Which books or passages of the Bible would you consider to be great wisdom literature?
By "wisdom literature" I mean literature that provides wise advice for negotiating life. That is, that is applicable to actual day to day practice. Idle insights need not apply, no matter how profound.
You should use your own judgment as to what constitutes "great" when answering the question, but -- if you're in a position to do so -- please feel free to compare the Bible to other great wisdom literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Teh Ching, or the Dhammapada.
As to my own view, it's open to modification, but I currently am largely unimpressed with the Bible as wisdom literature. There are passages I admire, of course, but they seem to me isolated. Overall, I'd say I am far more impressed with many other religious and secular works than with the Bible.
By "wisdom literature" I mean literature that provides wise advice for negotiating life. That is, that is applicable to actual day to day practice. Idle insights need not apply, no matter how profound.
You should use your own judgment as to what constitutes "great" when answering the question, but -- if you're in a position to do so -- please feel free to compare the Bible to other great wisdom literature, such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Teh Ching, or the Dhammapada.
As to my own view, it's open to modification, but I currently am largely unimpressed with the Bible as wisdom literature. There are passages I admire, of course, but they seem to me isolated. Overall, I'd say I am far more impressed with many other religious and secular works than with the Bible.