Discerning Wisdom
Beyond the Good Life

A Feature Review of

A Life that is Good:
The Message of Proverbs in a World Wanting Wisdom
Glenn Pemberton

Paperback: Eerdmans, 2018
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Reviewed by Bob Cornwall
 

*** This review originally appeared 
on the reviewer’s website.
It is reprinted here with permission.
Browse his website for other excellent reviews!

In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul told his readers the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom. It is easy to mistake Paul as an advocate of Christian anti-intellectualism, but that would not be true. He values wisdom, just not the kind that devalues the power of the cross. His comments about wisdom, however, do raise questions of the purpose and value of wisdom, especially words of wisdom that are found in Scripture. It’s interesting that the Letter of James, which is often contrasted with the words of Paul, is understood by many to be a book of wisdom. No biblical book is linked to wisdom than the Book of Proverbs. If you’ve spent time with this biblical wisdom book, you will know that it can give you pause. There are sayings found within its pages that seem harsh and judgmental. There are words that connect wealth and goodness that also seem out of place in the real world. Then there are the words directed at women, which are often unflattering (to put it mildly). The question for us then is whether it offers a word of wisdom for today.

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