{"id":4198,"date":"2009-01-26T00:10:18","date_gmt":"2009-01-26T00:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2009\/01\/inaugural-prayers.html"},"modified":"2009-01-26T00:10:18","modified_gmt":"2009-01-26T00:10:18","slug":"inaugural-prayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/01\/inaugural-prayers.html","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural Prayers"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was quite a dust-up about the prayers at the Inauguration. Analysis of the prayers of others is not something I’m fond of, so I stayed back but this week’s prayer in The Book of Common Prayer<\/i> — to be repeated by all Anglicans and Episcopalians — speaks volumes about Bishop Gene Robinson’s inaugural prayer.<\/p>\n

I begin with how Robinson described<\/a> what he would be doing in his prayer: <\/p>\n

\n

“Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through
\nhistory and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively
\nChristian they were.” <\/p>\n

“I am very clear,” he said, “that this
\nwill not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or
\nanything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred
\ntexts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is
\ntheir prayer.”<\/p>\n

Bishop Robinson said he might address the prayer
\nto “the God of our many understandings,” language that he said he
\nlearned from the 12-step program he attended for his alcohol addiction.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nFleming Rutledge<\/a>, one of America’s finest preachers and the first Episcopalian woman to be ordained, calls into question Robinson’s theology:<\/p>\n

“The basic problem with Bishop Gene Robinson is not that he is openly
\nand actively homosexual. The real problem is that he does not believe
\nChristianity is a universal faith, nor does he believe that the Hebrew
\nand Christian scriptures have a universal message,” she wrote after
\nRobinson previewed his prayer in a New York Times<\/em> interview<\/a>.
\n” For a Bishop of the Christian Church to say (aggressively) that he is
\nshocked by Christian prayers offered at past inaugurations and that he
\nwill not offer a Christian prayer suggests that he does not really
\nbelieve that the Christian gospel is truly universal (I do not use that
\nwimpy word ‘inclusive’).”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m for religious tolerance in the public square in political conversation and debate<\/b>. But religious tolerance in a prayer<\/b> very often amounts to denying the faith of the person praying. This week, The Book of Common Prayer<\/i> asks every Anglican to say these words every day:<\/p>\n

G<\/font>ive us grace, O Lord,
\nto answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim
\nto all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the
\nwhole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who
\nlives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
\nand ever. Amen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rutledge is right. Robinson’s prayer, which denies the universality of the Christian faith, doesn’t square with what he is reciting this week, the affirmation of the need and the call (of “our Savior Jesus Christ”) to evangelize “all people.” Let me push on this for one brief moment: Those of us who love the BCP<\/i> are not a little shocked by the relentless denial in practice and theology and preaching of what is said so profoundly, accurately, biblically, and eloquently in the daily prayers of the same people. <\/p>\n

This is all about words — saying what you mean and meaning what you say. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was quite a dust-up about the prayers at the Inauguration. Analysis of the prayers of others is not something I’m fond of, so I stayed back but this week’s prayer in The Book of Common Prayer — to be repeated by all Anglicans and Episcopalians — speaks volumes about Bishop Gene Robinson’s inaugural prayer.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":70,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prayer-and-formation"],"yoast_head":"\nInaugural Prayers - Jesus Creed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2009\/01\/inaugural-prayers.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Inaugural Prayers - Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There was quite a dust-up about the prayers at the Inauguration. 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