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10/5/2005 Ecclesiastes and Epicurus: Some Notes on the Philosophy of Ecclesiastes NOTE: all translations in this column are taken from the Authorized King James Version, King James Open Bible, Thomas Nelson Books, 1985. The book of Ecclesiastes is a rather odd part of the canonical Old Testament. It is the only book, to my knowledge, that can only be described as a philosophical treatise. The book purports to be a report of a sermon (or set of sermons) by a character known only as (Eccl. 1:1) "the Preacher, son of David, King in Jerusalem." The words of this Preacher make it clear he is a philosopher, as it was ordained by God that all men must be (Eccl. 1:12-13) "I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith." Moreover, just as in the philosophy of Epicurus (one of the fathers of Greek philosophy and particularly of that frequently misunderstood philosophy named for him Epicurean), the central question occupying the mind of this philosopher is how to avoid "the vexation of spirit" (Eccl. 1:14). When he concludes that riches and acquisitions are of no philosophical value, he declares (Eccl. 2:11, emphasis added): "Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do, and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun." Also like Epicurus, the conclusion of this very materialistic philosophy is that the best the wise man can do is seek to enjoy the fruits of his own labor (Eccl. 2:24): "There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor." But moderation, again, was the key, as it was for Epicurus (Eccl. 4:6): "Better is a handful with quietness than both hands full with travail and vexation of spirit." Finally, like Epicurus, this philosophy did not admit of any afterlife. There are several verses that amount to advice to help bolster the spirit against the fear of death's finality (Eccl. 7:8-14). Man does not enjoy any fruit of his labors after his death, even just as an observer from a distance (Eccl. 3:22): "Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?" Death is a final end to all the things we enjoy in life (Eccl. 9:10): "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with they might; for there is no work nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest." Finally, death is simply the end of everything for the deceased (Eccl. 9:4-6): "For him that is joined to all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun." The difference between Ecclesiastes and Epicurus is that Ecclesiastes believes that the key to moderation and enjoying the fruit of one's labor without "vanity and vexation of spirit" is to keep God's commandments. Epicurus' philosophy was atheistic (or at least agnostic, in that it did not accept that gods were concerned with human affairs). The theology of the New Testament is completely foreign to the philosophy of Ecclesiastes (as it is to the book of Job, but that is fodder for another day). New Testament theology faces the same challenge Ecclesiastes faced: looking around the world it is apparent that evil is often rewarded and good is often punished by events. NT theology is based on the notion that rewards and punishments are doled out not in this world but in the next. Ecclesiastes deals with the problem in the opposite way: he simply concedes that it isn't fair and counsels the wise man to avoid vexing himself over it (Eccl. 8:11-15). If there were any notion in his mind of an afterlife where rewards could be granted for the suffering of the living, it would certainly be mentioned here. The book of Ecclesiastes is a must-read for all those who do not believe in afterlife. It is a bit confused and conflicted, but many of the thoughts it offers are useful to a person who wonders how to deal with the unfairness and haplessness of real life. Ecclesiastes is inconsistent with Christian theology. 10/05/2005 |
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