The Holy Spirit Before Christianity

The Holy Spirit Before Christianity PDF Author: John R. Levison
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481310789
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
With his latest book, The Holy Spirit before Christianity, John R. Levison again changes the face and foundation of Christian belief in the Holy Spirit. The categories Christians have used, the boundaries they have created, the proprietary claims they have made--all of these evaporate, now that Levison has looked afresh at Scripture. In a study that is both poignant and provocative, Levison takes readers back five hundred years before Jesus, where he discovers history's first grasp of the Holy Spirit as a personal agent. The prophet Haggai and the author of Isaiah 56-66, in their search for ways to grapple with the tragic events of exile and to articulate hope for the future, took up old exodus traditions of divine agents--pillars of fire, an angel, God's own presence--and fused them with belief in God's Spirit. Since it was the Spirit of God who led Israel up from Egypt and formed them into a holy nation, now, the prophets assured their hearers, the Spirit of God would lead and renew those returning from exile. Taking this point of origin as our guide, Christian pneumatology--belief in the Holy Spirit--is less about an exclusively Christian experience or doctrine and more about the presence of God in the grand scheme of Israel's history, in which Christianity is ancient Israel's heir. This explosive observation traces the essence of Christian pneumatology deep into the heart of the Hebrew Scriptures. The implications are fierce: the priority of Israelite tradition at the headwaters of pneumatology means that Christians can no longer hold stubbornly to the Holy Spirit as an exclusively Christian belief. But the implications are hopeful as well, offering Christians a richer history, a renewed vocabulary, a shared path with Judaism, and the promise of a more expansive and authentic experience of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Before Christianity

The Holy Spirit Before Christianity PDF Author: John R. Levison
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481310789
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Get Book

Book Description
With his latest book, The Holy Spirit before Christianity, John R. Levison again changes the face and foundation of Christian belief in the Holy Spirit. The categories Christians have used, the boundaries they have created, the proprietary claims they have made--all of these evaporate, now that Levison has looked afresh at Scripture. In a study that is both poignant and provocative, Levison takes readers back five hundred years before Jesus, where he discovers history's first grasp of the Holy Spirit as a personal agent. The prophet Haggai and the author of Isaiah 56-66, in their search for ways to grapple with the tragic events of exile and to articulate hope for the future, took up old exodus traditions of divine agents--pillars of fire, an angel, God's own presence--and fused them with belief in God's Spirit. Since it was the Spirit of God who led Israel up from Egypt and formed them into a holy nation, now, the prophets assured their hearers, the Spirit of God would lead and renew those returning from exile. Taking this point of origin as our guide, Christian pneumatology--belief in the Holy Spirit--is less about an exclusively Christian experience or doctrine and more about the presence of God in the grand scheme of Israel's history, in which Christianity is ancient Israel's heir. This explosive observation traces the essence of Christian pneumatology deep into the heart of the Hebrew Scriptures. The implications are fierce: the priority of Israelite tradition at the headwaters of pneumatology means that Christians can no longer hold stubbornly to the Holy Spirit as an exclusively Christian belief. But the implications are hopeful as well, offering Christians a richer history, a renewed vocabulary, a shared path with Judaism, and the promise of a more expansive and authentic experience of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit Before Christianity

The Holy Spirit Before Christianity PDF Author: John R Levison
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481310772
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
"Locates the roots of the New Testament understanding of God's Spirit in the Exodus tradition"--

A Boundless God

A Boundless God PDF Author: Jack Levison
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1493422324
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
The word rûaḥ (commonly translated as breath, wind, spirit, or Spirit) occurs in the Old Testament 378 times--more frequently than torah, shalom, or Sabbath. In this volume, a popular Old Testament scholar, whose previous books have received wide acclaim, cracks open the challenging and provocative world of the Spirit in the Old Testament, offering readers cogent yet comprehensive insights. Grounded in scholarship yet accessible and inviting, this book unlocks the world of the Spirit, plunging readers into an imaginative realm of fresh senses, sounds, and skills. The book gives readers the opportunity to recapture Israel's tenacious sense of the Spirit's energy as it was expressed by a series of vibrant verbs: blowing, breathing, coming, resting, passing, pouring, filling, cleansing, standing, and guiding. Readers will encounter in these pages all of the Old Testament expressions of the Spirit--passages that will challenge the conventional, confront the commonplace, and transport them to a world of wisdom, work, and wonder.

