Week 27 Ecclesiastes
If I organized all the bible books in a list that went from the Most Religious to the ones that seemed Least Religious then Ecclesiastes is going to be near the bottom (Ecclesiastes could flip with Song of Solomon for #66) .
I checked a word book to see how many times the writer used the expression under-the-sun (for instance – what does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun). I counted 32 times (three of those he used the phrase under-heaven – which I figured was roughly equivalent to under-the-sun).
I doubt that the writer set out to write the Least Religious book of the bible. But he focused so intently and concentratedly on life under-the-sun that there wasn’t much room for any other life. Anyway the Key Question was: what-can-I-make-of-life-under-the-sun? And the Key Answer was: life under-the-sun is utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. (I get the sense the phrase everything-is-meaningless is a short version of everything-under-the-sun-is-meaningless.)
Even though I figure Ecclesiastes is the Least Religious bible book it isn’t a Non-Religious book. It’s more like life under-the-sun dominates all other life regions.
In the bigger and all-inclusive region of all-life (i.e. areas under-the-sun plus areas beyond-the-sun) life isn’t necessarily futile or meaningless. It’s just that I’d also have to start looking for meaning above – not just under – the sun.
Note: quotes from Ecclesiastes 1:3 2 (NIV). Added note: Ecclesiastes’ writer admits that there are some consolations & satisfactions to be had under-the-sun. But not meaning.