The Cause and Effect of Faith

Many people do not differentiate well between the cause and effect of having faith, and often confuse the two. Most of the time the Bible talks about faith, it refers to the effects of faith – not its cause. Faith has one cause (indicated in Mark 11:22-24), which produces a myriad of effects, which the Bible refers to as the fruits of the Spirit. Therefore it is only when a person has faith correctly (causal faith), that he is able to produce the fruits of the Spirit (faith effects).

Now a consequence of the confusion between the cause and effect of faith, is that people try to mimic the effects of faith in order to achieve righteousness. Therefore when God commands people to act righteously, the vast majority try to do so directly, and fail just like the Jews, who tried to mimic the commandments written down in the law of Moses, rather than perform causal faith, to produce its righteous effects. That is what the following scripture means:

Romans 9

30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."
33 As it is written:
   "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble
      and a rock that makes them fall,
   and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

One other thing, a lot of people refer to the following scripture for instruction on having causal faith:

Hebrews 11

1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

They are wrong! The above is just one of many faith effects, and trying to mimic it (by performing the above action directly) will not produce other faith effects. The following scripture indicates as much:

Matthew 7

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Therefore directly believing in God and in the hopes of the saints, does not save anyone. What saves a person is causal faith, which produces the above and other faith effects.

The Holy Spirit Is Female

The Catholic and Protestant Churches generally refer to the Holy Spirit as male. This bias is seen in one or more scriptures in the Bible, such as the following:

Hebrews 10

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16"This is the covenant I will make with them
      after that time, says the Lord.
   I will put my laws in their hearts,
      and I will write them on their minds."

In Hebrew however, spirit is interpreted as female. For example, the following scripture from an old gospel, The Gospel According to the Hebrews, indicates that the early Church regarded the Holy Spirit as female.

“here the Savior says: Even so did my mother, the Holy Spirit, take me by one of my hairs and carry me away on to the great mountain Tabor. ”

Also see here. It is documented that in the translation of Christian texts from Hebrew (where spirit is feminine) to Greek (where spirit is neuter), and then from Greek to Latin (where spirit is masculine), the Holy Spirit winded up being considered male.

In addition to above, the following non-biblical scriptures indicate that the Holy Spirit is in fact female:

The Aquarian Age Gospel of Jesus, the Christ of the Piscean

Chapter 9

14 Then let us study God, the One, the Three, the Seven.
15 Before the worlds were formed all things were One; just Spirit, Universal Breath.
16 And Spirit breathed, and that which was not manifest became the Fire and Thought of Heaven, the Father-God, the Mother-God.
17 And when the Fire and Thought of heaven in union breathed, their son, their only son, was born. This son is Love whom men have called the Christ.

On the Origin of the World

‘Israel - which is, "the man that sees God"; and another being, called Jesus Christ, who resembles the savior above in the eighth heaven, and who sits at his right upon a revered throne. And at his left, there sits the virgin of the holy spirit, upon a throne and glorifying him. And the seven virgins stand before her, [...] possessing thirty harps, and psalteries and trumpets, glorifying him. And all the armies of the angels glorify him, and they bless him.’

The Gospel of Philip

Some said, "Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit." They are in error. They do not know what they are saying. When did a woman ever conceive by a woman?

In addition to above, scriptures throughout the Bible indicate that the Holy Spirit is female. For example, look at the following scriptures:

Proverbs 8

1 Does not wisdom call out?
       Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights along the way,
       where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

3 beside the gates leading into the city,
       at the entrances, she cries aloud:

4 "To you, O men, I call out;
       I raise my voice to all mankind.

5 You who are simple, gain prudence;
       you who are foolish, gain understanding.

6 Listen, for I have worthy things to say;
       I open my lips to speak what is right.

7 My mouth speaks what is true,
       for my lips detest wickedness.

8 All the words of my mouth are just;
       none of them is crooked or perverse.

9 To the discerning all of them are right;
       they are faultless to those who have knowledge.

10 Choose my instruction instead of silver,
       knowledge rather than choice gold,

11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
       and nothing you desire can compare with her.

12 "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
       I possess knowledge and discretion.

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32 "Now then, my sons, listen to me;
       blessed are those who keep my ways.

Matthew 5

44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

John 3

8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

1 Corinthians 2

12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

The texts above indicate that someone who is a son of God, is a son of the Father as well as the Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:44-45, John 3:8). 1 Corinthians 2:12 indicates that the Holy Spirit gives us understanding. In Proverbs 8, the being who speaks as God, identifies herself as the mother of the sons of God, and indicates that she gives understanding to the sons of God. This means that it is the Holy Spirit who speaks as God in Proverbs 8, and it is She, along with the Father, who are the parents of the sons of God – consistent with the claims of the non-biblical scriptures referenced above.

In addition, throughout the Bible, children are considered being born of women – as indicated here. This suggests that John 3:8 (see above) alludes to the fact that the Holy Spirit is female.

All of the above therefore indicate that the Holy Spirit is female, and that the sons of God are born from male and female parents – not two male parents, as suggested by the Catholic and Protestant Churches.