McCall Comments on Williams Renewal Theology:
- Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), vol. 1: God, The World, and Redemption.
Denominational affiliation: Charismatic (Pent.?)
Book proceeds through knowledge of God (revelation)> the nebulous concept ‘God’ (father?)> Trinity> creation>providence>miracles>angels>man>sin>effects of sin>covenant>incarnation>atonement>exaltation of JC; so, this is more of a typical outlay of a sys th. text, it seems to me; I would think that he would’ve begun intro w/ the HS, but did not, and started with community instead:18 (perhaps b/c it possesses the HS?); also admits reliance on the bible:23, but does mention the ‘inspiration’ of them by HS; attributes the charismatic renewal to the HS in preface;
Re: Knowledge of God, no discussion of HS re: general revelation re: content or reception; seemingly limits HS to scriptures – its composition and current reading re: revelation; notable is his agreement with CF Henry re: revelation as meaningful, but is hesitant to affirm always ‘rational’:42; special revelation is God revealing his-self; this section is paltry, and I do not see how he can honestly say it is/was particularly from a charismatic perspective.
RE: God, the HS testifies to ‘God’ (who is ‘God’, though?); ‘God’ is ‘living, personal, Spirit (i.e. he highlights the incorporeality of God:53), infinite, eternal, unchanging (!!!), holy, love, omnipotent (??), omniscient (??), omnipresent, and is bathed in glory (47-81); but how is this distinctly ‘renewal’? – it seems in fact strongly Reformed to me.
RE: Trinity – he starts with ‘God’, euphemistically used to refer to the father in the OT, and then moves to the Son in the NT; after mentioning Son and father, only then does he mention the ‘three persons’ which includes the HS:84; he affirms that each is a person, each is god, each is of same essence:94; affirms perichoresis as making them one; argues for single procession, no filioque:93; rejects modalism; so what’s particularly ‘renewal’ here?
RE: Creation, it is applied to ‘God’, not to particular entities of Trinity; bases his discussion of creation on ideas of blessing and praise:97; considers term ‘creation’ as absolute origination, ex nihilo; notes source of creation is ‘God’ (nebulous), or more specifically ‘triune’ God:101; considers the HS as the energizer of creation:104; contends that creation is from father, through son, and by HS; creation upheld by ‘God’:120-121; says something interesting on 121: ‘As the Spirit of God, He moved upon the waters…’ – what he means by this, I know not – it almost seems as if he wasn’t formerly a spirit? No mention of the Spirit’s role in suffering/pain/providence specifically:126-139, only ‘Christ’ instead; so whats particularly renewal here?
RE: miracles, begins disscuss. w/ ‘God’ again; finally discusses HS on p. 158, noting that by him, people will do greater things than JC – and then spends 5-6 pgs. Re: the cessation of miracles! Whats renewal here?
RE: Angels, he notes angels are spirits, in fact purely spiritual beings:174;
RE: Man, allot of coverage re: Christ being exemplar, but what of the HS?? Contends inbreathing into humanity done by ‘God’, not HS:208; however man contains w/in himself the very breath of life – a ‘spirit’ that is unique but not God-himself:211; however, HS communicates with man’s spirit:212;
RE: Sin, unforgiveable sin is attributing to the devil what is of God (note not HS, even tho it is in the context of Spirit in scripture:256;
RE: Covenant, back to the generic ‘God’ until speaking of New Covenant re: JC:299; no mention of HS;
RE: Incarnation, only mentions the HS re: bearing witness to JC:311; no mention of HS being the reason for the deity of JC – umm, take that back, as it recites the Apostle’s Creed re: being conceived of the HS:345; claims JC was conceived, not begotten by the HS:345n196; I do NOT see how this is expressly Renewal!
RE: Atonement, no mention of why JC was worthy of atonement: i.e. the HS;
RE: Exaltation of Christ, nothing, zip. Last chapter of vol.1.
