Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 03:3 (Summer 1960)
Article: The Doctrine Of The Holy Spirit In Contemporary Thought
Author: Jerome L. Ficek

BETS 3:3 (Summer 1960) p. 70

The Doctrine Of The Holy Spirit
In Contemporary Thought

Jerome L. Ficek

Trinity Theological Seminary

The doctrine once described by David Friedrich Strauss as the “Achilles heel” of Protestant theological systems is increasingly attracting the attention of leading theologians today. As early as 1940 in a Journal of Religion article, Edwin A. Aubrey raised the question of the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the religious community, concluding his analysis with the provocative question, “Is it conceivable that here we have a doctrine which is the hub of the whole contribution of Christian thought to the cultural problem of our time?” This doctrine referred to as the “step child and by G. J. Sirks as the “Cinderella” doctrine of theology was the subject of Paul Tillich’s Auburn Alumni Lectures of 1958, to be published as the first part of Volume Three of his Systematic Theology. President Henry P. Van Dusen after a vacation in the Caribbean reminded us that those whose special interest is the Holy Spirit today constitute “the Third Force” in Christendom—a force of tremendous vitality, responsible for the great missionary outreach of the past one hundred and fifty years, and one for which the ecumenical movement must find a place. Not for a long time has the focus of contemporary thinking centered so sharply on the theological significance of the Holy Spirit. Occupying a crucial position in ecumenical discussions has been the relationship of the Holy Spirit to the Church, and in the revival of Reformation studies the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Word has assumed a new significance. In this paper we shall attempt to point to the major emphases of a number of contemporary works on the Holy Spirit, using as they do the method of correlation; that is, the relating of human problems, experiences, quests, aspirations to their divine answer or solution, a practice reminiscent of the “accomodation” of the grace of God, on which Calvin loved to dilate and which in our day Paul Tillich has popularized.

I. The Relation Between The Holy Spirit And Man’s Spirit

One of the chief characteristics of the modern period has been the emergence of the personality sciences which understand man in terms of selfhood, the unconscious, freedom, spirit. Following the lead of Augustine who attempted to understand the trinity in terms of human personality, which, because it is in God’s image mirrors the richness of His nature, numerous modern theologians link our understanding of man as spirit to the doctrine of God as Spirit.

1. Hendry. In chapter five of The Holy Spirit in Christian Theology, entitled “The Holy Spirit and the Human Spirit,” George S. Hendry rejects Barth’s refusal to ...