Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast

by Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts

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Praying with Bush and Bono
Part 1 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Friday, February 3, 2006

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled series, Oprah, James Frey, and Me, to ruminate a bit on the National Prayer Breakfast. I'll finish up with the other series next week.

This morning I prayed with President George W. Bush and rock star Bono. It wasn't exactly an intimate moment, however, since there were another 3,500 people in the room, a mammoth ballroom in the Washington Hilton. Because I was the guest of a member of Congress, I had a great seat only about 50 feet away from the President. At our table were a number of leaders, including a handsome young man who spoke excellent English. He turned out to be Nikola Dimitrov, the ambassador to the U.S. from Macedonia. I later learned that he is the youngest of all ambassadors to the U.S. It's an odd thing to be in a room with so many famous and powerful people. On the dais were variety of senators, including Joseph Lieberman, Kay Bailey Hutchinson, and several others. Seated in my region were dozens of national leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and many other senators and congressmen. In most of life, seeing only one of these people would be worth writing home about (though it's much more common in Washington, obviously). But they fade in significance when they're in the shadow of President and Mrs. Bush, not to mention Bono, and, as it turned out, even a real king (Abdullah II, King of Jordan).
		A recent cover story on Nikola Dimitrov, ambassador to the U.S. from Macdonia. Macedonia, as a country, is even younger than its ambassador, having become independent of Yugoslavia on September 8, 1991.

Of course if you consider the fact that all of us were gathering together for the stated purpose of coming before God in prayer, then this changes the way we think about earthly position and power. Considered on a human scale, this morning I was in close proximity to people who are extraordinarily more wealthy, powerful, and famous than I am. I was a nobody, relatively speaking. (This is mostly fine with me, by the way, because I don't like the pressure and publicity that comes from being a somebody.)

But when you realize that all of us at the breakfast were intentionally in the presence of God, the all-powerful Creator, the Holy One, the King of king and Lord of lords, then differences in human stature fade away. In the eyes of the world, President Bush has so 1,000,000 times more power and privilege than I do. But when we come before God, we're equals. We have equal access to the throne of grace. We get equal hearing with the King of kings. Now I know this isn't news. I've believed this for a long time, and I expect you have too. But this morning I realized in a new way just what great news this is. And how utterly amazing! And how utterly unlike this world, especially the world of Washington D.C.
		The International Ballroom of the Washington Hilton. Not exactly an intimate venue.

Every time I'm in Washington, I feel the imprint of gradations of power and prestige. This city is obsessed by such things. I saw all of this from a new angle this time because I was hanging out with a U.S. Congressman. While others waited in a long line to get into the breakfast, ultimately passing through an slow, airport-like security check, I walked behind a curtain and was escorted to my seat, without having anyone even check my ID. Members of Congress, I learned, have lots of perks like this, such as the freedom to park almost anywhere in the District of Columbia without having to worry about parking laws. For a few brief moments, I got to feel what it was like to be privileged.

When it comes to God, however, I am utterly privileged. I have the ultimate guest pass, if you will. The Letter to the Hebrews puts it this way:

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Through Jesus Christ, I can approach God's throne with utter freedom and confidence, even with boldness. (The Greek word translated here as "boldness" literally means "freedom of speech," and refers to our freedom to say anything openly to God.) And so can George W. Bush. And so can Paul Hewson (aka Bono). And so can you.

I confess that I usually take this for granted. But today, when I felt distinctions of privilege and power, when I realized how little of both I really have, I am struck anew by the miracle of my access to God.

President Bush, in his brief remarks at the prayer breakfast, alluded to this same reality.

In this country, we recognize prayer is a gift from God to every human being. It is a gift that allows us to come before our Maker with heartfelt requests and our deepest hopes. Prayer reminds us of our place in God's creation. It reminds us that when we bow our heads or fall to our knees, we are all equal and precious in the eyes of the Almighty.

"Prayer reminds us of our place in God's creation." How true this is! On the one hand, it reminds us that we are all humble subjects of the King of kings, whose proper posture before God is bowed in submission. On the other hand, prayer reminds us that we are also God's beloved children in Christ, who have the unprecedented freedom to approach God with open, fearless, childlike hearts.

