Silence, Diarmaid MacCulloch
Silence, Diarmaid MacCulloch
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Silence
A Christian History

Author: Diarmaid MacCulloch

Narrator: Walter Dixon

Unabridged: 8 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 10/01/2013

Includes: Bonus Material Bonus Material Included


Synopsis

A provocative history of the role of silence in Christianity by the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author

In this essential work of religious history, the New York Times bestselling author of Christianity explores the vital role of silence in the Christian story.

How should one speak to God? Are our prayers more likely to be heard if we offer them quietly at home or loudly in church? How can we really know if God is listening? From the earliest days, Christians have struggled with these questions. Their varied answers have defined the boundaries of Christian faith and established the language of our most intimate appeals for guidance or forgiveness.

MacCulloch shows how Jesus chose to emphasize silence as an essential part of his message and how silence shaped the great medieval monastic communities of Europe. He also examines the darker forms of religious silence, from the church’s embrace of slavery and its muted reaction to the Holocaust to the cover-up by Catholic authorities of devastating sexual scandals.

A groundbreaking work that will change our understanding of the most fundamental wish to be heard by God, Silence gives voice to the greatest mysteries of faith.


About Diarmaid MacCulloch

Historian Diarmaid MacCulloch is the author of several books, including Thomas Cranmer, winner of the Whitbread Prize, the James Tait Black Prize, and the Duff Cooper Prize. He is currently a professor of the history of the church at Oxford University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Avril on August 19, 2013

Warning - do not read this book without a basic understanding of Christian history or copies of MacCulloch's A History of Christianity and Reformation: Europe's House Divided beside you. This book is based on a lecture series and MacCulloch assumes a fair amount of knowledge in his hearers/readers.......more

Goodreads review by Michael on January 11, 2014

A fabulous read by the eminent Diarmaid MacCulloch of Oxford University. After having read some of his other books, most notably his biography of Thomas Cranmer and "The First Three Thousand Years" (2011) I was curious how he would treat this topic, especially in light of controversies within my own......more

Goodreads review by Al on February 17, 2015

Trying to do justice to this type of book always leaves me in two (or more!) minds… On the one hand, this beautifully written work should provide much pleasure for Christians wanting an excellent overview of the subject. My only caveat here is that the background history is extensive and quite schola......more

Goodreads review by Adam on October 22, 2013

Short Review: Diarmaid MacCulloch is an excellent historian. And the riffs off the idea of silence, while interesting as individual ideas are not cohesive. So on the whole the book lacks focus and organization. My problem is that it seems like MacCulloch is saying that there is no correlation within......more

Goodreads review by Nick on May 08, 2019

A book to savour and with some gems for all readers exploring the various phenomena of Christian experience. But having said that, following MacCulloch is not always easy, as he moves from early monasticism to musical practices of the Reformation through to uncomfortable and oppressive silences arou......more