What's the meaning of life, even with God, any God, wouldn't it still be meaningless?

[ANV]

If the point of existence is to connect to God and for this reason God created the world, then what makes this really a meaningful reason or point, it would still be a pointless thing to connect to a creator, an absurd thing, don’t you think? That if you were never born you wouldn’t need such a concern to begin with, is there really a point in the purpose of conneting to a creator that he made the world with all the awful things going on just for that purpose, that still wouldn’t make life meaningful, it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.
The fact is, that life has no meaning, with or without gods, it would still be the same, humans make different meanings to their lives, to still go on, many distractions till we die, most often these distractions are convictions that are sincere and honest, sometimes true and real but the meaning of life itself is a personal and relative thing.
So when someone asks what is the meaning of life, it is an irrelevant question, it is like asking what color is the sea, it may look blue because that’s the personal human perception of it when in fact it has no color.
And if the point of life was a connection to a creator, then how is that even meaningful and not absurd?

 

[Vonsalza]

If the point of existence is to connect to God and for this reason God created the world, then what makes this really a meaningful reason or point, it would still be a pointless thing to connect to a creator, an absurd thing, don’t you think? That if you were never born you wouldn’t need such a concern to begin with, is there really a point in the purpose of conneting to a creator that he made the world with all the awful things going on just for that purpose, that still wouldn’t make life meaningful, it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.
The fact is, that life has no meaning, with or without gods, it would still be the same, humans make different meanings to their lives, to still go on, many distractions till we die, most often these distractions are convictions that are sincere and honest, sometimes true and real but the meaning of life itself is a personal and relative thing.
So when someone asks what is the meaning of life, it is an irrelevant question, it is like asking what color is the sea, it may look blue because that’s the personal human perception of it when in fact it has no color.
And if the point of life was a connection to a creator, then how is that even meaningful and not absurd?

Lots of things are meaningless and absurd to modernists.

Biologically, the point of life is to successfully reproduce. Yet many in the non-theist crowd affirm naturalism on some superficial level while simultaneously advocating the normalization of relationships that are incapable of the biological mandate.

Absurd indeed.

 

[inocente]

The fact is, that life has no meaning, with or without gods, it would still be the same, humans make different meanings to their lives, to still go on, many distractions till we die, most often these distractions are convictions that are sincere and honest, sometimes true and real but the meaning of life itself is a personal and relative thing.

You say “The fact is, that life has no meaning”. Sounds like something a depressed person might say, or maybe nihilism is back in fashion.

Either way, you then contradict yourself by saying “humans make different meanings to their lives”. If they find meaning where you can’t, maybe that’s your problem not theirs.

 

[Wesrock]

it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.

God doesn’t get anything out of creation, so it cannot be selfish.

This harping on the “I didn’t choose to be born!” is really just absurd. Are you one of those who thinks it’s immoral to reproduce?

 

[pianistclare]

You say “The fact is, that life has no meaning”. Sounds like something a depressed person might say, or maybe nihilism is back in fashion.

Either way, you then contradict yourself by saying “humans make different meanings to their lives”. If they find meaning where you can’t, maybe that’s your problem not theirs.

This^^^.
Misery really doesn’t like company.
If you are this depressed, see a physician.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

You say “The fact is, that life has no meaning”. Sounds like something a depressed person might say, or maybe nihilism is back in fashion.

Either way, you then contradict yourself by saying “humans make different meanings to their lives”. If they find meaning where you can’t, maybe that’s your problem not theirs.

An atheist can never see meaning because the life of an atheist is meaningless. Eventually, the atheist will die, and that’s all there is. Even if they have children, those children will die, as will their children, and so on and so forth. At the end, even the universe itself will die, and all that we have done will amount to nothing. Since every human undertaking will result in absolutely nothing once the universe ends, it is all ultimately meaningless. This is the basic principle behind nihilism, which is the only rational outcome of an atheistic worldview. If this is how you are feeling then congratulations, you are an intellectually-honest atheist. I encourage you to seek help for this malady. (seriously, if you do feel that life is meaningless, please seek out help. Life is wonderful, even in its hardship. Please, find someone to talk to about depression)

Christians don’t have this problem. Sure, this world and everything in it is temporary, but it is also preparation for the eternity to come. The meaning of this life is to do God’s will, and to prepare ourselves to spend eternity with Him.

 

[reggieM]

If the point of existence is to connect to God and for this reason God created the world, then what makes this really a meaningful reason or point, it would still be a pointless thing to connect to a creator, an absurd thing, don’t you think?

Yes, if the creator was just a mindless thing like a machine or even like a rock or a planet - that would have no meaning. But you have to fully understand who God is. The nature of God is that – All That Is Good is in Him. So, our own meaning, the reason we are created and the fulfillment of all of that – we find in God.

That if you were never born you wouldn’t need such a concern to begin with, is there really a point in the purpose of conneting to a creator that he made the world with all the awful things going on just for that purpose, that still wouldn’t make life meaningful, it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.

