30 NOVEMBER 1929, Page 18

IN DEFENCE OF THE FAITH

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The Bishop of Gloucester, in the fifth last line of his thoughtful article on " The Modern -Outlook in Theology," says, when speaking of the Holy Spirit :— "it is not because we doubt that the Holy Spirit has inspired the Church : but because we believe that it not only has inspired it but continues to do so." (Italics mine.)

Surely the Bishop should have written " He," not " it." Doubtless there was a slip of the pen : but all the same, it is a bad blemish on a fine article. There are few things in theology on which greater stress requires to be put than this ; that the Holy Ghost is not a mere influence or tendency, but is a personal Being. That is essential for one who says, " I believe in the Holy Ghost," and vital for the doctrine of the Trinity, which is expressed not in the Creed, but in the Holy

18 Wester Coates Gardens, Edinburgh.