Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
Summer 6-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Frederick Aquino
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Jeff Childers
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Bruce Marshall
Abstract
How does the Holy Spirit, by indwelling believers, guide them to act in ways that contribute to their spiritual progress? In this thesis, I will argue that, by indwelling believers, the Spirit redirects their intentionality towards their ultimate end in union with God, thus placing believers in the best possible position for acting in ways that contribute to that end. If the Spirit guides believers in the spiritual life on a day-to-day basis, then such guidance must connect with the actual processes by which humans generally act (especially intentions). Thus, by exploring the indwelling of the Spirit, grace, and human intentionality, we can come to a greater understanding of how the pieces fit together, how the Spirit guides believers after baptism. The project will synthesize the rich pneumatology of Thomas Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae with insights from contemporary philosophy of intention in order to develop a constructive account of the Spirit’s indwelling and its implications for the actions of believers.
Recommended Citation
Kern, John R., "The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit and Human Intentionality: A Constructive Proposal" (2016). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 32.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/32
Included in
Catholic Studies Commons, Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Other Philosophy Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons