In his monograph From Pentecost to the Triune God, Steven M. Studebaker argues that theological reflection upon “fundamental pneumatology” and Trinitarian theology has not played a significant role in Pentecostal thought. Consequently, he presents two goals for his text. The first is to show the importance of experience in theology. The second goal is to examine scripture for teachings on the trinity, especially its focus upon pneumatology. Methodologically, Studebaker advocates that theology should begin with experiences of the Spirit, move to an analysis on scripture, and end with reflection upon the trinity. He justifies this method on two grounds.  First, since the Spirit is “indispensable” to the trinity and theology, it is logical for Pentecostals to move in this manner without subordinating Christ. Second, he ascribes to Rahner’s maxim that the immanent trinity reveals the economic trinity. The Spirit contributes to the identity of the Father and the Son, so anything that is learned about the Spirit reveals something about the trinity.

Studebaker begins his book by emphasizing the importance of experience within theology. He states that the writers of scripture draw upon experience, and experience, as it is conveyed in narrative, serves to teach. Furthermore, personal encounters with the Spirit can illuminate scripture because the text is also the result of the Spirit’s work. This does not mean that experience should be on the same level as scripture, but he suggests that what was once experience is now tradition. Studebaker proposes that, for Pentecostals, Spirit-baptism is a unique practice that should inform Trinitarian theology.

Studebaker continues by arguing for the priority of scripture, including what it reveals concerning the many facets of the Spirit. For example, it conveys that the Spirit is involved in both the creation and redemption of the world, including the incarnation and eschatology – which is evidenced within the resurrection. Furthermore, Pentecost, according to Studebaker, reveals that the Spirit is not merely an addendum but an essential dynamic of God’s activity within the world.

In chapter three, Studebaker discusses Eastern and Western trinitarian theology.  He argues that explications of the processions are helpful but, generally, inadequate because they tend to subordinate the Spirit. Within the trinity “each person mutually conditions the others’ personal identities” (138). So, for Studebaker, the Spirit shapes the identity of the first and second articles as much as they shape the Spirit’s. The Trinitarian relations are “mutually contingent” (146).

In the subsequent two chapters Studebaker, discusses trintiarian theology within American Evangelicalism and the Charismatic movement. First, he predominantly focuses upon the work of Jonathan Edwards, pointing out shortcomings in Evangelicalism that can also be found in traditional Western theology. Specifically, Studebaker proposes that the Spirit’s work in redemption is not fully appreciated in this camp. Next, he examines the development of Trinitarian thought through several Pentecostal/Charismatic theologians. Although, among PC’s there is a general desire and an attempt to emphasize the role of the Spirit, Studebaker argues that they are only preliminary. PC theologians tend to remain within traditional frameworks and do not fully implement the role of experience in constructing a Trinitarian theology.

Studebaker, in the final section of the book, addresses Pentecostal theologies of religions and a theology of creation. In the penultimate chapter, he argues that the Spirit operates in the lives of people, regardless of their religion. It is not the religion that saves; rather, they are ways in which people respond to the Spirit. Studebaker suggests that from Pentecostal there is a universal outpouring of the Spirit and that Christian missions are acts of participation within the mission of the Spirit. In the final chapter Sudebaker explores how a theology of creation, which is guided by pneumatology and Trinitarian concerns, can impact Christian ecological concerns. The Spirit does not work from outside but within human-situatedness. The Spirit actualizes the inner communion of the trinity within creation.

Steven M. Studebaker, ed., Defining Issues in Pentecostalism: Classical and Emergent, McMaster Theological Studies Series 1 (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock, 2008), 207 pages, ISBN 9781556358432.

Studebaker brings together a number of significant points of discussion from a forum on Pentecostal theology held at McMaster Divinity College in 2007. The impressive list of participants includes among others Clark Pinnock, Frank Macchia, Amos Yong, and Roger Stronstad, all well-known contributors in the discussion of Pentecostal topics. This collection describes itself as an introduction to classical doctrines of Pentecostalism and significant contemporary debates. The list of topics is divided into issues concerning theological and biblical studies, the former including Spirit baptism (Macchia), theology of the religions (Yong), theology of grace (Studebaker), and divine attributes (Gabriel), the latter addressing the charismatic theology of Luke (Stronstad), Pauline Theology of the Spirit (Westfall), and a discussion of the Spirit and suffering (Mittelstadt). An epilogue by Clark Pinnock and a study guide on Pentecostal resources complete the volume.

In many ways, this collection is a trailblazer for the rapid development of Pentecostal theology. Comprehensive studies on Pentecostal thought and praxis have been introduced to the market only in the last three decades, and only the last few years have shown a concerted effort among Pentecostals and the wider ecumenical community to come to terms with the issues that define Pentecostalism. In that sense, Studebaker does not aim at a comprehensive collection in this volume but rather at a concise approach to the issues that have influenced the formation of Classical Pentecostalism and that continue to shape the Pentecostal movement in its global dimensions.

This tension between the established North American origins of the Pentecostal movement and the diversity of global manifestations of Pentecostalism worldwide gives life to this collection of essays. The label “introduction” is applicable to this collection insofar as many of the essays initiate a conversation that the authors have engaged already on a much broader level in their academic publications. Macchia’s essay, for example, opens up to a wider discussion in his book, Baptized in the Spirit, Yong has addressed the question of a theology of religions in a number of his monographs, and Stronstad’s essay is a revisiting of his original thesis on the charismatic theology of Luke’s Gospel. Those who have not yet read these texts or have been hesitant to approach the more academic discussion will find in this volume a welcome initiation to some of the central themes.

Steven M. Studebaker is Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at McMaster Divinity College.

On the other hand, it is also the essays of emerging young scholars that breathe life into the collection. Studebaker’s own contribution to a Pentecostal theology of grace is an excellent example of the new Pentecostal scholarship that has begun to emerge in recent years. His essay not only speaks of personal experience but engages the Pentecostal self-understanding in an informed dialogue with other theological traditions. Studebaker’s own theological training at a Catholic institution (Marquette University) reflects the maturing of Pentecostal scholars who are willing and able to engage theological issues with an informed, ecumenical perspective that does not shy away from the historical and philosophical contexts that have shaped the debate. At the same time, many of the authors are frank in their criticism of their own Pentecostal tradition and urge Pentecostals on to develop a more comprehensive and engaging theology that overcomes internal Pentecostal debates. The essays in this volume are far from short-sighted. And it is perhaps the far-sighted vision of the authors that presents a weak point in the collection.