Paraclete

Paraclete (Latin Paracletus, Greek παράκλητος Parakletos ) is a multiple (14,16; 14:26; 15:26, 16:7) in the Gospel of John used term, which is usually identified in Christian theology of the Holy Spirit.

Parakletos

Paraclete was translated by Martin Luther with " Comforter "; now used to the words "comfort " or " comforter " in terms of sadness - in Luther's day, the word had a wider meaning: It meant encouragement for Discouraged. The other recognized German translation of the Reformation, which goes back to Ulrich Zwingli and his staff Zurich Bible, translated " counsel ," as the Catholic translation unit and estimated in some free churches Elberfelder Bible. Other translations speak of "helper " or " deputy " (for example, New Geneva translation ). In ancient Greek the word " παρακαλέω " means " to summon "; the Paraclete ( " παράκλητος " ) is thus the " Summoned ". In non- Christian writers the word as a legal technical term in the meaning ( adj. ) or " lawyer " (substituted ) or as a " mediator, advocate " appears " summoned ". In John's Gospel Jesus calls the Holy Spirit " the Paraclete ", which comes from God, he, Jesus Christ, sends his disciples to encourage them in trouble to speak for them, to bring them to the destination. Likewise, it is the Holy Spirit who unites people with God, it leads to the knowledge of God and the work of redemption in Jesus Christ to penitent self-knowledge and to hope ( cf. John 14-17).

In the first Epistle of John comes in chapter 2 in the first verse " παράκλητος " once before, this time as a designation for Jesus Christ. In this context, the word is used and specific translated " advocate" or " advocate ". In the Vulgate here, the term " advocate " will be used. Romano Guardini translated in his translation of the Te Deum the Latin loanword " Paraclitus " also with " advocate ".

Several early Christian sects or other religions of the Judeo-Christian environment such as the Manichaeans, saw in the Paraclete a human figure, usually the particular sect founder. In the Middle Ages Peter Abelard called the monastic community he founded Le Paraclete.

Other interpretations / Islam

According to David Benjamin Keldani, a convert to Islam Christians, the Biblical announcement of the Paraclete is seen as a reference to Muhammad as " Muhammad " or " Ahmad " ( the second name Muhammad ) is linguistically have the same root word " Hamda " as paraklytos on Aramaic, which also means in the closely related Arabic means " the praised one ". This view derives therefore from the early 20th century and is not part of traditional Islamic interpretations of the word. Muslims also refer to interpretations nichttrinitarischer Christians ( Arians, Unitarians ), according to which God could not have the Holy Spirit or a son beside him.

For an anthropological understanding of the concept of the Holy Spirit in John's Gospel can contribute in the opinion of René Girard, the Greek meaning of the word Paraclete as a defender, lawyer. According to Girard (I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning, 2002) is the Paraclete of the defenders of the victims, whose innocence he makes manifest, and thus the mechanism of the scapegoat of the archaic religions puts an end. In this role he is the counterparty to the Satan of the Gospels, the public prosecutor, which establishes the unanimity of the community against the victim. A precursor of the term Paraclete was therefore in the Book of Job 19,25 ( I know that me a lawyer lives ) to find.