Document details

God Talk: The Problem of Divine-Human Communication

New York; Berlin: Peter Lang (2022), xxii, 192 pp.

ISBN 9781433196157 (pdf); 9781433196171 (pbk)

"The collection of critiques advances a powerful question that must be asked if we are to gain a broader and deeper understanding of humanity. The phenomenon of Divine-human communication (DHC) is framed as an area of scholarship replete with heurism, not limiting itself to Judeo-Christian belief systems. Instead, the authors individually and collectively address the ideological diversity in existent DHC and the robust research that has yet to be explored in the discipline. The chapters beautifully tie together and articulate the necessity of theistic communication research, stressing the intersectional identities of theist-scholars in their study of phenomena where religious ideologies are activated. As a religious communication scholar who also identifies as a theist-scholar, I found every chapter empowering, as they encourage the field to reconsider its positionality towards an area of scholarship that attempts to 'measure the immeasurable.' God Talk debunks the broad misconception that theist-scholars are attempting to advance a religious campaign of indoctrination. Moreover, the book provides a very strong foundation upon which others can stand as they interrogate communication phenomena where one’s religious identity and relationship and communication with God/Creator/Higher Power are intertwined in theoretical yet practical ways." (Tina M. Harris, Endowed Chair of Race, Media, and Cultural Literacy, Louisiana State University)
Introduction: "A Possible Relationship between Belief and Knowledge" / Mark Ward Sr., 1
1 The "God-Problem" in Communication Studies / Quentin J. Schultze, 19
2 Let Them Take the Lead: A Holistic, Culture-Centered Approach to Divine-Human Communication / Lakelyn E. Taylor, 37
3 The Politics of Knowledge Production: Situating the "God Problem" in the Context of Decolonization / Elaine Schnabel, 53
4 Religion and Spirituality in Communication Research: Moving Toward a Sociocultural Identity Framework / Arielle Leonard Hodges, 69
5 The Researcher as Translator: Locating the God Problem in Researcher Identity / Christine J. Gardner, 89
6 "Silence is the Communication Behavior of God": Contemplation and Collaborative Autoethnography / Kathleen D. Clark, 103
7 The "Still Small Voice": A Phenomenological Approach to Divine Communication / Joshua D. Hill, 119
8 Toward a Theory of Divine Communication? Prospects and Problems / Mark Ward Sr., 139
9 Who Owns the God Problem? A Reader Response Solution / Edward Lee Lamoureux, 159
10 Reconsidering the "God-Problem" in Communication Studies / Quentin J. Schultze, 175