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So...just what is your reason and purpose for existence?

s2a

Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
BFD_Asatru said:

well, i typed a long and nice reply, but the site server screwed up and killed it, lonmg sotry shot. the reason I exist is to be judged by the gods for the appropiate after life.

Bummer. I HATE it when that happens.

Do your gods tell you what is expected of you in order for you to attain "the appropiate after life"? Is your reason and purpose for existence predicated solely upon their summary judgment ? You were "put" in the here and now simply to measure how you would fare in some divine "pass/fail" test? Is that inspiring or fulfilling in some special way?
 

Mister Emu

Emu Extraordinaire
Staff member
Premium Member
You can not say, will not say, or simply say that you don't know?
I cannot state with any confidence a familial relation's location in the hereafter.

Why do you believe that "there is such a reason"?
Not sure, makes me feel good? I'll get back to you on what the Catholic Church teaches... Edit: It does teach that every person has a specific purpose...

Must there be a reason for your existence to "matter"?
I don't believe so...

If indeed you ponder that "Maybe there is no reason...", then what is the point, or reason, or purpose served in a religious adherence, or in faith-based beliefs? If atheists/unbelievers can realize/manifest their own reasons and purpose in existence - and retain hope, optimism, compassion, and love - not only for themselves, but for their very own species...then what personal need or want is left unfulfilled that religion or faith-based beliefs alone can provide?
Truth. Spiritual fulfillment.

Again, the thrust of the premise asserts (inquisitorialy) that faith-based beliefs/religion provide that "something extra", that (alledgedly) reason and logic alone can not provide.
Yes...

If your professed beliefs can't provide you answer to your reason and purpose in/of/for existence (You know...THE Questions: "Who am I?"; "Why am I here?"; What happens when I die?"
The two bolded questions are answered by my faith... as to why I am here, I can't give but a generic answer "Love God. Love Man." right now...

Science (and atheism) consider "I don't know" a perfectly acceptable answer to any given confounding inquiry regarding the unexplained or undefined.
As does my faith. My faith doesn't so much concern itself with "why am I here" outside of attempting to follow God's lead, as making a close relationship with Jesus, which is all that matters. "Why am I here?" is of secondary, perhaps tertiary, importance compared to "Am I loving enough?" or "Am I following God's will?"

If faith-based beliefs offer the same level of incertitude as science and reason, then what advantage do faith-based beliefs offer as superior to science and reason?
why retain/adhere/maintain such beliefs?
Becuase faith -at least mine- encompasses far more than "Why am I here"...
 

s2a

Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
Halcyon said:

I believe that for God to be infinite and complete that S/he must contain all things and all possibilities. Thus i exist because i must.

Perhaps I misunderstand, but it would seem that your existence defines the reason and purpose for the existence of your god. If you (or other faithfully like-minded adherents) did not exist, S/he would have no reason/purpose for existence? So which came first...the chicken or the egg?
 

s2a

Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
Mister_T said:

I'm here for God's entertainment. I should have "God's Hackey Sack" tatooed across my butt.

Gated communities sometimes frown upon crazy radicals with body art.

So I've heard anyway...;-)
 

s2a

Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
FeathersinHair said:

My faith doesn't really tell me anything about my reason or purpose for existence. I'm not sure if I would trust it if it did.

*Mwah.* I kiss you and your natural skepticism.

I believe, however, that the reason and purpose for my existence in this particular lifetime is to learn how to accept unconditional love. I am also, I hope, a writer, and I feel it is my ultimate calling to heal people through words.

Cool. A difficult challenge to embrace. In my estimation, you "represent" well.


When I said:
If your personal understanding of your own reason and purpose for existence has changed (at least once) in your lifetime, was the catalyst for that change brought about by tragedy or some unpleasant circumstance/consequence...or were you at some pinnacle of goal-set attainment, achievement, or bliss? Did you hear voices in your head? Were you bribed or enticed with a more exciting promise of personal fulfillment, for better or worse?

