Stephen W. Hiemstra's Blog, page 6
August 10, 2025
Oración de Esperanza
Por Stephen W. Hiemstra
Padre Todopoderoso,
Toda alabanza y honor, poder y dominio, verdad y justicia son tuyos porque habitas con nosotros, ofreciendo tu presencia, guía y fortaleza.
Perdona nuestros corazones endurecidos, nuestras mentes cerradas y nuestros dedos codiciosos. Guíanos a donde quieras que vayamos.
Gracias por tu espíritu eterno, la esperanza de nuestro futuro contigo y cada bendición imaginable.
En el poder de tu Espíritu Santo, enséñanos tus caminos, recuérdanos tu palabra y ayúdanos a estar plenamente presentes ante quienes nos rodean.
En el precioso nombre de Jesús, Amén.
Oración de Esperanza
Vea También:
Una Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad
Vida en Tensión
Otras Formas de Interactuar en Línea:
Sitio Web del Autor: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Sitio Web del Editor: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
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August 8, 2025
Temple Abandonment
Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up.
The Jews then said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,
and will you raise it up in three days?”
(John 2:19-20)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God among us. For the Jew, God’s presence was associated with the Shekinah cloud found presumably in the Jerusalem Temple. This is why temple sacrifices were important—the sacrifices were presented directly to God. When Jesus spoke about destroying the Jerusalem Temple, the Jewish people would think about the Shekinah cloud and the sacrifices.
Religious and Economic Conflict
For the Sadducees (the high priestly class), it was a threat to their livelihood and the livelihood of the many people in and around Jerusalem providing animals for sacrifice. It would be like threatening to shutdown Wall Street in New York City or the casinos in Las Vegas. Some scholars have suggested that Jesus was crucified, not so much for claiming to the Son of God, as for clearing the temple marketplace (e.g. Luke 19:45) and threatening to destroy the temple (e.g. John 2:19-20).
Yoder (1994, 60) would add that Jesus’ life was treated because he advocated Jubilee, an important reference of which was found in Isaiah 61:2—the text referenced in Jesus’ call sermon (Luke 4:19). Jubilee implied: “Four prescriptions: 1. Leaving the soil fallow; 2. The remission of debts; 3. The liberation of slaves, 4. The return of each individual of his family’s property.” Three out of the four prescriptions would sound highly contentious to the ruling class in Jerusalem. Think about the stir created recently in Washington as the President has advocated forgiving (remitting) student loan debt.
Temple Abandonment
Temple abandonment is a phrase that implies that God is withdrawing his presence, a sort of divine curse or “dark night of the soul.” King David spoke of this same concept when he wrote: “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” (Ps 51:11) David had witnessed first hand how withdrawing God’s presence from King Saul had left him a tormented individual and how he had eventually lost his kingship (e.g. 1 Sam 16:1).
In Luke’s writing, temple abandonment is hinted at many times, but let me focus on just two: The tearing of the curtain in the temple during the crucifixion (Luke 23:45) and the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58) that was precipitated by the accusation that he repeated Jesus’ statement about destroying the temple (Acts 6:14).
Strictly speaking, the tearing of the curtain in the temple was temple abandonment because access to God no longer was restricted by priests in the temple, but it was not abandonment of the faithful. It was more of a change in access to the Holy Spirit much like when Jesus declared people’s sins to be forgiven. Forgiveness of sins was previously only available via temple sacrifice (e.g. Lev 4:35). Nevertheless, access to God could no longer be rationed out by temple priests.
Absolute destruction of the temple was the ultimate threat to Jewish priests, not only because it put them out of a job, but because the Jewish faith required sacrifices that could no longer be made and because the temple was an enduring reminder of the Davidinic kingdom. How could God’s messiah restore the Jewish kingdom if its most important symbol were destroyed? Even Jesus’ own disciples asked the Risen Christ: “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)
Dark Night of the Soul
The phrase, dark night of the soul, is attributed to Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), who was a Spanish mystic and Carmelite priest writing during the counter-reformation period. This dark night of the soul presumably arises when God cloaks his presence from us as a test to see if we truly love him, not just seek after his blessings. Zimmerman writes: “The purpose of these trials is, however, not to throw the soul into despair but to wean it from all comfort so as to leave it with no other support than God himself.” (Saint John, 2006, xxi). In the context of discussing temple abandonment, God’s withdrawal from the temple should be seen as a teaching moment, not total abandonment, much like the period of the wilderness pilgrimage (Num 14:26-35).
Your Body God’s Temple
Obviously, when the Apostle Paul wrote—“Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you” (1 Cor 6:19), his comment suggests that the Jerusalem temple was no longer the symbol of God’s presence that it once was. If your body is designed to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, then failing to invite the Holy Spirit in is tantamount to inviting demonic possession—a practical result of temple abandonment (Niehaus 2014, 130-131).
The ultimate statement of temple abandonment arose in Jesus’ prophecy on the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:41-44) that anticipated the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple by the Romans, which took place in AD 70. The temple was never rebuilt, which denied biblical Judaism adherents the ability to perform required sacrifices. Rabbinic Judaism, which was formalized about four hundred years after Christ, was an attempt to fill in this gap.
References
Niehaus, Jeffrey J. 2014. Biblical Theology: Volume 1: The Common Grace Covenants. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
Saint John of the Cross. 2006, The Dark Night of the Soul. London: Baronius Press.
Yoder, John Howard. 1994. The Politics of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Temple Abandonment
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/jog_0725, Signup
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Abandono del Templo
Jesús les respondió: Destruyan este templo, y en tres días lo levantaré.
Entonces los Judíos dijeron:
En cuarenta y seis años fue edificado este templo,
¿y Tú lo levantarás en tres días?
(Juan 2:19-20)
Por Stephen W. Hiemstra
El Espíritu Santo es la presencia de Dios entre nosotros. Para los judíos, la presencia de Dios estaba asociada con la nube Shekinah presuntamente encontrada en el Templo de Jerusalén. Los sacrificios del templo eran especialmente significativos porque se presentaban directamente a Dios. Cuando Jesús hablaba de destruir el Templo de Jerusalén, el pueblo judío pensaba en la nube Shekinah y en los sacrificios.
Conflicto Religioso y Económico
Para los saduceos (la clase del sumo sacerdote), los comentarios de Jesús acerca del templo representaban una amenaza para su sustento y el sustento de muchas personas de Jerusalén y sus alrededores que proporcionaban animales para el sacrificio.
Sería como amenazar con cerrar Wall Street en Nueva York o los casinos en Las Vegas. Algunos eruditos han sugerido que Jesús fue crucificado, no tanto por afirmar ser el Hijo de Dios, sino por desalojar el mercado del templo (por ejemplo, Lucas 19:45) y amenazar con destruir el templo (por ejemplo, Juan 2:19-20).
Yoder (1994, 60) agregaría que la vida de Jesús fue amenazada porque abogaba por el Jubileo, una referencia importante del cual se encontró en Isaías 61:2, el texto al que se hace referencia en el sermón del llamado de Jesús (Lucas 4:19). El Jubileo implicaba: “Cuatro prescripciones: 1. Dejar la tierra en barbecho; 2. La remisión de las deudas; 3. La liberación de los esclavos; 4. La devolución a cada individuo de los bienes de su familia.” Tres de las cuatro recetas resultarían muy polémicas para la clase dirigente de Jerusalén. Piensa en el revuelo creado en Washington cuando el Presidente abogó por condonar la deuda de los préstamos estudiantiles antes pocos anos.
Abandono del Templo
El abandono del templo es una frase que implica que Dios está retirando su presencia, una especie de maldición divina o “noche oscura del alma.” El rey David habló de este mismo concepto cuando escribió: ¨No me eches de tu presencia, y no quites de mí tu Santo Espíritu.¨ (Salmo 51:11) David había presenciado de primera mano cómo retirar la presencia de Dios del rey Saúl lo había dejado como un individuo atormentado, que finalmente perdió su reinado (por ejemplo, 1 Sam 16:1).
En los escritos de Lucas se alude muchas veces al abandono del templo, pero dos se destacan: El desgarro del velo del templo durante la crucifixión (Lucas 23:45) y la lapidación de Esteban (Hechos 7:58) que fue precipitada por la acusación de que repitió la declaración de Jesús acerca de destruir el templo (Hechos 6:14).
La rasgadura del velo del templo abrió el acceso a Dios, como cuando Jesús declaró que los pecados de la gente serían perdonados. Los sacrificios del templo (por ejemplo, Lev 4:35) ya no eran necesarios para el perdón de los pecados, y se rompió el monopolio de los sacerdotes del templo ante la presencia de Dios. Es justo, pues, describir el abandono del templo como el corazón del mensaje del Evangelio.
La destrucción del templo era la máxima amenaza para los sacerdotes judíos, no sólo porque los dejaba sin trabajo, sino porque la fe judía requería sacrificios que ya no podían realizar. El templo también era un recordatorio perdurable del reino davídico. ¿Cómo podría el mesías de Dios restaurar el reino judío si su símbolo más importante fuera destruido? Incluso los propios discípulos de Jesús preguntaron al Cristo Resucitado: ¨Señor, ¿restaurarás en este tiempo el reino a Israel? (Hechos 1:6)
La Noche Oscura del Alma
La frase “noche oscura del alma” se atribuye a San Juan de la Cruz (1542-1591), un místico y sacerdote carmelita español que escribió durante el período de la Contrarreforma. Esta noche oscura del alma presumiblemente surge cuando Dios oculta su presencia ante nosotros como una prueba para ver si realmente lo amamos y no sólo buscamos sus bendiciones.
Zimmerman escribe: “El propósito de estas pruebas no es, sin embargo, sumir al alma en la desesperación, sino despojarla de todo consuelo para no dejarla sin otro apoyo que Dios mismo” (San Juan 2006, xxi). Por lo tanto, el retiro de Dios del templo debe ser visto como un momento de enseñanza, no como un abandono total, muy parecido al período de la peregrinación por el desierto (Núm. 14:26-35).
Tu Cuerpo como el Templo de Dios
Obviamente, cuando el apóstol Pablo escribió—“Su cuerpo es templo del Espíritu Santo que está en ustedes” (1 Cor 6:19)—su comentario sugiere que el templo de Jerusalén ya no era el símbolo de la presencia de Dios que alguna vez fue. Si su cuerpo está diseñado para ser un templo del Espíritu Santo, entonces no invitar al Espíritu Santo a entrar equivale a invitar la posesión demoníaca, un resultado práctico del abandono del templo (Niehaus 2014, 130-131).
La declaración definitiva del abandono del templo surgió en la profecía de Jesús en el Monte de los Olivos (Lucas 19:41-44) que anticipó la destrucción de Jerusalén y su templo por los romanos, que tuvo lugar en el año 70 d.C. El templo nunca fue reconstruido, lo que negó a los seguidores del judaísmo bíblico la posibilidad de realizar los sacrificios requeridos. Para los cristianos, la muerte de Cristo en la cruz se convirtió en el sacrificio final por el pecado y la fuente de nuestra salvación.
Abandono del Templo
Vea También:
Una Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad
Vida en Tensión
Otras Formas de Interactuar en Línea:
Sitio Web del Autor: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Sitio Web del Editor: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
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August 5, 2025
Augustine’s Confessions, Part 3—Coming to Faith
Foley, Michael P. [editor] 2006. Augustine Confessions (Orig Pub 397 AD). 2nd Edition. Translated by F. J. Sheed (1942). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra
In part one of this review, I gave an overview of Augustine’s life and Confessions. In part two, I focused on his attitude about sin. Here in part three, I will look at Augustine’s journey of faith.
OverviewAugustine comes to faith at the age of thirty-two having struggled with sin, as discussed earlier, and giving up his career as a teacher of rhetoric and his betrothal to a younger woman to be ordained as priest. His conversion to Christianity is remarkable, not only because of the things that he gave up, but also because he actively considered the Manichean philosophy and because of the active influence of his Catholic mother, Monica. The timing of his conversion also coincided with a mystical experience.
Conviction of SinAugustine’s struggle with sexual passions caused him great anguish before his conversion and the story of the conversion of Victorinus, a fellow professor of rhetoric in Rome (142) weighed heavily on him. Augustine writes:
“Now when this man of Yours, Simplicianus had told me the story of Victorinus, I was on fire to imitate him: which indeed was why he had told me. He added that in the time of the Emperor Julian, when a law was made prohibiting Christians from teaching Literature and Rhetoric, Victorinus had obeyed the law, preferring to give up his own school of words rather than Your word, by which You make eloquent the tongues of babes.” (147)
These are not the words of a stoic philosopher. Augustine writes like a man in chains to his sin saying:
“Thus I was sick at heart and in torment, accusing myself with new intensity of bitterness, twisting and turning in my chain in the hope that it might be utterly broken, for what held me was so small a thing.” (167).
