Robert Jenson’s Pneumatological Contribution: An Engagement

Pro Ecclesia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-192
Author(s):  
John W Hoyum
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Personal Account ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Narrative Frame

I argue that Robert Jenson’s pneumatology, as it is developed in his Systematic Theology, secures the personhood of the Holy Spirit by emphasizing the narrative and eschatological dimensions of God’s being. While Jenson successfully eludes the problem of abstraction implicit in many classic pneumatological approaches, I suggest that his reconstructed pneumatology fails to go far enough to personalize the Spirit in narrative concrescence. To push Jenson’s insight to a further, yet more salutary, extent, I enlist the pneumatology of Martin Luther, whose understanding of proclamation in word and sacrament provides an adequately historical, eschatological, narrative frame for a fully personal account of the Holy Spirit.

Experiencing the Spirit

2020 ◽  
pp. 48-79
Author(s):  
Simeon Zahl
Keyword(s):  
Religious Experience ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Emotional Impact ◽  
Temporal Specificity ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit

This chapter argues that a constructive recovery of the category of “experience” in Christian theology is best accomplished through the lens of the theology of the Holy Spirit. Thinking about experience in terms of the work of the Holy Spirit helps specify what we mean when we talk about Christian “experience,” while also avoiding the problems that arise in appeals to more general concepts of “religious experience.” The chapter shows how a pneumatologically informed theology of experience draws attention to a problematic tendency towards abstraction and disembodiment in much modern systematic theology. It then argues that the work of the Spirit is likely to take forms that are “practically recognizable” in the lives of Christians in the world, exhibiting temporal specificity as well as affective and emotional impact, and that pneumatologies that cannot take account of such practically recognizable effects are deficient.

Martin Luther on Faith

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Stoellger
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
The Holy Spirit

Faith is not a human act but rather (a) an act of God—that is, the power or action of God as a “divine work in us”; and (b) relation before God (coram Deo), or more precisely, a passive relation and responsorial action (vita passiva). Furthermore, the genesis of faith and its execution should be systematically conceived as (c) communication (unio, communio et communicatio cum Christo) in the event of justification; or (d) the encounter of a pure gift by the power of the Holy Spirit in the word event; (e) ensuing the exchange of gifts or the response of the vita passiva.

Martin Luther and the Holy Spirit

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lois Malcolm
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Biblical Theology ◽  
Biblical Exegesis ◽  
Literary Genres ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Theology ◽  
The One ◽  
The Trinity

Although often neglected in historical and theological studies of Martin Luther’s work, an understanding of the Holy Spirit undergirds his signal contributions to the history of theology and is essential to any case for his ongoing relevance to contemporary theology and practice. Drawing on biblical exegesis, Luther would reinvigorate the doctrine of the Holy Spirit he inherited from the Western theological tradition and from the Ancient Church. Nonetheless, he wrote in a variety of literary genres and in response to a range of issues. To address this linguistic and historical complexity, this article examines the role the concept of the Holy Spirit plays in his theology by providing readings of texts that have been influential on later appropriations of his work. In doing so, it focuses on two intertwined themes in his theology. First, it examines his understanding of the Holy Spirit in relation to justification—that is, the righteousness of God we receive as a gift by faith—looking at his early biblical theology and two especially influential texts, “The Freedom of a Christian” (1520) and his “Lectures on Galatians” (1535). Second, it discusses his portrayal of the Holy Spirit as sanctifier—that is, as the one who creates holiness or sanctification in us—in his most well-known catechisms, in the “Confession of 1528,” and in his “Lectures on Genesis” (1535) and “Sermons on John” (1537). Throughout, attention will also be given to his understanding of the Trinity, Word and sacraments, faith, hope, and love, and the themes of promise and gift. The article concludes with a sketch of historical work and a discussion of the influence of Luther’s pneumatology on later theology and current areas of research.

Martin Luther and the Lord’s Prayer

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Mikoteit
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Specific Form ◽  
Word Of God ◽  
Critical Dialogue ◽  
Lord's Prayer ◽  
Actual Experience ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Holy Spirit

Martin Luther critically engaged with tradition in his interpretations of the Lord’s Prayer. As a result, he occasionally departed from a line of interpretation even in later years because he had taken up an idea from the traditional canon. His spiritual approach to prayer, reflected in his interpretations of the Lord’s Prayer, was also developed in critical dialogue with tradition. Luther’s spiritual treatment of the Lord’s Prayer either remained within its linguistic realm or became an element in a practice that reinterpreted the classical model of lectio—meditatio—oratio—contemplatio. When he established the three rules of the study of theology with his oratio, meditatio, and tentatio, this was informed by the fact that he identified existential need as the context for this exercise. Regarding the inner qualities of the spirituality of prayer, Luther called for prayer to be made up of words within a dialectic of law and the gospel rather than deliberately imagined internal images. This also held true when it came to Luther’s view on the particular experience of the Holy Spirit. For him, the only difference was that the petitioner should actively pray with his own words before and after experiencing the Spirit, but remain passive during the actual experience, shifting into a listening mode and praying with the words that flowed into him through the Holy Spirit from the Word of God Himself. This experience represented the pinnacle of this complex spiritual practice, being a specific form of contemplatio. Luther also developed his understanding, with regard to the theology of repentance, of the Lord’s Prayer in particular and of prayer in general by critically engaging with tradition. The fact that he interpreted other petitions of the Lord’s Prayer in terms of the fifth petition, confession, was a sign of his rethinking of the theology of repentance. This reevaluation was the result of Luther’s taking his doctrine of justification as the basis for the doctrine of prayer at the same time as adhering to the framework, in terms of the theology of repentance, for the interpretation of prayer that was defined by tradition.

