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If Darwin Prayed: Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics

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Bruce Sanguine's latest book is If Darwin Prayed: Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics. Sanguine, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and pastor of Vancouver's Canadian Memorial United Church, wanted "prayers for worship and spiritual practice that are written from the perspective of the great evolutionary story of the universe." But evolutionary thought is still in infant stages in both theology and liturgy. Sanguine wondered:

"What was born of necessity soon became a weekly discipline of joyful creative expression. I wondered what prayers in support of the new cosmology and evolutionary spirituality would look and feel like: How would we pray together if we took the science of evolution and the new cosmology seriously--if we saw the presence we call God intimately involved with the modern scientific realities of the universe, the planet, and human beings? How do we translate Paul's intuition of a Christ who is cosmic in scope and sovereignty into prayer form? How do we pray into the mission that emerges when we bring this lens to bear on the text? What fresh insights might emerge from the ancient biblical texts if we brought an evolutionary lens to the task?"

Sanguine decided to start writing his own prayers to fill this void in liturgy. The result is an incredible prayer book that challenges us to expand our understanding of who Godde is, who we are as individuals and the church, and how we are connected to, not only everything on earth, but everything in the universe. I have always been fascinated and awed that the human body is made of the same building blocks as stars. Reading and praying prayers that acknowledge and praise Godde for making us of stardust resonated deeply in me, such as these lines from "Everywhere Light":

Forgive us

that even as we carry around

the entire universe in our bodies,

and in our luminous minds,

we look elsewhere for sacred revelation.

Forgive us:

despite knowing that each carbon atom in our blood

and firing neuron in our brain

came from ancient stars,

somehow we can ignore our own radiance.

I also loved all the different ways Sanguine describes Godde as both male and female, as family and cosmic, personified and the Ground of All Being. Sanguine challenges us to think about the little boxes and small definitions we limit Godde with and encourages us to explore new ways of describing Godde and knowing her. "The Happy Communion" is a perfect example of helping us see the Trinity in a relationship with each other and us instead of a hierarchy:

Holiest Mystery,

Community of Love,

Creator, Christ, Spirit,

Three in One,

you in Christ,

Christ in us,

and everywhere, Spirit,

connecting, caressing, cajoling

us into the image of wholeness

tattooed on the heart and the soul

of every living thing.

If Darwin Prayed is a much needed prayer book exploring how Christian faith and science, can not only get along, but together show us new ways of seeing Godde, humanity, the world, and the universe. I hope to see more theological and liturgical sources come out in this strain. I want more prayers and songs that show the modern view of the world and universe as opposed to the ancient model of the domed universe: hell beneath, earth in the middle, and the heavens above with Godde outside of it all. I want to see more liturgy and prayer that shows the universe as vast, expansive, all of us connected with everything, and Godde in the midst of it all with us and creation.

Process theology and open theism both describe a life where God invites us on a holy adventure through our evolving, interdependent world. Instead of controlling everything/everyone through coercion, God beckons people through persuasive love. Instead of predetermining an end/plan for the world, God works with the changing world to bring forth God's vision of greater love, justice, and mutuality. Instead of hiding away in some heaven light-years away, God's abiding presence is with us - and all creation - along the journey of life every single day. Instead of acting once upon a time in the Bible, God continues to act in each new moment of life. The attributes of God based on process theology and open theism could go on and on. The point is this: it's pretty cool theology. One of the reasons that it's so cool is because it combines an understanding of the world that is evolving, an understanding of God as a Being that brings forth creativity in the evolutionary process, and a deep spirituality that invites us to experience God's abiding presence within all of life.

Sounds good. No problem, right? Well...not quite. The problem is that most hymns, liturgies, devotionals, etc. still use traditional language and imagery for God. It's rare to find practical resources for a spirituality that is based on process/open theology. In fact, I have heard a few colleagues say, "I like process theology better than any other theology, but I just don't know how to use it in a church." And that is a valid concern. It's hard to make the transition - especially without many useful resources. Another problem is that many people simply can't go to church if they hear nothing but an ancient worldview reflected. They want to connect their spirituality with the worldview they live in right now. In short, many people want an evolutionary spirituality.

Bruce Sanguin's new book "If Darwin Prayed" is filled with prayers that exude, enliven, and embody an evolutionary spirituality. Imagine if someone combined Scripture, process theology, open theism, and quantum mechanics into something so practical as a book of prayers. That describes this book. At a time when such resources are so rare, this book is like a cold drink on a hot day. It's refreshing in ways that have to be felt to be truly appreciated. So here is a taste:

Come, friends of Spirit

let us gather in gratitude,

opening to the chaos of life;

the mistakes,

the messes,

and the muddles.

