Professor of Theology at Huron College in London, Ontario, Canada.
Anglican Theological Review
"Badcock has put together a very readable volume on a largely
neglected area of theology and has done it with considerable
erudition and virtually no pedantry. His coverage of the biblical
material on the Spirit, both Hebrew and Christian, is both brief
and thorough at least for readers whose interest would be to see
where these sources were taken by the Church. The second and third
chapters, one on the patristic development of pneumatology and the
other on the filioque controversy, are masterful in their clarity
and command of the material. . . Badcock's final chapter is an
exercise in pastoral theology, though he probably wouldn't call it
that. He is interested in connecting the volume with the
contemporary mindset which is more enamored of a Sartrean freedom
and a Nietzschean skepticism than is healthy for it. He succeeds
admirably in indicating the religious value of a renewed
pneumatology for moderns and the cultural desert we are in if we
don't find one. This volume is a giant step away from the desert."
Interpretation
"A very helpful guide to the history and possible future of
pneumatology. . . Badcock's careful scholarship and impressively
broad reading on pneumatology commend this volume to the academic
specialist and the theologically interested." Religious Studies
Review
"Badcock offers both a review of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit
from patristic times to the present and a constructive restatement.
The Reformation tradition generally and Barth in particular serve
as a focus for the discussion, but Badcock's learning and
sympathies cover a wide ecumenical spectrum." Theological
Studies
"The book has many virtues. With its emphasis on the person and
work of the Holy Spirit it represents a creative attempt to advance
trinitarian discussion beyond the somewhat conflicting paradigms to
which it is currently captive and thereby to reinvigorate dialogue
between the churches on this key doctrinal issue. Its spirit is
refreshingly irenic and ecumenical. If it covers a fairly extensive
range of historical and theological territory in a relatively short
space, nevertheless it can hardly be criticized of suffering from
superficiality. The style and arguments are direct and vigorous,
and there is clear evidence of careful and creative scholarship on
virtually every page. In places it is quite demanding, calling for
considerable expertise in the long and complex history of the
development of trinitarian doctrine. Hence, it is not a book for
the beginner, or for that matter for the fainthearted."
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