2. The elaboration of a particular world view is specifically and programmatically the enterprise of the Bible in general and Ecclesiastes in particular. The passage from Ecclesiastes examines a number of elements of life, arguing for a sense of acceptance of man's place in the universe. The good and bad experiences of life have a certain inevitability about them, and the implication is that the season and time to every purpose under heaven, exist at God's pleasure, not man's. Undoubtedly, even those who attain wisdom can be frustrated in their search for a meaning and purpose in life. But to say yes to only a part of life is to close oneself off from the whole of experience. The core of frustration is that man does not possess enough wisdom to understand that heaven, which sends all things, may have purposes that are not readily apparent to humankind.
How, then, shall wisdom be attained? In a world dominated by treachery on one hand and foolishness on the other, wisdom is elusive. Man, however, has no choice; this is the only world available. Therefore, wisdom appears to lie with the knowledge that God (heaven) is the source of purpose in human experience. If that is so, every "time" of life, good or ill, filled with activity or idleness, joyful or sorrowful, is a test of one's wisdom.
In his elaboration of the seven ages of man in As You Like It, Shakespeare describes the scope of human activity in the world. The focus is not on man's relationship to God but instead on human nature and the psychology that underlies man's behavior from womb to tomb. This is consistent with the humanism of the Renaissance, and one can see a definite departure from the concept of a community of faith to a community of human psychology. But the humanistic news is not necessarily joyful, for if there is some attention to human accomplishments by Shakespeare, there is not really much expression of faith in human wisdom. Shakespeare describes the emo...