Power and the Spirit of God : Toward an Experience-Based Pneumatology

## Abstract Both the Hebrew Bible and Christian scriptures equate the Spirit of God with power. Power is a diverse phenomenon in human experience; several instances of power are examined here with the help of social scientific and psychological analysis. The book then relates the divine Spirit power to each of these instances of power: force and violence, fear, official and religious authority, law, wealth, images and symbols, language, teaching, sexuality, friendship and love. Finally, as a synthesizing metaphor to help gain insight into the divine outreach, i.e. the Spirit of God, the author uses the experience of a human embrace, examining this with a phenomenological hermeneutic and correlating it to the various forms of power studied. Contents......Page 9 Introduction......Page 13 Part I: Force and Fear......Page 21 1. The Basic Paradigm: Physical (Violent) Strength......Page 23 2. The Power of Fear......Page 39 Part II: Power in the Public Arena......Page 55 3. The Power of Office......Page 57 4. The Power of Fame......Page 77 5. The Power of Law......Page 85 6. The Power of Wealth......Page 93 Part III: Nature......Page 101 7. Power in Nature......Page 103 8. The Power of Creativity......Page 113 9. The Power of Imagination......Page 121 Part IV: Symbol......Page 131 10. The Power of Symbol/Word......Page 133 11. The Power of Thought......Page 147 12. The Power of Ritual......Page 157 Part V: Love......Page 167 13. The Power of Eros......Page 169 14. The Power of Love......Page 175 Conclusion: The Divine Embrace......Page 189 Notes......Page 201 E......Page 217 P......Page 218 W......Page 219 "In this book Roman Catholic theologian Bernard Cooke reassesses the long-standing Christian description of divine power. The word power evokes the spheres of economic, political, and social life. Cooke suggests, however, that the deepest questions about conflicting powers are theological and concern what Christians have traditionally referred to as "the Holy Spirit" and "salvation." He believes that the twentieth-century reappraisal of the theological view of power may represent the most radical paradigm shift to touch Christianity in eighteen hundred years."--Jacket

In this book the distinguished Roman Catholic theologian Bernard Cooke reassesses the long-standing Christian description of divine power. The word power evokes the spheres of economic, political, and social life. Cooke suggests, however, that the deepest questions about conflicting powers are theological and concern what Christians have traditionally referred to as the Holy Spirit and salvation.

Power takes many forms, and so the divine involvement with power is a multi-faceted reality.