Against the Grain: Unconventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes

Against the Grain: Unconventional Wisdom from Ecclesiastes by Ray Waddle caught my eye on the Upper Room website. Waddle's book bases each of his chapters on a chapter in Ecclesiastes that ties in both his personal experiences as they relate to this particular chapter and religious interpretations that he has studied over his lifetime. Waddle clearly believes that Ecclesiastes digresses from the majority of the Bible and takes a more practical approach to human experience and life while reminding us that humans are to enjoy life because it is so fleeting. One of the interesting things that I learned from this book is that the Bible has four books that are considered "wisdom literature"- Ecclesiastes, Job, Proverbs and Song of Solomon. This was something I'd never known and found very enlightening. As you read Ecclesiastes, you will find many verses with which you are familiar and I advise everyone to take an hour or so and read the entire book at one sitting. When you read the word "vanity" which is found 38 times in Ecclesiastes according to Waddle, please know that "the Hebrew word for vanity, hebel, is closer to vapor, wind, breath, something ephemeral and wispy, insubstantial, gone in a moment." (22) I believe that a one-sitting reading is the best way to reflect upon and enjoy this particular book of the Bible. After reading Ecclesiastes, please take a moment and read Against the Grain for a further discussion.

A very accessible book that explores one of the most controversial books in the Bible. Waddle writes in an unintimidating way, yet goes beyond the surface to explore the hidden depths of Ecclesiastes. Nicely broken up into verses, the book is easy to dip into. Makes a great gift, too.

Note: the author is a friend of mine.This is a wise reflection on an unconventional piece of 'wisdom literature'-namely the book of Ecclesiates, designed not to portray scholarly learning but to generate human insight into the difficult art of practical living.Trying to steer a clear path between impatience and nostalgia it considers the strangeness of Ecclesiates as it relates to the deeper conventional wisdom of the rest of the Bible as it relates to the 'duty to be happy'. The chapter on the hiddeness of God is in particular of interest as is a most important and, to my knowledge quite original, reflection upon the importance of maintaining a distinction between God the father and Jesus the human/divine son. Also under consideration is the issue of "eternity in Man's mind' and the importance of not devaluing the present-which is the only time in which we live. This is the second of Mr Waddle's books. The first was also on a book of the Bible, namely The Book of Psalms.I can't help but to wonder which book he might next seek to illuminate.