The Church Is A Gift To The Spirit Religion Essay

Introduction

The Spirit: The Hebrew Bible uses the word ( ???•O??-O· ruaA§ ) .to represent both the words: Spirit and air current. ???•O??-O· besides represents God in a figure of occasions in the Old Testament ( like Job 27:3, Ps 33:6, 104, 29-30 ) . ???•O??-O· was tracilated translated in the Grecian Septuagint interlingual rendition as pneuma ( IˆI?IµI…I?I± ) . Like ???•O??-O· in Hebrew, IˆI?IµI…I?I± besides means breath in Greek. The Bible uses the images of H2O, breath, and fire to stand for the Holy Spirit. The Bible besides speaks about other liquors for illustration the liquors that Jesus cast out of the hogs in the Gospel of Matthew ( chapter 5 ) and the evil spirit from God sent to Saul ( 1 Samuel 16: 14 ) . Hence Biblical divinity distinguishes the Holy Spirit from the other liquors of the Spirit universe. Christians through the Athanasian credo affirm that there are no Holy Liquors but merely the Holy Spirit ( Tibbs, 2008, p318 ) .

Structure: This essay is divided in to two subdivisions, the first subdivision analyses the statement ‘The Church is a gift to the Spirit instead than the Spirit being a gift to the Church ‘ . The 2nd subdivision of the essay looks at the deduction of the reply found for the first inquiry on my divinity of mission and divinity of faiths. This is achieved through an analysis of the Christian divinity of redemption ( as developed by A. Rice ) through other religions and theoretical accounts of divinities of faiths ( as developed by P. Knitter ) .

Section one

Holy Spirit and Church: Which is a gift to which?

The nazarene in His clip of earthly ministry spoke about the Holy Spirit in John 16:7 as person whom He will direct to help the trusters after His Ascension. Subsequently on, Luke in Acts: 2 gives us the narrative of the occurrences at the twenty-four hours of Pentecost where we see the adherents are being filled with the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit gives them the power to talk in assorted linguistic communications and bravery to proclaim the Gospel to those who were about. We could construe these transitions in a really narrow manner and argue that the Spirit is power that enables the Church to make mission. An illustration to this reading would be the Lausanne Covenant ( 1974 ) statement under the rubric ‘The Power of the Spirit ‘ ( Kim, 2007, p25 ) . Spirit as Jesus promised is the sympathizer supplying the truster with power, life and gifts. If we agree with this place we have to turn out that the activity of the Spirit is limited to the Church specifically from the twenty-four hours of the Pentecost. At the same clip, if we agree that the Church is a gift of the Holy Spirit, we are stating that Church was given as a gift to the universe by the Spirit to carry through the Mission of God in this universe alongside the Father Son and Holy Spirit. In other words, in contrast to the first position that the Spirit ‘s work is non limited to the Church or to a specific period of clip but cosmopolitan ( Samarta, 1993, p256 ) .

???•O??-O· in the Old Testament

The first mention to the Spirit in the Hebrew Bible is in the creative activity narrative. Genesis 1:2 says: ‘the Spirit of God was vibrating over the Waterss ‘ ( NIV ) . We see that the Spirit is present at the casting of the Earth ( Gen1:2 ) and as the breath ( ???•O??-O· ) that was breathed into adult male to give him life ( Gen2:7 ) . Furthermore the Spirit is represented in the Bible in many occasions by the life giving forces of fire, air and H2O ( Kim, 2007, p15 ) . Moltmann builds up his Pneumatology on the thirst to back up and prolong life shown in different religions. He argues that whatever promotes life in a universe where life signifiers are threatened is the influence of the Holy Spirit ( Moltmann, 2001, p184 ) . The Old Testament bears witness to many occasions where the Spirit of God or Spirit from God came up on people to enable one to make some thing super-human, either by giving physical strength ( eg. Gideon, Samson ) or by giving prophetic abilities ( Karkkainen, 2002, p27 and Wells 1992, 484 ) . The filling or resting of the Holy Spirit no uncertainty was present in Old Testament Hagiographas, nevertheless it besides appears that it is limited to certain people ( either leaders or Prophetss ) instead than for whole groups of people ( Warrington, 2009, p11 ) . However non all the Prophetss were needfully from within Israel for illustration Balaam ( Numbers 22 ) . The Messianic prophesies in Isaiah besides speak about the work of the Holy Spirit in the hereafter through the Messiah. Isaiah 11: 2 speaks about the one whom the Spirit of the Lord remainders and Isaiah 42:1-4 and 49: 1-6 speak about the consequence of the Holy Spirit in the work of the Messiah ( Karkkainen, 2009, p11 ) . Joel in 2:28-32 refers to an out pouring of the Spirit on many ( in contrast to what we saw in the Old Testament ) which is believed to be the prophetic vision of the occurrences on the twenty-four hours of Pentecost. In decision we can state that the Old Testament bears informant to the work of the Holy Spirit among the people of Israel and even outside. At the same clip the Old Testament was looking frontward to an spring of the Spirit in the hereafter.

I I?IµI…I?I± in the New Testament

Matthew begins the narrative of Jesus ‘ birth narrative by stating Mary was conceived ‘through the Holy Spirit ‘ ( Matthew: 1:18 ) . Luke speaks about the Annunciation of Jesus as Son of God by the Spirit ( 3:22 ) . Jesus was led to the wilderness by the Spirit ( 4:1-2 ) , was retuned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit ( 4:14 ) , and was anointed by the Spirit ( 4:18 ) ( Kim, 2007, p16, and Newbigin, 1995, p56 ) . Luke 4:18 says:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ; he has anointed me to state the good intelligence to the hapless. He has sent me to denote release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to put laden people free. ( NIV )

This explicitly states that the weighing mission of Christ is accomplished through the Spirit. At the same clip Jesus was non merely utilizing the Spirit as a power. We see in Matthew 3:11 and Isaiah 61: 1 that Jesus besides had a ministry of baptising people in the Spirit. Jesus besides made a promise of outpouring of the Spirit. John, on the other manus, describes the work of the Holy Spirit after the terminal of Jesus ‘ earthly ministry ( 14-16 ) .

Luke presents the spring of the Holy Spirit in Acts as the apogee of Jesus ‘ earthly ministry and startup of the Church and the mission of Church. Peter in his address praises Jesus for having the Spirit from the Father and pouring on them. Luke besides presents the Holy Spirit as person who guides and leads the Apostles in their ministry ( Kim, 2007, p16 ) . Kim ( 2007, p16 ) analyzing the presentation of the work of the Holy Spirit, argues that Luke here is showing the ‘mission of Church as engagement in the on-going activity of the Holy Spirit ‘ .

It is clear from this survey that the ministry of Jesus on Earth was prepared for, inaugurated by and full of the Holy Spirit and he promised the spring and comforting ( as a Parakletos ) after the terminal of His earthly ministry. The Spirit out pouring in Acts enabled the birth of the Church by authorising the adherents.

Life giving Spirit: Voices from Christian tradition

‘We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of Life ‘ proclaims the Nicene Creed accepted by most Christians[ 1 ]. J Macquarre ( 1983-84 ) in his review of classical theism said that classical divinity ‘presents a clearly ‘monarchical ‘ position of God ‘ which shows God as transcendent, disregarding the imminency of God. But there are some voices in Christian tradition who argue the instance for the presence and work of the Spirit in the universe. Some outstanding 1s are given below.

St Ireneaus saw the Spirit ( I I?IµI…I?I± ) and the word of God ( I»I?I?I?I‚ ) as the two custodies of God, carry throughing God ‘s mission in the universe manus in manus ( Dupuis,2002,195 ) .Thomas Aquinas taught that the Spirit does non restrict its activities to the boundaries of the church, but is present in all creative activity ( Kim 2007, p145 ) St. Athanasius believed that God created everything through the Word and the Spirit. He besides said that this Spirit is indwelling in all things, through which the Spirit brings all things into Communion with God ( Edwards, 2004, p44 ) . Many of the Eastern Orthodox theologians saw the Spirit as portion of the created universe, for illustration Vladimir Nikolayevich Lossky ( a Russian theologist ) said that the Holy Spirit is present in the creative activity, consecrating and in Communion with God ( Grdzelidze, 2004 P 245 ) . Karl Rhaner did non see the presence of the Spirit in other faiths on its ain soteriologically sufficient. But he argued that the Holy Spirit who is the dynamic component of the Church, is non limited to the Christian Church ( Karkkainen, 2002, p144 ) . Hegel an dreamer rejecting the world of affair, believed that the Spirit is the ultimate world. He argued that the universe was formulated through the Spirit ( Macquarrie, 1983-1984 ) . Procedure theologists like Whitehead on the other manus, presented a Panentheistic position of the universe seeing the universe as portion of God, a co-sufferer to humanity ( Macquarrie, 1983-1984 ) .Thus, even though classical theism presented a instead surpassing God we can see that there are many who argued for the presence and work of mission in the universe, outside Church and Christianity.

New Scientific developments and nuanced Pneumatology

Western epistemology after Descartes in general offprints all the things seen and unobserved into two classs: thought things and the drawn-out things. These two are ontological and reciprocally sole classs. The Spirit of God is included in the class of believing instead than extended and affair comes into the drawn-out class. This epistemology besides says that believing things can transform the drawn-out things. ( Shults, 2008, p273 ) . Matter, on the other manus, is considered as an drawn-out thing. Modern natural philosophies seems to be happening more grounds to detect the hidden more dynamic nature of affair. For illustration Keith Ward says that the classical philistinism based on the head and affair dualism is no longer supported by modern natural philosophies. He says that the physicists like E. Winger and V. Newman argue that affair is non independent of head but dependent on head ( Ward, 2008 ) . In another portion of the same talk he more clearly says in the visible radiation of the old image of the ‘clockwork ‘ existence which keeps it beat and times should be replaced with one that looks at the existence as an being. Hodgeson sees Holy Spirit is the head like thing that creates, sustains and redeems the creative activity. Hodgeson sees this work of the Spirit of God as an built-in constituent to the endurance of the Universe. Without the presence of the Spirit the affair will fall in and go what it was before the intercession of the Spirit in Genesis 1 ‘Void and without signifier ‘ ( Hodgson in Haight, 1990, p61 ) .

If we accept that the Spirit of God is present in the universe it could be argued that it is the life giving Spirit with in that makes the existence a life being instead than a machine. Dennis Edwards ( 2004, p139 ) pushes this point farther. He says that we should see the work of the Holy Spirit is the instance of the of all time traveling enlargement and renewing of the existence.

In the visible radiation of modern scientific developments and in support of these outstanding theologists it is clear we can reason the instance for affair as more of a believing thing than Descartes believed. This apprehension of affair, gives us scope through ground, for sing the presence of Holy Spirit in creative activity itself.

Decision to subdivision one: Holy Spirit the giver and upholder of the Church along with and through Father and Son

