Qoheleth the Religious

In a previous post I listed Qoholeth’s comments (up to 7:16) us religious folk find outrageous. In this post I list his comments (up to 7:16) I find nourishing, edifying, and strangely comforting.

“The eye is not satisfied with seeing.” It’s nice to know that my obsession with reading, art appreciation, drawing, and visual input isn’t an anomaly. Apparently the whole human race just can’t get enough through their eye gate.

“Grievous tasks are from God.” I find it easier to cope with my wife’s terminal illness believing there is divine and benevolent purpose behind it.

“I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine.” I’m not a big fan of wine but I do love exploring the world of nut brown ales, mai tais, and peppermint schnapps.

“I turned to consider madness and folly.” As one who frequently counsels the conflicted, pathological, and emotionally disturbed, I too consider mental and emotional illness, with a view to being therapeutic, of course.

“In the coming days all will be forgotten.” This is certainly true when we take the long view. Eventually the sun will explode and all my memoirs, handouts, drawings, and graphic novels will be incinerated. Yet I continue to write and draw for the short view. I’d like my kids, grandkids, and as many generations as possible have some record of my existence.

“My progeny will have control over my literary/artistic oeuvre” (my paraphrase of 2:19). This reminds me that the point of my existence is bigger than my creative output. Somebody may just throw a match on the boxes of manuscripts my kids will inherit. This reminds me not to lay up treasures on earth.

“Even at night his mind does not rest.” I have a black belt in insomnia (and mixing metaphors). Nice to know I’m in good company.

“There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good.” Qoholeth’s cataloging of anomalies, paradoxes, absurdities, enigmas, and puzzling existential questions was genius. Yet on top of that list he lays the “good.” Despite the sorrows and heartaches, he still affirms the goodness of food, drink, and work. I like that.

“This is from the hand of God.” I’ve studied theodicy (justifying the goodness of God in light of a bad world) for nearly 40 years and have yet to discover one that works. Evil is THE Achilles heel for theists. And yet while theists wrestle with the problem of evil, atheists must wrestle with the problem of good. Either nut brown ale, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and Euclid’s Elements are the products of mindless evolution, natural selection, and random mutation alone or they are evidences of a creator who gives good beer, good art, and good math. I choose to believe the latter; they are “from the hand of God.”

“There is a time for peace.” Ahhh. This resonates with my love of shalom, harmony, and reconciliation.

“He has set eternity in the hearts of people.” This notion fits with my theology of imago dei. We’re created in the image of God and bear his likeness—a love of spirit, transcendence, metaphysical meaning, ethics, and so forth.

“Man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning.” There is to me an under addressed notion in the Bible which I call a “theology of ignorance.” As often as we’re reminded we “see through a glass darkly,” the evangelical subculture is awash in certitude, dogmatism, and unabashed confidence that what we claim to know is absolute. I like the many admissions in Ecclesiastes that we really shouldn’t be as pontifical as we are.

“Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward?” See recent comment.

“Who can bring him to see what will happen after him?” Ditto.

“The oppressed have no one to comfort them.” I’m not happy the oppressed have no comfort; I am happy that Qoholeth sees this as a problem. We do have an obligation to fight on behalf of the disenfranchised.

“One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of striving.” As one prone to workaholism I like this reminder to chill once in a while.

“Two are better than one.” My wife of 34 years was recently moved to a nursing home and I have now joined the ranks of the 33 million American’s who live alone (see this week’s TIME Magazine, March 12, page 60). I am mindful more than ever of the benefits of companionship, partnership, and togetherness. Qoholeth nailed it!

“Do not become an old guy who cannot receive instruction” (paraphrase of 4:13). Lord deliver me from becoming a stodgy old codger set is his ways.

“He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.” Good reminder.

“The sleep of the working man is pleasant.” I practice segmented sleep; periods of wakefulness sandwiched between periods of snoozing (naps are periods of snoozing sandwiched between periods of wakefulness). There is something comforting about flopping into bed exhausted from the day’s activities.

“The full stomach of a rich man does not allow him to sleep.” I’m not sure we needed divine revelation to learn not to eat French fries before going to bed, but there it is.

“It is good and fitting to eat, drink, and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor.” As stated earlier, finding weal in the midst of woe is a good thing.

“God empowers folks to rejoice in their labor.” In Mark Twain’s fabulous Diaries of Adam and Eve, Twain puts these words into the mouth of Adam, “I believe I see what the week is for, it is to give him time to rest up from the weariness of Sunday.” In other words, vacations are a good break from the tedium of work; and work is a good break from the tedium of leisure.

“I have seen the righteous perish and the wicked prosper.” It’s nice to know somebody else besides Job and Asaph in Psalm 73 make this observation. It seems disingenuous to me that some Christians pretend ethics and prosperity are commensurate. I’m sure it took courage for Qoholeth to publish his assault on a Pollyanna-like eudemonism. My saintly wife suffers with Alzheimer’s dementia, a curse undeserved. When I encounter “health and wealth” preachers I’m tempted to forsake my pacifism and take them down a notch. But that’s unbefitting a Christian therapist so I restrain my ire.

As you can see in this and the previous post I’m guilty of cherry picking from Ecclesiastes. Some verses are puzzling. Some are comforting. I’m trying to bake a cherry pie from sweet and sour cherries. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!