The Meaning of Life -Opinion

The Meaning of Life -Opinion

My beliefs on the meaning of life in religion and interpretation of such things.

In approaching the question of 'the meaning of life' we have to examine the

nature of meaning itself. Meaning, is by definition the point, or the intended

goal. Consider the point of humans and the universe as seen from monotheistic

religion. If life and the universe is some sort of toy or form of entertainment for

some greater being, his point, his own entertainment, would then be the

meaning of humans and the universe.

Consider the goals of the deities of various cultures. Some strive for a balance

between the forces of 'good' and 'evil'. This balance seems to simply be a

choice of the deity, the way he thinks it ought to be. The concept of a greater

being as a source of the meaning of life is flawed, because in talking about an

actual point to absolutely everything, we are simply considering the goals of a

being more powerful than ourselves who has chosen one of many possible goals

that humans can conceive. This is to say that, if a god like this exists, his goal

for life and the universe is not necessarily valid as a meaning of life, the

universe, and himself.

For instance, the Bible claims that the Christian deity created the universe and

placed humans in it that they might be in awe of his power. If this is so, why is

worship the correct response? The meaning of the universe as created by God

is the entertainment of God, but what is the meaning of the larger system

containing God and his creations? We could conceive of an even greater being,

but that simply takes us all the way back into the wall of infinite regression.

When I first read the Bible, it struck me as neutral on the idea of worship. The

Bible flat out tells you that God created humans so that they would be in awe

of him, which amounts to saying God created us to inflate his ego. We are to

God as our pets are to ourselves, sources of unconditional love. In the book of

Job, God essentially makes a gentleman's bet with Satan that Job's worship is

genuine and not inspired by God's kindness. In other words, you throw a rock at

my dog and I'll swing my arm so it looks I threw it, and we'll see if he still comes

when I call him. In the end, Job is not simply the dog, because he questions

God's throwing of the rock. God's response is consistent with his goal of

inspiring awe. Even though the idea of a bet with Satan is well within Job's

grasp, God claims that his purpose was inconceivable to Job. God is simply

fortifying the concept that is critical to the continuance of human worship: that

with inconceivable power comes incredible intelligence and unknowable purpose.

The narrator of the Bible, which is supposedly God himself, speaking through

humans, never directly says that he should be worshipped. This is merely the

interpretation of humans, who may be created in God's image with one crucial

difference,