Pneumatology

This document (accepted by the Board of Ordained Ministry in 2020) includes some revisions, making it more accessible to the laity. In addition, it may provide some direction for certified candidates in the UMC seeking to be commissioned and ordained.

Owen, John (1616-1683)
Publisher: Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library --
Description: Pneumatologia--or, 'Owen on the Holy Spirit,' as the work has generally been called--is perhaps one of the best known, and most highly esteemed of John Owen's treatises. Pneumatologia is divided into five parts. The first part contains a general and preliminary account of the Holy Spirit. The second part addresses the operations of the Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments. The third part discusses the doctrine of regeneration. The fourth part addresses the doctrine of sanctification, and the role of the Holy Spirit in it. The final part contains arguments extolling the reader to holiness. This is a beloved treatise, as John Newton once wrote to a correspondent: "We are favoured with many excellent books in our tongue, but I with you agree in assigning one of the first places as a teacher to Dr. Owen. I have just finished his discourse on the Holy Spirit which is an epitome, if not the masterpiece of his writings."

This essay was published in The Bible and Early Trinitarian Theology, edited by Christopher A. Beeley and Mark E. Weedman, for the CUAP Studies in Early Christianity (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2018); this is the uncorrected proofs. Exploring the humanity and divinity of Jesus, the Son's relation to the Father, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, it is one of five essays suggesting Johannine contributions to trinitarian discussions in the early church.

In order to better cope with the pressures and stresses of the current day, modern psychology is anxiously seeking to find new therapies to address the increasing disorders within the human psyche. In the process new fields of research, such as humanistic and transpersonal psychology, curiously appear to borrow more and more from the wisdom of the ages. This volume, containing eighteen articles by noteworthy expositors of the perennial philosophy such as Huston Smith, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and Frithjof Schuon, presents the spiritual psychology of the wisdom traditions as a much-needed antidote to the current impasse in modern psychology.

Some Endorsements for Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy:

“[Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy] is more than an anthology. It is a wisely crafted collection of classic and contemporary scholarship noting that what many are seeking is what has always been, a perennial philosophy, that remains foundational. As one of the authors, Tage Lindbom, properly notes, ‘Secularization is a fish in troubled waters.’ This book claims the waters and is essential reading for all those who may have forgotten or are simply ignorant of the rich foundation provided by the perennial philosophy.”
—Ralph W. Hood, Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, past president of the Psychology of Religion division of the American Psychological Association, co-founder of The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and co-author of The Psychology of Religion

“A necessary and bracing critique of the assumptions and limitations of contemporary Western psychology, this generous volume is also a passionate call and learned guide towards a truer perspective that embraces man's spiritual nature.”
—Gabor Maté, M.D., and author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

“Knowing the nature of the mind is perhaps the most difficult undertaking, especially in today’s world. To comprehend the nature of mind one needs to turn to the domain of religion and spirituality. Yet the truth of the mind and its complexity cannot explicitly be defined in words. Inner or transcendent wisdom sees the mind’s own nature without the duality of the seer. Suchness (tathatā) of mind is only experiential and not expressible. The words used to describe thought are themselves a product of thought, which is conditioned and limited. Thus, differences and contradictions are unavoidable. Therefore, a comparative study of different viewpoints and commentaries is immensely important to awaken the inner intelligence to see the mind as it is. Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy: Studies in Comparative Religion edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is an outstanding effort in this direction.”
—Samdhong Rinpoche, former Prime Minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, author of Uncompromising Truth for a Compromised World: Tibetan Buddhism and Today’s World

“The rise of psychology has impacted the study and practice of spirituality, the experiences and attitudes relevant to ultimate human values that transcend ordinary behavior. Each chapter of this remarkable book demonstrates this interaction in a unique and provocative way. But rather than using psychology to reduce and ‘psychologize’ spiritual topics, its authors demonstrate how directives from the spiritual traditions can enhance and even illuminate the enduring importance of psychology in the 21st century.”
—Stanley Krippner, Saybrook University, co-author of Spiritual Dimensions of Healing

