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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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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TL;DR: When the atomic bomb was dropped at Bikini Atoll in operation Grossroads, water on the surface of the sea rushed out from the centre of the waterspout at a speed greater than sound.
Abstract: When the atomic bomb was dropped at Bikini Atoll in operation Grossroads, water on the surface of the sea rushed out from the centre of the waterspout at a speed greater than sound. Many of us will find this an apt symbol of a world that seems to be rushing headlong to disaster because men are in danger of putting the creative energies of the Lord God to evil uses; physical energy in such weapons; biological energy in the depersonalising of women and workers and citizens; and what we can only call spiritual energy in the fields of culture and political societies. The question is how we are to be enabled to reverse this process; and here the doctrine of the Spirit as holy, transcendent power ought to be relevant. It has been rightly suggested that this may be indeed “the back of the whole contribution of Christian thought to the cultural problem of our time. ” One outstanding difficulty in the way of an apologetic statement of our faith is the bias provoked at least among some sections by the scientific outlook. Indeed F. W. Dillistone goes so far as to write (The Holy Spirit in the Life of to-day p. 105) the scientist “is tireless in his search for ‘truth, ’ but again it is ‘truth’ which is contained within his own system. He insists, in other words, that ‘truth’ which cannot be apprehended by scientific methods has no real claim to the name but belongs to the realm of phantasy or wishful thinking.
6 citations
TL;DR: For example, the authors argues that systematic theology is the expression of personal skill learned in community, and its unity and integrity are aesthetic and moral as much as rationalistic, and that it can be seen as an expression of a personal skill.
Abstract: Christian thought is uniquely resistant to systematization, yet over the centuries has produced remarkable systematic accounts of Christian truth, including those of the patristic and medieval eras before Christian theology became systematically self-conscious in modernity. The more recent fate of the notion of system is traced in Schleiermacher, Hegel and Kierkegaard, and an argument advanced that systematic theology is the expression of personal skill learned in community, and its unity and integrity are aesthetic and moral as much as rationalistic.
6 citations
01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: Gunton as mentioned in this paper discusses the nature of theological claims: can we know anything about God anyway? how do we know what we know? the existence of religious language neutral and committed knowledge.
Abstract: Part I Sources for theology: scripture as the source of Christian theology the authority of the Christian tradition the place of creeds and confessions reasoning about God reflecting on the experience of God. Part II The nature of theological claims: can we know anything about God anyway? how do we know what we know? the nature of religious language neutral and committed knowledge. Part III Doing theology today: modernity and postmodernity the rise of local theologies Christian theology in a multi-faith world theology in the academy challenges and opportunities. Part IV Essay on doing theology, Colin E Gunton.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze the criticisms made of Augustine's Trinitarian theology by Colin Gunton and show that many of these criticisms are unfair, or are based on inconsistencies and inadequacies in Gunton's own position.
Abstract: This article analyses criticisms made of Augustine's Trinitarian theology by Colin Gunton. It demonstrates that many of these criticisms are unfair, or are based on inconsistencies and inadequacies in Gunton's own position. More constructively, it shows that Augustine's account of human consciousness is not that of an isolated monad, but of a consciousness always in relationship with the world.
6 citations