Constructing a new approach for contemporary Pentecostal theology: A study of ecstasy and spiritual presence as a Divine--Human encounter

The principal goal of this study is to construct a foundational theology based on the framework of pneumatology and to provide an appropriate theological method for both 'experience-based' and 'reflection-based' theological paradigms. To accomplish this goal, this study seeks to identify and to interpret distinct theological features of the Spirit and spiritual life that are critically engaged in Pentecostal faith and belief. It also articulates the challenge of Pentecostalism regarding its theological reflection on the nature and function of the Holy Spirit in a systematic way to explore the place, essence, and reality of contemporary Pentecostal theology and to share its theological reflections for the purpose of establishing and revitalizing the experience of the Spirit within a wider theological community.;Insofar as the experience-based theological framework and theological commitment to study the encounter of the divine Spirit and human spirit through ecstatic spiritual experiences, the study identifies theological findings between Paul Tillich and Pentecostals. In this vein, it provides a comparative reading on both contemporary Pentecostal pneumacentric theology and Paul Tillich's theology of the Spirit. In so doing, the study addresses the theological intersections and conjunctions between these two theologies without ignoring their theological differences. Hence, the study provides a comprehensive comparative analysis of both contemporary Pentecostal theology with its distinctive doctrines such as Spirit-baptism and speaking in tongues and Tillich's pneumatological concepts of ecstasy and Spiritual Presence in light of the encounter of the Divine Spirit and human spirit. Inasmuch as it attempts to provide a constructive theological framework for contemporary Pentecostal theology, this study points out some critical theological problems of traditional Pentecostalism on the basis of an internal critique from contemporary Pentecostal theology. The study then explores the feasibility of Tillich's pneumatology as a source of providing some theological insights regarding these theological issues that contemporary Pentecostal theology need to engage.;Finally, the study addresses future theological tasks that are raised by this study in order to address and construe the directions and trajectory for the future development of contemporary Pentecostal theology which demands both self-critical reflection and constructive theological engagement with a broader theological community.