In Search of Meaning

The book of Ecclesiastes is not the only one of its kind in ancient literature. There are numerous similar examples of “pessimism literature” both before and after Ecclesiastes (eg. the Egyptian work entitled The Man Who Was Tired of Life, 2200 BC and the Babylonian Dialogue of Pessimism, 1300 BC). Ecclesiastes stands in contrast to these other works, however in this: Life is meaningless only when it is studied “under the sun” – apart from belief in God and eternity. When we open up eyes of faith then life takes on new meaning.