{"id":273,"date":"2023-08-01T11:19:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T11:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/01\/archbishop-urges-continuous-prayer-our-father-should-be-recited-with-sensitivity\/"},"modified":"2023-08-01T11:19:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T11:19:55","slug":"archbishop-urges-continuous-prayer-our-father-should-be-recited-with-sensitivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/01\/archbishop-urges-continuous-prayer-our-father-should-be-recited-with-sensitivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop Urges Continuous Prayer: ‘Our Father’ Should Be Recited With Sensitivity"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"\"\/<\/a>\"\"\/<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
<\/source><\/picture>
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell (L) stands next to The Rev. Canon Stephen Race (R). <\/span> | Ian Forsyth\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has issued a clarifying statement on his previous comments regarding the use of the phrase \u201cOur Father\u201d in Christian prayer, insisting Christians should continue with its use while also being \u201csensitive\u201d to individuals who have been victims of abuse perpetrated by men.<\/p>\n

The archbishop\u2019s earlier comments<\/a> had sparked controversy, with him suggesting that the reference to God as \u201cOur Father\u201d might be \u201cproblematic\u201d for people who have suffered abuse from fathers or male clergy. His statement was made during his presidential address to the General Synod, the Church of England\u2019s legislative body, earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Cottrell\u2019s initial comments, which suggested a need for sensitivity in language used to refer to God, stirred a mixed reaction within the Anglican denomination. Liberal and feminist clergy members were largely in agreement, but conservative Christians criticized the archbishop for seemingly taking cues from modern culture rather than scriptural tradition.<\/p>\n

Seeking to address the confusion surrounding his previous statements, the archbishop wrote a piece for The Telegraph<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few weeks ago, I found myself a little misunderstood when I pointed out that some people who have never known a father present in their life, or worse, been abused or neglected by their father, may find this word challenging,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBut what I wasn\u2019t saying is that we should stop using the word \u2014 simply that we need to be sensitive as we lead people in prayer.\u201d<\/p>\n

He reinforced that Christians should continue praying to God as \u201cOur Father,\u201d but be mindful of the implications that such language might have on abuse survivors or a bad relationship with their earthly father.<\/p>\n

The archbishop also underscored the need for healing among victims of abuse, and the Church\u2019s role in facilitating this healing. \u201cWe help those whose experience of earthly fathers has been negative to discover the healing love of the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. And as has always been the case, we use other language to describe God as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, his statement sparked strong counterarguments.<\/p>\n

An opinion piece by Edward Dowler in Church Times<\/a>, titled \u201cTo pray \u2018Our Father\u2019 is not problematic,\u201d presented an opposing viewpoint.<\/p>\n

Dowler argued that while all religious language is metaphorical, the term \u201cFather\u201d has a unique standing as it was both explicitly given by Jesus and inspired by the Spirit as the foundation of all Christian prayer. He expressed regret that the archbishop\u2019s key point about unity within the Church was somewhat overshadowed by his commentary on the word \u201cFather.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, the Church of England announced the initiation of a project on \u201cgendered language\u201d with respect to God in church services, resulting in a debate about the usage of the pronouns \u201che\u201d and \u201chim\u201d and the reference to \u201cour Father.\u201d The suggestion to replace these with either gender-neutral or female alternatives has been met with both support and criticism.<\/p>\n

An opinion piece by Daniel French in The Spectator<\/a>, titled \u201cGod the \u2018Father\u2019 isn\u2019t sexist,\u201d voiced strong criticism of the notion of replacing the term \u201cFather\u201d with gender-neutral or female alternatives.<\/p>\n

French argued such a move would be both theologically dubious and aesthetically displeasing. He further warned against the Church conforming to \u201cwoke capitalism,\u201d pointing to what he perceives as a trend of churches increasingly bending to cultural and societal pressures.<\/p>\n

Canon Dr. Chris Sugden, a former Synod member, earlier questioned the archbishop\u2019s intentions, asking if he is implying that Jesus was incorrect or lacked pastoral awareness. He suggested that individuals with challenging relationships with their earthly father should \u201crediscover the true nature of fatherhood through Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Ian Paul, a Synod member, earlier supported the archbishop, saying that many find the language of \u201cfather\u201d difficult. But he added, \u201cGod is a good and loving father, so we need to continue to use this language whilst being aware of and alert to the pastoral issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. Christina Rees, a former Synod member and campaigner for female bishops, praised the archbishop for identifying a \u201creally live issue.\u201d She said that for some, the term \u201cfather\u201d is complex due to layers of abuse from birth fathers and local priests, known as fathers in God.<\/p>\n

The \u201cOur Father\u201d reference originates from the Lord\u2019s Prayer, which begins with the words, \u201cOur Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.\u201d The prayer also uses the pronouns \u201che\u201d and \u201chim\u201d to denote God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Free<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n

Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell (L) stands next to The Rev. Canon Stephen Race (R). | Ian Forsyth\/Getty Images The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell has issued a clarifying statement on his previous comments regarding the use of the phrase \u201cOur Father\u201d in Christian prayer, insisting Christians should continue with its use while also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[]},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cccfornews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}