Silence: A Christian History

Written by Diarmaid MacCulloch

Narrated by Walter Dixon

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ascent Audio
• Release date: Oct 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781469027647

Reviews for Silence

[datrappert · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is based on a 6-hour long series of lectures McCulloch gave. The audiobook is 8 hours, and it isn't read by MacCulloch, which is a shame if you enjoyed his narration of the BBC version of his History of Christianity. In any case, this seems to encompass a lot more than silence and covers much of the same ground as his book version of the History of Christianity. At times it is very interesting, but for some stretches it isn't. The brief sections toward the end about Christian silence about the Holocaust and Slavery were interesting as well as the discussion of child abuse covered up by the church. But as you can see from these examples, the author has strayed a bit far from his original treatment of silence in terms of silent prayer or the silence of monasteries. I don't recommend this unless you are a big fan of MacCulloch or religious history in general. (Although I definitely agree with the other reviewer who said it works better as a book than a lecture.)

[nielsengw_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the most powerful social forces is silence. A silent man before a crowd speaks volumes without opening his mouth. Silence is powerful in that it forces the listener to be still within themselves, to not desperately fill the moment with words. In an age where media of all sorts constantly surrounds us, it is nice to gain a little perspective and be silent. Diarmid MacCulloch’s Silence is a look at the use of silence in the history of Christianity. There are myriad references to silence in the Bible and the Tanakh and MacCulloch begins his study there. But even while this is a Christian history, the temptation to dip into Greek philosophy is too great. The fact that the early Church fathers used Greek texts brings in new levels of complexity when discussing cases of silence. The Old Testament, with a mild emphasis on pre-Christ Judaism, revels in episodes of silence in both its stories and its rituals. The New Testament bring with it both the interpretation of the silences of Jesus and Paul’s rebuke of “noisy Christians.” In the Middle Ages, monastic silence became a way of life and a means of self-reflection and each of the Reformations brought a new meaning to silence.This book is rich in Church history and analysis, and MacCulloch should be commended for his efforts. While many episodes of Christian silence are moments of stoicism and prayer, MacCulloch does not shy away from silence in the heated topics of homosexuality, gender inequality, and child abuse. While silence can be powerful, breaking a long silence can be just as effective. MacCulloch’s investigation of silence as a part of Christian history is as splendid as it is encompassing. A dense but rich book.

[the7ken7petersen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If one claims to be a Christian, surely it is important to know what it is into which one is investing faith. Christianity has been around for two thousand years and, inevitably, man has interfered with the very basic message of the Lord. Sometimes, this human input has been for altruistic reasons and sometimes, from a desire to achieve, or retain, power.Diarmaid MacCulloch has written a very concentrated overview of many of these hidden 'aids' to the Christian faith. In the wrong hands, this could turn into a sensational anti-Christian assault: not when those hands are MacCulloch's. This book is written with a sympathetic believer's view but, one that is convinced that the truth must be out in the open - even when it would be far more convenient for us to forget.This book examines these 'silences' from the way in which a unified Catholic church was instigated, with fringe groups, such as the Gnostics, being painted out of the picture for many centuries through to the silence in many areas when Nazi outrages were inflicted upon the Jewish community and right up to date with paedophilia within some Christian care homes. In places, this book is exceedingly uncomfortable reading, particularly for a believer, but one never gets the feeling that the shock is gratuitous and the object is to expose the wrongful action and not to create characters onto whom blame can be conveniently laid. This is a book which, having read, I need to put on my bookcase for a couple of months whilst I ingest the information and then, I shall re-read it. It is one that I would recommend to every believer.