Character in Crisis: A Fresh Approach to the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament [Paperback]

I began reading this book with hardly any knowledge about Old Testament wisdom literature, and now that I've finished, I am able to carry on a fairly intelligent discussion about the whys and wherefores of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Character in Crisis explores the above writings and explains how they reinvent the traditional view of wisdom found in Old Testament times. Each wisdom writer is on a quest to discover how to live with integrity and godliness in spite of suffering, frustration, and daily difficulties. Brown details each person's journey, keeping his explanations weighty enough to be interesting but colorful and applicable so that they are not lost in theological babble. His arguments keep the mind churning in an effort to work out the questions presented by the Old Testament books, and he encourages readers to embark on their own quest for character. Books that delve into the theology of the wisdom writings are far and few between, so if you desire a solid foundation in Old Testament wisdom literature, this may be the book for you.

William P. Brown wrote Character in Crisis in order "to demonstrate that the idea of character constitutes the unifying theme or center of the wisdom literature, whose raison d'etre is to profile ethical character" (p. 21). He begins his book with an overview of ethical thought and wisdom, from Aristotle to Hauerwas. He profiles the views of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes and how each one views wisdom.

In Proverbs, Brown attempts to show a journey of character growth from the implied "silent son" of chapters 1-9, who is receiving the father's instructions (the implied reader), to an elder by chapter 31, who is now married to Lady Wisdom. Along the way, the movement is from hearth and home to facing individual temptations (conflicting values and worldviews) from Lady Folly and finally away from individuality to community, the end goal of wisdom. Questionable is the certainty Brown displays regarding the redaction of the book as one intended to show a central character always just "off camera," who grows and learns and culminates in the adult male married to the ideal woman (interpreted as Lady Wisdom incarnate). This is as good a thread as any other discerned to tie together the Book of Proverbs, but remains, at best, an educated guess; there still remains a seemingly disjointed order to the moral teachings therein.

Both Job and Ecclesiastes are seen to challenge traditional wisdom. Examination is made of the character Job's journey as a growth in character: from victim to audacious self-defender to courageous confronter of God, always holding onto integrity. Job hardly acts like the silent son and communal elder praised in Proverbs in the midst of his suffering. Rather, he argues against the wise in his community who seek his penance (because suffering doesn't happen if you haven't deserved it). Job is not silent, however, but defiant; he does not accept the wisdom of his "elders" (neither does Elihu). Job himself becomes the "stranger" who is dangerous to his friends' worldview but who then is vindicated. Job's faith could rightly be called a "defiant trust." God shows that his rule is wild but good (out of our control), allowing good to happen where humanity is not central (in nature) and where humanity is central (in society; God allows good and ill to happen to both good and bad people - God is never under our control). This is a credible interpretation of the Book of Job.

In Ecclesiastes, the character is Qoheleth. He is the wisdom sage who does not believe in wisdom. His message - rejoice in your youth; eat, drink, and be merry - is decidedly untraditional. Qoheleth labels all striving after material goods as "absurd." He failed to find peace in the community and found himself a stranger in an absurd world. He deconstructs the traditional connection between conduct and destiny, and he journeys toward a resigned acceptance of whatever gives simple joy in this life - eating, drinking, working without thought of reward, etc. Brown admits that Qoheleth accepts life on God's terms and finds Qoheleth's stance ultimately life-affirming. This is probably too optimistic, however, for emptiness and futility have placed question marks over everything Qoheleth observes about life, including the little pleasures one is able to seize while young enough to do so.

Brown concludes with a brief but insightful comment on the Epistle of James in order to show the church, even of today, that more attention needs to be given to biblical wisdom which goes beyond mere human understanding but on into acceptance beyond understanding of God's ways. In other words, although Brown did not use this analogy, God is a river in which we need to let the current take us where it will.

William Brown is talented as a biblical scholar, a theologian and a writer. Alarmed that the Church has virtually ignored the diverse and theologically-rich books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes, Brown makes a strong argument that the function of biblical wisdom is character formation. He also shows an interest in ethics, speculating throughout about how individuals embodying sapiential virtues might interact with the larger community. Brown finally argues that the NT letter of James draws on the OT wisdom tradition's emphasis on consistency of conduct and conviction for the individual and the community. His conclusion, like the rest of the book, is provocative: "The final test of wisdom and character is the quality of community it engenders" (164).

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