Summary This book is about the work of the Holy Spirit in Western European culture. Christian faith is one of the important pillars of this culture, although Christian faith is declining. On the breeding ground of this culture, secular humanism has flourished. This expresses a philosophy of life based on the dignity of every human being, on freedom, equality and solidarity. These values are defended without appealing to religious faith. For Christians, then, the question is how to appreciate the rise of that humanism. Can this humanism be seen as the fruit of the work of the Holy Spirit in European culture? I discuss Taylor’s analysis of the rise of this humanism in Chapter 2. To properly place Taylor’s work, I outline an overview of the debate over the origins of modernity in the first chapter. I give an overview of the possible positions that can be taken with respect to this issue. Taylor’s outlined solution also demands something of the Reformed tradition, which must shake off its hyper-Augustinian feathers. This is most strongly seen in the modern value of universal solidarity. But if God asks us to be in solidarity with every human being, yes even with our enemy, how can God himself not be so with regard to a portion of the human race? The difficulty of original sin, eternal damnation makes itself felt immediately. The question, however, is, is this analysis correct? I ask the theological question: can this humanism be considered a work of the Spirit? And, if so, what does the theme of universal solidarity do with the hyper-Augustinian elements in theology? In chapter 3, I discuss Karl Barth. Barth continues to think the proclamation of the atonement radically from God’s revelation in Christ. Furthermore, Barth identifies opposition to the proclamation of the atonement, as the theological lie. Yet even Barth’s theology is indeed influenced by modern solidarity thinking. But, Barth remains silent as much as possible about God’s action in history. Against Barth, Pannenberg, whom I discuss in chapter 4, attempts to read the Spirit’s course in the world from history itself. Pannenberg therefore opposes Barth’s reading of modernity. Modernity was not a resistance to God, but to the relentless religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Pannenberg himself sees secularity as a direct result of the proclamation of Jesus’ kingdom. So there must be elements in that humanism that are rooted in the Christian tradition. For this, Pannenberg points to the Christian account of the dignity of every human life, in whatever degraded form. Catholic theologian Erik Borgman, discussed in Chapter 5, assumes the unproblematic possibility of recognizing the work of God in history. For Borgman, the religious is present in that which eludes modern rational ideals of control. Borgman, however, hardly considers the possibility of spiritual blindness. Even if Borgman’s theology is somewhat naive on this point, he rightly argues that spiritual blindness is not the default-position. The biblical theme of the sin against the Holy Spirit may connect both intuitions of discerning the kingdom and blindness towards it. The possibility of sin against the Holy Spirit should prevent ourselves from speaking too quickly of apostasy from God. Of course, this approach need not blind us to the harmful aspects of modernity and its instability. Apparently, Christian faith remains necessary as a breeding ground for this culture. Yet this does not mean the end of the Reformed tradition in modernity. Taylor himself ultimately does little to address the anti-humanist objections to a humanistic reading of life. But it is precisely Reformed notions that can be raised against these anti-humanist objections.