fullywired, on 06 February 2013 - 05:49 PM, said:
I was browsing the other day when I came across some .excerpts from a book entitled "How life really works" by Gregory Spohr
Here are a few quotations from it
In his quest to find a purpose in life that might help him cope with the adversities of life, man has invented supernatural beings. Since he could not cope with the mysterious forces of his environment, he invented gods or other mystical forces that might enhance his survival and security by responding to prayer, sacrifices or similar devotions.
Man thus invented the fiction that gods had created man and that man was under the control and in the service of such superior beings. Consequently, man believed that it was his purpose in life to placate and please these gods by subjugating himself to their will in order to ensure their goodwill and protection.
There is no objective evidence whatsoever that such omnipotent beings actually exist or, if they existed, that they have any effect on individual human lives, or that they can vest human lives with a preordained purpose. If someone claims that there is a preordained purpose to human life, such claim is merely a completely undocumented opinion, at best, or a hallucination, at worst. Not only is such extraordinary claim without any shred of evidence, but it also stands in contradiction to all factual evidence available to man.
If there is no preordained purpose to human existence, what are we to do with our lives? Randomness and the dog-eat-dog world of evolution may be a disappointing and uninspiring way of looking at life and human existence.
However, this is how life is and no flights of fancy into delusions or illusions will alter this fact. We need not whine, merely because there are no gods and no ghosts, holy or otherwise, that can imbue our life with a preordained purpose. Instead, we can benefit from the utilization of our rational mind to enhance our happiness and our joyful experience of life.
i found myself agreeing with most of what he said and lf you consider all life on the planet then it is more compelling, life as no meaning
fullywred
Dum vivimus, vivamus, . (Since we are living, let us live well) Horace
I agree with most of this except the bit I bolded There is as much individual objective evidence for the existence of god as for most things. I know, objectively, god exists in precisely the same way I know every object exists ie i have or take an objective view on gods existence i may alos take a subjective view as i could with any person or thing.
And the last bit is also wrong inmy opinion although it is certainly an opinion. Every human employs psychological props to survive the self -aware state in which we exist it might be; self denial, irony, or simply not thinking about death or the future. It might be materialism, hedonism altruism or any other ism.
But a sense of the human spirit, and even a codification of that human sprit into group religions, is not a prop or a sign of weakness; it is an evolved coping mechanism which works, is useful, and for many may allow them to live rather than commit suicide or live a life of depression, at the ultimate pointlessness of life. So, real god or god construct, the connection of god and man is much more positive than you describe
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world..
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.