Reflections on Pneumatology

While the Church maintains that the Godhead exists in the form of the Holy Trinity, three co equal natures in one existence, it has been argued that the Church places a greater emphasis on Christ as Son of God, to the determent of the other natures; that of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. It is felt by some that this emphasis has had the most negative affect on the Holy Spirit, to the extent that it may be considered a neglect of the importance of this nature. I am not sure that I agree with this argument, but if this is the case, has this neglect of Spirit by the Church been to the advantage of secular society and those outside of Christianity? It seems clear to me, that there is something inherent in human nature that causes us to search for something that explains our existence; anything that will provide answers. This search can lead to many things, but one thing they all have in common is Spirituality. Many people in secular society are comfortable with the label "spiritual" even if they are uncomfortable with the term "religious". While the Church may seem to be neglecting the Spirit, the Spirit has been welcomed with open arms by our contemporary society which has become so disenchanted with religion. We, unfortunately, live in a society that has become so anti religion because society today is so intertwined with the struggle between religion and politics, and Spirituality is being seen as an alternative. This is not surprising really, when you consider that during the reformation, when the Catholic and Protestant churches were fighting for control of the Church of England, New Magic was seen as an alternative form of Spirituality. Church may be neglecting the Spirit, but society in general is thriving in its warmth. Is this a bad thing? No. It is hard to discuss this without crossing into the religious pluralism debate, but even if you still hold fast to a belief in inclusivism or even exclusivism, surely you will see that exploration of any spirituality is a good thing, after all, at the end of days all will be given the choice to accept Christ. Maybe it is by exploring other spiritualities that certain people will come to a more mature spiritual life; one that can accept Christianity.