“Come, Holy Spirit!”

Can Progressive Protestants Put Up With Pentecost?

On Sunday mornings as they began class, the fifth graders would line up and each

would recite one phrase of the Apostles’ Creed. This went on for about four months,

until one Sunday. The class began the usual way. The first girl recited her line flawless-

ly, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The second, a

boy, stood up and added his sentence, “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord.”

But then silence descended over the class. Finally, one girl, who felt she knew what was

wrong stood up and announced, “I’m sorry, sir, but the boy who believes in the Holy

Ghost is absent today!”