The Influence of the Holy Spirit

by Hermann Gunkel, Roy A. Harrisville (Translator), Philip A. Quanbeck (Translator)

The name Hermann Gunkel is as familiar to biblical scholars as their own. Gunkel founded a school, fathered form-critical research, and taught most of the giants of the last generation. . . from the Introduction This little book, the first by Hermann Gunkel, shattered the reigning images of the New Testament idea of the Spirit. Gunkels argument not only revolutionized the theology of his time but has continued to be foundational for most subsequent studies on the subject. As he did in so much of his work, Gunkel not only explores the milieu of the New Testament but also demonstrates the dependence of the biblical message upon its religious environment. Hermann Gunkel was a leading exponent of the History of Religions School and author of major historical-critical studies of the Psalms and Genesis. He was editor of the monumental Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart, to which he contributed over one hundred articles. Roy A. Harrisville is Professor of New Testament Emeritus at Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of Fracture: The Cross as Irreconcilable in the Language and Thought of the Biblical Writers and, with Walter Sundberg, of The Bible in Modern Culture: Baruch Spinoza to Brevard Childs. Philip A. Quanbeck II is Associate Professor and Chair of Religion at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Fortress Press fortresspress.com

133 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major interests centered on the oral tradition behind written sources and in folklore.

Reviews

[Joe May · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nah

[Tyler Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully stimulating little book on the Holy Spirit. I think if you are interested in the academic side of the study of the Holy Spirit, Gunkel's work is as close to a must-read as anything can be.

It is important to read Gunkel with an understanding of his own context and aims. John Levison's remarks throughout his own book (Filled with the Spirit) are a very helpful appreciation and placing of Gunkel. Gunkel was not writing a 'pneumatology' as much as he was trying to understand the experiences which were attributed to the Spirit which lay behind the statements of Paul and to relate these to Judaism and Early Christianity more generally. His approach was such a massive break from his environment, in emphasizing the Spirit as a miraculous and powerful entity, that it likely caused enough offence to hamper his academic career!

There is plenty to question and disagree with here, but Gunkel set out to read these texts on their own terms and that will make this book worth reading even beyond its importance for the history of research for a long time. Regardless of your own take on his conclusions, I think Gunkel will make you want to read Paul for yourself again.

Second Reading: I feel much the same, fantastic and stimulating book even while he was wrong about a number of key points.