An Unconventional God

An Unconventional God PDF Author: Jack Levison
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1493427261
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Popular author Jack Levison offers a fresh take on the Holy Spirit through a careful reading of every reference to the Spirit in the Gospels. Viewed through the lens of Jesus's life, death, and resurrection, the Spirit shows up at odd times and in odd teachings--in desert sojourns, a strange saying about scorpions and snakes, and puzzling sayings about birth from above and springs from below. Grounded in scholarship, yet accessible and inviting, this companion volume to Levison's A Boundless God analyzes key aspects of Jesus's experience of the Holy Spirit, offering nuggets of insight on every page.

The Holy Spirit in the Ancient Church

The Holy Spirit in the Ancient Church PDF Author: Henry Barclay Swete
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Christianity
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description


The Age of the Spirit

The Age of the Spirit PDF Author: Phyllis Tickle
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 9780801014802
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A thousand years ago, the church experienced a time of tremendous upheaval called the Great Schism. The one faith became two churches, East and West, and the course of world history was forever changed. And it all swirled around one Latin word in the Nicene Creed, filioque, that indicated the Holy Spirit proceeded both from God the Father "and from the Son." From the time that phrase was officially instituted onward, the Holy Spirit's place in the Trinity and role in the lives of believers would be fiercely debated, with ramifications being felt through the centuries to this very day. In this fascinating book, readers will encounter not just the interesting historical realities that have shaped our faith today but also the present resurgence of interest in the Holy Spirit seen in many churches across the theological spectrum. Tickle and Sweeney make accessible and relevant the forces behind the current upheaval in the church, taking readers by the hand and leading them confidently into the Age of the Spirit.

Keep in Step with the Spirit (second edition)

Keep in Step with the Spirit (second edition) PDF Author: J I Packer
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
ISBN: 1789740584
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). The Holy Spirit empowers us, guides us, and enables us to grow and endure in our relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Often the most misunderstood member of the Trinity, the person of the Spirit continues to attract attention today amidst church revivals and renewals. In this new edition of his classic Keep in Step with the Spirit, J. I. Packer seeks to help Christians reaffirm the biblical call to holiness and the Spirit s role in keeping our covenant with God. Packer guides us through the riches and depth of the Spirit s work, assesses versions of holiness and the charismatic life, and shows how Christ must always be at the centre of true Spirit-led ministry. A new chapter explores Christian assurance. With abiding relevance and significance, Keep in Step with the Spirit sets forth vital knowledge for healthy and joyous Christian living, through understanding and experience of God the Holy Spirit. Here is a book for every serious believer to read and re-read.

The New You & the Holy Spirit

The New You & the Holy Spirit PDF Author: Andrew Wommack
Publisher: Destiny Image Publishers
ISBN: 1680313983
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
The New You It's important to understand what happened when you received Jesus as your Savior. That knowledge and understanding will keep the Word that was sown in your heart from being stolen by Satan. There is more to salvation than you have ever imagined. The forgiveness of sin was not the only thing included in your salvation. From God's perspective, it is just the beginning, a means to an end. Fellowship is the real goal. Now, become a disciple (learner and follower) of Jesus. Learn what separates Christianity from every other religion; how God sees past, present, and future sins; and much more. The Holy Spirit Living the abundant life that Jesus provided is impossible without the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus disciples received Him, they were weak and fearful. After receiving, each one became a powerhouse of God's miraculous power, and that's available to you. If you believe the Bible is true, then you must also believe the baptism in the Holy Spirit is God's will for everyone. In this book, Andrew establishes the validity of speaking in tongues, talks about the many gifts that accompany it, shares other little-known benefits, and explains how to begin speaking in tongues.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit PDF Author: Kevin DeYoung
Publisher: Gospel Coalition Booklets
ISBN: 9781433527678
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This Gospel Coalition booklet presents the Holy Spirit as our ultimate gift. DeYoung details the Spirit's role in our lives, including his activity in conviction, conversion, glorification, and the imparting of gifts.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit PDF Author: Eugene F. Rogers, Jr.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405136235
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 365

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Book Description
Beginning with the Church Fathers and moving right through to the present day, The Holy Spirit offers a theologically informed, international collection of the most important texts relating to Christians' understanding of the Holy Spirit. A new volume of texts and readings offering a chronologically-organized selection of the most important and interesting writings on the Holy Spirit Considers how the Holy Spirit has always been an integral part of both Christian belief and systematic theology - from the Church Fathers through to the present day Each set of readings is prefaced by an introduction from the editor, drawing out the main themes and important historical points, and linking the readings to what has gone before Tackles the disagreements over the role of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity, and how it was a contributing factor in the split between the Western and Eastern Church Opens with a newly-commissioned essay describing the importance of the Holy Spirit in the theology of the last one hundred years, and in particular in relation to the revival of Trinitarian theology