The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance

by Dorothee Sölle, Dorothee Sölle, Martin Rumscheidt (Translator)

Exploring the religious impulse known as mysticism the "silent cry" at the heart of all the world's religions. Mysticism, in the sense of a "longing for God," has been present in all times, cultures, and religions. But Soelle believes it has never been more important than in this age of materialism and fundamentalism. The antiauthoritarian mystical element in each religion leads to community of free spirits and resistance to the death-dealing aspects of our contemporary culture. Religion in the third millennium, Soelle argues, either will be mystical or it will be dead. Therefore, Soelle identifies strongly with the hunger of New Age searchers, but laments the religious fast food they devour. Today, a kind of "democratized mysticism" of those without much religious background flourishes. This mystical experience is not drawn so much of the tradition as out of contemporary experiences. In that sense, each of us is a mystic, and Soelle's work seeks to give theological depth, clarity, and direction. This, her magnum opus, conjoins Soelle's deep religious knowledge and wisdom with her passion for social justice into a work destined to be a classic of religious literature.

Genres: Theology, Mysticism, Spirituality, Religion, Christianity, Philosophy, Nonfiction

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Dorothee Steffensky-Sölle was a German liberation theologian and writer.

Sölle studied theology, philosophy and literature at the University of Cologne. She became active in politics, speaking out against the Vietnam War, the arms race of the Cold War and injustices in the developing world. Notably, from 1968 to 1972 she organized Cologne's Politisches Nachtgebet (political night-prayers). Between 1975 and 1987, she spent six months a year at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she was a professor of systematic theology.

She wrote a large number of books, including Theology for Skeptics: Reflections on God, The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance (2001) and her autobiography Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian (1999). In Beyond Mere Obedience: Reflections on a Christian Ethic for the Future she coined the term "Christofascist" to describe fundamentalists. Perhaps her best-known work in English was Suffering, which offers a critique of "Christian masochism" and "theological sadism." Sölle's critique is against the assumption that God is all-powerful and the cause of suffering; humans thus suffer for some greater purpose. Instead, God suffers and is powerless alongside us. Humans are to struggle together against oppression, sexism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of authoritarianism.

"I believe in God who created the world has not done such a thing that always must remain, not the ruled by eternal laws, which are immutable, not by natural systems of rich and poor, experts and uninformed, rulers and extradited. I believe in God, who wants the appeal of living and the change in all states through our work, our policy".

Reviews

[Jakob Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dickes Highlight das Buch!
Doro sölle bringt einfach interessante Perspektiven nicht nur theoretisch sondern auch in ihrem eigenen lebensvollzug und ihrem politischen Wirken zusammen
Dabei ist ihr Plädoyer christlich politischer Existenz als Widerstand (und widerstehen) aus und in Mystik ne richtig interessante (postmodern attraktive) Mischung

Auch wenn sich manches etwas anekdotisch anfühlt und an manchen Stellen nen kleines bisschen wiederholt ist doch die Neuigkeit ihres Ansatzes, in großen Teilen mit Bezügen auf Meister Eckhardt, für mich neu aber gleichzeitig äußerst bedenkswert erschienen

[Lucas Pöpel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich habe viele gute Gedanken mitgenommen. Das Buch bringt vieles zusammen, was mich schon lange bewegt. Mystik, Befreiungstheologie, Sensibilität für das Leiden, aktiv werden für Gerechtigkeit…

Sölle plädiert für eine Mystik der offenen Augen, in der das mystische Element der Vereinigung/Verbundenheit mit Gott seinen Platz hat und die Konsequenz einer neuen Beziehung zur Welt ist, die sich die Augen Gottes ausgeliehen hat, die auf die Armen und Unterdrückten schauen.

Ich finde, dass ihr Ausdruck für Gott, "stilles Geschrei", eine sehr passende Verbindung zwischen der Prozess- und der Befreiungstheologie wäre. Gott im Schrei der Ungerechtigkeit entdecken, indem ich mich tief mit ihm verbinde und mich dann von ihm zu einem befreienden Handeln locken lasse.

[Andrew Marr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful overview of mysticism, mostly Christian but with helpful references to Hasidic rabbis & Sufi masters as well. What is unique about this book is that the author is a committed social activist & her interest in mysticism is centered on the intersection between mysticism & social outreach. This is a very intense book that should set the heart on fire for mystical prayer and social concerns both.

[Ty · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The long lasting and most dangerous resistance is the one that was born from beauty.”

