The doctrine of the Holy Spirit has often been a neglected theme in Christian thought. In Light of Truth and Fire of Love Gary D. Badcock attempts to redress this theological imbalance and t
The doctrine of the Holy Spirit has often been a neglected theme in Christian thought. In Light of Truth and Fire of Love Gary D. Badcock attempts to redress this theological imbalance and to reassert the centrality of the doctrine of the Spirit in Christian theology.
Badcock begins by surveying what both the Old and New Testaments have to say about the Spirit. Next he traces the history of the theology of the Spirit, examining a number of crucial episodes and questions in the field of pneumatology in the history of Christian thought, and then proceeds to develop a contemporary theology of the Spirit. Badcock goes on to relate this theology of the Spirit to the theological enterprise initiated by Karl Barth earlier in this century — the return to the doctrine of the Trinity as the framework for Christian reflection. Setting forth the positive and negative results of much of contemporary trinitarian theology, Badcock ultimately makes a case for a balanced doctrine of the Word and the Spirit in which neither is subordinated to the other.
Anglican Theological Review
"Badcock has put together a very readable volume on a largely neglected area of theology and has done it with considerable erudition and virtually no pedantry. His coverage of the biblical material on the Spirit, both Hebrew and Christian, is both brief and thorough at least for readers whose interest would be to see where these sources were taken by the Church. The second and third chapters, one on the patristic development of pneumatology and the other on the filioque controversy, are masterful in their clarity and command of the material. . . Badcock's final chapter is an exercise in pastoral theology, though he probably wouldn't call it that. He is interested in connecting the volume with the contemporary mindset which is more enamored of a Sartrean freedom and a Nietzschean skepticism than is healthy for it. He succeeds admirably in indicating the religious value of a renewed pneumatology for moderns and the cultural desert we are in if we don't find one. This volume is a giant step away from the desert."
Interpretation
"A very helpful guide to the history and possible future of pneumatology. . . Badcock's careful scholarship and impressively broad reading on pneumatology commend this volume to the academic specialist and the theologically interested."
Religious Studies Review
"Badcock offers both a review of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit from patristic times to the present and a constructive restatement. The Reformation tradition generally and Barth in particular serve as a focus for the discussion, but Badcock's learning and sympathies cover a wide ecumenical spectrum."
Theological Studies
"The book has many virtues. With its emphasis on the person and work of the Holy Spirit it represents a creative attempt to advance trinitarian discussion beyond the somewhat conflicting paradigms to which it is currently captive and thereby to reinvigorate dialogue between the churches on this key doctrinal issue. Its spirit is refreshingly irenic and ecumenical. If it covers a fairly extensive range of historical and theological territory in a relatively short space, nevertheless it can hardly be criticized of suffering from superficiality. The style and arguments are direct and vigorous, and there is clear evidence of careful and creative scholarship on virtually every page. In places it is quite demanding, calling for considerable expertise in the long and complex history of the development of trinitarian doctrine. Hence, it is not a book for the beginner, or for that matter for the fainthearted."
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Professor of Theology at Huron College in London, Ontario, Canada.
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