The Evangelical Universalist Forum

19th Century Moral Instruction

Yes, when reason is used in other areas besides religion it’s okay. I guess it’s impossible to escape it all together at all times. But I have to stick with Thomas A. Kempis here Dave:

Joy in God is our duty:

The Apostle Paul was

It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can. ~~ C.S. Lewis (from a letter to Sheldon Vanauken in Vanauken’s A Severe Mercy)

For an expansion of this idea - happiness - see this:

maverickphilosopher.typepad.com/ … rsion.html

I understand #6:

-had to learn that one a long time ago. Oh, as to the mental self control thing… anyway.

Thanks

That mental control business is a toughie.

Yea. Have you been playing any guitar lately? :smiley:

Every day. You?

Many people (including myself) have discovered that the pursuit of happiness does not bring happiness.
Happiness usually comes when you were not looking for it, and when you least expect it.

Here you go Dave, I found another:

How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing…it is irresistible. If even 10% of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be converted and happy before a years end? ~~C.S. Lewis (Letters To An American Lady, Grand Rapids MI: Eredmans, 1967, 19)

Here’s another by C.S. Lewis:

The happiness which God delights for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water.

Mere Christianity, book 2, chapter 3 “The shocking alternative”

Paidion,

I go along with C.S. Lewis:

If you asked twenty good men today what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. - C.S. Lewis, The Weight Of Glory, 1-2.

Yep. G. K. Chesterton wrote that the one thing least able to be pursued and caught is happiness. I wish I could find the quote.

Also Paidion. Jesus pursued joy:

It was the joy of purifying His bride and being exalted at the right hand of God.

I think we are all pursuing it at all times. But I also think that there are broad and narrow conceptions of ‘happiness’.
For instance, Aristotle believed that happiness was not so much an interior feeling as it was a set of circumstances - some measure of prosperity, closeness to other human beings, a political situation conducive to equality and fairness, a measure of self-control etc. - he would call these things happiness, not just conducive to happiness. We can in other words be happy without feeling happy.

And the Psalms are full of that idea:

Happy is the person who honors the Lord,
who takes pleasure in obeying his commands.
2 The good man’s children will be powerful in the land;
his descendants will be blessed.
3 His family will be wealthy and rich,
and he will be prosperous forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for good people,
for those who are merciful, kind, and just.
5 Happy is the person who is generous with his loans,
who runs his business honestly.
6 A good person will never fail;
he will always be remembered.

A person who is doing these things is happy - not necessarily the shallow happiness of fleeting emotions.

Your a wise man Dave. Joy is an act of obedience. We are commanded to rejoice in God. If obedience is doing what God commands then joy is a part of obedience.

All men seek happiness. his is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end…The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves - Blaise Pascal

Most every day, went and bought myself a vintage motorcycle, getting that up and running hacked into my music time a bit, but it is worth it :smiley:

This week is super great. I do this daily, besides my spiritual things (i.e scriptural reading, prayer and Zen meditation):

Normally, I play in different languages (i.e. Mandarin, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Russian).
I’m doing an exercise routine, where I swim, along with visiting the whirlpool and sauna.
But my favorite part, is this week Decades TV is featuring the Three Stooges. I find this broadens my horizons, expands my learning, stimulates my brain cells and teaches me much about historical art forms. And Curly is a good role model, for the Holy Fools tradition. :laughing: .

My last item reminds me of this quote shared earlier: :laughing:

Jesus promised His disciples three things - they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy, and in constant trouble - G.K. Chesterton

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m9hm6argtJ1qchgieo1_500.png

Randy said:

We all need to have this feeling. :smiley: