A profound irony characterizes some examples of Pentecostal theology: the Spirit is made subordinate to Christology in an effort to emphasize the Spirit. Protestant scholasticism is the source of this problem. Historically, Pentecostal theologians adopted the soteriological paradigms of Protestant scholasticism to express their pneumatological concerns. The form of the subordination of the Spirit is the tendency to distinguish salvation into Christocentric and pneumatological categories. (Christ achieves redemp tion, and his work is the objective basis of justification. The Spirit applies the work of Christ, and this work of the Spirit is the subjective sanctifica tion of the believer.) The distinctive doctrine of Pentecostalism, the Baptism in the Spirit, accentuates the bifurcation of the work of Christ and the Spirit by implicitly making the primary work of the Spirit subsequent to and unnecessary for salvation. This essay first illustrates and criticizes the foundational role Protestant scholastic soteriological paradigms play in Pentecostal theology and, second, proposes a redemptive soteriology that synthesizes the work of Christ and the Spirit as a way to transcend the problematic irony of Pentecostal theology.

This essay identifies one of the deeper theological sources of the tendency toward environmental neglect in evangelical and Pentecostal theology and proposes a theological vision that facilitates a vision of creation care as a dimension of Christian formation. The first section identifies, describes, and evaluates the traditional distinction between common and special grace or the natural and the supernatural orders as a theological foundation for environmental neglect in Pentecostal theology. The second and third sections propose that a pneumatological vision of grace based on a fundamental trinitarianism provides Pentecostals and other Christians with a way to overcome these stark dualisms and to attain a more unified and comprehensive vision of God's grace that is more conducive to creation care. The fourth section presents a case for seeing creation care as a pneumatological and proleptic participation in the eschaton and, as such, as a dimension of Christian formation and sanctification.

Abstract:The traditional mainline and evangelical churches in Canada, as in most western countries, are either in decline or static. Taken as a measure of the future, the prospects for Christianity in Canada, and more broadly the West, are bleak. Post-Christian Canada, however, contains thriving alternative and innovative forms of church, often called ‗emerging' churches. They take many forms of expression, but share common theological convictions. Based on site research and personal interviews, this article describes the various types and contexts of these churches in Canada. It then highlights three of their central theological characteristics. First, rejecting the ‗culture wars' social involvement of Christendom churches, they embrace practices and initiatives that transform their local communities. Second, they embrace an incarnational and contextual understanding of Christian life and ministry. Eschewing mega-church franchise models, they endeavor to shape their ministry to the their local communities. Third, they adopt a comprehensive rather than compartmental spirituality.