The Sanctifying Work of the Holy Spirit: Revisiting Alston’s Interpersonal Model

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 112-130
Author(s):  
Steven L Porter ◽  
Brandon Rickabaugh
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Philosophical Investigation ◽  
Christian Spirituality ◽  
William Alston ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Interpersonal Model

Of the various loci of systematic theology that call for sustained philosophical investigation, the doctrine of sanctification stands out as a prime candidate.  In response to that call, William Alston developed three models of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit: the fiat model, the interpersonal model, and the sharing model.  In response to Alston’s argument for the sharing model, this paper offers grounds for a reconsideration of the interpersonal model.  We close with a discussion of some of the implications of one’s understanding of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit for practical Christian spirituality.

Wolfgang Vondey’s Structure for Systematic Pentecostal Theology

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
Christopher A. Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Narrative Theology ◽  
Proper Place ◽  
Pentecostal Theology ◽  
Full Gospel ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Fundamental Transformation ◽  
Spirit Christology

Wolfgang Vondey’s Pentecostal Theology: Living the Full Gospel is a tour de force in Pentecostal systematic theology. It is also the most articulate statement of the fivefold gospel’s power to explain the impulses of past Pentecostal spirituality and its constructive potential for future Pentecostal discourse. Combining both traditional and innovative systematic loci, Vondey’s project shows great promise for the enterprise of christologically oriented narrative theology. One looming question is whether the christocentrism of the full gospel can bear adequate witness to some of the details of Spirit christology. That is, can the full gospel, with its emphasis on Jesus actively bestowing the Holy Spirit on creatures, give proper place to Jesus passively receiving the Holy Spirit from the Father, without the full gospel’s structure undergoing fundamental transformation? While some ambiguities remain in Vondey’s attempts to employ both the full gospel and elements of Spirit christology in the same theological paradigm, he takes long strides towards integrating these two themes that have often competed with each other for space in Pentecostal theology.

scholarly journals It is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63): Experience and the Formulation of Theology

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-183
Author(s):  
Olga Zaprometova
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
History Of Christianity ◽  
Hildegard Of Bingen ◽  
International Conference ◽  
Real Presence ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
History Of

Abstract This paper was presented at the international conference “Theology of the Holy Spirit: Personal Experience and Charismatic Movements in Contemporary Churches” held in Sibiu (2014). Although the role of the charismatic experience in the history of Christianity is a well-known fact it is still of particular interest for today due to the growth of Pentecostalism and charismatic movements worldwide. By turning to Hildegard of Bingen and to Martin Luther for a better understanding of the “faith of the heart”, this study aims to emphasize faith not just as a matter of understanding God but rather as experiencing the real presence of the Holy One. A particular focus is on clarifying terms and seeking the understanding of one another’s positions on the issue of the Holy Spirit.

The Reformation of Liturgy

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Karant-Nunn
Keyword(s):  
Religious Belief ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Martin Luther ◽  
Lord's Supper ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Evangelical Movement ◽  
The Way

Along with Reformation changes in authorized religious belief came the urgent revision and refinement of ecclesiastical ceremony—the liturgy. Both before and after the Evangelical movement, every act and decorative object within the churches symbolized a point of theological affirmation. Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli led the way in directing a new program, which constituted an aural and visual means of instructing the laity. The transubstantiating priest gave way to the preacher of Scripture, and the sermon now became the centerpiece of organized worship. The Holy Spirit inspired the clergyman in his pulpit. The Lord’s Supper remained a liturgical and theological focal point even though it was not as prominently placed in services as preaching. Across Protestant Europe, new forms of observance inculcated doctrine upon parishioners. Social rituals—marriage, baptism, and penance—were made congregational and not just familial or personal concerns.

Subject to Spirit: The Promise of Pentecostal Feminist Pneumatology and Its Witness to Systematics

Pneuma ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Janice Rees
Keyword(s):  
Gender Studies ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Doctrine Of God ◽  
Critical Elements ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Intimate Relation ◽  
And Gender

Abstract The emergence of feminist Pentecostal studies poses a sharp challenge to both systematic theology and gender studies. The experiences of Pentecostal women, often in non-Western contexts, confront common assumptions regarding women’s ritual experience and the emergence of subjectivity. This paper will argue for an integration of insights from feminist Pentecostalism into the discipline of systematic theology. I explore the emergence of subjectivity in Pentecostal women in relation to the Holy Spirit and argue that a Pentecostal and feminist approach to pneumatology brings the critical elements together. This produces a clearer vision of the intimate relation between the doctrine of God and an embodied community of women (and men), thereby creating room within the systematic discipline to explore the boundaries of subjectivity itself.

Friedrich Schleiermacher: Pentecostal Friend or Foe?

Ecclesiology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel D. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Systematic Theology ◽  
Friedrich Schleiermacher ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Pentecostal Theology ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Academic Theology

Although it is rapidly growing worldwide, Pentecostalism is a relatively young Christian tradition and, in consequence, has not yet developed a thorough systematic theology. The most unifying aspects of Pentecostalism tend to be its emphasis on the Holy Spirit and its commitment to oppose what are deemed to be inappropriate and heretical theologies. While there are many theologies and theologians that Pentecostals resist, Friedrich D.E. Schleiermacher is almost universally opposed due to what Western Pentecostal theology views as his liberal, subjective, and academic theology. In this essay, I argue that these claims are misguided and that there is important common ground between Schleiermacher and Western Pentecostal theology, as seen through Schleiermacher’s theology on redemption, ecclesiology, and preaching. Thus Western Pentecostal theology can confidently adopt Schleiermacher as a theological ally, thereby allowing his theology to inform Pentecostal theology as it continues to develop.

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