Purpose of life for atheists/agnostics ?

[Paladin]

perhaps God is running a MMORPG?

metta,

~v

Yep, and I play Paladin Took, father of Peregrin Took

 

[Vajradhara]

Yep, and I play Paladin Took, father of Peregrin Took

i'll play Shadowspawn!

i simple adore game geeking!!

metta,

~v

 

[Waymarker]

my biggest beef with Christianity is that I find the New Testament concept of an all-powerful, all-knowing, loving God to be inconsistent with all the random suffering I see in this world..

Firstly, there's a lot of suffering of various kinds which is preventable, brought about by humans themselves (wars, famine, accidents etc)
The bible doesn't try to say life is easy- ("All creation groans in pain from the beginning til now") so think of life as a Special Forces selection test- ("Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life..")
I've seen my parents die, my grandparents, aunts, uncles, a nephew, brother-in-law and friends but hey that's life..
As Forrest Gump said- "Death is part of life"
Christianity shows us how to roll with the punches life throws at us because it gives us an inner strength like it says on the tin- ("Our gospel came to you not just with words, but with Power"), that's a concept nonchristians can't understand, so they go off trying to find inner strength via softer, easier 'smiley' religions.
Waddya say to them Barnes?

"Take the pain! TAKE THE PAIN!"

 

[Saltmeister]

Hey Salty, here's a math problem for you. Take the total number of people on the planet and then create a ratio of the number of people actually committing acts of evil. I think you will be surprised at the answer.

According to neuroscience we are actually hardwired for empathy, in fact our pre-frontal cortex developed in direct proportion to the number of people in a group. In the human species that now numbers easily in the thousands per person. Even more for city dwellers.
In short, we are really a gold coin covered in mud. Wash away the dirt and all that is left is gold.

The actual number of people committing acts of evil is not the real issue. The real issue is the number of people living with the highest virtues and "going the distance" to love their neighbour. How much money do Westerners give to charity? That is the question. I don't think the idea that "the more you receive, do more you will give" is all that true.

While the evil doesn't outweigh the good, the good doesn't outweight the evil. I think we are currently in a state of equilibrium.

If the Illuminati conspiracy is true, and these Illuminati succeed at their goals, they will tip the balance in favour of the evil in our world. This is when I think "all hell will break loose." Society will fall apart at the seams.

The global financial crisis led to increasing rates of unemployment. What if unemployment levels rose to high levels or wages and salaries continued to drop? I think crime rates would increase. There will be lots of people getting robbed and more burglars breaking into homes. Child kidnapping will increase. Looting will become more widespread. There will be more broken windows in your neighbourhood. When life is good, people behave. When life gets really bad, they start trashing society, stealing, rioting, breaking into homes.

The government will step in and transform into a nanny state and life will become even worse with more intervention from the government into people's private lives. Some of the people employed to intrude into our private lives may secretly steal your private property.

Maybe that's why Christianity is the world's most popular religion

Popularity is never a good thing. I wonder how the rock stars feel.

but I know some folks that think everything in life happens for a reason and is ultimately God's will.

Yes, everything happens for a reason. If you let go of an object it will fall to the ground due to gravity. Thought processes in your brain are caused by chemical reactions. Everything in the universe is interacting with everything else. Yes there is a reason for it all. It just doesn't have to be God.

I believe in God, but I know that God doesn't have to be around to roll the dice. You don't have to be around your computer for your computer to work. A computer is designed to work without you having to push buttons all the time. The universe was made to work without God.

I know several Christians who seem to be slogging/suffering through this life (prison sentence) but repeatedly tell me how much they are looking forward to heaven! While I definitely don't think all Christians live with that mentality, I do think belief in "heaven" can empower such behaviour.

Thoughts?

I for one am looking forward to heaven. Some not so pleasant things have happened to me recently and I am hoping for a break. Like the terminator said in the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day, "I need a vacation."

perhaps God is running a MMORPG?

metta,

~v

Yep, and I play Paladin Took, father of Peregrin Took

i'll play Shadowspawn!

i simple adore game geeking!!

metta,

~v

I have no idea what that stuff is. I play Starcraft 2 (well, not that much actually).

 

[luecy7]

Hi Luecy, this quickly starts getting into a free will/determinism debate.

If life is not random, does everything happen for a reason, or something in between? Is "God" in control? (i.e. the omnipotent, all-powerful model) With this model of God, I agree the will of the murderer would be the will of God. I am agnostic so don't believe in such nonsense, but I know some folks that think everything in life happens for a reason and is ultimately God's will.

Having the power to take control, and taking control, are two different things. Most everyone has the power to kill, but most choose not to. If you have the power to kill someone, and someone then dies, did you necessarily kill them?

I personally don't think life on earth is a prison sentence (although I know some people that do), I think it might be all we've got so I try to make the most of every minute. The "prison sentence" view would imply that you think there is something for him beyond this life; I have no evidence of such a personal afterlife.

If the inside of a prison is where murderers, adulterers, or sinners live, and the outside of a prison is where non-murderers, non-adulterers, and non-sinners live, then which group do we live with here on this planet?

The concept of an afterlife is very much like the future, with even less certainty. Therein I agree with you: life involves gambling, or contending with elements that appear random.