Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”

“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”

Bishop Robinson said he might address the prayer to “the God of our many understandings,” language that he said he learned from the 12-step program he attended for his alcohol addiction.

Keep in mind that this man is the Bishop of New Hampshire for the Episcopal Church.  He is "horrified" by the character of previous inaugural prayers as "specifically and aggressively Christian."

We can be fairly sure that, for Bishop Robinson, "specifically" and "aggressively" mean more or less the same thing.  A review of most recent inaugural prayers reveals virtually nothing that could be fairly described as "aggressive" and remarkably little that can be described as "specific."  The last two inaugurations have included prayers with greater specificity, to be sure.

The bishop's comments reveal just about everything one needs to know about his theology.  He pledges that "this will not be a Christian prayer" and he "won't be quoting Scripture or anything like that."  No, nothing like that.

Recent controversies over praying in the name of Jesus Christ will not be a factor here.  Instead, the bishop said he might address his prayer to "the God of our many understandings" -- an expression calculated to be vague. Bishop Robinson says that he learned the language in a 12-step program he attended after developing an alcohol addiction.

"The crisis in the Church of England," wrote Clive James in The Dreaming Swimmer, "is that too many of its bishops, and some would say of its archbishops, don't quite realize that they are atheists, but have begun to suspect it."

The "God of our many understandings" is a confused composite -- a very postmodern idol.  Clive James is quite right about the theological crisis of unbelieving bishops - but you need go no farther than New Hampshire to find an example.

Listen to an interview with Bishop Robinson on National Public Radio [NPR] here.

In addition to being one of Salem’s nationally syndicated radio talk show hosts, R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and recognized as one of America’s leading theologians and cultural commentators. Contact Dr. Mohler at mail@albertmohler.com.