Ian Punnett: Praying with Diogenes



(Diogenes and his lamp)

Although (last we checked) Ian Punnett is not sleeping in an outdoor tub and subsisting on a diet of onions, he and Diogenes nevertheless have a lot in common.  They are both enamored with “truth,” and they both have very publicly pursued it.

In Diogenes’ low-tech world, the best he could do was walk around with a lamp while searching for an honest person.  Punnett, on the other hand, has the internet on his side.  His “lamp” is a site called The Angry Prayer Project at prayersoftruth.com.  One stated goal of this project is “to encourage people of faith to pray truthfully,” even when “mad at God.”  This goal is facilitated by understanding “the healing potential of angry prayers

in the Bible,” and by creating original prayers “as a way of transitioning through their anger towards peace.”

From the get-go, Punnett masterfully points out the paradoxical dilemma of being so angry at God that one cannot even pray.  If one is so blindingly angry that one fails to notice the “Exit” signs, then how can one ever expect to escape from a cage of rage?  Fake-it-‘til-you-make-it recitations of rote prayers aren’t what’s

called for  here.  Heartfelt lamentations are.

Therefore - when Punnett isn’t co-hosting his morning show, hosting his weekend show, making hospital rounds, moderating theological discussions, giving sermons, and being an all-around family man -  he is penning Psalms for those who wish to shake their fists at the heavens, but lack the words, nerve, or both.  This practice reflects Punnett’s stated belief that “God calls us to transition through the difficult emotions that plague us toward a place of peace by naming the problem, proclaiming our pain and reframing our perspective.”

For those who are aching to try this, here’s a (somewhat bitter) taste of what it can sound like:  Hey, you so-called representatives of the people!  Are you doing God’s work?  No, in your heart you devise injustice, your hands mete out violence on the earth and hide your selfish deeds in slick TV

packaging! 

Diogenes couldn’t have said it better.

Resources

http://www.stpatsassoc.org/07_Who's%20Who/2004/IanPunnett/ian_punnett.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_of_Sinope

http://www.prayersoftruth.com/Site/Welcome.html

Copyright September 18, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved