Samuel Wells on happiness Sam[uel Wells] was intrigued to hear that there was to be a prayer vigil on a street on the other side of town [Durham, NC] to commemorate the life of a young man who had been murdered on that same spot a few weeks before. This sounded like just the kind […]
Vincent van Gogh on the Christian life I was intrigued to learn that there was a period in van Gogh’s life where he considered becoming a preacher. Here’s an except from one of his sermons (delivered in 1876). His text was Psalm 119:19: “I am a stranger on the earth, hide not thy commandments from me.” It is an […]
A letter from Pope Benedict on Aquinas and Bonaventure On 17 March 2010 Pope Benedict issued the following letter entitled: “Theology according to Aquinas and Bonaventure: Different Accents in an Essentially Shared Vision.” I thought I’d like to share it because the juxtaposition of Aquinas and Bonaventure nicely brings to a head the controversy over whether […]
Paul Holmer on theology and happiness Theology celebrates that range of issues that are often thought to be very deep. But when you get on the happiness issue, it turns out that the problems of life and the problems of theology start to get the same shape and form. And these problems are solved only […]
Gilbert Meilaender on duty and desire Our desire to live the “happy” life – which is ultimately the desire for God – may sometimes seem to conflict with our duties. It may appear that doing what is right is more likely to frustrate our desires than to bring them to fruition and fulfillment. This means […]
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