Abstract
In this essay the author makes a theological contribution to the happiness discourse, by i) exploring the etymology of some terms used for happiness in the Old and New Testament, by ii) valuing the contribution of Ellen Charry on biblical happiness as “Asherism†and iii) emphasizing the sacraments, in particular baptism, as identity marker, constituting a calling to a flourishing life, which includes being a flourishing agent enabling the flourishing of others and God’s creation.
Highlights
Christian theology has always been part of the happiness discourse: “Christianity has a theology of happiness, and the question is only about its shape and texture” (Charry 2011:239)
The etymology of happiness in the Old and New Testament. Charry builds her theology of happiness around the Hebrew for “happy” in the Psalms and Proverbs, namely ‘asrê. When instructions are given for this flourishing life, the depiction of that life is that it is ‘asrê. “In modern translations, ‘asrê is nearly always translated as ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’
A theological contribution to the study of happiness has to start with an understanding of its own sources, the biblical text of the Old and New Testament and the tradition that stems from those sources
Summary
Christian theology has always been part of the happiness discourse: “Christianity has a theology of happiness, and the question is only about its shape and texture” (Charry 2011:239). “One reason Christians are suspicious of the pursuit of happiness is that today it is understood in hedonic terms It is seen as the search for good feelings – often achieved in an impulsive manner. There is another ancient understanding of happiness: happiness is the ability to live a virtuous life that promotes well-being and the judgment that one is flourishing rather than languishing. This eudaemonic notion of happiness is embedded in the Christian tradition. The way in which the Old and the New Testament speak of or allude to happiness is consistent with an integral connection of the spiritual and the material
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