Review: How to Read Job

How to Read Job by John H. Walton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

With the book of Job being a rather unique book in Scripture, most of us would feel daunted at trying to comprehend or much less read it in its entirety. The authors, Walton and Longman III, both whom have published commentaries on the book of Job in 2012, suggest that "the book of Job is more challenging than most books of the bible" (p162). I found this title to be very helpful for the purpose of bible study, teaching and sermon preparation.

As with the other books I've reviewed from IVP's How to Read series, this title is engaging, easy-to-read and digest. Special mention should be given to the amazing brevity in this book; condensing complex theological concepts into an easy to understand manner is a high-level skill that the two professors are highly adept at. I appreciate how clearly the authors write - because they go right to the point without using convoluted jargon, the novice readers, as will the advanced readers, find this book helpful especially in situations whereby time is of the essence. Especially useful also is how, when discussing a theological theme of the book, the authors would note down in bullet points every corresponding passage from Job (and the Wisdom Literature).

The standout chapters would be "Theology of suffering in the book of Job" (Chapter 15) that addresses the main theological thrust, "Job and Jesus" (Chapter 17) whereby great pointers are given on how we can avoid forcing a Christological typology on the text and "Applying the book of Job" (Chapter 20), which has a self-explanatory title.

The most useful piece of advice I have gleaned from the book would be: "When I learn of a friend or loved one who has entered some sort of crisis through loss or illness, my first response is not to tell them they should read the book of Job for comfort. The message of the book is more suited to training for crises than to performing in a crisis." (p170).

A few years ago, I sat for an introductory class on the Wisdom Literature under a seminary lecturer. To my surprise and utmost pleasure, I found that I agreed with Walton and Longman III's positions more often than I did my lecturer's, whose material was along the lines of the more traditional positions. I appreciated how the clear, robust and persuasive journey through the text prompted me to re-examine my theological assumptions and positions.

However, while I enjoyed the read, there were some chapters (eg. Chapter 18's The message of the book of Job for today) that I felt were too brief and were insufficiently elaborated/explained for a reader to understand and re-communicate to another person. Also, once we move onto Part Two (Getting to know the Characters) and Part Three (The theological message), the beginner (and maybe intermediate) readers may possibly find it a challenge to comprehend the material and remain engaged. This reviewer (having rarely read the wisdom literature and corresponding commentaries), far preferred the engaging front matter of the book but struggled to keep on reading in the deeper theologically complex discussions in especially Part Three. Thankfully, the concluding chapters in Part Four (Reading Job as a Christian) were back along the lines of the great quality and easily-understood matter of the beginning of the book. Hence for these two reasons, this title receives a rating of 4 stars.

I received this book from IVP Academic for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

View all my reviews

Review: The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate

The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate by John H. Walton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

From what I can gather, Walton's primary substantive is this - many of the traditional positions on Human Origin that Christians hold may not actually be necessary - because it may hermenutically acceptable to hold some differing positions. As he adeptly illustrates how many of these debatable propositions could swing either way, going into great depth expounding on the issues and arguments of each, I began to understand better why he took on this writing project (two books discussing the Lost worlds of Genesis 1 and 2-3). I can almost hear the gasp of most theologically conservatives like myself grappling with the thought of deviating from two millennia of church history; but please do read the Conclusion and Summary to hear Walton's heart on this issue, whether or not you manage to wade through the other chapters.

If Walton had engaged in eisegesis and made sweeping assertions, then it should just be thrown into the bin; as far as I could tell, Walton embarked on extensive research, and explored the issues as theologically faithfully as any respectable bible scholar would and yet sought to make these complex thoughts as easily comprehensible as he could.

Therefore whether or not you agree with him, do consider (whether for the topic of human origins or other secondary doctrines):

"what if we could tell [people leaving the church] that their scientific conclusions did not make a difference and that they could still believe the Bible, could still be in relationship with Christ, could still be members in good standing the church? ... There is no need to lose our young people to this debate... But there is room for a variety of belief as long as they derive from sound exegesis, sound theology and sound hermeneutics." (p209-210)

With 30 pages of endnotes for 200 pages of content, this title is going to be a mind-bender of a book! I found that it was an extremely challenging book to read; Walton appears to be pitching it at a level of theologians, senior staff in churches' teaching departments or at very learned apologetics-loving Christians. As a student in my final year of my seminary undergrad study, I thought that there shouldnt be too many books with content that I found too difficult to comprehend, but alas, this is one of them! Perhaps my lack of interest (and therefore reading) in the fields of apologetics and human origins contributed to my struggle. It nevertheless an invaluable resource should one want to share the Gospel with both the college student or the scientist. When you find that topic presented to you, then you can pick it up (either this book or the companion copy about Genesis 1) to get a quick grasp on the theological conundrum for more meaningful dialogue with your friend.

I received this book from IVP Academic for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

View all my reviews

Review: The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually started reading few pages of Walton's other book on Genesis 2 and 3 (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23055095-the-lost-world-of-adam-and-eve) and enjoyed how thought provoking it was. It was then I decided that I had read this very title first since it's about Genesis one!