Tonight, President Bush remains the most powerful man in the world. And Bono remains one of the most popular, wealthy, and influential. Next to them, I'm relatively powerless, unknown, poor, and feeble. But as we pray our prayers tonight, God doesn't see human privilege. Rather, He sees George, Paul, and Mark. He welcomes us equally into His presence. And He invites us to share our hearts in just the same way. What a wonder!

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Praying with People Who Aren't Christians
Part 2 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Sunday, February 4, 2006

The National Prayer Breakfast is sponsored by a Christian group known as the Fellowship Foundation or simply, the Fellowship. Though this group flies under the radar, it has no secret agenda other than to bring people of faith together for fellowship and prayer. In both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, there are weekly prayer gatherings sponsored by the Fellowship, a place where people can come together, not as Republicans or Democrats, but simply as human beings seeking after God. Most participants in the weekly prayer meetings are Christians, though others are welcome. Norm Coleman, a Republican Senator from Minnesota, for example, is a Jewish man who regularly participates in the prayer meetings.

This year he was also a co-chairman of the Prayer Breakfast, sharing with Senator Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas, whom I assume is a Christian. It was the first time since the breakfasts began, in 1952, that a Jew has been a co-chairman. Ironically, last year Coleman stirred up concern among his fellow Jews when, speaking at the Prayer Breakfast, he said, "I have a profound respect for the tangibility and accessibility of God that my colleagues find in Jesus." This year Coleman didn't mention Jesus, at least not that I can remember. He did, however, pray several lines in Hebrew, which he then translated into English. Senator Joseph Lieberman, another Jew who led in prayer at the breakfast, did likewise.
		Senator Coleman is in the immediate foreground, next to Senator Pryor. Bono is speaking, much to the apparent delight of the President. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

In an even larger effort to include non-evangelical, non-Christian prayers, this year's breakfast ended on a surprise note, when Senator Coleman invited forward King Abdullah II of Jordan, a Muslim, who shared a few remarks and offered the benediction.

President Bush, in his brief remarks, also stressed the common bond among people of faith, at least people who share Abraham as a common father of faith. Here are some excerpts from his speech:

I appreciate the fact that people from different walks of life, different faiths have joined us. Yet I believe we share one thing in common: We're united in our dedication to peace and tolerance and humility before the Almighty.

In our country, we recognize our fellow citizens are free to profess any faith they choose, or no faith at all. You are equally American if you're a Hebrew -- a Jew or a Christian or Muslim. You're equally American if you choose not to have faith. It is important America never forgets the great freedom to worship as you so choose.

I want to thank you for the fine tradition you continue here today. I pray that our nation will always have the humility to commend our cares to Providence and trust in the goodness of His plans.

So, what was most striking about this year's National Prayer Breakfast, especially when you view it in light of its history, was the concerted effort to downplay the Christian element and to highlight the interfaith dimension. The consistent them was: Though we are people of different faiths, we all pray to one God, and in this we find our unity.

Some folks were pleased with this effort at greater inclusiveness. Nathan J. Diament, director of public policy for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, said, "All Americans should hope and work to ensure that this very public, very pluralistic and very inspirational program be held up as a model for future events."

Others were not as delighted. Wesley Pruden, editor in chief of The Washington Times, wrote a rather stinging editorial which he entitled, "No Jesus, please. We're Praying." His column began:

Congress and a lot of political Washington met yesterday for their annual National Prayer Breakfast. Even the president was there, but Jesus was odd man out.

There was a Muslim king, a rock musician, and enough congressmen to populate an entire wing at Allenwood, but the sponsors, evangelical Christians all, had agreed to cool it with the Jesus talk lest it make the odd unbeliever uncomfortable. Prayers were offered to Whoever or Whatever might be listening.

In a sense Pruden was right, in that Jesus wasn't mentioned much (if at all) at the Prayer Breakfast. Bono did mention Him, not as One who hears prayers or in whose name Christians pray, but as one who proclaimed the year of Jubilee. I would not go so far as to say that Jesus was the odd man out, however. I happen to believe He was there, both in the Spirit and in His people, who were there by the thousands.

In fact, the vast majority of people at that breakfast prayed in the name of Jesus, even if we didn't hear the name mentioned out loud. Praying in the name of Jesus isn't a matter of saying, "in Jesus's name, Amen" at the end of a prayer, though this is a fine practice that I usually employ in my public prayers. Rather, praying in the name of Jesus means praying at His invitation, under His authority, and for His purposes. Christians, who approach God only through Jesus, always pray in His name, whether we say it or not. So there were many in the Hilton ballroom praying to Jesus, even if His name flew under the radar.

