On the Road to the Age of the Holy Spirit: V.P. Bykov’s Spiritualistic Dogmatism

In the Christian tradition, a spiritual experience is a phenomenon that in some sense remains controversial. Nonetheless, spiritual experience in Christianity refers to the personalization of the faith in Christ that transcends the normal. This is, however, critically contested and regrettably unexplored. It lends credence to why contemporary research on religious experience reveals that Christian spiritual experiences have the element of supernatural intervention by the Holy Spirit, although supernatural must not be confused with spectacular. It might be spectacular, as in the case of Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Drawing upon extensive contemporary research, content analysis, and literature on religious experience, this study adopts descriptive methodology as techniques. The study situates religious experience as occurrence in an everyday situation of Christians through which they derive a clear inner realization of “the truth.” Findings reveal a significant implication for collective research on religious and spiritual experiences for Christians.

Download Full-text

‘n Homilie oor geloofsonderskeiding in ‘n akkoord van drie

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v68i1.1259 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 68 (1) ◽

Author(s):

J. Christo Van der Merwe

Keyword(s):

Jesus Christ ◽

Holy Spirit ◽

Christian Faith ◽

Peter 2 ◽

The Road ◽

1 Peter ◽

The Bible ◽

The Holy Spirit ◽

The Will ◽

The Cross

A homily on discernment of faith in a chord of three. This article reflects on discernment as a key Christian faith practice of the believing community that wants to live according to its vision and mission as articulated in 1 Peter 2:21: To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. This homily is presented as a chord consisting of three notes that entices the readers to contribute their own harmonies – to witness to their own contexts of tension between true and false prophecy, to choose for God’s presence in Jesus Christ and to perservere as followers of Jesus amid the coldness and cruelty of this world. These disciples choose Jesus in spite of the chaos in their own lives and in their world. A similar choice was made by one of the criminals on the cross alongside Jesus (Lk 23:42). The three notes that make up the chord are: discernment on the basis of the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to distinguish the will of God for the road ahead.

Download Full-text

A REFORMA DA IGREJA

Perspectiva Teológica ◽

10.20911/21768757v46n128p21/2014 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 46 (128) ◽

pp. 21

Author(s):

Vítor Galdino Feller

Keyword(s):

Holy Spirit ◽

Kingdom Of God ◽

Local Churches ◽

People Of God ◽

The Road ◽

The Third ◽

The World ◽

The Holy Spirit ◽

History Of ◽

The Church

O pontificado do papa Francisco trouxe à tona o tema da reforma da Igreja. Retoma-se essa causa que acompanha a história da Igreja desde os seus primórdios e que interessa a todos os membros do povo santo de Deus. O texto divide-se em quatro partes. Primeiro, faz-se um apanhado histórico dos anseios de reforma da Igreja, mostrando que, muitas vezes em instâncias subterrâneas, sempre houve o desejo e também ações concretas de renovação. Em seguida, apresenta-se como razão para a reforma da Igreja o anúncio e a realização do Reino de Deus, pelo qual é preciso que a Igreja se volte à concretude humana e histórica de Jesus de Nazaré, pela superação do apego ao poder e às estruturas religiosas. Num terceiro momento, trata-se do critério pelo qual se mede a realização e a veracidade da reforma da Igreja: a santidade de cada fiel e do povo cristão no meio do mundo. Por fim, conclui-se que o caminho para a reforma da Igreja está na escuta dos clamores do Espírito Santo, que fala na própria Igreja e no mundo através do sensus fidei dos fiéis, das Igrejas particulares, dos pobres, das mulheres e das realidades terrestres.ABSTRACT: The pontificate of Pope Francis brought to the surface the theme of reform of the Church. This essay takes up this cause that accompanies the history of the Church from its beginnings and concerns all the members of the holy people of God. The text is divided into four parts. First, it gives a historical summary of the yearnings for reform of the Church, showing that, in many instances subterranean, there has always been the desire and also the concrete actions of renewal. Following from this, the essay presents as the reason for the reform of the Church the proclamation and the realization of the Kingdom of God, whereby it is necessary that the Church return to the concrete human and historical Jesus of Nazareth, in order to overcome the addiction to power and to religious structures. In the third part, it treats of the criterion that measures the realization and the authenticity of reform of the Church: the holiness of each believer and of the Christian people in the midst of the world. Finally, it concludes that the road of reform of the Church is in the hearing of the cries of the Holy Spirit, that speak in the Church itself and in the world through the sensus fidei of the faithful, of the local Churches, of the poor, of women and of the earthly realities.

