Indepth feeling of life

[Ing.]

People think that there is a meaning to life and i want to know your perspective of life. (Religion is a major factor in life)
But before you start i think it would only be correct if i started.


Life to me feels like a giant obstacle which may manipulate you into making choices that are not correct for your life style. Life is about living your own path and although there are may things stopping you. Your strength and determination (if strong enough) will lead you into the path in which you have struggled to be placed in.

Although i am religious i still like to set my own personal religious goals and path to follow.

Now Time To Pass The Plate... Your Turn.

 

[Jam Stunna]

"Life has no meaning, idiot. It's up to you to give it meaning." - My best friend.

I'd say that sums it up pretty well.

 

[notftomearth7]

Life's meaning depends on what goals you set.

 

[AltF4]

The question "What is the meaning of life?" is a loaded one. Also, I personally like to rephrase it more clearly as "What is the purpose of life?".

First, it presupposes we know what life actually is in the first place, which we don't. There is no concrete definition of life at all, except for observed behaviors.

Secondly, purposes are not universal, but rather relative. A hammer, for example, can have many different uses and purposes depending on who is using it. It can be used by anything from constructing a building to a projectile thrown by inept turtles.

You can see now that there are only three meaningful possibilities as to who's purpose our life belongs:

-The Universe Itself. This is almost a deistic notion. But the universe ultimately doesn't care about you. I'm afraid to say that if you happen to put yourself under a large rock, the universe will have no qualms about promptly squishing you out of existence. So I find it a bit of a stretch to suppose that the universe itself has an explicit purpose it concocted just for you, while at the same time being so hasty to prepare your demise.

-Some form of deity. This is actually much the same as the above. If this deity controls the universe, it can be seen as working through it. And if the universe doesn't care about your well-being, then neither does your deity. Besides, for what purpose could you (a lowly mortal) possibly serve to an all powerful ruler of the universe?! Surely there is nothing you are capable of doing that he is not. I don't care how good of a ham-omelet you make.

- Ourselves. This is the most obvious. The purpose to our lives is our own. We serve whatever purpose we decide for ourselves. This is often interpreted as not being ANY "meaning of life", but I don't find that strictly true. It's just that nobody else is running the show, dictating what we must accomplish with our lives. In fact, I feel much more free thinking I'm able to do whatever I want than having to live up to the expectations of a deity who pre-decided what I have to do with my life.

 

[SuperRacoon]

The Science Guy here basically dominated over anything that I have to say, but I still have my thoughts and opinions.

A good question to ask ever now and then is actually a pretty simple one. "Am I happy with my life?".

If your satisfied with your decisions, happy with your job and people like you, well, then it's safe to assume that your doing something right.

Otherwise, it might be time to rethink your values, try out a new hobby, make a new friend or something. Because what good is a life spent miserable.

Oh, and cracked.com has an article for every occasion.
http://www.cracked.com/article_15231_7-reasons-21st-century-making-you-miserable.html
pretty interesting (and funny) perspective on what happiness means. Just more food for thought, or if nothing else, a good lolz.

 

[TigerWoods]

I really think it's about what you want it to be. Do you know The Sims game? Where you control a life of a made up person and let him/her progress? Well, real life isn't any different. Life is like an RPG. You have one life. You can choose an occupation/style of being. You can buy and sell and interact with other "players". Well, I am off to go eat. My current purpose is finding food....

 

[Ominous]

the meaning of life... well it's diffrent for every one, for example... my meaning is to take care of family and make some people smile as other can only think about there self's... the meaning changes but the question stays the same...

 

[Mazaloth]

The question "What is the meaning of life?" is a loaded one. Also, I personally like to rephrase it more clearly as "What is the purpose of life?".

First, it presupposes we know what life actually is in the first place, which we don't. There is no concrete definition of life at all, except for observed behaviors.

Secondly, purposes are not universal, but rather relative. A hammer, for example, can have many different uses and purposes depending on who is using it. It can be used by anything from constructing a building to a projectile thrown by inept turtles.

You can see now that there are only three meaningful possibilities as to who's purpose our life belongs:

-The Universe Itself. This is almost a deistic notion. But the universe ultimately doesn't care about you. I'm afraid to say that if you happen to put yourself under a large rock, the universe will have no qualms about promptly squishing you out of existence. So I find it a bit of a stretch to suppose that the universe itself has an explicit purpose it concocted just for you, while at the same time being so hasty to prepare your demise.

