On the surface, that headline carries a strange question! But is really? I was studying the Book of Ecclesiastes recently and in Chapter 2, the “Preacher” – King Solomon – expounds pleasure. This led me to a study of the philosophy of Epicureans. The comparison with King Solomon and 21st Century America is uncanny! Solomon in his corrupt heyday did what was right in his own eyes, just like people today. He was the ultimate Epicurean.
Now, there is a misconception that Epicureans believe only in “wine, women and song”…..or “eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow we die” and many carnal christians themselves believe and practice that lifestyle. Unfortunately, this included one of the most liked of America’s Founding Fathers and most famous author of the American Declaration of Independence – Thomas Jefferson.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only. (A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens 1859)
On the surface, that headline carries a strange question! But is really? I was studying the Book of Ecclesiastes recently and in Chapter 2, the “Preacher” – King Solomon – expounds pleasure. This led me to a study of the philosophy of Epicureans. The comparison with King Solomon and 21st Century America is uncanny! Solomon in his corrupt heyday did what was right in his own eyes, just like people today. He was the ultimate Epicurean.