Saying Grace

Transforming People, Transforming the World

Authors

  • Norman Wirzba Georgetown College/Duke Divinity School

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v3i2.195

Keywords:

Grace, Thanksgiving, Creation

Abstract

This essay describes how the grace-saying act can be a vital source in the renewal of communities and the created world. I show how it has become difficult in modern times to appreciate this act’s practical and religious significance or perform it with much sincerity. I also argue that the loss of blessing and thanksgiving has a lot to do with the destruction of the world and its neighborhoods. I propose that as we learn to understand and then recover this practice, we will also participate in the healing of the world. Saying grace introduces us to a new understanding of ourselves as creatures placed in a world of gifts.

Author Biography

  • Norman Wirzba, Georgetown College/Duke Divinity School
    Professor and Chair of Philosophy

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Published

2009-07-22

How to Cite

Wirzba, N. (2009). Saying Grace: Transforming People, Transforming the World. Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture, 3(2), 195-212. https://doi.org/10.1558/jsrnc.v3i2.195