Abstracthe independent African “churches of the Spirit,” perhaps the majority of African Initiated Churches (AICs) today, like worldwide Pentecostalism, practice gifts of the Spirit like healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues. Because of their “Spirit” manifestations and pneumatological emphases and experiences, earlier studies of these churches considered them “syncretistic,” “post-Christian,” and “messianic” groups. Understanding the pneumatology of these movements is crucial, as part of the problem that Western observers had with the churches of the Spirit had to do with their understanding of the Holy Spirit. This was often seen as accommodating the pre-Christian past, and was thought to be particularly linked with divination, ancestor rituals, and the like. Some European observers spoke of these churches as having “misunderstood” the Holy Spirit.

AbstractSome observers regard as 'syncretistic' many forms of African Pentecostalism that have developed a pneumatology with a presumed link to the pre-Christian past, and will also deny the term 'Pentecostal' to these groups. This does not fully recognise the parallels between biblical pneumatology and the holistic African worldview, and the significant contribution that African Pentecostalism makes to a dynamic understanding of pneumatology. This encounter between African religions and biblical pneumatology reflects a genuine desire to make the doctrine of the Spirit relevant in an African context. This is supported by biblical texts, where such a 'dynamic pneumatology' is assumed.

AbstractA project of the Institute for Theological Research

AbstractJ. Kwabena Asamoah Gyadu "offers his reader a comprehensive and highly perceptive account of the appeal and theological influence of this kind of Christianity, combining scholarly excellence with a deep insider understanding of resonances with African religious sensibilities." Martin Lindhardt (From the Foreword)

AbstractThe use of anointed objects among African Pentecostal prophets as instruments of taping the power of the Holy Spirit is analysed from a perspective of the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit and the use of magical charms in African traditional religions (ATRs). The main question answered in this article is the following: what does the use of anointed objects among African neo-Pentecostal prophets reveal about the underlying understanding of the Holy Spirit? It is argued that the use of anointed objects to tap into the Spirit's power treats the Spirit as an elusive power that is controlled magically. It is further argued that in Africa, the use of anointed objects resonates with the use of magical charms in ATR. The Christian reliance on anointed objects is challenged by looking at some aspects of the divinity and personality of the Holy Spirit. The significant contribution of the article lies in challenging African Pentecostals to relate to the Holy Spirit as a personal divine being instead of an elusive impersonal force that could be mastered only by anointed objects. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article uses the disciplines of systematic theology, ATRs and biblical theology to analyse the undermining of the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit among African Pentecostal prophets by their using anointed objects as instruments of conveying the Holy Spirit's presence and power in believer's life and activities.

AbstractThe author determines the African "avant-texte" (P Monsengwo) in relation to the concept of the Holy Ghost and the Trinity of God which represents pre- or extra-Christian theology, the fundamental concept of God and man in Africa, and forms the basis for the reception of the biblical message.... The concept of God as one being and also as Trinity or as community was known throughout Egypt, Nubia (Meroe), Ethiopia, and most regions of black Africa. The predilection of the African, from Alexandria to the present, for the concepts of Trinity and the Holy Ghost is explained by this pre- and extra-Christian theology. For the African, the Trinity does not only mean the truth of God's being, but the truth of man and of the world as well. Everybody has an obligation to develop his triadic structure--as monad, dyad, and community--and to develop his true self. For illustration the author proposes a Luba-terminology (Luba is one of the four national languages in Zaire) with regard to the Holy Ghost. This study in the field of history of religions offers a basis for developing an African pneumatology. [ed fr j].

AbstractAbstract This contribution explores the available literature on pneumatology and ecology. It suggests the need to articulate the underlying question to which Christian pneumatology may be regarded as a response, namely in terms of 'What makes the world go round?' Moltmann's recent notion of a 'hermeneutics of nature' is used to suggest the possibility of a pneumatology 'from below'. However, the theological inadequacy of available proposals on such a pneumatology from below is also noted. This suggests the need for deeper pneumatological discernment.

AbstractFocuses on the birth, proliferation and phenomenal growth of sub-Saharan African independent churches. Origin of churches through a variety of schismatic processes; Acceptance and application of scripture; Belief in a triune God; Pervasive presence of an indwelling Holy Spirit.

AbstractThe article examines three passages from the theology of Paul the Apostle which aims to help understand the mystical element in his concept of the Holy Spirit. It asks what is the nexus of all of Paul's writings on the Holy Spirit which leads itself to more interpretation. The article seeks to interpret Paul's theology with a view to use it as pegs to hang evangelistic works in the African continent.

