I've just begun reading G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy as part of a group study I'll be doing over the next several months. In the first chapter he laments the fact that modern man seems obsessed with the 'new'. Partly because of human arrogance and partly because out of a desire to be unique, it seems as though most people want to construct their own new 'blend' of beliefs. Chesterton remarks that the philosophy that he outlines in the book (i.e. Christian orthodoxy) is not new therefore discarded by the moderns. Modern philosophy (and post-modern for that matter) places humankind at the base of their philosophical constructs. A modern philosopher starts with what they know (or think they know) about themselves and then attempt to extrapolate understanding of the universe from there ('I think therefore I am'). This seems to be one reason why modern philosophy has little basis for morality. At best modern philosophy can attempt to enforce the morals of the philosopher on the rest.

Christian thought is the inverse. God is at the beginning and I am the end. As understand more about God (through His revelation), I understand more about the universe and more about who I am and should be. In Chesterton's words, "I did not create it, rather it is creating me."