What do you think?
Rate this book
I Believe in the Holy Spirit: The Complete Three Volume Work in One Volume
I Believe in the Holy Spirit is a major treatise on the topic by one of the great theologians of the century. Yves Congar's book is one of the few comprehensive treatments of the Church's understanding of the Spirit and the working of the Spirit in the life of the Church by a Roman Catholic theologian.
728 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 1997
8 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
About the author
Yves Congar
153 books32 followersA French Dominican priest who become one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century on the topic of the Roman Catholic Church and ecumenism.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 12, 2017
The Holy Spirit often gets short shrift in modern Christianity (outside of Pentecostalism, anyway). Part of the problem, I think, is that it can be hard to locate Him within religious thought and practice. The Father is the Absolute, the Origin—concepts fairly easy to grasp, especially given their presence in other religions. As for the Son, at the very least, His historical mission—Jesus Christ—makes Him accessible to believers.
But what of the Holy Spirit? There’s relatively little explicit Scripture about Him. Most of the things Christians generally associate with Him are chalked up simply to “God.” It can feel like there’s no special role for the Holy Spirit—nothing to bring Him into focus.
Congar fixes that. The Holy Spirit is the immanent presence of God in the world and among His people. The Holy Spirit is ever-present in the Son’s life in the world as Jesus Christ, breaking onto the scene to elevate the Messiah before God and people alike. And the Holy Spirit is the free, faithful companion of the Church as it preaches, practices, and teaches.
At least for me, this book has been indispensable to getting a meaningful grasp of the Holy Spirit and making Him part of my Christian practice. It is praiseworthy for its thorough handling of Scripture, patristic sources, and contemporary religious issues. It is an exceptionally ecumenical book, with half an eye to Protestants, and a major theme of addressing points of difference between Catholics and Orthodox Christians. It is a testament of hope to the Holy Spirit overcoming divisions among those who profess Christ.
Three weak points do bear mention. The book fails to adequately discuss the Virgin Mary. There is a quick paragraph or two about how she occupies some of the space in Catholic devotion that should belong to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps. But perhaps a more fruitful route would have been to explore the ways in which the Holy Spirit makes Our Lady the saint par excellence—and how Our Lady makes approachable the Holy Spirit.
Congar says the Holy Spirit progressively reveals to Jesus Christ the full truth of His messianic mission. A few years after the book’s publication, the Catechism of the Catholic Church contradicted this: “By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal.” Congar, then, has to be taken with a caveat, although perhaps circumincession could provide a way to salvage some of what he says.
Lastly, Congar spends some time criticizing the late nineteenth century theology of the Church as the “continued incarnation” of Christ. I am not otherwise familiar with that theology. That said, it does not seem to inherently contradict anything Congar says. This may be less of a fault with Congar than my own ignorance of the full context.
This is an important academic work and a helpful correction to the Holy Spirit’s absence from too much of modern Christianity.
But what of the Holy Spirit? There’s relatively little explicit Scripture about Him. Most of the things Christians generally associate with Him are chalked up simply to “God.” It can feel like there’s no special role for the Holy Spirit—nothing to bring Him into focus.
Congar fixes that. The Holy Spirit is the immanent presence of God in the world and among His people. The Holy Spirit is ever-present in the Son’s life in the world as Jesus Christ, breaking onto the scene to elevate the Messiah before God and people alike. And the Holy Spirit is the free, faithful companion of the Church as it preaches, practices, and teaches.
At least for me, this book has been indispensable to getting a meaningful grasp of the Holy Spirit and making Him part of my Christian practice. It is praiseworthy for its thorough handling of Scripture, patristic sources, and contemporary religious issues. It is an exceptionally ecumenical book, with half an eye to Protestants, and a major theme of addressing points of difference between Catholics and Orthodox Christians. It is a testament of hope to the Holy Spirit overcoming divisions among those who profess Christ.
Three weak points do bear mention. The book fails to adequately discuss the Virgin Mary. There is a quick paragraph or two about how she occupies some of the space in Catholic devotion that should belong to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps. But perhaps a more fruitful route would have been to explore the ways in which the Holy Spirit makes Our Lady the saint par excellence—and how Our Lady makes approachable the Holy Spirit.
Congar says the Holy Spirit progressively reveals to Jesus Christ the full truth of His messianic mission. A few years after the book’s publication, the Catechism of the Catholic Church contradicted this: “By its union to the divine wisdom in the person of the Word incarnate, Christ enjoyed in his human knowledge the fullness of understanding of the eternal plans he had come to reveal.” Congar, then, has to be taken with a caveat, although perhaps circumincession could provide a way to salvage some of what he says.
Lastly, Congar spends some time criticizing the late nineteenth century theology of the Church as the “continued incarnation” of Christ. I am not otherwise familiar with that theology. That said, it does not seem to inherently contradict anything Congar says. This may be less of a fault with Congar than my own ignorance of the full context.
This is an important academic work and a helpful correction to the Holy Spirit’s absence from too much of modern Christianity.
March 28, 2017
Congar gives his readers both a original and compelling treatment of the Holy Spirit and a useful reference work on how major thinkers have dealt with the major questions relating to the Spirit. The book (which is really three volumes published in one huge tome) deals with the the Spirit in Scripture, the doctrine of the Trinity, the Spirit and the Church, the filioque debate, and many other issues. Some readers will be disappointed that Congar doesn't treat the charismatic movement either outside of or within Catholicism, but I personally found this to be a wise decision that allows for a more robust historical work focusing on important pneumatological issues that are often overlooked today. A great work on to have on your shelf whether you're a minister, a theology student, or an academic.