ConfessionAs Augustine then confessed his sin to God in private, he writes:
“Such things I said, weeping in the most bitter sorrow of my heart. And suddenly I hear a voice from some nearby house, a boy’s voice or a girl’s voice, I do not know, but it was a sort of sing-song, repeated again and again, ‘Take and read, take and read.’” (169)
Augustine borrowed a book of scriptures from his friend, Alypius, and opened it randomly coming to this verse:
“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.” (Rom 13:13 ESV)
Convicted immediately of his sexual sin, he took this passage as a word from God to him personally and went to his mother to announce that he was a Christian (160).
PrayerHe later prays:
“O LORD, I am Thy servant: I am Thy servant and the son of Thy handmaid. Thou hast broken my bonds. I will sacrifice to Thee the sacrifice of praise.” (163)
Having prayed for his conversion his entire life, Augustine’s mother died later that year.
Augustine’s Confessions, Part 3—Coming to FaithAlso see:Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/jog_0725, SignupThe post Augustine’s Confessions, Part 3—Coming to Faith appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
August 4, 2025
Footloose: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 4, 2025
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
This morning I will share a prayer and reflect on the Footloose Spirit. After listening, please click here to take a brief listener survey (10 questions).
To listen, click on this link.
Hear the words; Walk the steps; Experience the joy!
Footloose: Monday Monologues (podcast), August 4, 2025
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/jog_0725, Signup
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August 3, 2025
Wandering Prayer
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
Almighty Father, Beloved Son, Spirit of Truth,
All praise and honor, power and dominion, truth and justice are yours because you reach out to us in our sin and grant us ears that hear and eyes that see.
Forgive us of our predilections, our prejudices, and unsavory thoughts; our evil actions and thankless hearts.
We give thanks for your Holy Spirit who comes to us where we are and heals our hearts, minds, and blooded hands.
In the power of your Holy Spirit, grant us open hearts, discerning minds, and helping hands. Do not give us over to our wanton desires or the hands of grasping, evil people.
In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
Wandering Prayer
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/jog_0725, Signup
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Oración Errante
Por Stephen W. Hiemstra
Padre Todopoderoso, Hijo Amado, Espíritu de Verdad,
Toda alabanza y honor, todo poder y dominio, toda verdad y justicia son tuyos porque nos alcanzas en nuestro pecado y nos concedes oídos que oyen y ojos que ven.
Perdónanos nuestras predilecciones, nuestros prejuicios y pensamientos desagradables, nuestras malas acciones y nuestros corazones ingratos.
Damos gracias por tu Espíritu Santo, que viene a nosotros donde estamos y sana nuestros corazones, mentes, y manos ensangrentadas.
Con el poder de tu Espíritu Santo, concédenos corazones abiertos, mentes perspicaces y manos que ayuden. No nos entregues a nuestros deseos desenfrenados ni a las manos de gente codiciosa y malvada.
En el precioso nombre de Jesús, Amén.
Oración Errante
Vea También:
Una Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad
Vida en Tensión
Otras Formas de Interactuar en Línea:
Sitio Web del Autor: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Sitio Web del Editor: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
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August 1, 2025
The Footloose Holy Spirit
And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
(Joel 2:28)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
The importance of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts is highlighted in the first sentence in the Greek where the Risen Christ is described as giving: “Commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles.” (Acts 1:2) The Apostles will be “baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5), “receive power,” and become “witnesses” (Acts 1:8).
On the Day of Pentecost with the founding of the church, the Apostle Peter cites the Prophet Joel anticipating the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on all flesh, including young men and women, old men, and even servants through prophesy, dreams, and visions (Joel 2:28). Significantly, one of the charges that Stephen laid before the High Priest and the Sanhedrin before he was stoned was that they had always resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51).
Resisting the Holy Spirit
From a strict first-century Jewish perspective, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost displayed the footloose characteristic of the spirit because it came outside the bounds of established religion. This perception was nowhere more pronounced than in the person of Saul of Tarsus, who initially persecuted Christians in the name of God:
“But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” (Acts 8:3-4)
Saul resisted the Holy Spirit, as Stephen had alleged, but could not help but be an agent of the Spirit’s work because the word continued to be preached and in new places! Important first-century churches, such as that in Antioch and Rome, were founded presumably by this diaspora of ordinary believers scattered by persecution.
