If one is in the Episcopal Church of the USA, and if one uses Rite 2, then it is possible to be consistent in the way one addresses God. Always the Deity is the “You-God.”
If one is in the ECUSA or a Continuing Anglican Church, and if one uses the standard Book of Common Prayer (1662 or 1928 editions), then it is possible to be consistent in the way one addresses God. Always the Deity is the “Thou-God.”
If one is in the ECUSA, and if one uses Rite 1, then it is possible – just about – to be consistent in the way one addresses the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God. That is one may address Him virtually all the time using the historic and classic English language of prayer as “Thou/Thee.” I say – just about – because if one also uses the Psalter in the 1979 Prayer Book with Rite 1 and say the NRSV Bible then one is drawn not merely into the addressing of the “You-God” but also into a certain amount of politically motivated inclusive language (where, for example, a third person plural is used to replace “man” – see Psalm 1).
We all know that the addressing of the Deity in the historic second person singular as Thou/Thee is as old as the English language and was universal from the Middle Ages through to the 1960s in the English-speaking world. Also we all know that it was the social and cultural revolution of the radical 1960s that caused the churches in the name of relevance and accessibility to seek to say goodbye to the “Thou-God” and to attempt to embrace the “You-God” – in liturgy and Bible translation.
However, because the glorious heritage of liturgy and hymnody, prayer and praise, prior to the 1960s, is addressed to the “Thou-God” and is not easily rendered into a “You” form, it has been the case that the “You-God” in recent times has had to give way to the “Thou-God” here and there – in order for congregations to sing certain familiar hymns, choirs to sing glorious anthems, and priests to use certain beautiful prayers in a modern form of service.
This noted, the point I wish to make here is that mixing the language by which we address God is not good from any reasonable point of view – grammatically, logically, devotionally, and doctrinally. In fact, if it is done regularly and carelessly it could be harmful to the soul and to the conduct of public worship of Almighty God. After all, we do not speak to human beings in this mixed and confused manner, and God the LORD, deserves only the best, the excellent, and we owe Him such..
If we intend to use the traditional form, then let us stay with it consistently and not, either from carelessness, thoughtlessness, relevance or convenience, glide into the modern form. If we are using Rite 1 then let us use a form of the Psalter that is in the same style – e.g., as in the 1928 BCP or in the RSV – and let us make sure that our public prayers, litanies, canticles, and hymns are also in the same style.
The experience of the centuries tells us that consistency of language is important for the creating of habits of devotion and prayer, as well as for establishing a doctrinal paradigm in the mind. Addressing God as “Thou/Thee” (the 2nd person singular), for example, has the effect of emphasizing both that He is One God, One Deity, One Divinity and that also that He is intimately related to His children, as their Father by adoption and grace.
Today in the West when the mainline Churches are filled with confusion created by a variety of cultural and religious factors, why would faithful pastors want to increase the confusion of how we think of and name God, by mixing the use of language addressed to and describing the One, True and Living God who is a Trinity of Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost?
Let us worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness, in spirit and in truth, and let us be consistent in our use of language, especially in public worship, in order truly to know & honor this majestic and righteous LORD, the great I AM!
[See further the important discussion of language for God in the book, Neither Archaic nor Obsolete, the English Language of Public Worship & Common Prayer, by Peter Toon & Louis R Tarsitano, 2003. ISBN 0 907839 75 4, available from 1- 800 – 727- 1928 and http://www.anglicanmarketplace.com/ in the USA and from http://www.edgewaysbooks.com/ in Europe and worldwide.]
The Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon MA., D.Phil (Oxford) petertoon@msn.com
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