Mission in the Spirit: The Holy Spirit in Indian Christian Theologies

Kirsteen Kim’s book on the pneumatology of three well-known Indian Christian theologians, Sister Vandana, Samuel Rayan and the late Stanley Samartha makes a substantial contribution to the critical current debate on the role of the Spirit in interfaith dialogue.  The author devotes a chapter to each of the three theologians, whose work she describes and analyses with erudition and skill. Even though she may not always commend, neither does she condemn, but she does insist on the need for the discernment (viveka) of spirits. She also insists throughout her book that pneumatology must be properly related to Christology and the Trinity. In her final two chapters Kirsteen Kim points to an area of the Spirit’s activity largely ignored by her three theologians. They are all mainliners-Roman Catholic and CSI: but their enthusiasm for life in the Spirit links them, perhaps in a way they would not themselves have chosen, with a Pentecostal type of Christianity which is gaining ground over traditional official ways of expressing the Christian faith. We can be grateful to Kirsteen Kim for so skillfully guiding us through the wide area of Christian experience covered by Samartha, Rayan and Vandana. This book should prove an indispensable guide to three important late 20th century Indian Christian theologians. -Robin Boyd, Author of Introduction to Indian Christian Theology.