Taiwanese Pentecost
A modern example of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred among indigenous mountain people in Taiwan. During the occupation before and during World War Two, the Japanese controlled the cities and coastal areas of Taiwan, but were unable to subjugate the mountain people who maintained their independence and practiced headhunting as a rite of passage into manhood. Christian missionaries were unable to evangelize these people and missionaries were in general expelled from Taiwan during the Japanese occupation.
In spite of almost complete isolation, Ralph Covell (1998, 167) writes about how an ordinary woman, Chi Wang, from the Sedig people came to faith in a coastal area in the 1930s and returned to the mountains on her own to spread a simple understanding of the Gospel and incited a revival among these people. Today there is a church named for her that meets in a large cave where she used to hold meetings. Chi Wang, like many of the Sediq church leaders who followed, had little or no formal education (Covell 1998, 169-174). Chi Wang passed away in 1946.
If the Holy Spirit can be bring salvation to headhunters in Taiwan, who is beyond the love of God?
Paul’s Conversion
The reach of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts knows few bounds. The miraculous conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40), the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:44), and baptism of the Macedonian jailer and his family (Acts 16:33) all display the Holy Spirit’s power and reach, as confirmed by the Jerusalem Council. (Acts 15:8). None of these events were as dramatic as the conversion of Saul, persecutor of the church.
The Book of Acts reports Paul’s conversion three times (Acts 9, 22. 26) to advance the goal: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Because Paul’s career as an evangelist took him “to the ends of the earth,” possibly Spain, but most assuredly Rome, Luke can write about the advance of the Great Commission to all nations (Matt 28:19) using Paul’s apostolic biography thereby personalizing his message. His use of speeches likewise allows him to address his readers in the first person singular.
The Hermeneutic Challenge
Talking about the agency of the Holy Spirit poses an interpretational problem, especially in our materialistic culture. For the Christian, it is easy to interpret actions and events displaying divine agency because the material world can illumine a spiritual reality. Thus, when John the Baptist asks Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Luke 7:20) Jesus responds:
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.” (Luke 7:22)
John would easily hear this statement as referencing Isaiah 61, a claim of Messianic commission. Others observing the same actions might interpret them as a magic trick, a neat story, or, today, medical expertise, depending on their world view. This is why is it is important to have ears that hear and eyes that see.
References
Covell, Ralph. 1998. Pentecost of the Hills in Taiwan: The Christian Faith Among the Original Inhabitants. Pasadena: Hope Publishing House.
Klinghoffer, David. 2005. Why the Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History. New York: Doubleday.
The Footloose Holy Spirit
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
Other ways to engage online:
Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com
Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/jog_0725, Signup
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El Espíritu Santo Errante
Y sucederá que después de esto, Derramaré mi Espíritu sobre toda carne;
y sus hijos y sus hijas profetizarán, sus ancianos soñarán sueños,
sus jóvenes verán visiones.
(Joel 2:28)
Por Stephen W. Hiemstra
La importancia del Espíritu Santo en el libro de los Hechos se destaca en la primera oración en griego, donde se describe a Cristo resucitado dando “ el Espíritu Santo el había dado instrucciones a los apóstoles (Hechos 1:2).” (Acts 1:2) Los apóstoles serán ¨bautizados con el Espíritu Santo¨ (Hechos 1:5), ¨recibirán poder,¨ y ¨serán mis testigos.¨ (Hechos 1:8)
En el día de Pentecostés, con la fundación de la iglesia, el apóstol Pedro cita al profeta Joel anticipando el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo sobre toda carne, incluyendo hombres y mujeres jóvenes, ancianos e incluso siervos a través de profecías, sueños y visiones (Joel 2:28). Significativamente, una de las acusaciones que Esteban presentó ante el Sumo Sacerdote y el Sanedrín antes de ser apedreado fue que ellos (y sus padres) resistían habitualmente al Espíritu Santo (Hechos 7:51).
Resistiendo al Espíritu Santo
Desde una estricta perspectiva judía del primer siglo, el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo en Pentecostés mostró la característica errante del espíritu porque salió de los límites de la religión establecida. Esta percepción en ninguna parte fue más pronunciada que en la persona de Saulo de Tarso, quien inicialmente persiguió a los cristianos en nombre de Dios:
“Pero Saulo hacía estragos en la iglesia entrando de casa en casa, y arrastrando a hombres y mujeres, los echaba en la cárcel. Así que los que habían sido esparcidos iban predicando (anunciando las buenas nuevas de) la palabra.” (Hecho 8:3-4)
Saulo resistió al Espíritu Santo, como Esteban había alegado, pero no pudo evitar ser un agente de la obra del Espíritu porque la palabra continuó siendo predicada ¡y en nuevos lugares! Se supone que iglesias importantes del primer siglo, como las de Antioquía y Roma, fueron fundadas por esta diáspora de creyentes comunes dispersados por la persecución.