[Dawna Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be a thought provoking read. It is somewhat dated in terms of current world issues but the essence of the mysticism of oneness remains the same. Mysticism is indeed the experience of the oneness and wholeness of life where one acts without any why or wherefore.

[mahatmanto]

beli ebook ini karena dikomporin teman yang sedang studi mengenai mistik sebagai perlawanan terhadap agama institusional.
tema seperti ini agaknya muncul di sepanjang sejarah agama institusi, yakni kebutuhan akan keluwesan institusi agama dalam mengikuti dinamika umatnya.
buku ini terbit tahun 1997 dalam bahasa jerman, namun baru 2001 hadir dalam bahasa inggris. dalam bibliografi karya-karya soelle [yang panjang itu] buku ini termasuk di deretan belakang, namun tema itu sudah lama ia gumuli.
konon, resistensi dia itu diinspirasi oleh meister ekhardt, juga kierkegaard, dan bonhoeffer. yang terakhir ini pendeta yang meringkuk di dalam penjara hitler, ketika semua pendeta jerman pada masanya berada di belakang sang fuhrer.

buku ini diawali dengan statement bahwa 3 elemen agama yang hidup [institusi, intelektual, mistik] harus saling berhubungan secara resiprokal agar agama itu tetap hidup. ia pungut model 3 elemen itu dari pemikiran teolog awam katolik friedrich von huegel.

--bentaar.. (less)

[Walter Wittwer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book by a German theology professor and lecturer. She was quoted from this book in something I read regarding spiritual direction, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Mysticism is for everybody and, quite frankly, without it, Christianity is dead. Mysticism is simply fully looking at what the Bible says and believing it. I love what the author says in her introduction, “what I want to live understand and make known is the love for God. And that seems to be in little demand in those two institutions (the church and academic theology). At best, what Protestant theology and preaching articulate in what they designate as “gospel” can be summed up as follows: God loves, protects, renews, and saves us. One rarely hears that this process can be truly experienced only when such love, like every genuine love, is mutual. That humans love, protect, renew, and save God sounds to most people like megalomania or even madness. But the madness of this love is exactly what mystics live on.”
The Bible is transcendent and talks of miracles, and “impossible” happenings so to genuinely believe all is says is to be a mystic. And resistance is another necessity for the true Christian, because the prince of this world is satan and so we are called to “resist the devil and he will flee.” (James 4:7)
Soelle is an academician so, even though she speaks in raw terms of love, she can’t help but also speak as to academics. This does not mean that this is a hard book to understand. She is both passionate and intellectual, both conservative and liberal. The political part of her rails against the system, but the religious side of her rails against those who rail against the system without a deep love for God. Righteous anger can only come from God, self-righteous anger is far too prevalent.
If you are a “conservative” who cannot even listen to “liberal” ideas, you will not like this book. That saddens me, because if we cannot even listen to each other’s ideas, we will never mature into the Kingdom of God. If God created everything, and everyone, which, of course, He did, then there are “pieces” of Him in each of us, no matter how much we know the Truth. So, we can learn from the heathen without losing the Kingdom. And please understand, I am not saying she was a heathen. I am fairly certain that I will meet her in heaven.
Getting to the content of the book, Soelle does a wonderful job of scanning the history of mysticism, in each major faith. It is fascinating to see people of every faith longing for the same God. And consistently we see that it is always the institution, whether church, synagogue, mosque, ashram, tribal council, etc., that attacks the mystic. It reminds me of what Jesus said, “you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. (Lk.11:47-48) We don’t like hearing the prophets, but only reading about what they said later.
Whether we agree with all the same issues, we cannot deny her call, “together to offer resistance, actively and deliberately and in very diverse situations, against becoming habituated to death.” One cannot look around the world and see wars, abortion, euthanasia, environmental destruction, and also homosexuality and transgenderism, both of which eliminate reproduction, and not see that we have already become quite habituated to death.
I would really encourage everyone to read it. It is a rich book that will make you think, challenge some of your assumptions, and, ultimately, build your faith in the one true God. Below is just a quick review of what you’ll find.
Part I goes into depth as to “What is Mysticism?” Chapter 1 declares, “We are all mystics.” Here Soelle reviews the thoughts of: Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux (1863-1950), Quaker John Woolman (1720-1772, , Ramakrishna (1836-1886), Thomas Merton (1915-1968), John of the Cross (1542-1591), Dionysius the Areopagite, a Syrian monk (late 5th-early 6th century), Muslim Bayezid Bistami (9th century), William James, psychologist (1842-1910), Mechthild von Magdeburg (1212-1277), Lao-tzu (6th century), C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), and many more. She looks at the consistencies and divergences of most mystical thought and practice. As you can see, her research is inclusive and diverse, as any good academic. One can see the thread of God running through it all, sometimes the thread is thin and frail, and others thin but like fishline. And sometimes it is a fishing net.
She goes on in Part I to talk about Ecstasy and the we have not been created for small things, how to define mysticism and distinguish between genuine and false mysticism, finding a language for mysticism in which she relies heavily on “The Cloud of Unknowing” and “The Cloud of Forgetting,” and the journey which should include being amazed, letting go, and resisting.
Part II is about places, as opposed to placelessness. We are incarnate creatures living in an incarnate world and mysticism doesn’t deny or try to avoid that. Reality is reality, and mystics do not sit around simply humming and smiling. We act and do. Soelle refers to Lewis’ statement, “I am what I do,” numerous times throughout the book. There is earth and nature, eroticism as in “Song of Songs” in which she expounds on the inseparability of heavenly and earthly love, suffering looking at Job and John of the Cross’ dark night of the soul. She goes on to insist that much of mysticism is about community, not singularity, we are called to love God and our neighbor, and finally joy, including the body language of joy, dancing and leaping.
In Part III titled, “Mysticism is Resistance,” we part our ways more frequently. But again, just because the “issues” are different, the general theme is correct. And some of the issues she addresses I agree with 100%. I agree with her that we have fallen asleep in the prison of globalization and individualism (extremes rarely work): a bunch of individuals living in a global society is not community, it is tragic loneliness, as we can see all around us. Examine the world and you do not find a liberated world but one slowly applying shackles and locking the prison doors. As children of God, we are not to panic in fear, but we are also not to whistle in the wind. We are to act. But how? Here is where she speaks passionately and insists that we look at ego v. ego-lessness, possession v. possession-lessness, and violence v. nonviolence, the very things that Jesus talked about, and talks about even now if we are listening.
She ends with liberation theology, something that makes many cringe. The problem is that when we reject labels, we too often also reject knowledge and wisdom. Because the theology is sometimes off, we throw the baby out with the bathwater, as the old adage says. But liberation is something everyone wants and Jesus promises, but because the reader, perhaps, is liberated, Jesus doesn’t allow us to walk away from those still in bondage. We can learn from liberation theology without being led astray in our faith.
Leonardo Boff, Brazilian liberation theologian and Franciscan priest, is quoted as saying, “Marx is mistaken. On this final stage, faith is no opiate, but radiating liberation, a light that drives away darkness; it is life beyond death.” And Soelle ends with, “I grow in the need for one who is different and removes my boundaries. I become more beautiful when I owe my beauty not to myself or my mirrors but to the one who calls me beautiful and whom I need….Prayer is a language of love….Creation itself is dependent on cooperation and on mutual assistance….All that is can live and survive only in the coexistence of relationships….There are human beings who not only hear the “silent cry” which is God, but also make it heard as the music of the world that even to this day fulfills the cosmos and the soul.”

