Table Of ContentTOWARD A
PNEUMATOLOGICAL
THEOLOGY
Pentecostal and Ecumenical Perspectives on
,
Ecclesiology, Soteriology and Theology of Mission
Veli-Matti Karkkainen
Edited by
Amos Yong
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We dedicate this volume to two ecumenical heroes,
the long-standing co-chairs of the Catholic-Pentecostal dialogi
an exercise on the frontiers of ecumenism
and pneumatological theology,
Kilian McDonnell, O.S.B.
Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research
and
Cecil Mel Robeck, Jr.
Fuller Theological Seminary
Table of Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction: Pentecostalism and a Theology of the Third Article xiii
Abbreviations xxi
Part One: Hermeneutics and Identity: Pentecostal 1
and Ecumenical
Chapter 1 Hermeneutics: From Fundamentalism 3
to Postmodernism
Chapter 2 Authority, Revelation and Interpretation 23
Chapter 3 Pentecostals as “Anonymous Ecumenists”? 39
Chapter 4 Free Churches, Ecumenism and Pentecostalism 53
Chapter 5 The Ecumenical Potential of Pneumatology 65
Part Two: Ecclesiology 81
Chapter 6 Toward a Pneumatological Ecclesiology 83
Chapter 7 Trinity as Communion in the Spirit 97
Chapter 8 The Church as Charismatic Fellowship 109
Chapter 9 Spirit, Laity, Ministry 123
Chapter 10 The Spirit and the Lord’s Supper 135
Part Three: Soteriology 147
Chapter 11 Grace and the Ecumenical Potential of Theosis 149
Chapter 12 On a Theology and Spirituality of the Cross 167
Chapter 13 Are Pentecostals Oblivious to Social Justice? 179
Part Four: Theology of Mission 191
Chapter 14 Proselytism: A Theological Inquiry 193
Chapter 15 Culture, Contextualization and Conversion 207
Chapter 16 Pneumatology, Eschatology, Missiology 217
Chapter 17 A Pneumatological Theology of Religion? 229
Endnotes 241
Name index 285
Subject index 291
vi
Preface
In my recent textbook, Pneumatology: The Holy Spirit in Ecumenical,
International, and Contextual Perspective,11 argued that any talk about the
Spirit must be both contextual and ecumenical. In other words, the Spirit
of God is no general spirit hovering above the world, nor does any one
Christian tradition or church have a monopoly on the Spirit. The Spirit
of God takes root and is being manifested in particular contexts, among
specific people, and saves and heals real people and communities. The
Spirit champions and fosters variety and richness. Yet as the bond of love
between the Father and Son and, consequently, between God’s people and
God and the world, the Spirit is also the principle of unity-in-diversity.
In a sense, the present collection of essays is a case study and elabora
tion of this foundational affirmation. It is both a proposal for the possi
bility of a genuinely pneumatological theology—a theology informed by
and founded on the Spirit of the Triune God—and an inquiry into some
specific challenges in the life and mission of the Christian church.
In 1996, the Catholic Theological Society in the United States held
its annual meeting under a groundbreaking title, “Toward a Spirit
Theology.” Since then many other meetings on the relationship between
the Spirit and theology have been held, but that one title still catches
much of what I believe is crucial to the future of Christian theology.
Pneumatological theology is not, as is often assumed, a theology cen
tered on the Spirit as such, nor is it a collection of scattered references to
the Third Person of the Trinity. In the Bible and in Christian tradition,
the Spirit’s role in the Divine Trinity is to turn our eyes to the Son and
in doing so return us to the Father. The Spirit is the contact point, so to
speak, not the focus. But neither is the Spirit to be the “Third Unknown,”
vu
viii Toward a Pneumatological Theology
a more or less useless appendix to Christian systematic theology. It is
not only a theology of the “third article” (in reference to the last section
of the creed) but rather a theology of all three articles of the Christian
faith. A truly spirited theology is fully trinitarian, a theology in which all
the persons of the Trinity are honored in their own specific, yet unified
personhoods and ministries. This collection of essays provides some ten
tative perspectives on some hermeneutical, soteriological, ecclesiological,
and missiological issues from that perspective.
I develop my reflections on a pneumatological theology in critical
dialogue with Pentecostal and Catholic traditions, two traditions that
are seemingly at the opposite end of the ecumenical spectrum. I be
lieve the time has come for Pentecostals to engage in mutual learning
and exchange with other traditions, not only in sharing their charis
matic, dynamic spirituality but also their emerging theology. Theology
is nothing other than reflection on Christian life and experience. In that
sense, all churches and denominations do theology. I speak not only to
Pentecostals and Catholics but also to Orthodox, Lutheran, and other
Protestant theologies in their specific contexts. I also continue learning
from all of them and being enriched by their insights. Doing so I am also
reflecting my own ecumenical and cross-cultural journey: theologically,
I was trained by Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic men
tors on both sides of the Atlantic, and I have lived and taught in Europe,
Asia, and the United States of America.
I continue to be fascinated by systematic theology in all its variety and
richness. Theology should never be done in a vacuum, but be informed
not only by biblical and historical studies but also by the full spectrum of
contemporary “mainline,” contextual, global, and cross-cultural voices,
including challenges from other religions. Therefore, fittingly I believe,
this collection of essays ends with a reflection on the theology of religions
(which deals with the question of the relation of Christianity to other
religions) from a pneumatological perspective.
Recendy, as I received feedback from my peers concerning my appli
cation for a sabbatical, I was both commended and warned: commended
for my continuous writing activities on various topics, the present compi
lation of essays being an example, and warned about interest in too many
areas, implying a lack of focus. Grateful for mentoring from my more
seasoned colleagues, with a smile—yet, I hope, seriously—I promised
that the time will come when I tighten the reins of my theological horse.
The present essays, however, originated during my formative theological
L
Preface IX
years when no or only a few ecumenical, topical, or cultural boundaries
were honored, and so they offer a theological smorgasbord with a focus
on a pneumatological theology for the Christian oikoumene.
I am grateful to Amos Yong, my younger colleague and friend, for
this careful editing and creative restructuring of these materials as well as
making my “Finnish English” readable.
On the eve of Pentecost 2002
and the everlasting Feast of the Spirit
Temple City, California,
Veli-Matti Karkkainen
