When God Is Silent by Barbara Brown Taylor

When God Is Silent Reviews

• 
  heidi

  This is a slight little book, size-wise, but I have three times as many highlights in it as any other book I own. It is dense with ideas like a fruitcake is full of goodies.
  
  It is targeted toward pastors, but approachable for anyone with a moderate understanding of theology. My mom bought copies for my siblings and I because she found it so meaningful, and I can certainly understand that impulse.
  
  Taylor is teasing out what it means that we don't hear from God anymore. God used to talk to the Israelites all the time, but as the Bible progresses, we hear God's voice less and less. She argues that part of this is because we now live in a desert of noise, and we are thirsty for the Word, but can't make it out amidst all the other things we are listening to.
  
  I want to share so many quotes with you, but I will settle for a few, to give you the flavor of her language and logic.
  

  "Without limits, we would have no feel for the infinite. Without limits, we would be freed from our longing for what lies beyond. It is precisely our inability to say God that teaches us who God is. When we run out of words, we are very near the God whose name is unsayable."

  
  
  

  "At their request, God never spoke to all the people again. Secondary speech replaced primary speech. The pillar of fire and cloud that led the people through the wilderness gave way to a tabernacle they could carry around with them. The hot lava of God's voice cooled into the six hundred thirteen commandments of the law."

  `
  
  On a personal level, I was struck by this quote:
  

  Perhaps there is no proof a famine exists except for the fact that people are hungry. In the land of plenty, the source of that hunger can be difficult to diagnose. It is often not until we have tried to ease it with everything else we know that we discover by process of elimination our hunger for God. Our problem is not too few rations, but too many. The proof that we are in the midst of a famine of the Word are the suffocating piles of our own dead words that rise up around us on every side. It is because they do not nourish us that we require so many of them. It takes thousands of words, coming at us every moment, to distract us from the terrible silence within.

  
  
  There is a nutritional deficiency disease called
  kwashiokor. It is not an overall lack of calories, but a lack of protein and micronutrients. People can fill their bellies with carbohydrates and not feel hunger pangs, but they are still lacking, to the point of death. Her statements here made me think about how we can feel like we are consuming enough to feed our souls, but still not feel safe and nourished.
  
  There are some really painful moments of realization for me in this book. Somehow, the image of Jesus on the cross asking for word from his father, and his father giving him nothing, not bread nor even a stone, was one of the saddest crucifixion narratives I've read.
  
• 
  Kathy

  A beautiful, wise book about the impossibility of hearing from and talking about God, but also about the need to try. Written for preachers but worth reading for anyone who wants to hear from those same preachers, or communicate their thoughts about God to others - your children, through blog, through Sunday School, in all the different ways we speak about the unspeakable. It has a lot to say about silence and mystery and failure. It's beautiful.
• 
  Ben Gosden

  One of the most brilliant and honest books on faith I've ever read. This is not a book for those who enjoy formulaic and simplistic understandings of God and the life of faith. This is a book for those who struggle. It's a book for those who are willing to sit on an ash heap of questions and doubts knowing that God is still close at hand. It's a book for those who see faith more as a work of art and less as a math problem with easy to solve answers. Brilliant and challenging book!
• 
  Matthew

  Fantastic book
• 
  Tim

  Taylor writes this book to preachers, first describing the cultural situation, then expositing from Scripture, then offering advice.
  She observes that the culture is so saturated with noise, that people have become hard of hearing, and defensive toward messages. Silence can actually be striking, getting our attention better than noise.
  In Scripture, we see that God was most silent, except for a few key times. When people came into contact with God, He was overwhelming. When people tried to explain Him, they didn't do justice.
  