Pentecostés Taiwanés
Un ejemplo moderno de derramamiento del Espíritu Santo ocurrió entre los pueblos indígenas de las montañas de Taiwán, a quienes los misioneros cristianos intentaron llegar pero no pudieron. Incluso los japoneses que controlaban las zonas costeras de Taiwán durante su ocupación de la Segunda Guerra Mundial fueron incapaces de subyugar a estos habitantes de las montañas, que mantuvieron su independencia y practicaron la caza de cabezas como rito de paso a la edad adulta.
Ralph Covell (1998, 167) escribe sobre cómo una mujer común, Chi Wang, del pueblo Sedig, llegó a la fe en una zona costera en la década de 1930. Regresó sola a las montañas para difundir una comprensión sencilla del Evangelio. Su mensaje provocó un reavivamiento entre estas personas durante la ocupación, a pesar del aislamiento casi completo de otros cristianos.
Hoy en día existe una iglesia que lleva su nombre y que se reúne en una gran cueva donde ella solía celebrar reuniones. Chi Wang, como muchos de los líderes de la iglesia Sediq que le siguieron, tenía poca o ninguna educación formal (Covell 1998, 169-174). Chi Wang falleció en 1946.
Si el Espíritu Santo puede traer salvación a los cazadores de cabezas en Taiwán, ¿quién está más allá del amor de Dios?
La Conversión de Pablo
El alcance del Espíritu Santo en el libro de los Hechos conoce pocos límites. La conversión milagrosa del eunuco etíope (Hechos 8:26-40), el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo sobre la familia de Cornelio (Hechos 10:44) y el bautismo del carcelero macedonio y su familia (Hechos 16:33) demuestran el poder y el alcance del Espíritu Santo, como lo confirmó el Concilio de Jerusalén (Hechos 15:8). Sin embargo, ninguno de estos acontecimientos fue tan dramático como la conversión de Saulo, perseguidor de la iglesia.
El libro de los Hechos relata la conversión de Saulo tres veces (Hechos 9, 22, 26) para avanzar hacia la meta:
“Pero recibirán poder cuando el Espíritu Santo venga sobre ustedes; y serán Mis testigos en Jerusalén, en toda Judea y Samaria, y hasta los confines de la tierra.” (Hechos 1:8)
Debido a que la carrera de Pablo como evangelista lo llevó “hasta los confines de la tierra”, posiblemente a España, pero con toda seguridad a Roma, Lucas pudo escribir sobre el avance de la Gran Comisión a todas las naciones (Mt 28,19) usando la biografía apostólica de Pablo y numerosos discursos escritos en primera persona para personalizar su mensaje.
El Desafío Hermenéutico
Entre paréntesis, hablar de la acción del Espíritu Santo plantea un problema de interpretación, especialmente en nuestra cultura materialista. Para el cristiano, es fácil interpretar acciones y eventos que muestran la intervención divina porque los cristianos creen que el mundo material puede iluminar una realidad espiritual, una forma de argumentación de menor a mayor. Así, cuando Juan el Bautista le pregunta a Jesús: ¨¿Eres tú el que ha de venir, o esperamos a otro?¨ (Lucas 7:20) Jesús responde:
“Vayan y cuenten a Juan lo que han visto y oído: los ciegos reciben la vista, los cojos andan, los leprosos quedan limpios y los sordos oyen, los muertos son resucitados y a los pobres se les anuncia el evangelio.” (Lucas 7:22)
Juan fácilmente interpretaría esta declaración como una referencia a Isaías 61, una afirmación de comisión mesiánica que obviamente trasciende la cosmovisión materialista. Otros que hoy observan las mismas acciones podrían interpretarlas como un truco de magia, una historia ingeniosa o experiencia médica, en consonancia con su visión materialista del mundo.
El Espíritu Santo Errante
Vea También:
Una Guía Cristiana a la Espiritualidad
Vida en Tensión
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July 29, 2025
Augustine’s Confessions, Part 2—Sin
Foley, Michael P. [editor] 2006. Augustine Confessions (Orig Pub 397 AD). 2nd Edition. Translated by F. J. Sheed (1942). Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.
Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra
Augustine writes the Confessions in thirteen books where the first nine book talk about his life, book ten talks about his motivations for writing, and the final three chapters reflect on the book of Genesis. In part two of this review, I focus on Augustine’s view of sin.
Memoir and Augustine’s Focus on GodMemoir is an autobiography with a theme. Augustine’s theme is his call to faith and he begins his memoir with a profession of faith:
“GREAT ART THOU, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and of Thy wisdom there is no number. And man desires to praise Thee. He is but a tiny part of all that Though has created. He bears about him his mortality, the evidence of his sinfulness, and the evidence that Thou does resist the proud, yet this tiny part of all that Thou has created desires to praise Thee.” (3)
Augustine is writing in Latin, which is obvious from the translation because of the use of Thou, Thy, and Thee in the English translation, borrowing from the archaic English forms found in Elizabethan English. Sheed comments on the decision to use these forms in translation arguing that they add beauty, express intimacy, and reflect the liturgical character of the Confessions (xi-xii).
Augustine’s StyleAugustine’s theology appears in this introductory paragraph which starts with divine praise, intimacy, power, and immensity, relates death to sin, and references Jesus’ emphasis on humility (e.g. Matt 5:3). The first sentence is also an allusion to the psalms which in a modern translation reads: “For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods” (Ps 96:4 ESV)
Unlike a modern memoir, Augustine does not turn to his own life story until after laying out a significant treatise on his understanding of God. In his seventh section (about six pages later), he finally starts his own story:
“Thus, Lord, I do not remember living this age of my infancy; I must take the word of others about it and can only conjecture how I spent it—even if with a fair amount of certainty—from watching others now in the same stage.” (9)
In this context, we witness a very pious Augustine and get a sense of the liturgical character of this memoir.
Early Sin and Intercessory PrayerAugustine is frequently associated with the doctrine of original sin, which is obvious when he writes:
“Thus the innocence of children is in the helplessness of their bodies rather than any quality in their minds, I have myself seen a small baby jealous; it was too young to speak, but it was livid with anger as it watched another infant at the breast.” (9)
We used to joke that original sin was two infants given one toy! Still, Augustine does not exempt himself from the influences of sin as he writes about his own infancy.
Augustine’s YouthAugustine pictures later himself as an initially lazy student who received frequent beatings (10), but we are quickly introduced to a pious Monica, his mother, who seeing her son engaging in self-destructive and sinful behavior resorted to unceasing prayer:
“The mother of my flesh was in heavy anxiety, since with a heart chaste in Your faith she was ever in deep travail for my eternal salvation, and would have proceeded without delay to have me consecrated and wash clean by the Sacrament of salvation…” (12)
Still, it is paradoxical to observe one of the great philosophers of the church saying: “I disliked learning and hated to be forced to it.”(13)
ImmoralityAt age sixteen, Augustine found himself beset with sin. A besetting sin is one that you are aware of and pray for relief from, but find yourself addicted to. For Augustine, lust for women posed a besetting sin, as he famously wrote: “Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.” (152)
Augustine writes that his pagan father, Patricius, and his Christian mother, Monica, reacted differently to his interest in women. Patricius looked forward to having grandchildren (irrespective of their manner of conception), while Monica wanted him to remain chaste until such time as he could establish his career (27-28).
Stolen PeersIn the midst of his discussion of lust, Augustine tells the story of how some of his friends lured him into steeling some peers, writing:
“The peers were beautiful but it was not peers that my empty soul desired. For I had any number of better peers of my own and plucked those only that I might steal.” (31)
The stolen peers became a symbol for his relationship with women and later taking of a mistress, who is never named but gives him a son (56). Fifteen years later he dismisses his mistress so that he might be formally married and finds himself so distressed in her absence while he waits for marriage that he takes another mistress. If this seems odd to modern ears, the editor notes:
“Marriage in the Roman Empire was viewed more as an institution of social promotion, political alliance, and financial stability than an act of love.” (327)
AssessmentWhile this may be true, Augustine viewed his immorality as a besetting sin and clearly motivated his later guidance for monks to remain celibate. In some sense, his weakness came to our benefit as the church worked to cleanse itself of pagan attitudes about immorality, which still dog the church today.
Augustine’s Confessions, Part 2—SinAlso see:Books, Films, and MinistryOther ways to engage online:Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/jog_0725, SignupThe post Augustine’s Confessions, Part 2—Sin appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.