“The work at hand is a thinking and debating man’s delight. If you have any interest at all in attempting to include an educated and enlightened view of man’s higher functions in your purview of the world, you will learn from and enjoy this collection of essays. If you already have some knowledge in this area, brace yourself: you may see some of your favorites sharply criticized. A thought-provoking work.”
—Bruce W. Scotton, University of California, San Francisco, co-editor of Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology

“This book, superbly edited by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos, is a masterful critique of the field of psychology and its loss of the sacred ground in which it once was rooted. It offers depth psychologists an opportunity to contemplate timeless truths echoed through the centuries by perennial philosophers who have always claimed psyche is subordinate to Spirit. Although ignored in depth psychology’s early years due to prejudice and lack of understanding, this is a message today’s psychotherapists must take seriously. Human beings need a deeper and wider transpersonal vision of who and what we are, which the saints and sages of the world’s spiritual traditions have always pointed to. In psychotherapy with a therapist committed to such a vision, patients penetrate into their unconscious depths and not infrequently awaken to the Ground of all Being. Their suffering itself occurred because they had turned away from Spirit. Above all, this volume passionately calls upon depth psychology to remember its origin in the perennial wisdom at the core of the great religions. There is something of a polemic in these pages. It deserves to be considered by depth psychologists of all persuasions.”
—Bryan Wittine, Transpersonal psychologist and Jungian psychoanalyst

“This anthology from Samuel Bendeck Sotillos is a must reference for anyone who is interested in psychology and its relationship to spirituality, and in developing an inclusive dialogue between disciplines that favor an integral outlook on the person and his or her potential. Selections in this anthology will inspire us to reexamine the metaphysical underpinnings of psychology, and remind us how important it is to rise above science’s attempt to reduce the human being to an epistemic object.”
—Sangeetha Menon, National Institute of Advanced Studies (Bangalore, India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Beyond Experience: Consciousness in Bhagavad Gita

“This anthology has some of the most discerning essays and reviews on spirituality and psychology, which provide much-needed care and caution to all those engaged in bringing them together or who wish to do so in future. Therefore, it is a must-read for all those who teach, research, consult, or study in such frontier areas as transpersonal psychology, states of consciousness, mind-body relation, holistic health, Indian psychology, and so on. It will be an invaluable textbook for courses in these and other related areas. I congratulate the editor of the book.”
—Kiran Kumar K. Salagame, University of Mysore (India), Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA), author of The Psychology of Meditation: A Contextual Approach

“One of the finest collections of essays on the Perennial Philosophy—a must-read for all psychologists who are engaged with spirituality and transpersonal psychology. The essays which critique modern psychology (including transpersonal psychology, and the framework of Carl Jung), in the light of the Perennial Philosophy are a revelation and make compelling reading. The book serves as a corrective to the excesses of modern psychology, and to this end Sotillos has done a commendable job. I for one will include the book in some of the graduate courses that I teach.”
—Suneet Varma, University of Delhi, co-editor of Foundations of Indian Psychology

“To its credit modern science by-and-large is becoming more cognizant of the essential connection between spirituality and psychological health and well-being and most of all its positive implications within the field of psychology. While there is ample data to document this in a plethora of academic journals and books, this new book Psychology and the Perennial Philosophy adds a novel contribution to the dialogue between psychology and spirituality, which captures many nuances that for the most part go unnoticed within these discussions, and last but not least, it provides a keen eye of discernment to understand this intricate relationship on a deeper level that is crucially needed. This work will be a valuable asset to students and long term mental health practitioners and professors alike who seek to better understand the relationship between psychology and spirituality.”
—Harold G. Koenig, Duke University, Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, co-author of The Handbook of Religion and Health

In this text I look at Eastern Orthodoxy pneumatology in relation to the theology of the Icon. I argue that the exclusivity of the Icon as the only expression of art within the Eastern Orthodox Church has inconsistencies with the doctrine of theosis and the Holy Spirit as the sanctifier of the whole of creation. Instead the pneumatology of Eastern Orthodox theology has the potential for a wider artistic expression.

Explorations of Tolkien's latent theology abound, but very little focused scholarship proposes to discuss how Tolkien's legendari-um portrays an understanding of the Holy Spirit, especially in light of Tolkien's Roman Catholicism. This essay explores three major features of Tolkien's work that provide insight into this ghostly person of the Trinity. The Silmarillion provides detailed insight as to the exact identity of the " Flame Imperishable, " while its characters demonstrate the indwelling of this Flame. St. Paul explains the gifts of the Holy Spirit in his first letter to the Corinthians and Tolkien seems to mimic many of these gifts in the characters of the nine members of the Fellowship. Lastly, the Great Eagles represent the workings of the Holy Spirit, both as servants of Manwë and as agents of eucatastrophe.

In this paper, the author wants to demonstrate that the demise of Pentecostal dispensationalism along with some further contemporary factors are removing the bedrock upon which Pentecostal premillennialism was standing. For this reason, premillennialism is currently being downplayed as the core Pentecostal eschatological doctrine. By the end of this paper, it is proposed that Pentecostal eschatology should still remain premillennial.

This paper is one of several presented at the 2010 SBL NAASR session in Atlanta concerning anachronism and translation in the study of early Christianity. It argues that the concept of pneuma’s central importance to Paul’s thought makes it a prime candidate to remain untranslated in scholarship. Most scholarship on pneuma translates this word ‘Spirit’, which imports normative Christian theological implications. This reflects a modern, Western understanding of religion that is derived from thinkers like Kant and Descartes, which privileges dualisms of mind/body and material/spirit, and which foregrounds the importance of a private, internal, subjective religious experience anachronistic relative to Paul. I redress this through a theoretical shift toward contextualizing Paul’s understanding of pneuma as a physiological process with analogues in ancient Greco-Roman medical thought. This approach is briefly compared to other influential accounts of pneuma in New Testament studies, and subsequently treats several Pauline passages within this new lens.

This paper covers the Pentecostal experience and theology of the Holy Spirit in comparison to Orthodox trinitarian theology, anthropology and spirituality with regard to aspects of doctrine, sacraments, spiritual practise and ecumenical dialogue. Cultural factors are taken into view such as African traditional culture, religion and philosophy as formative background of Pentecostalism, with the concepts of "spiritual power", "life force" and practises of spiritual trance in particular. Likewise common ground of Pentecostalism with Orthodoxy in view of Western Enlightenment rationalism is taken into view.
This essay is the revised edition of a paper presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a doctoral dissertation at the UNESCO Chair of Interreligious and Intercultural Studies, at the University of Bucharest

This study explores common ground and affinities between Christian Orthodoxy and Pentecostalism in theology, spirituality, cosmology, anthropology and the understanding of rites and sacraments. The focus is on the understanding and perception of the Holy Spirit, with regard to spiritual experience, personal transformation and the life of the Church. It also reflects on the African religious heritage of Christianity in the formation of these forms of spiritual experience and expression. The role and development of African Instituted Churches is taken into view, aware of their common heritage with Pentecostalism and of their distinctness. The context of ecumenical exchange between Pentecostalism and the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches in the 20th century is considered as background for the realization of convergences. The growing awareness in both Pentecostalism and Orthodoxy of their common ground, based in the hermeneutics and spirituality of early Christianity is recognized and recommended as field for further engagement. The common affirmation of both Churches of a spiritual world view in contrast to the positivistic ‘naturalistic’ world view of secular Enlightenment – as distinct from the spiritual branch of Enlightenment in which Pentecostalism is rooted through Pietism – is recognized as common ground for mutual understanding and critical difference to mainstream Western secularism. This study thus aims at fostering a better mutual understanding of Pentecostal and Orthodox Churches and of their epistemological agreements with regard to the challenges of secular cultures.

