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Surprise, Hope and Gift: A Pneumatological Account of the Unexpected Nature of Vocation

Lovell, Cara F.

Surprise, Hope and Gift: A Pneumatological Account of the Unexpected Nature of Vocation Thumbnail


Authors

Cara Lovell cara.f.lovell@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Theology & Ministry



Abstract

God's call can be surprising and unexpected. This article evaluates theologies of vocation in light of this potential for surprise. Contemporary Protestant theological interpretations of vocation are critiqued as incomplete due to their tendency to present vocation as the expression and utilisation of innate abilities without giving sufficient account of how an individual might be called to something totally new and surprising. It will be suggested that this arises from a focus on creation as the dominant theological lens for interpreting vocation. An alternative focused on eschatology and pneumatology will be proposed in which both natural talents and new abilities are recognised as gifts of the Spirit given for the purpose of anticipatory proleptic participation in the coming Kingdom of God.

Citation

Lovell, C. F. (2022). Surprise, Hope and Gift: A Pneumatological Account of the Unexpected Nature of Vocation. International Journal of Systematic Theology, https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12629

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 15, 2022
Online Publication Date Nov 15, 2022
Publication Date Nov 15, 2022
Deposit Date Dec 21, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal International Journal of Systematic Theology
Print ISSN 1463-1652
Electronic ISSN 1468-2400
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12629
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1183118

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Published Journal Article (123 Kb)
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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2022 The Author. International Journal of Systematic Theology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.




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