The Spirit Over the Earth: Pneumatology in the Majority World

Gener L. Green, Stephen T. Pardue, and K.K. Yeo, eds.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2016

ISBN: 978-0802872739

201 pages

USD $22.00

Reviewed by A. Sue Russell, Professor of Mission and Contextual Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky.

The Spirit over the Earth is part of the Majority World Theology series in which scholars from around the globe engage theological topics in dialogue with Western tradition, Scripture and their cultural context. This timely anthology of essays intersects two major current trends in global Christianity: the shift of the centers of Christianity from Europe and North America to the majority world, and the rapid spread of Pentecostalism. The writers of the book’s essays provide refreshing theological and Biblical reflections on pneumatology from the center of this intersect.

The contributors to this volume include both theologians and Biblical scholars engaging Asian, Latin American and African contexts. Gene Green’s excellent introduction to the anthology provides a helpful synopsis of the context of each contributor, their unique perspective and the contribution of their chapter to the discussion on pneumatology. This synopsis provides a useful framework to guide the reader through the book or as Green muses it provides a ‘helping hand’ that enables the reader to “read along the grain of their concerns and questions that are related to their context of their reading and reflection” (6). His ’helping hand’ makes the book assessable to a wide range of audiences including those who have just entered the conversation.

Although written from different contexts, common themes run through the essays. In the theological essays there is dialectic between the historical theological tradition and the contextual theological tradition. These essays do not discount their theological heritage but rather provide new perspectives, questions and insights into pneumatology from their context. A common thread is the rejection of the dichotomies that are reflected in the theologies coming out of the Enlightenment: spirit/matter, general revelation/special revelation, individual/relational.

The four essays from the Biblical scholars reflect on the meaning of the Spirit in their context. Their essays bring a refreshing perspective of the relationships and community formed by the Spirit. Like many Pentecostal theologians these essays emphasize the power of the Spirit for witness. However, for these writers, that witness is also relational. The power of the Spirit not only transforms individuals but brings reconciliation and holistic transformation to the Christian community and to the society in which the church is located. Rene Padilla summarizes this in his essay, “It becomes evident that the same Spirit who empowers the church for mission is also the Spirit who empowers the church to confess Jesus Christ as the Lord of the totality of life and experience the Kingdom of God as a present reality” (183).

While the coverage of countries is not extensive, the volume provides a kaleidoscope of insights and questions about the meaning of the Spirit in different contexts. This sampler provides examples of key issues, questions and insights as Majority World authors reflect on how the Spirit is experienced in their context. What I appreciated most about these essays was being able to listen to the voices that were different than my own and see the work and power of the Spirit with fresh lenses. 

For Further Reading

Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. The Spirit in the World: Emerging Pentecostal Theologies in Global Contexts. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.

Kim, Kirsteen. The Holy Spirit in the World: A Global Conversation. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2007.

Macchia, Frank D. Baptized in the Spirit: A Global Pentecostal Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.