From the Atheists view; can life have meaning ?

[shmogie]

" If God does not exist, life can be considered absurd. If there is no God, man is inevitably doomed to death. like all biological organisms, he must die, and with no hope of immortality, his life leads no further than the grave."

" It might be said that his life held importance because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this gives only a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to other people or certain events, but those people and events are insignificant, since they too are headed foe non existence. All of history and it's events and persons are meaningless, so what ultimate significance is there in influencing any of them ? :"

The universe will die, as will all humanity and no matter how long they exist, they can inhabit only a tiny flash of time in eternity.

The problem of man; because he and everything end in nothing, he and everything are nothing, and can have no value, no importance, no ultimate significance. Man and everything are absurdities Quotations from, The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe. By William L. Craig, PhD., D. Theo.

THOUGHTS ?

 

[Frater Sisyphus]

Read. Nietzsche.

 

[shmogie]

Read. Nietzsche.

Have read enough of him to know he was crazy

 

[Katzpur]

Read. Nietzsche.

That's a big assignment. Would you mind summarizing what Nietzsche said that addresses the OP. I'm genuinely interested in your answer, but I don't have the time to research the subject.

 

[Twilight Hue]

" If God does not exist, life can be considered absurd. If there is no God, man is inevitably doomed to death. like all biological organisms, he must die, and with no hope of immortality, his life leads no further than the grave."

" It might be said that his life held importance because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this gives only a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to other people or certain events, but those people and events are insignificant, since they too are headed foe non existence. All of history and it's events and persons are meaningless, so what ultimate significance is there in influencing any of them ? :"

The universe will die, as will all humanity and no matter how long they exist, they can inhabit only a tiny flash of time in eternity.

The problem of man; because he and everything end in nothing, he and everything are nothing, and can have no value, no importance, no ultimate significance. Man and everything are absurdities Quotations from, The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe. By William L. Craig, PhD., D. Theo.

THOUGHTS ?

Life doesn't need meaning. It already works.

That's meaning enough to suffice nicely.

 

[icehorse]

Craig is a dyed in the wool apologist and obfuscater. (btw, if anyone has a link to Craig NOT obfuscating, I'm open to seeing it.)

I think that making the world a better place provides more than enough meaning.

 

[Revoltingest]

Life is absurd.
Life has meaning.
Atheists can go either way.....or both ways.
If it's to meaning, then it's toward which meanings call to us.

 

[shmogie]

Life doesn't need meaning. It already works.

That's meaning enough to suffice nicely.

It works ? You call oblivion working, nicely ?

 

[shmogie]

That's a big assignment. Would you mind summarizing what Nietzsche said that addresses the OP. I'm genuinely interested in your answer, but I don't have the time to research the subject.

He agreed that life had no meaning, that there was no right and wrong, that humanity had no value, and it drove him crazy as a loon. He spent the last 15 years of his life in an insane asylum. His concept of the super man is particularly revolting

 

[Revoltingest]

....super man is particularly revolting

I shudder at what that might mean.

 

[idav]

" If God does not exist, life can be considered absurd. If there is no God, man is inevitably doomed to death. like all biological organisms, he must die, and with no hope of immortality, his life leads no further than the grave."

" It might be said that his life held importance because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this gives only a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to other people or certain events, but those people and events are insignificant, since they too are headed foe non existence. All of history and it's events and persons are meaningless, so what ultimate significance is there in influencing any of them ? :"

The universe will die, as will all humanity and no matter how long they exist, they can inhabit only a tiny flash of time in eternity.

The problem of man; because he and everything end in nothing, he and everything are nothing, and can have no value, no importance, no ultimate significance. Man and everything are absurdities Quotations from, The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe. By William L. Craig, PhD., D. Theo.

THOUGHTS ?

I don’t think some super being giving humans purpose somehow gives life more meaning. It’s like saying dogs can only have meaning if they have the glorious opportunity to serve a human master. How does purpose coming from an outside perspective make life more meaningful?

 

[Technologicalsociety]

A guilty pleasure of mine is reading William Lane Craig. I consider myself a Christian so how can his work be a guilty pleasure for me someone might ask. His work is absolutely commendable in the field of Christian apologetics but I do not see the teachings of Christ needing human reason to back its gifts over a faithful and unreasonable human heart. Once again, his arguments are an absolute delight but human logic and reason can only take you so far on your spiritual journey with God.

I believe those quotes lead to what Kierkegaard spoke of when he mentions the absurd in "The Sickness unto Death". This is a complex idea to grasp for nonbelievers but faith through love and Christ eliminates this absurdity and also empowers the individual with a true mission to carry out every single moment of his life. I have an impression that people don't quite understand the relentlessness of spirit that people seeking to be Christian carry. It is not something you can see with your eyes so perhaps that is a drawback for people needing proofs and evidence but to be honest it means little to the holder of that relentlessness. The blessing is everything and I am glad it can not be explained with mere words like some auto mechanic's manual.

 

[Katzpur]

He agreed that life had no meaning, that there was no right and wrong, that humanity had no value, and it drove him crazy as a loon. He spent the last 15 years of his life in an insane asylum. His concept of the super man is particularly revolting

Thanks. I know I'd personally go crazy if I believed humanity had no value, but I suspect that somebody who has a different opinion of Nietzsche might also want to weigh in on this.

 

[Twilight Hue]

It works ? You call oblivion working, nicely ?

Sure. Unless you think things were somehow different long before we were born. I would say it's not really going to be all that different long after we die as well.

 

[suncowiam]

Life has meaning. Why does religion have to define life?

Life is for the living to define. it not some abstract concept or thought.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

" If God does not exist, life can be considered absurd. If there is no God, man is inevitably doomed to death. like all biological organisms, he must die, and with no hope of immortality, his life leads no further than the grave."

" It might be said that his life held importance because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this gives only a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to other people or certain events, but those people and events are insignificant, since they too are headed foe non existence. All of history and it's events and persons are meaningless, so what ultimate significance is there in influencing any of them ? :"

The universe will die, as will all humanity and no matter how long they exist, they can inhabit only a tiny flash of time in eternity.

The problem of man; because he and everything end in nothing, he and everything are nothing, and can have no value, no importance, no ultimate significance. Man and everything are absurdities Quotations from, The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe. By William L. Craig, PhD., D. Theo.

THOUGHTS ?

Meaning is what you bring to it. If God DOES exist, I don't see how that inherently gives meaning to life, either.

 

[Kangaroo Feathers]

Sure. Unless you think things were somehow different long before we were born. I would say it's not really going to be all that different long after we die as well.

Well, I intend to have a really cool grave monument, so there'll be that difference.

 

[Augustus]

" If God does not exist, life can be considered absurd. If there is no God, man is inevitably doomed to death. like all biological organisms, he must die, and with no hope of immortality, his life leads no further than the grave."

" It might be said that his life held importance because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this gives only a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to other people or certain events, but those people and events are insignificant, since they too are headed foe non existence. All of history and it's events and persons are meaningless, so what ultimate significance is there in influencing any of them ? :"

The universe will die, as will all humanity and no matter how long they exist, they can inhabit only a tiny flash of time in eternity.

The problem of man; because he and everything end in nothing, he and everything are nothing, and can have no value, no importance, no ultimate significance. Man and everything are absurdities Quotations from, The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe. By William L. Craig, PhD., D. Theo.

THOUGHTS ?

In the grand scheme of things what he says is perfectly correct, we are just a bundle of elements that happened to become sentient, and at some point will lose that sentience forever. Our species will one day die out, and eventually our planet will be consumed by the sun. So there is no 'objective' purpose.

The number of subjective purposes is limited purely by our imaginations though, we can make up countless things to give life subjective meaning.

 

[Father Heathen]

Each individual sets the course for their own life, finding and forging their own purpose and meaning. It's found in the moment, in the experience, and in the pursuit. It doesn't require a yearning for postmortem cookies.

 

[Valjean]

" If God does not exist, life can be considered absurd.

I don't follow. Why?

If there is no God, man is inevitably doomed to death. like all biological organisms, he must die, and with no hope of immortality, his life leads no further than the grave."

My observation is that everyone does die. Does that mean there is no God?

Well, even the Bible says he must die, but what's with the immortality thing?
What evidence do you have for immortality, and what does this have to do with God?

" It might be said that his life held importance because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this gives only a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance.

Why is this ultimate significance desirable? For that matter, what difference does significance make at all? Is it a self esteem thing?

His life may be important relative to other people or certain events, but those people and events are insignificant, since they too are headed foe non existence. All of history and it's events and persons are meaningless, so what ultimate significance is there in influencing any of them ?

So anything temporary is insignificant and meaningless?

The problem of man; because he and everything end in nothing, he and everything are nothing, and can have no value, no importance, no ultimate significance. Man and everything are absurdities

This just doesn't make any sense at all. Why is "insignificant" life absurd, or undesirable? Why should I care if my life is meaningless? Why can't I decide my own criteria for meaningfulness?

It works ? You call oblivion working, nicely ?

Why not, If you're happy?
This obsessive need for "cosmic significance" strikes me as pathological.[/quote]