Mail Archive of the old Santa Clara Valley Lutheran Parish

Subject: Re: Prayer/Meditation

Date: Wed, 9 Jul 2008 15:09:03 -0700 (PDT)

From: David Bonde <dkbonde@gmail.com>

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Subject: Re: Prayer/Meditation
From: David Bonde <dkbonde@gmail.com>
To: SCVLP <scvlp@googlegroups.com>
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Where in the scripture do we hear God describe himself as a "god of
many names"?

Clearly the God of Sarah is the God who reveals himself in the
exodus.  But even if it could be argued that the name of Allah refers
to the same "name" (the same character and identity) as the God of
Israel and Jesus (which I do not think is easy to defend) our
ordination vow is to proclaim not that god but the God revealed in
Jesus and witnessed to by the scriptures.

This has nothing to do with whom the Eternal will hear, it has to do
with what has been revealed and which we proclaim.

In the ears of our time, "god of many names" will be heard not within
the biblical tradition but as though all spiritual realities are
ultimately the same.  It guts the Christian proclamation, as though
sleeping with any woman/man was the same as sleeping with my wife/
husband.

David


On Jul 9, 11:43 am, "Bea Chun" <pastorc...@cgslc.org> wrote:
> Huh???
>
> You've lost me there, David.
> A prayer that begins with "O God of many names" would most certainly include
> the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who revealed himself to Moses and
> showed himself a liberator of slaves and the God who revealed himself as the
> LORD, who spoke through the prophets, and who was incarnate in Jesus of
> Nazareth!
> Otherwise the address would have stated "O God of many names except the God
> of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who revealed himself to Moses and showed
> himself a liberator of slaves and the God who revealed himself as the LORD,
> who spoke through the prophets, and who was incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth"
>
> In addition, when I pray to the God of Abraham and Sarah, and when my Muslim
> sister prays to Allah, we pray to the same God - or do you suppose God will
> not listen when God's children pray to God by other names?
>
> Bea
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: scvlp@googlegroups.com [mailto:scvlp@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
>
> David Bonde
> Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 11:10 AM
> To: SCVLP
> Subject: Re: Prayer/Meditation
>
> Do we no longer pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who
> revealed himself to Moses and showed himself a liberator of slaves?
> Do we no longer pray to the God who revealed himself as the LORD, who
> spoke through the prophets, and who was incarnate in Jesus of
> Nazareth?  Do we no longer pray to this specific God whom Jesus taught
> to call Father? And do we not longer pray in Jesus name?  We imagine
> that we can approach this God who sets free the oppressed in our own
> name?
>
> We do not proclaim some nameless spiritual power.  We proclaim a
> specific power - one who knows what it is to be tortured.  One who
> vindicates the tortured one and raised him from the grave.
>
> David Bonde
>
> On Jul 8, 10:11 am, prjohnh...@aol.com wrote:
> > During the month of June we displayed a banner in front of the church
> > proclaiming that Torture is a Moral Issue. We have now decided to
> > continue to display it -- at least through the inauguration of a new
> > president.
>
> > On the day that we went out during worship to put the banner up for the
> > first time, we used the following prayer:
>
> > Dear God of Many Names ..
>
> > At the heart of our longing, there is a cry for compassion. In the
> > midst of war as we work and pray for peace, all the world's people must
> > nourish a kernel of compassion from which a true and lasting peace may
> > grow.
>
> > Mighty God, as you have stood with the saints, sages and prophets of
> > the world's great traditions, as you have stood with our ancestors who
> > have cried, "Peace, Peace" when there was no peace, we pray to feel
> > your strength and presence. We honor your name when we courageously
> > speak out against those actions that harm the soul of our nation, none
> > more than the torture of body, mind, and spirit of one human being at
> > the hands of another.
>
> > We hold in our hearts those who have been tortured. Their suffering
> > will not be forgotten or silenced so long as we give voice to their
> > plight.
> > We hold in our hearts those who have engaged in torture and pray they
> > will take up the powerful path of redemption. May they cease and desist
> > and turn away from this path that corrupts their souls.
>
> > And for those who would sully our nation's name out of fear, our
> > hopeful prayers envision a new day, when leaders will find strength in
> > the power of compassion and peace.
>
> > By our prayers and actions may we attain forgiveness for what we have
> > allowed to occur in our name. May we be worthy to do good deeds in Your
> > eyes. Amen.
>
> > John Freesemann
>
> > A church that doesn't provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn't
> > unsettle, a word of God that doesn't get under anyone's skin, a word of
> > God that doesn't touch the real sin of the society in which it is being
> > proclaimed, what gospel is that? Archbishop Oscar Romero (1917-1980)