At first glance you'd think that weighing in at less than 200 pages, it would provide a simple and easy read. But on the contrary, the target audience is rather a more scholarly (or at the very least bible literate) type! Furthermore, as a seminary student, this book would undoubtedly be a reference material that would prove to be a useful resource in time to come!

I felt that the first part of the book was utterly brilliant and thought-provoking. Walton first lays down the outline and method - that we allow the ancient text (biblical and extra-biblical) to inform our modern understanding of how the world was created. As I read on, I did not feel that the rest of the book was as engaging as the start of the title. Perhaps I should not be surprised that the ancient world was not so very interesting to a millennial living in the twenty-first century!

Nonetheless I was left with plenty of food for thought; the evidence of my cognitive dissonance and intellectual struggle perhaps is testimony to how good (and methodically) an argument he had made. New terms are explained brilliantly, utilising modern analogies and illustrations - and yet at the same time explaining how our modern concepts are so very different from what the words originally meant. Each new segment was methodically introduced and developed upon in an easy to read manner - yet at the same time my postmodern mind struggled to cope with how much of my worldviews and presuppositions were being challenged.

Two big takeaways for me was how Walton suggests that the cosmos was God's temple and also how a biblical view of God as creator did not require a forced dichotomy between "natural" and "supernatural." From what I understand, it appears that Walton is proposing a fascinating view that advanced science need not be in conflict with the notion of a Creative and actively working God, who can be work in the processes of embryology and meteorology. This substantive is built upon the foundation that Genesis 1 presents an account of functional origins rather than material origins (read the first few chapters of the book to understand what this means).

I am still however unable to state that I am fully convinced by and agree completely with his insights and conclusions (as this is the first book of its type that I am reading). But if one day I were to affirm what Walton defines as teleological evolution -"accept[ing] biological evolution as providing a descriptive mechanism putatively describing how God carried out his purposes" (p152) - then it would be a most wonderful thing to see "people of faith cease trying to impose their own teleological mandates on public science education; and people who are skeptical of faith cease trying to impose their own dysteleological mandates on public science education (p160).

I received this book from IVP Academic for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

View all my reviews

Review: The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority

The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority by John H. Walton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The two or three months took to finish this book is a relatively long time (I usually read books in a single sitting). If reading a popular level book is like wading along the seashore, going through this book was like going deep sea diving. The immense depth of content often left me amazed as I realised how naive my presuppositions were and how so far removed I am from the context of the world that Scripture was written in.

Walton and Sandy have indeed done a fine job in "not to deconstruct inerrancy but to put on surer footing by carefully accounting for the worldview of the biblical world, which is different from the worldview of modern Western culture" (p303). In contrast to my snobbish attitude of how written was superior to oral communication, I have a new found appreciation for the latter. The brilliant final chapter summary was like a scoop of refreshing ice cream, an exhilarating reward to the persistent readers who had fought hard to journey through the dense jungle of the book - it helped to remind me of what I had read through and saw how they all fit together.

While the more scholarly reviewers probably give it a no-brainer 5 stars, I found that the book would reach a much larger audience if it weighed in at 200 (rather than 300 pages). That would mean the omission or shortening of much of the book, and maybe a new version of the book could be released to cater to a larger audience. While brevity is a luxury when we deal with such an important topic, I struggled to retain interest in the content, especially at the beginning and towards the end.

I received this book from InterVarsity Press for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

View all my reviews

Walton on not violently bending and imposing on Scripture

Wise words from respected Old Testament John Walton that I cannot agree more emphatically with, “We are not free to impose our own questions, our own culture, our own agendas, our own issues on the biblical text, and demand that it address our situation. It’s addressed to an ancient culture, in an ancient language, in an ancient time. And we need to make sure that we are entering that world instead of dragging the text as if it were talking to our word and in our terms. The message transcends the culture, but the form is culture bound. And so we have to recognise then that we are reading the text as outsiders… If we are going to get the full focus of God’s revelation to us and get the full force of its authority, we have to try to take our place in that audience, and try to hear as that audience would have heard it…”

Source: Outsiders: Reading the Bible Out of Context

Stop the violence to Scripture please!

To ask people to be like David or not be like Jezebel is to miss the point of what God is saying through his Holy Bible. The main character is God, focus on him (and not the supporting cast).

From Page 11 of:

Old Testament Today

Many have become disillusioned with the Old Testament because they were looking at a pile of threads that had been extracted from the tapestry. In our reorientation we will try to focus on the tapestry without ignoring the contributions of each picture and thread. Focus is the operative term. When we look at a subject through a camera lens, the focus is important. If we focus on the foreground, the background blurs; if we focus on something at a distance, that which is close to the camera becomes blurred. A good photographer must decide what needs to be clear and what needs to be blurred. The larger picture of the Old Testament, from a literary standpoint, is seen in the purpose of each author in the book he is writing. As we keep that in focus, the individual verses and stories must be seen in relation to it. From a theological perspective, the larger picture is God. Individuals fade into the background as we see the Old Testament not as a compilation of stories about Abraham or David of Esther but as a single story about God. If we bring David too much into focus, the picture of God may blur.