The Modern Dislocated Self (Wells)

The classical and Christian view of happiness, fulfillment, and meaning in life meant, among other things, living a life of self-control, self-denial, and self-sacrifice. But our modern therapeutic culture has a very different view of self, happiness, fulfillment, and meaning in life. People today believe that self-denial and self-control get in the way of personal…

Man Abandoned To Himself (Pascal)

 Blaise Pascal (d. 1662) is one of those Christian authors I can read over and over.  His writing has a depth to it that is both profound and thought-provoking - two things that are not so common in much of today's Christian literature.  Here's a section of Pascal's writing I was reflecting upon this afternoon.…

The Limits of Science (Newbigin)

  Science delivers "an ever growing abundance of things to have and to do, beyond all the dreams of earlier ages.  It offers no guidance, however, on the questions of worth: What things are worth doing?  What things are worth having?  Perhaps the most poignant example of this tragic situation is the way in which the…

The American Religious Purpose of Life

I just read a piece somewhere that said most Americans believe in God (better to say "believe in [a] god," I think).  The piece also said many of these same Americans believe in reincarnation, UFOs, witches, and mystical encounters with some divine spirit.  In other words (as Wells and Horton have said before), Americans approach religion…

On Being Sad

That Americans will do almost anything to enjoy a happy life here and now is news to very few people.  Books, drugs, plastic surgery, therapy, amulets, meditation, exercise, stocks, bonds, clothes, phones, sermons, food, and everything else is consumed by Americans in search of a happy and almost stress free life.  We spend half of…