Pneumatology 230

Pentecostalism, cessation, vineyard movement, and all other kinds of issues have generated spirited  discussion and at times hard feelings in the church back home.  I was assigned Pneumatology as one of my classes to teach this term.  I am far from well-read in this area so it has been challenging but the key word when living in Africa is flexibility. 

But, I did want to share in brief on one of our most recent classes.  We ended up taking most of class just discussing the issue of Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit.  I had the class read the Nicene Creed to introduce them to the idea of the East and Western Churches view of the Holy Spirit.  How division sprouted over the statement “And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son.”  The version I used said “Holy Ghost.” So, that is where our discussion went, which was great.  The issue the students addressed was their people’s understanding of ghost.  Ghost is a dead ancestor rising from the dead.  “How can such a thing be holy?  How can we speak of God in such a manner?  How can we explain who truly is the Holy Spirit?”  Although, Spirit seemed to have less negative conations for their local churches it still presents problems for them.  It was a fun discussion we talked about ways that the students could communicate with their churches who the Holy Spirit is and how to approach the topic with their churches. They really felt it was important to teach in their churches the linguistic reasons for the confusion over Ghost and Spirit.  They also felt to help quash confusion they need only to use only one term, Spirit, and avoid mentioning Holy Ghost. They expressed that it was good to speak on such issues together so as to feel at least they had considered them before entering into them on the field.  

Teaching is a joy in so many ways because I am learning so much from listening in.