17. The Book of Ecclesiastes: Wisdom for When Life Feels Pointless

Dr. Cameron Howard explores the book of Ecclesiastes, meaning, vanity, and finding joy in life.

The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the Bible’s most honest and surprisingly modern books, asking the questions many of us quietly wonder: What is the point of all our work? Why do good people suffer? And what does any of it matter in the face of death? In this episode, Dr. Kathryn Schifferdecker and Jennifer Wojciechowski welcome Dr. Cameron Howard, Old Testament scholar at Luther Seminary and author of The Old Testament for a Complex World, for a rich conversation about this ancient wisdom book that refuses to offer easy answers.

Dr. Howard walks listeners through the key themes of Ecclesiastes, including vanity, toil, time, money, and death, and explains why this “emo” book of the Bible belongs alongside Proverbs and Job in the wisdom literature tradition. She also points toward Kohelet’s unexpected resolution: that in the face of life’s uncertainties, enjoying simple pleasures, sharing life with others, and trusting that God knows more than we do may be the wisest path forward.

Bible Bingo

Vanity
Toil
Time
Money
Death

7-Word Summary

“Death is coming. Love God. Play more.”

Featuring

Cameron B.R. Howard

Cameron B. R. Howard, associate professor of Old Testament, joined the Luther Seminary faculty in July 2012. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University in 2010. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory and a Master of Theology degree from Columbia Theological Seminary. Howard is the author of The Old Testament for A Complex World: How the Bible's Dynamic Testimony Points to New Life for the Church (Baker Academic, 2021). Committed to making academic biblical scholarship accessible and relevant to clergy and laypeople, Howard has written over two dozen essays for WorkingPreacher.org and is a contributor to BibleOdyssey.org. She is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

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Hosted By

Kathryn Schifferdecker

Kathryn M Schifferdecker is Professor and Elva B. Lovell Chair of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, Schifferdecker was associate pastor for five years at Trinity Lutheran Church, Arkdale, Wisconsin, before coming to Luther in 2006. Schifferdecker is a frequent contributor to Working Preacher, Word & World, and the author of "Out of the Whirlwind: Creation Theology in the Book of Job" (Harvard University Press, 2008). She is currently writing a commentary on the book of Esther.

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Jennifer Wojciechowski

Jennifer Hornyak Wojciechowski is assistant professor of church history, and she has been teaching at Luther since 2019. Prior to this, she taught in the religion department at Augsburg University.

Wojciechowski graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota (2005), received her Master of Arts at Bethel Seminary (2011) and her Ph.D. from Luther Seminary (2019).

She is author of the book “Women and the Christian Story: A Global History” (Fortress, 2022) and numerous articles in publications including Word & World and Minnesota History. Her research focuses on women’s history, American history, and the intersection of religion and social reform.

She is the associate editor of the journal Word & World.

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About The Bible in a Year Podcast

This podcast guides you on a journey through the books of the Bible, providing insights on how Scripture can shape your life today. Each episode focuses on one or two books of the Bible in fun, engaging, and authentic conversations between Luther Seminary faculty and guest Bible scholars who are experts on the book(s) in question. Join us as we make our way through the Bible in a year — new episodes drop every Wednesday in 2026!

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