[Main Blog Post] [Book] Prayer: A History

[jprussell]

I've been meaning to move to posting on Wednesdays for a while now, so I reckoned I'd use my sloth in wrapping up my latest book as a good excuse to do that. As such, please enjoy my thoughts on Prayer: A History by Philip and Carol Zaleski.

As always, your thoughts are most welcome, and if you'd prefer to get my posts more directly than via dreamwidth updates, please shoot me an email to sign up to get my posts emailed to you.

Cheers,
Jeff

Comments

[sdi]

Thanks, this was interesting.

My favorite example of prayer is this fragment which Gilbert Murray includes near the very end of his Five Stages of Greek Religion. The classification scheme you mention in your post was interesting, since when I read it I immediately thought of this prayer, which doesn't like to be classified... it's asking for help, but only because the person in question loves the gods, wants to draw close to them, and in so doing eventually grow to experience in some small way their great Life, and so in a way it is all four classes at once...

[jprussell]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed!

And thanks for sharing that prayer, it is certainly lovely. Also, agreed on the classification scheme often falling short, but to be fair, the authors acknowledge that as well, and that was one of the reason they tried to define the archetype of the person praying, rather than the archetype of prayer - some folks were clearly regularly experiencing ecstatic states and that was the core of their religious experience, others cultivate a contemplative life, and so forth. But, even here, the distinctions break down, especially with the most outstanding saints, mystics, and others most strongly given over to religion.

Still, as a rough and ready guide for thinking about "what is this prayer doing?" not bad.