All is Vanity

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Shem Yoshi
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All is Vanity

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Post by Shem Yoshi »

Ecclesiastes says all is vain (verse 1), everything is meaningless (verse 14).

Is it true?

We live our lives, subjects to our nature and the world around us. What are we? Is not our struggle in vain? For one man can be built up, another man can be taken away from and stricken with disease. Is not the outcome of our lives in vain? Circumstances can build any man, and kill any man, so what is the difference? God can give, God can take away. Is not everything in vain? An immoral man or an evil man may succeed, while a well behaved man or a good man may fall. Is not or live in vain?

And who is to judge? Is a poor person not a child of God? Is a rich man any better? Is not wealth in vain?

Is a sick child in any worse then a fit child? Is a diseased person any worse in value then a healthy one? Is not our health vanity?

Are we not at the mercy of God (or if you dont believe in God, are we not at the mercy of our nature and the world)? Is not our lives and our actions taken in vain?

And do we not all end up in the grave. Perhaps the greatest equalizer of human kind. All die...

Is it not in vain?
“Them that die'll be the lucky ones.”

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Re: All is Vanity

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Post by kjw47 »

Shem Yoshi wrote: Mon Dec 19, 2022 12:49 am Ecclesiastes says all is vain (verse 1), everything is meaningless (verse 14).

Is it true?

We live our lives, subjects to our nature and the world around us. What are we? Is not our struggle in vain? For one man can be built up, another man can be taken away from and stricken with disease. Is not the outcome of our lives in vain? Circumstances can build any man, and kill any man, so what is the difference? God can give, God can take away. Is not everything in vain? An immoral man or an evil man may succeed, while a well behaved man or a good man may fall. Is not or live in vain?

And who is to judge? Is a poor person not a child of God? Is a rich man any better? Is not wealth in vain?

Is a sick child in any worse then a fit child? Is a diseased person any worse in value then a healthy one? Is not our health vanity?

Are we not at the mercy of God (or if you dont believe in God, are we not at the mercy of our nature and the world)? Is not our lives and our actions taken in vain?

And do we not all end up in the grave. Perhaps the greatest equalizer of human kind. All die...

Is it not in vain?

Solomon said-- All is vanity except the seeking out of God. He meant seeking worthless things like wealth. health is a wise path. it would be senseless to lose ones health. The wisdom of God has more value than all the wealth combined on earth. It can help one on the path to everlasting life.

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Tcg
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Re: All is Vanity

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Post by Tcg »

Shem Yoshi wrote: Mon Dec 19, 2022 12:49 am
And do we not all end up in the grave. Perhaps the greatest equalizer of human kind. All die...
This is especially true given the fact that there is no verifiable evidence which is sufficient to prove that there is anything beyond death. By all appearances, we live our short or long life and then it is over. We are gone.
Is it not in vain?
Not if one is wise enough to develop/create meaning for their lives. This is especially true if that meaning involves helping fellow human beings. The fact that life is temporary doesn't mean it is meaningless. The "wise" Solomon should have thought a bit deeper about this and realized there is meaning in life, just not an everlasting one some seek as they ignore the value of the one life they know for sure they have.


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Re: All is Vanity

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Post by SacredBishop »

The book seems to be saying everything is futile, be it religion, wealth, wisdom etc., since everything is random and everything dies anyway. Ecclesiastes is more depressing than a casual reading reveals. It barely made it into the Jewish Canon. A later scribe appended it with, " fear God and obey his commandments and avoid studying" the depressing stuff that fills the book.

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Shem Yoshi
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Re: All is Vanity

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Post by Shem Yoshi »

SacredBishop wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2023 7:03 pm The book seems to be saying everything is futile, be it religion, wealth, wisdom etc., since everything is random and everything dies anyway. Ecclesiastes is more depressing than a casual reading reveals. It barely made it into the Jewish Canon. A later scribe appended it with, " fear God and obey his commandments and avoid studying" the depressing stuff that fills the book.
I dont see it depressing at all... In fact I see life as depressing, and all the vanity that goes on in life. Get a job, get a wife, get a house, a car, etc... But these things dont fulfill a life, they dont satisfy the God shaped hole in out lives.

And this is everything... Go be a youtube influencer, go be a war hero, go be a ball player, go be an astronaut... But surely none of these things saves, and everyone goes to death...

I dont think it is depressing at all, in fact I believe it puts hope in the right place. None of these vanities can save, and for good reason, let the first be last and the last be first...

What if the lives we live under the sun is what saves us? The merit of obtaining salvation through righteousness... What hope is in that for a sinner? None.

A sinner can only be saved by God, and Ecclesiastes calls everything else out to its face... There is no hope outside of God, hallelujah... That message exalts the humble, and humbles the proud.. Hallelujah.
“Them that die'll be the lucky ones.”

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