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Suffering and Flourishing : Ecclesiastes
Stump, Eleonore
Stump, Eleonore
Author
Abstract
Central to Christian theology are certain paradoxical claims attributed to Christ, such as “whoever will lose his life for my sake will save it” (Luke 9:24). Such paradoxical sayings are often interpreted this way: what is lost are worldly goods and what is saved are goods of the spiritual realm, and the spiritual realm is incommensurably greater than the earthly realm. But then how are human beings to live in this world? The biblical book most focused on this question is the book of Ecclesiastes. One recurrent theme of the book is that everything human beings care about is just vanity. But Ecclesiastes also recurrently recommends joy in the small goods of everyday life. What is notable about the paradoxical character of the combined claims in Ecclesiastes is that they cannot be reconciled in the way that the paradoxical sayings of Christ are. The realm in which a person can rejoice in the small goods of his day is apparently the same realm as the one in which everything is vanity. In this chapter, I explore the way in which the paradoxical character of the themes of Ecclesiastes is resolved to give a particular view of the good for human life.
Keywords
Humanities, Theology, Christianity
Date
2024
Type
Book chapter
Journal
Book
Paradox and Contradiction in Theology
Volume
Issue
Page Range
130-153
Article Number
ACU Department
Institute for Religion and Critical Inquiry
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
Faculty of Theology and Philosophy
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Open Access Status
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All rights reserved
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