In this paper I am going to be answering the questions in the book How to Read Proverbs. The two questions that I will be answering are questions one and four. Are you convinced that there are true parallels between proverbs and the literature of the ancient Near East? Do you think the fact that God utilized the cultural and literary forms of the surrounding nations has any bearing on your witness in the world? I think by God using the surrounding nations cultural and literary forms shows that God has shown some ways of incorporating people who are not Christians. By using their cultural and literary forms, we are able to gain access to an opportunity to use what you know about the Bible to share with those who do not know anything about the Bible. This would allow for an easier way of growth in understanding biblical principles. In the world today, God shows the perfect example of how using other people’s culture and
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Many Christians react strongly against today’s culture and the literature it produces – reading only Christian literature, going only to Christian schools, avoiding movies and so forth.
The importance of learning other cultures and literary forms is huge when knowing what it can accomplish through God. So in today’s world learning other cultures and literary forms can only help bring people to biblical understandings. After looking at the ancient Near East literature and Proverbs I can confidently come to the conclusion that there are parallels between them. In the book Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, John H. Walton suggest, “One of the principles that shows up often in the ancient Near East as well as in Israel , explicitly as well as implicitly, regarding both how God acts and how society works, is the idea of just retribution” (303-304). There are obvious parallels between these different
Many Christians react strongly against today’s culture and the literature it produces – reading only Christian literature, going only to Christian schools, avoiding movies and so forth.
The importance of learning other cultures and literary forms is huge when knowing what it can accomplish through God. So in today’s world learning other cultures and literary forms can only help bring people to biblical understandings. After looking at the ancient Near East literature and Proverbs I can confidently come to the conclusion that there are parallels between them. In the book Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, John H. Walton suggest, “One of the principles that shows up often in the ancient Near East as well as in Israel , explicitly as well as implicitly, regarding both how God acts and how society works, is the idea of just retribution” (303-304). There are obvious parallels between these different