12) On the Ecclesiastical Idea

In reading the book of Ecclesiastes, written by King Solomon, I have come to see, with history as my guide, that his idea of meaninglessness is true. This is most notable in existentialist thought. The meaninglessness of everything is clear in both Ecclesiastical thought and the existentialism of such thinkers as Nietzsche and Sartre. The idea of the book is best summed up as meaninglessness in everything but God. The best phrase within the 12 chapters is “Under the sun,” referring to everything temporal (God being over or transcending the sun). With this in mind, Ecclesiastes is essentially (in my opinion) the most optimistic existentialism possible, stating that all temporal things are worthless unless they are enjoyed in light of God's existence. Therefore, the eternal makes the temporal more beautiful and worthwhile, rather than diminishing it. This is an interesting notion, this “realism within God,” that allows us to believe in a most wondrous heaven and still enjoy this earth.