Download Full-text

EKUMENINĖS TIESOS PAIEŠKOS IR KRISTAUS BAŽNYČIOS TAPATYBĖ

Religija ir kultūra ◽

10.15388/relig.2007.0.2801 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 52-59

Author(s):

Romualdas Dulskis

Keyword(s):

Holy Spirit ◽

Social Life ◽

Human Being ◽

Face To Face ◽

Ecumenical Dialogue ◽

The Road ◽

The Holy Spirit ◽

The Face ◽

God's Grace ◽

Divine Truth

Ekumenizmą neturėtume suprasti kaip paviršutiniškos įvairių konfesijų krikščionių vienybės siekį. Ekumeninis dialogas akina pagilinti savąjį tikėjimą. Kiekvienas jo dalyvis yra Šventosios Dvasios kviečiamas kuo rimčiausiai patikrinti sąžinę ir išdrįsti pripažinti bet kokį nesąžiningumą dieviškosios tiesos atžvilgiu.Toleruodamas įvairius teologinio mąstymo būdus, skirtingus krikščioniškosios praktikos aspektus bei įvairias kulto formas, ekumenizmas akina priimti Dievo tiesos ir gėrio pilnatvę į savo širdis ir gyvenimą. Vienas iš svarbiausių ekumeninio judėjimo tikslų yra atvesti žmogų į akistatą su Kristaus Evangelija ir su objektyvia dieviškąja tiesa. Pastangos dieviškąją tiesą paversti subjektyvia kiekvieno asmens tiesa reiškia ir žmogiškosios asmenybės objektyvios harmonijos neigimą.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: Bažnyčia, tiesa, ekumenizmas, pasauliečių kunigystė.Ecumenical Search for Truth and the Identity of the Christian ChurchRomualdas Dulskis SummaryEcumenism should not be understood as an aspiration for merely external and superficial unity. Ecumenical dialogue is a dialogue of conversion. This dialogue is being executed in the face of God, and so each participant is invited to seriously check his/her conscience, make bold to acknowledge his/her wrongness, confess his/her faults and take the road of truth, justice and good. Ecumenical efforts are understood not as a man-thought of scope but as a work inspired by the Holy Spirit and God’s grace for the modern Church and the world.Ecumenism is tolerant to diverse theological thinking, different aspects of Christian practice and various forms of religious cults, but at the same time ecumenism urges people to accept the plenitude of God’s truth and goodness into their hearts and life. One of the main goals of the ecumenical movement is to bring a human being into face-to-face with the Gospel and the objective divine truth. Ecumenism encourages us to plead guilty not only to our sins but also to any dishonesty regarding the divine truth and our reticence to the divine truth by taking inspiration from the Holy Spirit.Aspirations to convert the divine truth into the subjective in every person’s truth are also a denial of objective harmonic development of a human being. Thus, the subjective truth leads one to subjectively perceive good that can often be destructive or evil and so destroying both personal harmony and the harmony of social life. That is why for today’s Christians and all people of good-will there no other way but to expand their hearts and find themselves as creatures that can be satisfied only by recognition of the divine truth and divine goodness, as well as their implementation in all dimensions of the daily rounds of living.Keywords: Church, truth, ecumenism, priesthood of the laity.

Download Full-text

Nyaars-Morgen - historie, fornyelse og fællesskab

Grundtvig-Studier ◽

10.7146/grs.v58i1.16522 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 58 (1) ◽

pp. 258-273

Author(s):

Marie Louise Nyegaard

Keyword(s):

Holy Spirit ◽

Spiritual Renewal ◽

The Road ◽

The Past ◽

The North ◽

Stepwise Development ◽

The Holy Spirit ◽

The Right ◽

The Relationship ◽

The Church

Nyaars-Morgen - historie, fornyelse og fællesskab[New Year ’s Morning - history, renewal and community]By Marie Louise NyegaardIn the year 1824 Grundtvig’s work was focused on allowing the past to speak into the present. To him man is an essential part of the stream of history and a being that must be capable of understanding the past in order to understand himself. According to Grundtvig there was a crucial connection between history and Christianity. This point is most clearly shown with his use of a mirror as a metaphor for both the meeting of the past and the present and the heavenly and the earthly.Moreover, Christianity reflects itself in history as the sky reflects itself in the ocean. As well, historical events can be seen as types and antitypes for one another and together provide a method of understanding the heavenly.Grundtvig’s calling to lead the North to the right awareness on history in order to enable a spiritual renewal is illustrated in his poem Nyaars-Morgen (New Year's Morning) from 1824. The poem is strongly characterised by Grundtvig’s self-symbolism where he projects himself as a poet, prophet and as a revivalist of the Nordic national character under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The ten songs of the poem show the road to the dawn of renewal as a stepwise development towards a common and national awareness of the Nordic past. The plot is shaped as a voyage into the poet’s own past and as a voyage into the Nordic heritage and history where the relationship between mythology, history and Christianity is questioned. Because Nordic mythology points to a glorious Christian future for the North, it turns out to be of crucial importance to Grundtvig's typologicalawareness of history.Within the poem a universe of most detailed imagery unfolds in which metaphors connect to both one another and to other metaphors in Grundtvig's works. To Grundtvig this imagery is a way for man to speak of the spiritual and become connected to his thoughts about the “Living Word", which is fundamentally an echo of the Word of Creation and at the same time the expression of the concept that man is made in the image of God.Nyaars-Morgen reveals a connection between Grundtvig's view on history, his role as a viewer and a poet, and the word as the embodiment of the Spirit. He views the stream of history as a force that will always connect people and the word as a meeting point for God and man. These thoughts are fundamental to Grundtvig's churchly views from 1825 where he emphasised the spoken creed as the foundation of the church rather than the written Bible. The churchly view was therefore a well-prepared continuation of thoughts that Grundtvig had already unfolded through his poetry in the years before.

Download Full-text