well, wi-fi is good right now as I’m sitting outside the STM office trying to key in these words while defending myself from Kamikaze insects!
Prof. Seow is a passionate scholar, I can see he puts heart in his sharing. The Wisdom literature intro sparked me probably to read Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiates again with new eyes. I wonder especially after we finish the Torah the first five books of the Old Testament. It might be a good idea to do these three.
One thing hit me when he was talking about the meaning and metaphor for the word “torah” (usually translated or understood as law in the English Old Testament), he highlighted that the picture and meaning for Torah should be more of a “pointer” directing us to a right direction rather than legal law.
The emphasis on “theology from below” where our human experience and humanity is taken seriously is a good corrective not only for the religious of that time but also today.
I also liked the little gem he threw in drawing from wisdom literature on how the books deal with the positive aspect of human potential and yet realistically showing the danger of human power.
“Wisdom” defined or pictured more by the “art of steering” through life rather than just being intellectual and philosophical kind of affirmed some gut feelings I had about this especially in times when “bookish” cleverness is treated with suspicion.
I decided to join the part two of his “Daniel” lectures tonight and was served with an exegetical mixed with expository masterpiece of Daniel 7 with the detail that I’m not used too. Loved his mini-story telling of Cannanite mythology and how that gives insight to an important courtroom scene in the passage. Not too sure how BLC members or friends I invited for the same series in St. Paul’s Anglican Church tomorrow can handle his depth. We here in Malaysia are often not used to such scholarship (though we need a healthy dose of it).
Before I go tonite, I’ve fed numerous mosquitos already .. a number of them sacrificed themselves after a feeding. I felt tonight I have a good closure.
The lectures this morning emphasized how the Wisdom literature (especially the three books mentioned) helps us deal with life in the here and now (with God somehow in the scene of course even though not explicitly many a times). And tonight the journey through Daniel 7 highlighted our lives in relation to the invisible, other-worldly aspect as well, we need both.
Wow Sivin some scholarly words in this post, certainly helped expand my word knowledge tonight, very sorry I will miss the lectures as it sounds like he is putting it into good context by covering the background of the time it was written