  In light of this, Taylor calls for economy, courtesy, and reverence in speech. It's better to say less, and only speak from our authentic experience, than it is to drown out God's silence with our ignorant chatter. Better to leave listeners hungry to experience it for themselves, than to cheapen it with limited words. We should also offer courtesy by leaving space for listeners to respond and find meaning, helping them drop their defenses and participate in the story. Jesus did this with images and parables, creating a contemplative silence in His listeners that ushered in a response. Finally, in reverence, we should leave the unsayable unsaid, seeking to bring people into God's presence rather than substituting Him with answers. Rather than trying to compensate for God's mysterious silence, we should seek to encounter God in a way that leaves us speechless. Just as we can't fully describe music or scenery, we may be wisest to simply point the way and say "you gotta see it for yourself."
  
  Overall, I think Taylor offers a powerful correction against problems in our culture and tendencies in church. However, I feel that we can have a little more confidence in our ability to know God through what He has revealed in Scripture and through His Son, Jesus. Moreover, we can trust that He is present in His church through the Spirit, and guides them into truth.
  If the church could express its truth with the economy, courtesy, and reverence that Taylor describes, I think it'll be doing well!
• 
  Ali

  This book is Barbara Brown Taylor's Lyman Beecher Lectures delivered at Yale Divinity School in 1997. The original title was "Famine in the Land: Homiletical Restraint and the Silence of God." She takes her chapter titles from that original talk. They are: Famine, Silence, and Restraint. Intended primarily for preachers, Taylor delves into the way words are used, misused, and overused, not only in the pulpit but also in our culture at large. In a way that reminds me of Marilyn Chandler McEntyre's book Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies. I'm also put in mind of Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. and his Warfield Lectures delivered at Princeton Theological Seminary in 2012. I've enjoyed all three of these scholars and the way they have helped me think more critically about my own use of words in casual and formal settings.
  
  Taylor uses the metaphor of food throughout her book and urges preachers to prepare a sermon that is simple and true, that will sustain people in a famine that has resulted from a surplus of words that lack nutritional value. I like the way my view of myself as a chaplain fits in with her view of the preacher as someone who has something to give, but ultimately wants to spur on the faith of the hearer. She also presents God in this way: "That is why God has hidden God's face: to increase our sense of loss until we are so hungry and lonely for God that we do something about it - not only one by one but also as a people who are once again ready to leave our fleshpots in search of real food." I am left wondering how I can prepare sermons that will inspire, challenge, and leave people hungering for God.
• 
  Richard

  Barbara Brown Taylor, ordained as an Episcopalian priest, is a mystic. She left her priestly duties some time ago, and has made her way as a writer, a professor, and a lecturer. I had the good fortune of hearing her speak at Seattle University's "Search for Meaning," book festival. Ms. Taylor draws from all the wisdom sources. She is quite clear that all the paths ultimately lead toward God. To me "god" is a single point of energy all seekers gravitate toward, and some unite with in this life. I accept that god is silent, because I don't expect energy to speak. However, most believers, especially in the the Abrahamic faiths believe God spoke in the past. The problem is that God has been silent since Christ's baptism, God the Father, at any rate. Jesus spoke quite a bit, but since his passing the silence has been total. That makes for over two thousand years of silence. This book is an examination of the meanings and effects of God's previous statements, and what to do with God's current, long-lasting silence.
  
  When God is Silent is a short book, 133 pages, but a complete meditation. If you are looking for, or praying for God's voice in this universe you'll find a lot to think about in this crisp, well-written, friendly, and thoughtful book. If you're afraid God may never speak again, there is comfort here. And if you want to refresh your thinking about "the one," Ms. Taylor offers cool, clear water.
• 
  Joe Henry

  I wanted this book because I have read and loved other things by Barbara Brown Taylor and wanted to know what she might have to say about "When God Is Silent." But it was not merely a casual curiosity for me; nor was it just an academic interest. It has been a personal problem with which I wanted some help. Maybe you know what I'm talking about. Well, I discovered...
  
  The book contains the lectures she delivered in 1997 at Yale Divinity School as the Lyman Beecher Lectures on Preaching. She was talking to divinity students...about preaching. The three lectures are approximately 40 pages each, entitled "Famine," "Silence," and "Restraint."
  
