism of models is tested by examining their ability to simulate current or past climates.[61] While a 2007 study by David Douglass and colleagues found that the models did not accurately predict observed changes in the tropical troposphere,[62] a 2008 paper published by a 17-member team led by Ben Santer noted errors in the Douglass study, and found instead that the models and observations were not statistically different.[63] Not all effects of global warming are accurately predicted by the climate models used by the IPCC. For example, observed Arctic shrinkage has been faster than that predicted.[64]
Attributed and expected effects
Environmental
Main article: Effects of global warming
See also: Ocean acidification and Regional effects of global warming
Sparse records indicate that glaciers have been retreating since the early 1800s. In the 1950s measurements began that allow the monitoring of glacial mass balance, reported to the WGMS and the NSIDC.
It usually is impossible to connect specific weather events to global warming. Instead, global warming is expected to cause changes in the overall distribution and intensity of events, such as changes to the frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation. Broader effects are expected to include glacial retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and worldwide sea level rise. Other effects may include changes in crop yields, addition of new trade routes,[65] species extinctions,[66] and changes in the range of disease vectors.
Some effects on both the natural environment and human life are, at least in part, already being attributed to global warming. A 2001 report by the IPCC suggests that glacier retreat, ice shelf disruption such as that of the Larsen Ice Shelf, sea level rise, changes in rainfall patterns, and increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather events are attributable in part to global warming.[67] Other expected effects include water scarcity in some regions and increased precipitation in others, changes in mountain snowpack, and adverse health effects from warmer temperatures.[68]
Social and economic effects of global warming may be exacerbated by growing population densities in affected areas. Temperate regions are projected to experience some benefits, such as fewer cold-related deaths.[69] A summary of probable effects and recent understanding can be found in the report made for the IPCC Third Assessment Report by Working Group II.[67] The newer IPCC Fourth Assessment Report summary reports that there is observational evidence for an increase in intense tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic Ocean since about 1970, in correlation with the increase in sea surface temperature (see Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), but that the detection of long-term trends is complicated by the quality of records prior to routine satellite observations. The summary also states that there is no clear trend in the annual worldwide number of tropical cyclones.[1]
Additional anticipated effects include sea level rise of 0.18 to 0.59 meters (0.59 to 1.9 ft) in 2090-2100 relative to 1980-1999, [1] repercussions to agriculture, possible slowing of the thermohaline circulation, reductions in the ozone layer, increasingly intense (but less frequent)[70] hurricanes and extreme weather events, lowering of ocean pH, oxygen depletion in the oceans,[71] and the spread of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever,[72][73] as well as Lyme disease, hantavirus infections, bubonic plague, and cholera.[74] One study predicts 18% to 35% of a sample of 1,103 animal and plant species would be extinct by 2050, based on future climate projections.[75] However, few mechanistic studies have documented extinctions due to recent climate change[76] and one study suggests that projected rates of extinction are uncertain.[77]
Increased atmospheric CO2 increases the amount of CO2 dissolved in the oceans.[78] CO2 dissolved in the ocean reacts with water to form carbonic acid, resulting in ocean acidification. Ocean surface pH is estimated to have decreased from 8.25 near the beginning of the industrial era to 8.14 by 2004,[79] and is projected to decrease by a further 0.14 to 0.5 units by 2100 as the ocean absorbs more CO2.[1][80] Since organisms and ecosystems are adapted to a narrow range of pH, this raises extinction concerns, directly driven by increased atmospheric CO2, that could disrupt food webs and impact human societies that depend on marine ecosystem services.[81]
Economic
Main articles: Economics of global warming and Low-carbon economy
The projected temperature increase for a range of stabilization scenarios (the colored bands). The black line in middle of the shaded area indicates 'best estimates'; the red and the blue lines the likely limits. From the work of IPCC AR4.
Some economists have tried to estimate the aggregate net economic costs of damages from climate change across the globe. Such estimates have so far yielded no conclusive findings; in a survey of 100 estimates, the values ran from US$-10 per tonne of carbon (tC) (US$-3 per tonne of carbon dioxide) up to US$350/tC (US$95 per tonne of carbon dioxide), with a mean of US$43 per tonne of carbon (US$12 per tonne of carbon dioxide).[69]
One widely publicized report on potential economic impact is the Stern Review. It suggests that extreme weather might reduce global gross domestic product by up to one percent, and that in a worst-case scenario global per capita consumption could fall 20 percent.[82] The report's methodology, advocacy and conclusions have been criticized by many economists, primarily around the Review's assumptions of discounting and its choices of scenarios.[83] Others have supported the general attempt to quantify economic risk, even if not the specific numbers.[84][85]
Preliminary studies suggest that costs and benefits of mitigating global warming are broadly comparable in magnitude.[86]
According to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), economic sectors likely to face difficulties related to climate change include banks, agriculture, transport and others.[87] Developing countries dependent upon agriculture will be particularly harmed by global warming.[88]
Responses to global warming
Main articles: Mitigation of global warming, Kyoto Protocol, Geoengineering, and Adaptation to global warming
The broad agreement among climate scientists that global temperatures will continue to increase has led some nations, states, corporations and individuals to implement responses. These responses to global warming can be divided into mitigation of the causes and effects of global warming, and adaptation to the changing global environment.
