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A collaborative model of petitionary prayer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2016

GIANLUCA DI MUZIO
GIANLUCA DI MUZIO*
Affiliation:
Department of History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies, Indiana University Northwest, 3400 Broadway, Gary, IN 46408, USA
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Petitionary prayer appears pointless in light of divine attributes like omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence. Several philosophers have attempted to reinstate the significance of petitionary prayer by drawing attention to its indirect benefits. The article analyses the shortcomings in this strategy and defends a different solution to the difficulty. Conceiving of God as motivated by the desire to form a loving partnership with human beings allows one to formulate a collaborative account of petitionary prayer. On this model, God freely chooses to accede to some human requests in order to incorporate human desires and projects into His plan for the world.

Type
Articles
Information
Religious Studies , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 37 - 54
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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