Keeping God's Silence

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.

Preface and Acknowledgements.

Sources.

List of Abbreviations.

Introduction: Beginning with Silence.

1. Assessing Silence.

2. Who Hears?.

3. Resurrection Silence.

4. Hearing the Word.

5. Wisdom and Folly: Seeking places to stand.

6. Hearing with God’s Ears: Interpreting practices of silence.

7. Privacy, Omniscience and the Silence of God.

8. Openings.

Bibliography.

Index

“This book is a passionate, informed and insightful inquiry into the significance of silence in Christian thinking about God and its bearing upon a theological ethics of communication.” Reviews in Religion and Theology

“What starts off, quite modestly, as an exploration of what theologians and others have said about silence, develops into a serious challenge to the way theology itself is done, and indeed, to the way other researches are done, and conversation held … it is work that will yield rich insights.”
Quaker Studies

Rachel Muers is Lecturer in Theology at the University of Exeter. This ground-breaking book provides a new perspective on Christian practices of silence.

Rachel Muers, a significant Quaker theologian, develops a theological understanding of communication to which a “responsible silence” is central. In doing so, she engages with the key issues raised for Christian theology by feminist thought, and develops an original reading of significant aspects of the theology and ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. She also presents a challenge, from the perspective of Christian theology and practice, to a communicative environment dominated by wars of words. The central theological claim explored in the book is that God listens, and that God’s listening is integral to who God is.