Go here for uncorrected proofs: http://kellenplaxco.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/5/4/26547638/vc_070_04_1277-plaxco.pdf

This article provides an account of Didymus’s subtle attention to theological nuance and invites readers to reconsider his importance for the theological debates of the late fourth century. The polemical shape of Didymus the Blind’s theology of the trinity is underdetermined. This article argues that Didymus responded to Eunomius’s first Apology. The argument takes the shape of a short history of the reception of John 16:14. This verse was used in anti-monarchian tradition to distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Son, but it also led to low pneumatologies that in some cases implied angelomorphic pneumatology. Eunomius’s pneumatology in Apology 25 is a radicalization of this anti-monarchian reading of John 16:14, which Didymus opposed with careful attention to Scripture’s usage of terms for “pouring out.”

This article brings cyber theology into conversation with Pentecostal sources in order to deal with the significance of cyber theology for the church via a Pentecostal ecclesiology in pneumatological perspective. I argue that pneumatology can be extended to affirm the Spirit's presence in cyberspace, but must also take into consideration the work of the Spirit's ecclesial work through material substances. I propose that Pentecostal theology does not allow a fully online ecclesial structure, yet with an emphasis on the Spirit's universal presence, Pentecostal theology does present untapped resources for engaging cyber theology.

Our personal study of this topic cannot begin to satisfy the need.  We hope that is encourages others to begin their own eventful pilgrimages in this direction.  It is the blood of Christ, not our perfection of doctrine that saves us.  Be One.  Be well.

The subject of the Holy Spirit has always been very important
for the church of Jesus Christ. This is also true for the last few
generations of believers. This book is basically a word study. It
follows the use of the word "spirit" in the Old and in the New
Testament as it points to the Spirit of God. It tries to cover all
relevant contexts in an orderly and systematic way. The different
bible passages are not only given as references but quoted fully
so that the reader can follow the subject through the Bible in
the words of the Holy Scriptures. Often the immediate context
is included in the quotation to enable the reader's perception of
the different meanings of the relevant phrases within their proper
setting.
Following this overview, it becomes very clear that the Holy
Spirit was always very active in the salvation history of God's
people. He also took part in creation and is still active in main-
taining life on earth. The Holy Spirit is God. He is divine. As
members of the New Covenant we can never be too grateful
for the gift of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ.

Guillermo de Saint-Thierry, teólogo y místico del siglo XII, se ha servido de la metáfora del amor esponsal para hacer referencia a la reciprocidad entre el hombre y Dios, camino de la conformacion de la creatura a su Creador. Este trabajo indaga sobre "El Espiritu Santo, origen de la esponsalidad" en la Expositio super Cantica canticorum de Guillermo de Saint-Thierry. Se trata de un tema complejo y de índole novedoso, desarrollado a partir de un contenido dogmático que el autor ha desplegado como teología mística trinitaria. El recorrido del texto abarca cuatro ejes fundamentales, el primero de ellos es el antropológico-teológico que penetra en la dimensión humana de la esposa. Un segundo eje gira en torno la esponsalidad en Cristo, profundizando la dimensión cristológica. Un tercer eje aborda la obra del Espíritu Santo en su índole trinitaria y un cuarto y último eje versa sobre la tensión escatológica como camino de búsqueda y encuentro de los esposos. Desde este itinerario cometido despunta la esponsalidad como clave de comprensión de la participación del hombre en la vida trinitaria, emplazada por el Espíritu Santo en su origen mismo."

How do the Greco-Roman views of ethnicity inform our reading of the Spirit in the Fourth Gospel? This study not only reviews the role of ethnicity and race in the ancient world; it also proposes a bold new understanding of Johannine pneumatology. From an ethnocritical perspective, this study argues that the Spirit was articulated for an ethnically diverse Johannine community that was dealing with the issues of race relations. The Spirit is the divine breath of God that commissions Jesus for the redemption of all ethnicities. The Spirit is involved in the maternal birth of all ethnic members who are in the family of God. The Spirit draws all people despite their ethnic lineage and heritage. And the Spirit is actively involved as an advocate for the minoritized community undergoing synagogue violence. Will the members of the Johannine community still hold onto ethnic ideologies of dehumanization that were prevalent of their age? Can the Johannine community still have the Spirit and support ideologies of ethnic division and hate? This study seeks to answer these questions.