But let us also open

to the order of things -

the magnificent

and the marvelous pattern of it all -

and to beauty that is beyond our minds

to be comprehended

but not to be apprehended by.

Let us calmly celebrate

that we are held

by an order that emerges from the chaos,

and by a chaos that loosens suffocating structures,

and let us learn to trust

that this play of Order and Chaos

is Spirit

dancing its way

into a sanctified future.

Amen.

Now that is a prayer that Darwin - and modern people - can pray with heart and mind! You don't have to separate science from religion. You don't have to separate sacred from secular. You don't have to separate your "church brain" from your "real brain." Instead, you can combine all of these aspects of your life into a holistic spirituality that nourishes the heart, body, soul, and mind. While each prayer focuses on a different Scripture and theme, all of the prayers help develop and deepen an evolutionary spirituality.

The prayers are organized by lectionary themes (e.g. Christmas), liturgical elements (e.g. Eucharist), and special occasions (e.g. Mother's Day). One of the surprise gifts of this book is the theological reflection that Sanguin offers on each of these sections. Not only do you get a lot of amazing prayers in each section, but you also get some brief-yet-stimulating reflection on the evolutionary spirituality of the major elements of the Church's life.

"If Darwin Prayed" is for anyone who wants to explore and experience a deeper spirituality in our continually evolving world. Because of the poetic way these prayers are written, they could be used for anything from personal devotions to congregational worship to seminary training. Hopefully this wonderful book is the beginning of an "evolutionary Pentecost" (xxvi)!

The Reverend Bruce Sanguin, an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada, currently serving with them at Canadian Memorial Church in Vancouver, British Columbia, has written one of the best and long overdue books of our time. The title "If Darwin Prayed" provocatively brings together two, apparently irreconcilable, forces: Darwin and Religion. Yet the author is able, in a series of prayers generally based on the Christian liturgical cycle and the profound couple of pages of prose found at the beginning of each chapter, to deeply and mystically show how Evolution and Spirituality can and MUST be intimately linked.

The subtitle of the book is "Prayers for Evolutionary Mystics" and this sounds "New Age" enough to scare the be-Jesus out of most fundamentalists. But this is the essence of what this work is all about - Sanguin cannot abandon either his deep mystical (Christian-centred, but non-exclusive) spirituality NOR his embrace of the the scientific reality of evolutionary cosmology. This is what the late Thomas Berry emphasized when he argued that we must tell "The New Story" (of the origins of Universe, Earth, Life and Human) in new, creative, and artistic yet sacred ways. Bruce Sanguin has done what has yet to be seriously attempted systematically - a FUSION of Christian spirituality and themes with modern cosmology. In these brief (usually one page) prayers, a well known Bible story (such as the Ascension, Jacob's wrestling with God, The Empty Tomb) is re-imagined within our contemporary worldview - not the three-tier ancient worldview (Heaven above - Hell below - us in between).

I have to applaud Bruce for doing a "new thing" with this book. This is always risky. Literalist Christians, who think that the Earth is 6,000 years old and that God placed the dinosaur bones in the strata to "test our faith" will be unmoved and unappreciative of this work. This is shown by some of the negative knee-jerk reviews of the book here and elsewhere. On the other hand, the Rev. Sanguin will not please the folks at the opposite end of the spectrum, like the fans of Richard Dawkins, who see any remnant of spirituality, religion or mysticism as irrelevant or just plain ignorant.

However, this book will appeal to those, like me, who are drawn to the awesome wondrous story of contemporary evolutionary cosmology and the sacred (in a secular sense - not supernatural) dimension therein AND the best of the Christian tradition. Sanguin has been inspired by the ideas and writings of folks like Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme and now courageously seeks to infuse this wisdom into Christian meditative life to appeal to our hearts and mystical centres with these amazing prayers.

There is a little too much God and Jesus talk in these prayers for me, but I understand that they are meant for communal Sunday worship in a Christian church setting so no big deal. I would attend church again if these kind of prayers were used each Sunday!

Finally, I think that this book will eventually be seen for the classic that it is. There is a global emerging awareness that the role of the human species within the Earth Community is far more noble and sacred than being narcissistic consumers. It is also clear that rational science, by itself, cannot and will not persuade human culture to change. Religion and spirituality, for all its warts and downsides, still has a role to play in the cultural transformation necessary for our species to survive, thrive, and continue on its journey to fullest potential. Bruce Sanguin's book is a brilliant, timely and necessary step in this process.