Is it a good thing for people of different faiths to gather for prayer? Is it a good thing for Christians to participate in prayer gatherings that are not explicitly Christian? Is it a good thing for Christians to lead in prayer and not mention the name of Jesus out of a desire to include non-Christian folk? Is it a good thing for Christians to be led in prayer by Jewish Senators and even a Muslim king?

Tricky questions, these. Tomorrow I'll venture some answers. In the meanwhile, may the Lord bless You, in Jesus's name, Amen!

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Should Christians Pray with People Who are Not Christians?
Part 3 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Monday, February 6, 2006

As I explained in my last post, perhaps the most striking thing about this year's National Prayer Breakfast was its effort to be inclusive of non-Christian participants. Two Jewish senators led in prayer, Joseph Lieberman and Norm Coleman, and Coleman was a co-chair of the whole affair. The breakfast was concluded by a few words from King Abdullah II of Jordan, a Muslim.

Compared with recent prayer breakfasts, the name of Jesus was strikingly absent. I can't remember any prayers being offered in His name, and though He was mentioned a couple of times, there was no sense that this prayer gathering had anything to do with Jesus in particular. This is curious, given the fact that the National Prayer Breakfast is sponsored by the Fellowship Foundation, and evangelical Christian ministry, and that the vast majority of people at the breakfast were Christians of an evangelical strain. We are people who not only tend to end our prayer with "in Jesus's name," but also who actually pray to Jesus Himself, believing Him to fully God as well as fully human. But is it okay for us to gather with non-Christian folk to pray? And when we do, is it right for us not to use the words "in Jesus's name" at the end of our prayers? I'm going to deal with this second question a bit later. Today, I want to begin considering whether Christians should even be in a place to pray along with people who aren't Christians.
		King Abdullah of Jordan at the luncheon following the National Prayer Breakfast. No, he's not raising his hands in prayer, but rather in gratitude for applause. Behind the king is Bill Nelson, a senator from Florida.

In one sense, this is a silly question, because Christians should be praying with non-Christian folk all the time. I'm referring here to what happens in church, a Christian gathering in which non-Christians should be regular participants. If a church isn't drawing non-believers and including them in prayer, then something is wrong with that church. Every week at my church there are lots of non-Christian folk present. My heart's desire is that they will enter into genuine communication with God along with me.

Or consider the case of an evangelistic crusade. The point, of course, is to get non-Christian people there so that they might receive Christ as Lord and Savior. In every crusade meeting I've attended, prayers were offered by Christians, prayers that were meant to include non-Christian folk. In fact, the evangelist usually leads non-Christian folk in very specific prayer. Let's face it, only a non-believer can pray "the sinners prayer," and confess faith in Jesus Christ.

But what about a situation in which there is no evangelistic intent. Should Christians gather with non-Christians to pray? Does this somehow imply that people can approach God any religious tradition, and that Jesus is simply one among many ways to come before God? If this were true, then this would be a problem, since orthodox Christians believe that Jesus is, in fact, not simply one way among many options, but THE WAY to God.

I don't believe that all prayer with non-Christian people necessarily demotes Jesus to the status of "one mediator among many." It really depends on what is said (and not said) in the gathering. If people talk as if there are many equally legitimate ways to approach God, then this is a problem from a Christian perspective. (It is also a problem, by the way, from a Muslim or Jewish perspective.) But if people simply come before God in prayer, if they intend to communicate with the one true God, then I don't think interfaith prayer is necessarily inconsistent with orthodox faith.

Of course this pill is easier to swallow when we're talking about Judaism and Islam, both of which recognize and address the God of Abraham. It's much harder to think of interfaith prayer in broader perspective. Hindus pray to several gods. And Buddhists don't really pray at all in the sense of communicating with a divine being. Buddhist prayer is more a matter of meditation or thinking transformative thoughts. So it wouldn't make much sense to pray with Buddhists. And it would be hard to use monotheistic language when praying with Hindus. (I'll deal a bit further with the question of whether Jews, Christians, and Muslims pray to the same God in an upcoming post.)