This article explores some of the recent protests in support of Black Lives Matter from a homiletical perspective. Specifically, the author argues that these protests reflect a non-traditional form of pneumatic or Spirit-inspired proclamation that can enrich the church's preaching in a time of crisis. The article is arranged into three sections. First, a pneumatological framing of proclamation is proffered in order to interpret protest as a mode of Spirit-inspired preaching. Second, drawing on the author's experience as a participant-observer in select protests in Southern California, three snapshots of proclamation at protests are offered. The article concludes by suggesting that the pneumatic proclamation of recent protests challenges the church in the United States to hold together three key dialectical tensions in its proclamation: lament and celebration, particularity and universality, and word and deed.

SUMMARY BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measurements provide valuable information about the psychological and social impact of treatment on patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). This study evaluated the HRQOL of Brazilian patients with CF and assessed the changes in HRQOL domains over 1 year after dornase alfa (Pulmozyme) introduction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred fifty-six stable patients with CF and 89 caregivers answered the Portuguese-validated version of the Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised (CFQ-R) at baseline (T(0)), and at 3 (T(1)), 6 (T(2)), 9 (T(3)), and 12 (T(4)) months of follow-up. Eighteen patients were excluded because they did not fulfill the inclusion criteria. The patients were analyzed in two groups: those aged 6-11 years and those aged 14 years and older. ANOVA for observed repeated results and the last observation carried forward (LOCF) method for missing data were used for the statistical analysis.

RESULTS: After 1 year of follow-up, there was significant improvement in respiratory symptoms (T(4) - T(0) = 8.1; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = [2.1;14.0]; effect size (ES) = 0.35; P < 0.001), Emotional Functioning (T(4) - T(0) = 5.6; 95% CI = [1.1;10.1]; ES = 0.31; P < 0.05), Social Functioning (T(4) - T(0) = 6.0; 95% CI = [1.3;11.7]; ES = 0.31; P < 0.05), Body Image (T(4) - T(0) = 11.9; 95% CI = [4.1;19.7]; ES = 0.42; P < 0.05), and Treatment Burden (T(4) - T(0) = 5.3; 95% CI = [0.3;10.3]; ES = 0.24; P < 0.05) domains in the younger group. A significant improvement in Role Functioning (T(4) - T(0) = 6.1; 95% CI = [1.1;11.1]; ES = 0.40; P < 0.05), Body Image (T(4) - T(0) = 12.6; 95% CI = [3.5;21.7]; ES = 0.46; P < 0.05), and Weight (T(4) - T(0) = 11.7; 95% CI = [1.8;21.6]; ES = 0.40; P < 0.05) was obtained in the older group. The caregivers' CFQ-R showed improvements in the Digestive Symptoms (T(4) - T(0) = 5.5; 95% CI = [1.5;9.4]; ES = 0.30; P < 0.05), Respiratory Symptoms (T(4) - T(0) = 7.6; 95% CI = [3.9;11.4]; ES = 0.48; P < 0.05), and Weight (T(4) - T(0) = 10.1; 95% CI = [1.6;18.6]; ES = 0.26; P < 0.05) domains.
CONCLUSION: The introduction of dornase alfa improved the HRQL of the patients with CF during the first year of treatment.

Throughout history there have been two major understandings of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The first is the indwelling of the transcendent timeless God within the timeless soul of a body/soul, dualistic anthropology. The second is an all-inclusive view in which either everything is God, pantheism, or everything is within God, panentheism. Adventism has traditionally rejected both of these understandings. Adventism teaches a monistic anthropology, denying the indwelling of the soul and a panentheistic point of view. How then is Adventism able to define the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? In order to begin to answer this question it seems fitting to study the prophetic voice of the Adventist church and come to at least an initial interpretation of Ellen White's understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In this article an initial understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will be presented through a limited in-depth chronological study of four significant sources of the writings of Ellen White, rather than a surface study of her entire works. These are excerpts from Steps to Christ, " Growing Up Into Christ " (chapter 8), a letter written to Sister Wessels, Sr., referenced in Special Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, Series A No. 9 pg. 75-80, Desire of Ages, " Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled " (chapter 73), and Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8 section 5. The results of this study show White's understanding of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as an abiding in Christ through a devotional interpersonal relationship of faith demonstrated most clearly in transformation of character for the Christian believer.

