Why do we feel compelled to seek a meaning for life?

Question

If the atheists are right, and there is no god, do you think people would still question the meaning of life? Would it still matter if you just turned to dust when you were dead, and that was it?

Answer 1

The philosophical question "What is the meaning of life?" means different things to different people. The vagueness of the query is inherent in the word "meaning", which opens the question to many interpretations, such as: "What is the origin of life?", "What is the nature of life (and of the universe in which we live)?", "What is the significance of life?", "What is valuable in life?", and "What is the purpose of, or in, (one's) life?". These questions have resulted in a wide range of competing answers and arguments, from scientific theories, to philosophical, theological, and spiritual explanations.

These questions are separate from the scientific issue of the boundary between things with life and inanimate objects.
Popular beliefs
"What is the meaning of life?" is a question many people ask themselves at some point during their lives, most in the context "What is the purpose of life?" Here are some of the many potential answers to this perplexing question. The responses are shown to overlap in many ways but may be grouped into the following categories:

Survival and temporal success
...to live every day like it is your last and to do your best at everything that comes before you
...to be always satisfied
...to live, go to school, work, and die
...to participate in natural human evolution, or to contribute to the gene pool of the human race
...to advance technological evolution, or to actively develop the future of intelligent life
...to compete or co-operate with others
...to destroy others who harm you, or to practice nonviolence and nonresistance
...to gain and exercise power
...to leave a legacy, such as a work of art or a book
...to eat
...to prepare for death
...to spend life in the pursuit of happiness, maybe not to obtain it, but to pursue it relentlessly.
...to produce offspring through sexual reproduction (alike to participating in evolution)
...to protect and preserve one's kin, clan, or tribe (akin to participating in evolution)
...to seek freedom, either physically, mentally or financially
...to observe the ultimate fate of humanity to the furthest possible extent
...to seek happiness and flourish, experience pleasure or celebrate
...to survive, including the pursuit of immortality through scientific means
...to attempt to have many sexual conquests (as in Arthur Schopenhauer's will to procreate)
...to find and take over all free space in this "game" called life
...to seek and find beauty
...to kill or be killed
...No point. Since having a point is a condition of living human consciousness. Animals do not need a point to live or exist. It is more of an affliction of consciousness that there are such things as points, a negative side to evolutionary development for lack of better words.

Wisdom and knowledge
...to master and know everything
...to be without questions, or to keep asking questions
...to expand one's perception of the world
...to explore, to expand beyond our frontiers
...to learn from one's own and others' mistakes
...to seek truth, knowledge, understanding, or wisdom
...to understand and be mindful of creation or the cosmos
...to lead the world towards a desired situation
...to satisfy the natural curiosity felt by humans about life

Ethical
...to express compassion
...to follow the "Golden Rule"
...to give and receive love
...to work for justice and freedom
...to live in peace with yourself and each other, and in harmony with our natural environment
...to protect humanity, or more generally the environment
...to serve others, or do good deeds

Religious and spiritual
...to find perfect love and a complete expression of one's humanness in a relationship with God
...to achieve a supernatural connection within the natural context
...to achieve enlightenment and inner peace
...to become like God, or divine
...to glorify God
...to experience personal justice (i.e. to be rewarded for goodness)
...to experience existence from an infinite number of perspectives in order to expand the consciousness of all there is (i.e. to seek objectivity)
...to be a filter of creation between heaven and hell
...to produce useful structure in the universe over and above consumption (see net creativity)
...to reach Heaven in the afterlife
...to seek and acquire virtue, to live a virtuous life
...to turn fear into joy at a constant rate achieving on literal and metaphorical levels: immortality, enlightenment, and atonement
...to understand and follow the "Word of God"
...to discover who you are
...to resolve all problems that one faces, or to ignore them and attempt to fully continue life without them, or to detach oneself from all problems faced

Philosophical
...to give life meaning
...to participate in the chain of events which has led from the creation of the universe until its possible end (either freely chosen or determined, this is a subject widely debated amongst philosophers)
...to know the meaning of life
...to achieve self-actualisation
...all possible meanings have some validity
...life in itself has no meaning, for its purpose is an opportunity to create that meaning, therefore:
...to die
...to simply live until one dies (there is no universal or celestial purpose)
...nature taking its course (the wheel of time keeps on turning)
...whatever you see you see, as in "projection makes perception"
...there is no purpose or meaning whatsoever
...life may actually not exist, or may be illusory )
...to contemplate "the meaning of the end of life"

Other
...to contribute to collective meaning ("we" or "us") without having individual meaning ("I" or "me")
...to find a purpose, a "reason" for living that hopefully raises the quality of one's experience of life, or even life in general
...to participate in the inevitable increase in entropy of the universe
...to make conformists' lives miserable
...to make life as difficult as possible for others (i.e. to compete)

Answer 2

Yes, even atheists feel compelled to seek a meaning for life. But the question isn't the same. For those who can believe that God exists, the question is one of living for a real purpose. Why was I put on earth and what am I supposed to do here? For that understanding of meaning, God is required.

