The Greatest Prayer : Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord's Prayer

Every Sunday, the Lord’s Prayer echoes in churches around the world. It is an indisputable principle of Christian faith. It is the way Jesus taught his followers to pray and distills the most essential beliefs required of every one of the world’s 2.5 billion Christians. In The Greatest Prayer , our foremost Jesus scholar explores this foundational prayer line by line for the richest and fullest understanding of a prayer every Christian knows by heart. An expert on the historical Jesus, Crossan provides just the right amount of history, scholarship, and detail for us to rediscover why this seemingly simple prayer sparked a revolution. Addressing issues of God’s will for us and our response, our responsibilities to one another and to the earth, the theology of our daily bread, the moral responsibilities that come with money, our nation-states, and God’s kingdom, Crossan reveals the enduring meaning and universal significance of the only prayer Jesus ever taught. Prologue: the strangest prayer Pray then this way Our Father in heaven Hallowed by your name Your kingdom come Your will be done on Earth Give us our daily bread Forgive us our debts Lead us not into temptation Epilogue: the strangest book. Celebrates the revolutionary nature of the Lord's Prayer, showing that the only prayer Jesus ever taught deserves intense contemplation.