AbstractThe rediscovery of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the second half of the twentieth century shows the following characteristics: 1) it aims at the interpretation of world experience as God-experience; 2) it does not draw a clear line of distinction between the immanence of the Spirit in creation, and his indwelling as a result of his outpouring on the day of Pentecost; 3) it interprets the work of the Spirit as a direct continuation of the work of Christ; 4) it limits the work of the spirit to a recognizable history of salvation; 5) it does not see the totality of history as the (pneumatic) first fruits of God's Kingdom; and 6) it fails to elaborate the significance of the Ascension for a theology of the world.

AbstractThis article seeks to articulate a biblical pneumatological approach to transformational development. The aim is to explore and examine the work of the Holy Spirit in Grudem's perspective and how it relates to transformational development. It is argued that the work of the Holy Spirit and the integral human development it brought amongst the early Christian community can function as a paradigm for the contemporary church globally, and particularly in Africa engaging in developmental work as well as for subsequent generations of Christians dealing with issues of transformation development.

AbstractThis chapter brings together approaches from social anthropology and sociology in order to explore with a view to ethnographic research data from southern Africa (Zambia) the relationship between the life-world effects of Pentecostal theologies relating to the Holy Spirit (pneuma) on the one hand, and Pentecostal modalities of constituting translocal communities on the other. This focus allows to question conventional understandings of religious sociality as well as to carve out three different ways of establishing what I call 'socio-spiritual communities': In the mode of the 'logistics of the spirit', a given Pentecostal community expands in the socio-spatial logic of a network, meaning that the spatial movements of the Holy Spirit run parallel to the spatial movements of its human vessels; in the mode of the Holy Spirit's 'selfmultiplication', Pentecostal sociality takes the form of a scattering in which autonomous enclaves of spiritualization are connected to each other; finally, 'spiritual scaling' represents a mode of spiritual omnipresence in socio-religious space that is affected by changes in the Holy Spirit's scalar morphology. © 2013 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden.

AbstractIn this article on entering the academic discipline of Christian Spirituality, terminological sensitivities in interdisciplinary work are taken as a point of departure. From this more general base, the following four points are argued: 'Spirituality' is a multivalence term, indicated from academic considerations and from non-academic writings of our time, with journalism serving as a productive example; terms 'spirit', 'spirituality' and 'Holy Spirit' ought not to be conflated with one another by new colleagues entering the discipline of Christian Spirituality; Christian Spirituality studies the experience-expression-dynamics of the Christian faith, and not the Holy Spirit as primary topic of investigation; however this should not be taken to imply an impoverished Christian theology, because the Trinity, as demonstrated, remains part of the core assumptions of this discipline.

AbstractAbstract A discussion of early contributions on ecological spirituality, such as 'rediscovering the Gospel of the Earth' (Tom Hayden), 'telling a New Universe Story' (Thomas Berry) and 'religion as roots and wings' (Jay McDaniel), serves as sounding board for the much earlier pneumatological reflections on humanity and nature by the Dutch scholar, A.A. van Ruler. In his Trinitarian theology, Van Ruler explored ways of overcoming dualism in Christianity and countering spiritless definitions of reality in science. Christology and 'incarnation' need supplementation by Pneumatology and indwelling' of God's Spirit in humanity and nature to eschatologically properly integrate 'all things' in God's ecology.

AbstractIn response to the environmental degradation that is taking place right now in much of Africa—and in light of a traditional African emphasis on interdependence—this article seeks to provide an African Lutheran “eco-pneumatological” contribution to the ongoing conversation about eco-justice. To do so, it draws on classic Lutheran understandings of creation and grace, even as it calls for a more expanded—and more deeply biblical—understanding of the Holy Spirit's presence and activity throughout all of creation. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals and Dialog, Inc.

AbstractThe article focuses on the gift-giving work of the Holy Spirit. It mentions that the distinction between Pentecostal and Catholic perspectives on the gifts of the Holy Spirit is a matter of theological emphasis; and also mentions that the Charisms are portrayed as part of the ongoing work of sanctification.

AbstractThis article explores the possible link between the teachings of the Canons of Dordt in the Netherlands (1618–1619) and those of the Pentecostal and African Spiritual Churches in South Africa today. This article tries to identify some common features as well as points of divergence between the two traditions, particularly with regard to the role of Scripture, divine sovereignty, and human responsibility in salvation. Secondly, this study highlights the views on the role of the Holy Spirit in election and salvation in relation to divine grace.

