Implicit Theology of the Lord's Prayer

The postmodern and secular culture of the West requires a new reflection on God. The Implicit Theology of the Lord's Prayer: A Biblical and Theological Investigation reflects on God on the basis of an original and central expression of the Christian faith: the Lord's Prayer. First, Jan Muis interprets the divine names central to this prayer in their biblical contexts. Next, Muis understands the divine attributes implied by these names from the biblical narrative of God's self-revealing actions, and explains them in a contemporary framework. God's Name indicates his particular personal presence and encounter with human beings. The holiness of God's Name and the justice of his Kingship are more than just aspects of the love of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Creator is not a human blown large; in his companionship with humans, he remains the Exalted who lives both "within" and "beyond" created, temporal reality. In the context of "a secular age," Muis discusses in what sense this God exists.

Jan Muis is emeritus professor of systematic theology at Utrecht University and at the Protestant Theological University, Amsterdam.