Proverbs And The Formation Of Character

Proverbs and the Formation of Character presses the wisdom of Proverbs into active duty in the trenches of everyday life and puts the principles of character formation in working clothes. The wisdom Proverbs describes is not designed to master life's challenges but to learn to manage them and adapt. In learning to adapt, individuals grow and mature spiritually. Relying on solid biblical scholarship, Dave Bland brings to the fore the neglected sentence literature in Proverbs 10-29 and the vital resources they contribute to the process of character formation. Contrary to popular opinion, the book of Proverbs, even though addressed to youth, is not a book solely for the young, but for those of all ages who desire to continue to grow personally, as well as in their relationship with others and God. The wise in the book of Proverbs employ a plethora of resources to help train up young and old alike to grow into the character of God. Among others, these resources include the value of interacting with others, a healthy understanding of conflict, an appropriate perspective on wealth, a new appreciation for and reliance on the role of the neglected proverb in the education process, and the vital role of family and the faith community.

The Book of Proverbs famously contains timeless proverbial advice, but Dell's study emphasizes the rich theological traditions within its pages.

A fruitful reading strategy that reveals expansive meaning in Proverbs Interpreters often characterize Proverbs 10:1–22:16 as a dead-end of cold, disengaged dogma closed off from the realities of the world. In Genre and Openness in Proverbs 10:1–22:16, Suzanna R. Millar takes a different view, arguing that the didactic proverbs in these chapters are not dull and dry but are filled with poetic complexities open to many possible interpretations and uses. By incorporating paremiology, the technical study of the proverb genre, Millar sheds light on important debates such as character development, kingship, the connection between act and consequence, and the acquisition of wisdom. Features A clarification of the genre of the sayings in light of modern genre theory A linguistic analysis of how openness is generated in biblical proverbs An examination of the didactic use of proverbs to train the hearer’s mind

This study demonstrates that the aim of the Bible's wisdom literature is the formation of the moral character of both individuals and the believing community. Brown traces the theme of moral identity and conduct throughout the Old Testament,

Wisdom's Wonder offers a fresh reading of the Hebrew Bible's wisdom literature with a unique emphasis on "wonder" as the framework for understanding biblical wisdom. William Brown argues that wonder effectively integrates biblical wisdom's emphasis on character formation and its outlook on creation, breaking an impasse that has plagued recent wisdom studies. Drawing on various disciplines, from philosophy to neuroscience, Brown discovers new distinctions and connections in Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. Each book is studied in terms of its view of moral character and creation, as well as in terms of the social or intellectual crisis each book identifies. Most general treatments of the wisdom literature spend too much time on issues of genre, poetry, and social context at the neglect of discussing the intellectual and emotional power of the wisdom corpus. Brown argues that the real power of the wisdom corpus lies in its capacity to evoke the reader's sense of wonder. An extensive revision and expansion of Brown's Character in Crisis (Eerdmans, 1996), this book demonstrates that the wisdom books are much more than simply advice literature: with wonder as the foundation for understanding, Brown maintains that wisdom is a process with transformation of the self as the goal.

In his fifty-three years, Michael W. Casey made an indelible impact upon all his academic friends in the United States, Great Britain, and elsewhere in the world. His thirty some years of research and publications were multinational. Mike was especially adept at looking into archival details on the numerous subjects that interested him in communication, Scripture, and history, especially as they focused upon Churches of Christ and the Stone-Campbell Movement. If a scholar ever believed that the grandest project depends on the accuracy of the smallest component, it was Mike Casey. He believed that words were enfleshed in concrete persons. All his studies recognized the persuasive powers of committed humans. The title for this volume, therefore, is And the Word Became Flesh. The essays in this volume are divided into three sections. Those in the first section are on Restoration History. The second section is on communication studies. And the final section contains essays on a specialty of Casey's, conscientious objection, just war, and Christian peacemaking.

In this erudite yet accessible commentary Ernest Lucas elucidates the book of Proverbs both exegetically and thematically. Explicating the text in light of its ancient Near Eastern context, Lucas also shows the relevance of Proverbs for the twenty-first century, speaking as it does to such issues as character formation, gender relations, wealth and poverty, interpersonal communication, science and religion, and care for the environment. Lucas uniquely identifies “proverbial clusters” in his critical exegesis of the biblical text and uses them as the basis for interpreting individual proverbs. Several substantial theological essays at the end of the book illuminate major ethical, pastoral, and spiritual themes in Proverbs. Ably unpacking the rich wisdom embedded in the book of Proverbs, Lucas’s accessible theological commentary is perfect for pastors, teachers, and students.

This study explores the sophisticated understanding of the formation of the moral self that emerges in the poetry of Proverbs, which many have wrongly dismissed as simplistic. Anne W. Stewart analyzes images and metaphors to illuminate the Book's views on the role of emotions and desires in shaping moral imaginations.