Introduction

The prevailing consensus in popular and much of scholarly Christianity is that the resurrection of Jesus stands at the faith's center. Yet, as early theological evidence and critical scholarship suggest, the originary Christian proclamation—kerygma—was not the self-referential elevation of Jesus, but the announcement of God's direct action in history. As Willi Marxsen observed:

"The resurrection of Jesus is not the central datum of Christianity. The central point, from the earliest times, was God's intervention in history, the coming of his rule..." (Peeters 2002, 50).

This original theocentricity is often lost in later Christological developments. The resurrection event is best read as a sign confirming God's action, not as the singular axis of Christian theology.

God's Central Action in Early Christian Preaching

Early Christian communities prioritized the message that "God's rule is coming," focusing—as Jesus had—on the transformative sovereignty of God (Peeters 2002, 50-142). After Jesus' death, his disciples did not shift the focus to Jesus' own role exclusively; rather, their preaching remained "concerned chiefly with God's actions and not with those of Jesus. In both cases, it was primarily about theology and not Christology" (Peeters 2002, 56).

"[T]hey continued... a theological preaching in which God was regarded as acting through Jesus' earthly work, including his death and resurrection. To that extent faith in the resurrection of Jesus was an integral part of early Christian theology. And certainly their confidence that Jesus had risen and been exalted was one of the factors that helped his followers to continue his theological preaching. Belief in the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus was a catalyst for the earliest history of the church; it gave Christians the strength and inspiration to preach and act. Nevertheless, as Marxsen said, we must stick to the point that 'The resurrection of Jesus is not the central datum of Christianity.' The central point, from the earliest times, was God's intervention in history, the coming of his rule..." (Peeters 2002, 57).

Thus, the early Church articulated a theocentric theology—divine initiative and action, sometimes expressed through Jesus and continuously open to further divine intervention.

The Johannine Paraclete: Promise of Future Divine Action

In the Fourth Gospel, Jesus promises the coming of the "Paraclete," the "Comforter" who will lead believers into all truth (John 14:16, 26; 16:13). This was not the closure of the divine narrative, but its projected continuation. Christian theologians increasingly acknowledge that Johaninne Pneumatology anticipates a future divine act not ending in the first-century Church, but open to new interventions (Welker 2006, 78).

The Paraclete Shri Mataji: Empirical Fulfillment of Divine Promise

Contemporary theological developments, especially those documented by adishakti.org, identify Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi as the Paraclete whose advent fulfills the open-ended messianic expectation. In dialogue with seekers and journalists, Shri Mataji explained:

"Yes, She is very much here and She's talking to you now... That's the proof of the thing. You've already started feeling it in your hands." (Talkback Radio 2UE, Sydney, March 31, 1981; adishakti.org)

This refers to the "Cool Breeze"—the direct experience of Pneuma, Ruach, or Ruh—which can be experienced as a tangible wind or vibration on the hands or above the head.

"The Cool Breeze, or the wind-like experience... is the universally available sign of the Holy Spirit... This experience parallels the Ruach of Judaism, the Pneuma of Christianity, and the Ruh of Islam..." (The Cool Breeze — Pneuma and Its Equivalence to Ruach in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, adishakti.org).

This phenomenon, anchored in widespread empirical testimony, is not symbolic but functional: an ongoing confirmation of divine presence experienced across traditions (adishakti.org, Karkkainen 2002, Keizer 2010).

Ruach, Pneuma, Ruh: Interreligious Evidence

The Cool Breeze as divine breath or wind is documented in:

• Judaism: Ruach Ha-Qodesh ("the immanent aspect of The Godhead that interacts with those who seek her"—Keizer 2010, 42).
• Christianity: "The Pneuma... an awesome, mysterious power of breath and wind..." (Welker 2006, 78).
• Islam: Sibghatullah, "Baptism of Allah," as the direct touch of divinity (Ahmed 2005).

This pneumatic phenomenon, accessible and verifiable by seekers of any religious or secular background, provides evidence of divine activity that bridges doctrinal divides.

The Divine Feminine: Pneumatology and Motherhood

The womanly aspect of the Spirit is explicit in Hebrew (Ruach is feminine grammatical gender); Jurgen Moltmann argues:

"If believers are 'born again' from the Holy Spirit, then the Spirit is 'The Mother' of God's children and can in this sense be termed a feminine Spirit" (Moltmann 1967, 211, cited by adishakti.org).

Shri Mataji's role as a universal Mother echoes this tradition and completes the Trinitarian circle, restoring the Divine Feminine to centrality.

Eschatological Realization: Divine Action Now

The work of the Paraclete constitutes a second, global Pentecost—a realized eschaton. The Cool Breeze is verifiable, repeatable evidence that God has again "rendered Himself perceptible"—in the spirit, not merely as memory (adishakti.org, The Cool Breeze). The "unfinished crucifixion" and "ministry of Jesus" find their eschatological fulfillment here, not in past miracle, but in "the living miracle" of self-realization offered through modern experience.

Conclusion

The axis of Christianity is not an event frozen in the past, but the ever-unfolding initiative of God in history. The resurrection is affirmation; the descent and experience of the Paraclete's Wind is fulfillment. God's work in history is not closed:

"As in the time of Jesus, so now—in the Age of the Paraclete—God acts directly to renew creation... The eschaton is now. God's Breath once more moves upon the waters of the world's consciousness." (adishakti.org)