Dr Paul Allen

Dunn devotes a similar amount of space in Baptism to the writings of Paul as to those of Luke. He discusses every passage in the Pauline corpus that, in his opinion, alludes to conversion-initiation.2 Again he believes he is on strong ground, asserting that for Pentecostal views of Spirit baptism, “Paul seems to be more of an embarrassment than an asset, so that time and again expositions of this doctrine conveniently ignore him.”3  For Dunn, when Paul’s insights are duly noted, they “knock the Pentecostals’ case on the head” and cut “the ground away from under the feet of the Pentecostal.”4  Perhaps the “killer blow” to Pentecostal doctrine, in his view, is Romans 8:9. As he has written recently, “the nearest Paul comes to defining the term ‘Christian’ is in terms of having, that is, of having received the Spirit: ‘if anyone does not have the Spirit, he is not Christ’s’ (Rom. 8:9).”5  However, while I will refer to Romans 8:9 later in this chapter, I will actually take 1...