Additional information
by Stephen Torr (Author), David Cheetham (Foreword by)
The response of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to those suffering in their midst has generally been to seek the intervention of the Holy Spirit to bring about healing and transformation, or perhaps, education. But what happens when the suffering continues, it appears to be innocent and meaningless, and God seems to be absent? This study, drawing on Kevin Vanhoozer's "dramatic" approach to theology, argues that the way God calls us to "perform" as we seek to communicate with him amidst such situations is to lament, and to do so with the aid of the Holy Spirit. Rather than offering such an approach purely in opposition to the more "triumphalistic" responses common in Pentecostal/Charismatic theology and practice, this book seeks to show how a performance of lament is conducive to such theology and practice while acting as a much-needed corrective to certain aspects of it. What is provided here is therefore relevant reading for both scholars and pastors alike, particularly of Pentecostal/Charismatic church tradition, who grapple with the realities of suffering and the questions such realities produce.
Author Biography
Rev'd Dr. Stephen C. Torr is Assistant Curate in the Abbots Bromley Benefice, England. Having completed undergraduate studies at the University of Birmingham, he continued on to complete a PhD in Theology as part of the Centre for Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, also at the University of Birmingham. Having trained for Ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, he is now serving his first post as Assistant Curate.
