Abstract:Abstract:Many maintain that petitionary prayer is pointless. I argue that the theist can defend petitionary prayer by giving a general account of how divine and creaturely causation can be compatible and complementary, based on the claim that the goodness of something depends on its cause. I use Thomas Aquinas's metaphysical framework to give an account that explains why a world with creaturely causation better reflects God's goodness than a world in which God brought all things about immediately. In such a wo… Show more
“…To regain reconciliation with the sacred after breaking the rules of the sacred, a process of apology is in order (Lazare 2004). Thus, in order to restore the relationship with the sacred, one has to acknowledge one's sin and ask for forgiveness (Cohoe 2014). Throughout the interviews it became clear that this process of apology is a regular feature in the lived religious experience of all the participants.…”
This research analysed the data gathered from ten interviews with Eritrean newcomers living in Amsterdam on the relation between their experiences of lived religion and the experience of their process of integration in the Netherlands. The narratives reflect the participants' attempts to combine their religious worlds, which are one of the few things they brought from Eritrea, with their new lives in their newly found place of residence. The narratives provide rich examples of their willingness to negotiate the 'rules of religion' with 'the rules of the host culture'. Finally, suggestions for the helping professions and care providers of newcomers' service will be offered.
“…To regain reconciliation with the sacred after breaking the rules of the sacred, a process of apology is in order (Lazare 2004). Thus, in order to restore the relationship with the sacred, one has to acknowledge one's sin and ask for forgiveness (Cohoe 2014). Throughout the interviews it became clear that this process of apology is a regular feature in the lived religious experience of all the participants.…”
This research analysed the data gathered from ten interviews with Eritrean newcomers living in Amsterdam on the relation between their experiences of lived religion and the experience of their process of integration in the Netherlands. The narratives reflect the participants' attempts to combine their religious worlds, which are one of the few things they brought from Eritrea, with their new lives in their newly found place of residence. The narratives provide rich examples of their willingness to negotiate the 'rules of religion' with 'the rules of the host culture'. Finally, suggestions for the helping professions and care providers of newcomers' service will be offered.
“…[prayer gives us] the real ability to play some role in improving our world” (Smith and Yip , 406–7). Eleonore Stump argues that a world where God makes some goods dependent on prayer is a better world than one where such goods are not dependent on prayer, and therefore God’s perfect goodness entails that God created a world where petitionary prayer is efficacious (Stump ; Cohoe ). Lawrence Masek similarly argues that there are many goods that God would not provide unless they are prayed for because to provide them in the absence of prayer minimizes humanity’s capacity to be agents of goodness (Masek ).…”
Section: Why Do We Pray?mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Moreover, efficacious prayer amongst believers fosters a community of unity and interdependence (Murray ). Caleb Cohoe argues along a similar vein: “petitionary prayer helps us to see God as the source of every good thing” (, 37), and such a perspective could not be gained if petitionary prayer were ineffective. Cohoe also argues that even if both the believer (who prays) and the non‐believer (who does not) attained the same goods (for example, basic goods, like nutrition, that an all‐good God would not make dependent on someone asking for it), the believer gains an additional good—that of knowing that her welfare was afforded to her out of her relationship and friendship with God.The person who receives food, health, and shelter because she asks God for them gains additional value from these goods, value that the person who receives but does not ask misses.…”
Section: Why Do We Pray?mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Now it may still be better for God to give certain kinds of goods to the person who does not ask than to withhold such goods, but the goods brought about apart from prayer will not be as good. (, 40)…”
When considering the role of prayer in the lives of believers, most theists agree that one important effect is the psychological impact on the person who is praying. Nevertheless, the way many of us pray, by primarily or solely focusing on our welfare and the welfare of our loved ones, agitates the human tendency towards exclusion. If we take seriously God's commandment to love the neighbor as the self, we should use prayer, instead, as a prime opportunity to help cultivate a moral character that embraces more inclusion. In this paper, I use Søren Kierkegaard's Works of Love as a framework for working towards this more inclusive view of prayer-one that widens our moral circle and awareness to include all human beings, and not just the select ones we have chosen to prefer above all others. It does not follow that we are prohibited from praying for our own welfare or the welfare of our loved ones, but it does mean that using prayer in a way that only (or primarily) shows concern for those whom we prefer is morally problematic.
“…To be sure, God is the cause of the goodness which our prayers, in a secondary sense, may cause, but as Caleb Murray Cohoe points out, "an order of created things which includes creaturely causation and petitionary prayer is better than one in which God brings all things about immediately." 118 In other words, creaturely causation makes the world better reflect God's goodness.…”
Section: Prayer Gratitude and Experiencementioning
On what basis do we distinguish God from the world? I argue that the doctrine of creation, more specifically the analogical notion of causa, supplies a salutary foundation. My conversation partners are Karl Barth and Thomas Aquinas. I take up the former's five conditions for a right theological use of causa, demonstrating that despite his basic misreading of Thomas, both theologians share some basic convictions regarding God's independence. I argue, moreover, that Thomas provides a more theologically satisfying anchor for what distinguishes God from what is not God. I conclude by reflecting on the importance of experience in articulating the distinction.
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