Searching for the meaning of life, people constantly question religion. What is our purpose? Why are we here? What is the meaning of our lives? In the third century BC people saw their lives falling apart; they wanted a new meaning of religion. During this time the Temple was destroyed, which will be explained further on. The destruction of a significant religious figure such as the Temple causes people to question the purpose of religion, especially if it is going to fail them. Ecclesiastes suggests the extent to which theological systems are not just abstract ways of viewing the world; they answer the questions of life, responding to the issues real people face in real life situations. Thus, to understand Ecclesiastes, we must comprehend both what he has to say and the circumstances in which he speaks. Ecclesiastes tries to find the meaning of life, justice, and the world. His realization that God's purpose is hidden from humans allows him to accomplish his search for meaning in the world and explain the historical circumstances he faces from day to day. People feel the need to find meaning to their lives. Up until this point in time religious followers have been told that God is good, God is wonderful, and God only punishes those who sin. However, the people in Israel at the time were in a bad situation, but they did nothing that would be considered sinful. Isaiah makes the claim that people are punished only when they are sinned and that peoples purpose in life is to follow God's plan, leading to the ultimate reward of salvation. People became skeptical of Isaiah's idea, trying to find a new way to figure out religion. Ecclesiastes suggests the idea that God's is not always present and his plan cannot be unde... ... middle of paper ... ...ter for a reason that cannot be explained. Generally, Ecclesiastes takes life for what it is, what it is worth and nothing more. The ideas of Ecclesiastes answer many questions that religion does not answer straightforwardly. We see from Ecclesiastes the extent to which philosophy and theology must respond to the real circumstances and questions of the day. This might mean a dramatic change in the attitudes towards religion. Even though Ecclesiastes' ideas are theologically different from the rest of the Bible, they must still be regarded in order to explain meaning to different types of people. People found religion to be unuseful and uninteresting, leading to less people caring about religion. Ecclesiastes' perspectives allowed for new ideas to be brought to the table, clearly and logically answering life's tough questions in ways people can relate to.
Throughout many of Paul’s letters there are many debates pertaining to the authorship, destination, date, and the purpose. In the book of Ephesians many scholars debate on the authorship and if Paul actually wrote the letter, or if it was a scribe. Although there are some debates on whether Paul actually wrote it or not, he does refer to himself twice in the letter. In 1:1 and in 3:1 Paul states himself, 1:3 states, “For this reason, I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles” (NIV) In verse 1:3 Paul states that he is a prisoner, therefore it is debated that he did not specifically write this because he was imprisoned in Rome at this time. According to Wallace “This, of course, is not to say that the letter must be by Paul, but it is to argue that without such internal testimony, no such claim could be made” (Wallace). Many scholars also debate on the vocabulary usage and the structure of the letter. Some believe that the structure is similar, but the vocabulary seems to be different than his New Testament epistles. Hoehner claims that,” Though the book has a close affinity with Colossians, critics claim that Ephesians is uncharacteristic of Paul” (Hoehner 613). The destination of Ephesians is somewhat debated, but many do believe that the letter was sent to the church of Ephesus. “Some to claim that Ephesus is a better starting point, others suggest Caesarea.” (Wallace) Although this is an argument that has many valid points, it is obvious that Paul was imprisoned in Rome while he wrote Ephesians. It is said by Hoehner that “Ephesians was probably delivered by Tychicus (Eph. 6:21-22), who also took Paul’s letter to Colossians (Col. 4:7-9)” (Hoehner 613). As for the date goes m...
In Sovran Maxims, Epicurus lays out his philosophy that pleasure is what gives meaning to one’s life. According to Sovran Maxims, the sole purpose of life is to experience pleasure, with pleasure being defined as a feeling of satisfaction and enjoyment. To maximize pleasure, pain, fear and unnecessary desires must be eliminated. Ecclesiastes is the lamentations of an old preacher. The preacher is troubled by the lack of meaning and purpose in life. He also has a focus on the cyclical nature of the world, which appears to be related to the meaninglessness of life. While the preacher does have a notably pessimistic—bordering on nihilistic—tone throughout the text, he does seem to assign some meaning to God. Both Sovran Maxims and Ecclesiastes
It is easy to place the blame on fate or God when one is encumbered by suffering. It is much harder to find meaning in that pain, and harvest it into motivation to move forward and grow from the grief. It is imperative for one to understand one’s suffering as a gateway to new wisdom and development; for without suffering, people cannot find true value in happiness nor can they find actual meaning to their lives. In both Antigone and The Holy Bible there are a plethora of instances that give light to the quintessential role suffering plays in defining life across cultures. The Holy Bible and Sophocles’ Antigone both mirror the dichotomous reality in which society is situated, underlining the necessity of both joy and suffering in the world.
