2018-02-19 Loneliness: A sad reality of modern life

Submitted byStefanw onThu, 02/08/2018 - 19:14
Meeting-Date
Mon 2018-Feb-19
Facillitator
Stefan
Original Pitch
2018-02-19 Loneliness: A sad reality of modern life

LonelinessRecently the UK appointed a new minister of loneliness.  Theresa May called it "The sad reality of our modern times".

Loneliness is increasing, and the effect it has on mental and physical health is increasing.  One in five people are persistently lonely. The number of Americans who say they have no one they can confide in more-than-doubled between 1985 and 2004.  The number of single-person households is still increasing.  Loneliness is literally killing us.

According to In solitude what happiness some contributing factors are: upbringing, affluence, poverty, the modern labour market, marriage, age, and low self esteem

“Loneliness is the leprosy of the 21st century, eating away at its victims and repelling those who encounter it.” -Mother Teresa

"Loneliness is the failure of solitude" -Fr Laurence Freeman

Questions
  1. What have you experienced on the extent and depth of loneliness in our society?
  1. Why isn’t social-media helping?
  1. Is loneliness a weakness? Consider:
  • Does God experience loneliness?
  • Is it true that: "Loneliness is the failure of solitude" ?
  1. How are Christians uniquely capable of helping?
  1. In what specific ways can Christians help?
Reference(s)
In solitude what happiness? (Article)
Psychology Today: articles on aspects of loneliness
The importance of loneliness: Brendan Myers at TEDxGuelphU (Video: 21m)
The Psychology of Solitude (Video 8m)
The Philosophy of Solitude (In Our Time podcast: 47m )

Comments

  • The video by Brendan Myers is a bit dry but insightful and hints at many ideas. Note: he doesn’t have a Christian worldview.
  • The video The Psychology of Solitude attempts to resolve the solitude/loneliness distinction. (Does it?)
  • The Philosophy of Solitude podcast is insightful, balanced, but somewhat academic. It has a good summary on stoicism and a Christian and Western history of solitude.