Constructive Pneumatological Hermeneutics in Pentecostal Christianity

320 K.J. ARCHER

cosmologists, and physicists? Are they able to maintain Pentecostal spiri-

tuality when they may no longer adhere to a narrow understanding of cre-

ation which most likely shaped their early Christian formation? Would not a

concern for the Spirit in creation offer some insights? 29 Personally, I would

hope so.

More so than a giving a simple nod, Pentecostals will need to take serious

contextualization and wrestle with the implications that race and ethnicity,

sex and gender, nationalities and Christianity, faith and science, formal edu-

cation and human intelligence, globalization and secularization, etc., have

upon shaping and infl uencing their interpretations both positively and neg-

atively, in ways that are both revealing and concealing. 30 The quest is to get

at the truth and to understand properly. The truth is always being sought

from a particular place in the fi nite space-time continuum. For pentecos-

tals–charismatics, the more pressing concern is living properly with God

and others. Thus, contextualized interpretation is one of the future frontiers

of hermeneutics and with it comes the validation of the importance of story

for human understanding. Hopefully, the Fivefold/Full Gospel (and varia-

tions on the theme of liberation and deliverance) as a redemptive story of

God for humanity will remain a formational traditioning providing deeper

commonality through shared charismatic experiences among pentecostals

and charismatics.

Arising out of the concern not to be classifi ed either Pentecostal or

Charismatic and attempt to hold everything pentecostal–charismatic under

one umbrella emerged the concept of “renewal.” The renewal tradition is

postulating a pneumatic hermeneutic. Kevin Spawn and Archie Wright’s

edited collection of essays addressing pneumatic hermeneutics. 31 These

essays exhibit a concern for utilizing the historical critical method and

other methodologies from the perspective of a charismatic confessional

Christianity. The essays focus on the role of the Spirit in critical interpre-

tive methodologies. In this way, the editors want to continue “the believ-

er’s criticism” tradition with a particular concern to lift up and develop

a pneumatic hermeneutic as it relates to traditional historical critical and

other exegetical methods. The focus is no longer on particular communi-

ties but on the Spirit and methodology. The contributors all belong to

pentecostal–charismatic forms of Christianity, except for the respondents.

One of three primary concerns for the volume was to address the fol-

lowing question: “How does the Holy Spirit mediate meaning from the

text?” 32 The question is indeed challenging. Unfortunately, the essays do