AbstractNumerous references to prayer occur throughout the Old Testament and New Testament. These prayers relate closely to particular circumstances and needs where the petitioner appeals to God, illustrating the importance of prayer as part of the dialogue and communication between God (in the image of a Father) and Israel and the Church (in the image of his children). This article investigates Paul's contribution to this dialogue. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul exhorts (using the imperative) the Thessalonians to pray 'constantly' (ἀδιαλείπτως), an exhortation located in the last pericope of the epistle, between two other exhortations (imperatives) indicating time ('always') and space ('all circumstances'). Paul thus uses two more exhortations (surrounding the exhortation, 'pray constantly') to define what he means by 'constant' (without ceasing) prayer. His conviction of this necessity leads him to offer himself as an example of 'praying constantly' when he writes to the community in Thessalonica. Prayers in Paul's epistles focus on the existential needs of daily living, to stand firm against evil and the spiritual need to live pure and blameless lives (complete sanctification) until the parousia. Conclusions arising from Pauline textual references on prayer include: the experience of God is not limited to extraordinary events, but subsists essentially in ordinary daily events; the understanding of God's participation in the lives of believers is not always obvious and comprehensible; the Holy Spirit enables believers spiritually to see, hear and understand God's daily involvement in their lives; and, prayer for the believer facilitates spiritual experiences which provide continuous transformation for the one who 'prays without ceasing'. The result, for Paul, of this form of dialogue and communication between God and his Church, is that regular prayer constitutes joy and thankfulness. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This research relates to the disciplines of New Testament and Christian Spirituality. The focus is how to experiencing dialogue with the divine regularly every day. A specific mindset is needed to accomplish this; a mindset to see, hear and experience the divine in everyday life in the ordinary events in life.

AbstractThe Pentecostal movement has brought to the fore the reality of the person, work and ministry of the Holy Spirit to the modern consciousness in the face of increasing secularization of the modern world and its attending anti-supernatural presuppositions.¹ This reawakening of the significance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church arose out of certain factors. The key factor is the growing coldness of the mainline churches who often refuse to recognize or allow the free operation of the Holy Spirit in the church’s life.² This neglect of the active presence of the Holy Spirit often leads

AbstractThough the global center of Christianity has been shifting south and east over the past few decades, very few theological resources have dealt with the seismic changes afoot. The Majority World Theology series seeks to remedy that lack by gathering well-regarded Christian thinkers from around the world to discuss the significance of Christian teaching in their respective contexts.   The contributors to this volume reflect deeply on the role of the Holy Spirit in both the church and the world in dialogue with their respective contexts and cultures. Taking African, Asian, and Latin American cultural contexts into account gives rise to fresh questions and insights regarding the Spirit’s work as witnessed in the world and demonstrates how the theological heritage of the West is not adequate alone to address the theological necessities of communities worldwide.

AbstractThough the global center of Christianity has been shifting south and east over the past few decades, very few theological resources have dealt with the seismic changes afoot. The Majority World Theology series seeks to remedy that lack by gathering well-regarded Christian thinkers from around the world to discuss the significance of Christian teaching in their respective contexts.   The contributors to this volume reflect deeply on the role of the Holy Spirit in both the church and the world in dialogue with their respective contexts and cultures. Taking African, Asian, and Latin American cultural contexts into account gives rise to fresh questions and insights regarding the Spirit’s work as witnessed in the world and demonstrates how the theological heritage of the West is not adequate alone to address the theological necessities of communities worldwide.

AbstractPaul did not consider speaking in tongues the only sign of an individual's reception of the Holy Spirit. Even according to Acts, speaking in tongues was not the exclusive sign of receiving the Spirit.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA31-1987-1-360

AbstractCopious citations of the Old Testament (OT) by the New Testament (NT) writers confirm the continuity of the divine revelation in both parts of the sacred scripture and at the same time underscore the newness of the NT. This is evident in the theological development of the reality of the 'spirit of the Lord' from the OT to the NT. In this article the writer traces the development of this biblical concept from its occurrence in the context of Isaiah 61:1–2 to the use of this text in a programmatic passage of Luke 4:18–19. The aim of the research is to shed light on the concept and nature of the spirit of the Lord in its context in Isaiah and the use of this by a NT writer. Both texts are carefully compared, using a literary approach, with the intention to discover how the NT writer used this concept in his presentation of the person and mission of Jesus as a charismatic figure and the anointed of the Lord.

AbstractThis article firstly investigates in what way various main theological figures in the first centuries of the Christian era spoke about the Trinity and thus, also, about the Holy Spirit. Secondly, it investigates how the formulas of Early Christian confessions of faith developed into their mature and final forms. Such (baptismal) confessions often reveal trinitarian expressions and explicit wordings about the Holy Spirit.