December 22, 2017
If you don't know Latin or Greek, I wouldn't suggest this, but there are good points made regarding Catholic theology of the Holy Spirit
November 22, 2021
"Rome cannot change, but she can explain." Click here for full review. https://thatladywhoreadsalot.wordpres...
Read
September 16, 2013Yves Congar, a Roman Catholic ecclesiologist who played a pivotal role in the penning of the Vatican II documents was quoted after the council saying, “Respecting many questions, the council remained incomplete. It began a work which is not finished.” This three-volume work, I Believe in the Holy Spirit, is an attempt to build upon the pneumatological work done at Vatican II. Congar does a very helpful job at drawing out the pnuematological strains of earlier theology, but does little to build on this tradition in new or innovative ways.
The first volume, “The Holy Spirit in the Economy” reviews the major contributions to the Christian understanding of the experience of the Spirit ranging back to the Old Testament and as recent as Vatican II. Giving such a span, his work is rather general. There are some helpful sections on lesser-known figures such as St. Simeon and Joachim of Fiore, however.
The second volume “The Spirit Animates the Church” focuses pneumatology on ecclesiology including the spiritual gifts and the charismatic movement. Even here, Congar is rooted in the tradition and unfortunately does not venture far from it or his previous work, Lay People in the Church (1957). For instance, he utilizes the Nicene Creed showing how the Spirit fits into this understanding of church rather than asking what a pneumatological perspective means for ecclesiology. Congar often goes beyond the pneumatological question into matters of church function and sacraments, but fails to think about them in a fresh pneumatological way. One important contribution his ecclesiological focus does make, however, is expanding pneumatology beyond the spirit-filled individual by asking about the spirit-filled community (1:156) Most impressive here is Congar’s engagement with the charismatic movement, sticking mostly to the Catholic Charismatic renewal. He joins numerous voices in questioning the movement’s lack of social concern, but also points out its major contributions to the church including a renewal of the charisms (2:151-152) and a return to experience (2:155). Unfortunately, Congar’s work was done before very much solid renewal theology was done and so he has little to dialogue with.
Finally, the third volume treats the Spirit in relation to the Trinity, particularly dealing with east-west filioque controversy. Congar’s possible solution of dropping the clause with an admission that it is not heretical when properly understood appears to be a good compromise, but may not go far enough in healing past hurts (3:206). He ends with a discussion of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments, though he largely deals with confirmation and the Eucharist. Here again his focus seems to be more on the ecclesiological questions with pneumatology appended on to the traditional discussions, a common theme in all three volumes and something a renewal pneumatology would reverse methodologically.
The first volume, “The Holy Spirit in the Economy” reviews the major contributions to the Christian understanding of the experience of the Spirit ranging back to the Old Testament and as recent as Vatican II. Giving such a span, his work is rather general. There are some helpful sections on lesser-known figures such as St. Simeon and Joachim of Fiore, however.
The second volume “The Spirit Animates the Church” focuses pneumatology on ecclesiology including the spiritual gifts and the charismatic movement. Even here, Congar is rooted in the tradition and unfortunately does not venture far from it or his previous work, Lay People in the Church (1957). For instance, he utilizes the Nicene Creed showing how the Spirit fits into this understanding of church rather than asking what a pneumatological perspective means for ecclesiology. Congar often goes beyond the pneumatological question into matters of church function and sacraments, but fails to think about them in a fresh pneumatological way. One important contribution his ecclesiological focus does make, however, is expanding pneumatology beyond the spirit-filled individual by asking about the spirit-filled community (1:156) Most impressive here is Congar’s engagement with the charismatic movement, sticking mostly to the Catholic Charismatic renewal. He joins numerous voices in questioning the movement’s lack of social concern, but also points out its major contributions to the church including a renewal of the charisms (2:151-152) and a return to experience (2:155). Unfortunately, Congar’s work was done before very much solid renewal theology was done and so he has little to dialogue with.
Finally, the third volume treats the Spirit in relation to the Trinity, particularly dealing with east-west filioque controversy. Congar’s possible solution of dropping the clause with an admission that it is not heretical when properly understood appears to be a good compromise, but may not go far enough in healing past hurts (3:206). He ends with a discussion of the Holy Spirit in the sacraments, though he largely deals with confirmation and the Eucharist. Here again his focus seems to be more on the ecclesiological questions with pneumatology appended on to the traditional discussions, a common theme in all three volumes and something a renewal pneumatology would reverse methodologically.
April 4, 2020
So everyone keeps claiming that Congar is one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century; I have never seen a more disorganized book, and the insights seemed to arrive perhaps once every hundred pages.
August 22, 2008
A thoroughly comprehensive analysis of Catholic Thought on the Holy Spirit from Biblical exegesis to Patristic commentary to contemporary thought. A true masterpiece.
April 16, 2009
This is actually a reference book. It is not a 'reading book' like any other book. It is really full of 'knowledge'.
May 2, 2013
An interesting insight into the more spiritual elements within Catholicism, as well as the author's support for a charismatic, non-institutional form of Christianity.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews