God Talk

Mark Ward Sr. is Professor of Communication at the University of Houston-Victoria. He has authored or edited seven books, while his research on religious communication and media has been published in more than 40 scholarly articles and essays and received numerous awards.

God Talk: The Problem of Divine-Human Communication is a landmark publication, the first book to address the problem from the perspective of communication studies. In ten thought-provoking essays, communication scholars confront the "God Problem" by describing diverse approaches they have used in field research to study groups that claim to hear God while also balancing respect for informants' claims with their own personal beliefs.

***

The intelligence of this exceptional book is a perfect ten. The theoretical depth of every chapter reflects research brilliance. The authors' clarity with ideas, ancient and contemporary, is knowledge production at its substantive best.

Whether your interests include communication theory, rhetorical criticism, ethnography, or theology, regardless of your faith tradition-or absence of a faith tradition-it is a stimulating read. I highly recommend it.

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." This book is a must!

God Talk: The Problem of Divine-Human Communication is a timely contribution to religious communication and communication studies. The authors examine the absence of God in communication theory and in engagement with others. I highly recommend this relevant work.

A much-needed contribution to the growing body of research at the intersection of communication and religion, this scholarly volume gathers work from established and emerging scholars to address a long-standing issue in the field of religious communication: the conundrum of divine-human communication. -Janie M. H. Fritz, Duquesne University; Executive Director, Religious Communication Association

This is the first book to address the subject from the disciplinary perspective of communication studies. The volume brings together ten essays from seasoned and younger scholars that address the question: Should researchers allow the possibility that God communicates?

List of Contributors - Acknowledgments - Preface - Mark Ward Sr.: Introduction: "A Possible Relationship between Belief and Knowledge" - Quentin J. Schultze: The "God-Problem" in Communication Studies - Lakelyn E. Taylor: Let Them Take the Lead: A Holistic, Culture-Centered Approach to Divine-Human Communication - Elaine Schnabel: The Politics of Knowledge Production: Situating the "God Problem" in the Context of Decolonization - Arielle Leonard Hodges: Religion and Spirituality in Communication Research: Moving Toward a Sociocultural Identity Framework - Christine J. Gardner: The Researcher as Translator: Locating the God Problem in Researcher Identity - Kathleen D. Clark: "Silence is the Communication Behavior of God": Contemplation and Collaborative Autoethnography - Joshua D. Hill: The "Still Small Voice": A Phenomenological Approach to Divine Communication - Mark Ward Sr.: Toward a Theory of Divine Communication? Prospects and Problems - Edward Lee Lamoureux: Who Owns the God Problem? A Reader Response Solution - Quentin J. Schultze: Reconsidering the "God-Problem" in Communication Studies.