Pneumatological Ignorance

Pneumatology (the study of the Holy Spirit) is something I believe to be lacking in the church today. In both Charismatic and Cessationist circles, there seems to be a general ignorance among the laity of who the Spirit is and what all he actually does in the life of a believer.

An illustration of the ignorance some Christians have concerning the Holy Ghost (and also concerning Baptists) is clearly shown by a how a friend once asked my wife: "since you are now going to a Baptist church, does that mean you don't believe in the Holy Ghost anymore?" Her assumption was that Baptists do not believe in the Person of the Holy Ghost simply because most Baptists are Cessationists! Her great mistake is that she equates the Person of the Holy Spirit to nothing more than the gift of speaking in tongues!

I have also gotten the impression that some Baptists seem to be scared to even speak much about the Holy Spirit -I guess- because they are afraid of becoming Charismatics or something(?!). So in both camps I believe there needs to be a closer look taken at what the Bible teaches about the Spirit of God regardless of their position on the "Charismatic gifts."

I just found a good article on this topic over at the Fide-O blog. It talks about the Spirit's ministry in the Old Testament and errors people make in Pneumatology. If you get a chance, stop by and check it out. They make some very good points and I believe it wouldn't hurt any of us to study what the Bible teaches about Holy Spirit and His ministry.

Soli Deo Gloria!