The author argues that the western church undervalues the Holy Spirit through its adherence to the insertion of the word filioque ("and through the Son") into the Nicene creed. In contrast to this subordination of the Spirit to Christ, the biblical witness bespeaks a non-hierarchical relationship among all three "persons" of the trinity. Jurgen Moltmann shows how the essential affirmations of the eastern and western churches can be incorporated in a more fully nuanced statement more in line with the biblical witness. By recovering a sense of the equal valuation of the Spirit and the Christ, the western church can integrate structure and vitality more completely.
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