Albany Via Media

January 7, 2012

To the Editor:

Continuing, in response to Fr. Paul Hartt, with my discussion of Bishop Spong's 12 Theses, here is my take on Thesis 10:

Thesis 10. Prayer cannot be a request made to a theistic deity to act in human history in a particular way.

The word “theistic” takes me all the way back to Thesis 1 and Thesis 2:

1. Theism, as a way of defining God, is dead. So most theological God-talk is today meaningless. A new way to speak of God must be found.

2. Since God can no longer be conceived in theistic terms, it becomes nonsensical to seek to understand Jesus as the incarnation of the theistic deity. So the Christology of the ages is bankrupt.

My responses to these theses may be found here for Thesis 1 and for Thesis 2.

At that point in the conversation, William Hammond provided a link to a copy of Rowan Williams' response to Bishop Spong's 12 Theses. This response was written in 1998 when Bishop Rowan was Bishop of Monmouth; it is certainly plausible that he has since rethought some or all of what he wrote. But it makes interesting reading.

Then Canon Brown responded to my first two letters. I will extract a short portion of his letter here:

His [Bishop Spong's] first thesis, however, is interesting. I actually think that “theism” as a philosophical category might not be the best term to use in relation to the God of the Bible. Certain prominent theologians (one thinks of Luther, Kierkegaard, Barth, etc.) have questioned whether the abstract “God of the philosophers” — that is the God of classic “theism” — bears any relationship to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And then when we come to terms with the triune nature of God, this also raises interesting questions about how apt a term like “theism” is in this case. I am not sure that Bishop Spong was thinking along these lines — probably not — but I do think he opens up an interesting question with his first thesis.

Having now established that the terms “theism” and “theistic” don't mean what I thought they did, I will substitute the word “God” for the phrase “theistic deity” and see what the Thesis says. Prayer cannot be a request made to God to act in human history in a particular way.

“Cannot” is a pretty strong word. It seems as if Bishop Spong is saying that such prayer is not possible, and doesn't happen. But we know it does, all the time. As a Christian and an Episcopalian I have many opportunities to pray and an extraordinary supply of prayers to use. Some of these prayers do ask God to act in my life (which I suppose is part of human history) in a particular way. Does God always answer my prayer in a way I would like? No. Sometimes yes, but I have learned that occasionally the outcome I prayed for turned out to be pretty painful.

But, once again, Bishop Spong has a point (if I understand what he was saying).

I might hear that there has been an airplane crash, and know that my friend was flying that day. If I pray, “God, please don't let him be on that plane”, I am wasting my time. God knows whether or not my friend was on that plane, and God is not going to reach back in time and remove him from it. My friend either boarded the plane or he didn't. I can certainly pray that those on the airplane were not badly hurt. I can pray that my friend will call me. And I can pray that I will be able to bear the worry I feel and whatever the outcome is. Does that mean I won't pray that my friend was not on the plane? No, because I am a normal human being and that is what I really want. That sort of prayer is by no means impossible to pray. But I think it is unlikely to change whether or not a person has already boarded a plane and been aboard when it took off. If I hear that my friend missed the plane, would I say God answered my prayer? I might, but — honestly — I think retroactive prayer is simply an attempt to control the world. Perhaps that is what Bishop Spong was referring to.

On the other hand, if I hear that a friend is about to undergo a biopsy for cancer, I might pray that no cancer be found. If cancer is found, I might pray that my friend be cured. I do believe that God is capable of healing people, and sometimes does so directly. Sometimes God gives human agents the privilege of treating and healing someone. And sometimes, as we all know, there is no healing. Yet I believe that God is right there with us through the whole process.

But the bottom line is, Jesus taught us to pray. He told us to pray for food, for forgiveness, for the coming of the Kingdom of God, and for God's will to be done on earth. If I pray for these things, then, yes, I am asking for something particular to happen in my life and in human history. I'm hungry, I want to be fed. I am angry, I want to let go of that anger. I am ashamed of my behavior; I want to put it behind me. When I pray I hope that I am learning to listen to God. To know what God's will is for the earth. To be taught how to forgive when it seems impossible.

So: is prayer possible? Yes. Does it “work”? Oh, yes, though maybe not the way we want.

A child is crying because she dropped her doll. Her mother picks her up and kisses her. Does the child get what she wants? No. Does she get what she needs? Yes.

Allison de Kanel
Laywoman, St. Stephen's, Schenectady