In his teaching and his writing, Paul L. Holmer (1916–2004) not only made important contributions to recent American theology, but was also much in demand as a public speaker and preacher. Following his death, the Holmer family in 2005 donated his papers to the Yale Divinity School Library.
In this collection of sermons, addresses and other writings, the reader will see Holmer's deep concern with the problems and possibilities of the sermon, liturgy, ministry, and spirituality. Inspired by Søren Kierkegaard's reflections on "indirect communication", and by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Holmer not only reveals his strenuous reflection on the sermon, but also gives concrete examples of his own efforts to communicate, enabling his hearers and readers to "make sense" of their lives.
In the first part of this volume, Holmer reflects upon Kierkegaard's "indirect communication", a communication not of knowledge but of human capacity. In other pieces Holmer turns to liturgy, ministry, and spirituality. In the second part of this volume, the reader sees Holmer's own challenging, uncompromising practice of religious and Christian communication, in a selection of his sermons, addresses, and prayers. For anyone concerned with sermons, liturgy, spirituality, and the challenges of ministry, Holmer's essays and addresses will prove indispensable.
Edited by David J. Gouwens and Lee C. Barrett III, Communicating the Faith Indirectly is the third volume of The Paul L. Holmer Papers, which also includes Volume 1, On Kierkegaard and the Truth (Volume 1), and Thinking the Faith with Passion: Selected Essays (Volume 2), both of which are available from James Clarke and Co Ltd.