[Glen Grunau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book because it was recommended by a small group of Soulstream partners who read it together and then shared their enthusiasm with the rest of us. A highlight for me was the broad introduction given to mysticism throughout the ages in many different Christian traditions as well as in other religions. The world wide mystical community is breathtaking in its expanse. To be a part of this tradition is an encounter in unitive consciousness.

A chapter was devoted to each of several places where mystical encounter is often likely to be discovered: in nature, eroticism, suffering, community, and joy.

Contrary to popular opinion, mysticism embraces activism - resistance. Mysticism is by definition activist. It is particularly resistant to any society of consumerism, which by its very nature, is rife with injustice. Soelle makes the case that we resist such injustice best when we seek ego-lessness, possessionlessness, non-violence, and liberation.

Such mystical resistance is relatively new territory for me. I have until present, often been content simply to "hold an opinion" on such matters of injustice. I was struck by the criticism of Henry David Thoreau against all who are merely content to hold an opinion and unwilling to engage in "a deliberate denial of the state's authority".

Yet I was also taken by the suggestion that any focus on what my efforts of resistance may achieve is superfluous in the face of mystical prayer which is free of any investment of outcome. It is the silent cry which "gives away its own ears and eyes to let itself be given those of God" .

[Amanda B · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a refreshing, hopeful, life-changing book. It is so gorgeously written that at times I felt stunned by the beauty and aptness of the author's words and had to read sentences over and over until I could get past their beauty and absorb their meaning. It feels like a symphony, with the final chapters a grand culmination of the groundwork laid throughout. If you are interested in religion--if you are disappointed by the hollow but popular prosperity gospel--if you want to read profiles of dozens of fascinating Christian mystics from antiquity through the present--I highly recommend this book.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Soelle that I've read yet. Although it is also the longest. For those with less time to read, Theology for Skeptics is great as well. This one, however, establishes mysticism as an important focus for postmodern religion as well as fuel for resistance.

