Ecclesiastes's View On Meaning In Life

The meaning of life is to find the meaning of life. Is it not? We all go through each day trying to figure out which road out the infinite amount of paths will lead us in a better direction where happiness is prominent and society is flawless. However, not every single human being is going to fit on that narrow, one-lane highway to success. Bad choices, accidents, fate, family matters, society, temptation, anger, rage, addiction, and loss of hope can all be deciding factors in opting to choose that wrong path to self-destruction. The adverse thing is, once you've traveled so far down the road, you get so discouraged that you feel like you can never turn back or make up for the "lost time."

The Christian world view on life meaning and purpose is basic and yet different from other world views. Our main resolution in life is to work for God and have a strong connection with him at all times. First and foremost God desires to come first, and all else will tumble into place as long as we believe in him and have complete faith in him also. It is printed that we can only have one master (Matthew 6:24) and for that reason, God believes that serving him must be the highest significant thing for us to do with our period here on earth. (Christian Bible Reference Site)

The book of Ecclesiastes has been praised for being one of the wisdom books of the Bible. Many fundamental questions throughout time have been answered through the pages of the book of Ecclesiastes because it offers guidance for many life lessons. The book gives Christians a chance to find the real meaning of happiness and the poison of worldly material objects. Ecclesiastes gives a wealth of knowledge on how to experience the most out of life. However, the book maintains a sense of emptiness, which is a void that can only be filled with the acceptance of God. The book emphasizes the natural human need for something beyond the physical world, which is made possible by Jesus Christ. The book provides wisdom to believers by allowing them the

Susan Wolf addresses these questions an aim to bring out the distinctive characteristics of the reasons and motives that give our lives meaning. Wolf claims that "meaningful lives are laws of active engagement and projects of worth" (Wolf, 206). Suggesting that when a person is actively engaged in anything they feel alive and life is more worth living. Nevertheless, Wolf explains that neither religion or science is sufficient for leading a meaningful life, claiming that a life of passion could corrupt the pursuit of happiness if you decide to dedicate your life to how you feel. Suggesting that working toward some goal that is substantial than yourself, can be hard work if you don 't have any passion or connection to it. According to Wolf, the subjective element is necessary for a meaningful life and arises from active engagement in some activity that one loves. In addition, the passive attachment to objectively valuable things are not sufficient for meaning. The feeling of fulfillment originates when “one is doing what one loves, or when one is engaging in activities by which one is gripped or excited” (Wolf, 207).

"People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think that what we're seeking is an experience of being alive...." Joseph Campbell made this comment on the search for meaning common to every man's life. His statement implies that what we seem bent on finding is that higher spark for which we would all be willing to live or die; we look for some key equation through which we might tie all of the experiences of our life and feel the satisfaction of action toward a goal, rather than the emptiness which sometimes consumes the activities of our existence. He states, however, that we will never find some great

Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this! 8 Wear fine clothes, with a splash of cologne!?” Although many times in Ecclesiastes it says what we do in life is meaningless, it still encourages people to be wise and the characteristics of the wise person and the fool are still the same as they are in Proverbs and other wisdom literature in the Bible. What's different about Ecclesiastes is it tells you not to be over wise and destroy yourself and it also says the same thing about wickedness. It tells you to basically stay as neutral as you can and avoid extremes because falling more into one side than the other will cause your own destruction.

Within the entire book of Ecclesiastes, I noticed that it was mentioning how almost everything is meaningless and worthless. Throughout Ecclesiastes 1 and 2, it is written that “everything is meaningless”. It states, “wisdom is meaningless” and “pleasures are meaningless”. In the conclusion on Ecclesiastes it also states “vanity of vanities, all is vanity”. The question that immediately arises from this would be is all actually vanity? And if so, what is the point of being “wise”, or experiencing “pleasure”? On a daily basis as humans we constantly seeking these things. We go to school for wisdom, we look to find pleasure in the things that we do, and then in the bible we are told that they are completely worthless. How is this so when we have

The meaning of life is difficult to explain considering the time period. Ecclesiastes argues that wisdom cannot achieve its goal; that a remote God rules over a crooked world; and death did not take virtue or vice into consideration (Anchor Bible Dictionary p.275). Hence, Ecclesiastes advocated enjoyment as the wisest course of action during youth before the cares of advancing years made that response impossible (Anchor Bible Dictionary p.275). Ecclesiastes discovers that people's purpose in life as unknown. In life there is no final ultimate pronouncement, nothing is achieved and similarly human desires are left unsatisfied (Oxford Annotated Bible p.842). Ecclesiastes sees life as not changing and not being remembered. To achieve any sort of meaning of life, one must be wise: "for in much wisdom is much vexation" (Eccl. 1:18), being wise will create confusion to those who are not wise, leading towards understanding God's plan. People who are knowledgeable will be able to comprehend God's divine meaning; that meaning being to large to grasp by humans. However wisdom will not change one's fate in life. The inevitable fate for all is the same. "What happens to the fool will

Ecclesiastes is spoken by a prophet said to be the air of King David is referred to as Teacher throughout the book. Spoiled, rich, and said to have done everything that deemed to his satisfaction, yet he has felt nothing. As the wisest man in Jerusalem, the Teacher feels as though he has been cursed by God, for he has tried “all the deeds under the sun” (1:2). He drinks, becomes wealthy, owns land, acquires power, and experiences sexual gratification. However, none of these deeds have brought him satisfaction. The disatisfaction of his life led him to realize that if your beliefs are of the ones of God, than your actions through life should resemble those commanded by him, for God himself did not curse you of evil, yet the laws of nature find a time and place for everything to happen. The teacher encourages us to live life to the fullest, and embrace the unforeseen changes of life for we should fear the power of God, obey his commands, and respect him. An understanding of this will grant you the pleasure you desire in life for it is the true meaning of life and the very source of fulfillment.

