Holy Spirit and CF... Please come to discuss

[Philothei]

http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?t=7216059&page=25

there is a problem with the Statement of Faith of CF ... it is lacking the Nicene Creed right up when it talks about the Holy Spirit :(....
Please come and discuss :) Thank you :wave:

[Father Rick]

To jump in here (and get REALLY theological for a bit)...

the denigration of the role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity is a natural result of the addition of the filioque into the Creed (extra-council, btw).

This has resulted in a lack of understanding of the importance/role of the Spirit in the West-- while in the East (where the creed was not altered) there has always been a greater emphasis on the more "mystical" elements of our faith-- understanding that those elements are due to the Spirit's role.

Here's a brief overview of how it plays out. In the West, the addition of the filioque created the concept of a heirarchy within the Trinity, with the Father at the top, the Son next, and the Holy Spirit last. With this mindset, if the Church truly is the Body of Christ, then the Church get's elevated above the Holy Spirit in importance... to the point that even some of the Western Church Fathers have stated "the three great truths of Christianity are the Father, the Son, and the Church".

In the East, however, the overall view is much less heirarchical-- more of a triangle-- with the Father at the top, and the Son and the Spirit (both equally proceeding from the Father) as the two bottom points. The Son and the Spirit are seen as mutually dependent upon each other, since Jesus made it clear He was not functioning in His own might, but acting as one anointed by the Spirit... and the Spirit did not come by His own volition, but as He was sent by the Son. In this respect, if the Church is the Body of Christ, then the Church and the Holy Spirit are dependent upon one another-- the Church cannot function without the anointing of the Spirit and the Spirit operates in and through the Church.

[Father Rick]

Oops...

The above post was intended for the other thread ( the one linked to)... but I thought I would leave it here for food for thought.

[Philothei]

Thanks Father for posting that in the thread :) I totally agree and I think it will get some people thinking the right direction. It was very informative

[winsome]

Interesting comment Father Rick. One of the aims of Charismatic Renewal is to give more prominence to the work of the Holy Spirit.

I'd like to add another point. The standard explanation I hear is that the Holy Spirit is the personified love that flows between the Father and the Son. Now if the Holy Spirit is a person, then surely the Father loves the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit loves the Father. So why doesn't the love flowing between them generate another person? And the same could be said of the Holy Spirit and the Son. We could thus multiply persons in the deity infinitely.

[Philothei]

Please winsome come and post your post in the announcement forum :) it will help a lot, to get the word out... Thank you. prayers.
Philothei

[Philothei]

wow perhaps I did not read your post... Watch out there there is a treacherous slop you are going to ... The Trinity as a dogma is well rooted in the Gospel. The Parakletos is mentioned in the Holy Writ many times throught the Gospels and in the ACTS ... There is no ... regeneration mentioned anywhere in the Bible of in the oral tradition. The energy and power of the Holy Spirit in the world is obvious in sustaining the Church(S) of God. Also in uniting the christians in times of divisions and dissagreements. The relation of Father, Son and the H. Spirit is three persons in one existance... inceperabe, unchangable, un... (I forgot the thrid) that is they CANNOT multiply they can not regenerate they are just ONE GOD in three persons... Maybe Fr. RIck can explain better than me...

Interesting comment Father Rick. One of the
aims of Charismatic Renewal is to give more prominence to the work of the Holy Spirit.

I'd like to add another point. The standard explanation I hear is that the Holy Spirit is the personified love that flows between the Father and the Son. Now if the Holy Spirit is a person, then surely the Father loves the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit loves the Father. So why doesn't the love flowing between them generate another person? And the same could be said of the Holy Spirit and the Son. We could thus multiply persons in the deity infinitely.