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Should Christians Pray with People Who are Not Christians? (continued)
Part 4 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Tuesday, February 7, 2006

Yesterday I began answering the question: Should Christians pray with people who are not Christians? I suggested that this can be okay, especially when we're joining together with people who recognize the God of Abraham (Jews, Christians, Muslims). It's a lot messier if our prayer partners recognize multiple gods (Hinduism) or no god at all (Buddhism).

Part of what would make interfaith prayer not okay is if we were asked to check our faith in Christ at the door of the prayer gathering. This would be unacceptable to me. Yet I would argue that if Christians don't contradict core Christian theology in what they say in interfaith prayer meetings, then praying with non-Christian folk can be a good thing. In fact, it might build important bridges between Christians and people from other religions. 

In some ways, praying with non-Christians is rather like what Paul said in his speech to pagan Greeks on the Areopagus in Athens:

“Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals." (Acts 17:22-29)

Although Paul does not endorse paganism, but rather critiques it, he also makes an effort to connect with and, to an extent, legitimize the Athenian "groping" for God. Their altar to an unknown god Paul sees as an altar to the one, true God. And he affirms that God is not far from all people, and that we are all, in a sense, God's offspring. Praying with non-Christian folk, it seems to me, can be rather like this. It's a way to affirm the genuineness of their effort and desire to communicate with God, even if they do not think of God in Christian terms.

These days we Christians need to be more open than ever before to the benefits of praying with non-Christians, especially Muslims. Although we differ in crucial respects when it comes to theology, and these differences should not be ignored or minimized, we nevertheless are reaching for the same God. In coming before God (Allah, in Arabic), we all humble ourselves and recognize God's sovereignty. Moreover, we find solid common ground, the ground upon which we place our knees when we pray. In our world which is increasingly divided between Muslims and non-Muslims, and in which this divide often leads to violence, and in which Islamic extremism poses a threat to our lives and our civilization, I think we need to forge stronger community with moderate Muslims, the kind of Muslims who would be willing to pray with us. Interfaith prayer gatherings are one place where this can happen.
		The Areopagus, or Mars Hill, in Athens, from the top of the Acropolis. From this angle Mars Hill looks more like a big rock.

In such gatherings, there must be no requirement that we abandon our core faith, whether we are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or whatever else. I would not attend or participate in a prayer service that asked me to give up or contradict my commitment to Christ. I would not utter some written, corporate prayer that implied that all ways to God are equal. (Nor would a faithful Muslim do this, by the way.) But I would be a part of a prayer meeting in which participants freely chose not to emphasize matters in which they differ, while focusing on that which they hold in common. (As I mentioned above, it would be hard to do this with Hindus and other polytheists, or with Buddhists and other atheists. We'd have to look elsewhere for common ground.)

At the National Prayer Breakfast, much was said about joining together with people of other faiths in order to come together before God in prayer. I don't remember anyone stating or implying that all religions are alike, or that there are numerous, equally valid ways to approach God. It didn't seem as if I was being asked to compromise my own faith or to participate in a prayer that I couldn't endorse. Therefore, I did not feel uncomfortable at the Prayer Breakfast. More importantly, I didn't do or say anything that was inconsistent with my Christian faith.

Nevertheless, I know that some Christians believe that genuine believers must always mention Jesus's name in our prayers, and that not to do so is wrong. In my next post I'll consider whether it's okay for Christians not to use the words "in Jesus's name" when they conclude their prayers in public, or to be led in prayer by others who do not pray in the name of Jesus.

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What Does It Mean to Pray "In Jesus's Name"?
Part 5 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Wednesday, February 8, 2006

In my last two posts I've considered whether it's appropriate for Christians to pray with people who are not Christian. My answer, in a nutshell, was: yes, at times, depending on the context and the content for the prayer.

I have Christian friends who believe that every time a Christian prays, it's necessary for that person to mention the name of Jesus specifically, by saying "in Jesus's name" or "through Christ our Lord" or something similar. Thus they would not be pleased with what happened at the National Prayer Breakfast, where Christians prayed without using Jesus's name before saying "Amen."

Questions: Is it important or even necessary for Christians to say the name of Jesus at the end of their prayers? Is this what it means to pray in Jesus's name?