In the above treatment, we saw that Holy Spirit is non confined to the church or Christianity. Spirit, began its mission of making, prolonging and renewing from the minute of Creation. However this apprehension of mission of the Spirit does non decrease the value of Son or the Father. This does non intend that a Theocentric Christian divinity sees the historical Jesus, or His atonement decease as insignificant or less important, but every bit important ( as in the instance of the birth of the Church ) because the work of the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son ( Dupuis, 2001, p197 ) . At the same clip we should non disregard the presence of Logos or word of God on Earth before the clip of Jesus, as John says in his prologue ( John 1:1-4 ) . Ministry of Logos incarnate i.e. Jesus is non in contradiction but is complimentary to the work of the Spirit. Christ ‘s mission of release in the universe as we see it described in Luke: 4:18 is through the power of the Holy Spirit ( Dupuis, 2001, p196 ) Jesus himself is more than merely the helper of the power of the Spirit but besides the transmitter of the Holy Sprit along with the Father. All three personalities of the Trinity are equal spouses in the devising and sustaining of the Church. Moltmann points out that the dramatic events that happened at the Upper room on the twenty-four hours of Pentecost though the work of the Holy Spirit was the beginning of the Church ( Moltmann, 1993, 26 ) .

Section 2

How does my divinity of faiths change: toward a Theocentric soteriology and divinities of mission

If we say that Logos and Spirit are the two custodies of God with Saint Irenaeus we could state that Christians secure redemption through the salvific work of historical Christ whereas the followings of other faiths procure the redemption through the Spirit which was of all time present in this universe. Christian divinity of faiths in that instance should non be Christocentric but Theocentric as it is non Christ who is the point of contact with God and the people of other swoons but it is the of all time present Spirit. The first inquiry any Christian divinity of faiths would necessitate to reply is about the possibility of redemption through other religions. From the Council of Florance in 1442 to the 2nd council of Vatican in 1962, the Catholic Church held a ecclsiocentric divinity of faith[ 2 ]. By believing, ‘Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus ‘ . Many Protestant theologists like Luther and Calvin put accent on the belief in the Christ event and construct their soteriology with a strongly Christocentric character. However if we see ???•O??-O· as the life giving and soteriological effectual presence of God in the universe enabling, originating and back uping the ministry of Christ and the Church: we will necessitate to rethink our apprehension of our divinity of faiths for mission. The accent should be moved from Church and ecclessiocentricty and Christ and Christocentricisty to the 1 that accepts the work of the Holy Spirit at par with the work of Christ. This theoretical account can be called Theocentric Soteriology. The mission in that instance should be seen as Bosch calls it missio dei i.e. mission of God ( 1991, p370 ) . This portion of the essay looks at the three-party division of Christian apprehension of redemption through other religions, believed to hold developed by A. Rice, and used by may theologists in the visible radiation of God ‘s presence in the creative activity in the signifier of the Spirit ( Tiessen, 2004, p31 ) After that this essay will make a similar analysis of the theoretical accounts of Theologies of faiths developed by P. Knitter.

Exclusive soteriology

An sole soteriology considers that redemption is merely through the epistemic cognition and credence of the Salvific? work of the historical Christ ( D’costa, 2009, p7 ) .As this soteriology is Christocentric in kernel it does non give any soteriological value to the work of the Spirit. But this does non intend that this divinity excludes the possibility of the presence of the Spirit in the universe. Exclusivists will see the presence of the Spirit in creative activity and other faiths should be considered as a portion of a general disclosure which is non soteriologically sufficient to supply redemption, but merely plenty to indicate one towards Christ. K. Barth who supported this divinity of faith argued that all the faiths without Christ as ‘unbelief ‘ even though there is presence and work of God in all faiths ( Wells, 1992, p490 and Barth 2001, p5 ) . If one does non take action to come to an epistemic apprehension he/she will non be saved. But does non hold an alibi for non larning about Christ. The presence and work of the Holy Spirit in the universe, in other words, for exclusivists is non soteriological but alternatively one of damnation ( Cook, 2011 ) .

Inclusive soteriology

An inclusive soteriology considers Christ as the lone manner to redemption but those who are saved do non necessitate an epistemic cognition of the historical Jesus. In other words, those who are saved even though may non cognize that they are saved through Christ are saved through the salvific decease of Christ ( Anderson 1984, p153 ) . This soteriology gives more chances for a Theocentric divinity of mission as it does non restrict the work of the God to Christianity and Church. It accepts the possibility of redemption outside the Church and Christian faith. However this soteriology still maintains its Christocentricty, ( As Jesus is still the lone the agencies of redemption ) .