  "Famine." I didn't so much anticipate where she was going with this title, but I should have--it fits: people are hungering and thirsting out there for a word from God, but there is famine in the land. She explores the nature of language and how it is used and abused, of communication. She lifts up the need for listening and speaking with sensitivity, clarity, and humility.
  
  I anticipated more with the titles "Silence" and "Restraint," see how well your imagination works.
  
  On first glance and given the title, you might think this could be a book of poetry. It is small in format: 5"x7" and only 1/2" thick. And I do think there is an economy of language here...few if any words wasted. She is an artist with words.
  
• 
  Brenda Chance

  This book is so timely for those struggling to speak for God to give hope to people in troubled times. With her usual elegance, Brown inspires “voices” to guard carefully their need and use of words. A musical score finds beauty from its rest notes.
  
  A quote for reflection: “In a way that surpasses understanding, our duty in this time of famine is not to end the human hunger and thirst for God’s word but to intensify it, until the whole world bangs its forks for God’s food. That is what the famine is for, according to scripture. That is why God has hidden God’s face: to increase our sense of loss until we are so hungry and lonely for God that we do something about it—not only one by one but also as a people who are once again ready to leave our fleshpots in search of real food.”
• 
  Jean Marie Angelo

  This slim volume was given to me by my spiritual director to help me learn more about writing sermons. But this book has a lot to say to anyone exploring faith. Barbara Brown Taylor is a celebrated preacher whose images are simple and powerful. She has a gift for humanizing scripture and giving us the right example at the right moment. Job, Isaiah, Jesus, and all the rest, struggled. Sometimes directly asking for answers, and having to live in the silence. It is not lost on her that adding more words to our culture that has an endless stream of words sometimes makes no sense. If we preach, when we preach, we have to fill the gap between God’s silence and our waiting community. Guess the message is, “Make it count.”
• 
  Jan

  Not easy to equate too.
  
  This is not what I imagined. I found a real void. One lacking real presence like God was on holiday. I took nothing but crumbs from this book. Having walked in great darkness I have always felt the presence of God beside me silent or otherwise. I cannot equate to this at all. God is indeed beyond our finite minds but the bible means he can always be heard not the best book on this,subject alas
• 
  Beverly Roberts

  After reading this book, the preacher glimpses the magnitude of the gift entrusted to he or she. Dr. Brown explains the balance and relationship between famine, silence and restraint in preaching the Words of Scripture and understanding the God we preach about. I recommend this book to preachers and Christians searching for a deeper meaning of worship and respect of those who preach the Bible.
• 
  Dustin Mailman

  I’m starting to learn that the pastors that have influenced me the most did not give me quick easy answers. BBT is one of the best pastoral theologians of our time, and her challenge for leaders of faith to ask better questions, rather than give answers to the questions we will never answer is humbling and inspiring.
• 
  Margaret D'Anieri

  This is a short book geared to the preacher but relevant for anyone who wonders how to hear God. And of course she writes beautifully: “we substitute liturgy for justice”. “In a world of machines, silence signals malfunction”. “Christians proclaim, Jews listen ... what if ‘hear us, Lord’ became ‘speak, Lord’”
• 
  Dorothy Greco

  I think every MDiv student should read this book. The idea that God can and does speak to us in silence is very powerful. Only complaint is that the book is so short—which of course is an ironic thing to say about a book that's extolling the wisdom of using fewer words.
• 
  Sam

  "In a time of famine typified by too many words with too much noise in them, we could use fewer words with more silence in them."
• 
  Ellen Little

  Powerful little book!
• 
  Virginia

  Powerful! Definitely want to reread and recommend to others.
• 
  Heather

  There is a wisdom in listening more than we speak, in saying less, and in the searching for God. Barbara Brown Taylor gives much food for thought, especially for those who would speak of God.
• 
  Daniel Stewart