AbstractFirstly, the present article explored the occurrence of special gifts of the Holy Spirit (charismata) both in the New Testament and in a number of early Christian writers (e.g. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian and Augustine). Secondly, it indicated how this experience of special charismata exerted its influence on the formulation of the most authoritative and ecumenical statement of belief, viz. the Creed of Nicaea-Constantinople (381).

AbstractDuring ethnographic fieldwork among lay Catholics in eastern Uganda, informants occasionally turned to deception in their dealings with God and the Holy Spirit; in doing so, they appeared to reject the Christian notion of divine omnipotence and omniscience. Based on ethnography conducted in a sub-county I call Buluya, this article tries to explain how such attempts are deemed possible and plausible. My argument is made up of two main strands. First, I argue that, in an indeterminate social landscape in which no one can ever fully 'know' (ngeo) another person, many interpersonal relationships in Buluya are firmly grounded in practical efforts to gain better jobs, more money, education and greater security. I show how deception is a normal and morally neutral aspect of these relationships, as each party strives to protect what they have, and to improve their prospects. Second, I draw on ethnographic and historical data to suggest that the Holy Spirit has entered into the local cosmology in Buluya as a powerful yet limited being, dependent to some extent on the guidance of its human mediators. Finally, I bring these two strands together to suggest that, when the Holy Spirit is conceived of as a limited being (it, too, does not fully know people), relationships with it that take place through a human mediator can also be legitimately characterized by deception, without risking the work of the Holy Spirit. (English)

AbstractTaking a phenomenological approach, this article indicates how the black religious experience in the United States has both retained and transformed the conjurational mode of African spirituality. Examination of the following texts shows different ways in which the phenomenon operates as a genuine Afro-Christian synthesis: W E B DuBois's (1868-1963) autobiographical, poetic and prose writing; the 1829 freedom pamphlets (Ethiopian) of David Walker and Robert Alexander Young; and a Harlem Renaissance poem by Countee Cullen ("Heritage," 1925). A socio-linguistic theory of biculturality (Marks, Blauner, DuBois), in combination with previous scholarship in the history and phenomenology of spirit possession (Wilmore, Mitchell) provide a theoretical framework supporting the conclusion: there is no intrinsic basis for excluding a spirituality of conjuration from Christian theology.

AbstractThe topic of παρκλητος (the Paraclete) in John 14–16 exposes not only the unique nature of Johannine Trinitarian theology, but also a pneumatological Christology. This points to the complex nature of the relationship between Christ and παρκλητος, as well as the mission of παρκλητος when Christ ascends. What primary function of παρκλητος is likened to that of Christ? What implications flow forth from an exegetical and socio-historical study of John 14:16–17, 26 and 1 John 2:1 for twenty-first-century Nigerian Christians? This study has Nigeria as its focal point, because this country is noted for numerous Pentecostal and/or charismatic movements with a variety of doctrinal and cultural claims that have met with resistance and even dismissal from mainstream Christian theologians and churches. Using a socio-historical approach, this article will deal with three issues: (1) the meaning of παρκλητος in its Johannine context; (2) the correlation between the Paraclete texts in John in their socio-historical contexts; and (3) a re-evaluation of some Nigerian Pentecostal and charismatic teachings on the working of παρκλητος in light of the socio-historical context of Johannine literature. © New Testament Society of Southern Africa

AbstractThe article presents a study on Micah 3: 8 which tackled the function of power and leadership in the Israel and Judah societies. It notes that religious power is necessity which will result to danger and conflict if abused. It mentions that the book of Micah portrayed powerlessness and power abuse in the Jews society. The book of Micah states that religious power must promote justice and righteousness in the society. Moreover, chapter 3 of the book of Micah also cited that the religious adherents who are denied by Yahweh are powerless to perform prophetic ministry against the Spirit of Yahweh's prophet.

AbstractIn this article, the relation between a theology of the Spirit and a theology of biblical law is explored. This is performed in reference to the theology of Michael Welker. In the first part of the article, it is shown how the relation between the Spirit and the law, which could be considered to be his main and most unique contribution towards a theology of the Spirit, serves as the framework for his entire theological endeavour. In the third part, his understanding of the law as life-furthering security of expectations is explored in light of reductionist understandings of biblical law, which is examined in the second part. This is followed by an explanation of Welker's in-depth understanding of the biblical law, of Recht , mercy and knowledge of God. It will then be possible to ask about the relation between this differentiated understanding of biblical law and the Spirit. The conclusion asks how Welker's understanding of this relation, which allows for a more complex understanding of the Spirit's role in reality, moves beyond morality. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The article's focus is on the theology of Michael Welker, who's understanding of the relation between law and Spirit is the result of intradisciplinary (Old- and New Testament, Historical Theology, Systematic Theology etc.) and interdisciplinary research (law, sociology etc.). The intra- and interdisciplinarity of his understanding of the relation further differentiates discourses caught up in diverse abstractions, dichotomies and dualisms.

