Etymology of "spirit"

[exiled]

Can someone help me clearly understand what spirit might mean in Jn 6? I think protestants make the error of thinking spirit is something intangible, or some such thing. I think spirit, at least insofar as Christianity is concerned, more nearly means supernatural. That is, greater than natural. More real, more true, etc.
Anyway, when protestants use vs. 63 to blow of a 3 or 4 time reiteration by Jesus Christ Himself that His Flesh in True Food, etc., they are really misusing, misunderstanding and/or misrepresenting the true meaning of the word.
But, since I am no scholar, I need help connecting the historical and etymological (is that a word?) dots.
Thanks,

 

[Catholic_Dude]

Are you talking about where Jesus says something like “the spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing”.

Jesus nowhere said nor implied His flesh was of no importance. In one commentary I read in the past Jesus said that to indicate it wasnt a dead corpse flesh Jesus was talking about eating, but a living one. The flesh we eat is not a dead corpse in the Eucharist but the living Christ’s.

 

[exiled]

Yes, that verse is what I’m referring to. Protestants suggest that the word “spirit” implies something that negates the Eucharist, and with that I strongly disagree. It is my belief that Jesus meant something different from the modern day understanding of “spirit”, something more like “supernatural”.

 

[mdcpensive1]

Can someone help me clearly understand what spirit might mean in Jn 6? I think protestants make the error of thinking spirit is something intangible, or some such thing. I think spirit, at least insofar as Christianity is concerned, more nearly means supernatural. That is, greater than natural. More real, more true, etc.

Anyway, when protestants use vs. 63 to blow of a 3 or 4 time reiteration by Jesus Christ Himself that His Flesh in True Food, etc., they are really misusing, misunderstanding and/or misrepresenting the true meaning of the word.
But, since I am no scholar, I need help connecting the historical and etymological (is that a word?) dots.
Thanks,

I have recently reviewed the tape of John’s Gospel by Scott Hahn and if I remember correctly what he said about this verse is that what John is trying to say is that just the physical act of eating flesh is not what imparts grace but the spiritual or Glorious Body being consumed within us is what is important.

The act of eating bread and having it digested in our stomachs is not important but the consuming of the Glorified Body of Christ into our souls is the topic written about.

mdcpensive1

 

[Todd_Easton]

The Greek word in question is pneuma.

My Strong’s concordance defines *pneuma *as:

1. the third person of the triune God, the Holy Spirit, coequal, coeternal with the Father and the Son
   1.a. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his personality and characer (the “Holy” Spirit)
   1.b. sometimes referred to in a way which emphasises his work and power (the Spirit of “Truth”)
   1.c. never referred to as a depersonalised force
2. the spirit, i.e. the vital principal by which the body is animated
   2.a. the rational spirit, the power by which the human being feels, thinks, decides
   2.b. the soul
3. a spirit, i.e. a simple essence, deviod of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, decideing, and acting
   3.a. a life giving spirit
   3.b. a human soul that has left the body
   3.c. a spirit higher than man but lower than God, i.e. an angel
   3.c.1. used of demons, or evil spirits, who were conceived as inhabiting the bodies of men
   3.c.2. the spiritual nature of Christ, higher than the highest angels and equal to God, the divine nature of Christ
4. the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one
   4.a. the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, etc.
5. a movement of air (a gentle blast)
   5.a. of the wind, hence the wind itself
   5.b. breath of nostrils or mouth

It is anyone’s guess which of the above meanings St. John intended. I personally favor the first definition, Spirit, as in the Holy Spirit, as do several modern Bible translations.