Thursday, June 3, 2021

Russel B. Swensen (1945) on the Debates Concerning, and Difficulty of, Pneumatology

 

 

The Roman Catholic Church regards the Holy Ghost as a spiritual Emanation or outpouring from the Father and the Son, and as a member of the Trinity Godhead. The Eastern Orthodox Church conceived Him to be an emanation from the Son. This difference has been one of the major controversies between these great churches. Some of the ancient Syrian heretical Christians regarded Him as feminine and conceived the doctrine that a spiritual Mother in Heaven is the third member of the trinity. Some of the early Christian fathers, such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Irenaeus sometimes confused the Holy Ghost with Jesus’ divine person before and after His mortal existence. Often they call the pre-existent Christ by the name, Spirit of God. All of these divergent views simply illustrate how difficult it has been for men of various ages and faiths to agree upon a clear-cut definition of such a profound and mysterious spiritual being. (Russel B. Swensen, The Gospel of John: Gospel Doctrine Department Course of Study for Sunday Schools of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Salt Lake City: The Deseret Sunday School Union, 1945], 49)