voice in the wilderness

English

Alternative forms

• call in the wilderness, cry in the wilderness, voice calling in the wilderness, voice crying in the wilderness

Etymology

From the Biblical accounts of John the Baptist, as in the Gospel of Mark, 1:2–4: "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness." (King James Version)

Pronunciation

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Noun

voice in the wilderness (plural voices in the wilderness)

1. (idiomatic) A person, publication, or other source of assertions that expresses an opinion, doctrine, or point of view which is ignored or rejected by almost all others; the actual utterance of an unpopular opinion, doctrine, or point of view.
   • 1974, Leonard Horwitz, Clinical Prediction in Psychotherapy, →ISBN, page 1:

     Eysenck (1952) was just beginning to seriously question the validity of dynamically oriented therapy, but he was a lone voice in the wilderness at that time. Not until the sixties did opposing points of view . . . begin to gain prominence.

   • 1994 May 9, John Elson, “Books: Following the Leaders”, in Time, retrieved 28 April 2015:

     A leader without committed followers is an unheard voice in the wilderness.

   • 2015 January 5, Hans Sherrer, "Justice Denied Begins Its 17th Year," Justice Denied (retrieved 29 April 2015):

     When Justice Denied’s first issue was published in February 1999 it was a ‘voice in the wilderness’ alerting the world to the widespread problem of the unreliability of the legal system.

   • 2015 April 16, David Rutter, "Earth Day lets us remember who owns the environment," Chicago Tribune (retrieved 29 April 2015):

     The nation was a mess environmentally, and only a few voices in the wilderness were paying heed. In 1970, environmentalists often were derided and dismissed.

2. (idiomatic, rare) An influential religious personage, especially one who makes prophetic utterances.
   • 1876, Charlotte M. Yonge, chapter 3, in The Three Brides:

     "I don't know," said Anne. "He gathers together a little flock of all denominations, who only care to hear the word."
     "Such a voice in the wilderness as often does good service," said Julius.

   • 1920, Jerome K. Jerome, “A Charming Woman”, in Sketches in Lavender, Blue and Green:

     "I, even I, may be the voice in the wilderness leading the lost sheep back to the fold."

   • 1994, David E. Mungello. The Forgotten Christians of Hangzhou, →ISBN, page 153 (Google books view):

     Zhang again acted as a Confucian prophetic voice in the wilderness who called the people to truth.

Translations

See also

• preach in the desert

Further reading

• voice in the wilderness at Collins Dictionary
• voice in the wilderness at The Free Dictionary
• voice in the wilderness at UsingEnglish.com