Moving in the Spirit

Together towards Life (TTL) holds together a theology of the God of life and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit with the renewal and transformation that begins with a commitment to justice and peace at the margins and anticipates the eschatological vision of the renewal of the whole creation. The theme of the forthcoming World Mission Conference in 2017 in Arusha (Tanzania), “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship,” marks the intersection between TTL and the Busan call for the pilgrimage of justice and peace. The theme invites participants to advance reflection on the life‐giving power of the Holy Spirit and the role of transformative communities moving together in hope of God's reign to come. The example of the World Council of Churches’ work on a Theology of Life shows that choosing this direction has implications for the practices of doing theology and even the organization of the forthcoming World Mission Conference. A fascinating task indeed!     

Cancer Recovery and the Spirit

The present study addresses the definition and exploration of the existential and spiritual experience of persons who had spontaneously remitted or made a remarkable recovery from cancer. Spontaneous remitters had experienced a remission without having allopathic treatment which could account for the cancer regression. Those with remarkable recoveries may have had treatment, but had been given a prognosis of less than a 20% chance of survival in a specific number of months or years, and had survived at least five years past this time. The narratives of the ten participants indicated that cancer proved to be a wake-up call propelling them into unprecedented existential and spiritual growth. Nine of the participants reported that they had healed not only at physical, but also at emotional and spiritual levels. Most described a new and intensely numinous relationship with the divine and with the unity of all beings which was not religiously oriented. Nine out of ten participants felt that cancer had been a gift.     

Speaking of the Spirit1

Since Gregory Nazianzus called it the “special difficulty” in the fourth century, we should not be surprised that speaking of the Holy Spirit still challenges theologians today. In this article I attempt definitions of the Spirit's activity in the church and the world, and its role within the life of the Trinity. I look for help in Paul's Letter to the Romans, from the Christian tradition, and from Luther's teaching, inviting all to this conversation about the Spirit's identity and place in an ecumenical context.     

The Spirit Moved Over the Face of the Waters: The Holy Spirit and the Created Order

The article is a sketch for a dogmatics of the Creator Spirit and contends that the Spirit's relation to the creation in general cannot be treated either without attention being paid to its trinitarian matrix or in the absence of some consideration of the human creation in particular. A christologically formed attempt is made to expand the Cappadocian theology of the Spirit as the creation's perfecting cause. This leads into some fragmentary remarks about the Spirit in relation to church, political order and culture more generally.     

医学人文精神和医学科学精神的融通

医学人文精神和医学科学精神都是人类医学必不可少的内在组成部分,要达到两者的融通与共建,其前提便是在对医学人文和医学科学的全面理解中塑造当代医学精神,促进医学人文精神与医学科学精神的健康互动与协调发展。     

Discerning the Spirit among Catholic Charismatics

The "Catholic Charismatic Renewal," renamed by the bishops the "Charismatic Renewal of the Church," has a 35 year history in the US and Europe. Debated at Vatican II and analyzed by theologians, the experience of spiritual charisms requires thoughtful discernment, especially if charism is to be properly integrated with sacrament.     

Discerning the Spirit among Catholic Charismatics

The “Catholic Charismatic Renewal,” renamed by the bishops the “Charismatic Renewal of the Church,” has a 35 year history in the US and Europe. Debated at Vatican II and analyzed by theologians, the experience of spiritual charisms requires thoughtful discernment, especially if charism is to be properly integrated with sacrament.     

The Haunting of the Human Spirit

Understanding the human spirit, the thinking, motivating, feeling aspect of a person, need not entail supernatural reference in any more than a boundary sense. Methodological naturalism accounts for many putatively supernatural experiences in terms of naturalistic and scientific research. Fairy tales have natural functions, naturalistic accounts of miracles can have moral and spiritual power, and neuropsychological research can have value in understanding experiences of ghosts, apparitions, and presences. Even beliefs in personal immortality, at odds with current neurobiology, may serve a range of psychological functions and may raise more moral questions than they answer. Naturalistic accounts can make spiritual explorations possible where supernatural answers provide epistemic barriers.     

In the Spirit of William James

In this essay, I identify several ways in which James Dittes extended the spirit of William James in his writings on psychology of religion. Like James, Dittes gave minimal attention to psychological theory and God-talk. Both authors located their reflections on religion within a philosophical, as well as a psychological, perspective. Both employed a discourse that was personalist, pluralist, and pragmatist. In the last section, I briefly note some of the ways in which Dittes moved beyond William James in the spirit of William James.     

论医学的理性精神

面对守望生命的神圣事业 ,人们开始发出“返回故园”的深切呼喊[1] 。自然 ,精神家园是我们的终极关怀所在 ,是我们最深切最真挚的向往。然而 ,当医学现代化的历史使命感和西方所谓“后现代化”思潮交织而来的时候 ,我们是踏上返乡之路 ,还是走向不归之途 ?这需要我们理智地沉思 ,沉思当前医学应具有的理性精神。1　对医学理性的阐释作为人类所特有的一种能力 ,理性同人类历史一样古老。同时 ,理性又不是一种超历史的先天能力 ,人们的理性只能表现在他们的实际活动和思考之中。所以 ,理性又必然带有历史的、文化的、社会的和个体特点的烙印…