For those who reject God, the question changes to, "what can I do that will make me forget that my existence is meaningless?" Here, people tend to wind up with intense causes or interests that occupy their time. They continually run around furiously trying to "live life to the fullest" as they will say.

Answer 3

Even if there is a GOD, nobody is compelled to seek a meaning for life.

Only if there is no GOD, then we should need to understand why all these and how?

Answer 4

Of course.

If there was no God, I'm sure human beings would still search for a meaning on earth.

I think everyone truly wants to make a difference on this planet, and to remembered well when they die. I think that they search throughout life for that one thing...or things that they ca do to reach that point, and whether you believe in God or not, that desire still stands.

Answer 5

Death is so mysterious that humans just can't leave the subject alone! All I can hope for is that I go to some great place or else am deleted from all consciousness. Nothing in-between.

Answer 6

That desire is in us. The desire for meaning, purpose and fulfillment. I believe God put that compelling in our hearts.

Answer 7

Anytime I CHOOSE what sense I want to give to my life, I don´t bother about the meaning of my life.

http://marlotte.reallifelog.com

Answer 8

i think people just ask that for the hell of it, not because they are really compelled. i might be wrong thats just my guess.

Answer 9

We are naturally and unavoidably curious. And mystified.

Answer 10

God created us for His glory. One has the most meaningful life when they are united to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

The sin of our first parents (Adam and Eve) brought about the fallen state of mankind. Humans are sinful because of their iniquity, sins bring curses and both iniquity and curses pass down the generations if they are not cleansed by the blood of Christ. Children are born with defects and suffer unfortunate circumstances because of curses due to their ancestors’ unrepented sins. Hereditary illness is an example of a curse. In the future, God will make a new Heaven and earth, and there will be no more suffering, sickness, sin, evil, old age or death. God’s people (those who accept His Son Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord) will joyfully and peacefully live in this new and perfect earth, with the Lord Jesus Christ as their King forever. See chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation.

Almighty God was, is and will always be triune (one God in three persons, not three gods). God is comprised of the Father, the Son (Lord Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Triune Godhead has a different role. There is only one God (Isaiah 43:10-11; 44:6,8; 45:21-22; 46:9; John 17:3; 1 John 5:20-21). The Father is God (1 Peter 1:2; Philippians 2:11), the Lord Jesus Christ is God (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 20:28; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:7-8; 2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; Acts 28:25-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:17).

Without God, man’s spirit is unilluminated. This illumination happens at the time one’s spirit is united to the Holy Spirit (which happens only after one has accepted Christ as their Saviour). The Light went out of the spirit after the fall of man. Man had lost communion with God. Christ, the second person of the Triune Godhead made the sacrifice for our sins so the Light could be lit in the spirits of all. There is no redemption or unity to God apart from receiving Christ as one’s Saviour and Lord. The infilling of the Holy Spirit was possible only after Christ’s sacrifice. Before the death of Christ, the Holy Spirit only fell on persons who worshiped and served the true God (Judges 15:14; Ezekiel 11:5). Hebrews 9:6-8 (KJV) tells us that unity to God “the way into the Holiest of all” was also possible only after Christ’s sacrifice which brought an end to the Old Covenant. Christ made the sacrifice for our sins as the spotless lamb (1 Peter 1:9) and took the place of the Jewish high priest and became our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 6:20). The Book of Hebrews explains how the Old Covenant was replaced by the New Covenant.

The blood of Christ was shed so our sins could be paid for and we could have direct unity to God. The Holy Spirit leads us to remain focused on God so we can grow spiritually. God the Father lives within believers (John 14:23), God the Holy Spirit lives within believers (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) and God the Son also lives within believers (2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20). Because Christ lives in us, we are a new being, having our old self with its evil practices stripped off, and we are being renewed and remoulded after the image of God, in order to bring us to a full knowledge of Himself (Colossians 3:9-10). Because He lives in us, we have His peace (John 16:33), we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), we have His strength to do all things (Philippians 4:13) and we are a chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation and God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God (Peter 2:9). As Christians, the Lord Jesus Christ is always interceding for us (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25), He is preparing a place for us in heaven (John 14:1–3) and He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11).

