In my previous question https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/95435/what-are-counterexamples-to-the-position-that-christian-morality-is-ultimately-u , someone in the comments referred me to this article: https://www.desiringgod.org/topics/christian-hedonism The title of the article is *Christian Hedonism*. Then it says: > **Joy is not optional. It’s essential**. > > Christian Hedonism is the > conviction that God’s ultimate goal in the world (his glory) and our > deepest desire (to be happy) are one and the same, because God is most > glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Not only is God the > supreme source of satisfaction for the human soul, but God himself is > glorified by our being satisfied in him. Therefore, our pursuit of joy > in him is essential. > > Christian Hedonism claims that the Christian life should be the > pursuit of maximum joy in God — joy both in quality and quantity. > Fullness of joy and joy forevermore (Psalm 16:11) are found only in > him. > > **Joy Changes Everything** > > Learning that God’s glory and our joy are not at odds is a liberating > discovery. Christian Hedonism touches, and reshapes, our vision of > essentially all of life and ministry — from conversion to worship to > the Scriptures to prayer to marriage to missions to suffering, and > even the very nature of God himself. > > > **Objections** > > Much is at stake with joy in God. Many have thought about Christianity > for so long in terms of duty, rather than delight, that the claims of > Christian Hedonism can be tough to swallow. John Piper has heard these > over the years and is eager to win even the most ardent detractors. So, is John Piper a utilitarian? Is there any difference between Christian Hedonism and Utilitarianism?

I read CS Lewis say that the Beatification is an "infinite good" and, hence, "infinitely outweighs the negations" (the stuff we shall leave behind here). He also argued, in Letters to Malcolm, that we shall not experience time as an infinite present because we are finite creatures and, therefore, can only experience what suits our humanity. Being that we are finite, does that mean when he (or other writers) talk of 'infinite joy' they mean it metaphorically rather than literally? In Weight of Glory, Lewis also refers to it as 'transfinite'.

In the mortal life, what advice does the bible give on how an individual can achieve happiness?

I know that there is a line by CS Lewis where he is talking about secular atheists have to try to forget their philosophy in order to find joy in life. The line goes something like... "But insofar as... you go from having a good time to having a great time... you must remember that love is merely a chemical reaction." There might also be a part about his wife, and how his love for her was nothing but a chemicial reaction if we presume that the secularist worldview is correct. If someone could give me the quote along with perhaps a reference to where it came from I would be very grateful.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (KJV) states: >But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Does this mean that the joy of Heaven is incomprehensibly great or that some *quality* of the experience is beyond the current ability to contemplate? For example, for foods that one has not tasted one might be unable to contemplate the particular taste (qualitative factor) but have had previous experience of the same degree of pleasure in tasting. Such tasting of new foods would be beyond contemplation in the second sense but not in the first sense. So was Paul indicating that what is beyond contemplation is how much joy or some qualitative aspect?

C. S. Lewis' idea of *sehnsucht* is that we sense that there is some ineffable object to our desires and that this proves that there is something beyond this world and life (for it makes the enjoyment of those goods pale in comparison). He used this idea, in one instance, as proof of God. What evidence, whether from the Bible or philosophy or his own experience, did he base this idea on?

What is the biblical basis for the idea that worship brings joy to God?

I know that Jesus wept. Where can I find in the bible that Jesus expressed joy, laughter or happiness?

Several authors1 have suggested that the pleasures we can experience in our lives are but a small foretaste of the pleasure we could experience in Heaven. > "It is a sudden and miraculous grace that is in fact evangelism, giving a fleeting of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief . . ." (JRR Tolkien) > > "Furthermore, when you understand that earthly pleasures are meant only as a foretaste of the indescribable pleasures that await us, your compulsion to overindulge is tempered by the realisation that no particular pleasure can ultimately satisfy." (Ted Dekker) I prefer the seemingly widespread notion that the happiness of Heaven is immeasurably greater than even the greatest happiness here. But WHERE is there anything suggestive of this in the Bible itself? 1 Writer Randy Alcorn suggests we CAN imagine Heaven. In fairness to his viewpoint the 'Eye hath not seen nor ears heard..." quote from Corintheans (if fully read through) does NOT mean we cannot contemplate the afterlife.