Timothy Radcliffe book launch in Oxford

In a new book, Questioning God, launched on Thursday 6 July 2023, Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP enters into a fraternal dialogue with his fellow Dominican, a Polish biblical scholar at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, Fr Łukasz Popko OP, exploring the theme of conversation with God as seen in the Bible.

The book launch event gathered a number of Fr Timothy’s many friends, family members, and fellow Dominicans both religious and lay, at Blackfriars Priory, Oxford. Dr Hugo Slim of Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University, introduced the book and the authors explained the process by which it came to be written – starting with a conversation over breakfast, and continuing remotely during the difficult events of recent years and through Fr Timothy’s own struggles with his health.

Dr Hugo Slim commented:

“Questioning God is a beautiful book! Its 18 conversations are a treasure trove of reflections about our relationship with God and with each other. At the same time, each conversation between Timothy and Łukasz is a perfect example of what makes a good conversation and how we can all uncover something of the truth when we take the time to listen to one another, share our feelings and ponder the word of God together.”

About the book

Questioning God explores Biblical conversations with God and asserts that there is no genuine conversation without true questions. Our God questions us, from the first conversation of God and humanity in the Bible, where God asks Adam, ‘Where are you?’, to the Risen Lord’s questioning Peter on the beach: ‘Do you love me more than these others?’ But humanity questions God too, as in the audacious questioning of Jesus by the Samaritan woman at the well. In this process of mutual questioning, humanity is drawn ever deeper into the life of God, the eternal conversation of the Trinity. Insights into these transformative conversations are helpful as the Church questions how to be faithful to God in this uncertain time.

Fr Timothy explains:

“I got to known Łukasz in Jerusalem, and we found that we enjoyed talking together, especially about the Bible. In part this is because of our differences. He is more than thirty years younger, Polish rather than English, and a very professional Hebrew scholar. I am more of an passionate amateur! In the book, we have conversations about eighteen Biblical conversations with God. We discovered, to our surprise, that most of these revolve around questions, either questions that God puts to us, or we to God, hence the title.

“The book began to be written at just the time that I discovered that I had cancer for a second time. This project, with the friendship of Łukasz, helped me to live through a tough time. It may bear some signs of the pain, but above all of the joy we had together and which we hope readers will experience too.”

Special Offer

As a special offer for a limited period, readers can obtain a 20% discount when the code BLACKFRIARS is used at the checkout on the Bloomsbury website. Feel free to share this offer with others.

Photos from the book launch