Pluralist soteriology

A pluralistic soteriology holds plurality of faiths in the universe and says that Christ is non the lone manner towards redemption but He is one of the many ways ( Schineller, 1976, p565 ) . A Pluralist Soteriology could be Theocentric or non- Theocentric. A non- theocentric soteriology argues that everyone despite of any or no belief in faiths will be saved ( in other words for a cosmopolitan redemption ) . A Theocentric pluralist soteriology accepts the assorted faiths and their Gods lead to redemption. This redemption could either be the same or different types of redemptions for people who believe in assorted religions ( D’costa2009, 9, 10 ) . This soteriology has the widest hope of working along side with the other faiths by reasoning that the presence of the Holy Spirit in creative activity can itself, entirely act as the agent of redemption. At the same clip non all the pluralists reject that Christ ‘s decease is salvific but all of them will state that He is one of the many agencies of redemption. We could state that a Theocentric pluralist soteriology presents great chances, but refuses to accept the singularity of any God or Gods including the one of Christian religion.

Models of divinities of faiths in the context of missio dei

We saw that a nuanced apprehension of pneumatology can non accept that Holy Spirit is non something or person that merely acts as a beginning of power or sympathizer. As a consequence of this mission should be seen non as the mission and responsibility of the Church but as the something that God started through the Spirit in creative activity and culminated in the Christ event. Spirit provides life to the World and Church and guides the Church in its missional enterprise ( Newbigin, 1995, p56 ) . More explicitly Bosch ( 1991, p370 ) says that the construct of mission as missio dei, we should see the function of the Church as non the 1 that organises and sends people out to mission: but as Church in itself is sent by the Spirit to make God ‘s mission in this universe. In the visible radiation of this apprehension we can look at Knitter ‘s four theoretical accounts of Christian divinities of faiths.

Entire Replacement and Partial replacing

The Entire replacing theoretical account does non see any soteriological value in other faiths and argues for a entire rejection of all faiths but Christianity ( Knitter, 2002, p23 ) . The Partial replacing theoretical account at the same clip argues that there is some disclosure in the other faiths outside Christianity, but that disclosure could be used as a point of contact but whatever other things in the faith should be rejected ( Knitter, 2002, p33 ) . Partial replacing theoretical account can accept the presence and mission of the Spirit in other faiths. But entire replacing on the other manus wholly rejects other faiths as false faiths and rejects any work of the Holy Spirit outside the boundaries of the Church and Christianity.

Fullfillment theoretical account

The fullfilment theoretical account sees Christianity as the fulfillment or the concluding finish of all the other faiths. In other words this theoretical account sees that other faiths contain things that are of ‘value ‘ ( Knitter, 2008, p63 ) . This divinity is much more unfastened towards other faiths and God ‘s work through them in other words ‘value ‘ in the other divinity could be seen as the work of the Holy Spirit. Moltmann says that ‘life ‘ in other faiths and spiritual people ( and of class non- faiths and non-religious people ) can be transformed to God ‘s Charisma, being under the regulation of God. Moltmann does non see why people should go Christians by go forthing their faiths or civilizations to go Christians. He says that one can be saved by coming under the regulation of God ( I?a?°I?I?I?I?I?I?I± ) . ( Moltmann, 2001, 186 ) Moltmann ‘s statement comes from the belief that the replacing divinity of faith is nil but imperialistic. However it could be argued that because this theoretical account insists that all other faiths are uncomplete on their ain, without carry throughing in and through Christ it is more imperialistic than any other divinity of faiths ( Parson 2011 ) .

