As a custodian of the gods was handed down to him by his father, Papa is popular and powerful, feared and revered as the most potent priest in the village of Adiembra; builds confidence in himself; and believes there is no power above his gods. However, there is a problem that tears him apart: his last wife is unable to bear him a child. Papa consults a god in the North who makes his last wife conceive, with a condition to make a sacrifice every new moon. During labor, she struggles to live but dies. Papa soon forgets the pain and hurt of death as the beautiful baby girl grows. Papa forgets to perform the sacrifice on a few occasions as the god of the North asked. The god strikes, bringing punishment on the little girl with an abscess that causes her to decay till death. Papas boys rebel and elope, turning against him and his gods. In anger, Papa beats up wives and sends them away to their families, living his life alone. He makes love to a prostitute during a visit to his friend. An ant falls from his penis; he bleeds until his health deteriorates. Papa loses connection with the gods and his family and consequently commits suicide.

Like the biblical Job, many people suffer under the silence of God. This book shows that it is enlightening to retrace the origins of the concept of divine speech and silence in the ancient Near East and Greece.

Illustrations and rhyming text depict the quiet wonder of God's creation.

The Silence of God (1897) has become a classic on the subject of why God has not directly intervened in the affairs of men for the past two thousand years. Here's how Anderson puts the question he addresses: "And to not a few this volume may be welcome as affording a clue to pressing difficulties which perplex and distress the thoughtful. Infidelity trades upon the silence of Heaven, the inaction of the Supreme. If there be a God, almighty and all-good, why does He not use His power and give proof of His goodness in the way men choose to expect of Him? The answer usually offered by the Christian apologist fails either to silence the opponent or to satisfy the believer. And rightly so, for it is lacking not only in cogency but in sympathy. The God of the Bible is infinite both in power and in compassion; and in other ages His people had public proof of this. Why, then, is He so silent?"

You’ve heard the story before: an orphaned boy, raised by a wise old man, comes to a fuller knowledge of his magic and uses it to fight the great evil threatening his world. But what if that hero were destined to become the new dark lord? The Academy of Chaenbalu has stood against magic for centuries. Hidden from the world, acting from the shadows, it trains its students to detect and retrieve magic artifacts, which it jealously guards from the misuse of others. Because magic is dangerous: something that heals can also harm, and a power that aids one person may destroy another. Of the academy’s many students, only the most skilled can become avatars—warrior thieves, capable of infiltrating the most heavily guarded vaults—and only the most determined can be trusted to resist the lure of magic. More than anything, Annev de Breth wants to become one of them. But Annev carries a secret. Unlike his classmates who were stolen as infants from the capital city, Annev was born in the village of Chaenbalu, was believed to be executed, and then unknowingly raised by his parents’ killers. Seventeen years later, he struggles with the burdens of a forbidden magic, a forgotten heritage, and a secret deformity. When Annev is subsequently caught between the warring ideologies of his priestly mentor and the Academy’s masters, he must finally decide whether to accept the truth of who he really is ... or embrace the darker truth of what he may one day become.

An honest, soul-searching pursuit of biblical answers to one of Christianity's most challenging questions: What do you do when God meets your prayers with silence? Many of us have struggled with prayers that seem to go unanswered, and Pete Greig has been down that difficult road of doubt. This book is both intensely personal and deeply theological—a book born out of his wife Sammy's fight for her life after a horrifying diagnosis. The acclaimed author of Red Moon Rising wrestles with the hard side of prayer, how to respond when there seem to be no answers, and how to cope with those who seek to interpret our experience for us. For those struggling with prayer, God on Mute brings a message of hope and comfort, but also a better understanding of how we communicate with our Creator. Using the timeline of Holy Week (from Maundy Thursday through Easter Sunday) as a template, Greig explores four main questions about prayer from all angles: How am I going to get through this? Why aren't my prayers being answered? Where is God when he seems silent? When every prayer is answered...what does that mean? Silence in response to our most heart-felt prayers is the hardest thing for a person of faith to wrestle with. The world collapses. Then all goes quiet. Words can't explain what we're going through. People avoid you and don't know what to say. So you turn to Him and you pray. You need Him more than ever before. But somehow even God Himself seems on mute. And this sinks into us with a sense of futility... But even in this crushing silence, there is a way forward. Here is a story of faith, hope, and love beyond all understanding. Includes guide for group discussion.