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The Struggles of Modern Life

Many scholars would agree that probably one of the most thoughtful books written in the last 30 or 40 years is Ernest Becker’s Pulitzer prize-winning book, The Denial of Death. Becker wrote, “Every person seems to have a need for cosmic significance”. In other words, purpose and meaning in their lives.

He says, throughout history, all the way up until modern times, people knew that they had value and purpose because of the transcendent, because of God. Becker said, throughout history people knew their place in the universe, they knew who they were, they knew their value and identity. He adds, but modern people have lost this. They’ve lost that sense of purpose. He said, “We have become secular.”

So where do we find our meaning in life? Well, 3500 years ago, King Solomon said in the book of Proverbs, that our knowledge of God is where we get our understanding of life; our knowledge of God is how we interpret life. Dr. Tim Keller says, “How we relate to God is the foundation of our thinking. It determines our view of life in the world.”

What keeps us from finding real meaning in life? If I believe in God, why doesn’t my belief really impact my life? Join me for today’s podcast as I discuss the answers to these questions.

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