The Bible Teaches the Holy Spirit is a Person

"Do you agree with this definition: A person is someone who has been born like any other person?" No, I don't agree with this definition for the following reasons. (1) A caesarean section (c-section) is a surgical procedure in which a baby is born through an incision (cut) made in the mother's abdominal wall and the wall of the uterus (womb). Your baby may need to be born by caesarean section if there are serious problems that prevent the baby being born by a normal vaginal birth. Obviously such a baby is not born like any other person because most persons are not born that way, yet, despite the manner of his birth, despite not being born the same way any other person, he is still a person. (2) Three men appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18:1-22. Men for sure are persons, but these persons were not born like any other human. They were not born at all. These were two angels and Yahweh himself. God wasn't born, nor were these two angels, yet, it was three persons Abraham saw. This shows a being can be a person without being born. (3) God created Adam from the dust of the earth and he made Eve from Adam's rib. (Gen 2:7, 18-23) None of them were "born like any other person," and yet both of them were persons. Adam and Eve were two persons who were never born from a woman's womb like any other person usually is, which means that being a person is independent of how one was born. Therefore I reject any definition of person that requires the subject to be born in a certain fashion, or to be born at all, to qualify as a person. (4) The term "someone" is another way of saying "some person," and you cannot define the word "person" as "a person." This definition is surely a tautology, a meaningless repetition, which does not tell you what the "person" is that was born. You are attempting to define a person as a person, and then adding that this person was born; but what is the "someone [the person]" that was born? I don't see that you have really given a clear definition of a person. By saying that a person is "someone who has been born like any other person," you are only saying that a person is "[a person] who has been born like any other [person.]" You are using the word "person" to define the word "person." The word "someone" is merely a pronoun substitute for "person," not a definition of the word. That's like using the pronoun "something" to define the word "box." Even if I accept your definition of person, you have not refuted that the definition I cited from Wikipedia is not also a valid meaning of the word. Wikipedia defines the word person as "an entity that has certain capacities or attributes associated with personhood, for example, in a particular moral or legal context.[2] Such capacities or attributes can include agency, self-awareness, a notion of the past and future, and the possession of rights and duties, among others." I have shown the Holy Spirit fits this definition because he has he attributes normally attributed to persons and is therefore a person. Since you have not refuted this definition, it stands as a valid definition in this debate; and since it is a valid definition, and the Holy Spirit fits this definition, then the Holy Spirit is a person. Further, the definition of "person" as a "human" is only a secondary, later meaning of the word person. The Oxford Dictionary says: "Person Latin persona a mask used by a player, a character acted; in later use, a human being….A part played in drama, or in life; hence, function, office, capacity: guise, semblance, character in a play or story." Wikipedia: "Prosopon (pronounced /ˈprɒsɵpɒn/[1] or /prɵˈsoʊpən/,[2] from Ancient Greek: πρόσωπον; plural: Ancient Greek: πρόσωπα - prosopa) is a technical term encountered in Greek theology. It is most often translated as "person", and as such is sometimes confused in translation with hypostasis, which is also translated as "person." Prosopon originally meant "face" or "mask" in Greek and derives from Greek theatre, in which actors on a stage wore masks to reveal their character and emotional state to the audience." So the original meaning of "person" both in Greek and English is that of a character or role, and using this original definition, I have shown the Holy Spirit is a character: he has feelings and preferences etc. Also note Wikipedia's mention of the "emotional state," and I have shown the Holy Spirit does have emotions: he grieves, he loves, he gets angry. (Eph 4:30; Rom 15:30; Isa 63:10) "How can a Holy Spirit be a person? That's contradictory. Either the Bible lies and He's not a spirit, or he is, and therefore not a person. The idea that a spirit is a person is laughable." Angels are spirits (Heb 1:7, 14), therefore, by your argument, angels are not persons. Yet, the angel Gabriel who spoke to Mary was definitely a person. (Luke 1:26-38) If this was not a person carrying on conversation with Mary, then what was it? Also, Satan is a spirit, yet he is presented as a person in Job 1-2. So if spirits are not persons, then God and the angels are not persons at all, because they are spirits too. The Greek word for person "prosopon" which is used for persons at Matt 22:16; Mark 12:14; Luke 20:21; 2 Cor 1:11; 2 Cor 2:10; Gal 2:6 and Jude 16 is used of God (who is a Spirit [John 4:24]), at Exo 15:3 and Heb 9:24. This shows spirits can be persons too. Also, the Bible tells us that when we separate from our bodies we will be "present with the Lord." (2 Cor 5:6-8) Paul tells us that "to die" and "depart" to be with Christ is better than living in the flesh. (Phil 1:21-25) No doubt because the souls and spirits of the righteous will live on. (Matt 10:28) We are shown such souls which have left their bodies still living in Revelation 6:9-11. No doubt these spirits were persons, which again shows that a spirit can be a person. The rich man, Lazarus, Abraham and the angels were definitely persons in Luke 16:19-31, yet these were not fleshly bodies, but spirits. Also, I have shown in my first post that the characteristics of the Holy Spirit are the same as those of a person. The Holy Spirit does what only person can do. He can be lied to (Acts 5:3-4), and he speaks (Acts 13:2), he witnesses (Acts 5:32, 1John 5:7), Glorifies Jesus (John 16:14), Teaches (John 14:26; 15:26), Makes Intercession (Romans 8:26), Anoints (1John 2:27), Appoints (Acts 20:28), and Convicts the world of sin (John 16:8). Surely these are not impersonal acts. The Holy Spirit even sends out disciples to work. (Acts 13:4) Since these are personal acts, we can conclude that the Holy Spirit is therefore a person. My opponent offers no alternative to show what the Holy Spirit is because there is no alternative. Only a person can do what the Holy Spirit does. He has not shown my definition of "person" to be false, he has not shown that the Holy Spirit does not fit this definition, nor has he shown any reason why a spirit cannot be a person. This debate is entitled "THE BIBLE TEACHES the Holy Spirit is a person;" and Con has made the same mistake Blynnd did by not relying on the Bible. Where does the Bible say that a spirit is not a person? He has given no Scriptural support for this idea, thus, it is only his opinion. I have shown examples of spirit persons in the Bible. So my position is Biblical. And where does he get his definition for person anyway? He cites no dictionary or Scripture; therefore, I can dismiss his definition as his personal opinion. I also ask my opponent, what is the Holy Spirit? Is it a force? Is it an animal? If it isn't a person, then what is it? My opponent claims the Holy Spirit can't be a person but doesn't even attempt to tell us what it is. Please tell us, and do it by Scripture. This debate is not about if my opponent thinks the Holy Spirit is a person, nor about if it makes sense to claim the Holy Spirit is a person; but rather, this debate is about weather the Bible teaches the Holy Spirit is a person. My opponent has only presented an argument from logic; namely, "he thinks" it is laughable for a spirit to be a person; but his thinking that doesn't prove that the Bible teaches that. I challenge him to show where the Bible says that a spirit is not a person. I look forward to hearing your argument.