  The title "When God is Silent" lead me to believe this book would cover themes of how we handle God's ephemeral silences. Though part of the conversation, Taylor spends most of this small book discussing the realty of our word-saturated culture, which she alleges has over-consumed words to the point of their ineffectiveness and sterility. She argues, therefore, the importance of silence in what we say, how we preach, and what we think. I found it incredibly moving, even though I rarely participate in any form of public speaking. And by the end of it I found myself compelled to consider silence anew, since:
  
  "silence is as much a sign of God's presence as of God's absence-that divine silence is not a vacuum to be filled but a mystery to be entered into, unarmed with words and undistracted by noise-a holy of holies in which we too may be struck dumb by the power of the unsayable God."
  
  I highly recommend this for anyone, but it is a must-read for those who deliver sermons/messages.
• 
  Chris Hughes

  This book of lectures given by Barbara Brown Taylor at Yale Divinity School is an incredibly nurturing yet challenging read for any student of preaching. For Taylor, the central question is for a generation that is drowning in noise: How does one speak? How does one speak for God and for the people and speak truthfully enough to be heard?
  
  The answer lies not in more words, but perhaps in less. Taylor traces the dynamic tension of sound and silence of God throughout the biblical text as a helpful exploration for those wanting to hear from and speak with the Divine. She suggests that what we may need is to use tools like an economy of words, courtesy to the hearers, and reverence to God (who ultimately is the One speaking). And of course a healthy dose of silence may be needed.
  
  This book has shaken my entire preaching life up, compelling me into a deeper desire to be quiet and incline my ear before daring to speak. The pages of my copy of this book are covered page-to-page with underlinings and I will definitely be reading it again soon.
  
  "Jesus came among us as word. I believe God remains among us as music (and the Holy Spirit as the breath that brings both word and music to life). Those of us who preach may never stop judging ourselves for failing to do justice to the Word, but how can we ever do justice to the Music? ...Would you hum? Snap your fingers? How does the human voice capture the sounds of sobbing violins? And yet that is what we are up against as we try to toss the fragile nets of our words over the bone-melting, universe-making music of God.
  
  We are not excused from trying, only from succeeding. Meanwhile we do the best we can, taking up the soiled, tired language we have been given and asking God to give us grace as well, that we might by our tender, devoted handling of those words be able to bring a few of them back to life." - Barbara Brown Taylor
• 
  Bruce Nuffer

  I haven't found another book that says what this book says, that God is "unsayable," and the more we try (which we must do) the worse job we do. Taylor discusses the need for silence, and compares preaching (she is a preacher) to the task of trying to tell someone about a piece of music. Not only will words never do justice to the subject of our conversation, they will always give a somewhat false understanding of something that cannot be understood. She says that if people leave "filled" after the hearing of God's word, then we have done a grave injustice, That the purpose of preaching is to make people more hungry so that they seek out that which cannot be understood by words but only experienced.
• 
  Demetrius Rogers

  I found this to be a beautifully written defense for the homily. However, this book is more than that. This is an admonishment for preachers to exercise more homiletical restraint. Cause after all, "What can you say that will be more eloquent than the silence itself?" (5) God is reticent when it comes to his speech, therefore should a preacher have any less reticence about his or her own? Therefore, sometimes we preachers need enough "good sense not to say what cannot be said," (119). A well written and thought provoking work.
• 
  Kristin

  Sat down and read this through in just a few hours. I grew up in the Methodist church but consider myself a-theistic now, and feel that the lessons and questions of this book to apply to much more than religion. The use of language, of words, the current bombardment of noise in our world, and so many people's inability to listen to the silence are themes I've all comtemplated before but that Taylor does more eloquently than I've ever managed. I'd love to hear her sermons.
• 
  Joshua

  An interesting look at the responsibilities of preachers charged with speaking for a God who seems, more and more, to be silent. This is some of her more intellectual writing, but she manages to maintain a style that is compelling. There are no "answers" here, but rather observations and suggestions.