You offered:
It was in a 'medicine wheel' vision. If one wishes to view that as voices in my head, that's perfectly acceptable.

Haven't "been there" for that sort of personal inspiration. But I have noted that others are trying for the same...dangling from their car's rear view mirror...

I inquired:
Do you believe that your personalized choices in faith/belief/unbelief today, have any influential impact upon the sixth generation to follow, hence your departure from this mortal realm? If you can not recall the existent "reason" and/or "purpose" that your fifth or sixth generation-removed ancestors served or fulfilled, then is it reasonable to conclude that your faith-based beliefs today will have any relevant impact whatsoever upon your equally time-removed descendants?

You said:
Probably not my specific beliefs, but hopefully (if I have descendants), they will be able to benefit from the ways that my beliefs caused me to interact with the world. (Promoting equality, peace and walking gently on the earth.)

I hope so too...;-)

When I inquired:
If you "know" what your reason and purpose for existence is...(and if you care to) please share, and be specific (within the suggested aforementioned parameters above) when possible. Or if you please, speculate what (you think) your descendants are most likely to recall about your reasoned and purposed existence 300 years from today, or if it even matters whether or not they have any recollection of you (or your reasoned and purposed existence) at all.

You said:
I feel very uncomfortable, because I seem to not be understanding the parameters. I am always content with looking the fool, but I know too well that this can sometimes be seen as being evasive or deliberately obtuse.

Don't be absurd. You pretty much answered the question beforehand (above). I think you are much more perceptive than you would ever care to let on to others...not out of some expectant personal gain or selfishness, but from your reverence of humility and evinced compassion towards others.

Your wisdom exceeds your words (and years).

James 3:17-18

;-)
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
Robert A. Heinlein is quoted in his book, Time Enough for Love as saying:
"A zygote is a gamete's way of producing more gametes. This may be the purpose of the universe.":biglaugh:
 

Halcyon

Lord of the Badgers
s2a said:
Perhaps I misunderstand, but it would seem that your existence defines the reason and purpose for the existence of your god. If you (or other faithfully like-minded adherents) did not exist, S/he would have no reason/purpose for existence? So which came first...the chicken or the egg?
Yeah you misunderstand.

What i'm saying is that for my version of God to be complete it must lack nothing, if i did not exist God would lack something, so therefore i exist.
God doesn't have a reason for existing, it just exists. I exist because God contains all things.
 

Feathers in Hair

World's Tallest Hobbit
While you'll be getting frubals, s2a, I just wanted to let you know that is one of the nicest things that anyone has ever said or written about me. You made me cry with joy while reading it this morning, and I've been trying ever since to explain how deeply your words touched my heart. I can't seem to, so... well, I'll just thank you. :eek:
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
s2a said:
I think you are much more perceptive than you would ever care to let on to others...not out of some expectant personal gain or selfishness, but from your reverence of humility and evinced compassion towards others.

Your wisdom exceeds your words (and years).

Perhaps the best thing about this complement is that it shows great care was taken to be truthful and accurate. Frubals to you s2a!
 

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
The reason and purpose of my existence, of course, is to consume as much of the earth's resources as possible while passing on my DNA as frequently as I can afford to raise offspring who will themselves be in a position to consume as much of the earth's resources as possible. In this manner, I help the economy, which, as everyone knows, is the One True Source Of All Value. When I die, there shall be much wailing and gnashing of teeth among those who keep the sacred Consumer Spending and Borrowing stats.
 

gnomon

Well-Known Member
The purpose of my existence is nothing more than to observe based upon the quality of life which chance bestowed upon me. For you see, while most people mistakenly hold to the belief that there is some sort of divinity in this world acting as the ultimate observer what they fail to realize that we are the observers of divine origin.

An explanation in the rationalization of a bored individual. There was only one. The creator. The creator is pure thought. No physical essence. Pure thought existing as only one gets rather lonely. So what pure thought did was to "explode" itself. Or rather, disconnect from one pure consciousness into an infinte number of individual consciousness. I represent just one particular aspect of this diffused thought. Eventually, all of these individual thoughts will coalesce into one pure thought. Or back to the creator. Why? For the experience.

