Holy Ghost vs Holy Spirit
When we talk about Christianity, we often make use of the concept of Holy Trinity to explain the existence of Jesus, the son of God, as being different from God himself. There are three components of this Holy Trinity with the God being the father and Jesus being the son of God. The third person in this Holy Trinity is the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost as it is referred to by the people. Each of these three is God in itself with Jesus being separate and in relation with God the father. There are people who are confused by the terms Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost. This article attempts to find if there is any difference between the Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost.
With both terms being used to refer to the third person in the Holy Trinity, it becomes confusing for both the followers of Christianity and those who are trying to master the concepts of Christianity sitting on the fence. There are some who feel that two different kinds of spirits are being talked about. For these people, it is pertinent to make clear the fact that Ghost is a word that is a translation of the word pneuma just like Spirit that also is derived from this word. Pneuma is a Greek word that has given birth to both words spirit and ghost. It was around 1611 AD, during the times of King James, the New Testament was for the first time being rewritten from the original Greek version. The translators at that time used both spirit and ghost to translate the word Pneuma which created an impression and belief that Holy Spirit was something different from the Holy Ghost.
In reality, Pneuma is a word that roughly means breath, and when talking about God, it gets translated into spirit. However, there were some who preferred ghost over the spirit at that time that lead to a belief that both are different entities. It is hard to say now if there was any ulterior motive or it was done intentionally, the fact remains that it continues to sow seeds of confusion in the minds of the followers that Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost are indeed two different entities.
Summary
To solve the confusion form the minds of the people, it has been proposed to use the word spirit whenever we are talking about the spirit of God or Jesus. On the other hand, it has also been suggested to use the word Ghost whenever talking about the third person of the Holy Trinity. However, there is basically no difference between the two terms that can be used for the third person of the Holy Trinity.