Mitigation
Emissions reduction
The world's primary international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the UNFCCC negotiated in 1997. The Protocol now covers more than 160 countries and over 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.[89] Only the United States and Kazakhstan have not ratified the treaty, with the United States historically being the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. The treaty expires in 2012. International talks began in May 2007 on a future treaty to succeed the current one.[90] UN negotiations are now gathering pace in advance of a key meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009.[91]
Many environmental groups encourage individual action against global warming, as well as community and regional actions. Others have suggested a quota on worldwide fossil fuel production, citing a direct link between fossil fuel production and CO2 emissions.[92][93]
There has also been business action on climate change, including efforts to improve energy efficiency and limited moves towards use of alternative fuels. In January 2005 the European Union introduced its European Union Emission Trading Scheme, through which companies in conjunction with government agree to cap their emissions or to purchase credits from those below their allowances. Australia announced its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in 2008. United States President Barack Obama has announced plans to introduce an economy wide cap and trade scheme.[94]
The IPCC's Working Group III is responsible for crafting reports on mitigation of global warming and the costs and benefits of different approaches. The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report concludes that no one technology or sector can be completely responsible for mitigating future warming. They find there are key practices and technologies in various sectors, such as energy supply, transportation, industry, and agriculture, that should be implemented to reduced global emissions. They estimate that stabilization of carbon dioxide equivalent between 445 and 710 ppm by 2030 will result in between a 0.6 percent increase and three percent decrease in global gross domestic product.[95]
Geoengineering
Geoengineering is the deliberate modification of Earth's natural environment on a large scale to suit human needs.[96] An example is greenhouse gas remediation, which removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, usually through carbon sequestration techniques such as carbon dioxide air capture.[97] Solar radiation management reduces insolation, such as by the addition of stratospheric sulfur aerosols.[98]
Adaptation
A wide variety of measures have been suggested for adaptation to global warming. These range from the trivial, such as the installation of air-conditioning equipment, up to major infrastructure projects, such as abandonment of settlements threatened by sea level rise. Measures including water conservation,[99] changes to agricultural practices,[100] construction of flood defences,[101] changes to medical care,[102] and interventions to protect threatened species[103] have all been suggested. A wide ranging study of the possible opportunities for adaptation of infrastructure has been published by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers[104]
Economic and political debate
Main articles: Global warming controversy, Politics of global warming, and Economics of global warming
See also: Scientific opinion on climate change, Climate change denial, List of countries by greenhouse gas emissions per capita, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions per capita, List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions, and List of countries by ratio of GDP to carbon dioxide emissions
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Per country greenhouse gas emissions in 2000, including land-use change.
Increased publicity of the scientific findings surrounding global warming has resulted in political and economic debate.[105] Poor regions, particularly Africa, appear at greatest risk from the projected effects of global warming, while their emissions have been small compared to the developed world.[106] At the same time, developing country exemptions from provisions of the Kyoto Protocol have been criticized by the United States and Australia, and used as part of a rationale for continued non-ratification by the U.S.[107] In the Western world, the idea of human influence on climate has gained wider public acceptance in Europe than in the United States.[108][109]
The issue of climate change has sparked debate weighing the benefits of limiting industrial emissions of greenhouse gases against the costs that such changes would entail. There has been discussion in several countries about the cost and benefits of adopting alternative energy sources in order to reduce carbon emissions.[110] Business-centered organizations, conservative commentators, and companies such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute and ExxonMobil have downplayed IPCC climate change scenarios, funded scientists who disagree with the scientific consensus, and provided their own projections of the economic cost of stricter controls.[111][112][113][114] Likewise, environmental organizations and a number of public figures have emphasized the potential risks of climate change and promote the implementation of GHG emissions reduction measures. Some fossil fuel companies have scaled back their efforts in recent years,[115] or called for policies to reduce global warming.[116]
Another point of contention is the degree to which emerging economies such as India and China should be expected to constrain their emissions. According to recent reports, China's gross national CO2 emissions may now exceed those of the U.S.[117][118][119][120] China has contended that it has less of an obligation to reduce emissions since its per capita emissions are roughly one-fifth that of the United States.[121] India, also exempt from Kyoto restrictions and another of the biggest sources of industrial emissions, has made similar assertions.[122] The U.S. contends that if it must bear the cost of reducing emissions, then China should do the same.[123]
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