When God is Silent

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Nancy

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Finished the book. Eye opening...some of the things C.S. wrote. I do realize he wrote from his grief, and quite poignantly at that! It must have pained him when doubting God's character but, oh how human C.S.'s writing here shows him to be. I have always wondered what exactly he believed about purgatory...it's a comforting idea yet, I cannot see it in scripture.
Thank you for the referral @Stan B
 
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Stan B

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Finished the book. Eye opening...some of the things C.S. wrote. I do realize he wrote from his grief, and quite poignantly at that! It must have pained him when doubting God's character but, oh how human C.S.'s writing here shows him to be. I have always wondered what exactly he believed about purgatory...it's a comforting idea yet, I cannot see it in scripture.
Thank you for the referral @Stan B
Yeah, CS tended to be intense about everything he did, and indeed his grief was intense after he and his wife were parted . . . For a while.

As for purgatory, this was a money raising con job on the part of Rome to extort $$$ from the family of the departed, to get them out of purgatory early.

The entire Romanism purgatory scam, is an assault upon the efficacy of the blood of Christ to purge us of ALL of our sins.

I still have a copy of the letter the Archbishop of Winnipeg sent to all members during the war, guaranteeing instant access to Heaven for their sons engaged in the war, bypassing purgatory, for a fee of $20!! The depravity of this cult observed no bounds. This kind of stuff has been going on for over 500 years!
 
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OzSpen

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Awesome reply Stan, thank you for the input! There is not one thing you said here that I do not agree with.
Now "From A Grief Observed" is one I have not read by C.S. He had such insight. I will order it NOW, lol.
In Him always,
nancy

Nancy,

You can read A Grief Observed by C S Lewis as a pdf document online.

You don't need to go to buy it. ;)

Oz
 
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brakelite

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"Help me with my unbelief". And it is at times when we are seemingly bereft of His presence, that He is doing just that. Helping to strengthen our faith. He wants us to trust Him in the valleys. When death, suffering, pain, fear, and anger seem to surround our every step, we need to say with conviction, "though He slay even me, yet will I trust Him".
 

FollowHim

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Greetings brothers and sisters!
This is a subject I've been looking into for a little while now. Does this happen to everyone? I am thinking it does, at least to a certain extent. God was silent for 13 years with Abraham yet, his faith only grew stronger! Even David had his times of silence, not to mention poor Job.
It can be a very difficult thing to see His light inside our own personal darkness but, these dark times seem to be THE very time to immediately pray/praise Him!
There are many reasons, IMHO that He is silent with us sometimes (sometimes even to the point of desolation) it could be sin in our lives, or simply an opportunity to grow in faith...right smack dab through the darkest of times. Such an opportunity to seek Him! ~ and it can be the hardest thing to do when one feels as though they are having a one way conversation in a relationship with The Father. We KNOW He is still there because we believe His Word.
Does anybody have anything to add here? :)

nancy
God cannot go silent, because the whole of creation speaks.

God declares He stops helping certain people because of their hypocrisy.

God goes silent because we harden our hearts and only want a certain type of response, and we claim we know better than others. It is so easy to do because as weak easily wandering folk, we claim certainty while failing at a fundamental level. I have met many who are certain there mission is to put others right rather than help, comfort and meet need.
 
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Prayer Warrior

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Good topic, Nancy!

Like most of us, I've been through some pretty tough times--death of loved ones, loss, betrayal, depression.... But the most difficult experiences of my life have been when I haven't been able to hear God's voice in the dark times. As long as I know He's with me, I know I can make it.

It seems to me that this is a special kind of testing. In times like these, we have to choose to believe that He is with us because He said He will never leave us nor forsake us. I know that my faith is stronger for having been tempered in this way.
 
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Nancy

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Good topic, Nancy!

Like most of us, I've been through some pretty tough times--death of loved ones, loss, betrayal, depression.... But the most difficult experiences of my life have been when I haven't been able to hear God's voice in the dark times. As long as I know He's with me, I know I can make it.

It seems to me that this is a special kind of testing. In times like these, we have to choose to believe that He is with us because He said He will never leave us nor forsake us. I know that my faith is stronger for having been tempered in this way.

All true, we need to be tested that way. And, I can think of no place darker than when He is silent, which can last for days, hours even years for some of His people. So easy to praise Him with such joy when things are going well (ha, fair weathered sons and daughters? lol) but the true tests come when we (at least I) least expect them. How important is it to run TO Him during the testing, praising and thanking Him still as He does not change, He is still good, He is still faithful, He is still THERE. This happens to me at least 2-3 times a year. Just sensing His silence can throw us into a deep pit if we're not careful. Good post my friend.
 
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Nancy

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Nancy,

You can read A Grief Observed by C S Lewis as a pdf document online.

You don't need to go to buy it. ;)

Oz

Thanks OZ,
Yes, Stan suggested that and I did find it yesterday, and since it was not at all long, I was able to finish it quickly. I might not agree with all things C.S., but he is still full of wisdom and insight unlike any other author I have read, and he is still my favorite author :) Thanks for the tip though!
 

Nancy

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Yeah, CS tended to be intense about everything he did, and indeed his grief was intense after he and his wife were parted . . . For a while.

As for purgatory, this was a money raising con job on the part of Rome to extort $$$ from the family of the departed, to get them out of purgatory early.

The entire Romanism purgatory scam, is an assault upon the efficacy of the blood of Christ to purge us of ALL of our sins.

I still have a copy of the letter the Archbishop of Winnipeg sent to all members during the war, guaranteeing instant access to Heaven for their sons engaged in the war, bypassing purgatory, for a fee of $20!! The depravity of this cult observed no bounds. This kind of stuff has been going on for over 500 years!

