Theological confusion

[rikibeth]

Okay. I expected Rick Warren's invocation to be made of fail. However, I am now just CROGGLED.

How do you practically open your invocation with the Shema -- the ultimate statement of pure monotheism -- and THEN go on to address your supplication to Jesus, and do the Lord's Prayer?

I have never really gotten a good handle on how a trinity claims to be a monotheism anyway -- I guess the math is too ineffable for me, or something.

WHY DID HE USE THE SHEMA?

Comments

let me attempt to unravel

[bigbrotherinlaw.livejournal.com]

Observe that despite the fact that the "Lord's Prayer" is attributed Jesus, it is in its formulation one of our most purely monotheistic prayers.

By contrast, Trinitarian prayers may end with formula like:
"...all this we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit..." or "...in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."

What you may not remember is that the Shema formulation appears in Mark's Gospel, so Warren didn't exactly need to steal it from a siddur.
http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=99539117

As bad as he could have been, I'd say he was restrained.

Re: let me attempt to unravel

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

What you may not remember is that the Shema formulation appears in Mark's Gospel, so Warren didn't exactly need to steal it from a siddur.

Actually, I never knew that! Huh, the Shema AND the beginning of the V'y'hafta, too.

As I said before, my knowledge of the Gospels especially is REALLY spotty. I know the Christmas story from Luke because of Charlie Brown, I know most of the more aggravating parts of Paul because we did them as background for medieval studies, and I know things that get lots of literary play. Which is why I know them in KJV phrasing, even though I know from a translation viewpoint it's lousy.

It still felt really, really weird to have Judaism's core prayer -- the one you're supposed to DIE with it on your lips -- coming out of the mouth of an evangelical preacher.