[Bill Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book. She has explored the faith and lives of a myriad of mystics through the ages. She brings this knowledge to bear as she shares her own experience and what she has learned. Essential to this book is the tie between mysticism and resistance. The awareness of true reality that mysticism brings also brings awareness of how short of that the life generally lived is. Mysticism resists the domination system and seeks to move toward the oneness and beauty of all life. She explores this through the experiences of numerous mystics.

The book proceeds in chapters with particular themes. The normal pattern is to have sections describing the lives and understandings of particular mystics or groups of mystics in relation to the theme and then to have a concluding section summarizing the lessons learned from that (frequently adding lessons from her own life). Her insights are perceptive and deep.

My mission group read this together and we were all deeply impressed with it. I recommend it for anyone wanting to explore the reality of mysticism and its relationship to resistance and social change.

[Elwing · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The author is making an interesting point...However it's nothing new. I know this book was written a few decades ago but for the last thousand year many things have been written on the subject. However, with consumerism we are faced with something new and on the subject of resisting this, she made very good points.

I liked her thorough discussion of Christian mystics. I knew some of them and others I didn't know them in the angle of resistance and activism.

At times the style of writing was tedious, I don't know whether it's because it's a translation or if it was written in this style.

I found frustrating that although she mentions other religions, she only skims through them superficially. Especially since, these other mystical tradition could have provided some the answers she was raising.

Anyhow, it's an interesting book to read. It can be an eye opener.

I'll have to think longer about this book to decide whether I agree with her or not.

[Luke Hillier · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance, Dorothee Soelle seeks to democratize the practice and perspectives of mysticism, and indeed to remind readers that all of us hold an innate capacity for mystical encounter with God. Adjacent to this endeavor is an equally pressing concern to disrupt notions of mysticism as a privatized, if not escapist, piety and to reclaim its historic interrelatedness with resistance, social action, and the struggle for justice. Moving through three distinct sections, Soelle first constructs a foundational understanding of mysticism before exploring various spheres of life where it can occur, then concluding with a thorough elaboration of her central thesis that mysticism is intrinsically linked to resistance against injustice.

The Silent Cry begins with a rigorous attempt at defining mysticism. For Soelle, mysticism is best understood as a journey towards experiences of union with God. After detailing a number of competing models of this journey, she offers her own, which benefits from an intuitive accessibility that reinforces her hopes to democratize mysticism. Soelle’s process begins with “a radical amazement that tears apart the veil of triviality” in which we are awakened to the extraordinary hidden within the ordinary of the present moment. This is followed by “letting go,” an embrace of asceticism that Soelle argues in our current age should center less around denial of bodily needs and instead on detaching from consumerist commitments to possessions, violence, and ego. The process culminates ––though it functions more so as a perpetual cycle than a final destination–– with a co-occurring experience of “healing and resistance” in which one is liberated to say “yes” to God’s vision of love and justice for one’s self and the world and simultaneously say “no” to all the ways such a vision has failed to materialize here and now.

Soelle articulates this even clearer in the book’s final chapter, writing that mystical union with God ultimately allows one to see with God’s eyes and hear with God’s ears. We perceive those rendered invisible by the apathy of the status quo, we hear the titular “silent cry” of those who suffer under the injustices of our world, and we are moved and empowered to join God in responding. This joining is crucial for Soelle’s mysticism, indicating that “the relationship of domination between God and humans has been transformed into one of love” and the door towards mutuality with God and neighbor has been opened. The mystic’s attention to “the silent cry” is how she distinguishes genuine mysticism from the oft-critiqued manifestations that are rightly regarded as an “opiate of the masses” pacifying present hardships or an indulgence in the privileged naval gazing of esoterism.

In an effort to defend this argument, each chapter includes extensive consideration of many highly regarded mystics throughout history with attention to the distinct ways that their spirituality catalyzed both a commitment and a capacity to resist social injustices of their varying contexts. The bulk of these figures ––which include St. John of the Cross, the Beguines, Dom Helder Camara, Simon Weil, St. Francis of Assisi, the Quakers (particularly John Woolman), Dag Hammarskjöld, Martin Luther King Jr., and Dorothy Day–– belong to the Christian tradition, but numerous representatives from Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are featured as well. At times, these biographic interludes are bloated with details that veer into tangential territory, yet they serve as a means of showing the inextricable link between mysticism and resistance throughout time rather than simply telling about it in the abstract.

Perhaps anticipating critique, The Silent Cry concludes with an afterward depicting a conversation between Soelle and her husband. Upon hearing her idea for the book, he muses that it does not feel relevant to the common person, as mysticism is seen as a path reserved for the divinely chosen or most devoted few. Soelle responds: "My most important concern is to democratize mysticism. What I mean to do is reopen the door to the mystic sensibility that’s within all of us, to dig it out from under the debris of trivia." Soelle writes as if haunted by the silent cry that mysticism has given her the ears to hear, and there is a palpable urgency to her arguments. God’s coinciding calls towards mysticism and resistance are ringing out to all of us, and her hope is that more and more will be able to hear them and respond.

[Deborah Porras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a blessing to reconnect with writers in mysticism through classes. This was an extra treat, not required, from a friend’s recommendation. Deeply connected with the perspective and challenges to reorient my own spiritual walk and stop trying to force myself into a strange way.

[Dustin G. Longmire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time I read it and no book better articulates my own theology than this one. Absolutely brilliant!

[Albungkari Yusuf · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[William Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book if you sing in a church choir but are looking for a way to re-engage with God in Christian language beyond simply performing liturgies.

[Petra Steinmair-Pösel · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite books ever!

[Carter West · Rating 4 out of 5]

This arresting volume offers us a view into the heart of one of the most dynamic theologians of the last 50 years. Sölle's last work brings together her longtime passions for the self's Christ-realization and for social transformation, demonstrating their inseparability. Her mastery of the literature of classical Christian mysticism is especially impressive – Meister Eckhart is a constant companion. She keeps returning to Eckhart's call to act "*sunder warumbe* (without a why and wherefore)" as one essential lever to lift one's understanding of the contemplative life. Such holy gratuitousness proves essential in building a bridge between mysticism and political engagement. "Resistance" is the key theme here, and there Sölle rightly perceives a commonality between the two. Both are lives lived across the grain of the culture of dominance, the former in hope of a self authenticated in love, the latter determined to bring about whatever liberating power is available to us. A serene carelessness for any "must" as to consequences and outcomes in either realm enables the disciple to claim maximum freedom of action and maximum sustained effort. In those two spheres of living, Sölle perceives one united human spirit, and she is very persuasive.

As much as I feel compelled to affirm this book as an essential work for the development of my faith, though, I had to give it only four stars (only!). The final few chapters, those dealing with the witness of several politically engaged mystics, tended to lose their focus. The incisive analysis of the "mystics" of the book's first two-thirds gave way to a more loose and wandering style, making it difficult at points to boil her prose down to the essence of the thought of each figure (Henry David Thoreau, e.g., or Dom Helder Camara). Her rambling here, though, only served at last to highlight the vitality of the first sections of the book. Reading it, I realized how long I'd been in need of an author who could bring together the social and the personal, the political and the mystical. Sölle fills that bill admirably.

[Naum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mysticism. Suffering, Resistance.

In an age of materialism and fundamentalism, "mysticism" is of essence to Jesus followers.

The word itself may be confusing to Americans, and I am not sure the early plodding in this book succeeded in expository. Or it could be until my reading synced with the writer style, a difficult chore I find with works translated from German. But wading through the early chapters was well worth the effort, as the read kept getting better and better, until final parts detail stories of saints engaged in "mysticism" resistance and liberation -- St. Francis, John Woolman, Dorothy Day, MLK and others with foreign spelled names that I would mangle at the tip of my keyboard.

[Russ Booton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Solle connects the dots between mysticism, liberation theology, and political activism, with examples from the lives and writings of prominent figures. In my mind, this is a perfect sequel to the writings of Evelyn Underhill. I heartily recommend it.

[Monica]

my kind of woman, dorothee is

[Debbie Blane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished at long last! This book is STUPENDOUS! It is well written and thought provoking, and a perfect read for me on my way out of China and on my way towards Sudan.

[Steve Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this several years ago. Gave away my hardcopy. So, recently downloaded to Kindle and plan to read again. More later.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book to understanding suffering and human real people to reference. A core base for my theology of jeong.

[Dougw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant analysis of mysticism and it's place in contemporary culture. The ideas in this indispensable book bear deep reflection. A book to be read and re-read.

[Bob Seabury · Rating 3 out of 5]

very intense and dense. I feel this might turn out to be an important book in my life, but there was too much to absorb in one reading. will most likely go back to it.