Afterthought
Puritan Board Senior
Happiness and Fulfillment Apart from Holiness
Sometimes, sinners without God in Christ believe they are just as happy and fuilfilled as the Christian. Apparently, there was even a "scientific" study (I was not given a citation) that showed that those who identify as homosexual can live as happy and fulfilled a life as those who identify as heterosexual.
We know that happiness leads to holiness and full satisfaction can be found in God alone through Christ alone; and we know that sin leads to misery, but what do we make of these claims of sinners? If you look at them, they seem happy enough to provide evidence that their claim to fuilfillment is not an empty claim. (For the purposes of this thread, I will ignore the obvious question of defining "fuilfillment" and measuring it in a "scientific" way, which would be needed for the alleged to study to have any weight.)
Here is my solution. Thoughts on it? Further thoughts on the question?
While it is true that sin brings misery, it also often brings pleasure with it. Sinners who claim to be happy and fulfilled (or studies that show such) are mistaking pleasure for happiness and fulfillment. Furthermore, having lived in sin, it is possible for a sinner's conscience to become so hard that the sinner does not existentially realize something better exists; hence, happiness and fulfillment are claimed for the empty pleasures of the world that the sinner experiences.
Difficulties with my solution: (1) While sin often brings pleasure, doesn't it also bring misery? How do we appropriately parse these things? (2) If sinners become so hardened that they do not realize there is something better, how then does the Christian know that there is not something better? (Perhaps it is objected that the Christian has gotten used to some standard of "happiness" even as the Christian says the hardened sinner has.) (3) If sin brings misery, how can sinners actually become so hardened that they mistake pleasure for happiness? Shouldn't there always be a nagging sense of emptiness and misery as they live in their sin, if sin does indeed bring misery? And then shouldn't this sense of misery cause the sinner to not profess or appear to be happy and fulfilled?
Sometimes, sinners without God in Christ believe they are just as happy and fuilfilled as the Christian. Apparently, there was even a "scientific" study (I was not given a citation) that showed that those who identify as homosexual can live as happy and fulfilled a life as those who identify as heterosexual.
We know that happiness leads to holiness and full satisfaction can be found in God alone through Christ alone; and we know that sin leads to misery, but what do we make of these claims of sinners? If you look at them, they seem happy enough to provide evidence that their claim to fuilfillment is not an empty claim. (For the purposes of this thread, I will ignore the obvious question of defining "fuilfillment" and measuring it in a "scientific" way, which would be needed for the alleged to study to have any weight.)
Here is my solution. Thoughts on it? Further thoughts on the question?
While it is true that sin brings misery, it also often brings pleasure with it. Sinners who claim to be happy and fulfilled (or studies that show such) are mistaking pleasure for happiness and fulfillment. Furthermore, having lived in sin, it is possible for a sinner's conscience to become so hard that the sinner does not existentially realize something better exists; hence, happiness and fulfillment are claimed for the empty pleasures of the world that the sinner experiences.
Difficulties with my solution: (1) While sin often brings pleasure, doesn't it also bring misery? How do we appropriately parse these things? (2) If sinners become so hardened that they do not realize there is something better, how then does the Christian know that there is not something better? (Perhaps it is objected that the Christian has gotten used to some standard of "happiness" even as the Christian says the hardened sinner has.) (3) If sin brings misery, how can sinners actually become so hardened that they mistake pleasure for happiness? Shouldn't there always be a nagging sense of emptiness and misery as they live in their sin, if sin does indeed bring misery? And then shouldn't this sense of misery cause the sinner to not profess or appear to be happy and fulfilled?
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