Cyril lived in a Day when everyone was flocking to join the church. But he insisted that God required commitment and sincerity! By quoting many scriptures on the Old and New Testament, he insured that Baptism had the reverence and respect that it deserves. This is the 17th in 18 lectures that Baptismal Candidates (or catechumens) were required to attend during the 40 days preceding the great feast of Pasca (Easter) The Baptism of Water and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Anointing with holy oil) took place simultaneously, always on the eve of Easter Sunday: a tradition that continues today in the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

This article explores pentecostal spirituality and its formative influence upon the therapeutic praxis of pentecostal therapists. Central to pentecostal spiri- tuality is a posture of openness and receptivity to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in creation. For the pentecostal therapist, this posture informs the therapeutic encounter. In dialogue with selected pentecostal interlocutors, the author explores the phenomenological accounts of a number of self-ident- ified Pentecostal and charismatic licensed mental health professionals con- cerning their experiences of the Holy Spirit in their provision of therapy. These accounts speak to the ways in which the clinicians’ pentecostal spiritual- ity has formed in them a particular manner of interpreting and being-in-the- world; a pneumatological hermeneutic that becomes outworked in their clini- cal praxis. In reflection upon these accounts, practical and theological impli- cations are offered for pentecostal counsellors, and others concerned with practical theologies of care and counselling.

A booklet about the Holy Spirit and the "Spirit filled life". The thesis in this booklet is that it is the Holy Spirit that makes the objective reality of the Word of God and what Jesus has accomplished for us into a subjective reality in the life of the believer; and that the Holy Spirit is necessary for anyone to experience the new life that the New testament talkes about. Some of the subjects being discussed: the Holy Spirit as a person; the gifts and fruit of the Spirit; how to test what's from the Spirit and not; how the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus.

Mupasi recalls the belief that humans form part of the community of life within the realm of the
cosmic spirit. The assertion seems like a truism that requires no further enunciation. However,
belief in the Creator-Spirit, a pneuma-theological understanding of creation, is relatively
young in the Christian tradition. In Colossians 1:15-20, Christ is presented as instrumental to
creation. Christian tradition therefore tends to present creation in Christological terms. The
foundational belief in Spirit-Creator-God has not historically undergirded Christian belief
about creation. The Christian faith could therefore benefit from ‘companion’ views of creation
in terms of the cosmic spirit. Mupasi is understood as cosmic spirit, the axis of the universe
apprehended as an organic whole. The web of life was brought into being, is sustained by, and
inhabited by Mupasi. This retrieval has continuities and discontinuities with Christian belief as
Spirit-Creator-God. It is presented here as a notion that calls the Christian faith back to its
originating intuitions about creation. Mupasi is appropriated within a pneuma-theological
framework that addressed a pressing issue of our time, the global ecological crisis. Mupasi
presents an ecological critique that is meaningful for a renewed appreciation of community
beyond an anthropocentric focus. The cosmic relatedness brings a renewed vision of the
universe as a cosmic community of the s(S)pirit. The cultural and intellectual milieu of Mupasi
is undergirded by a relational conception of reality. It provides a critical lens with implications
for ecclesiology that challenges the church’s self-understanding and ways of being.

Who or what is the Holy Spirit? What is the Holy Spirit doing today? In what directions is the Holy Spirit leading? How is the Holy Spirit to be
discerned? These are the kinds of questions that Christians the world over are intrigued by and are asking today. Resolutions to these questions are relatively easier to formulate within the confines of the Church. The questions are oftentimes dismissed, and otherwise not even seriously considered when relocated to the arena of the world at large. Or, even if they are posed in this latter context, the answers are much more elusive. To articulate and respond to these questions about who the Holy Spirit is relative to the world as a whole and what the Spirit is doing in the world is to plunge into the subject matter of foundational pneumatology.

Translators have historically held incredible power to influence millions of Bible-readers over the eons. Many impressive developments have occurred in the field of textual criticism and lexicology over the last century. Today we can access dozens of English translations, Greek interlinears, and lexical aids online for free. In no other age have Christians had better access to biblical tools for personal study than today. Even so, rather surprisingly, many Bibles contain wild distortions, especially on texts related to dogmas long ago etched in the stone of infallible tradition. In what follows I intend to expose one of the smoking guns of text tampering as it relates to the holy spirit. I want to delve into the world of how translators go about their task, of how Greek grammar translates into English, and how theology consciously or unconsciously gets injected into translations. In particular, I am interested in exposing one of the most flagrant (mis)translation practices found in virtually all English Bibles: rendering impersonal Greek pronouns as personal in English when referring to the holy spirit. What I present here is neither sectarian nor ground breaking. Anyone who can read Greek can verify what I am saying. I will cite mainstream Trinitarian scholars to backup these very points.

The Cross & The Powers of Darkness

We have a calling that could be referred to as “The Even Greater Commission”:

“… that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 3:10

Jesus laid down His life for a Bride who will love Him more than herself.  The Lord purposed to have a Church that would demonstrate the wisdom and power of self-denying obedience in order to put to shame the powers of darkness.       

When the Body of Christ, the Church, rises above self-preservation to a self-denying obedience in demonstration of THE CROSS, God will be finished with the powers of darkness and they will be condemned to their eternal punishment.

Resumo: O objetivo da pesquisa é investigar a configuração tóraco-abdominal durante o canto lírico, por meio da análise dos resultados obtidos em testes realizados com 10 (dez) cantoras líricas brasileiras, utilizando o aparelho Respitrace Non Invasive System (sistema de monitorização respiratória por pletismografia por indutância). Os testes foram compostos por exercícios respiratórios (estratégias fisioterapêuticas e de técnica vocal), vocalizes e canto (execução de uma peça musical). O estudo classifica-se como uma pesquisa participativa e, a partir dos dados obtidos e conclusões, visa delinear propostas para o melhor preparo técnico respiratório de cantores líricos profissionais. Palavras-chave: canto lírico, configuração tóraco-abdominal, respiração.

Clark H. Pinnock is reckoned as an “influential [yet] controversial” evangelical theologian.  He belonged to the Baptist tradition and worked as a long-time professor of systematic theology at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. Stanley Grenz observed that Pinnock “has been lauded as an inspiring theological pilgrim by his admirers and condemned as a dangerous renegade by his foes. Yet no story of evangelical theology in the 20th century is complete without the inclusion of his fascinating intellectual journey from quintessential evangelical apologist to anti-Augustinian theological reformist.”

In the Spirit of Life, Moltmann focuses on the personal and shared experience of the Spirit as a point of departure from the regular emphasis on the objective word of the proclamation, and the spiritual institutions of the church. (327) While talking about the efficacy of the Spirit, he notes, “My starting point is that the efficacy of Christ is not without the efficacy of the Spirit, which is its goal; but that the efficacy of the Spirit is nevertheless
distinguishable from the efficacy of Christ, and is not congruent with that or absorbed by it.” As traditionally, Christology and Trinity have been given disproportionate attention over Pneumatology, Moltmann is arguing for a complementary understanding of the two disciplines – Christology and Pneumatology.

Christians, more than ever, need a basic introduction to Bible doctrine that is systematic and true to Scripture. This book is a popular introduction to the study of Bible doctrine firmly in the evangelical tradition. Each chapter covers a biblical doctrine, stresses its doctrinal importance and inter-connectedness to formulating a Christian worldview. The study questions provided help reinforce the material and make it usable even for a formal study of Bible doctrine. It is ideal for personal study and in groups for the home, church, school or ministry environment.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1518707378

http://bastionbooks.com/shop/survey-of-bible-doctrine/