Investigating Prayer

Author : Ian Olver
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 155 pages
File Size : 48,6 Mb
Release : 2012-10-11
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781461445708

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Investigating Prayer by Ian Olver Pdf

This book relates the experience of researching, planning, and conducting a scientific study into intercessory prayer (prayer for others). The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether the impact of prayer could be measured in a formal study, based on the large number of anecdotal reports of efficacy. The study was a prospectively randomized double-blind trial that added prayer by an established Christian prayer group to conventional therapy for cancer. The unique design feature was that the primary endpoint was a change in a validated scale of spiritual well-being. The patients were informed that they were participating in a study about spiritual well-being and quality of life but remained blinded to the intervention. The initial observation from the baseline data was that spiritual well-being made a unique contribution to quality of life. The final outcome of the study was that there was a statistically significant difference in spiritual well-being favoring the prayer group. The background includes a fascinating review of the medical literature on the topic, which contains positive and negative studies that each attracts a vigorous debate about methodology, endpoints, and whether metaphysical phenomena can or should be studied using scientific methodology. The complementary and alternative medicine literature is also equivocal as to whether prayer, arguably the most common complementary medical therapy, should be included in the range of interventions grouped under that heading. In addition to reporting the background and results of the study, the book explores the reactions of a range of individuals to the trial, all of which help reflect on the nature of prayer.

Author : Albert J. Coetsee,Francois P. Viljoen
Publisher : AOSIS
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2023-08-31
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781779952745

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Biblical Theology of prayer in the Old Testament by Albert J. Coetsee,Francois P. Viljoen Pdf

Prayer is a major topic within Christian theology. The biblical text has various references to various recorded and reported prayers. In fact, references to prayer are found within the rich diversity of the various books, corpora and genres of Scripture. As can be expected, much has been written about prayer in the biblical text. However, a comprehensive Biblical Theology dealing with the concept of prayer in Scripture has not been published before, and this book intends to fill this gap, assuming that such an approach can provide a valuable contribution to the theological discourse on prayer and related concepts. This book aims to investigate prayer and its related elements – including worship, praise, thanksgiving, adoration, petition, intercession, lament and confession – in the Old Testament on a book-by-book or corpus-by-corpus basis. The investigation follows a Biblical Theological approach, reading the Old Testament on a book-by-book basis in its final form to uncover the Old Testament’s overarching theology of prayer, understanding the parts in relation to the whole. By doing this, the discrete nuances of the prayers of the different Old Testament books and corpora can be uncovered, letting the books and corpora speak for themselves. In addition, the advantage of this approach is that it provides findings that can benefit the modern Christian community and contribute to the practice of Reformed theology in Africa. This book is of significant value to scholars. It will inspire scholars to think about prayer and use the Bible as the major ‘prayer handbook’ in their spiritual lives.

Author : Francois P. Viljoen,Albert J. Coetsee
Publisher : AOSIS
Page : 362 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2023-08-31
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781779952776

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Biblical Theology of prayer in the New Testament by Francois P. Viljoen,Albert J. Coetsee Pdf

This publication deals with a biblical theology of prayer based on the New Testament. It forms the second of a two-volume publication on a biblical theology of prayer, dealing with the concept of prayer in the Old and New Testament, respectively. This New Testament volume begins with an introduction on prayer and worship in early Jewish tradition, followed by eleven chapters dealing with New Testament corpora. It concludes with a final chapter synthesising the findings of the respective investigations of the Old and New Testament corpora to provide a summative theological perspective of the development of the concept of prayer through scripture. Prayer forms a major and continuous theme throughout the biblical text. Prayer was an integral part of the religious existence of God’s people in both the Old and New Testament. It underwent its greatest developments during, after and as a result of the Exile and was deepened and transformed in the New Testament. In both the Old and the New Testament, God is the sole ‘addressee’ of his people’s prayer. This conviction continued into the New Testament, but was broadened with Trinitarian elements of worship, adoration and intercession. A biblical theological investigation is chosen as methodology. Since all the biblical books form part of one canonical text, the assumption is that the various theologies about prayer being displayed in these books can be synthesised into a developing meta-theology about prayer. As the Old and New Testament form part of the canonical text, the results about prayer in the Old Testament can be brought into play with the results about prayer in the New Testament. This eventually leads toward an overarching biblical theology of prayer.

Author : Eliot Pattison
Publisher : Soho Press
Page : 299 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 2008-12-01
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9781569475348

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Prayer of the Dragon: An Inspector Shan Investigation set in Tibet by Eliot Pattison Pdf

Summoned to a remote Tibetan village from the hidden lamasery where he lives, Shan Tao Yun, formerly an investigator in Beijing, must save a comatose man from execution for two murders in which the victims’ arms have been removed. Upon arrival, he discovers that the suspect is not Tibetan but Navajo. The man has come with his niece, seeking the ancestral ties between their people and the ancient Bon. The recent murders are only part of a chain of deaths. Together with his friends, the monks Gendun and Lokesh, Shan sets out to solve the riddle of Dragon Mountain, the place “where the world begins.”

Author : Geir O. Holmas
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2011-03-17
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780567603753

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Prayer and Vindication in Luke - Acts by Geir O. Holmas Pdf

This is a comprehensive study of the literary function of prayer in Luke-Acts, employing narrative critical methodology and focusing on the theme's relation to Luke's historiographical aims Holmas asserts that the distribution of strategically-placed prayer notices and prayers throughout Luke-Acts serves a twofold purpose. First, it is integral to Luke's project of authenticating the Jesus-movement as accredited by Israel's God. Holmas shows that Luke presents a consistent pattern of divine affirmation and redemptionm attending the tenacious prayers of the faithful ones throughout every major phase of his narrative - in turn demonstrating continuity with the pious Israel of the past. Secondly, most importantly the 'ultimate' purpose of Luke's emphasis on prayer is didactical. In Luke's gospel Jesus summons his disciples (and implicitly his readers) to confident and persistent prayer before the Eschaton, assuring them of God's readiness to answer their entreaties. Luke's historical account as a whole provides narrative reinforcement of this affirmation. Just as God has been consistent in responding to the diligent prayers of his faithful ones in recent history, satisfying and fulfilling Israel's hopes for redemption in the Jesus movement, he will assuredly secure ultimate vindication at the end of time for those who persist in prayer. It was formerly the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement, a book series that explores the many aspects of New Testament study including historical perspectives, social-scientific and literary theory, and theological, cultural and contextual approaches. The Early Christianity in Context series, a part of JSNTS, examines the birth and development of early Christianity up to the end of the third century CE. The series places Christianity in its social, cultural, political and economic context. European Seminar on Christian Origins and Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus Supplement are also part of JSNTS.

Author : Candy Gunther Brown
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 308 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2012-04-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780674069718

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Testing Prayer by Candy Gunther Brown Pdf

When sickness strikes, people around the world pray for healing. Many of the faithful claim that prayer has cured them of blindness, deafness, and metastasized cancers, and some believe they have been resurrected from the dead. Can, and should, science test such claims? A number of scientists say no, concerned that empirical studies of prayer will be misused to advance religious agendas. And some religious practitioners agree with this restraint, worrying that scientific testing could undermine faith. In Candy Gunther Brown’s view, science cannot prove prayer’s healing power, but what scientists can and should do is study prayer’s measurable effects on health. If prayer produces benefits, even indirectly (and findings suggest that it does), then more careful attention to prayer practices could impact global health, particularly in places without access to conventional medicine. Drawing on data from Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians, Brown reverses a number of stereotypes about believers in faith-healing. Among them is the idea that poorer, less educated people are more likely to believe in the healing power of prayer and therefore less likely to see doctors. Brown finds instead that people across socioeconomic backgrounds use prayer alongside conventional medicine rather than as a substitute. Dissecting medical records from before and after prayer, surveys of prayer recipients, prospective clinical trials, and multiyear follow-up observations and interviews, she shows that the widespread perception of prayer’s healing power has demonstrable social effects, and that in some cases those effects produce improvements in health that can be scientifically verified.

Author : Ian Olver
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 150 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2012-10-10
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781461445715

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Investigating Prayer by Ian Olver Pdf

This book relates the experience of researching, planning, and conducting a scientific study into intercessory prayer (prayer for others). The purpose of the study was to ascertain whether the impact of prayer could be measured in a formal study, based on the large number of anecdotal reports of efficacy. The study was a prospectively randomized double-blind trial that added prayer by an established Christian prayer group to conventional therapy for cancer. The unique design feature was that the primary endpoint was a change in a validated scale of spiritual well-being. The patients were informed that they were participating in a study about spiritual well-being and quality of life but remained blinded to the intervention. The initial observation from the baseline data was that spiritual well-being made a unique contribution to quality of life. The final outcome of the study was that there was a statistically significant difference in spiritual well-being favoring the prayer group. The background includes a fascinating review of the medical literature on the topic, which contains positive and negative studies that each attracts a vigorous debate about methodology, endpoints, and whether metaphysical phenomena can or should be studied using scientific methodology. The complementary and alternative medicine literature is also equivocal as to whether prayer, arguably the most common complementary medical therapy, should be included in the range of interventions grouped under that heading. In addition to reporting the background and results of the study, the book explores the reactions of a range of individuals to the trial, all of which help reflect on the nature of prayer.