McCall Comments on Williams Renewal Theology:
- Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), vol. 2: Salvation, the Holy Spirit, and Christian Living.
Denominational affiliation: Charismatic (Pent.?)
Seems at onset to be more Pneumatic than previous vol.: Outline: Calling>Regeneration>Justification>Sanctification>Perseverance>Holy Spirit>Enabling Spirit>Coming of Spirit>Tongues>Mission of Spirit>Reception of Spirit>Effects of Coming of Spirit>Ninefold manifestation> Christian Living.
Rodman claims that the discuss. of the ‘coming of the Spirit’ is the most critical section of book in preface; very detailed coverage of the gifts of the Spirit;
RE: Calling, it is applied by the HS:26 – even the best Word is ineffective w/o HS:26;
RE: Regeneration, this is primarily a work of the HS:37-39, and is residual in the Christian:49-50; kind-of paltry for being ‘primarily about HS’???
RE: Sanctification, the HS is the energizer of it:101, whereas the Son is the agent of it; the HS is the very Sanctifying Spirit:102;
RE: Perserverance: claims that the “Counselor” prayer ensures enduring salvation:121, as we are ‘sealed’:122, and ‘born anew’:122;
RE: The Holy Spirit, the name connotes immateriality:137, energy, drive, etc; makes a mountain out of a mole-hill re: “The” re “The Holy Spirit”:138-9; notes HS is of truth, of holiness, of life, of adoption, of grace, of glory, and eternal:141-144; HS symbolized as wind, fire, water, dove, seal, oil:144-147; HS is perfect and 3-Omni’d:149. So, Rodman covers the nature of HS b4 the works or person of the HS. But whats Renewal about this?
RE: The Enabling Spirit, it is here that Rodman discuss. the works/activity of the HS: leading, judging, ruling, prophesying, empowering:156-160; contends HS is largely spirit of enablement:160; he finally covers JC with respect to the HS in 167-173: notes the anointing and empowerment by the HS; mentions that HS had not yet ‘come’ while JC on earth (at all?):173;
RE: The Coming of HS, it is fulfillment of the promise of the Son and father:182-183; God gives the HS on Pentecost and pours him forth:193-94; HS both ‘falls on’ and ‘comes on’:195-96, which is equivalent to filling and connotes baptism :202-3; he notes the HS was not given to bring about salvation:205;
RE: The Phenomenon of Tongues, describes occasions and evidence of its occurrence, its nature and continuation;
RE: The Mission of the HS, he guides into truth:237; interestingly, he herein makes an excursus re: biblical exegesis and its pneumatic nature:241-43; HS provides power for ministry, making effective witness and doing mighty works like healing, deliverance, and sealing:243-268; excursus re sanctification and the HS on 268-270;
RE: The Reception of the HS, he is given but must b received; the basis of the reception is faith, as it is essential; water baptism may precede gift of HS:279, or it may follow it:281, or neither:282, or even be connected with it:283 – same is true for laying on of hands:284-90;
RE: The Effects of the Coming of HS, it is the coming of God himself:307, and the arrival of the fullness of joy:309; leads to boldness in speech and action:311-14; deepening of fellowship:315;
RE: The Gifts of the HS, he states the primary delineation is 1 Cor 12:8-10; situates gifts of HS in the foreground of the Lordship of JC and the Triune God:327-9; after this he sets for the profile of the gifts:332-345; excursus on Charisma:345-6;
RE: The Ninefold Manifestation, Paul does not claim they are exclusively 9:347n1; he then delineates each of the 9fold manifestations>411;
RE: Christian Living, this is the last ‘issue’ in this 2nd volume – I wonder if this means it is the capstone or the addendum? Notes we must be seeker, pray allot, read the Scriptures, be with other believers (= community, right???), & be in a renewed state of mind:>417; to do this requires energetic action, endurance, and supernatural strength:417-8; further, we must walk in the light, and he describes the character, motivation, and the surrounding darkness that might beset us:>426; penultimately, says he, we must walk according to the way of love:427-444, and he ends this vol.2 with a crescendo from 1 Cor 13 re: love.
