Cara Lovell cara.f.lovell@durham.ac.uk
PGR Student Doctor of Theology & Ministry
Surprise, Hope and Gift: A Pneumatological Account of the Unexpected Nature of Vocation
Lovell, Cara F.
Authors
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. (2024). Surprise, Hope and Gift: A Pneumatological Account of the Unexpected Nature of Vocation. International Journal of Systematic Theology, 26(1), 91-110. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12629
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Jul 15, 2022 |
| Online Publication Date | Nov 15, 2022 |
| Publication Date | 2024-01 |
| Deposit Date | Dec 21, 2022 |
| Publicly Available Date | Dec 21, 2022 |
| Journal | International Journal of Systematic Theology |
| Print ISSN | 1463-1652 |
| Electronic ISSN | 1468-2400 |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 91-110 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1111/ijst.12629 |
| Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1183118 |
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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.