Again, that is correct if the father cannot give anything much to the child.
But you have to consider Eternal Life - and what that is.
You have to appreciate something in life. Whatever that is, it came from God - and He has it to an infinite abundance to share.

You enjoy, it seems, asking questions and exploring these topics - and that is a good thing. So, now imagine union with God where all knowledge, all wisdom, all truth resides and you can discover and grow into that to an infinite extent while still retaining the innocence and joy of a child. So, God wants us with Him because it’s the best thing for us.

And if the point of life was a connection to a creator, then how is that even meaningful and not absurd?

It’s important for you (and for all, myself included) to learn what love is. That is something you can do on the human level. From that, you will find a much higher level of beauty in the world - a tremendous appreciation for the person or persons you love. Now - just take it farther.

 

[Le_Bonvivant]

ANV my dear brother, the fact that you have joined a catholic forum and posted well over 200 messages there makes me think that you know deep down that life is NOT meaningless and that you’re looking for answers here.

If you were not interested in the catholic church you wouldnt visit this page so often. I know i wouldnt find the need to visit an atheist answers forum for 1 second if there was one. Maybe its time to open yourself up to God and drop the atheist tag. Peace be with you

 

[TechieGuy]

Oy Vey - this fellow has been gifted with life, consciousness, and intellect and yet he complains that “meaning” wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter?

You’ve been given tools - go use them…

 

[Tigre]

it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.

Why did your parents create you? Solely for your own sake? For utilitarian purposes to continue the species? Instinctual sexual drive? Look at what motivated your parents to have you. You can often see a glimpse of God’s Fatherhood (in my opinion) in the motivations of a “healthy” married couple’s decision to have a child. Admittedly this is an imperfect and woefully inadequate analogy, but it may be helpful.

Absurdism is a trap. The very fact that you are seeking meaning means your brain knows there is something more to all this than materialism. Hang tight and keep seeking. God is looking for you.

 

[PennyinCanada]

In my first 20 years of life I didn’t know there was a God who was my father and loved me. When I found that out, it took my dark world of shadows and turned on the lights. Then color poured in.

Today your days are like that dark shadowy world. There’s more and I’m here to tell you!

Our purpose and plan for life are best found in God. I would never ever wish to go back to those days and today I wish for you to come into that newness that only God can give. There IS more and you can know it while still on this earth and still breathing. My prayer is that you come into that new day soon.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

God is love. Love is the meaning. Love is the purpose. Be love.

 

[Michael_Mayo]

And then hire a descendent of Ty Cobb for a lawyer.:whacky:

Did you know Humphrey Bogart was the original rat of the Ratpack?

Bogart was a founding member and the original leader of the so-called Hollywood Rat Pack. In the spring of 1955, after a long party in Las Vegas attended by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, her husband Sid Luft, Mike Romanoff and wife Gloria, David Niven, Angie Dickinson and others, Lauren Bacall surveyed the wreckage and declared, “You look like a goddamn rat pack.”

The name stuck and was made official at Romanoff’s in Beverly Hills. Sinatra was tabbed Pack Leader, Bacall, Den Mother; Bogie, Director of Public Relations; and Sid Luft, Acting Cage Manager. When asked by columnist Earl Wilson what the group’s purpose was, Bacall stated: “To drink a lot of bourbon and stay up late.”

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humphrey_Bogart

 

[TheCuriousCat]

An atheist can never see meaning because the life of an atheist is meaningless. Eventually, the atheist will die, and that’s all there is. Even if they have children, those children will die, as will their children, and so on and so forth. At the end, even the universe itself will die, and all that we have done will amount to nothing. Since every human undertaking will result in absolutely nothing once the universe ends, it is all ultimately meaningless. This is the basic principle behind nihilism, which is the only rational outcome of an atheistic worldview. If this is how you are feeling then congratulations, you are an intellectually-honest atheist.

Yay, I’m intellectually honest! (I always expected as much.)

I encourage you to seek help for this malady. (seriously, if you do feel that life is meaningless, please seek out help. Life is wonderful, even in its hardship. Please, find someone to talk to about depression)

This genuinely made me smile. I have been depressed for literally decades and what finally pulled me out of it was embracing nihilism.

It is the most freeing experience in the whole world. You can’t mess up! The purpose of life is to be lived, to be savoured. I don’t worry about eternity; I don’t even worry about now. I experience life as it is instead of focusing on what might be. I focus on doing only what makes me happy. (It is probably the exact opposite of what you think I would be focussed on.)

Christians don’t have this problem. Sure, this world and everything in it is temporary, but it is also preparation for the eternity to come. The meaning of this life is to do God’s will, and to prepare ourselves to spend eternity with Him.

That sounds depressing as depressing can be. Life is just prep for what comes next? Yuck. But, hey, if it makes you happy, great.

