This one book of the bible proves that the bible is not full of junk only. This book is good philosophy. I suspect that the last chapter of it was an add on over time because it doesn't flow with the rest of the book. I listened to this book from my "Word of Promise Complete Audio Bible" available from Audible for one credit well worth the price.

I would call this book an Epicurean master piece. Stoics tend to believe that the world from the beginning has evil (vice) and goodness (virtue) baked in to it, while Epicurean's believe that evil and goodness are only possible because of humans or as quoted by the preacher in "The Grapes of Wrath", "there ain't no virtue and there ain't no sin, there's just people doing things". This book, "Ecclesiastes", definitely has that theme running through out it.

"The race doesn't always go to the swift, but time and chance will often decide". What an incredibly wise, non Donald Trump like statement to make. Trump would always blame the person for all the ills that befall on him and even heartlessly mock people who are disable. Time and chance matter.

The bible is not a complete waste of time as long as it has this book in it.

Trumpus delinda est.

A Time To... by Ronald Louis Peterson gives new meaning and perspective on how our reactions to unexpected and uncontrollable circumstances help build our character.

 

On September 11, 2001 the world witnessed with horror the terrorist attack on the U.S.A. For New Yorkers like fifty-year-old risk manager, Al Masterson, the explosion of the World Trade Center Twin Towers was to be an unforgettable event.

 

On that tragic morning Al went to work, as usual, at Tower One. Later on, he and others were running for their lives, trying to escape before the inevitable happened-- the creation of a collective grave as the tower collapsed upon them. Al ends up trapped with two others on a staircase. As the building crashes down on him, an amazing thing happens to him: scenes of important events from Al's past start to replay in front of his eyes, as if he were at a theater. Through this experience, Al relives his childhood’s growing pains and feels remorse for the tragic death of one friend and the incarceration of his dear friend, Tommy. He also vividly recalls his years with the Peace Corps in Ethiopia during the reign and collapse of Haile Selassie.

 

Once the images stopped appearing --as if it was the end of a movie, Al realized that success throughout his life had a steep price: tragedy, envy, disappointments, and betrayal. He is outraged at the outcome from some of the events shown in his visions.

 

He feels helpless and in despair since there is no guarantee he will make it alive from Tower One.

 

The author's attention to detail in describing scenery and engaging situations will have the reader join with Al as he wonders what is happening: Is he dreaming? Is he having an out-of-body experience? Is he already dead? What is the purpose of someone showing all these events to him? Will he and the others make it out of Tower One alive? The answer to all these questions will unfold, but with many twists and turns along the way, and a surprising end.

 

A Time To... is not a book merely to entertain. More importantly, it honors those who risked their lives trying to save others during the rescue attempts after the airplanes crashed into the Twin Towers. It is a book that could provide a healing venue for those who lost loved ones on September 11 and the days afterward.

 

Al Masterson represents all the victims of this tragedy—those who survived and those who, as in one of his visions, were covered in ashes and waiting for their next "train stop" in the afterlife while listening to the New York Philharmonic playing Gustav Mahler's “Resurrection Symphony.

 

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy a well written novel intertwined with historical facts.

 

 

 

Ecclesiastes 1: “There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens...”

The Old Testament books (Hebrew Scriptures) are a collection of writings by numerous authors with a variety of opinions and points of view. Ecclesiastes appears to be the minority report that was included in the collection as token representation of those scribes who disliked rigid or dogmatic wisdom and absolute commands. I think of these scribes as being the left wing rabbis.

Ecclesiastes is different in the way it instructs the reader. Much of the rest of the Biblical wisdom literature aims at setting up absolute opposites, (i.e. good versus bad, or God's pleased versus God's angry). Ecclesiastes questions such binary opposites and suggests that wisdom can be found in questioning established powers and values.

Because of these characteristics I believe that Ecclesiastes comes closer to being compatible with modern scientific reasoning and philosophy than any other book of the Bible. Ecclesiastes' study of human pleasure is empirical, testing each pleasurable experience and forming conclusion on the basis of those observations. The author writes about what he sees or finds in life, not what he thinks. He says:

“Behold, this have I found . . . counting one by one, to find out the account: Which yet my soul seeketh, but I find not . . .” (7:27,28).

Furthermore, I believe Ecclesiastes is a book with which a modern secular agnostic can feel compatible. True, Ecclesiastes may refer occasionally to God, but the writing doesn't seem all that certain that trust in God makes any difference for life on earth.

Some famous phrases and expressions from Ecclesiastes:

“Vanity of vanities . . . ! All is vanity” (1:2).

“all the deeds that are done under the sun” (1:14)

"The sun also ariseth" (1:5)

"[there's] nothing new under the sun" (1:9)

"he who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow." (1:18)

“a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate . . .” (3:7–8)

". . . the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong . . ." (9:11)

“Send out your bread upon the waters . . .” (11:1)

"of making many books there is no end" (12:11)

"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth" (12:1)