The Transforming Work of the Holy Spirit

Abstract

This issue of Currents in Theology and Mission explores pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit) both within the Lutheran tradition, and in dialogue with it, as a theological resource for the life of the church today. According to Luther scholar Heiko Oberman, one of the most important aspects of the Reformation was the rediscovery of the Holy Spirit, but later generations of Lutheran theologians often gave short shrift to the topic. So much so, that Lutheran theologian Paul Rajashakar once quipped that the Ephesian disciples in Acts 19:2 were the “first Lutherans” because they “have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Thankfully, this is no longer the case. As the authors in this volume show, there is a place in Lutheran theology for reflection on the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.