AbstractThis article discusses the missional role of the Holy Spirit from a Ghanaian Pentecostal’s perspective. In doing this, trinitarian mission is used as the point of departure and it was narrowed down to the missional role of the Holy Spirit. The Ghanaian Pentecostals’ view about the baptism and the infilling of the Holy Spirit as well as their practices concerning the subject are discussed. The article concludes that there is no way that the church could achieve her call without the role of the Holy Spirit, to convict sinners of their sin and also to empower the church to proclaim the gospel.

AbstractThis article discussed the role of the Holy Spirit in Ghanaian Pentecostal churches from a missiological perspective. In order to achieve the aim for the topic, the article focused on one of the major factors that led to the rise and popularity of Pentecostalism in Ghana; i.e. the concern of the indigenes about their worldview not being addressed by the Western missionaries which came to serve in Ghana. The article argued that, in the desire for Ghanaians to have their worldview addressed, they resorted to Pentecostalism – a movement first introduced into Ghana by the African Initiated Churches. It is also argued that, though one of the factors that have made Pentecostalism to be accepted by Ghanaians is how it has addressed their worldview; Ghanaian Pentecostal Churches are of the view that the role of the Holy Spirit is the major factor for this increase.

AbstractThe result of the Arian controversy was the affirmation of the total equality of the trinitarian persons. This led to the realisation that all three persons of the Trinity are involved in every external action of God. Despite this, the role of the Holy Spirit in creation has not been clear, partly due to few specific references in the creation narratives. However, it may be suggested that the Spirit does not act in the creation of matter, which is the role of the second person, but in the provision of the underlying form and order necessary for very existence, and specifically for the dynamic interaction which is of the essence of life, as in the second account of the creation of the man (Gen 2). This reflects the fact that the action of the Spirit is also essential in salvation to link Christ's work on the cross to the believer. While separation is a feature of the Genesis creation narrative, this is balanced by the interrelating of what had been created.So, although Christian theology has commonly seen the world as ‘spirit’-less, restricting the action of the Holy Spirit to the church, this would be understood as referring to the limitation of his direct action. His immanent presence is nevertheless essential in all for very existence. The Spirit is not in the world, but underlies it.Creation may be seen as a theistic act, by transcendent intervention to give matter, and giving interaction in immanent presence. The nature of the world therefore reflects the theistic nature of God, involving both distinction and relating. Indeed it then reflects the trinitarian nature of the creator, in which the persons maintain their absolute distinction at the same time as their total equality through the interaction of perichōrēsis, specifically enabled by the action of the Spirit as generating and undergirding relationship. The parallel between the created and the creator is seen especially insofar as the discrete elements of matter interrelate to give form and interaction.It is in their interaction that the elements of creation fulfil their purpose, and so specifically that humanity reflects its nature as created in imago Dei.

AbstractThis article discusses the bodily mass reproduction of divine touch in Ghanaian charismatic Pentecostalism and argues for an understanding of conversion as an ongoing bodily process that ‘tunes’ the senses to specific sensory experiences. Presenting a case study of the International Central Gospel Church in Accra, it asks how the church's explicit appeal to the body relates to its strong suspicion of bodily mediation and its ideology of conversion as an inner transformation of the spirit and only secondarily of the body. It shows that the learning of the church doctrine that grounds born-again subjectivity in spontaneous and immediate experiences of being touched by the Holy Spirit goes together with repeated performance and gradual embodiment of sensory and bodily ‘formats’ that evoke such experiences, but also raise concerns about their authenticity.

AbstractThe article is a contribution to the 450 year celebrations of the Heidelberg Catechism (HC). Sunday 14, Questions and Answers 35 and 36 receive attention. It deals with the two statements of the creed '... conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary'. The exposition of the HC is compared to the catechisms of Zacharias Ursinus and John Calvin in order to capture something about the historicity of the text. The exposition of the creed is an on-going process. Karl Barth, Eberhard Busch and Jan Milič Lochman are good examples of Reformed theologians who remain faithful to the intention of the HC, but who explain these statements with present-day criticism in mind. The exposition of Peter Berger is valuable because this sceptic argues that the opinion of modern, liberal Protestantism is of no value. The article concludes that the 'virgin birth' as such has no great value. It is only one aspect of the Christian gospel. It also does not proof the divinity of Christ. The divinity of Christ is presupposed.