Please read all of Ecclesiastes for Tuesday's class.For some people, Ecclesiastes is their favorite book in the entire Bible. Others wonder why it is in the Bible at all. What's your reaction? Did you find this book more or less enjoyable/valuable than the other books you've read for this class?
8 comments:
- The first couple of chapters of Ecclesiastes seemed like it was very much out of place. The question of why this book was in here did cross my mind. However, the more and more I read it the more and more it seemed like maybe it was not out of place at all. It talked about problems, the results of these problems, and ways to fix these problems. The doom and gloom was not there from the previous books, but the general emphasis of people and their problems was there. It had some great passages in the book. It was enjoyable, but not quite as enjoyable as some of the previous books we have read. Happy Blogging!!!
It seems that Ecclesiastes deals mostly with death and human mortality. I think death is a taboo subject in today’s society. Notice how people don’t use the word death or dead. Instead they replace it with words or phrases, such as he’s taking a dirt nap, he bit the big one, and etc.
I don’t like this book, because it basically states that the actions of anyone are useless. They are useless, because no matter what we do we all die in the end. Is this true… yes it is, but it’s so hard to accept a truth like this. I don’t think many people keep this idea in mind in their daily life. Think how hard it would be to do anything if ultimately you know that it doesn’t mean anything.
Does that mean we shouldn’t enjoy our life? No, of course not although our actions may account to nothing after we are dead does not mean they do not have real consequences when we are alive.
I can see why this book would be included in the bible. This book asks some fundamental questions about human existence. There seems to be a search for answers by the author of this book. He wants to know if life is worth living. He tries many ways to satisfy his hunger for satisfaction in life. He tries wisdom but that increases his sorrow. It seems he find that ignorance is bliss. He tries to find pleasure with tangible things but that also does not fulfill his longing for purpose in life. The author also finds situations that are depressing. He sees some places of judgment that are full of wickedness. In summary I can see many important topics raised by the words of this book, and that has some value for the reader.
I can’t say this was my favorite book of the Bible; however I did think that many fundamental questions were brought up. With what we know from the New Testament about life after death, it is hard to read the depressing views of the writer of Ecclesiastes.
Overall this book holds many truths and searches for many answers that we still search for today.
I enjoy Ecclesiastes. It does have a different feeling than the other books in the Bible, but that is what makes it good. The things discussed in this book can make the reader feel like life is pointless and that is what a lot of people struggle with. I think that this book isn’t all depressing though. There are lots of things that make it all worth it like 3.11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He had put eternity in their hearts except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” This is reassuring and shows that it will be okay.
I really enjoyed this book. Again, throughout Ecclesiastes the reenforcment of the people's sins and wrongs are brought out. But I also see this as a book that brings everyone back to reality. MATERIALS DON'T MATTER!!! Materials and all this great knowledge is not the key to getting into the hands of the Lord. Is it not as easy for the peasent to get into heaven as it is for the prince? Just because you've been blessed with all these great 'things' to gain knowledge does not make you anymore faithful then the uneducated.
There is no doubt in my mind that this book should be here.
Ecclesiastes is definetally different that other books of the Bible--its just plain weird. But I like AJ's observation--the further you get into the book, the more you realize that its a book of advice. The author is trying to teach readers how to view life in retrospect even while they're living it. And while he seems to be mostly negative at times, maybe he's trying to teach people all the lessons he learned and is trying to help them live a life without as much negativity as his. Sure, its gloomy and talks a lot about death, but how are people going to ever make life-changing decisions unless they think about their impending death?
Overall I did like it. It was repetitive and hard to pay attention to at times, but the Teacher is doing just that--he's trying to teach the people to avoid mistakes and just live life to the fullest.
I like Ecclesiasties because there are some very good themes in it. A favorite is that of understanding the need of God. Solomon searced for satisfaction elsewhere and it wasn't until he realized that he needed God, he was truely happy. We could all take a valuable lesson from Solomon. That is we could be happier with "stuff." Those things don't satisfy our spiritual lives, only God can do that.
Post a Comment