God Who Speaks: Learning the Language of God - Softcover

Johnson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802827543 ISBN 13: 9780802827548

Publisher: William B Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2004

Synopsis

As Christians we believe that God speaks - that God has spoken to people down through the centuries and still speaks to us today. But just how does God speak to us? Has his speech changed over time? And how do we "hear" the voice of God? In this insightful book Ben Campbell Johnson explores the subject of divine speech, highlighting its importance to faith and leading Christian believers into the practice of listening for God's voice in daily life. Johnson first explores the biblical foundations of divine communication, tracing the ways that God has spoken to humankind from the calling of Abraham, to the appearance of Jesus, to the continuing work of the Spirit in the early church. He then gleans important lessons about God's language from a wide range of Christian figures throughout history - Polycarp, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Ávila, Henri Nouwen, and others. As this historical record shows, God communicates with us in a variety of ways. In exploring these different modes of "GodSpeech," Johnson deftly guides readers into the practice of "intensive listening," a way of posing issues to God and discerning his response. Numerous anecdotes illuminate Johnson's discussion, and each chapter ends with questions for reflection and discussion as well as suggestions for journaling. Johnson concludes the book by recounting a number of personal experiences that vividly illustrate the value of learning to listen to God's voice. At a time when many Christians hunger for a more personal, meaningful connection with God, this book shows readers how to discern divine language and forge a closer, richer relationship with "the God who speaks."

About this title

About the Author

Ben Campbell Johnson is professor emeritus of Christian spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

From the Back Cover

As Christians we believe that God speaks -- that God has spoken to people down through the centuries and still speaks to us today. But just how does God speak to us? Has his speech changed over time? And how do we bhearb the voice of God? In this insightful book Ben Campbell Johnson explores the subject of divine speech, highlighting its importance to faith and leading Christian believers into the practice of listening for Godbs voice in daily life.

Johnson first explores the biblical foundations of divine communication, tracing the ways that God has spoken to humankind from the calling of Abraham, to the appearance of Jesus, to the continuing work of the Spirit in the early church. He then gleans important lessons about Godbs language from a wide range of Christian figures throughout history -- Polycarp, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Cvila, Henri Nouwen, and others.

As this historical record shows, God communicates with us in a variety of ways. In exploring these different modes of bGodSpeech, b Johnson deftly guides readers into the practice of bintensive listening, b a way of posing issues to God and discerning his response. Numerous anecdotes illuminate Johnsonbs discussion, and each chapter ends with questions for reflection and discussion as well as suggestions for journaling. Johnson concludes the book by recounting a number of personal experiences that vividly illustrate the value of learning to listen to Godbs voice.

At a time when many Christians hunger for a more personal, meaningful connection with God, this book shows readers how to discern divine language and forge a closer, richer relationship with bthe God who speaks.b

Edition details

• Publisher: William B Eerdmans Publishing Co
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802827543
• ISBN 13: 9780802827548
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224