 

[fhansen]

If the point of existence is to connect to God and for this reason God created the world, then what makes this really a meaningful reason or point, it would still be a pointless thing to connect to a creator, an absurd thing, don’t you think? That if you were never born you wouldn’t need such a concern to begin with, is there really a point in the purpose of conneting to a creator that he made the world with all the awful things going on just for that purpose, that still wouldn’t make life meaningful, it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.
The fact is, that life has no meaning, with or without gods, it would still be the same, humans make different meanings to their lives, to still go on, many distractions till we die, most often these distractions are convictions that are sincere and honest, sometimes true and real but the meaning of life itself is a personal and relative thing.
So when someone asks what is the meaning of life, it is an irrelevant question, it is like asking what color is the sea, it may look blue because that’s the personal human perception of it when in fact it has no color.
And if the point of life was a connection to a creator, then how is that even meaningful and not absurd?

God wants to share the sheer unbridled happiness that He knows by nature, with created beings who will also experience that happiness the more they willingly embrace goodness and approach the perfection they were made for. God is the ultimate Good. Complete and total satisfaction comes only with proximity to that Good.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

If the point of existence is to connect to God and for this reason God created the world, then what makes this really a meaningful reason or point, it would still be a pointless thing to connect to a creator, an absurd thing, don’t you think? That if you were never born you wouldn’t need such a concern to begin with, is there really a point in the purpose of conneting to a creator that he made the world with all the awful things going on just for that purpose, that still wouldn’t make life meaningful, it would be a selfish creation, like a father creating a child not for the sake of the child who didn’t ask to be born but for the sake of filling his own ego and selfishness of parenthood.
The fact is, that life has no meaning, with or without gods, it would still be the same, humans make different meanings to their lives, to still go on, many distractions till we die, most often these distractions are convictions that are sincere and honest, sometimes true and real but the meaning of life itself is a personal and relative thing.
So when someone asks what is the meaning of life, it is an irrelevant question, it is like asking what color is the sea, it may look blue because that’s the personal human perception of it when in fact it has no color.
And if the point of life was a connection to a creator, then how is that even meaningful and not absurd?

If your life has no meaning to you, you should seek God. The darkest hour is just before dawn. I was once exactly where you are, thinking my life was meaningless. Turn to God and you will find comfort and forgiveness (and meaning).

 

[mkoopman]

. I have been depressed for literally decades and what finally pulled me out of it was embracing nihilism.

…

That sounds depressing as depressing can be. Life is just prep for what comes next? Yuck. But, hey, if it makes you happy, great.

So your not just a victim of sadly applied peer pressure and free of the expectations placed upon you by others?

I am profoundly sorry that you find emptiness to be an ultimate goal for existence. My guess is that you confuse hedonism with nihilism.

Sarte was always the life of the party. I so love staring at the fridge.

Consider getting a life in Jesus only because He loves you.

 

[tony12356]

The meaning of life is 42.

 

[TheCuriousCat]

So your not just a victim of sadly applied peer pressure and free of the expectations placed upon you by others?

I’m confused; are you suggesting I arrived at a nihilistic world view from peer pressure? Trust me, I don’t have any friends, family, or acquaintances that pushed me into embracing the emptiness of life. (They are all very pleased that I am so much happier though.) I wouldn’t say that I am free from the expectations of others. I still live in a world filled with people I need to coexist with. Some of whom I even like and go out of my way to spend life with.

I am profoundly sorry that you find emptiness to be an ultimate goal for existence.

Emptiness isn’t a goal; it’s merely a fact of life. Happiness, or at least freedom from suffering, is the goal. I am guessing it is your goal too. Do you do anything in order to increase your own suffering?

My guess is that you confuse hedonism with nihilism.

I was responding to a person who described my world outlook, “as the basic principle behind nihilism.” I wouldn’t normally describe myself as a nihilist. I certainly wouldn’t describe myself as a hedonist either. I probably identify with Epicureanism most closely.

Sarte was always the life of the party. I so love staring at the fridge.

How is Sarte even remotely relevant? The only existentialist I even remotely relate to is Camus, and he was actually a very happy fellow.

Consider getting a life in Jesus only because He loves you.

Thanks, but I am very happy with where I am. If being Christian makes you happy, that’s awesome.

 

[mkoopman]

I’ isn’t a goal; it’s merely a fact of life. Happiness, or at least freedom from suffering, is the goal. I am guessing it is your goal too. Do you do anything in order to increase your own suffering?

Thanks, but I am very happy with where I am. If being Christian makes you happy, that’s awesome.

I write to Epicureans who claim to be nihilistic and find Camus brings warmth and comfort. A great fan of Dostoevsky as at the Enterprise party with all his brothers Karmazov.

I attend the tailhook party and work the closet and airport bathrooms inbound and exiting … it’s good money, what say. I elect for many ways to increase my suffering. Especially with those so facetious about Christ. Don’t you really wish you could sit as high priest?