The Meaning of Life Essay Example For Students

The Meaning of Life Essay Since the beginning of human history, we have used logic and reasoning in order to explain why things happen and to advance ourselves. This desire to understand and comprehend is always present. We are constantly striving to search for purpose and meaning in everything we do in our lives. We need reason and purpose in order to do anything just like we need a reason to continue living. Otherwise, our lives may become meaningless. I believe The Meaning of Life Essay is to find what is true to you using your own personal experiences and philosophies. Without reason, there is no meaning. Living a meaningless life would be depressing, difficult and dangerous. Nihilists believe life has no meaning because life does not have cosmic significance. They choose not to search for personal meaning; therefore, all purposive behavior is eliminated. Nihilism is a swirling black hole of nothingness, strangely attractive but also terribly frightening to those who struggle to find the meaning of life (Shrader 19). 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 gentlemans bet with Satan that Jobs worship is genuine and not inspired by Gods kindness. In other words, you throw a rock at my dog and Ill swing my arm so it looks I threw it, and well see if he still comes when I call him. In the end, Job is not simply the dog, because he questions Gods throwing of the rock. Gods response is consistent with his goal of inspiring awe. Even though the idea of a bet with Satan is well within Jobs 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 Gods image with one crucial difference, the need to worship. Perhaps then, God is after the meaning of life. Imagine a being so powerful as to be able to create and mold the universe, who, like Roman and Greek gods, is only marginally more intelligent than his creations. Perhaps God, in all his ridiculous power, cannot change himself. In order to find the meaning of his own existence he creates the human race so that we might evolve to an intelligence greater than his own, in much the same way that a computer programmer wishes to create true AI, an intelligence greater than human, which might evolve within a computer. We are given the title of pet and the instinct of worship while the creator waits for a companion in the search for meaning. Of course this is wrong, or I would have been struck by a lightning bolt during that last sentence and brought to Gods side. .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 , .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .postImageUrl , .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 , .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:hover , .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:visited , .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:active { border:0!important; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:active , .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8 .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .udef2b16aae9dbd656c1210bf5a77fdb8:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Harriet tubman Essay Or perhaps God is not aware of his own success yet, or perhaps I am not the first to uncover Gods purpose, .