Your image of God has evolved from a
distant, all-knowing father to a
creative force of the
universe. Now it’s time to update your prayer, too.
An evolutionary God is the one whose
fingerprints and embraces and music we find in the evolutionary
patterns in the unfinished world around us, the elusive mother
and inventor of this ever-changing milieu. It is a God who
pretends—for some purpose we do not comprehend—not
even to exist, but whom we can reach out for and give thanks
to, if we wish—as most of our race has done throughout
its history.
—from the Introduction
In this unique collection of eighty prose
prayers and related commentary, William Cleary invites you to
consider new ways of thinking about God and about the world
around you. Inspired by the spiritual and scientific teachings
of Diarmuid O’Murchu and Teilhard de Chardin, Cleary
reveals that religion and science can be combined to create an
expanding view of the universe—an evolutionary faith.
Prayers to an Evolutionary God inspires you to discover your own place in
the story of the universe, challenges you to rethink life in
new ways, and enables you to express yourself in words that
make sense—to an evolutionary God.
"Karl Rahner once said that the
Christian of the future will be a mystic, or nothing at all.
Bursting with energy, full of deep wisdom, these prayers do
more than address God in the light of evolution. They set the
heart on the path of mysticism, beautiful and
awesome."
—Elizabeth
A. Johnson, csj, professor of
theology, Fordham University; author of She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological
Discourse and Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit
"If prayer means (as W. H. Auden
said) ‘paying attention to something larger than
yourself,’ these prayers by William Cleary invite us to
pay attention to the largest thing imaginable, the creativity
that resides at the core of our Cosmos, teaching us to speak
with reverence in this post-Newtonian universe. Faith and
science embrace happily in these pages, to the betterment of
both."
—Rev.
Gary Kowalski, author of Science and the Search for God
"Good theology is rooted in worship
and prayer. In Bill Cleary’s book, the ‘God of
evolution’ is not an abstract topic of theological
reflection but the focus of meditation, prayer, and praise. In
a unique and creative way, the author brings the insights of
science into contact with the very heart of religious
experience. I think Teilhard de Chardin would smile on this
bold project."
—John F.
Haught, Thomas Healey
Professor of Theology, Georgetown University
William Cleary,
former assistant editor at the Catholic weekly America, is the
author of many books on spirituality. He is a former Jesuit
priest, filmmaker, and composer. His musical Chun Hyang Song
was performed at the Seoul Olympics. Cleary is married to a
Unitarian Universalist minister, and is the father of two
musician sons. His website is www.clearyworks.com.
Diarmuid O’Murchu is a priest and social psychologist currently based
in London. He lectures internationally and writes extensively
on new paradigms from a multidisciplinary point of view. His
works include Quantum Theology:
Reclaiming Spirituality and Our World in Transition.
