The Quest for Meaning & The Kingdom of God

I am reading with much profit Craig Bartholomew's commentary on Ecclesiastes (BCOTWP).  The way he makes sense of Qohelet's quest for meaning in light of the NT is excellent and worth sharing here.  The book of Ecclesiastes presents a tension between Qohelet's frustration in trying to find meaning in life while at the same time affirming the value of life.  Bartholomew comments:

Thus the futility Ecclesiastes exposes is that of trying to find meaning while embracing human autonomy in a world that depends at every point on its Creator.

As the NT story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Jesus redeems us from this futility and our sinful autonomy and suppression of the truth about this world (Rom. 1:18-23).  He does this by ushering in the kingdom of God, the main theme of Jesus's teaching.... Just as hebel casts its shadow across all areas of life, so too does Christ claim all areas of life as rightly his and thus to be redeemed and brought to their fulfillment under his rule.  Christ does not just teach about the kingdom; through his incarnation he enters the very history that is subject to futility and embodies the kingdom in his acts and ultimately in his death and resurrection and ascension.  In his death he takes upon himself the full weight of the futility of separation from God and thereby opens the gate to entrance into the kingdom, in which full meaning is found in Christ. (p. 97)

The Quest for Meaning & The Kingdom of God

Free Classical Downloads from Alexander Street Press

Some time ago we discussed the benefits of listening to music in preparation for study and also during study here.  (We also highlighted the music of Handel here.)  Well, about that time I signed up for email and RSS notifications from Alexander Street Press regarding free classical music downloads.  I keep neglecting to mention this here on the blog, so I'll do so while I'm thinking about it.  For more information visit Alexander Street Press or go directly to Music Online (an ASP blog) where you will find notices of free music downloads.

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Schubert composed this Fantasie for piano four hands in 1828; it was first published in 1829. This version of the work is for symphony orchestra and is performed by the Rhine Palatinate Orchestra; Kurt Redel, conductor.

Download this work now at http://musicdownloads.alexanderstreet.com/promo/

All tracks downloaded through this promotion are owned by Alexander Street Press and are available to legally download, free of cost to the user.

Free Classical Downloads from Alexander Street Press

Bonhoeffer & Piper: Free from Christian Audio

This month, ChristianAudio.com is offering two (2) free downloads.

The Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, read by Paul Michael
Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived a testimony of his thoughtful and engaging writers. Focusing on the most treasured part of Christ's teaching - the Sermon on the Mount with its call to discipleship, and on the grace of God and the sacrifice which that demands. At the same time, it shares with many great Christian classics a quality of timelessness, so that it has spoken, and continues to speak powerfully, to the varied concerns of the contemporary world.


Coupon Code: MAR2010

Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die
by John Piper, read by Robertson Dean
WHY? The most important questions anyone can ask are: Why was Jesus Christ crucified? Why did he suffer so much? What has this to do with me? Finally, who sent him to his death? The answer to the last question is that God did. Jesus was God's Son. John Piper has gathered from the New Testament fifty reasons. Not fifty causes, but fifty purposes—in answer to the most important question that each of us must face: What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?


Coupon Code: MAR2010B

Bonhoeffer & Piper: Free from Christian Audio