18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clear, accurate, Biblical, thorough, September 10, 2007
This review is from: He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (Hardcover)
Strong Points:
1. The material is distinctly evangelical and Biblical. Though Dr. Cole often draws upon sources outside of evangelicalism, such as philosophy or other Roman Catholicism, he remains both Biblical in his conclusions.
2. Dr. Cole does not back down from confronting error in either theology or philosophy. He does not gloss over or otherwise ignore problems such as Kant's relativism, Feminist theology, or errors regarding the trinity. (I wish he took them on more strongly, more clearly, but the fact that he does it is commendable.)
3. The volume is practical and well-written. The practicality of the material shows up regularly in his conclusions about the impact of a principle on belief and practice. I wouldn't be afraid to give it to almost anyone in a local church.
4. He is conciliatory with regard to the many divergent points of distinction that exist among evangelicals and fundamentalists. While making his conclusions clear he allows for differences. The value I find here is clear: Taking this approach allows the reader to gain a better understanding of the differences and thus become better theologians themselves.
Any weak points? Just one, but it's not his fault: I wish there were more that could be accomplished in these modest 300ish pages. The style and quality editing provided by Dr. Feinberg could allow this volume to become much richer in the years to come. I'm looking forward to more from Dr. Cole in this regard.
Additional observations:
The theme is certainly the "mystery" of the Holy Spirit.
His favorite theologian appears to be B. B. Warfield. The complements seem undending.
Favorite Quote:
Believing that God is mysterious in the sense of incomprehensible has a number of practical corollaries.
At an attitudinal level, humility is the appropriate virtue. (p. 56)
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic Book on Holy Spirity..., November 24, 2009
This review is from: He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (Hardcover)
He Who Gives Life is, admittedly, the first book on systematic Pneumatology that I've read in several years, so it brought a welcome return to many ideas, speculations and problems that infrequently grace the economy seats on my train of thought. The book starts out with an introduction that explores the need for the preeminence of scripture in talking about Pneumatology and then outlines the 4 sections of the book.
The first section looks at the mystery of the Spirit, with chapter two commenting on the elusiveness of the Holy Spirit and chapter three exploring the Holy Spirit and the Trinity. The second section looks at the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament with chapter four exploring the Holy Spirit and his role in creation, chapter five regarding the Holy Spirit and his workings with the nation of Israel and chapter six looking at the Holy Spirit and the various angles of the future hope of Israel. The third section looks at the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament with chapter seven commenting on the Messiah as the bearer of the Holy Spirit, chapter eight exploring the Messiah as the bestower of the Holy Spirit, chapter nine taking a look at the Holy Spirit and his work in the church (along with the ever present "charismatic questions") and chapter ten looking at the Holy Spirit and his work in revealing God to the world. Part four closes off the book with a brief series of comments summarizing each chapter and the book as a whole.
I definitely liked how Cole incorporated the mystery of the Holy Spirit without making the mysterious a flippant "trump card" to get out of tight theological discussions. I also liked how he defined the word mystery when he wrote that a mystery is an "open secret" and "Mystery as I am using the term is an epistemological claim about an ontological reality" (43). I appreciated his clarifications in saying that a mystery is neither a puzzle nor a problem, for both of those can be ultimately solved. I often hear the word mystery thrown around in both those kinds of ways, and his initial clarification prompted thought on something I often have running fuzzily through my brain.
On the same wavelength as his clarification of the word "mystery", I really found myself liking his definition of theology. On page 55 he quoted Thomas Weinandy saying "theology by its nature is not a problem solving enterprise, but rather a mystery discerning enterprise", and on the following page he still articulated that "there are genuine problems thrown up by revelation that require clarification, and those clarifications need to be argued and therefore justified". I liked how Cole actively and honestly attempted to avoid a modernistic "finding the answers" approach to theology as well as a postmodern "nobody knows" approach. I appreciated how he tried to be honest in representing the struggles with both positions and the need for a recognition of both the propositional and logical nature of scripture along with the mysterious nature of the content of scripture.
Another quote I appreciated was when he commented in the seventh chapter on the "unforgivable sin". He wrote about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and succinctly said "Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is not an episode but a way of life" (177). In the light of the "blasphemy challenge" on Youtube that is currently (and idiotically) running, I found that comment sticking out at me as both simple and profound.
Although I mostly liked Cole's work, I did find some parts of it that were either confusing, unnecessary or questionable. One thing was how Cole seemed to have a penchant for including discussion and comment that were either unnecessary or outright distracting. An example of this was on pages 87-88 when he gave a short commentary on how Islam is non-Trinitarian. I am guessing that it was significant to him, but I could not understand why he singled out Islam (as opposed to other world religions) and how it somehow added to his book, outside of the inclusion of a theological curiosity. Another example was how on page 177, after his comments on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, he then quoted Pope John Paul II on the matter. I was left sitting in my seat and asking "how in the world does this add anything to what he's just exegeted and written?"
Another component that I found weak was his treatment of the whole Cessationist/Continuationist question. I didn't feel he accurately portrayed the cessationist camp, for I couldn't find any of the arguments that I would use for cessationism in his representation for then cessationist camp. In the end, like most Continuationists I've ever read or met, he practically abandons Sola Scriptura on this issue and says "Over the years I have heard `tongues' spoken on more than one occasion. I have seen the ecstasy on the faces of those who so spoke..." (256), After all his biblical reasoning, he still plays the "I've seen it and cannot deny the reality of my experience" card. One must wonder if he has ever stopped to ponder the possibility that his exegesis needs to drive his interpretation of his experience.
All in all, I was quite impressed with He Who Gives Life. Graham Cole does a good job of setting up the need for a scripturally building a case for an understanding of the Holy Spirit. He definitely models a practical outworking of Sola Scriptura in the formulation of doctrine (in almost every area), and it's encouraging to see the strong emphasis on the sufficiency of scripture in the 21st century when so many other voices in Christendom seem to be weakening or outright compromising on the subject.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
FInally a comprehensive book on the Holy Spirit, June 3, 2009
This review is from: He Who Gives Life: The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (Foundations of Evangelical Theology) (Hardcover)
This is by far the best book I have read this year. It is especially the best book I have read about the Holy Spirit. Cole's book is well researched, thorough, thoughtful, and comprehensive. He has a way of saying a lot with little words. This book was recommended by a professor and I have thanked him for his reference. If you are looking for a complete book about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit look no further than He Who Gives Life, by Graham Cole.
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