[As I was preparing this week's Sunday post, I realized that my heart was basically writing the same post as I'd already written three years ago. So here it is once again.] Last Sunday, we looked at Jesus’ controversial words that he was (and is) the way to the Father and “no one comes to … Continue reading Another Advocate, Another Coach: A Reflection on John 14.15-21 [Re-Post]
In the most recent post in this series celebrating the strengths of different Christian traditions, I talked about how I appreciate the room that the ancient Christian mystical tradition has for manifestations such as visions and dreams. In some ways, today’s post, about why I am charismatic, is part two of that post. At the … Continue reading Why I am … Charismatic
A recurring theme on this blog (and indeed in the New Testament) is that being a Christian means living a radically different life. There is supposed to a marked difference between life following Jesus and life following our own impulses, between life with the Spirit and life outside of the Spirit. There are few places … Continue reading Life in the Spirit: A Reflection on Romans 8.12-17
Just in time for Pentecost Sunday, it's time to bring my historical survey about the Holy Spirit to a close with some theological affirmations and a call to action.
In Tuesday’s post, we saw how the Medieval Church tried to hold a public, ecclesiastical, and sacramental understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in creative tension with a private and mystical one. Today we turn to the Reformation, which exploded all of the Western Church’s attempted syntheses and compromises. The centuries since the … Continue reading The Holy Spirit in Church History, Part 3: The Reformation and Beyond
Matthew Root 