The book King Solomon’s Advice, authored by Walter L. Porter, is a detailed study of the wisdom and advice of Solomon. The author sets forth to present the advice of Solomon, by interjecting his own thoughts and then backing what he states with the words of Solomon, or another Biblical author. The author states that he does not desire to speak much on the subjects, but rather allow the Bible to speak, with only a few comments from himself. He [the author] states that he hopes the information contained in his book will be worthwhile and usable for others. Thus, the author’s main focus is to present a detailed book illustrating the advice of Solomon in an understandable and east use format.
While the authors focus and intent are good, there are several things that this writer feels should be pointed out. The author stated that he desired the Bible to speak for itself with little input by him; however, there are several points made by the author of the book that are hard to understand and are contrary to the word of God.
One such criticism is found on page four of the book. The author states, “Solomon’s legacy consists of three books in the Bible: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon. In the opening words of each book Solomon is mentioned as its author.” It is true that Solomon is mentioned in the beginning of Proverbs and Song of Solomon, but he is not mentioned at the beginning of Ecclesiastes. In fact his name is not mentioned anywhere in the book of Ecclesiastes. While this writer believes that Solomon authored the book of Ecclesiastes caution must be exercised when making statements such as the one made by this author.
The second textual criticism is found on pages six and seven. Here the author speaks about the ...
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...n thoughts and the scriptures, that all need to be careful what they say. One of the worst entities in society that prompts ill use of words is Hollywood. There is more gossip and slander in Hollywood than anywhere else. Someone is always trying to one up someone else, and speak ill of them. This reader also felt that the author did an excellent job in speaking about the book of Song of Solomon. The author had many good comments and excellent thoughts, of how a husband should treat his wife, and vice versa.
In summation of all that has been said the book “King Solomon’s Advice” has good information as well bad information that is highly questionable. This reader would recommend the book, but only with a strong word of caution. In all the author did a fine job of sealing the sum of King Solomon’s advice into a book that can be used with some deal of benefit.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
The book called Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, deals with many real life issues, most of which are illustrated by the relationships between different family members.
...ticle, Solomon has an unpleasant attitude of blaming others and complaining about the issue without proposing any real solutions. It also seems that he divides people into two categories: readers (good) and non-readers (bad), and he look down upon those who do not read. This will cause the readers to be emotionally uncomfortable and to reject his arguments and opinions because of the bias behind it.
Solomon's silver watch contained multifaceted significance with regard to his character and it's effect on Livvie--it represented prestige and wealth, control and obsession, and a life of dark retreat. For Solomon the watch represented the prestige and wealth that were rarely attained by colored people. "For he was a colored man that owned his land and had it written down in the courthouse." (P. 85) Yet the watch also had another dimensionCit meant control over his life and his possessions, including Livvie.
Heberle, Mark. "Contemporary Literary Criticism." O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Vol. 74. New York, 2001. 312.
164-69. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Jeffrey W. Hunter. Vol. 341. Detroit: Gale, 2013.Artemis Literary Sources. Web. 5 May 2014.
We see from this passage that Solomon is a loving devoted husband and father. He understands the relationship between a father and his children. Solomon appears through this writings to have been a good father.
The book is mean-spirited and vicious in its attacks upon the godly evangelical scholars who labored so hard to produce the modern versions, not to undermine the Word, but to make it more understandable to the average reader.
Even though humans wrote the text, translating it and passing it down from generations to generations, God’s truth is unchanging. Debates of the inerrancy of the bible cannot usurp God as the King of grace. Instead of focusing on the inerrancy of the Bible, individuals who wish to seek a life of faith should focus on the inspiration God is showing them in his word. These revelations should move them into applicable, daily life changing implications from what they have learned. God shows revelations of himself through the Bible, and his character is revealed time and time again throughout scripture. Any faulty facts or discrepancies in grammar or data, should not take away from the value that scripture holds. When we read scripture we bring new meaning of interpretations of the truths God shows us, since new eras and environmental factors will be influential on how we process information. The bible is not just a fact book, telling humans stories of the past, but instead the bible is inspired instructions for how we can deal with spiritual and ethical encounters we
An instructive and stirring string of verses, this passage from the Bible holds great relevance not only for the Ancient Israelites to whom it was spoken, but also acts as a herald to Christians today. This passage forms part of Moses great oration; his instructive teaching, advice and counsel narrated to the second generation of Israelites who required redirection before moving forward into what God had for them. Similarly, it is also relevant for all Christians as we remember what our faithful, loving and powerful God has done in the past, and what he requires of us to move forward.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 2011. Print.
"Open Book Newsletter No. 1: The Bible and Western Literature by Peter J. Leithart January, 1991." Biblical Horizons » No. 1: The Bible and Western Literature. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2014.
James L. Mays.Harper Collins Bible Commentary,with society of biblical literature. HarperSanFransico.United states of America.New York. 1988 .985.
...ot say that the knowledge of the meaning is basic, nor conclude that people that come to other conclusions than he did “misread” the text, which seems a rather harsh criticism of his fellow critics.