The Lord and Giver of Life: The person and work of the Holy Spirit in the trinitarian theology of Colin E Gunton
01 Jan 2008-
About: The article was published on 2008-01-01 and is currently open access. It has received 47 citations till now.
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Journal Article•
197 citations
01 Jan 1992
TL;DR: The fourth book in Jurgen Moltmann's systematic theology is a full-scale theology of the Spirit that also marks a personal religious quest as mentioned in this paper, where the author brings his characteristic audacity to this traditional topic and cuts to the heart of the matter with a simple identification.
Abstract: The fourth book in Jurgen Moltmann's systematic theology is a full-scale theology of the Spirit that also marks a personal religious quest. Moltmann, "the foremost Protestant theologian in the world" (Church Times), brings his characteristic audacity to this traditional topic and cuts to the heart of the matter with a simple identification: What we experience every day as the spirit of life is the spirit of God. Such considerations give Moltmann's treatment of the different aspects of life in Spirit a verve and vitality that are concrete and existential: . "When I love God I love the beauty of bodies, the rhythm of movements, the shining of eyes, the embraces, the feelings, the scents, the sounds of all this protean creation . . . The experience of God deepens the experiences of life . . . It awakens the unconditional Yes to life." Part One probes "Experiences of the Spirit" in daily life as well as in biblical and theological traditions. In Part Two Moltmann takes up the roles of the Spirit in the order of salvation under the aegis "Life in the Spirit." And Part Three concludes the volume with discussions of "The Fellowship and Person of the Spirit." Veteran readers of Moltmann will find here a rich and subtle extension of his trinitarian and christological works, even as he makes bold use of key insights from feminist and ecological theologies, from recent stress on embodiment, and from charismatic movements. Newer readers will find a fascinating entree into the heart of Moltmann's work: the transformative potential of the future. In an age of planetary peril, in a culture often hostile to human, animal, and plant life, Moltmann's emphatic insistence on the Spirit is a clear call toconscience: The one indispensable element for human survival, he asserts, is an "unconditional affirmation of life" quickened by the Spirit.
158 citations
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: The trinitarian culture and corporate Worship practices of Canadian Pentecostals: A Contribution from the Theology of Colin Gunton as discussed by the authors is an analysis of an important corporate worship practice among the Pentechal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), the largest Evangelical denomination in Canada.
Abstract: The Trinitarian Culture and Corporate Worship Practices of Canadian Pentecostals: A Contribution from the Theology of Colin Gunton Michael A. Tapper Thesis advisor: Catherine E. Clifford This thesis represents a unique analysis of the trinitarian impulses of an important corporate worship practice among the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC), the largest Evangelical denomination in Canada. It considers whether an inconsistency exists between the PAOC’s trinitarian statement of faith and formative expressions of this denomination’s belief conveyed in 82 of the most commonly used contemporary worship songs from April 2007 to March 2013. Lyrical music, it is defended, represents a forming, measurable, and confirming indicator among the PAOC of contemporary religious understanding. In order to assess the trinitarian dispositions of the PAOC music lyrics, Colin Gunton’s theology is utilized as a framework for this evaluation. Gunton was a leading figure in the advancement of trinitarian theology before his untimely death in 2003. His balanced integration of the notions of relationality, particularity, and perichoresis provides the rationale for eight qualitative content analyses that are original to this project and intended to verify the trinitarian views in the PAOC lyrics. This analysis is oriented around three major areas of trinitarian assessment: the doctrine of God, human personhood, and cosmology. The data from these content analyses are compiled, presented, and carefully analysed. Then, returning to the trinitarian work of Gunton, implications and considerations for the PAOC are offered. This study shows that Gunton’s trinitarian theology provides a resource to identify and correct the trinitarian deficit and individualistic and cosmologically dualistic orientation of PAOC commonly used songs. Ultimately, this thesis proposes that Gunton, in accordance with several key Pentecostal and worship studies interlocutors, can serve as a helpful theological source for the dynamic practice of a trinitarian faith among the PAOC. DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners.
63 citations
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Book•
01 Jun 2001
19 citations
TL;DR: When the word "person" is used in the plural of God, as in the trinitarian assertion "God is one (nature) in three persons," the suitability of using person language is called into question as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: T RELIGIOUS mind hesitates not at all to say that God is "personal," or even that God is a "person"; for personhood denotes relationship, intersubjectivity, freedom, identity, consciousness, and the capacity to know and love, to be known and be loved. The name of God, Yahweh, rendered in Latin as Adsum, or in English as "I shall be with you as Who I Am," displays the personal character of God as one who is engaged in a particular covenanted history with the people of Israel. The name of God, 'ehyeh asher ehyeh', is a verbal name which discloses that God is the One who acts salvifically on our behalf. For Christians, the life of Jesus is further testimony to the personal character of the God-with-us. In coming to experience how we are related to God, we characterize it as a personal relationship. And yet, when the word "person" is used in the plural of God, as in the trinitarian assertion "God is one (nature) in three persons," the suitability of using person language is called into question. This problem is not a new one. The vocabulary of the early Church consisted of a variety of terms (hypostasis; subsistentia; prosöpon, persona) which were intended to preserve the transcendental oneness of God while explaining God's presence in Jesus and Jesus' unique eternal relationship to God. It was the genius of the Cappadocians and Augustine to use the terminology of "relative distinctions" as a way of showing how God could continue to be thought of as one, but simultaneously be conceived as Father, Son, and Spirit. Many difficulties were caused by the fact that exact equivalents could not always be established between Greek and Latin words. When Augustine asked his famous question "Three what?" he was aware that the Greeks could answer "one essence, three substances" (mia ousia, treis hypostaseis), whereas the Latins would answer "one essence or substance, three persons" (una substantia/natura, tres personae), and that these answers could be considered as equivalent
19 citations
TL;DR: Pneumatology of the Holy Spirit has been studied extensively and with like care by the learned and famous commentators on the divine Scriptures so that one might easily understand the proper character of the Spirit, and the fact that we can call Him neither Son nor Father but only Holy Spirit as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: WISE AND SPIRITUAL men have written numerous books on the Father and the Son On the contrary, the Holy Spirit has not yet been studied so extensively and with like care by the learned and famous commentators on the divine Scriptures so that one might easily understand the proper character of the Spirit, and the fact that we can call Him neither Son nor Father but only the Holy Spirit." This lament was valid for the year 393 when Augustine wrote it, and the situation has not greatly changed. In Christology the patterns have been established; the various models have been worked and reworked. Writing in Christology, one can draw on a long history of theological reflection, especially on the last two decades, which have been especially abundant in Christologies "from above" and "from below." The same cannot be said of pneumatology. Anyone writing on pneumatology is hardly burdened by the past and finds little guidance there. Nicolas Berdyaev, who promoted a "spiritual Christianity" beyond doctrinal definition, bourgeois morality, and legislated worship, called the doctrine of the Holy Spirit the last unexplored theological frontier. Western Christians assume Eastern Christians have charted that frontier, but Nikos Nissiotis says that in pneumatology even the Orthodox churches are deficient. Speaking from a specific Western context, A. G. Adam called a theology of the Spirit a desideratum not yet filled. Albert Outler, with the Methodist tradition's special sensitivity to pneumatology growing out of Wesleyan sanctification doctrine, notes "the strange reticence and ambiguity of the traditional teaching about the Spirit, both in the Scriptures and in the church tradition." He says further: "Despite heroic hermeneutical efforts by recent exegetes, the biblical notions of pneumatology are far from simple and clear. The creeds of the early church are almost cryptic The bibliography of important literature
19 citations