Constructing a theology for Pentecostal - Charismatic worship using Calvin's 'Union with Christ'

Drake, Nicholas James (2018). Constructing a theology for Pentecostal - Charismatic worship using Calvin's 'Union with Christ'. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

When Pentecostal-Charismatic [P-C] theologians look for theological resources, John Calvin is rarely first choice. This thesis explores how the Reformer's theology of human participation in God through Union with Christ offers a rich, untapped, resource for constructing a theology for P-C worship. It moves through three key questions:

I. What is the distinct understanding of divine-human relationship captured in the instinctive praxis of Charismatic worship?
2. How does Calvin's notion of Union with Christ provide a theological grounding for, and critique of the notion of intimacy and encounter with God at the heart of Charismatic worship experience?
3. Can the dialogue between these two traditions form the basis for constructing a wider Trinitarian theology of Christian worship that is a synthesis of pneumatological emphasis and Christo-centricity.

Union with Christ is found to provide a missing soteriological lens for P-C worship whilst P-C worship invites an expansion of the notion of 'visible grace' and the 'accommodation' of God. United by their shared pneumatological emphasis, together both traditions offer a new framework for constructing a theology of worship that expands existing sacramental models. This 'Trinitarian Participatory Ontology' places both Christ and the Spirit as central to mediating human participation in God.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):