Ecclesiastes and Inspiration
How does the book of Ecclesiastes impact your view of inspiration? I’ll be asking folks to think about this in my Sunday School class at First UMC of Pensacola as we study Ecclesiastes. What do you think?
How does the book of Ecclesiastes impact your view of inspiration? I’ll be asking folks to think about this in my Sunday School class at First UMC of Pensacola as we study Ecclesiastes. What do you think?
12We’re not recommending ourselves to you again, but we’re giving you an excuse to boast about us again, so that you may have a response to those who boast in appearance and not in the heart. 13For if we are out of our minds, it’s for God, if we are wise, it’s for you. 14For…
They also don’t act with maliceIn God’s ways they walk. This verse could be translated in many ways, but the basic message doesn’t change. We’ve had too verses talking about blessed people and what it is that they do. This verse introduces an “and one more thing” moment. They also don’t act maliciously. The KJV,…
This post is for a rather limited subset of what (I hope) my audience is here–those who have some knowledge of Biblical Greek, Hebrew, or both. Tragically, many seminary students learn a little bit of Greek or Hebrew but not enough to really put to use, and then they spend the rest of the career…
Seforim Online provides downloads of some pretty nice stuff. I downloaded Codex Leningradensis. Details at Awilum.
John Hobbins is starting a series on Leviticus 25. It looks interesting.
The simple answer is that it doesn’t affect my view of inspiration at all. It might do if I thought that inspiration meant that I could easily and trivially synthesise Ecclesiastes with, for instance, the Psalms of rejoicing (rather than those of lament) or the suggestions scattered throughout the New Testament that God will do loads of good things for the believer.
I’ve spent some of my life living psychologically in a Matt. 6 world and some living in an Ecclesiastes/Job world. The inspirations are appropriate to the situation in both cases.
Of course, Matt. 6:26ff and Ecclesiastes agree about living in the moment, even if they don’t agree about what might happen next. This isn’t a synthesis, though, it’s just advice which works independently of your situation.