Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur

What would you do if you were a successful, legalistic preacher and your world fell apart? In the past you had alienated your teenage daughter to the extent she ran away. Now you have received word that she has died in childbirth and her husband forbids your contact with the granddaughter. Your wife is so devastated, she shuts down her own body processes and dies.
Jason Faircloth faces a crisis of faith. His daughter, his wife, his reason for ministry, his superficial faith in God...are all gone. He resigns his successful preaching position and sets out to find his granddaughter.
Faircloth never loses his heart for God but does lose his heart for traditional Christianity and all its manmade disciplines. He becomes a self-motivated wisdom hunter, finding God’s truth in the Bible and his honest encounters with others.
This book originally came out in 1991 and was probably before its time. Arthur’s critique of legalistic Christianity will be better received now then it was then. It is a thought provoking book. What does it really mean to be a Christian and how does a Christian act, according to the Bible and not culture? There is a discussion guide which would make this book suitable for a group discussion.
The writing is uneven, however. It would seem Arthur has a message to promote and has added some action here and there to make the entire story acceptable. There is also the woman who comes on the scene (twice) “just” when Faircloth needs rescuing and then conveniently disappears! Certainly she is a loose end that could have been written into and out of the story in a better way.
This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.
Wisdom Hunter, Multnomah, #978259052592, $13.99. See more information at:
http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9781601422996&ref=externallink_mlt_wisdomhunter_sec_0908_01