Printer Friendly
The Free Library
5,060,924 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Keeping God's Silence.


Keeping God's Silence

Rachel Muers

Blackwell Publishing, 2004. 246pp.

In Keeping God's Silence, Rachel Muers probes the issue of communication and silence and their implications for the moral life. A lecturer at the University of Exeter and herself a practicing Quaker, Muers posits silence as a path to more ethical modes of communication, both among individuals, and between individuals and God. She challenges us to consider silence as something more than the absence of speech or a gap in conversation; it is, she argues, a powerful means of communication in its own right. Drawing heavily upon the work of Nelle Morton and Dietrich Bonhoeffer Noun 1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer - German Lutheran theologian and pastor whose works concern Christianity in the modern world; an active opponent of Nazism, he was arrested and sent to Buchenwald and later executed (1906-1945)
Bonhoeffer
, the book opens with an examination of what Muers appealingly terms the "garrulous gar·ru·lous  
adj.
1. Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative.

2. Wordy and rambling: a garrulous speech.
 silencing of God," whereby the universe of language we employ to define God, from the colloquial col·lo·qui·al  
adj.
1. Characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or to writing that seeks the effect of speech; informal.

2. Relating to conversation; conversational.
 to the liturgical li·tur·gi·cal   also li·tur·gic
adj.
1. Of, relating to, or in accordance with liturgy: a book of liturgical forms.

2. Using or used in liturgy.
, paradoxically confines con·fine  
v. con·fined, con·fin·ing, con·fines

v.tr.
1. To keep within bounds; restrict: Please confine your remarks to the issues at hand. See Synonyms at limit.
 or "silences" God. She encourages us to cease using words to silence others in this way, opting instead for an attentive or expressive silence through which we become open to others, inquiring of ourselves who hears and who is heard. Though she uses both Christological and feminist viewpoints to frame her arguments, her message is universal, clearly articulated, and conveyed in accessible prose.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Association for Religion and Intellectual Life
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2006, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:BOOKS IN BRIEF
Author:Visotzky, Alex
Publication:Cross Currents
Article Type:Brief article
Date:Jun 22, 2006
Words:201
Previous Article:Repenting of theology.(Books)(Revelation and Theopolitics: Barth, Rosenzweig and the Politics of Praise)(Book review)
Next Article:Who's Afraid of Postmodernism?(BOOKS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)(Book review)
Topics:



Related Articles
The New York Times Book of Science Literacy: What Everyone Needs to Know from Newton to the Knuckleball.
Writing to Win: The Legal Writer.(Review)
EPILEPSY OR ECSTASY?(Review)
Jewish Spirituality: A Brief Introduction for Christians.
The St. Peter Principle.("Why I Am a Catholic")
Gillespie, John T. & Naden, Corinne J. Teenplots; a booktalk guide to use with readers ages 12-18.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
God: A Brief History.(Book review)
God's Companions.(BOOKS IN BRIEF)(Brief article)(Book review)
A classic republished.(Sex and Sex Worship)(Book review)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles