Customer Reviews

Providence & Prayer : How Does God Work in the World?

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The subjects of free will, human responsibility, determinism, foreknowledge, divine sovereignty, election, providence, and prayer are puzzle pieces that are extremely difficult to assemble into a logically consistent theological worldview. Attempts to resolve the difficulties associated with these subjects have led to the variety of positions presented in Part I of Terrance Tiessen's Providence & Prayer. Oftentimes, for Calvinists (like me), prayer winds up being the neglected stepchild. After all, God is sovereign and knows the future so it's easy to become resigned to a sort of fatalism. Prayers go unanswered because a sovereign God knows best and is working his plan. Conversely, we receive wonderful and sometimes unexpected blessings which were not prayed for because - a sovereign God knows best and is working his plan. Does prayer make any difference? Can it make any difference? Can we change God's mind? People who have thought deeply about these issues know the conundrum. Part of Tiessen's attempt at resolving these questions is something called middle knowledge.

When I first encountered the concept of middle knowledge in Craig & Moreland's Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview, I found it confusing and further research led me to Providence & Prayer. I wish I could give the book more than five stars, not just for the content, but also for the author's artful and thorough presentation. Tiessen introduces a case study (involving prayers for three kidnapped missionaries) and presents a model prayer representing a different theological view point at the end of each chapter. This format is compelling as it motivates the reader through each chapter to see how the prayer will reflect the doctrine under consideration. Especially helpful was the way Tiessen recapitulated the previously discussed models with each successive installment of the case study. This comparing and contrasting of the different viewpoints at the conclusion of each chapter served to clarify and reinforce the material.

In Part II Tiessen proposes his own view of providence and prayer, which he calls The Middle Knowledge Calvinist Model. This is a position that I have come to accept and really appreciate. My only complaint is that I wish he had gone into more detail about the middle knowledge aspect of his view. Maybe he will author another volume dealing exclusively with his model and how it relates to election and salvation.

Building a Christian worldview will always be a "work in progress". For me, this book made a valuable contribution to the project and has begun to significantly affect my prayer life. If Prof. Tiessen's lectures are as clear and well organized as his writing, then his students are very fortunate indeed. (Or should I say providentially blessed?)

Tiessen, a professor of systematic theology and ethics at Providence College and Seminary, wrote this book because he noticed a consistent trend among his students. They write essays on God's providence that suggest one system of belief, but pray in class in a way that is inconsistent. I like the layout of this book. The book reads left to right as Tiessen expounds on several models of providence starting with Neo-Deism and finishing with Calvinism. Each chapter begins with the basics of the view, moves to how this particular view understands the role and value prayer, and ends with the same case study used throughout the book. The case study involves a large prayer group which includes people who hold to each understanding of providence. One of the members asks prayer for his missionary son whose recently been kidnapped by local gorilla terrorists. The others offer prayer consistent with their particular view of how God works in the world.

I liked this book. It's good and obviously thought-provoking. I think it is important to try to be consistent, to bridge gaps between our theology and our practice. But even after reading this detailed text, I still can't manage to wrap my mind around providence and free will... I don't exactly understand how the theologians' logic actually works because I keep finding myself saying, 'Yeah, but...' I keep coming back to the fact that mystery is essential in God's economy. Complete systematized theology is impossible, and systematized theology at the cost of mystery is a dead theology. That doesn't mean this book isn't worth reading; it is. So, check it out; see what you think; let me know.

This book gave me much insight into how and why there are so many notions of how God involves Himself in our lives through the process we call "prayer". I was turned onto this book from a professor teaching on post-modernism in the church and am also using it for a Sunday School Adult class on Approaching God Through Prayer. It is extremely helpful and was useful in enlightening why I think and pray the way I do...as well as clearly explaining other points of view. Mainly, though, God just wants us to talk to Him. He probably thinks it is funny that we go to all this trouble to explain ourselves to each other.