In this book we shall begin with the main points which the teacher of this book as addressed to its reader, these points are mysterious, injustice and the frustrations of life. And in all these circumstances of life we see that God is the ruler and the controller of our destine. The first thing which the book as addressed to its reader is how someone can enjoy life through the gift of working hard which God as given to the sons of men under the sun. in this book life is been understood as useless because of its complications were by, no matter how somebody may spend the all entire life working and laboring hard, the question is this what do they have to show for it? Life is like casing after the wind because generation comes and go, but life continues. Therefore, no satisfactions, not even the ears can hear enough. In addition to this under the sun there is nothing new and there is no difference between the wise and the foolish because both of them they have same destine (death). This book teaches that the wiser you are, the more worries; the more you gain understand the more it hu...
God has become angry with his people. He complains in the fifteenth century English play Everyman about humans and their obsession with material items, riches, and wealth. Men and women, he feels, have taken for granted their blessings. God wants to reprimand Everyman for his sinful life and sends Death to summon him. At the beginning of the allegorical work where figures and actions symbolize general truths, a messenger shares God’s concerns. The messenger tells the audience to watch and listen closely to the morality play so they can learn a lesson about life. Everyman fears Death, and he desires to know what one must do to earn salvation and enter heaven. The writer then implies that the way to achieve salvation is by doing good works. Through positive deeds, a man has the capability of enjoying communion with Christ (McRae 306-307). Everyman’s author wrote the play before the Protestant Reformation, so the piece of literature shares the view of Roman Catholicism during that period. Roman Catholics often rely on a spiritual leader’s interpretation of the Scriptures and some additional texts, while Protestants believe the Bible alone should studied by each individual believer. Biblical Christianity teaches something different from what Everyman does. The Bible stresses that salvation occurs through faith and belief in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for humankind’s sins on Calvary’s cross. St. Paul in the book of Ephesians writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (2.8-10). When Christians...
We were designed for one purpose, to honor and love our creator (Matthew 6:24). When we look at ourselves, and others we find that we each have individual humanistic characteristics. Each with different thoughts of how we perceive God and what we think he wants from us. By using our talents and gifts wisely and just we are giving praise back to our creator (1 Timothy 6:17).
Starting back at the very beginning of this process is the most dangerous aspect of this entire process we follow to gain a worldview. In today’s society there is a variety of versions of “God.” Depending on which God you believe in, your community and culture could be very far fetched from what the truth is. The overlying theme behind every formation that coincides with any worldview can be asked in one question. What is the purpose of my life? As Christians, we should be involved in society’s version of “popular culture.” We are called in the Bible to be the salt of the world, as the salt we shouldn’t be merely consuming the culture in which we live in, we should be part of it, adding everything we can.
Authority of Scripture reconciles the community with God and can transform our lives. To participate in the fuller blessing of understanding, it is important to view Scripture with historical and literary sensitivity, interpret theocentrically, ecclesially, and contextually. I realize each of these can be overwhelming to the average person who is seeking direction for a specific concern in their life. Therefore, Migliore reminds us, interpreting Scripture is practical engagement in the living of Christian faith, love, and hope in a still redeemed world. When we listen carefully to the voices of the past, from a worldwide culture, and guided by the Holy Spirit, we will open ourselves to those transformational opportunities.
Pope John Paul II once said, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” (Fallible Blogma) Based on this significant and powerful quote, one can infer that faith and reason are directly associated and related. It can also be implied that the combination of faith and reason allows one to seek information and knowledge about truth and God; based on various class discussions and past academic teachings, it is understood that both faith and reason are the instruments that diverse parties are supposed to use on this search for truth and God. There are many stances and viewpoints on the issues of faith and reason. Some believe that both of these ideas cannot and should not be combined; these parties deem that faith and reason must be taken as merely separate entities. However, this writer does not understand why both entities cannot be combined; both terms are so closely compatible that it would make sense to combine the two for a common task. Based on various class discussions and readings, there are many philosophers and theologians who have certain opinions regarding faith, reason and their compatibility; these philosophers include Hildegard of Bingen, Ibn Rushd, Moses Maimonides, and St. Thomas Aquinas. The following essay will examine each of the previously stated philosopher’s viewpoints on faith and reason, and will essentially try to determine whether or not faith and reason are ultimately one in the same.