In the Gospel of John, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray "in his name": "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John 14:13-14). Yet Jesus doesn't mean that we must say "in Jesus's name" at the end of every prayer, though this is surely a fine thing to do as long as we don't think of "in Jesus's name" as magic words. To pray in Jesus's name is to pray under His authorization. It means to approach God through Jesus and to seek, not our own will, but the will of Jesus our Lord.

Therefore, all Christians should pray in Jesus's name and no other, whether they say "in Jesus's name" or not. When I, and thousands of other Christians at the Prayer Breakfast, agreed with Senator Joseph Lieberman, a Jewish man, in prayer, we were praying in Jesus's name, even though he was not and did not use the familiar Christian ending to his prayer. I was coming before God in the name of Jesus because that's the only way I pray.

If you're still not convinced that it's okay for Christians to pray without saying "in Jesus's name" or the more liturgical, "through Christ our Lord," at the end, you need to look no further than to the prayer that Jesus Himself taught His disciples. The so-called "Lord's Prayer," the paramount model for Christian prayer, does not include "in Jesus's name" or anything like that. If these words were necessary, you'd certainly have expected Jesus to have taught them.

Similarly, we have many Christian prayers in the New Testament, in the letters of Paul, for example. They don't end with the words "in the name of Jesus." Yet they are all offered in Jesus's name. In fact, Colossians 3:17 makes it clear that we're to do everything, not just to pray, "in the name of the Lord Jesus." This isn't about saying certain words. Rather, it's about living under the authority of and as servants of Jesus at all time.

I almost always close my personal and public prayers with "in Jesus's name." For me, this is an important reminder of the grounds on which I approach God. But there have been times when I have not used the word "Jesus" in prayer in order to reach out to and include non-Christian people. For example, a few years ago I was asked to offer a prayer at the Irvine City Council meeting. I did so, but didn't end my prayer with my usual phrase, "in Jesus's name." I knew there were Jewish people present, and so I wanted them to be able to join with me rather than feeling excluded.
		Irvine City Hall. With that tower, it looks rather like a modern church. But don't get the wrong idea.

A pastor friend of mine was very unhappy with me. He said that we should always say the name of Jesus, and that not to do so was cowardly and dishonoring of Christ. I'm quite sure he was wrong about the cowardly part, because I wouldn't be in the least afraid to confess my faith in Christ at a city council meeting if I thought it were appropriate. Moreover, I was actually trying to honor Christ by reaching out to non-Christian folk. Now I may well have been wrong, but I'm quite sure my motivations were Christ-honoring. It seemed to me that the Jesus who welcomed tax collectors and sinners into fellowship might not have been bothered by my decision not to mention His name in the presence of those who would be offended by it.

On another occasion I was asked to give a prayer at the Irvine Mayor's Prayer Breakfast. Once again, this was an interfaith (and no faith) group, so I chose not to close my prayer by using the name "Jesus." I stood up to pray, and offered a fairly short prayer of intercession for the mayor and others serving in our city. It was nothing fancy. Just a simple prayer from my heart. After the breakfast, I received a surprisingly large number of compliments from people, thanking me for my prayer. Some of these came from folks who were not Christian, or even particularly religious. Yet they sensed something special in the prayer, though I thought of it as rather ordinary.

In retrospect, I think what people were feeling, though they didn't have the words to express it, was the fact that I was praying in the name of Jesus. I was approaching God, not with formality or religiosity, but with childlike simplicity. I spoke to God as if we were intimately related. This impressed people who did not know that intimacy. Why was I able to approach God in this way? Because I prayed in the name of Jesus, under His authority and by His invitation. Because of Jesus, and Jesus alone, I was able to approach God's throne of grace with boldness. This was striking to people who lacked the freedom Jesus offers when we pray in His name. This story illustrates, I believe, both what it really means to pray in Jesus's name, and the potential benefit of not using the word "Jesus" in some situations.

In my next post I want to pursue this issue a bit further, and offer an ironic illustration of what it means to pray in the name of Jesus.

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What Does It Mean to Pray "In Jesus's Name"? (continued)
Part 6 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Thursday, February 9, 2006

I grew up believing that praying in the name of Jesus meant, literally, saying "in Jesus's name" at the end of my prayers. It wasn't until I began to study the New Testament with some care that I discovered the error of my ways. I tried to explain a better way to think in my last post.