This philosophy accounts for all notions of good and evil humans as a collective subgroup posit as morality. It also accounts for all "alien" life forms which may exist. It coincides with the big bang (a singularity consisiting of infinite energy expanding into the known universe and all possible universe's put forth by Hawking's physics) and either the big "crunch":( or a universe expanded to the point of "cold death". In either event, all universes come to an end for the original thought to return with a new experience.

I do not actually believe any of this. I just think my above description of existence, however brief, is actually just as good as any other belief which human beings have described. Following this my reason for existence just is. Barely a simple neuron among the innumerable which have come before me and which may follow. Of course, that is assuming that time is real.

Anyway, I'm babbling.
 
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BFD_Zayl

Well-Known Member
ok now, lemme see if i can type it without killing it heh heh. ive not extenisvly studied the sagas that surround my religion... so i know of no "source" of souls the inhabit the human body... but its not exactly a pass/fail test. the gods need the best possible warriors to battle at ragnarok, although no matter what they do most of them will die, but if im not accepted into their halls, then i might be lucky enough to go to a lesser gods hall, if not them maybe another world out of the nine worlds to inhabit one of the diffrent bodies there, if not then the only other place is helheim which is a place of eternal cold and darkness with many hungry and terrible beasts to fight off, if i can survive there the entire time untill ragnarok then i will be on the opposing force and will fight the army of the gods...did i even make sense there??? if you dont get it look up "norse mythology" on google and read, same thing.
 

DakotaGypsy

Active Member
BFD_Asatru said:
ok now, lemme see if i can type it without killing it heh heh. ive not extenisvly studied the sagas that surround my religion... so i know of no "source" of souls the inhabit the human body... but its not exactly a pass/fail test. the gods need the best possible warriors to battle at ragnarok, although no matter what they do most of them will die, but if im not accepted into their halls, then i might be lucky enough to go to a lesser gods hall, if not them maybe another world out of the nine worlds to inhabit one of the diffrent bodies there, if not then the only other place is helheim which is a place of eternal cold and darkness with many hungry and terrible beasts to fight off, if i can survive there the entire time untill ragnarok then i will be on the opposing force and will fight the army of the gods...did i even make sense there??? if you dont get it look up "norse mythology" on google and read, same thing.
Um, I've often looked upon Norse mythology as a metaphorical consideration of what humans must endure, growing old and dying slowly.

This elicited a tendency to glorify wars and battles and dying gloriously when one is young--as opposed to going through the agonies of aging and eventual whimpering death.

Thankfully, Scandinavians went a bit towards the socialist scheme of things and Scandinavian society is pretty well provided for, the old are revered and honored and provided for so that, whatever aches and pains of aging they may suffer, they are not abandoned to starve because the tribe is in dire straits and cannot spare the resources to sustain them.

Unfortunately, the United States has gone in the opposite direction, glorifies war under the aegis of the "War President," and is slowly chipping away provision for the old in the form of social security and medicare.
 

s2a

Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
FeathersinHair said:
While you'll be getting frubals, s2a, I just wanted to let you know that is one of the nicest things that anyone has ever said or written about me. You made me cry with joy while reading it this morning, and I've been trying ever since to explain how deeply your words touched my heart. I can't seem to, so... well, I'll just thank you. :eek:


Oh great...

Now I've gone and made a girl cry for saying something she thought was nice.

I can't win.

;-)
 

Ody

Well-Known Member
On a logical standpoint, i just am, for a religiously based perspective, i am here to serve HaShem,for me it ends up being a little bit of both, or it is decided on my mood i'm afraid.
 

s2a

Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
Mister Emu said:
Bwahahaha s2a,


You haven't figured that out by now? ;)

Oh heckfire.

I still owe you a worthy rebuttal, don't I?

In due course...in due course...I promise.

Women always unsettle me just a tad...not that there's anything wrong with that.

;-)
 
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