Author: Carrol, Robert P.
Title: When Prophecy Failed : Reactions and Responses to Failure in the Old Testament Prophetic Traditions
Description: London, SCM Press, 1979. 250 pp., Very good copy. Hardcover with dustjacket. Its main concern is to analyse the predicitons made by the Old testament prophets and the responses of later generations when these predictions were not realized. It is based on careful study of a number of Texts, but also makes use of the findings of social opsychology in relation to change in attitude and expectation. The theory used is that of 'cpgmotove dissonance', propounded by a professor of psychology, Leon Festinger, in a classic study of a modern group which predicted the destruction of the world and lived to see tha failure of that prediction. Since disappointed expectations of this kind go back to the earliest days of Christianiry and have their roots in the Israelite prophetic traditions, the appropriateness of the method is clear and it succeeds in adding a new dimension to our understanding of the prophets. Since Dr. carrol not only offers a full and lucid account of the theory of cognitive dissonance but also provides a clear account of current views of Israelite prophets and prophecy, his book is one of the most approachable works of OT schoalrship yet published. it will be of interest to both social psychologists and theologians: and no serious student of the Old Testament can afford not to read it. ISBN: 9780334017899

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