Today I want to offer an example that might help to illustrate part of what it means to pray "in the name of Jesus."

Sixteen years ago, Designing Women was one of the most popular sitcoms on television. It focused on the lives of four women who worked in an interior design office in Atlanta. Designing Women was filmed at a television studio in Los Angeles, not far from where I lived and worked. My friend Betty worked for Designing Women as part of the stage crew. Specifically, she was responsible for the set on which the show was filmed.

One time Betty invited me to watch a filming of the show. I would be joining a studio audience of a couple hundred people. As I met Betty before the taping began, she gave me a tour of the facilities, including the stage. There I was, standing right where they filmed the show, with a crowd of people watching in envy as Betty showed me all of the insider secrets.

While I was getting my blue ribbon tour, the director called Betty aside for a quick meeting. She told me to wait where I was, and ran off. Soon she disappeared behind the set. At first I enjoyed the view from the set, noticing how fake everything looked from that perspective, whereas it looked so real on television. But as Betty was delayed, I began to get a little nervous. Here I was, on the set of the show, with no identification to prove that I belonged there. I wondered what I would do if security came to question me. How could I prove that it was okay for me to be on the set? What would I say if somebody asked me, "Why are you here?" I realized I had only one explanation, which happened to be the truth. I would say, "I'm here because Betty invited me here. I'm here because of Betty." If I were using biblical vocabulary, I might have said, "I'm here in the name of Betty."
		The primary cast of Designing Women. In the background you can see the set where I was standing when Betty went to her meeting.

As it turned out, nobody bothered me while I was on the set. The crew ignored me, and the security folk didn't seem to worry about me. After several minutes, Betty returned, and all was well.

Praying in the name of Jesus is rather like standing on the set of Designing Women. We are able to approach God's throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), we are welcome in God's presence, not because of who we are, but because of who Christ is, and because He has invited us. We have every right to communicate intimately with God, not because we ourselves have any right to do so, but because Christ has given us this privilege by grace. When we pray "in the name of Jesus," we are coming before God, not in virtue of any status we have by ourselves, but because of who we are as believers in Jesus. If God were to ask me when I pray, "Why are you here?" my answer would be, "Because Jesus invited me." More deeply, my answer should be, "Because Jesus, by His death, made a place for me here."

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Do Christians and Muslims Pray to the Same God?
Part 7 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Friday, February 10, 2006

Do Christians and Muslims pray to the same God? Answering this question can get one in a heap of trouble. In November 2003, President Bush and English Prime Minister Tony Blair were holding a joint press conference in London. Near the end, one of the reporters said: "Mr. President, when you talk about peace in the Middle East, you've often said that freedom is granted by the Almighty. Some people who share your beliefs don't believe that Muslims worship the same Almighty. I wonder about your views on that." The reporter added that he'd like Mr. Blair's opinion as well. The Prime Minister, speaking second, waxed eloquent about freedom and values, clearly sidestepping the question of who worships whom. Mr. Bush, however, had plowed ahead with a blunt answer: "I do say that freedom is the Almighty's gift to every person. I also condition it by saying freedom is not America's gift to the world. It's much greater than that, of course. And I believe we worship the same God."

This statement got the President into hot water with his evangelical allies back home, who disagreed with his "worship the same God" theology. (See for example, the commentary by Richard Land, a prominent Southern Baptist leader.) Others, often those of a more liberal theology, sprang to the President's defense. After the furor subsided, there were actually some very thoughtful and insightful reflections offered by wide array of theologians. Five of these articles were collected by Religion Online. (Look for articles 9-13 on their Islam web page.) I'd also recommend a piece by evangelical scholar Douglas Groothuis.
		President Bush and Prime Minister Blair at the London press conference.

I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the future I end up doing a longer series on the question of whether Muslims and Christians pray to the same God. In fact, I imagine that in the months and years ahead I'll have much more to say about Islam, Christianity, and the interaction between them. In our world, few topics are more timely and crucial. But, for now, I want to offer a few basic theses concerning Christians, Muslims, and the God (Gods?) to whom we pray.

Thesis #1: The answer to the question of whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God depends, to a great extent, on what one means by the word "same." If "same" means, similar in character, then the answer is "no." If "same" means something like "the one Creator," then the answer is "yes."

Thesis #2: Both Christians and Muslims believe that there is only one God, and they intend to pray to that one God.

