God the Spirit [Paperback]

Michael Welker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2004

Welker sees Spirit as conflicted territory in a world alive with experiences of the Spirit, searchings for Spirit, and skepticism about the Spirit. In a work that fuses the best of Continental theology with American process thought, he looks first to the problem of religious experience in today's world and inchoate experiences of the power of the Spirit.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Welker's theology of the Holy Spirit may prove intimidating to some general readers, but--given a widespread interest in spirituality that cuts across ideological, political, and theological lines--it should be made available to readers willing to take it on. Welker justifies the book theologically and practically as giving the Holy Spirit precedence over law and gospel. That will please the charismatic communities of which he is constantly aware, and it may hold their interest through his detailed depiction of the Holy Spirit as "public person." That depiction seems intended to bridge a gap between mainline, academic theologies of the Spirit and popular movements that have most often erupted on the edges of theology and the academy. To the extent that it provides a common language and begins to focus both participants and observers of the various charismatic movements on the kinds of "publics" they are constructing, it will provide an invaluable service. Its largest audience will be among mainline and theologically inclined Protestant observers of charismatic movements, but its thorough exploration of biblical material will prove illuminating to academically inclined participants as well. Steve Schroeder

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Press; 1st English-language ed edition (January 5, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800627660
• ISBN-13: 978-0800627669
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #734,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best in a Generation, December 17, 2000

By 

Gordon J. Straw (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: God the Spirit (Paperback)

I have found this book to be one of the most significant works on the Holy Spirit in a generation. Although it doesn't answer all questions, it shouldn't have to. His position on Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement is as an outsider looking in, but seems to look upon their concerns quite favorably. His biblical and historical surveys are good. His section on the 'outpouring of the Holy Spirit' is worth the five stars alone. He presents a credible argument against the traditional modern understanding of the Holy Spirit and for an understanding that places the Holy Spirit directly into the lives of believers and into the heart of Christian theology. The Holy Spirit does not take a back seat here as in most Christian theology.

4 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not convincing. . ., August 9, 2000

By 

David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: God the Spirit (Paperback)

As a clergyman involved in the Charismatic movement, but also grounded in traditional theological methods, I did not find this book convincing. In my opinion, (and personal experience) Welker's emphasis on freedom in the Spirit can and has led to abuses in the name of that freedom. In the last 50 years, many things in the Church have been justified in the name of "freedom in the Spirit" -- a number of which have been nothing more than exercises in self-justification.

I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book.