Discerning Divine Speech

The God Who Speaks teaches readers to listen.

Some theologians reject the idea that God still speaks in today’s world, but Ben Campbell Johnson, author and professor emeritus of Christian spirituality at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia, disagrees.

“The speech of God is not only a possibility—it is an imperative,” he writes.

Johnson looks at the life of Abram to illustrate “GodSpeech,” as well as at Christ, who was the “full content of God’s speech.” He offers a historical overview of people God has spoken to, including Polycarp, Anthony of the Desert, Francis of Assisi, Catherine of Siena, and Henri Nouwen.

Today, he writes, God speaks through audible voice, ideas, silence, creation, people, imagination, events, Scripture, spontaneous writing, change, and visions and dreams. One key to hearing God’s voice is intensive listening, and Johnson provides simple steps to begin the practice. About a quarter of the book is devoted to Johnson’s short, reflective essays on intensive listening.

Each chapter includes questions for reflection and ideas for journaling. Johnson’s book should spark controversy, but he is persuasive when he writes, “God does speak, and this divine speech both forms and transforms our world and us.”