Mutuality theoretical account

A mutualness theoretical account sees God ‘s presence and work in all the faiths. Rather than claiming the exclusivity truth like replacing theoretical accounts or take a firm standing that full truth is merely in Christianity. Like the fulfillment theoretical account, the mutualness theoretical account calls Christians to analyze the singularity of their ain and others traditions ( Knitter, 2008, p109,146 ) . This theoretical account does non accept that the Theos in all faiths are the same but at the same clip does non reject the possibility. This theoretical account besides looks for common evidences in mystical experiences and in moral and practical utility of faiths ( Knitter 2008, p 112, 113 ) . In other words, we can state that this theoretical account is doing claims of truth in Christianity, but in a much more low manner than the antecedently analysed theoretical accounts.

Acceptance theoretical account

The credence theoretical account accepts that there are many faiths and sees all of them incorporating the truth ( Knitter, 2008, p173 ) . This is the most unfastened attack to the other faiths, leting all the faiths to take part in duologue as equal spouses. The presence and mission of the Spirit in the universe could be interpreted as the cause of the many faiths in the universe. The work of Christ the word ( I»I?I?I?I‚ ) of God became flesh, looses its uniqueness seting him on par with other spiritual figures, and his instructions with others. This once more gives more evidences for interreligious duologue, but raises moral inquiries. For illustration: Christians has no uncertainty, on moral evidences that Caste system is incorrect, but at least some Hindu support Caste system. If we say that all the faiths has the same value we are stating that the faiths that support such societal immoralities are equal to Christianity ( Ingleby, 2011 ) . In other words accepting this theoretical account compromises the release facet of Christ ‘s mission as described in Luke 4:18.

Decision

In this subdivision we saw the Christian theories of Salvation through other religions and theoretical accounts of Christian divinities of faith analysed and critiqued through the apprehension of Church as a gift of the Holy Spirit, and mission as misio dei. The analysis of the three Christian theories of redemption through other faiths we saw that sole soteriology gives really small range for the work of the Spirit in the universe. Pluralist soteriology on the other manus gives maximal openness to the work of the Spirit in the universe but does non see the importance of the work of Christ ( Son ) . As a consequence an inclusive attack which holds a good balance between the work of Christ and Spirit in God ‘s mission.

Replacement and partial replacing theoretical accounts of divinities of faith as they can non accept the possibility of the mission of God outside the Church will happen it hard to accept the soteriological mission of the Spirit in the universe. The credence theoretical account on the other manus goes on to accept all faiths as valuable, without seeing any uniqueness in God ‘s mission through Spirit or Christ. Fulfilment and common fulfillment theoretical accounts accept the work of the Holy Spirit outside the boundaries of the Church. The fulfillment theoretical account has a instead imperialistic position that none of the other faiths received the conclusiveness of the disclosure without being fulfilled in Christianity. So indirectly this theoretical account still sees mission as the work of the Church ( as everyone including other faiths themselves have to be fulfilled in Christianity ) instead than mission as missio dei. The mutualness theoretical account makes a much humbler truth claim by accepting the truth in other faiths and being unfastened to larn from them. I propose this theoretical account as a manner frontward in mission if we see the Church as a gift of the Spirit who was and is of all time present in the universe. Accepting the presence of the word of God and Spirit of God outside the parturiencies of the Church and Christianity means we need to be unfastened to larn from other faiths every bit good as learning them. In other words, mission has to be a two manner procedure of larning about God ‘s work in other faiths every bit good as learning the other faiths about the word of God that became flesh. Thus we can appreciate whatever is valuable and utile in the other faiths every bit good as review other religions and ours reciprocally. This can besides take in to what C.Conille ( 2002, p1 ) calls ‘multiple spiritual belonging ‘ . Those who belong to multiple parts accept more than one spiritual and or religious pattern as 1s own instead than accepting one and rejecting the other. One premier illustration for this will be the high Catholic theologian P Knitter who developed the theoretical accounts of divinities of Religions. In 2009 he accepted Buddhism as his 2nd spiritual tradition ( Frykholm, 2011, p20 ) .

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