Create and Protect Silence

Soren Kierkegaard

The present state of the world and the whole of life is diseased. If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I should reply: Create silence! Bring men to silence. The Word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today. And even if it were blazoned forth with all the panoply of noise so that it could be heard in the midst of all the other noise, then it would no longer be the Word of God. Therefore, create silence.

Quoted in The World of Silence, by Max Picard


[What Kierkegaard would hear now! I confess to watching television – but often the constant chatter, endless advertisements, fast talk and loud music send me running to turn it down – or off. I have become something of a fast-draw on the mute button. This week I watched an old 1940’s movie and noticed how many silences, really quite long silences, there were in most scenes. What a lovely relief.

My prayer: O God, please don’t allow us to kill all the silence.]