The truth about Jesus Christ can be found only in the word of God which is the Holy Bible. Three days after the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, He resurrected from the dead (Luke 24:1-8; Acts 10:40; 1 Corinthians 15:4) and 40 days later, He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:3; Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:9-11).

1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Jesus Christ is Lord over all:

Philippians 2:9-11
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

False doctrines claim that there are several paths to God. The word of God tells us that THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO GOD AND THIS IS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST AS ONE’S LORD AND SAVIOUR.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John 3:36
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him

Shortly after physical death, humans pass into either Heaven or Hell. Before Christ’s sacrifice, access into Heaven was not possible for human souls. The souls of those who loved and served the true God were kept in the paradise part of a spiritual place within the earth called Sheol, and the other part of Sheol was a prison of torment where the souls of those who rejected God ended up (Luke 16:19-31). There was a spiritual gulf fixed between these two parts so no soul from one side could cross over to the next (Luke 16:26). Access into Heaven was made possible for humans by Christ’s sacrifice and right after He died on the cross He went into the paradise part of Sheol, told the good souls (who were there for thousands of years) what He did and took them up to Heaven (Matthew 12:40; Ephesians 4:8–10; 1 Peter 3:18–20). The paradise part of Sheol no longer exists but the prison part of Sheol still does. This part of torment is called Hades or Hell. Those who reject God by not receiving Christ or any one of the Triune Godhead (Jeremiah 15:6; Matthew 12:311; Chronicles 28:9; 1 John 2:23) end up there and then go into the Lake of Fire after the Millennium (Revelation 20:15). Earthly fire, Godly fire (the type Jesus baptizes with) and the tormenting fire of the Lake of Fire are three different types of fire. There is also demonic fire which demons can produce.

Reincarnation is a false teaching (Hebrews 9:27). The Lord Jesus said that the human being’s afterlife state whether torment or paradise, will be eternal (Matthew 25:46). In the original text, the Greek word for eternal, aiōnion is used. He didn’t say that we would be born again and again until we got it right and received liberation. He would not have made that huge sacrifice for us if we could have had unity to God another way, and if there was another way, He would have taught that. The Lord said he could have employed legions of angels to prevent His crucifixion (Matthew 26:53), but because of His great and perfect love for humanity, He chose to endure a very painful death so we could be redeemed and united to God.

Salvation, redemption, reception of the Holy Spirit and adoption as God’s own children happen the instant a human being has faith in Christ as their Saviour and Lord and not at some future time in the believer’s life.

People who have not accepted Christ can become better individuals, but only to a certain extent. The Holy Spirit calls out to everyone but only those who have let the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Triune Godhead) into them by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are the ones who are transformed and experience abundant and constant spiritual growth.

Iniquities (tendencies that cause one to sin) pass down the generation line (Numbers 14:18). After one accepts Lord Jesus as their Saviour, God forgives their sins as they truly repent and removes their iniquities (evil tendencies) in the transformation process which makes one more and more like Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 9:12-14). After genuinely accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, ALL sinners (alcoholics, liars, drug addicts, fornicators etc.) will be saved and transformed. Each believer is cleansed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and receives the infilling of the Holy Spirit who renews them.

REDEMPTION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Because mankind is incapable of meeting God’s standard of perfection necessary to abide in God’s presence (Romans 3:19-20,23), God sent His Son Jesus Christ to pay the total debt for the believer’s sins and mercifully credits to his account Christ’s righteousness (Romans 3:21-28,5:1-11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21). Jesus’ gracious act of atonement was complete and covers all sin (Colossians 2:13-14; 1 John 1:9). Salvation is not based on good deeds but according to the mercy of God (Titus 3:4-5). Believers are justified by faith; it is a gift by God’s grace (Romans 4:3-8; Ephesians 2:8-9). A true, living faith will result in a desire to live a holy, loving life of good works (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-26), but failure to be absolutely successful at righteous living does not negate the believer’s justified status.

If you sincerely say this prayer, your sins will be washed away, you will be redeemed to God, be saved from eternal torment and inherit the Kingdom of God:

"Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I repent of my sins. Please forgive me and save me by your shed blood. Come into my heart. I want to receive you as my own personal Lord and Savior. Amen"

https://victoryinjesuschrist.wordpress.com/