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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Only Vainity is Dangerous

 Heidegger's basic philosophical question is "Why is there anything rather than nothing?"

At first consideration this seems like one of those "scratch your head, walk away mumbling" kinds of questions. It is, I think, a brilliant question. I think once you give yourself a satisfactory answer to this fundamental question, you'll make a great leap forward in your quest for a meaningful existence. It is kin to the question raised by the Prince of Denmark who wondered aloud about his own continued existence, "To be or not to be?"

This is not a Christian question - that is, it is not a question a Christian would need to raise. It is, however, a human question that every Christian has already asked and answered with that old familiar citation from the Shorter Catechism. "What is the chief end of man?" The answer, if believed, is profound. The first part of the answer is "Man's chief end is to glorify God."  I think I'll stop there for now.

Till we address that question, our minds and our very souls are subject to vanity. Suffering and love can become vain pursuits if we have not satisfied the core question of meaning. In Ecclesiastes the Preacher is bored with life. It is, for him, boredom that is the great test of meaning. Is life meaningful when we suffer boredom? If not, then life itself is not worth living because in all life a little tedium must fall.

Peter Kreeft applies this same test to suffering and love. Have you ever wonder, while you are suffering, "Is this pain, sorrow, guilt, or frustration worth it." Worth what! Define "it" Miller! I think the referent to "it" is continued existence. When all of life is aimed at a quest to "glorify God" then we can truly "enjoy Him forever."

Most of what I write above is a response to Kreeft's book and not an interpretation or assessment of it.


Three Philosophies of Life: Ecclesiastes, Life As Vanity Job, Life As Suffering Song of Songs, Life As Love

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