In an effort to argue for what elements a life would need to include for it to be considered meaningful, Richard Taylor examines elements of a meaningless life in his piece, “The Meaning of Human Existence”. After establishing the criteria for a meaningless life, Taylor aims to use those elements to determine what would constitute a life meaningful through their comparison (822: 44-52). In order to illustrate his points, Taylor provides three concrete examples of meaningless lives: the legend of Sisyphus, chanting nuns, and a hole-digging convict (822-823). Taylor argues that in each of these situations, life is meaningless because it is repetitive and lacks purpose. In this paper, I will present Taylor’s argument for a meaningful life as one directed at one’s own goals, of which are noble and worthwhile, as well as attainable (835: 14-24). In addition, I will argue that his position can overcome the objection that one can still live a meaningful life without fully reaching one’s goals.

means is only found in the darkest of times. Just as bliss is found in the relief of pain, the meaning of life comes in the relief of ignorance. Your life is molded by the experiences you had and the people that you meet. Their life lessons can be your life lessons in order for you to make room for more; for the more you know more fortunate you are. You all have your own gifts that enables you to face the hardships of life. Even the ability to breathe means you have the fight within you. Just as the surrounding fight has the breath within them. The Light Trying to do good, makes you good. Wanting to do good is the first step of a good man, but it should not be merited same as the doer of good deeds. As long as you seek nothing in return than

In Ecclesiastes 1:4-6 I do not think it has a message pertaining weather. This passage means to me that people are born, and people pass away; the sun will shine the next morning and set in the evening, and this pattern will continue. Just like in Ecclesiastes chapter three; there is a season and a time for everything. Ecclesiastes 1:4 "generations come, and generations go." there is a season where people are born and when they die. The seasons change as the sun rises and sets.

Albert Camus is a famous writer who discusses a wide variety of topics in his works. His account of the myth of Sisyphus touches on a topic that most writers are either afraid of or unwilling to talk about. This is the issue of suicide and how to deal with it as an individual and as a community. The principal point in the story by Camus is the presence of absurdity in our very existence. The presence of life and all living things that we are aware of is an absurdity according to Camus, who questions the plausibility of some people considering suicide to be the best solution to this absurdity. Having an understanding of the elements of nature that make up our world does not mean that it will ever be possible to understand—and fully appreciate—the reasons why our world is as it is. Whether one believes in God and the creation account, in the evolution process or in the Big Bang Theory among others is irrelevant because of the underlying absurdity to all of these scenarios (Camus 3). He writes that it was his intention to find the relationship between suicide and the absurd. This essay by Camus leads the reader to make an assessment of life and arrive at a suitable decision. This paper will provide a further understanding of these thoughts. This paper will show that life is simply meaningless but must be appreciated nonetheless.

After I read Ecclesiastes, I learned that everything is meaningless if you don’t believe in God. Our hearts still have a hole in it and only God could fill up that emptiness in our lives. According to the writer, he “hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to...[him]. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:1-26). This proves that life without God is meaningless and empty, you would hate life because there isn’t a meaning to it. The quote gives us an example of a meaningless life; it is like chasing after the wind because it’s pointless and no use, it isn’t beneficial. This is disappointing to know because I think that life can be meaningful if you make the best out of it. Try your best in everything and don’t give up, don’t be lazy and actually try contributing to this world because a lot of things could surprise you. In “Life Shaping Decisions”, it states that God has a plan for everyone and we should follow it, or else you will be tragically disappointed. Solomon told this in a perspective most people pursue in life, which is a interest-centered life. In “Life Shaping Decisions” it tells us that doing whatever interests isn’t always the smartest way to go, you have to consider other things. The person in the story just did whatever he wanted to do and at the end he felt empty and that everything was meaningless. This is because he didn’t accept God into his life, so he didn’t follow God’s plan.

Ecclesiastes offers an interesting ontology in which human existence is vain and uncontrollable, and in which the incomprehensible, unchangeable ways of God govern one’s life. The story is recounted by a Preacher, a wise man, who, having seen all work done beneath the sun, reports: that “all is vanity”, that one’s toils are meaningless, that nothing is new, and that one ought to live one’s life enjoyably, for all men die regardless of their labors. Above all, the Preacher’s writing is personal; we can’t help but feel proximate to him, however negative his ontology may seem, because his writing is in the first person and appeals to us (and humanity in general) directly. Below, I will evaluate Ecclesiastes, focusing mostly on verses I:8-9 as they are particularly rich and amusing.