Silence and Honey Cakes: The Wisdom of the Desert
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Review
"'Silence and Honey Cakes is a profound yet readable book. Williams is a polished but unpretentious stylist who communicates his ideas with conviction tempered by humility. A gifted contemporary theologian, he succeeds in appealing simultaneously to the reader wishing to be educated as well as those craving for spiritual inspiration. For either category of reader, or readers seeking both kinds of sustenance, I would strongly recommend this book.' - The Tablet
Product Description
A bestselling title which draws inspiration from the desert fathers and mothers, now in paperback First published in hardback in November 2003, and having since sold over 11,000 copies in the UK alone, this highly acclaimed book from Rowan Williams (the first published since his enthronement as the Archbishop of Canterbury) is now available in an accessible paperback edition. In this inspirational and fascinating book, the Archbishop looks at the stories of the desert fathers and mothers - a group of Christian monks and nuns living in the Egyptian desert in the 3rd to 5th centuries - concentrating on the wisdom, insights and spirituality found in their writings. In reflecting on the legacy of these extraordinary people and looking at how they lived their lives intimately with God, Rowan Williams contemplates how their spirituality resonates with and can inspire today's spiritual search to reach a unity with God and our fellow neighbours. Williams looks at various topics where the spiritual search of the desert fathers and mothers touches our own, including: living in relationship with others; discovering the truth about ourselves; reassessing our priorities; silence and the importance of language; living in a fearless community; living within our limitations; life and death; and staying and leaving.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
86 of 87 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Despite its title, this is a book not to be silent about! Exploring the sayings of the desert fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries might at first glance seem to be a dry and unrewarding task, but Williams unearths hidden gems for a 21st century audience. Focusing on gaining God in one's neighbour, respecting difference, fleeing from our false ideas of self and finding God where we are, Williams gives a brilliant exposé of the lies we tell ourselve and draws out the grace of God which loves us anyway. Williams's work resonates with the wisdom of the Bible whilst rarely quoting it, and leaves you with a feeling that if Jesus were physically present on earth today, this is what he would say. Eye opening, exciting, and utterly rewarding.
32 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This thoughtful little book won't take you long to read (at just over 100 pages) but there's a lot here worth absorbing.
The sayings and lives of the so-called desert fathers, who many centuries ago inhabited ancient Syria and a number of surrounding territories have in recent times attracted the attention of many modern readers. The translation of a number of their writings by Sister Benedicta Ward, in particular, has assisted in this, as she has made what these distant believers taught available in a helpful collection in English.
Rowan Williams' book offers a discussion of a number of the most important features of the spirituality of the desert fathers - their asceticism, conceptions of God and the world, and their relationships to others. He offers only a sketch, but does enough to bring the world of his subjects alive.
At the end of the book, there is a transcript of a question and answer session between Williams and a number of interlocutors at a conference in Australia. I felt this was an excellent addition to the book, since the questions posed all relate to how the ideas and examples of the desert fathers can be understood for their relevance here and now, and because Williams' answers intimate (with,for him, an unusual degree of clarity) how he personally conceives the important role of the desert monks in his own spiritual life.
The sayings and lives of the so-called desert fathers, who many centuries ago inhabited ancient Syria and a number of surrounding territories have in recent times attracted the attention of many modern readers. The translation of a number of their writings by Sister Benedicta Ward, in particular, has assisted in this, as she has made what these distant believers taught available in a helpful collection in English.
Rowan Williams' book offers a discussion of a number of the most important features of the spirituality of the desert fathers - their asceticism, conceptions of God and the world, and their relationships to others. He offers only a sketch, but does enough to bring the world of his subjects alive.
At the end of the book, there is a transcript of a question and answer session between Williams and a number of interlocutors at a conference in Australia. I felt this was an excellent addition to the book, since the questions posed all relate to how the ideas and examples of the desert fathers can be understood for their relevance here and now, and because Williams' answers intimate (with,for him, an unusual degree of clarity) how he personally conceives the important role of the desert monks in his own spiritual life.
64 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first monks and nuns of the Christian era who lived in the inhospitable places of the Middle East have begun to experience something of a revival; Christopher Jamison in his excellent book Finding Sanctuary talks about them a lot, and gives tantalizing snippets from their lives. Is this the place to praise them, or to explain what a huge influence they have had on our culture? Probably only briefly: without them, there might have been no Augustine, that great philosopher and theologian from Roman N Africa; the work of the early monks in Europe such as Benedict are full of their wisdom; and without these two pillars, Europe would have looked very different. Even though they lived uncompromising lives of silence and poverty, their message, by and large, is homely, social and full of a trust in their vision of God. Williams' task - and he succeeds very well indeed - is to bring these people into his readers' world. His view of these men and women leads him to examine our conformist, manufacture-led culture, our reliance on the myths of choice.
Williams gives a methodical exposition of the message he takes from the lives of these eccentric and imposing individuals. The original stories can be witty, poignant, powerful; Williams chooses well from the collections of their sayings and weaves an engaging picture. Perhaps his depiction of these early desert monastics in Silence and Honey Cakes can be a touch too comfortable in parts; I wonder whether he is casting them after his own likeness at times, but this is Williams writing carefully between the pastoral and the academic, drawing on the ancient sources of the sayings of the desert monastics to present a modern moral: fidelity to our neighbour in the society in which we live may require a radical, contemplative commitment to faith and to honesty.
This is a very good book to read as an introduction to these early shapers of Christian spirituality; it is a challenging book if you want to look at how their message might still apply today.
Williams gives a methodical exposition of the message he takes from the lives of these eccentric and imposing individuals. The original stories can be witty, poignant, powerful; Williams chooses well from the collections of their sayings and weaves an engaging picture. Perhaps his depiction of these early desert monastics in Silence and Honey Cakes can be a touch too comfortable in parts; I wonder whether he is casting them after his own likeness at times, but this is Williams writing carefully between the pastoral and the academic, drawing on the ancient sources of the sayings of the desert monastics to present a modern moral: fidelity to our neighbour in the society in which we live may require a radical, contemplative commitment to faith and to honesty.
This is a very good book to read as an introduction to these early shapers of Christian spirituality; it is a challenging book if you want to look at how their message might still apply today.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Silence and Honey Cakes
Book arrived in good time and condition - thank you. A wonderful book, needing deep thought to penetrate its profundities. Read more
Published 1 month ago by JA Raeburn
Amazing
Wow! There was just so much in this book that I wanted to remember. I started book marking pages but ran out of book marks. Read more
Published 11 months ago by JH
Is it me or is this book a bit dull
I'm reading this as part of the suggested reading for a course of study I am doing. The first few pages are such that it has got to get more interesting BUT I haven't got beyond... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Ian Willsher
Lovely but short book
A readable and inspiring book on the desert fathers by the Archbishop of Canterbury. My only complaint is that it's quite short and there aren't as many quotations as I would have... Read more
Published 18 months ago by E. Danielyan
Wonderful book for a practising Christian
This book is a little gem. I dip in and dip out of this book when I need help in resolving everyday dilemmas and conflicts in life. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Tanya White
Quietly inspirational
This book is stonkingly good. An excellent introduction to the humanity of religion and the wisdom of the desert fathers and mothers. Inspirational and quiet, at the same time. Read more
Published on 29 Mar 2009 by Ms. A. Brooke
Where God Happens
Silence and Honey Cakes is essentially the same book as Where God Happens. They have different publishers. Read more
Published on 18 Nov 2008 by RDP
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