Spirit is Air

Researching the word 'spirit' will reveal that this word originates and is etymologically related to air, wind, breath, etc. And this is the case in almost all languages. For example the Greek word for spirit is “pneuma”, which also means ‘wind’. The same in Hebrew, the Hebrew word for spirit is “ruach”, which again also means ‘wind’.

This is why many messenger deities, such as angels, are portrayed in artwork as having wings that fly through the spirit / air. Birds were seen as the messengers of the sun god in many cultures. The Egyptians also portrayed their version of spirit / soul (ba and ka) as a bird with a human head.

The word “spirit” only started to be used as an abstract concept in more recent times. The ancients were only talking about air when they used this word. Air is the invisible ‘presence’ that sustains all organisms on the earth and the ancients thought that this was mysterious. When someone dies, the air / spirit leaves their lungs and comes out of their mouths. The air molecules then join the rest of them up in the spirit world / atmosphere.

Nowhere in the Bible do the words soul and spirit refer to some kind of abstract “essence” that goes to an afterlife. These words always refer to air/wind/breath.

Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

In fact, there is no afterlife in the early books of the Old Testament. People would be said to go to “sheol” once they died. The word ‘sheol’ is Hebrew for “grave”. When you die, you go to the grave and the spirit / air will leave your body through your mouth. Only in later Biblical mythology do they start introducing the idea of resurrection from the dead. But, even then they did not speak of a nonphysical resurrection. No, what they believed was that their bodies would be physically resurrected out of their graves and then Yahweh would put new flesh back on their bones and put his spirit/breath back in their lungs. At the end times, Yahweh would destroy the old flat earth that’s surrounded by a sky-dome and then create a new one with the “New Jerusalem” as the capital. The resurrected Jews would then live in this New Jerusalem forever and Yahweh would be their king. The New Testament then introduced new ideas about “sinners” who don’t accept Christ being cast into the fires of Gehenna/Hell (named after a valley outside Jerusalem where children were sacrificed to Caananite gods by fire). The New Testament also has a temporary underworld abode of the dead called “Hades”. The writers believed there were two sections of Hades, one where the righteous will wait in comfort until the “end times” and another section where the sinners will wait in fiery torment. Amazingly, most people still believe in this type of insanity. But anyway, the Quran also speaks of physical resurrection from the dead (at the end times) and then a final judgment (paradise or fire).

Later, some religious people started becoming uncomfortable with the idea of physical gods and physical bodies being resurrected from the dead. So, instead they came up with more abstract incoherent ideas and once they started learning what air actually is, then they had to redefine what they meant by words such as “spirit” and “soul”. It was the only way to save their religion. The meaning of the word ‘spirit’ has changed dramatically. However, you don’t have to do much research to find out what this word really means. Spirit is actually just a synonym for air. So, take in a deep breath, and fill your lungs with the spirit that surrounds us and sustains everything on the earth.