It's official - the quest for happiness has begun. The BBC has been running a series of programmes called the Happiness Formula.
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In the 19th Century a philosophy was formed called hedonism from the Greek word, hedone. It is the theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life. Of course the BBC is not wanting to promote a hedonistic philosophy; Hedonism ultimately ended in the pursuit of sexual and liberal licence which is probably not the BBC's intention.
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In the 19th Century a philosophy was formed called hedonism from the Greek word, hedone. It is the theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life. Of course the BBC is not wanting to promote a hedonistic philosophy; Hedonism ultimately ended in the pursuit of sexual and liberal licence which is probably not the BBC's intention.
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You can catch some of the findings of the programme at the BBC's website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/. But the survey results have thrown up one or two interesting findings.
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The science of happiness suggests marriage is so good for your well-being that it adds an average seven years to the life of a man and something like four for a woman. To maximise happiness, it is argued that government should certainly do nothing to discourage marriage, perhaps even that it should promote it.
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The other vital ingredient to emerge as necessary for a strong sense of well being is having religious belief. Those who attend church regularly find greater significance, sense of purpose and community in a shared and personal faith in God. So God, it seems, is good for you after all.
You can catch some of the findings of the programme at the BBC's website at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/happiness_formula/. But the survey results have thrown up one or two interesting findings.
.
The science of happiness suggests marriage is so good for your well-being that it adds an average seven years to the life of a man and something like four for a woman. To maximise happiness, it is argued that government should certainly do nothing to discourage marriage, perhaps even that it should promote it.
.
The other vital ingredient to emerge as necessary for a strong sense of well being is having religious belief. Those who attend church regularly find greater significance, sense of purpose and community in a shared and personal faith in God. So God, it seems, is good for you after all.
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Thanks BBC.
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But should we be focussing on this not-so-modern day holy grail of personal happiness? Is that the chief end of humanity? We certainly do place high value on it in this consumer-driven culture. The pursuit of happiness is even enshrined as an inalienable right of humanity in the US Constitution. "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
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In the midst of culture's search for meaning, Tom Wright has written an excellent book on the Christian faith. Wright is one of the most significant evangelical thinkers in the world today.
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The book is called Simply Christian and is published by SPCK. Using simple acccessible language, Wright brilliantly exposes humanity's search for something better and explains the Christian message. If you have a brain you want to engage then get yourself into the Mustard Seed and buy the book. I commend it to you.
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It will make you happy.
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