And a sorry replacement it is. In his Institutes John Calvin argues that knowledge consists chiefly of two things: knowledge of ourselves and knowledge of God.

And a sorry replacement it is. In his Institutes John Calvin argues that knowledge consists chiefly of two things: knowledge of ourselves and knowledge of God. When we dispensed with God we thought we'd finally found the key to human happiness: freed from the constraints of ancient superstition we'd usher in a golden age of human flourishing. What we got instead was an unimaginable amount of human barbarism, empty, meaningless pleasure seaking (ala Brave New World) on the one hand and an oppresive, omnipotent police state (ala 1984) on the other. Ours is a decadent culture, post- and anti- everything, which no longer stands or believes in anything. We were supposed to get Star Trek, what we got instead was the Walking Dead. This is the paradox of happiness: > Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. - Viktor Frankl Man was never meant to worship himself, as Augustine says: > You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You. And CS Lewis: > Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth 'thrown in': aim at Earth and you will get neither.