Amos Yong

Discerning the spirit(s) in the natural world: Toward a typology of “spirit” in the religion and science conversation

Abstract Recent developments in Christian theological thinking on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology) have raised questions about the relationship between “spirit” and science. Cursory review of the religion and science literature, however, yields a wide array of uses and understandings of the concept of spirit. Current attempts to assess the relationship of pneumatology to science require an inventory or basic classification scheme of the various notions of spirit that have been in circulation over the past generation. This essay presents a preliminary typology of such uses in order to enable scholars and researchers to chart courses for future research in this area.

Disability and the Gifts of the Spirit: Pentecost and the Renewal of the Church

The interface between the disability rights movement and renewal Christianity has been one of missed opportunities in part because of the centrality of healing in renewal Christian circles. This essay delineates the challenges that occur at this intersection and charts the way toward a renewal theology of disability in dialogue with J. Rodman Williams, one of the leading theologians of the charismatic and neo-Pentecostal movements. Central to such an endeavor is the articulation of an inclusive ecclesiology derived from the Pauline metaphor of the body of Christ animated by the Spirits diverse giftings amidst and through the churchs many members.

A P(new)Matological Paradigm for Christian Mission in a Religiously Plural World

In this essay, the author summarizes previous work done (by himself and others) in the formulation of a theology of religions approached from the standpoint of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology), assesses the implications of such a pneumatological theology of religions for Christian mission in the religiously plural world of the twenty-first century, and responds to some of the most important critical questions regarding Christology, soteriology, and the doctrine of revelation that have been raised in response to this project so far.

A Typology of Prosperity Theology: A Religious Economy of Global Renewal or a Renewal Economics?

The gospel of prosperity is not a new phenomenon. One of its most direct antecedents in North America, and certainly its most influential genealogical stream, can be traced through the charismatic renewal and the Latter Rain revival movements of the mid-twentieth century back to the teachings of popular writers such as Essek W. Kenyon, among others.1 Particularly in this broad tradition, prosperity was considered not just in financial terms but also in relationship to bodily health (hence the label “health and wealth”). Kenyon’s teachings, as mediated through Latter Rain personalities such as William Marion Branham and charismatic leaders such as Oral Roberts, Kathryn Kuhlman, Kenneth Hagin, and Kenneth Copeland, among many others, have not only informed the scope of discursive practices that fueled the spreading of the prosperity message across the “global South” in the last generation, but they have also motivated many critical assessments of the theology of prosperity.2

Disability, the Human Condition, and the Spirit of the Eschatological Long Run

Abstract In search of an alternative theology of disability that incorporates but is not limited to the biomedical and socio-constructivist models, Nancy Eieslands proposal of Jesus Christ as “the disabled God” is an attempt to redefine disability in anthropological, ecclesiological, and theological terms. It may be less helpful, however, in addressing the eschatological hope that motivates many persons with disability. I propose a pneumatological model of the Spirit as the “community-enabling God” that is able to appropriate insights from previous approaches, even as it seeks to complement Eieslands proposal and further develop a trinitarian and eschatological theology of disability.

Academic Glossolalia? Pentecostal Scholarship, Multi-Disciplinarity, and the Science-Religion Conversation

As more and more Pentecostal institutions of higher education are being transformed from liberal arts colleges to universities, an increasing number of degrees in the social and natural sciences are being offered. At the same time, Pentecostals working and teaching in science and religion departments have not been engaged in the science-and-religion conversation in any measurable way. This essay attempts to chart the prospects for such an engagement by way of entering into dialogue from a Pentecostal perspective with three recent publications. Throughout, the importance and necessity for Pentecostal presence in the science-and-religion discussion is emphasized, especially with an eye toward revitalizing Pentecostal education, scholarship, and praxis for life in the twenty-first century.

The Spirit bears witness: pneumatology, truth, and the religions

The question concerning conflicting truth claims so often at the center of theological discussions of religious pluralism has not shown signs of resolution insofar as the debates have proceeded from within the framework of propositional discourses. Among other reasons, this is in part due to the inadequacies of language to capture and communicate transcendental realities, in part due to the variety of interpretative systems associated with the religions, and in part due to religious truths claims as inviting inhabitation and practical embodiment rather than just describing objective realities. The thesis proposed here is that a pneumatological approach to the diversity of religions provides hitherto untapped resources for the theological understanding of religious truth. Building on the narrative of Pentecost in Acts 2, it is suggested that the Spirits being poured out upon all flesh enables us not only to register the values of particular and distinct claims to truth, but also to engage such truths in some ways ‘from the inside’. This preserves the otherness of the religious other even while enabling interreligious dialogue.

The Cosmic Breath

The interjection of pneumatology in both theologies of interreligious dialogue and in the theology-and-science conversation comes together in this volume. The resulting Christianity-Buddhism-science trialogue opens up to new pneumatological perspectives on philosophical cosmology and anthropology in interdisciplinary and global context.

Radically Orthodox, Reformed, and Pentecostal: Rethinking the Intersection of Post/Modernity and the Religions in Conversation with James K.A. Smith

The Radical Orthodoxy [RO] movement has been gaining momentum in the theological academy. Its most recent spokesperson, James Smith, attempts to extend the RO vision in dialogue with the Dutch Reformed tradition. Clearly, the central features of ‘Reformed’ RO empower a kind of prophetic engagement with the various domains of late modern society. At another level, however, the globalizing features of our time mean that the dominant pagan deities are not just secularism, nihilism, or capitalism, but also those of other religions. At this level, even a ‘Reformed’ RO may be unable to sustain an engagement with the plurality of mythoi operative in the public square. Rather than undermining the Radically-Reformed project revisioned by Smith, I propose a ‘pneumatological assist’ and argue that a more robust pneumatological theology (suggested but undeveloped by Smith) enables the kind of engagement that is required in our religiously plural late modern world.

The Cambridge companion to Pentecostalism

Global Pentecostalism: an introduction to an introduction Cecil M. Robeck, Jr and Amos Yong Part I. Historical Considerations: 1. The origins of modern Pentecostalism: some historiographical issues Cecil M. Robeck, Jr 2. Charismatic renewal and neo-Pentecostalism: from American origins to global permutations Michael J. McClymond 3. Then and now: the many faces of global Oneness Pentecostalism David A. Reed Part II. Regional Studies: 4. North American Pentecostalism David D. Daniels, III 5. Pentecostalism in Europe and the former Soviet Union Jean-Daniel Pluss 6. Pentecostalism in Latin America Daniel Ramirez 7. African Pentecostalism Cephas N. Omenyo 8. Asian Pentecostalism in context: a challenging portrait Wonsuk Ma Part III. Disciplinary Perspectives/Contributions - the Status Quaestiones: 9. The politics and economics of Pentecostalism: a global survey Calvin L. Smith 10. The cultural dimension of Pentecostalism Andre Droogers 11. Sociological narratives and the sociology of Pentecostalism Michael Wilkinson 12. Pentecostal spirituality Daniel E. Albrecht and Evan B. Howard 13. Pentecostal theology Mark J. Cartledge 14. Pentecostalism and ecumenism Wolfgang Vondey 15. Pentecostal mission and encounter with religions Veli-Matti Karkkainen Instead of a conclusion: a theologians interdisciplinary musings on the future of global Pentecostalism and its scholarship Amos Yong.