If everyone completely passes out of existence when they die, what ultimate meaning has life?

Question

Without a personal Creator-God, how are you anything other than the coincidental, purposeless miscarriabe of nature, spinning round and round on a lonely planet in the blackness of space for just a little while while before you & all memory of you finally blinks out forever in the endless darkness? What do you think

Answer 1

We are just passing through this world into eternity: eternity bliss or eternity torment. Life in this world then is to make ourselves one in heart, mind, soul, and might with the creator whose only purpose in creating life is to share eternity with people who made a decision towards nobility of purpose rather than taking a chance with "chance."

Nobleness has its sacrifices but the rewards are more than just physical - it is spiritual. Taking chances..well, there's nothing spiritual in it.

Answer 2

Yes, you are right. I like your question, have a star.

We don't have any proof that God does or doesn't exist so we choose our path in accordance with what we hope is true.

I have hope to experience the love of my Creator, even not knowing for sure whether He exists or not. Some others, who eventually will be called unbelievers, have hope that they will have no God as an authority over their lives.

Life has no purpose and therefore no meaning without God for purpose implies a design and a design implies a Designer. Without God all we can do is to invent activities that keep us busy and feeling good about ourselves and focused away from thoughts about a meaningless existence.

I think people like the yoga guy, Wotan, try to have it both ways. They live their lives as they choose and then hope that there is another life waiting for them.

Answer 3

Passing out of existence upon death? There is no meaning to life then.
Fortunately for us we have a reason to exist.
We are to love God with all our hearts and all our mind, and soul. Then we are to love our neighbour as we ourselves would want to be loved. So that's the meaning of our lives. To love.
When we fulfil our meaning and come the end of our life here on earth then God takes us home. That or we spend eternity the way we have lived ...meaninglessly.

Answer 4

Several years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away.

While driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.

Three days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to.

I feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.
During the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible.

I can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.

I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings.

Your brother don

Answer 5

To begin, I don't believe we pass out of existence when we die. Therefore, how we lead out lifes is important.

And I would contest your proposition, that "without a personal Creator-God, how are we anything other than the coincidental, puposeless ----------------

Why must the creative force need be personal? My belief is that it's totally impersonal. Let me explain.

I' m a yogi, and subscribe to the philosophy set forth in Samkhya Yoga:

The creative force is the lowest of the top 3 rungs of ultimate reality. This force is referred to as "Ishvira", a male deity who is responsible for the evolution, maintenance and involution of our universe. His power is weilded thru the medium of sound.

I personally feel, that an assignment of gender to any cosmic or universal force, energy or whatever, is ludicrous. If it did have gender, it would of necessity, since we are supposed to have been created in its imagine, have to be hermorphoditic. Obviously, Jehovah wouldn't qualify.

There are 3 gunas in yoga philosophy: raja, tama and sattava. Raja is defined as energy; tama, its opposite, inertia; and sattva, as something trying to realize itself.

In overly simplistic terms, sattva is our spiritual essence(conscious and/or subconscious). Tama, gravity; and raja, any form of energy.

Ishvira, is in the context of ultimate reality, identified as Saguna Brahman - Brahman with sound.

The next rung up in the definition(s) of ultimate reality, is Nirguna Brahman - Brahman without sound.

And the ultimate, ultimate reality is Nirguna Purusa Brahman(Purusa - soul, spirit).

The pupose of life, is for us individual purusas to learn what our ultimate, real self is, perfection personified. When this is understood, there is no further reason to be personified. One returns to whence he has come.

This goal is only achieved - for most of us anyway - thru countless transmigrations of our purusa part. The Buddha only required one incarnation to achieve this. That's why he is referred to as the Buddha.

Some will undoubtedly read this expose, and say somethiing like, "Yea! Clear as mud".

Well, anyway I've tried my best to present a lucid, hopefully meaningful response to your question.

A patient,

Wotan

Answer 6

Wow. Deep. Personally I like to think that the purpose of our existance, while it lasts, is to get the most out of it, while helping other people to do the same via helping them in various ways.

Answer 7

Paul said this which he got from Isaiah:

1 Corinthians 15:32 . . . If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. (ASV)

That is pretty much logically what is left to us under your scenario.

Answer 8

we are all but a fleck of dust, falling from the grand chandelier of life....at least that is the case of we do not believe that we were created by an omnipotent being.....

Answer 9

Does it need meaning? Life exists, that is all.

Answer 10

There isn't any meaning in illusion. You've overlooked what is real and permanent.