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Book Review: Paul J. DaPonte, Hope in an Age of Terror (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009). xiii + 288 pp. £22.99/$34 (pb), ISBN 987-1-57075-843

The excellent final chapter is devoted to the task of recovering ‘Lady’ Wisdom, the Power who at creation joined all things in harmony and ‘belonged, in temple terms, in the holy of holies’ (p. 247). The rejection or corruption of Wisdom begins already in Eden, where humans ‘think they own knowledge’ (p. 249) and thus lose their place in the Kingdom on earth; her restoration occurs in Revelation, where the Lady is seen in heaven, with her symbol, the tree of life beside the throne. Although Deuteronomic reformers had removed her tree from the temple centuries before, Wisdom was central to the eucharistic worship of early Christians, who gave thanks for ‘life and knowledge’ through Jesus Christ. Barker’s treatment gives a depth dimension to many passages and symbols in Scripture that may allude to Wisdom and ‘her’ teaching. Another effect of Barker’s discerning treatment is to sharpen the contrast between the biblical model of Wisdom and our own presumption that knowledge can be owned. In a powerful rereading of Wisdom’s symbols of tree and water, she speaks of their current importance in preserving life, which was ‘the Lady’s’ essential role in the creation covenant. In this challenging and deeply theological study, Barker has posed a question that is at once historical and practical: How did Jesus and the early Christians read their Scriptures, and why should we care? She addresses it by working in a fresh way with familiar texts and by opening up many texts that will be unknown to most of her readers, since she is writing for a broad audience of non-specialists. Going far beyond the truism of citing the perennial value of ancient wisdom, she has shown its precise vision and its urgency. The sheer number and variety of ancient texts cited is itself challenging for a reader, and some will wish for closer exegesis and more critical engagement with ideological frameworks and historical contexts. But if there are gaps in the presentation of the argument, it never becomes trivial. Rather, Barker has suggested modes of interpretation that will not be forgotten by the careful reader and thus may bear fruit in the work of other scholars and teachers for years to come.