Highly recommended.

PS This book was awarded a Gold Medal for Excellence in the category of Inspirational/Spirituality by IPPY (Independent Publishers) in 2010

If Darwin Prayed by Bruce Sanguin was not at all what I expected. When I first requested the book to review I thought it might be a biographical text on Darwin's struggle with his theories and how he believed they would in effect "kill God" or at least His role in the creation of the earth. Darwin's Origin Of Species is a book that changed the face of science for many in the modern world. It's impossible to escape middle school without being taught the theory of evolution and how the earth came to be. No, If Darwin Prayed is not about the history of evolution or a biographical piece on Darwin. It's actually a book for corporate worship.

Now what does Darwin have to do with worship? Well, this book is written from the perspective of a Theistic Evolutionist. This is a person who believes that God used evolution to create the world. Some would take this view to the extreme of saying that God started the evolutionary process then walked away leaving us to ourselves. This is not the perspective the book takes. It views God as the "Ultimate Source". The start of all things, and that we have attributed "God" as a name to this "Ultimate Source".

The book is filled with prayers, many of which follow along the Catholic Church's Liturgical Year. These prayers have been altered and changed so that they attribute worship and thanks to God for being the one who began the evolutionary process.

I disagree with the views presented in this book as I believe the scientific evidence support a creation theory much better than it does an evolutionary theory. I believe that when, in the Genesis account, the Bible reads that God spoke the world into existence - that is what occurred.

I do think the approach of a worship book geared toward this type of thinking is interesting.

It's definitely a stretch to read. I like being stretched. I disagree with the author's conclusions, but I can appreciate the work he took to come to them.

Proceed with caution in reading this book.

This is a prayer book. It follows the Christian calendar, including prayers for each season (i.e. Christmas, Lent, Easter, etc.) and for special occasions (i.e. baptisms, funerals, etc.). Each section begins with a brief introduction and continues with one or more prayers on the subject. However, this is no ordinary prayer book, as the title ought to let you know. It is a prayer book based on what Sanguin calls "evolutionary Christian spirituality." According to the promotional copy these prayers "awaken in us a sacred impulse to evolve in and toward the heart of the divine." According to Sanguin, in his introduction, he is attempting to "incorporate the evolutionary nature of reality into our theology and liturgy."

To integrate science into our spirituality would be a daunting task all on it's own. To do so with a specific scientific model in mind even more so and fraught with dangers as well. It has been the conflation of theology and liturgy with science in mistaken and unhelpful ways which has led to the position many within the Christian faith find themselves today; namely, feeling as if science and faith are incompatible (which they are not). As a Christian I believe that all truth is God's truth and all we do should be done to glorify God. However, I also believe that wisdom dictates some aspects of our lives are more difficult to bring together and some lines of thought much harder to walk between. So, to enter this minefield claiming that not only are these two things not incompatible but they can also be conjoined in our spirituality is brave and, perhaps, foolhardy.

Sadly, Sanguin cannot even focus on this task at hand and manages, along the way, to incorporate into his theology a good deal else besides any science of evolution. The hint of this comes in his introduction when he speaks of the 'evolutionary nature of reality.' This is already a great leap forward from just talking about evolution in it's scientific form. What this step actually does is allow Sanguin to label any change, transformation, or transfiguration as just another aspect of evolution. When it comes to the biblical revelation, or any other source of 'wisdom' (ranging from Krishna, to Buddha, and more), Sanguin can now claim that these early spiritualists 'intuited' the 'evolutionary nature' of existence and we can see it in this or that aspect of their teaching. That word, 'intuited', became a signal for me by about halfway throughout the book. What it said was: Sanguin is now going to radically reinterpret yet another religious tradition/teaching/event. By the time I finished this book I found myself in the midst of pluralism, relativism, mystic mumbo-jumbo (I hate to say it like that, but many of these prayers really do cross a broad and fuzzy line between praying and just plain wierdness. And they cross that line by far enough that I can definitively say they are in the land of mumbo-jumbo), and lots of bad theology.

Does Sanguin succeed in his goal? No. Are these prayers I would pray? No. Are they Christian? No.

Conclusion: 1 of 5 stars. Not Recommended. I don't know why you would consider reading this, but whatever reason you thought you had, just forget about it.