Wisdom Hunter

I tend to read more non-fiction books, but I do enjoy good Christian fiction. I truly enjoyed this book. It spoke to me on so many levels. This book is gritty and realistic. I disagree with the reviewers who think that this book describes sin too graphically. Yes, it is graphic. But whitewashing the truth and papering over it doesn't do anyone any good. Life is tough and sin is real. Scripture itself doesn't sugarcoat sin. It describes rape, incest, murder and other sin in graphic detail. We must be balanced. We shouldn't go to extreams. Sin shouldn't be glorified, but it also shouldn't be whitewashed and ignored. This book deals in powerful way with sin and redemption. Jesus Himself was willing to minister to prostitutes, adulterers, murders, drunks and lepors. He was willing to minister to the very bottom dwellers of society. How can we who claim to be His followers do any less? Jesus has given us the perfect model of who to deal with sin. He confronted it head on. He never condemned or judged people for even blatant sin, but neither did He ignore or condone it. This book provides much food for thought. So much so, it's easy to forget it's fiction. I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. This is a book to be read and pondered and thought about deeply.

Every pastor, elder, and deacon should read this book (if they can handle it). And every person who feels like they are being forced into a church mold rather than a biblical mold should read this book. And those who are living in the freedom of the true Christian life should read this book as an encouragement and for ideas to help others escape the clutches of the unbiblical packaging of God and His Church.God does not fit into our neat LITTLE finite packages in which we require God to dwell. Biblical life does not fit into our legalistic, narrow-minded, self-proclaimed conservative interpretations of scripture. God and the Bible are not servants of our corrupt cultural norms.This and more is the subject of this story. There isn't much I can say about this book except you've just got to read it for yourself. It is rare that I pick up a story book and read it. But this particular one is one of two cases in which I picked it up and couldn't put it down. I am a reader who takes my time, reads slowly and tries to absorb everything in one reading. This 315-page text was read by me in 2 nights. In the first half of the book, I read much about myself and the changes that are now taking place in my life. I believe God put this book in front of me to encourage me to continue in the same direction and to give me ideas and new thought patterns. There was a freedom handed to me through the reading of this book that every believer needs to experience---BECAUSE IT'S BIBLICAL AND NECESSARY.Let me just say this about the story line: The first half of the book emphasizes the issues and consequences of the legalistic and culturalized, "God in a convenient package" church (which, by the way, is a different package for each culture and each denomination; so who's right?). Within this first half is a thread which concerns a man's search for a granddaughter and a woman he fell in love with at first sight. The second half of the book swaps the emphasis. The emphasis becomes the search and then changes to the man's new life after a long unsuccessful search. The thread is the issue of the messed-up church. But when this thread pops up in the second half, it's beautiful. Sometimes, it's just a single sentence, so you have to watch for it. But they are sometimes statements that are packed with wisdom. The suspense that builds in the second half of the book is well done. You figure out what's going to happen, but you don't know how it will happen, and the anticipation, at least for me, was overwhelming. It was truly exciting to read, and it has become a springboard to send me far beyond the convenient, unbiblical practices of today's culture-serving, self-glory serving church. Let me qualify one thing: when I say culture serving, I do not mean that the book teaches that believers should abandon culture. Rather, the book teaches that those moral standards that we demand of other believers, that are based on our culture, but won't work in another cul

I first read Wisdom Hunter back in 1993 and it blew me away. I've read it multiple times since then and it is no exageration to say that its powerful message has not diminished.Randall Arthur took a difficult subject, legalism, and somehow spun it into a fantastic read. Follow the journey of a southern fundamentalist pastor, Jason Faircloth, who, due to a life-shattering tragedy, is forced to re-examine his entire worldview. He comes to the point where he has to decide what in his life is truely important and of God, and what is self-created and able to be shed. This search for wisdom and his grand daughter (his lone surviving family member) takes him across the world. And it takes you right along with it on a soul searching trip. Wisdom Hunter vividly comes alive with real characters, conflict, emotion, and a contemporary, relevant message. I'm not sure that it is possible to read a book like this and not have your walk faith challenged to its very core. For we all are guilty, at least to a point, of mistaking our personal opinions or our church's unique teachings for being the will and truth of God. Wisdom Hunter's message is one of freedom and, ultimately, of grace. It is a rare novel that can combine solid Biblical principle so seemlessly into a story that truly moves. A true Christian fiction classic in every way.

Rev. Jason Faircloth, pious and upstanding minister of a 2000-member church, learns that even ministers are not perfect and do not have all of the answers all of the time. Honestly believing that he is doing the right thing, Jason raises his daughter Hannah in a strict, straight-laced manner. She cannot wear pants or makeup, listen to popular music, date boys, and dozens of other "don'ts." Because he turns a deaf ear to her pleas to be understood, she leaves home, seeking the freedom to make her own choices. Eighteen months later, Jason and his wife hear that their daughter has died, leaving behind a baby girl and an inconsolable husband. However, the son-in-law wishes no contact with them, knowing of Jason only through Hannah's description of her strict, legalistic background. Later losing his wife as well, Jason, now devastated and doubting his own faith in God, goes on a journey hunting for his grandaughter. The eighteen-year journey that leads him through several states as well as Norway, England, and Cyprus mirrors Jason's spiritual journey as well. A chance encounter at a church in Norway begins to restore Jason's faith in God as he realizes that the strict legalism of his past faith is not a replacement for a personal relationship with the living Jesus Christ. Jason's quest for both spiritual answers as well as his only remaining relative will keep you turning page after page. Arhtur's book is worth reading again and again.

One of the most riveting books I have ever read. I intended to read a few pages before taking an afternoon nap and found myself finishing it 6 hours later. Randall takes the reader on the intense journey of a "religious" preacher looking for his granddaughter who ends up finding an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I gave this book to all my family members and several friends. My grandmother told me the only reason she finally went to bed is because her vision got so blurred she could not finish the book. She did so the next morning even before her morning coffee. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to take an afternoon roller-coaster ride and simultaneously see God in brand new ways.