McCall Comments on Williams Renewal Theology:
- Rodman Williams, Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), vol. 3: The Church, The Kingdom, and Last Things.
Denominational affiliation: Charismatic (Pent.?)
Note that the neither the index nor the content list mention the Spirit explicitly, but I will leaf through the contents like I did vol.1;
Contents: Part 1. The Church: Part 2.Last Things. Part 1 discusses the meaning and ministry of the church, the ordinances, and the relation of it to civil government. Part 2 briefly considers the Kingdom of God, and then focuses on the return of JC, before finally shifting to a study of the judgment and consummation of all things.
He notes that the church is ‘called out’, but does not mention the HS that infills them:>21; notably regarding the ‘scope of the church’, he takes an excursus into the ecumenical movement and mainly mentions the Son versus the HS:43-48; chapter 3 describes the People of God (I wonder if there is any mention of the HS here?): not much – he doesn’t even state that God dwells amongst his people through the HS:57-58; he consistently describes the church as the building, body, and bride of JC; what about the HS??? Finally: p.77 there is mention of the Community of the Spirit, who enlivens it; HS brings fellowship to church , enabling it among humans and God:78-81; Chpt 4: Functions of the Church does not mention the HS until noting that he opens up freedom in worship:105; here he reverts back to the dissemination of the word being primary w/in the church:115-117; he descirbes the gifts spoken of in Rom 12, but in the context of JC, not the HS per se:118-140; Finally he mentions the HS re: enabling the church with power, direction, & supernatural manifestations :141-154; excursus on salt of the earth:154-157.
Chpt 5 delineates the Ministry of the church; discusses the equipping gifts of Ephesians 4:p.164-219; he then stresses the Lordship of JC in the church:219-220. Chpt 6 discusses the ordinances of the church, and relates them to the prescription of JC:221; no mention of HS even in ref. to Lord’s Supper:242-3; Its ALL JC! Chpt 7 begins discussion of the church and civil government; no HS!???
Part 2: Last Things: begins w/ discussion of KoG w/ ref. to JC; Rodman notably pulls from Reformed sources extensively in this section, e.g. AH Strong, Hodge, & Warfield; Chpt 9 discusses the return of JC and what we need to do to prepare for it – no HS! He mentions the parousia exclusively w/ ref. to JC:302-308. How is this Renewal? Excursus to Christ’s ‘Comings’:309-14; Chpt. 10 discusses the Signs of the return of JC – perhaps some HS here? Lets see: YES – the outpouring of the HS will be a ‘sign’ of the last days:317-320; he mentions the HS w/ ref. to religious apostasy on pps.327-330; discusses the Great Tribulation of Revelation 365-70, and notes the HS in ref. to John’s vision; Chpt 11 discusses the Manner of JCs return: no HS! Chpt 12 discusses the Purpose of JCs return: looks like there is a cigarette burn on page 405: I didn’t know you smoked J; Chpt 13 discusses the Millennium, pre- & post-, but no mention of HS; Chpt 14 discusses the Last Judgment: no HS! Chpt 15 regards the Consummation: the fulfillment of the Kingdom is apparently all about JC, and has no part with the HS!?:487-488; the nebulous concept of ‘God’ returns here (is the HS here included, or is it the Father?); he cites Paul re: the household of God including Jew and Gentile as the dwelling place of the HS:489 with ref. to ‘God’s’ immediate presence, so I infer that the HS will be included herein?; God will be dwelling w/ us, the Son guiding us, and the HS refreshing us:508.
Summary: I am left with a strong vacuity with ref. to how this entire 3 vol. series is truly ‘Charismatic’/Renewal; the Spirit only receives adequate attention in the 2nd vol, with ref. to the sanctification and the gifts of the Spirit – what makes this different from any other Sys. Theo.??? I am left wanting…