Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Seminary 1-1-2013 Ruah: revelation to recognition, symbol to reality in the twenty-first century church Georgeann Boras George Fox University This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Boras, Georgeann, "Ruah: revelation to recognition, symbol to reality in the twenty-first century church" (2013). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 43. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/43 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Seminary at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY RUAH: REVELATION TO RECOGNITION, SYMBOL TO REALITY IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CHURCH A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY GEORGEANN BORAS PORTLAND, OREGON MARCH, 2013 George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Georgeann Boras has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on March 13, 2013 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Cecilia Ranger, PhD Secondary Advisor: Kathleen McManus, PhD Copyright © 2013 by Georgeann Boras All rights reserved. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 First and foremost, I want to express my deepest appreciation to my husband, Mark, for walking beside me posthumously through this entire journey. His love and inspiration were beacons of light during the “I don’t think I can do this” phases. Many thanks to my church family led by Fr. Joseph McMahon who steadfastly supported me spiritually and financially, to Deacon David Briedwell and Deacon Charlie Corey who cheered me on tirelessly, and to Fr. James Dallen who taught me how to write over the years. Fr. Dallen’s input was invaluable during every phase of this treatise and his advice is still ringing in my ears, “Just give them what they want!” Next to Fr. Kurt Boras, my brother-in-law, who enthusiastically ignited my creative abilities during this doctoral program, to Fr. Mike Biewend whose spiritual direction kept my soul afloat, and to Deacon John Ries, who is my spiritual anchor. Deacon John constantly tells me that I am a special lady and if any woman can make a difference in the Catholic Church, I can. Finally, to the Brigittine Monks who prayerfully sustained me and offered me solace during extensive writing periods. A most special thanks to Fr. Peter Smith, Linda Jo Devlaeminck and the People of Praise for showing me the power of the Spirit in everyday life when the evil of doubt and cynicism was about to smother me during distressing and unsettling times. All of you are true disciples of Christ in your words and actions. iii I am indebted to Dr. Bianca Shaw who allowed flexibility in my work schedule so that I could freely participate in the residency requirements and morning chats. Without her kindness, my education would have come to a standstill. I am grateful to my close circle of friends who unselfishly tolerated my hectic studying and writing schedule: Juanita, Lynne, Stacy, Sr. Marilyn, and Diana and to the people who added their testimonials to my project. I am especially grateful to Cohort L for inspiring me with their lives and ministry. I formed friendships that will last a lifetime, particularly with my closet Catholic soul friend, Chris Owen, and my alter ego, Jeremy Sims. I want my dear editor, Dr. Donna K. Wallace, to know how deeply appreciative I am of her awesome editing skills. God knows I am not computer savvy when it comes to the details and she took the grunt out of the grunt work. She made the final days of this mammoth project pleasurable because I trusted her Spirit-given talent. Blessings and hugs to you! I am thankful for the faculty of George Fox Seminary, who challenged my thinking and stimulated my own growth in the Spirit, especially my advisors, Dr. Cecilia Ranger and Dr. Kathleen McManus. Dr. Cecilia, working with you was an inspiration and a delight. Your spirituality and love of the Spirit was akin to the force of Mother Nature! Dr. Kathleen, you have supported me spiritually and compassionately for a number of years through life’s twists and turns and for that I am most humbly grateful. Dr. Cecilia has already filled the role as an adjunct professor in the George Fox Doctoral Program; hopefully, it is now your turn. Your academic prowess and passion for theology iv should be modeled by every student. Thank you both for pushing me to my limits academically and spiritually. v ILLUSTRATIONS Figures 1. Holy Spirit’s First and Last Mention in the Bible 7 2. Holy Spirit: Attributes 14 3. Vatican