If there is no afterlife to look forward to whether a heaven or hell, then what is the meaning of life? Why are we here?
2007-02-08 07:59:07 · 26 answers · asked by ? 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The question is: what tools are you using to find proof of God's existence? It seems to me, many folks keep relying of the scientific method here (which is a method of purely physical observations) to try to prove/disprove non-physical or spiritual things.
Kind of like using a metal detector to find a plastic jug don't you think?
2007-02-08 08:09:52 · answer #1 · answered by daisyk 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are actually asking two different questions:
1. What is the purpose of life?
2. What is the meaning of life?
By way of example -- if I hold up an empty water balloon and ask you what it's purpose is, the most basic answer is 'water transportation via aerial mode.' That's all the purpose is -- it is a reason for existing. If it is sitting on a shelf in a store, it has that purpose, if it's in my hand filled and ready to go, it has that purpose.
Meaning, however, is something that is ascribed to an object. I fill such a balloon with water so that I can tag my mother during the next family reunion summer-fun party. That is now its meaning -- joy and playfulness. It did not have that meaning on the store shelf. There, at the store, its meaning was profit -- the owner of the store hoped someone would buy it and thus the owner would make profit off it.
So to go back to your questions -- what is the purpose of life? It has none. To have a purpose means that an intelligent being must have created it. Purpose is an intended direction, a best-suited direction, and life has no creator nor an intended direction. Life is inherantly purposeless.
What is the meaning of life? Because we are self-aware, even in acknowledging the purposelessness of life, we can ascribe a meaning to it. For many people, this meaning is little more than that they hope to live day by day. Some people make religion their meaning, others knowledge, others intentionally make hate or cruelty their meaning -- no one said all meaning has to be good. It just gives us a reason to wake up in the morning and defy our purposelessness.
2007-02-08 16:04:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Those are the million dollar questions. Personally I believe God and an afterlife. I believe we are put here to learn lessons that can help with the upcoming life. Once we learn all the life lessons that we are suppose to learn (all together through out our many reincarnations) we are given a choice whether to become an angel or something or return to earth.
2007-02-08 16:05:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Supposedly"? There is no evidence to support a god's existence...nothing. The bible doesn't count. It was written by man, in some cases hundreds of years after the events contained within. It's also the one thing that tells you its the word of god...circular logic.
From a purely biological stand-point, we are here for one reason alone: to make more humans, and extend the life of the species. If you want to know the meaning of YOUR life, that's personal, and no one but you can answer that.
2007-02-08 16:27:32 · answer #4 · answered by Bill K Atheist Goodfella 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The meaning of life is to eat, sleep, and die.
For those of us who can imagine things better than limited, temporary things like life, such as a paradise or a beautiful thing that could never be, the meaning of life is to eat, sleep, suffer horribly in mental torture, and then die as an emaciated wreck strapped to a bed with tubes hanging out of their guts.
Blessed are the deceased and those who have never tasted the horrors of high intelligence and imagination. Blessed are the retarded and the comatose who cannot ask your question! Blessed are those who are not insane enough to contradict their own world views by using the word Blessed!
2007-02-08 16:09:18 · answer #5 · answered by Zeek 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You may need to rephrase your question.
When you said there is nothing to support the existence or non-existence of God... thats a vague and misleading statement.
Obviously there were prophets of God send by God to tell people about God. But I guess what you meant was there is nothing that convinces you either way. So you may need to look at the right places.
Please buy a Quran and read it. Also if you have time, please serve the human being... you will find GOD.
2007-02-08 16:07:16 · answer #6 · answered by apollo 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
we are here as an experiment so see where will we end up not being in heven or hell ! But if were smart enough , well stay here and avoid the apocalypse !! Yup , there is a way !! I found it ! But it will thake the effort of all human kind to avoid it ! Or at least a large portion of it ! seek me for more info :)
2007-02-08 16:05:37 · answer #7 · answered by SS Steven 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Supposedly nothing to support that God exists?
WHAT?!
Look around genius, the WHOLE earth was created by God.
2007-02-08 16:06:32 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
God does exist, You are one of His many miracles. You were developed from a tiny seed, placed in your Mothers womb, where you were grew to become a baby.Look around you and see the heavens and earth, These are Many of Gods miracles and you doubt Gods existance!
2007-02-08 16:06:07 · answer #9 · answered by Gerry 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is none. What's the meaning of this life if there is an afterlife? There's no universal meaning either way.
2007-02-08 16:02:48 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