Customer Reviews

Listening to the God Who Speaks: Reflections on God's Guidance from Scripture and the Lives of God's People

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Klaus Bockmuehl wrote his book just before he left for heaven. That alone carries little weight except that he probably felt he had something important to say. Bockmuehl goes through both the Old and New Testaments to examine just what it means to hear from God.He separates the two concepts of hearing from God directly and merely reading the scriptures. Though they are complementary and may even be part of the same process, they are not identical. Many times God guides his people other than through scripture passages (but not contradictory to the scriptures).Bochmuehl shows that sometimes when the Bible is quoted as an authority, it is actually the person's own interpretation the biblical passage for which authority is claimed. Hence, the necessity of each one to hear from God for himself and to submit what he has heard to the community of believers. He cites many places in scripture where people heard from God not in words of what was then scripture but in words that only later became scripture. So, if God spoke directly to his people all through scripture, it is reasonable to suppose that God still speaks today, directly. The conflict is most often not between the scriptures and what we hear from God; it is often between what we hear and what some self-appointed human authority says is so.

Dr. Klaus Bockmuehl was a brilliant academic who was also spiritually sensitive to God's voice. He could wow us with his exposition and learned thoughts, while also inspiring us with what he heard in his morning devotions. That's an unusual mix, and his life was a testimony to the fact that one needn't choose between academic study and spiritual vitality. This book combines these two strengths. Dr. Bockmuehl roots the spiritual practice of listening to God in Scripture, and even enlists the support of the great Reformers, who are thought to be suspicious, at best, of such a subjective practice. Yet he makes the art of listening practical and applicable. Highly recommended.

Very judgemental in tone, and the author seems to confuse quantity of scripture quoting with quality of writing. I had mental whiplash trying to follow the stream of a paragraph amidst all the quotes. There are better books on this subject, don't bother with this one.