This major work from one of the world's best known and most widely read theologians explores the religious imulse of mysticism, the 'silent cry' at the heart of all the world's religions. Soelle believes that the longing for God has never been more important than in this age of materialism and fundamentalism. Soelle's work gives theological depth, clarity, and direction to this authentic impulse. Part one, 'What is Mysticism?' explores mysticism in major religious traditions and especially intraditional Christian figures, such as Meister Eckhart. Part two, 'Places of Mystical Experience,' tracks the sites of mystical experience in chapter on nature, eroticism, suffering, community, and joy. Finally, Part three, 'Mysticism is Resistance,' argues for the importance of mysticism in countering the destructive aspects of ego, group bias, materialmism, and violence. Religion in the third millenium, Soelle argues, will either be mystical or it will be dead. Soelle's magnum opus, The Silent Cry joins deep religious knowledge and wisdom with passion for social justice in a work destined to be a classic of religious literature.
