Publication
A Time to Be Silent, a Time to Speak: Silence and Listening According to the Christian Tradition as a Testimony of Virtue in Today’s World
| Summary: | This article explores the crisis of values and identity in contemporary society, marked by the democratisation of opinion and moral relativism. The resulting noise from this multitude of voices obstructs truth and fosters a shallow, misinformed culture. In response, the article champions the Christian tradition of silence and listening, an ancient practice leading to self-knowledge, humility, and moral clarity. Drawing on monastic, mystical, and scriptural traditions, and referencing authors such as Saint Benedict, Saint Anthony of Lisbon, and Saint John of the Cross, it proposes silence as a path to virtuous living. Christian silence is framed not as an escape from the world, but as resistance to noisy culture and a path to personal and communal transformation. The article further engages with Alasdair MacIntyre’s thought to highlight the need to recover virtue ethics and critiques Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option, arguing for active Christian engagement with the world. It concludes with a call for a “revolution of silence,” urging the Church and Christians to adopt this practice as a means of evangelisation and the restoration of truth amidst modern chaos. |
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| Main Authors: | Nunes Branco, Victor Emanuel |
| Subject: | Silêncio Escuta Tradição Cristã Monasticismo Virtude Silence Listening Christian tradition Monasticism Virtue |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Document type: | article |
| Access type: | unknown |
| Associated institution: | Universidade Católica Portuguesa |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Origin: | Ephata |
| Summary: | This article explores the crisis of values and identity in contemporary society, marked by the democratisation of opinion and moral relativism. The resulting noise from this multitude of voices obstructs truth and fosters a shallow, misinformed culture. In response, the article champions the Christian tradition of silence and listening, an ancient practice leading to self-knowledge, humility, and moral clarity. Drawing on monastic, mystical, and scriptural traditions, and referencing authors such as Saint Benedict, Saint Anthony of Lisbon, and Saint John of the Cross, it proposes silence as a path to virtuous living. Christian silence is framed not as an escape from the world, but as resistance to noisy culture and a path to personal and communal transformation. The article further engages with Alasdair MacIntyre’s thought to highlight the need to recover virtue ethics and critiques Rod Dreher’s The Benedict Option, arguing for active Christian engagement with the world. It concludes with a call for a “revolution of silence,” urging the Church and Christians to adopt this practice as a means of evangelisation and the restoration of truth amidst modern chaos. |
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