Seeing the World and Knowing God: Hebrew Wisdom and Christian Doctrine in a Late-Modern Context

434 Pages·2013·2.17 MB·English

by  Paul S. Fiddes

SEEING THE WORLD AND KNOWING GOD
This page intentionally left blank
Seeing the World
and Knowing God
Hebrew Wisdom and Christian Doctrine
in a Late-Modern Context
PAUL S. FIDDES
1
3
GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP,
UnitedKingdom
OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship,
andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof
OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries
#PaulS.Fiddes2013
Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted
FirstEditionpublishedin2013
Impression:1
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin
aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe
priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted
bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics
rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe
aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe
addressabove
Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform
andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData
Dataavailable
ISBN 978–0–19–964410–0
Asprintedandboundby
CPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY
For Pamela Sue Anderson
Scholar, Colleague, and Friend
Preface
This book is a greatly expanded form of the Bampton Lectures, which
I delivered from the pulpit of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin,
Oxford, on successive Sunday mornings in Hilary and Trinity Terms 2005.
IamverygratefultotheHeadsofHouseoftheUniversityforelectingmeto
thishistoricLecturership,andtothehospitalityoftheUniversityChurchand
its Vicar.Since then,Ihave givenrevisedversions ofsomeof theLecturesin
Union University, Tennessee; Samford University (Martha H. Holley Lec-
tures); the International Baptist Theological Seminary, Prague (Nordenhaug
Lectures);DukeUniversityDivinitySchool;BaylorUniversity;SyracuseUni-
versity; and the University of Gloucestershire. I am grateful for the welcome
given me by all these institutions, and for the comments of the audiences
whichhavehelpedintheshapingofthisbookinitspresentform.Inaddition,
I wantgladly toacknowledge many conversationswith my researchstudents
overthelastdecade,duringwhichtheideasinthisbookhavebeendeveloped
and refined; among these friends I especially mention Cyrus Olsen, Daniel
Miller, Brandon Gallaher, Julia Meszaros, Kathryn Bevis, and Andrew Dun-
stan,andIthankthemwarmlyfortheircontributionstomythought.
During the period of revision of these lectures an important influence has
been dialogue with members of a research network for ‘Critical Theory and
Spiritual Practice’, and among these especially with my colleague at Regent’s
Park College, Dr Pamela Sue Anderson, Reader in Philosophy of Religion in
the University. She has in addition read and offered valuable comments on
someofthefollowingchaptersindraft.Ihopethatthededicationofthisbook
toherwillindicatemyconsiderabledebtforherscholarlyinsightsandfriendly
encouragement over the years. Special thanks are due to my editor at the
Oxford University Press, Mr Tom Perridge, for his skills, patience, and
generosityinacceptingaworkwhich,likewisdom,hasbeenever-expanding.
To this I want to add similar thanks to Lizzie Robottom at the Press for her
painstakingworkinproductionofthevolume.
This book has its remoter origin in a doctoral thesis in Old Testament
studies, titled ‘The Hiddenness of Wisdom in the Old Testament and Later
Judaism’, which I wrote in Oxford nearly forty years ago and which remains
unpublished.Iamdelightedtotaketheopportunitynowtosalutemysuper-
visor, the Rt Revd John Baker, former Bishop of Salisbury, author of a truly
groundbreakingbookondivinewisdomcalledTheFoolishnessofGod.Shortly
after writing the thesis I moved into the area of Systematic Theology, and
my teaching, research, and publication since then has largely been in that
Preface vii
discipline. However, I have continued to reflect on the issues raised about
hiddenwisdominmyearlyresearch,attheverybeginningofmycareer,andit
seems clear to me now that I have been living with them ever since in
everythingIhavedone.
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
AbbreviationsandAcknowledgements x
PARTONE: SETTINGTHESCENE
1. TheCryforWisdom 3
2. TheMoodoftheLate-ModernWorld 28
3. ‘WhereWereYou’?SelfandOther 60
PARTTWO: WISDOMASOBSERVATION
ANDPARTICIPATION
4. TheElusivenessoftheWorldandtheLimitsofWisdom 87
5. TheComplexityoftheWorldandtheExtentofWisdom 130
6. TheSeeingSelfandWisdomasObservation 167
7. HiddenWisdom:ATheologyofPresenceandPlace 218
PARTTHREE: WISDOMINTHEWORLD
8. MetaphorandMysteryintheInterpretationofWisdom 269
9. WisdomasaSearchfortheSumofThings 299
10. TheTextoftheWorldandtheComprehensivenessofWisdom 324
11. TheProcessofLearningandtheRejectionofWisdom 347
CODA
12. AttunementtoWisdom:FromObservationtoParticipation 373
SelectBibliography 397
IndexofNames 405
IndexofSubjects 411
IndexofScriptureandInter-TestamentalBooks 415