Interrupting Silence: God's Command to Speak Out

Written by Walter Brueggemann

Narrated by Grover Gardner

Silence is a complex matter. It can refer to awe before unutterable holiness, but it can also refer to the coercion where some voices are silenced in the interest of control by the dominant voices. It is the latter silence that Walter Brueggemann explores, urging us to speak up in situations of injustice. Interrupting Silence illustrates that the Bible is filled with stories where marginalized people break repressive silence and speak against it. Examining how maintaining silence allows the powerful to keep control, Brueggemann motivates readers to consider situations in their lives where they need to either interrupt silence or be part of the problem, convincing us that God is active and wanting us to act for justice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: Oct 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781545909195

Walter Brueggemann

Walter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He is past President of the Society of Biblical Literature and the author of several books from Cascade Books, including: A Pathway of Interpretation, David and His Theologian, Divine Presence amid Violence, Praying the Psalms (2nd ed.), and The Role of Old Testament Theology in Old Testament Interpretation.(2011), Remember You Are Dust (2012), Embracing the Transformation (2013), and The Practice of Homefulness (2014).

Reviews for Interrupting Silence

[deusvitae · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A work that encapsulates both the compelling and frustrating natures of Brueggemann and his work.Over the first seven chapters Brueggemann incisively explores narratives in the Old and New Testament as they relate to breaking silence. He considers the cry of the Israelites regarding oppression by Pharaoh; Amos' unwillingness to be silenced by the priest in Bethel; David's meditation on how an unwillingness to cry out to God for forgiveness and to keep silent hurts and kills; the Syro-phoenician woman's challenge to Jesus for healing; Jesus casting out the demon who made a boy mute; and Bartimaeus being quieted by the crowd but proving unwilling to be silent. In these chapters Brueggemann is often at his best, providing compelling exegesis and commentary, showing how God brings forth justice for the dispossessed and marginalized, although at times, as is often the case, he's stretching things a bit.And then we get to the last chapter, and ostensibly the point of the book: associating all of these earlier episodes about silencing as oppression and applying it to women preachers in light of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, and how such is a similar type of silencing.And so the book really becomes a means by which a liberal progressive Christian attempts to show Biblical continuity in making such a claim. In so doing the rest of the book loses a bit of luster, and questions arise about the selective choice of silence. Silence is not merely an oppressive tool; Habakkuk summons all to be silent before God in His holy temple (Habakkuk 2:20), and there is silence in heaven when the seventh seal is opened (Revelation 8:1). The argumentation in the final chapter often begs the question. As is consistent with the theme, Brueggemann would have us read all of the NT in light of Galatians 3:28, never mind that Paul shows no inclination elsewhere to flatten or deconstruct the roles and positions mentioned in the verse. Ephesians and Colossians are of course right out as not truly Pauline; he has to except 1 Corinthians from his discussion of how Paul views women, and whenever some evidence has to be excluded, you have to wonder why. Even if you're tempted to agree with his reasoning, you can hopefully see why there remain strong arguments against it. The book would have been quite compelling without the final chapter; then again, without the final chapter, it would likely not have been written. In the end, therefore, a bit disappointing.**--galley received as part of early review program