ABSTRACT
Divine silence has frequently frustrated or even terrified the faithful, who continue to pray notwithstanding what appears to be divine indifference in the face of adversity and cruelty. At the same time, that very silence confirms for atheists their belief in the absence of any God. Apocalyptic silence features in the Book of Revelation: “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for half an hour”. This silence signifies awe and reverence. One of the best-known films of Sweden’s Ingmar Bergman takes its title from this passage. Silence is an experiential reality rather than an abstract concept in the Bible, and this reality is no more obvious than in the four gospels that tell the story of Jesus Christ. One of the most poignant accounts of the struggle to come to terms with God’s apparent indifference and silence has been written by Reynolds Price, who was confined for life to a wheelchair.
