In an iconic song of the 1980s, Madonna tells us that “...we are living in a material world and I am a material girl...,” the chorus of the song repeating “...a material, a material, a material, a material world...” The message was loud and clear that we are to accept, nay, celebrate a cheap way of life and rejection of what is sacred about life. Could it be that the song is not really serious? I don’t think so. Belief in a material world, as material is typically understood in our society, is at best unfulfilling and apt to be disappointing to the one holding it. Such a mindset is in truth a dismissal of reality that triggers frustration, aggression, and attendant evil side effects. Although the song rightly celebrates the importance of material, it misses a deeper significance of material than what money can buy. It more keenly refers to what the world is made of, matter, the “stuff” of mountains, oceans, butterfly wings, eyes, brains...(Read Full Article)