Yes, I have read and do believe the doctrine of purgatory made the CC quite rich...I can only imagine their coffers beneath that massive "city" The Vatican. Not to mention indulgences! Pay to play there, huh? There will be Hell to pay for those things, makes me wonder how many poor people gave their last cent for a dead loved one to go to heaven...like God needs our money.
 

amadeus

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God cannot go silent, because the whole of creation speaks.

God declares He stops helping certain people because of their hypocrisy.

God goes silent because we harden our hearts and only want a certain type of response, and we claim we know better than others. It is so easy to do because as weak easily wandering folk, we claim certainty while failing at a fundamental level. I have met many who are certain there mission is to put others right rather than help, comfort and meet need.
Yes, His Word never ceases... but sometimes our hearing is obscured or stopped up for various reasons, usually, if not always due to our own fault.
 

amadeus

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All true, we need to be tested that way. And, I can think of no place darker than when He is silent, which can last for days, hours even years for some of His people. So easy to praise Him with such joy when things are going well (ha, fair weathered sons and daughters? lol) but the true tests come when we (at least I) least expect them. How important is it to run TO Him during the testing, praising and thanking Him still as He does not change, He is still good, He is still faithful, He is still THERE. This happens to me at least 2-3 times a year. Just sensing His silence can throw us into a deep pit if we're not careful. Good post my friend.
"Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us."Psalm 62:8
 
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Berserk

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@Nancy

I see that you've just read and appreciated C. S. Lewis's "A Grief Observed." So I suspect you might really enjoy "The Shadowlands," a movie about how C. S. Lewis falls in love with Joy and then is forced to grieve her battle with cancer and her death. Watch it here:


I am now a retired Methodist pastor, but during my ministry I led a monthly Friday potluck dinner and movie night. The movies all featured Christian themes and I picked "The Shadowlands" because I considered it the best movie on grief ever made.
 

Nancy

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@Nancy

I see that you've just read and appreciated C. S. Lewis's "A Grief Observed." So I suspect you might really enjoy "The Shadowlands," a movie about how C. S. Lewis falls in love with Joy and then is forced to grieve her battle with cancer and her death. Watch it here:


I am now a retired Methodist pastor, but during my ministry I led a monthly Friday potluck dinner and movie night. The movies all featured Christian themes and I picked "The Shadowlands" because I considered it the best movie on grief ever made.

Thank you B.!
Yes, I have seen this movie years ago and loved it. Great choice and, I hope you are enjoying your retirement!
 

Berserk

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My favorite text on God's silence is expressed in the story of a suicidal Elijah's flight from Jezebel's soldiers after the miracle on Mount Carmel. Elijah's depressed flight takes him on a 40-day pilgrimage to Mount Horeb (= Sinai). There he is taught that our need for signs can prevent us from discerning the true meaning of holy silence:

"Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was...breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; land after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of sheer silence (1 Kings 19:11-12)."

The Hebrew of the phrase "a sound of sheer silence" can more helpfully be translated "a silence so intense you can hear it," not the less accuarate "still small voice of he KJV). On Sinai, his prayer vigil brings him 3 standard theophanous signs--wind, earthquake, and fire--but he discerns that God is not present in any of these 3 spectacular manifestations. He then rests in "a silence so intense you can hear it." Our desperation for a sign often makes us forget the divinely intended result of our longing for divine clarity: the silence of our own thoughts becomes sacred because the prolonged longing makes us one with the mind of God so profoundly and sweetly that our thoughts actually express God's thoughts and guidance for us! We often miss this guidance because we expect a message directly from God printed on the neon screen of our mind!

@Nancy
You might find this article interesting on why C. S. Lewis believed in Purgatory.

Why the Protestant C.S. Lewis Believed in Purgatory |

Stan's disparagement of this doctrine has prompted me to post a new thread on Catholic biblical grounds for Purgatory. True, the doctrine is a late Catholic confection and has led to manipulative abuse. So most Evangelicals have a cartoon caricature of it and are unaware of its value and biblical underpinnings. So stay tuned for my new thread on Purgatory in the next day or so.
 
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Nancy

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My favorite text on God's silence is expressed in the story of a suicidal Elijah's flight from Jezebel's soldiers after the miracle on Mount Carmel. Elijah's depressed flight takes him on a 40-day pilgrimage to Mount Horeb (= Sinai). There he is taught that our need for signs can prevent us from discerning the true meaning of holy silence:

"Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was...breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; land after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, a sound of sheer silence (1 Kings 19:11-12)."

The Hebrew of the phrase "a sound of sheer silence" can more helpfully be translated "a silence so intense you can hear it," not the less accuarate "still small voice of he KJV). On Sinai, his prayer vigil brings him 3 standard theophanous signs--wind, earthquake, and fire--but he discerns that God is not present in any of these 3 spectacular manifestations. He then rests in "a silence so intense you can hear it." Our desperation for a sign often makes us forget the divinely intended result of our longing for divine clarity: the silence of our own thoughts becomes sacred because the prolonged longing makes us one with the mind of God so profoundly and sweetly that our thoughts actually express God's thoughts and guidance for us! We often miss this guidance because we expect a message directly from God printed on the neon screen of our mind!

@Nancy
You might find this article interesting on why C. S. Lewis believed in Purgatory.

Why the Protestant C.S. Lewis Believed in Purgatory |

Stan's disparagement of this doctrine has prompted me to post a new thread on Catholic biblical grounds for Purgatory. True, the doctrine is a late Catholic confection and has led to manipulative abuse. So most Evangelicals have a cartoon caricature of it and are unaware of its value and biblical underpinnings. So stay tuned for my new thread on Purgatory in the next day or so.

Thank you B, I will check out the link. And for sure, silence from Him can be very loud...!

"...So maybe the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory shouldn’t be so scary for Protestants after all? " Lol.