The Work of the Holy Spirit in Christian Practices: A Constructive Proposal

Abstract

<p>There continues to be strong interest in the arena of Christian formation, which is</p><p>primarily concerned with developing mature Christians in light of shifts in contemporary</p><p>views on religion and its relationship to ethics. The field of Christian formation has many</p><p>facets one of which is the field of Christian practices. Those who work in this field are</p><p>primarily concerned with relating Christian beliefs to the every day lives of Christians in</p><p>the interest of providing a stronger witness to the faith. Also, Christian practices are a</p><p>means to provide a response to other forms of identity formation provided by a hyper</p><p>individualistic consumer driven culture.</p><p>This thesis is concerned with the question of how the work of the Holy Spirit is</p><p>understood to function in Christian practices? In short, “Does Pentecost have anything to</p><p>do with how Christians live their daily lives?” To answer these questions a brief</p><p>investigation of present work in Christian practices will be provided to ascertain how the</p><p>work of the Holy Spirit is present. Thereafter, an example of how the focus on the Holy</p><p>Spirit in the work of Christian practices may be enhanced indebted to Eugene Rogers’</p><p>work on the Holy Spirit and James K. A. Smith’s work on the formation of Christian</p><p>desire will be proposed</p>