This article discusses the experiential dimension of early Christian spirituality. Is it adequate to speak about Paul's churches as experiencing the Spirit? In order to approach this debated question, the first part of the essay investigates the complex relation of experience and interpretation. Since experiences are always interpreted against an existing framework of reference, the question is raised what this interpretative framework was in the case of the early Christian witness of the Spirit. A second section therefore analyses the religious context of Paul's churches and concludes that the expected outpouring of the Spirit was conceived of in experiential categories (e.g. Joel 3:1-2). The article concludes with a study of Paul's letters and reveals that the Spirit was particularly perceived as being experienced in transforming relationships - to God and to one another.
Personen: Rabens, Volker
Rabens, Volker:
Glaube und Lernen: Begeisterte Spiritualität : Geisteserfahrungen im Leben der paulinischen Gemeinden / Volker Rabens. - 26, 2011. - S.133-147
Einheitssacht.: Geist