Illumination in Basil of Caesarea's Doctrine of the Holy Spirit


Book Description

If Basil of Caesarea receives mention in a standard course of lectures on Christian theology or history it is as the first person to write a dedicated discourse on the Holy Spirit. The author argues that Basil did regard the Holy Spirit as fully divine and an equal Person of the Holy Trinity.




Illumination in Basil of Caesarea's Doctrine of the Holy Spirit


Book Description

Although Basil of Caesarea was the first to write a discourse on the Holy Spirit, many scholars have since questioned if he fully believed in the Spirit’s divinity. Timothy P. McConnell argues that Basil did regard the Spirit as fully divine and an equal Person of the Trinity. However, Basil refused to use philosophical terminology to make the point, preferring to use what the Spirit revealed through divine act and Scripture. Thus, “illumination” becomes the primary paradigm for Basil, which later theologians would come to call revelation, setting the stage for this study’s high relevance for contemporary thought.




On the Holy Spirit


Book Description

This classic exposition of Trinitarian doctrine eloquently sets forth the distinction yet perpetual communion of the divine Persons. Without explicitly calling the Spirit "God, " St Basil demonstrates that He, like the Son, is of the same nature with the Father.




The Third Person of the Trinity


Book Description

A Fresh Look at the Holy Spirit. Recent decades have recognized pneumatology—the theology of the Holy Spirit—as a critical component in Christian thought, worthy of increased attention. While scholarly discussion about the Spirit is both creative and lively, it does sometimes occur in outlying areas of doctrine and practice rather than within its context of the doctrine of God. The Third Person of the Trinity represents the proceedings of the 2020 Los Angeles Theology Conference, which examined pneumatology as a core component of the doctrine of the Trinity, offering constructive proposals for understanding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit with theological and historical depth, ecumenical scope, and analytic clarity. The twelve diverse essays in this collection include discussions on: Understanding the Holy Spirit’s presence in creation. The mystery of the Trinity and the procession of the Spirit. An exploration of a Black American pneumatology of freedom. Exploring pneumatology alongside sorrow and suffering. Each of the essays collected in this volume engage with Scripture as well as with others in the field—theologians both past and present, from different confessions—in order to provide constructive resources for contemporary systematic theology and to forge a theology for the future.




Engaging the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit


Book Description

A Distinguished Theologian on the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit Distinguished theologian Matthew Levering offers a historical examination of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, defending an Augustinian model against various contemporary theological views. A companion piece to Levering's Engaging the Doctrine of Revelation, this work critically engages contemporary and classical doctrines of the Holy Spirit in dialogue with Orthodox and Reformed interlocutors. Levering makes a strong dogmatic case for conceiving of the Holy Spirit as love between Father and Son, given to the people of God as a gift.




Gregory of Nyssa Against Eunomius


Book Description

It seems that the wish to benefit all, and to lavish indiscriminately upon the first comer one’s own gifts, was not a thing altogether commendable, or even free from reproach in the eyes of the many; seeing that the gratuitous waste of many prepared drugs on the incurably-diseased produces no result worth caring about, either in the way of gain to the recipient, or reputation to the would-be benefactor. Rather such an attempt becomes in many cases the occasion of a change for the worse. The hopelessly-diseased and now dying patient receives only a speedier end from the more active medicines; the fierce unreasonable temper is only made worse by the kindness of the lavished pearls, as the Gospel tells us. I think it best, therefore, in accordance with the Divine command, for any one to separate the valuable from the worthless when either have to be given away, and to avoid the pain which a generous giver must receive from one who treads upon his pearl,’ and insults him by his utter want of feeling for its beauty.




We Believe in the Holy Spirit


Book Description

This volume offers patristic comment on the first half of the third article of the Nicene Creed. Readers will gain insight into the history and substance of what the early church believed about the Holy Spirit and his work.




The Trinity


Book Description

“A sound introduction to a crucial doctrine. Emery’s prose is scholarly yet widely accessible, at once traditional and constructive” (Themelios). Representing the highest quality of scholarship, Gilles Emery offers a much-anticipated exploration to Catholic doctrine on the Trinity. His extensive research combined with lucid prose provides readers a resource to better understand the foundations of Trinitarian reflection and addresses all who wish to benefit from an initiation to Trinitarian doctrine. The path proposed by this introductory work comprises six steps—from liturgical and biblical ways for entering into Trinitarian faith to the creative and saving action of the Trinity. The book concludes with a doctrinal exposition of the “missions” of the Son and Holy Spirit, that is, the salvific sending of the Son and Holy Spirit that leads humankind to the contemplation of the Father. “Trinitarian doctrine is not easy, but Emery (with his translator) has rendered it intelligible and attractive . . . Exegetes, theologians, historians, and liturgists alike will find the Trinity related to their discipline. Most importantly, The Trinity will prepare its readers to enter higher levels of discussion about the Trinity.” —Sacra Pagina




Basil of Caesarea


Book Description

Famous for fighting a growing heresy, Arianism Champion of the underprivileged Part of Early Church Fathers series




Light of Truth and Fire of Love


Book Description

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.




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