The writings of the late Rabbi Jonathan Sachs have long been an inspiration to me.  Recently while reading an essay by James Freeman I discovered that, included in his essay, was a quotation from Rabbi Sachs.  I give you that quotation now.

“One reason religion has survived in the modern world despite four centuries of secularisation is that it answers the three questions every reflective human being will ask at some time in his or her life: Who am I?  Why am I here?  How then shall I live?  These cannot be answered by the four great institutions of the modern West:  science, technology, the market economy, and the liberal democratic state.  Science tells us how but not why.  Technology gives us power but cannot tell us how to use that power.  The market gives us choices but does not tell us which choices to make.  The liberal democratic state as a matter of principle holds back from endorsing any particular way of life.  The result is that contemporary culture sets before us an almost infinite range of possibilities, but does not tell us who we are, why we are here, and how we should live.”