“God of Holy Dreaming”: A Retrospective Appreciation of an Aboriginal Prayer and Spirituality in A Prayer Book for Australia
Fergus J. King, Lenore Margaret Porter
Journal of Anglican Studies March 31, 2026 DOI: 10.1017/s174035532610093x (opens in new tab)
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Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation Dreaming |
| Keywords | Prayer Vision Spirituality Consciousness Resistance ecology Religious experience Religious studies Value mathematics Period music Theology Aesthetics |
| Key points | Argues that the dreaming process behind the prayer 'God of Holy Dreaming' and the comparison of dreams in Aboriginal culture with early Christian visions raise questions about the value of such altered states within Christian theology and spirituality. |
Abstract
Abstract 2025 sees the thirtieth anniversary of Revd Auntie Lenore Parker’s ‘God of Holy Dreaming’ being included in the Anglican Prayer Book for Australia. In this article, she explores and describes the dreaming process which birthed this prayer. The analysis which follows compares the value of dreams in aboriginal culture with the privileged place given to dreams and visions as altered states of consciousness in the foundational texts of emerging Christianity. This comparison raises the question of how such experiences may be valued within Christian theology and spirituality, not least because Western and Northern resistance to such phenomena in the modern period has made such visions seem suspect.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dreaming: a conceptual framework for philosophy of mind and empirical research | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Metaphor and hyperassociativity: the imagination mechanisms behind emotion assimilation in sleep and dreaming | 2015 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Experimental Research on Dreaming: State of the Art and Neuropsychoanalytic Perspectives | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |