"Deliver us from evil..."

Religious education potential of a neglected petition of the Lord's Prayer in times of crisis

Abstract

The petition of the Lord's Prayer "Deliver us from evil" currently receives little attention in religious education, as does the theme of evil in general. In times of a multiple crises, however, the topic of evil - according to the hypothesis of this paper - has as yet unexploited potential for religious education. In this article, following (biblical) theological explorations of evil and the seventh petition of the Lord's Prayer, this potential for religious education is developed in four ways. According to this, firstly, the explicit discussion of "evil" makes it possible to break up a talk about God that is one-sidedly oriented towards the "dear God". In this way, dealing with evil, especially with regard to suffering, injustice and guilt, contributes to a differentiated and reflected image of God. Secondly, this topic opens up spaces for adolescents, who are burdened in many ways in view of the multiple crisis, to ask about structural reasons for their individual (crisis-like) situation. Thirdly, in this perspective, the Lord's Prayer can contribute to a critical diagnosis of the present in a critical-emancipatory lecture. Finally, the petition offers adolescents an interpretative offer to turn to God in prayer with their worries and fears - perhaps against all hope - even in the face of evil.