I'm curious as to what purpose you think god has given us. If you say that the atheist viewpoint makes life pointless, then what meaning does god give it? What goal are we all supposed to be reaching for as human beings, not individuals?
2006-10-05 05:22:08 · 12 answers · asked by ChooseRealityPLEASE 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The apostle Paul said it well... "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him..." (Phil 3:8)
2006-10-05 05:32:20 · answer #1 · answered by whitehorse456 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is an eternal plan laid out for us by God, that began before this life and continues after this life. In fact, this life is only a tiny, though important, part of that plan.
Knowing about it helps us to understand who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. It also helps us to know what we should be trying to do during this life.
Learning about it and following it has brought me alot of joy.
If you're sincere about learning more about it, I'd be happy to share more. Or you can look it up online at www.lds.org
2006-10-05 05:26:28 · answer #2 · answered by Open Heart Searchery 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Forgiving. Spreading the Good New of Eterrnal forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Eternal Life.
2006-10-05 05:26:43 · answer #3 · answered by thewordofgodisjesus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The meaning of my life is to be one with Christ and to attain eternal life. There is a certain joy you cannot feel unless you are completely submissive to God. It's worth giving up everything including life itself to have this union with Christ who is God.
Can I have a slice of that banana?
2006-10-05 05:26:31 · answer #4 · answered by SeraMcKay 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Where the f did you get your information? I never saw a posting from any Atheist that stated life has no meaning.
2006-10-05 05:38:13 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
My youth leader often asks us these questions:
Q: Who created you?
A: God
Q: Who is giving you the breath to breath at this very moment?
A: God.
Q: What is your purpose in life?
A: To glorify God!
2006-10-05 05:39:47 · answer #6 · answered by Brooke 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
My goal as a Christian is to love, serve and obey my God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.
2006-10-05 05:25:18 · answer #7 · answered by Commander 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
who told you our life has no meaning........my life is great and i enjoy living this life ....because i know there is no other
2006-10-05 05:26:38 · answer #8 · answered by pdrfer 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
“DARWINISTS ARGUE THAT NATURAL SELECTION IS A SUFFICIENT EXPLANATION OF ORGANIC LIFE. YET IT SEEMS COMMON SENSE THAT, IF AN ORGANISM MOVES TOWARDS GREATER COMPLEXITY, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTELLIGENCE, THEN IT IS BECAUSE THOSE QUALITIES ARE DESIRED.”—DYLAN THOMAS (1914-53, WELSH POET AND AUTHOR).
THE quest for the meaning of life is not new. It has preoccupied the minds of the curious for centuries. A recent poll shows that it is on the minds of New Zealanders, more so today than ten years ago. Forty-nine percent of the population 15 years of age and older, says the report published in the Listener, “thought about the meaning of life often,” up from 32 percent when a similar survey was conducted in 1985.
New Zealanders seem to be expressing feelings shared by people of other nations. Continues the Listener: “The increasing tendency to question the significance of our existence may indicate that we are more anxious now than we were in the 80s, less certain of direction.”
Evidently, answers given by evolutionists to the universal question, Why are we here? are not satisfying to a growing number of people. Can the Bible supply the moral compass needed to find meaning in one’s life?
Of all earth’s creatures, only man ponders the purpose of life. Do you know why? The Bible gives one reason at Ecclesiastes 3:11. Concerning the Creator, it says: “He has given men a sense of time past and future.” (The New English Bible) Although all living things tend to cling to life, it seems that man is unique in having a concept of time—past, present, and future. Man can meditate on the past and look toward the future, planning for it, yes, even strongly desiring to share in it. And he can become frustrated when he cannot realize his dreams about the future because of the transitory nature of his short life span.
Thus, man alone asks the questions, Why am I here? Where am I going? Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl wrote: “The striving to find a meaning in one’s life is the primary motivational force in man. . . . There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one’s life.”
The need to find meaning in life intrigued the ancients. Let us turn the pages of history back three thousand years to the kingdom of Israel under the rule of Solomon. Of him, the Queen of Sheba said: “True has the word proved to be that I heard in my own land about your matters and about your wisdom. And I did not put faith in the words until I had come that my own eyes might see; and, look! I had not been told the half. You have surpassed in wisdom and prosperity the things heard to which I listened.”—1 Kings 10:6, 7.
In writing the Bible book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon informed his readers of the results of an experiment that he conducted to illuminate the purpose of life. It was an experiment in opportunities to enjoy life that fit a typical king of the ancient East. In chapter 2, verses 1-10, he painted a life of pleasure that is hardly conceivable today. He tried everything that life offered in the way of material riches and fleshly pleasures. What was his assessment of the meaningfulness of such pursuits? His answer should startle the overconfident.
When he looked back on all these things, his judgment was often negative. They were futile, a waste of time. He wrote: “I, even I, turned toward all the works of mine that my hands had done and toward the hard work that I had worked hard to accomplish, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing of advantage under the sun.”—Ecclesiastes 2:11.
He concluded that, at best, earthly pleasures bring only temporary pleasure. Even human wisdom cannot deliver man from the pain and anguish of life.
Jesus Christ concluded similarly when, in response to a man’s undue concern over a material inheritance, he said to the listening crowd: “Keep your eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.”—Luke 12:15.
Only Jehovah God can totally overcome human frailty in everyday life and give wise purpose to man’s actions. Thus, life without God is futile. As recorded at Ecclesiastes 12:13, Solomon explained: “The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man.”
Solomon’s verdict that life’s meaning cannot be divorced from a wholesome fear of God was repeatedly confirmed by Jesus Christ. “It is written,” Jesus said, quoting God’s Word, “Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.” (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3) Yes, for one’s life to be fulfilling, the spiritual dimension cannot be ignored. Of himself, Jesus said further: “My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34) Obediently serving his heavenly Father was a source of joy and satisfaction. It nourished him. It gave purpose to his life.
Therefore, can life reach its full potential without God? No! Interestingly, historian Arnold Toynbee once wrote: “The true purpose of a higher religion is to radiate the spiritual counsels and truths that are its essence into as many souls as it can reach, in order that each of these souls may be enabled thereby to fulfil the true end of Man. Man’s true end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him for ever.” The prophet Malachi expressed God’s view: “You people will again certainly see the distinction between a righteous one and a wicked one, between one serving God and one who has not served him.”—Malachi 3:18.
HAVE you ever thought seriously about your purpose in life with relation to God and your responsibility toward your Creator? Many people fall into the routine of earning a living, raising their family and planning for old age, never considering what they might do in God’s service. However, Jesus was awake to do God’s will. He was not content just to settle down and lead a good life as a carpenter and raise a family, for he knew that God required more of him. For his followers he said that they should love God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength and their neighbor as themselves. He did not consider this requirement to serve God wholeheartedly a heavy one, but he called it a light load because it would be done out of intense love that comes from a knowledge of the Creator.
Our goal as human beings is to cultivate a close relationship with the One who made us all.
2006-10-05 05:30:15 · answer #9 · answered by da chet 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
LIFE IS NOT A QUESTION BUT A LESSON LEARNED IN TIME.
2006-10-05 05:24:31 · answer #10 · answered by JackiePaper 1 · 2⤊ 2⤋