Our readings in this series are from the book, Understanding the Times Here is a brief excerpt from page 39:
“Whether as the pursuit of riches or of things, the notion that wealth can bring meaning and happiness to life is as old as the human race. In every generation and culture, people have lusted for wealth in one form or another, in the misguided belief that the pursuit of riches is the yellow brick road to freedom and bliss. That the record of history is littered with the disillusioned, disappointed, and decadent lives of the wealthy seems not to matter. Each generation hears the siren promise of wealth and sails eagerly toward it, convinced it can navigate the rocks and make the lie be the truth.
“The drumming of a materialist worldview into the minds of young people – through education, advertising, and pop culture – has made the quest for wealth and the things it can buy the driving force of human life in our secular age. Knowledge, however acquired, is only as good as the material rewards it brings, which is why the study of history, art, poetry, and music have all but disappeared in schools, while the STEM curriculum – as the key to economic success – dominates the education of our children. We have become no longer homo sapiens but homo economicus, a species that exists only for getting and spending.
“Truly, as Solomon observed, there is nothing new under the sun.”
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T. M. Moore