God and the Bible’s teachings are used as a framework to find meaning in life and purpose of human presence. Purpose resides in every human’s potential to strive for peace, seek equality, nurture relationships and the environment to achieve harmony with the earth (Valk, 2012). “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25:5). The Holy Spirit, known as God’s active force and His power in action (Lk 1:35), is used as a guide by Christians to ascertain and determine what is right. “We choose to act based on good thinking, scripture and prayer, and the Holy Spirit helps us discern the right alternatives” (Shelly & Miller, 2006, p. 89). In seeing others as the image of God, choosing what is right from wrong is influenced by beliefs cultural background and respect for one another. In this religious culture, the tendency to do wrong is seen as sinfulness. However, it is the admission of sin that leads Christians to Jesus Christ to find and experience God’s forgiveness (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The recognition of sin and eventual redemption strengthens the relationship with God which directs a life of service to humanity (Shelly & Miller,
Life’s purpose remains as a variable for mankind. There are three possible choices for this variable: no purpose, a purpose, or the purpose. These choices can be analogous to nihilism, existentialism, and belief in a divine being respectively. But how should one live? From a nihilistic viewpoint, an existentialistic perspective, or just in plain faith? The answer: the latter. However, humans tend to believe their thinking is rational, but one can only say one’s thinking is rational if one knows everything. According to Jesús Mosterín, “Humans are not rational by definition but they can think and behave rationally… depending on whether they apply… the thoughts they accept” (Infosources). In the context of these words, humans create what they believe is rational depending on their knowledge, but in actuality humans cannot be rational because they do not possess omnipotence. Since humans are irrational, there must be a being that is rational who knows the explanations to all questions; everything must have an opposite. With this, nihilism and existentialism are creations of the human mind making it irrational; both of these philosophies do not explain the fundaments to our existence. Rather they are merely a replacement for what humans cannot understand. Hence, people should live by faith in a divine being as it is rational whereas both nihilism and existentialism are irrational.
In many aspects of our lives, the use of faith as a basis for knowledge can be found. Whether it is faith in the advice of your teacher, faith in a God or faith in a scientific theory, it is present. But what is faith? A definition of faith in a theory of knowledge context is the confident belief or trust in a knowledge claim by a knower, without the knower having conclusive evidence. This is because if a knowledge claim is backed up by evidence, then we would use reason rather than faith as a basis for knowledge . If we define knowledge as ‘justified true belief’, it can be seen that faith, being without justification, can never fulfill this definition, and so cannot be used as a reliable basis for knowledge. However, the question arises, what if a certain knowledge claim lies outside of the realm of reason? What if a knowledge claim cannot be justified by empirical evidence and reasoning alone, such as a religious knowledge claim? It is then that faith allows the knower to decide what is knowledge and what is not, when something cannot be definitively proved through the use of evidence. When assessing faith as a basis for knowledge in the natural sciences, the fact arises that without faith in the research done before us, it is impossible to develop further knowledge on top of it. Yet at the same time, if we have unwavering faith in existing theories, they would never be challenged, and so our progress of knowledge in the natural sciences would come to a standstill. Although I intend to approach this essay in a balanced manner, this essay may be subject to a small degree of bias, due to my own non-religious viewpoint.
Life has meaning. One way in understanding life is the importance that life has. If something is considered important then it is valuable. Life is important because of the fact that it serves a purpose and has some sort of value connected to it. Value can be interpreted in relation to someone or some procedure that can be said to have interests. In the religious viewpoint it is understood that God is the person that individuals are valuable to. God was the one that created humans and we are important to Him because we are made in his image. Being made in his image, for the religious people, makes us wonder if we are living our life as if God would want us to. Most religious people go through each and every day with the question of “What Would Jesus Do?” The reason why most individuals live their life by this question is because God is very important to them and they do not want to do anything to disappoint Him. That is not the only possibility. Life can be important within ourselves. It doesn’t ma...
René Descartes presented his readers to the thought of differentiating scholarly learning from church doctrine. He asserted science filled with myth and uncertainty could never advertise taking in or the headway of public opinion. Descartes reacted to the developing clash between these two powers with an endeavor to bring clarity. He was eager to test the acknowledged plans of his day and present change. Religion had not been independent from science previou...
The book is an account of the past of the Jewish people. It is powerful in its ability to foretell the future. Isaiah is a book, much like Jeremiah from our previous assignment that calls out to God and questions why things are unjust. People at times wonder if God has left themor no one or nothing is in actual control—these are questions that are being asked today. The answer today is the same as yesterday—Isaiah reminds us that we are limited in our true understanding of God’s ways and