Gods Silence

In this luminous new collection of poems, Franz Wright expands on the spiritual joy he found in his Pulitzer Prize-winning Walking to Martha’s Vineyard. Wright, whom we know as a poet of exquisite miniatures, opens God’s Silence with “East Boston, 1996,” a powerful long poem that looks back at the darker moments in the formation of his sensibility. He shares his private rules for bus riding (“No eye contact: the eyes of the terrified / terrify”), and recalls, among other experiences, his first encounter with a shotgun, as an eight-year-old boy (“In a clearing in the cornstalks . . . it was suggested / that I fire / on that muttering family of crows”). Throughout this volume, Wright continues his penetrating study of his own and our collective soul. He reaches a new level of acceptance as he intones the paradox “I have heard God’s silence like the sun,” and marvels at our presumptions:We speak of Heaven who have not yet accomplishedeven this, the holiness of things precisely as they are, and never will!Though Wright often seeks forgiveness in these poems, his black wit and self-deprecation are reliably present, and he delights in reminding us that “literature will lose, sunlight will win, don’t worry.”But in this book, literature wins as well. God’s Silence is a deeply felt celebration of what poetry (and its silences) can do for us.

“Reading of God's silence in the Bible gives me courage to explore the practice of restraint in preaching—not as a deliberate withholding of God's word nor, I hope, as a rationale for my own reticence, but as a sober reaching for more reverence in the act of public speaking about God.” In these 1997 Lyman Beecher Lectures in Preaching delivered at Yale Divinity School, Barbara Brown Taylor focuses on the task of those who preach and those who hear sermons in a world where people thirst for a word from God. How may we approach this seemingly silent God with due respect, proclaiming the Word without violating the silence, by speaking with restraint? Her first chapter examines the late twentieth-century language with which we talk about God in theology and speak to God in prayer. The second chapter addresses the question of God's communication in Scripture and how the “voice of God” was heard less and less in the land as the centuries progressed. Finally, Taylor explores what the silence of God means for Christians and how we may exercise “homiletical restraint” in speaking of the divine.

This ground-breaking book provides a new perspective on Christian practices of silence. An original, theologically informed work, written by a significant Quaker theologian Provides a new perspective on Christian practices of silence Considers the theological and ethical significance of these practices Relates silence, listening and communication to major contemporary issues Takes forward theological engagement with feminist thought Contributes to ongoing research into the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

It is traditional to think we should praise Abraham for his willingness to sacrifice his son as proof of his love for God. But have we misread the point of the story? Is it possible that a careful reading of Genesis 22 could reveal that God was not pleased with Abraham's silent obedience? Widely respected biblical theologian, creative thinker, and public speaker J. Richard Middleton suggests we have misread and misapplied the story of the binding of Isaac and shows that God desires something other than silent obedience in difficult times. Middleton focuses on the ethical and theological problem of Abraham's silence and explores the rich biblical tradition of vigorous prayer, including the lament psalms, as a resource for faith. Middleton also examines the book of Job in terms of God validating Job's lament as "right speech," showing how the vocal Job provides an alternative to the silent Abraham. This book provides a fresh interpretation of Genesis 22 and reinforces the church's resurgent interest in lament as an appropriate response to God.

An honest, soul-searching pursuit of biblical answers to one of Christianity's most challenging questions: What do you do when God meets your prayers with silence? Many of us have struggled with prayers that seem to go unanswered, and Pete Greig has been down that difficult road of doubt. This book is both intensely personal and deeply theological—a book born out of his wife Sammy's fight for her life after a horrifying diagnosis. The acclaimed author of Red Moon Rising wrestles with the hard side of prayer, how to respond when there seem to be no answers, and how to cope with those who seek to interpret our experience for us. For those struggling with prayer, God on Mute brings a message of hope and comfort, but also a better understanding of how we communicate with our Creator. Using the timeline of Holy Week (from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday) as a template, Greig explores four main questions about prayer from all angles: How am I going to get through this? Why aren't my prayers being answered? Where is God when he seems silent? When every prayer is answered...what does that mean? Silence in response to our most heart-felt prayers is the hardest thing for a person of faith to wrestle with. The world collapses. Then all goes quiet. Words can't explain what we're going through. People avoid you and don't know what to say. So you turn to Him and you pray. You need Him more than ever before. But somehow even God Himself seems on mute. And this sinks into us with a sense of futility... But even in this crushing silence, there is a way forward. Here is a story of faith, hope, and love beyond all understanding. Includes guide for group discussion.

Ruth Haley Barton's award-winning, practical introduction to the spiritual practice of silence and solitude is an invitation to you to journey into the real presence of God and hear and his voice. Much of the Christian faith is about words - preaching, teaching, talking with others. But the hectic demands and noise of daily modern life can drown out God's words, and keep us from fully meeting him. Taking the story of Elijah the prophet as inspiration and example, Invitation to Solitude and Silence explores the power of quietness and stillness in connecting with God. Filled with practical exercises that draw on Ruth's own experience, it encourages and challenges us to rethink how we see silence and solitude and to use them to invite God deeper into our lives. Invitation to Solitude and Silence is ideal for anyone looking for spiritual disciplines to help them connect more fully with God and practices to aid their spiritual formation. Ruth's gentle wisdom will expand your idea of what prayer can be, and help you find time to rest and renew your faith so that your relationship with God is strengthened. Helpful and hopeful, this book is a reminder that God does not push himself where he is not wanted but waits for us to respond from the depths of our desire. Will you say yes?

The Silence of God (1897) has become a classic on the subject of why God has not directly intervened in the affairs of men for the past two thousand years. Here's how Anderson puts the question he addresses: "And to not a few this volume may be welcome as affording a clue to pressing difficulties which perplex and distress the thoughtful. Infidelity trades upon the silence of Heaven, the inaction of the Supreme. If there be a God, almighty and all-good, why does He not use His power and give proof of His goodness in the way men choose to expect of Him? The answer usually offered by the Christian apologist fails either to silence the opponent or to satisfy the believer. And rightly so, for it is lacking not only in cogency but in sympathy. The God of the Bible is infinite both in power and in compassion; and in other ages His people had public proof of this. Why, then, is He so silent?"

At the turn of the century St. Petersburg offered the best of Imperial Russia. Few realized that the glitz and glamour of the Silver Age would soon dissolve into mass rebellion and revolution. For the wealthy Lindlof family, the only Latter-day Saints living in St. Petersburg at the time, life would never be the same--changed forever by an ideology that would persist for more than a century. The ravages of the Bolshevik Revolution are seen through the eyes of nineteen-year-old Agnes Lindlof and her lifelong friend, Natasha, in a powerful, extraordinary novel of devotion and loyalty.