Advents of the Spirit, reviewed by Amos Yong
Advents of the Spirit includes fourteen major papers and nine formal conference responses to these papers divided among the book’s seven sections. “Biblical Perspectives” include one general overview of pneumatological themes in Scripture and an insightful and detailed exegesis of the Pentecost narrative of Acts 2. “Historical Perspectives” includes a revisitation of the Montanist controversy during the second and third centuries in light of the contemporary Pentecostal and charismatic experience; and an introduction to medieval “charismatic” experience. “Contemporary Philosophical Resources” suggests that a fruitful dialogue could emerge between pneumatology and science. “Issues and Debates” presents the significance of pneumatology for theological method and for theological anthropology. Section five on “Spirit Christology and Trinity” takes up perennial debates on the personhood of the Spirit, the Spirit’s relationship to Jesus Christ, and the question of the filioque—whether the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone (John 14:26) or from the Father and the Son (cf. John 15:26). “The Spirit and the Church” presents historical and ministerial/missionary perspectives on a pneumatologically informed ecclesiology. “The Power of the Spirit in Christian Practices” includes papers on social solidarity and ecological responsibility (sections to which I will return shortly). Such a cursory overview surely cannot do justice to the richness of these essays, but is meant rather as an invitation to the book. Most of these papers were written at a fairly high academic level and may be challenging reading. However, the rewards are the cultivation of an increased sensitivity to the presence and activity of the Spirit of God in our world.
Thus, the essays in the last two sections present much food for thought about how pragmatically-minded Pentecostal/charismatics should go about the business of “walking in the Spirit.” For example, a pneumatological ecclesiology calls attention to the diversity of the charismatic gifts, the gifted and the recipients of those blessings of the Spirit (Volf). What about a pneumatological theology of the liturgy in general and of the sacraments more particularly (Michael Fahey), and might this revolutionize Pentecostal and charismatic views on this dimension of Christian life? Further, can this carry over into human relationships, between the oppressed and their oppressors, for example? Would Pentecostals and charismatics who are usually the first to testify about the Spirit’s blessings in their individual lives also be able to testify about how the Holy Spirit is interested and involved in social reconciliation as well (Anselm Min)? Finally, what might Pentecostal and charismatic experience contribute to a deeper understanding of human embodiment, environmental rootedness, and ecological interdependence in what Mark Wallace calls “an ecocidal era”? In each of these areas, I think, Pentecostals will benefit from experiencing the pneumatological symbols serving different theological functions than what they are used to. Yet at the same time, such experiences which expand one’s horizons can also evoke critical counter-questions just as they could new insights and perspectives. And such, I suggest, is part of what life in the Spirit is all about.
Reviewed by Amos Yong
Category: Spirit, Winter 2003
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