Thesis #3: Christians and Muslims, though they agree upon certain aspects of God's nature, disagree on much that is absolutely essential. In particular, Christians believe that God's nature is triune (Father, Son, Spirit) and that Jesus is fully God. Muslims explicitly and bluntly deny this. This is only one example of many core disagreements between Muslim and Christian conceptions of God.

Thesis #4: The attempt by some people to trivialize the theological differences between Muslims and Christians, though sometimes motivated by honorable goals (like world peace), is mistaken and will end up making matters worse rather than better. Today's news provides a sad but germane example of what I'm talking about. Christians would be insulted if Muslims published cartoons of Jesus, especially if these put Jesus in a bad light. But it's highly unlikely that thousands of Christians would respond to this insult by rioting, burning mosques, and so forth. To assume that Muslims are rather like Christians in their theology, and vice versa, is both wrong and foolish.

Thesis #5: If one is truly monotheistic, then the question "Do Muslims and Christians pray to the same God?" is almost nonsensical, since there isn't another God to whom anybody could pray. (Allah, by the way, is simply the Arabic word for God. Christians who speak Arabic pray to Allah in the name of 'Isa [Jesus in Arabic].)

Thesis #6: The more important question, and one that is harder to answer, is: Does God hear the prayers of people whose theology is wrong, even very wrong? If, for example, one prays to Zeus, does God hear this prayer in any sort of favorable way? Or does God close His ears, in a sense? And if so, then how theologically correct does one have to be in order to get a hearing from the Almighty?

Thesis #7: The question "Do Muslims and Christians pray to the same God?" seems different in some ways from "Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?" Consider what it would be to answer "yes" to these two questions. If one said, "Yes, Muslims and Christians worship the same God," this would seem to imply (though not necessarily) that the one God gladly receives worship in both the Muslim and the Christian mode. This implication would be denied by most orthodox Christians and orthodox Muslims, however. Yet if one said, "Yes, Muslims and Christians pray to the same god," this seems to speak less about the theology of the person praying and more about the direction of the prayer.

Let me close with an illustration of this last thesis. Suppose that I slipped and fell off a steep, high cliff. Somehow I managed to grab a root near the top of the cliff, thus keeping me from plummeting to my death. So I started yelling for help to anyone on the top of the cliff who might hear me. Suppose that a Muslim man heard my cries. While peering over the cliff, he slipped, and soon joined me as we dangled over the abyss, saved from instant death by our little root. Soon we were both crying out for help, in both English and Arabic. All of a sudden we heard a deep, resonant, male voice from the top of cliff, asking how he might help. "Help us, help us" we cried, each in our own tongue, "Pull us up to safety." "I'll help you," came the reply, both in English and in Arabic, "but I need to get a rope." Now, suppose that the deep, resonant, male voice sounded a whole like that of Darth Vader (or Mufasa from The Lion King), so I pictured our savior as James Earl Jones in the flesh. But suppose that my partner heard a voice that, to him, sounded like that of the imam (congregational prayer leader) from his mosque. As we continued to call out to the one who was soon to rescue us from our peril, I kept on picturing James Earl Jones, while my Muslim counterpart pictured his imam.
		In fact, when I dangle from high cliffs, I make sure I'm carefully roped in, since James Earl Jones can't be counted on for a rescue.

Question: Were we calling out to the same person? Answer: Well, it all depends. If you mean, did we envision the same person as our savior, the answer is "no." If you mean, did the same person hear our cries, regardless of our expectations of his identity, the answer is "yes."

So then, do Christians and Muslims cry out to the same God for mercy? It all depends on what you mean by the question.

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Bono's Sermon
Part 8 of series: Ruminating on the National Prayer Breakfast
Posted for Monday, February 13, 2006

My first experience of Bono wasn't an altogether positive one. My sister was a huge fan of the Irish rock band U2, of which Bono (born Paul David Hewson) was the lead singer. So I got the latest U2 CD and played it on my home stereo. Since I was doing some work in a room separated from the speakers, I turned up the system to a volume louder than usual. As I was listening to one of the early tracks, all of a sudden I heard nothing at all. Checking to see what was wrong, I discovered that Bono had fried my speakers, literally. It was the only time in my life that this happened, and I blamed it on U2. So much for getting to know Bono.