Australian theologians Dr Kevin Wagner and Dr Peter McGregor are eager to share the ideas of 20 contributors who have been pondering the theology of the Holy Spirit in their new book – Pneumatology at the Beginning of the Third Millennium. Source: The Catholic Leader.
Dr McGregor, who wrote the introductory section to the book, said pneumatology – “pneuma” meaning “breath” or “spirit” – could not be looked at in isolation.
Take Christology, he says, the word “Christ” is a pneumatological word.
“Christ is the one sent by the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit,” he said.
The same way Christology links to pneumatology, he says, every aspect of theology must be seen in relationship to every other.
So when the theologians sourced papers to publish in the book, they cast the net wide.
The contributors to the book came from many academic disciplines, not just theology, and the published papers covered a wide range of topics that dealt with the Holy Spirit.
Dr Wagner said bridging these wider fields in theology had a secondary effect of helping to heal a fracture he saw in academic theology – the fracture between theology and spirituality.
Dr McGregor said that was why he loved reading the theology of the then-Fr Josef Ratzinger because “you got two for one”.
“Good theological writing will be spiritually nourishing,” he said.
“If you don’t find it spiritually nourishing, you can question whether it’s good theology.”
Dr Wagner said he hoped “readers come away with a deeper understanding of some of the rich traditions we have in the Church, especially regarding the Holy Spirit”.
Pneumatology at the Beginning of the Third Millennium is one of a series of books to come out of the Beginning of the Third Millennium conference series held at Notre Dame University in Sydney.
FULL STORY
New Australian book follows flight of the Holy Spirit in the current day (By Joe Higgins, The Catholic Leader)
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