In Theology of Hope Jürgen Moltmann made the now wellknown claim that, ‘From first to last, and not merely in the epilogue, Christianity is eschatology… The eschatological is not one element of Christianity, but it is the medium of Christian faith as such, the key in which everything in it is set’ (TH 16). In his second major work, The Crucified God, he claims that ‘Theologia crucis is not a single chapter in theology, but the key signature for all Christian theology’ (CG 72). Superficially, therefore, it might seem that The Crucified God is a fresh start in Moltmann's theology, substituting the cross for eschatology as the unifying theme in theology. In reality this is not the case. Moltmann's theology in The Crucified God remains eschatologically structured, while already in Theology of Hope he claimed that Christian theology must be an eschatologia crucis (TH 160, cf. HP 147f., CG 5) founded on the resurrection of the crucified Christ. ‘Theology of hope is at its hard core theology of the cross’ (EH 57). Conversely, the theology of the cross is the ‘reverse side’ of the theology of hope, giving it ‘a more profound dimension’ (CG 5). For the form of the future of Christ in this world is the cross of Christ and the sufferings of Christians: only this emphasis can save Christian hope from escapism or naive utopianism (cf. M 44, EH 57f 72). The two works therefore display an essentially continuous theological development.

This paper focuses attention upon the twenty-ninth chapter 1 of De Trinitate, a third-century theological treatise. Its author, Novatian, was a prominent member of the Roman College of Presbyters. However, his position did not engender feelings of loyalty sufficient to prevent his taking a surprising course of action when Cornelius became the Bishop of Rome in A.D. 251: he had himself consecrated to the same position. This step was a major factor in his being excommunicated in the same year. Subsequently, his personal status among the orthodox declined sharply, and very soon thereafter the records fall silent about him. However, in spite of this he continues to have a place among the theologians of the Church—a place which has been won for him almost single-handedly by De Trinitate. The book appeared in the A.D. 240s, being in fact the first major theological work to be written in Latin in Rome. Novatian produced it while still an eminent, well-respected member of the Roman church. As the title suggests, De Trinitate is about the Trinity, but Novatian by no means devotes equal space to all three members. His discussion of the Holy Spirit seems rather truncated when compared to the treatment afforded to the Father and Son, with virtually everything which is said about the Spirit appearing in chapter 29. Yet it is this chapter which will occupy our attention in this paper, because it appears to contain material which may provide hints about the religious experience of the Roman church in the mid-third century.

Two questions dominate much of Reformation theology: ‘How can I find a gracious God?’ and ‘Where can I find the true church?’ For Luther, the answer to both questions was given very simply in the gospel of justification. In speaking of a gracious God the gospel brought the church into being. The gospel alone, when believed, constituted the church. Other Reformers attempted to develop a more comprehensive and coherent doctrine of the marks of a true church. In this article I attempt to trace the evolution of the doctrine of the notae ecclesiae to the point where it had become so unwieldly that Hooker and Field abandoned it, and, replacing an intensive ecclesiology by an extensive one, set reformed ecclesiology on a new footing.

For the Christian ‘Pentecost’ is a shorthand way of referring to the initial outpouring of the Spirit on the disciples of Jesus described in Acts 2, although of course the events of that historic day included a public address by Peter and the conversion and baptism of a substantial number of his hearers. The event is scarcely mentioned elsewhere in the NT. The narrative in Acts interprets it as the fulfilment of the prophecy of the baptism with the Spirit made by John the Baptist (Acts i.4f.), and there is one clear reference back to it in Peter's account of the conversion of Cornelius (Acts 11.15–17; cf. 10.47). Otherwise there is no specific reference to it anywhere in the NT, and there is an account of what appears to be a different bestowal of the Spirit by Jesus on ten of His disciples in Jn. 20.22. Luke's narrative is filled with problems of interpretation, and the lack of comparative material makes assessment of its historicity and significance all the more difficult. What we may be able to discuss with some hope of success is Luke's own understanding of the event, since we have the rest of his narrative in the Gospel and Acts as a context to aid us in discovering his interpretation.