For For readers who want Ellul's theology of hope in a time when God seems silent; not for a reader wanting a cheerful or practical book.
Should I read this?
For the general reader
3 of 5worth your time
For the researcher
4 of 5important
Difficulty
3 of 5demanding
His theology of hope for an age in which God seems silent: hope as distinct from optimism, and as a demand made on God.
How it proceeds
Philosophic3 of 5
Scriptural4 of 5
Experiential4 of 5
Sociological3 of 5
Historical1 of 5
Independent intensities, 0–5 — what the work is made of, not how good it is.
A theological book published by Gallimard in 1972 and translated by C. Edward Hopkin as Hope in Time of Abandonment (Seabury, 1973). Ellul argues that the modern age is a time in which God has turned away and is silent, and that this is the situation in which hope, as distinct from optimism, becomes possible and necessary. Hope here is a demand made on God and a refusal to accept the world's closure.
