WHEN THE GODS ARE SILENT

Published originally in Holland in 1956, this work comes from a Dutch theologian too little known in this country. In Germany, the work was hailed as the ""theological book of the decade."" Miskotte undertakes to find an answer to contemporary nihilism and atheism in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, man is understood in his ""this-worldliness"" and his alienation from God. Miskotte's theology has close affinities with that of Karl Barth, and, like Barth, he sees no qualitative difference between the salvation offered in the Old Testament and that of the New. The book at points will trouble those who are not ready to equate the two Testaments in this measure, and others who ask whether it is possible at all to speak to contemporary man--the ""fourth man"" of Alfred Weber--in terms and concepts drawn from the Old Testament milieu. After many years in Dutch parishes, the author was appointed as special minister to the intellectuals Of Holland, an assignment for which his wide cultural interests qualified him; but this competence is not especially noticeable here. There is, however, abundant evidence of scholarly knowledge in theology, philosophy, and biblical areas. The result will attract and stimulate scholars and Students of the Current theological and cultural scene.