Author : Scott A. Davison
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 186 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2017-02-09
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780191075186

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Petitionary Prayer by Scott A. Davison Pdf

This volume explores the philosophical issues involved in the idea of petitionary prayer, where this is conceived as an activity designed to influence the action of the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfectly good God of traditional theism. Theists have always recognized various logical and moral limits to divine action in the world, but do these limits leave any space among God's reasons for petitionary prayer to make a difference? Petitionary Prayer: A Philosophical Investigation develops a new account of the conditions required for a petitionary prayer to be answered by employing the notion of contrastive explanation. With careful attention to recent developments in metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory, Scott A. Davison surveys the contemporary literature on this question. He considers questions about human freedom and responsibility in relation to different views of divine providence, along with the puzzles inherent in Christian teachings concerning petitionary prayer. Davison develops new challenges to the coherence of the idea of answered petitionary prayer based upon the nature of divine freedom, the limits of human knowledge, and the nature of those good things that require a recipient's permission before they can be given. He proposes new defences, building upon careful analysis of the shortcomings of previous proposals and clarifying the issues for future debate.

Author : Giuseppe Giordan,Linda Woodhead
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 254 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2017-05-15
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781351961486

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A Sociology of Prayer by Giuseppe Giordan,Linda Woodhead Pdf

Prayer is a central aspect of religion. Even amongst those who have abandoned organized religion levels of prayer remain high. Yet the most basic questions remain unaddressed: What exactly is prayer? How does it vary? Why do people pray and in what situations and settings? Does prayer imply a god, and if so, what sort? A Sociology of Prayer addresses these fundamental questions and opens up important new debates. Drawing from religion, sociology of religion, anthropology, and historical perspectives, the contributors focus on prayer as a social as well as a personal matter and situate prayer in the conditions of complex late modern societies worldwide. Presenting fresh empirical data in relation to original theorising, the volume also examines the material aspects of prayer, including the objects, bodies, symbols, and spaces with which it may be integrally connected.

Author : Bill Sweet
Publisher : Xlibris Corporation
Page : 375 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 2003-10-24
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781450045292

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A Journey into Prayer by Bill Sweet Pdf

Prayer is a constant mental input into our world. Do we pray for what we need or what we want? Do we pray to heal or to hurt? Terrorists pray. Healers pray. Millions pray. Motivations for prayer are investigated by the Spindrift researchers. One discovery was that non goal-directed prayer--"Thy will be done"--produced different test results than goal-directed prayer. A Journey Into Prayer explores the struggles, triumphs, and persecutions of two spiritual healers, Bruce and John Klingbeil, who developed scientific laboratory tests to investigate the effectiveness of prayer. This father and son team added to the centuries old anecdotal evidence the modern day standard of proof demanded by science and medicine. Spindrift translated some spiritual experiences and religious language into the scientific language and experiments of our times. Spindrift isolated positive and negative effects of prayer. Spindrift ignited spiritual dynamite by asking, "What can we know about prayer scientifically?" Author Bill Sweet weaves with a rare sense of humor this Spindrift adventure and the outrage it sparked. ABOUT A JOURNEY INTO PRAYER One of the most predictable consequences of exploring the bridge between science and religion is that the simple act of questioning authority, on either side of that bridge, is guaranteed to evoke furious emotions in those who believe they already know the "truth." Bill Sweet's Journey into Prayer is the story of a father and son who courageously risked everything to explore the power of prayer, an overview of what they discovered, and a poignant reminder of the risks faced by all true pioneers. --Dean Radin, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Institute of Noetic Sciences, Author of The Conscious Universe and Entangled Minds, interviewed in the movie What the Bleep: Down the Rabbit Hole The name Spindrift is synonymous with what at first seems an oxymoron--the scientific study of prayer. This group's ground-breaking work, which has been part of an enormous shift in consciousness, was brought forth at great personal cost--the apparent suicides of the father-son research team. Bill Sweet's meticulous account reads like a mystery--one that may never be solved. But regardless of the tragedy, the Spindrift research is an important part of the bridge between science and Spirit. May all the good these researchers have done return to them as an enduring blessing of peace. --Joan Borysenko, Ph.D., Author, Seven Paths to God and A Woman's Journey to God cofounder and former Director of the Mind-Body Clinic, Harvard Medical School This book describes the work of some original thinkers, supported by over 20 years of meticulous experimental and analytical research of ingenious design. It bears on the nature of prayer and of healing, and of powers of the human mind little appreciated by most people. Because the philosophical background and the experimental work differs from the mainstream, the research and its important implications for all of us has been largely overlooked. Bill Sweet's homely and disarming writing style presents the material in a personal way that is easily accessible to readers of all backgrounds. Read it, enjoy it, and save your judgment until you have finished and pondered it a while. --Theodore Rockwell, nuclear engineer and Author of The Rickover Effect and Creating The New World

Author : Roy Hammerling
Publisher : BRILL
Page : 479 pages
File Size : 47,9 Mb
Release : 2008-10-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9789004171220

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A History of Prayer by Roy Hammerling Pdf

Ancient prayers exist in a rich variety of often unexamined forms, and so they require a comprehensive study. This volume includes diverse scholars, who reveal the wondrous breadth of prayerful religious traditions from the first to the fifteenth centuries.

Author : Hamsa Stainton
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2019-08-05
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780190889838

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Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir by Hamsa Stainton Pdf

Historically, Kashmir was one of the most dynamic and influential centers of Sanskrit learning and literary production in South Asia. In Poetry as Prayer in the Sanskrit Hymns of Kashmir, Hamsa Stainton investigates the close connection between poetry and prayer in South Asia by studying the history of Sanskrit hymns of praise (stotras) in Kashmir. The book provides a broad introduction to the history and general features of the stotra genre, and it charts the course of these literary hymns in Kashmir from the eighth century to the present. In particular, it offers the first major study in any European language of the Stutikusum=añjali, an important work of religious literature dedicated to the god 'Siva and one of the only extant witnesses to the trajectory of Sanskrit literary culture in fourteenth-century Kashmir. The book also contributes to the study of 'Saivism by examining the ways in which 'Saiva poets have integrated the traditions of Sanskrit literature and poetics, theology (especially non-dualism), and 'Saiva worship and devotion. It substantiates the diverse configurations of 'Saiva bhakti expressed and explored in these literary hymns and the challenges they present for standard interpretations of Hindu bhakti. More broadly, this study of stotras from Kashmir offers new perspectives on the history and vitality of prayer in South Asia and its complex relationships to poetry and poetics.

Author : Pastor Simeon Dixon
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 85 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2021-10-07
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9781663227584

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The Ultimate Prayer Room Warrior by Pastor Simeon Dixon Pdf

This book contains information relating to one's desire to have a close walk with Jesus The Christ. As you read page after page, you will discover evidence which will condense your search time. This could be a most revelatory quest in meeting the God who is written about in the bible. As you open mindedly comb through the pages and chapters of this book you will discover the truth which shall set you free from the bondage of doubts, fear, and unbelieve. Come on! The door is wide open and that fear factor will not be able to dominate you anymore. For you, it is up from here. As the author of this book, I have written primarily from my personal experiences spanning more than sixty years. There is nothing written here which is of guess work. Truth is the main factor. I challenge you to take me up on this promise. The God who has become my God has proven Himself to be The Ancient of Days. He works through the Prophets of old. He has proven Himself to be the same today. He has not changed. He will not change because He cannot change.

Author : Helene Ciaravino
Publisher : Square One Publishers, Inc.
Page : 268 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0757000126

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How to Pray by Helene Ciaravino Pdf

The power of prayer can heal illness and move personal mountains. How to Pray begins by discussing the benefits of prayer, including enhanced physical and spiritual health. It then explores the prayer practices of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, providing a clear xplanation of each religion or philosophy's approach, as well as true-life stories showing the significance of divine communication. Whether you want to learn more about prayer or you long for the comfort it provides, How to Pray will give you what you seek.

Author : Henry Richmond Droop
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 106 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 1876
Category : Church vestments
ISBN : NLS:V000570382

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The Edwardian Vestments. An Investigation Into the History and Construction of the Ornaments-rubric by Henry Richmond Droop Pdf