II in Session 113 4. Christianity Growing Worldwide 139 5. Christianity Moves South 140 6. Christianity by Continent 141 7. Leading Christian Denominations 142 8. More Chinese than European Christians 149 9. Rural Chinese House Church 150 10. Shouwang Chinese Pastor Preaching in a Snowstorm 151 11. Archbishop Fulton Sheen Delivering a Television Broadcast 155 12. Pentecost 221 Tables 1. Summary of Signs 47 2. Comparison of Different Versions 50 3. World’s Top 12 Religions 139 4. Growth of Christianity in Africa 146 vi ABSTRACT “Where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and every kind of grace.” --Irenaeus The modern tendency is to view the Holy Spirit as inactive and subject to ideological abuse because the modern day church/ministers are academically and/or spiritually unaware of the role of the Holy Spirit in the historical church. In order to address this problem, I explore and set forth an ordered view of pneumatological history through the Scriptures, antiquity, theology, and ecclesiology. I present the Holy Spirit’s mission past and present, identify the Holy Spirit’s resources, stress the importance of the Holy Spirit’s partnership with humanity and conceptualize the spiritual potential that the future Church offers. In Chapter 1, the thesis of this study is presented as well as a general introduction indicating both the result and further need of the Holy Spirit in the Church and a discussion of the characteristics of the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 2, biblical evidence is provided to support the thesis, which shows that the life of the early Church was manifested by the presence and action of the Holy Spirit in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. In Chapter 3, evidence is submitted from Christian history and thought that shows that the revelation and experience of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church progressed in the writing and preaching of early theologians. In Chapter 4, evidence is offered from ecclesial doctrine, documents, and teachings which shows that the Church is made active by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament. vii In Chapter 5, evidence is provided from international Christian growth and various interfaith venues, which reveals that the Holy Spirit is fully alive and engaged in today’s post-modern culture through expressions of God-given charisms and a renewal in the spontaneous responses to the urgings of the Holy Spirit. In Chapter 6, findings and reflections are presented for recognizing the presence, experience, and importance of the Holy Spirit in the contemporary Church. viii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vi ABSTRACT vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Hebrew Ruah: The Holy Spirit 4 Person of the Divine Trinity 6 Traits Ascribed to the Holy Spirit 14 Acts Attributed to the Holy Spirit 17 2. BIBLICAL EVIDENCE 23 The Spirit of God in Hebrew Scriptures 23 Benjamin Warfield on Hebrew Scriptures 26 The Servant Songs 30 The Importance of Hebrew Scripture Scholarship within Christian Scripture Exegesis 35 Christian Scriptures 36 Exegesis “Receiving the Holy Spirit” 38 3. CHRISTIAN THOUGHT THROUGH HISTORY 66 Nicene Creed: The Holy Spirit’s Influence on One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church 66 St. Athanasius: The Word of the Spirit 81 S. Ambrose: River of Grace 84 St. Augustine: God’s Ultimate Gift 86 ix St. Anselm: The Sower of the Seed 88 Jonathan Edwards: Life and Legacy 90 Abraham Kuyper: The Principle of Life 92 Yves Congar: The Holy Spirit’s Advocate 95 Dorothee Solee: Identity in the Spirit 97 Mary Garvin: Discernment of Spirits 99 Elizabeth Johnson: Spirit Creator 100 Ivone Gebara: Spirit Unifier and Liberator 102 4. ECCLESIAL DOCUMENTATION 107 The Holy Spirit: Catholic Church Documents 107 The Holy Spirit: Growing Focus 108 The Second Vatican Council 111 Lumen Gentium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church 114 Inter Mirifica, Decree on the Media of the Social Communications 116 Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation 118 Dominum et Vivificantem, Encyclical, The Lord and Giver of Life 120 Post Vatican II 124 5. TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WORLD FORM AND FORCES 128 Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World 128 World Witnessing Rapid Christianity Expansion 138 Holy Spirit and Church Growth 142 x Growth of Christianity in Africa 144 Growth of Christianity in China 147 The Holy Spirit and TGIF 154 Interview Preface 157 6.