In this title the author contends that whilst in classical Christian discourse, the Holy Spirit "pours out on all flesh", in modern theology and worship the Holy Spirit has tended to float free of bodies and that the result of such disembodiment, is that talk about the Spirit has become flat and uninspiring. The Eastern Christian tradition, by contrast, has usually linked the Holy Spirit with holy places, holy people, and holy things. Taking his cue from this tradition, Rogers locates the Spirit in the Gospel stories of the annunciation, Jesus' baptism, the transfiguration, and the resurrection. These stories offer illuminating glimpses into both the Spirit's connection with the tangible world and the Spirit's distinctive place in relation to the other persons of the Trinity. "After the Spirit" weaves together patristic, medieval, Russian, and Syriac sources. Rogers's witty and passionate prose is illustrated by the inclusion of eight color plates.
Eugene F Rogers Jr, formerly at the University of Virginia, is now Professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina. He has written or edited three previous books.