Kim Divinity.Duke 0066A 10057.Pdf
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Copyright by Sangwoo Kim 2016 Abstract This dissertation attempts to retrieve the integration of prayer and theology in the life of the church. Prayer is a spiritual and bodily theological activity that forms Christian identity and virtuous character. The bodily dimension of Christian prayer plays an essential role in theological understanding and moral formation. However, the embodiment of prayer has been mostly neglected in modern academic theology. This study highlights the significance of the body at prayer in theological studies and spiritual formation. Chapter 1 presents Karl Barth’s theology of prayer as a model of the integration of prayer, theology, and Christian life (lex orandi, lex credendi, lex agendi). However, Barth’s attempt to overcome the dichotomy between theory and practice in theology did not pay much attention to embodiment of prayer. Through ritual studies and phenomenology (Marcel Mauss, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Pierre Bourdieu), chapter 2 shows why the bodily dimension of the practice of prayer should be recovered in theology and ministry; then it explains how Christians in the early and medieval church actually prayed with the body, how their bodily actions were understood in their theological paradigms, and how their actions contributed to the formation of Christian character. Chapter 3 narrows the focus to the formation of the heart in the making of Christian character. The practice of prayer has been emphasized not only as an expression of the inner heart of pray-ers but also as a channel of grace that shapes their affections as enduring dispositions of the heart. Furthermore, historically the bodily practice of prayer gave theological authority to the devout Christians who were marginalized in academic iv theology or ecclesiastical hierarchy, and Chapter 4 presents the lex orandi of praying women who gained their theological knowledge, wisdom, and authority through their exemplary practices of prayer (Catherine of Siena, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe, and Teresa of Avila). These historical examples reveal how Christian communities appreciated and celebrated the theological voices from the margins, which developed from theological embodiments in prayer. This dissertation concludes that academic theology needs to heed these diverse theological voices, which are nurtured through everyday practice, as an integral part of theological studies. Therefore, it calls for a new paradigm for understanding the relationship between theory and practice in theological education. The integration between theory and bodily practice is necessary for both academic theology and spiritual formation. A more holistic understanding of Christian practices will not only enhance the training of scholars and clergy but also give the laity their own theological voices that will enrich academic theology. v Dedication To Jung, Ian & Luke vi Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. ix Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex agendi: Barth’s paradigm of prayer, theology, and Christian life ...................................................................................................................... 11 1. 1 Prayer and the Knowledge of God: Theological Landscape ................................ 15 1. 2 Affections, Reason, and Prayer ............................................................................. 26 1. 2. 1 Wonder and Fear ........................................................................................... 28 1. 2. 2 Joy, Thanksgiving, and Praise ...................................................................... 30 1. 2. 3 Liturgical Reasoning ..................................................................................... 32 1. 3 Prayer and Doctrine: the Trinity ........................................................................... 34 1. 4 Prayer, Theology, and Christian Life .................................................................... 46 1. 5 Embodied Practice of Prayer as Theology: the Weaker Link in Barth’s lex orandi, lex credendi ................................................................................................................... 54 1. 6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 63 2. The Body at Prayer ....................................................................................................... 66 2. 1 The Body, Habitus, and Practice: conversations with the French—Marcel Mauss, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Pierre Bourdieu .............................................................. 69 2. 1. 1 Marcel Mauss ................................................................................................ 69 2. 1. 2 Maurice Merleau-Ponty ................................................................................ 75 2. 1. 3 Pierre Bourdieu ............................................................................................. 81 2. 2 Prayer, Linguistic Habitus, and Paralanguage ....................................................... 90 2. 3 Ritual Performance, Knowledge, and Formation of the Self ................................. 99 2. 4 The Body at Prayer: a Historical Survey ............................................................. 109 vii 2. 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 157 3. Prayer and the Hearts of Disciples .............................................................................. 159 3. 1 Heart, Habits, and Practice ................................................................................. 162 3. 2 Prayer and the Heart ........................................................................................... 172 3. 3 Heart and Psalms ................................................................................................ 182 3. 4 Images, Meditation, and Affective Piety ............................................................ 192 3. 5 Affections and the Use of Prayer Books .............................................................. 199 3. 6 Rituals and the Heart Praying ex tempore .......................................................... 206 3. 7 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 216 4. Lex Orandi in the Bodies of Women at Prayer ........................................................... 218 4. 1 The Authority of Women at Prayer ..................................................................... 222 4. 2 Mission and Intercessory Prayer .......................................................................... 232 4. 3 Prayer, Virtue, and Perfection .............................................................................. 238 4. 4 Prayer of Tears ..................................................................................................... 244 4. 5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 252 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 255 Selected Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 262 Biography ........................................................................................................................ 273 viii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, Geoffrey Wainwright, for his insightful guidance and steady encouragement. I am indebted to his keen interest in my research and his encyclopedic knowledge of liturgy. His ecumenical life and work have shown me how theology, liturgy, and Christian life can be integrated. It has been a great honor to be his last doctoral student. I am also grateful to Randy Maddox, who embodies the spirit of generosity, for his invaluable advice and unwavering support. Special thanks to my other dissertation committee members: Stanley Hauerwas, and Lester Ruth. Many teachers have guided me in this long journey. Sarah Coakley, who first taught me the importance of prayer in Christian theology, has been a close mentor over the years; Walter Lowe helped me learn how to have theological conversations with continental thinkers; Don Saliers encouraged me to explore liturgical theology; David Kelsey introduced me to Barth’s theology of prayer. To my friends, Mindy Makant, Jeffrey Conklin-Miller, and Andrew Stern, I offer my sincere gratitude. Without their friendship and support, this work would not have been possible. My family have been amazingly supportive throughout this journey. Many thanks to my parents, Dongjoo Kim and Yeonhyuk Lee, and my mother-in-law, Myunghee Park. They taught me how to pray and demonstrated powerful theological voices arising from a life of prayer. ix I am grateful to my wife Jung Hyun Choi for her love, courage, and wisdom, and my two boys, Ian and Luke, for their trust in me. It is to them I dedicate this dissertation. x Introduction “Pastor, would you teach us how to pray?” This was the most frequent question I received in my ministry, but