SEPTEMBER 16 AND ECCLESIASTES
Although I am not a believer, I am very respectful of people's religious beliefs. The Bible has been a source of cultural identification and literary fountainhead, influencing languages and writers, and I identify myself as a "cultural" Christian. I take the liberty of quoting Ecclesiastes because today is my birthday and I feel like it: 3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, an...