Prayers for a Privileged People [Paperback]

Walter Brueggemann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

In Prayers for a Privileged People, this much-published author sculpts as carefully as if with chisel prayers on behalf of those who are people of privilege and entitlement the haves at an urgent moment in our society. The privileged face, on the one hand, the seduction of denial or, on the other, the temptation of despair. These prayers of wisdom and prophetic power remind us that when things go wrong , when we are afraid , and when we feel prodded by those who lack voice, there is a conversation we can have a conversation situated amid the promises and commands of God.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a beautiful collection of poetic and prophetic prayers, words to be prayed with, mulled over, pondered, savored and challenged by. For in this little text, we glimpse a side of Brueggemann we may not have known through his rich Scripture studies alone. Here, he draws on not only his extensive years of study and teaching of the Psalms and the prophets, but his own faith immersion in the church year and in the liturgies of the church." --Rev. Patricia Farris, Senior Minister, Santa Monica First United Methodist Church

About the Author

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 183 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687650194
• ISBN-13: 978-0687650194
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Worship & Devotion > Prayerbooks

More About the Author

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is the world's leading interpreter of the Old Testament and is the author of numerous books, including Westminster John Knox Press best sellers such as Genesis and First and Second Samuel in the Interpretation series, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination, and Reverberations of Faith: A Theological Handbook of Old Testament Themes.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars praying from complicity to candor November 21, 2008

By Daniel B. Clendenin

Format:Paperback

For over thirty years now, Walter Brueggemann (b. 1933) has combined the best of critical scholarship with love for the local church in service to the kingdom of God. Now a professor emeritus of Old Testament studies at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, Brueggemann has authored over seventy books. Except for a three-page preface, this entire book consists of eighty-six prayers organized around six broad themes. There is no conclusion, no index, or any bibliography at the end of the book. I found myself wishing that Brueggemann had concluded with a theological-pastoral reflection on the theme of "privilege" as he sees it now in the eighth decade of his life.

Some of his prayers reflect on specific passages of Scripture. Others take their cue from the calendar, like those for Super Bowl Sunday, Income Tax Day, or Mother's Day. Still others follow lectionary days like Epiphany or Easter. The psalm-like poems or prayers embody the ancient maxim of lex orandi, lex credendi, that the way or law of prayer is the way of believing. They combine the prophetic-transgressive and the pastoral-compassionate, and demonstrate just how subversive is the act of prayer for those of us who are all too comfortable with privilege, safety, control, and competence. These prayers lead us toward a spirit of true candor about God, ourselves, and the world. I highly recommend this little gem of a book for both personal and liturgical use.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic Prayers September 15, 2008

By Kirk W. Mccullough

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have never seen prayers like the ones Brueggemann prays here. They are powerful; they get the congregation's attention; surely they get God's attention. What a feel for the language! I am new to the worship field, although I have written for decades. My pastor has powerful prayers, and I am beginning to get the feel of public prayer, but this is a model of praying that I will work hard to approach. (Work hard = become more spiritual.)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Excavating Hope July 6, 2009

By Christopher L. Crotwell

Format:Paperback

This little volume presents the unfiltered and unflinching personal prayers of a brilliant professor who has dared to utter a faithful "truthiness" that is much needed in our world. These prayers may come as a response to a sacred text. They may arise as a response to changes in seasons (liturgical or otherwise) or perhaps to the events of nation-states.

Whatever the fuse that ignites these inspired prayers, it ultimately doesn't matter. Scriptural themes, Psalm-like intonations, political views, psycho-therapeutic analysis of self and country, poetic license, and prophetic calls for a new way all bubble up together in these words of faith. Holy writ and world-event build together in stark and beautiful conversation.

Keep in mind that this God-talk is not filled with the saccharine-sweet, comfortably sanguine language typically associated with "church" settings. No, those sorts of words are jettisoned here (along with theological jargon) in favor of the sort of risky vocabulary that can only be drawn from faithful exegesis, keen awareness of life's wounds, and harsh honesty.

Brueggemann's prayers are blunt. They dare touch upon such themes as unfulfilled waiting, the sobs of lament, the violence of culture and governments, the inhumane treatment of the poor, and the tattered reality of broken dreams. Still, there remains the low, faithful (and sometimes even playful) rumble of a voice that will not yield hope. It is a pastoral voice that is needed not just (and obviously) in those broken regions populated by the ostracized, dehumanized, or vilified. No, it is a voice also needed among those blinded by affluence and caught in the "less-than" lives of misplaced excess.

Prayers for a Privileged People will not be the book that ranks among Walter Brueggemann's most important in the eyes of history or academia. This is the way it should be. Yet, what this little book may do is touch more hearts and awaken more souls than any of this professor's world-class scholarship ever will. Here's hoping.