The Silence of God

by Helmut Thielicke

FROM THE INTRODUCTION BY TRANSLATOR GEOFFREY W. Helmut Thielicke "has a vivid awareness of the actual needs of actual people living in this age of supreme storm and stress. He sees how the biblical message, how Jesus Christ Himself as the living message, answers powerfully and sufficiently to these needs. He appreciates that faith in Him is not an easy thing, and yet that true faith carries us to victory even in doubt, anxiety, distress and the terrors of conflict and destruction. He attains almost an apocalyptic stature in his depiction of our shattered world and in his proclamation of the message of God's salvation and judgements within it. Here are sermons to put into the hands of contemporaries who suffer from the fears and anxieties which Thielicke so graphically describes but who do not yet perceive the true meaning and relevance of what God did for man in the giving of His only Son. Here are sermons from which to learn how the old Gospel, first given in a very different world, may come with all the living comfort and the regenerative force of truth and reality to our own age too, made relevant by the Holy Spirit on the lips of the sensitive and dedicated preacher."

Genres: Theology

92 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

Helmut Thielicke (1908–1986) was a German Protestant theologian, pastor, author, and influential Christian thinker whose work explored the relationship between faith, ethics, culture, and modern life.

Born in Wuppertal, Germany, Thielicke studied philosophy and theology at the University of Erlangen, earning doctorates in both disciplines. His academic career developed during the increasingly hostile climate of Nazi Germany. A member of the Confessing Church, he faced repeated interrogation by the Gestapo and was eventually dismissed from his professorship in Heidelberg in 1940. Despite restrictions on his teaching, preaching, travel, and publishing, he continued to speak and write widely, becoming known for addressing Christian faith in language that engaged directly with the realities of ordinary life.

During the Second World War, Thielicke preached extensively and maintained contact with members of the German resistance, while also developing his vision for rebuilding Germany's intellectual and spiritual life after the war. His ideas contributed to the founding of the Evangelical Academy at Bad Boll in 1945.

After the war, Thielicke returned to academic life, first at the University of Tübingen and later at the University of Hamburg, where he helped establish a new theological faculty. He served as rector of the University of Hamburg from 1960 to 1978 and was also pastor of Hamburg's celebrated St. Michaelis church.

Thielicke became widely known beyond Germany through his books, sermons, lectures, and international travels. He lectured throughout Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, meeting figures including Billy Graham and President Jimmy Carter.

His writing is noted for its combination of theological depth, philosophical reflection, and pastoral warmth. Rather than treating Christianity as an abstract system of ideas, Thielicke sought to explore what faith means in the midst of doubt, suffering, moral responsibility, culture, and everyday human experience.

He died in Hamburg in 1986, aged 77. His books remain valued by readers interested in Christian theology, ethics, philosophy, and the challenges of living out faith in the modern world.

Reviews

[Tim Sheppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good thoughts on anxiety and commentary of the Matt 15 passage dealing with the Gentile woman. She approached Jesus and he did not say a word to her. Helmut provides some clarity and focus here on a passage I have always skipped over.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thielicke preached a number of sermons leading up to, and through, World War 2, appealing to the moral conscience of Germany. Even 50 years later, his words carry a poignant urgency. How is the cross of Christ relevant in suffering? In moral crisis? How can God be merciful and silent during a perilous time?

[Lukas Stock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this is preaching.

[Brent Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helmut Thielicke just doesn’t miss! His sermons are incredible examples of bringing the gospel to bear on suffering and directing people to look above all else at Christ alone for hope.

Not quite as good as How to Believe Again, but that’s probably because this is a compilation of sermons rather than the coherent sermon series collected in that book.