by Scott R. Swain Christian theology has a deep and abiding interest in the topic of happiness because it has a deep and abiding interest in “the happy God” (1 Timothy 1:11) and in the happiness of the people whose God is the Lord (Psalm 144:15). In our first installment in a Christian theology of happiness, […]
For Now We Rejoice in Part: Happiness Here and Not Yet
by Scott R. Swain God has promised his people supreme, unending, unshakeable happiness. Contrary to the claims of popular prosperity preachers, however, the supreme happiness God promises his people will not be realized in this life. Ours is a life characterized by sorrow in many ways. For now, we rejoice only in part. There are […]
That Your Joy May Be Full: A Theology of Happiness
by Scott R. Swain The Eudaimonia Machine is a work environment designed for what Cal Newport calls “deep work,” the state of undistracted, focused attention in which human beings are able to operate to the full extent of their creative capacities.1 This work environment “takes its name from the ancient Greek concept of eudaimonia (a state in […]
Toward a Liturgical Anthropology: Helps from James K. A. Smith
Book Review: Cultural Liturgies Series by James K. A. Smith Introduction: a philosophical handmaiden to liturgical anthropology How might theological anthropology benefit from James K. A. Smith’s Cultural Liturgies series? I suggest that Smith’s project offers theology a philosophical handmaiden to the liturgical anthropology of Romans 6:17: “Thanks be to God that you who were once slaves […]
On happiness: a theological outline
I. Christian theology addresses the topic of happiness by addressing, first, the being and works of “the happy God” (1 Tim 1.11; 6.15) and, second, the happiness of the people whose God is the Lord (Ps 33.12). II. God is happy because he possesses infinite riches of being, wisdom, goodness, and power in and of himself […]
Stewards in the Household of the Happy God: 1 Timothy 1
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him […]
