An enduring classic from award-winning writer Barbara Brown Taylor, exploring how we communicate with a God who often seems silent. Arguing persuasively for simplicity and economy when speaking of God, it reflects on the eloquence of Jesus' silences and how we can find ways of bringing tired, old language about God back to life.

Barbara Brown Taylor

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

Dedication page

ONE: Famine

TWO: Silence

THREE: Restraint

Sources Consulted

An enduring classic from award-winning writer Barbara Brown Taylor, and a timeless meditation for all who thirst for a God who often seems to be silent. It considers the limitations of the language we have at our disposal to speak about God; the stupendous responsibility upon anyone who attempts to speak for God, in preaching or pastoral encounter; and the torrents of words coming at us from all directions in contemporary culture that can drown out the messages we really need to hear. In this land of linguistic superabundance, Barbara Brown Taylor argues persuasively for simplicity and economy when speaking of God. She reflects on the eloquence of Jesus' silences and how we can find ways of bringing tired, old language about God back to vivid, powerful life.

'Her concise, pithy and challenging prose is evidence that she is practicing what she preaches: that Christian pastors take more care with the words they use.' -- Kathleen Norris 'If there is one book I would want every person of faith aware of the fragile contours of language to read, this is it. Never surrendering a good question for a mere answer, it reverences both the disclosures of silence and the potential of words to form, more than inform, the human soul. Of all Barbara Brown Taylor's wonderful books, this is the one for my desert island.' -- Mark Oakley

Barbara Brown Taylor is a priest in the Episcopal church and the author of numerous books which have been showered with awards, including the bestselling An Altar in the World and Leaving Church. She currently teaches Religion at Piedmont College, Georgia and is on the Board of Advisors of Yale Divinity School.

• A beautiful, profound and memorable book from a bestselling American author with a fast rising profile in the UK. • This reflective book is a perfect ordination gift or for anyone engaged in pastoral ministry or spiritual direction

'Her concise, pithy and challenging prose is evidence that she is practicing what she preaches: that Christian pastors take more care with the words they use.'

'If there is one book I would want every person of faith aware of the fragile contours of language to read, this is it. Never surrendering a good question for a mere answer, it reverences both the disclosures of silence and the potential of words to form, more than inform, the human soul. Of all Barbara Brown Taylor's wonderful books, this is the one for my desert island.'

'This book would...make an ideal basis for personal reflection during Advent or Lent'

The Good Book Stall

This short little book is a second edition of a book first published in 1998 that was based on a series of lectures given by the author in 1997. As the author points out in the preface much has changed in the intervening years and so some of the subject matter might seem a touch out of place, but if we read deeper into these things and past the small incongruities, what we find is something still incredibly relevant and as real today as it was then. Yes, things have changed but in some ways silence is now even more important than ever, confusion more rife, and the "noise" of miscommunication even more prevalent than it possibly ever was. This book is a small but insightful meditation on choosing words carefully, on why when speaking for God, or of God, we must be ever vigilant that the words we use and the tone we take, are in fact in keeping with those that God would have us use, and that we adhere to God's words, silences and actions carefully as preachers of his word. A lovely little book that was a joy to read and contemplate.

When God Is Silent

When God is Silent

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When God is Silent

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