If you died, would someone care about you?
Yes, someone would. The universe is not just elements and constructs, we as humans are feeling things. Which have the capibility to care. Just because we are so small doesn't mean we don't matter.

-Some form of deity. This is actually much the same as the above. If this deity controls the universe, it can be seen as working through it. And if the universe doesn't care about your well-being, then neither does your deity. Besides, for what purpose could you (a lowly mortal) possibly serve to an all powerful ruler of the universe?! Surely there is nothing you are capable of doing that he is not. I don't care how good of a ham-omelet you make.

This is correct.

- Ourselves. This is the most obvious. The purpose to our lives is our own. We serve whatever purpose we decide for ourselves. This is often interpreted as not being ANY "meaning of life", but I don't find that strictly true. It's just that nobody else is running the show, dictating what we must accomplish with our lives. In fact, I feel much more free thinking I'm able to do whatever I want than having to live up to the expectations of a deity who pre-decided what I have to do with my life.

But not only just ourselves, yes we help those to help ourselves, but we can also want to help those that need it.

 

[1048576]

Pursuit of happiness.

 

[smallwolf24]

Life has no meaning you practically have to make the most of it.

 

[slave1]

-The Universe Itself. This is almost a deistic notion. But the universe ultimately doesn't care about you. I'm afraid to say that if you happen to put yourself under a large rock, the universe will have no qualms about promptly squishing you out of existence. So I find it a bit of a stretch to suppose that the universe itself has an explicit purpose it concocted just for you, while at the same time being so hasty to prepare your demise.

Lol i agree with you. rocks, trees, an astroid floating around in space do not care if you stub a toe... LOL

-Some form of deity. This is actually much the same as the above. If this deity controls the universe, it can be seen as working through it. And if the universe doesn't care about your well-being, then neither does your deity. Besides, for what purpose could you (a lowly mortal) possibly serve to an all powerful ruler of the universe?! Surely there is nothing you are capable of doing that he is not. I don't care how good of a ham-omelet you make.

Cannot and will not agree with you. as you probably know i am religious. and yes we cannot do anything compared to the ultimate supreme being. but at least we did our best. and the statement about if the universe does not care and if it does not care neither does the supreme deity, is a load of crap that you just presume. but anyways...



i know why i am hear, i know where i am going, i know the purpose of life. and yes this is massively religiously biased towards me. but i have a glimpse of hope for me in the future and at least i have that.

I see life as a way to become better. each trial given to me, if over come it, puts me on a higher field towards a better self and closer to my ultimate goal.

 

[AltF4]

Well then, let's try to make this as on topic as possible.

You didn't answer one of my questions that I posed: What purpose could a human possibly serve a god?

Really think about it. What can you do for a god that he couldn't do better himself. I made a light anecdote last time about a ham omelet, but it's a serious problem. You're stuck either way! If you can serve some purpose for god, that means there is something which you can do better than him. But then he's not omnipotent. But if he's omnipotent, then you can serve no purpose to god.

This just further illustrates why omnipotence as a concept is absurd. But I digress...

You said that you "know the purpose of life" which is a rather bold statement, I'm sure you agree. But then you fail to share with us what that is?! All you give us is a cryptic message of "...puts me on a higher field towards a better self and closer to my ultimate goal."

What is that goal? What purpose can you serve to a god?

 

[slave1]

Well then, let's try to make this as on topic as possible.

You didn't answer one of my questions that I posed: What purpose could a human possibly serve a god?

Really think about it. What can you do for a god that he couldn't do better himself. I made a light anecdote last time about a ham omelet, but it's a serious problem. You're stuck either way! If you can serve some purpose for god, that means there is something which you can do better than him. But then he's not omnipotent. But if he's omnipotent, then you can serve no purpose to god.

This just further illustrates why omnipotence as a concept is absurd. But I digress...

You said that you "know the purpose of life" which is a rather bold statement, I'm sure you agree. But then you fail to share with us what that is?! All you give us is a cryptic message of "...puts me on a higher field towards a better self and closer to my ultimate goal."

What is that goal? What purpose can you serve to a god?

i like this much better than an argument. thank you for beginning like that.

so first off about god and the omnipotent thing. Ok yes God could do it better, sure he could force us all to do his will and so on and such forth but i don't want to get into some sort of thing about free will.

so lets think of it this way. a math teacher puts a problem on the board. he knows the answer. he can do it better than you, but he has you work it out. why then does he go through all the trouble. because he is trying to teach you something. a concept a principle and from it you get rewarded... good grades so on and such forth. he is teaching you how to learn.

its the same concept as God. he knows the answers, but he does it so you can gain something from it. so you can grow.


part two

"Know my purpose in life"

I am LDS, yes one of those "mormons," if you happen to run into one, hopefully they too could answer theis question because it a very basic principle.

the simplest way to put it, "To return unto God" . this of course takes obedience and following His commandments.

What purpose can i serve to God?

I can serve him by doing what he asks of me. i guess that is the best explanation.

 

[The 5th Horseman]

This is how I look at life.

This is your life, don't listen to anyone else on how you should run it. You live only once so make the best out of it. Live life to YOUR expectations and no one else's.

 

[AltF4]

Ah yes, your math teacher analogy precisely brings up one of my points. The math teacher doesn't solve the problem himself because he wants the children to learn how to solve it. But why does the math teacher care if the children can solve the problem or not?

Because the teacher benefits from the children's knowledge. Both directly (from being paid!) and indirectly from the discoveries and progress the students may make given that knowledge. The students are then able to benefit the teacher in ways that the teacher could not.

You say that god does not help us "so that we grow". Well, of course that begs for the question "for what purpose must we grow?".



And about your part two:

I'm afraid you'll have to do a better explanation than "I can serve him by doing what he asks of me". All you're admitting to there is blindly obeying commands without knowing in the slightest the reason you're doing it. If you feel that you are benefiting god in some way by acting the way you do, what is that benefit? And furthermore, how does not acting that way hurt god?

I am, in fact, not very well familiar with LDS beliefs specifically. So concepts like "returning unto god" are foreign to me. It sounds like you're asserting we are physically separate from god, and we can make him whole by dying? But not if we didn't listen to him while alive?

 

[K64]

I think that "life" is a joke in this century. If it wasn't we wouldn't be in Iraq and such. NO one values "life". Everyone takes "life" for granted. And it seems as- for people like me -if you don't have this "life" you don't prosper. If this is what "life" is, I'm waiting for a second coming. "Life" will rot, crash, burn and have more babies.

 

[slave1]

Ah yes, your math teacher analogy precisely brings up one of my points. The math teacher doesn't solve the problem himself because he wants the children to learn how to solve it. But why does the math teacher care if the children can solve the problem or not?

Because the teacher benefits from the children's knowledge. Both directly (from being paid!) and indirectly from the discoveries and progress the students may make given that knowledge. The students are then able to benefit the teacher in ways that the teacher could not.

You say that god does not help us "so that we grow". Well, of course that begs for the question "for what purpose must we grow?".

i never said God does not help us. He does. and that is through the Holy Ghost.

Gods pay check in a sense is us returning to live with him. but we have to earn it i guess.
to him it is a father seeing his child return home after being gone.

a soul is worth great in the sight of God.

And about your part two:

I'm afraid you'll have to do a better explanation than "I can serve him by doing what he asks of me". All you're admitting to there is blindly obeying commands without knowing in the slightest the reason you're doing it. If you feel that you are benefiting god in some way by acting the way you do, what is that benefit? And furthermore, how does not acting that way hurt god?

no i am not following him blindly. through perseverance and obedience I gain earthly rewards and spiritual rewards. for example, there is a thing within the church called the word of wisdom. which covers, not smoking, drinking, doing drugs, ex. this was put forth in 1833 (it is in the Doctrine and Covanants 89) by following it, i have gained a better control of myself. spiritual side of it is have the holy ghost as a companion. which i know sounds really strange but just trust me on this.

it always hurts a parent to see a child slip away and disobey. doesn't?

I am, in fact, not very well familiar with LDS beliefs specifically. So concepts like "returning unto god" are foreign to me. It sounds like you're asserting we are physically separate from god, and we can make him whole by dying? But not if we didn't listen to him while alive?

yes we are physically and spiritually separated.

there is an inter mediator, Holy ghost

no, dying does not some how make god become whole. he has a physical body like you and me so us dying does not change that. his body is exalted.

we were with God once, we came to this earth to receive a physical body, and to learn and grow and advance physically and spiritually. this is our trial time to see if we are worthy to return unto his presence.

 

[AltF4]

So the purpose of life is then to make god feel better by not being apart from him. God misses us much the same way that a parent misses a child?

But of course... why wouldn't this god just never part from us? A parent must sometimes part from their child because the parent is not omnipotent. A human parent must let their child go to school by themselves. An omnipotent being would not need to do anything. If it is best for that being to not be apart from us, then we would simply not ever be apart! Why bother at all with this nuisance we call life?


Also, we have discussed certain actions which are supposed to be favorable in god's eyes. The necessary question is why? Why are THOSE actions approved by god and not others? This question is most succinctly asked in the form of Euthyphro's Dilemma.

The dilemma goes like this:

-There are certain actions which are good (pious, moral, virtuous, etc..) and certain actions which are bad.

Is what is moral commanded by god because it is moral, or is it moral because it is commanded by god?

You'll find that you run into problems both ways.

 

[slave1]

So the purpose of life is then to make god feel better by not being apart from him. God misses us much the same way that a parent misses a child?

But of course... why wouldn't this god just never part from us? A parent must sometimes part from their child because the parent is not omnipotent. A human parent must let their child go to school by themselves. An omnipotent being would not need to do anything. If it is best for that being to not be apart from us, then we would simply not ever be apart! Why bother at all with this nuisance we call life?


Also, we have discussed certain actions which are supposed to be favorable in god's eyes. The necessary question is why? Why are THOSE actions approved by god and not others? This question is most succinctly asked in the form of Euthyphro's Dilemma.

The dilemma goes like this:

-There are certain actions which are good (pious, moral, virtuous, etc..) and certain actions which are bad.

Is what is moral commanded by god because it is moral, or is it moral because it is commanded by god?

You'll find that you run into problems both ways.

quick question who are these "others"

wow you really cant handle simple basic principles can you? they have to be complex theories that people somewhere along the stretch of time came up with to make your own decision.

yes i guess that you are trying to make a point, and it seems to me it is "life is meaningless". I guess that is a great life to lead. empty cold and with no self worth. at least i can say i can look forward to something in this life, and the next.

if you don't believe me. sweet, but i am not going to go into some theological argument why you think God does not exist and i would rather not have this turn into so many other threads that have died in a fiery ball of death of argument. i believe what i believe and do what i know is right because i know i gain something from it.

but yes this life has a point, we are here to gain something out of it. make the most of it. dont get messed up by stupid decisions that make you regret every single day. choose something that will make you happy. not temporarily but long lasting, something that lasts more than a night and does not end with you, or someone else being, killed, pregnant, or something else you cant take back.

oh yeah the reason why we part is so we can be like him. not just floating spirits. so we can experience joy, and pain. so we can be like him knowing good from evil.

 

[AltF4]

I also don't wish to get into another PRoom religion topic. So let's leave it at that. I'll let you have the last word. I don't expect to convert you over the internet in a couple of posts, by an means anyway. But I think I've made my point.

You should try the debate hall if you feel like it. You'll certainly get a good discussion at least. It's good brain exercise as well. No pain, no gain, right? Well it's the same with learning. If you never challenge yourself, never challenge your beliefs, they won't be very strong. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb and listen to others who disagree with you. It makes you a better person.

Later!
-Alt

 

[Amide]

Alt, reading your posts in this thread has really changed my perspective on humanity! Which is kind of strange, since this is a video game message board. Well whatever.

 

[urdailywater]

Good thing you said that AltWarrior.. but I guess I should stay out of any religous topics myself since I'm having a hard enough time with keeping my religion (not my faith) as is..

Anyways, the meaning of life..
I'll keep religion out of it like I said..

I really can't say much myself. There really isn't a meaning to life. It's just there, and you have to deal with it. It really is pointless to live, and it's pointless as to why were here.

There is no set plan in your life which makes it a bit easier to understand though, because it means all you really have to do is deal with it. The person you are, the people around you, and the people of the past put meaning into the life you live.

 

[slave1]

I also don't wish to get into another PRoom religion topic. So let's leave it at that. I'll let you have the last word. I don't expect to convert you over the internet in a couple of posts, by an means anyway. But I think I've made my point.

You should try the debate hall if you feel like it. You'll certainly get a good discussion at least. It's good brain exercise as well. No pain, no gain, right? Well it's the same with learning. If you never challenge yourself, never challenge your beliefs, they won't be very strong. Sometimes you have to go out on a limb and listen to others who disagree with you. It makes you a better person.

Later!
-Alt

i have been thinking about the debate hall. i like talking religion i don't like arguing religion. but if it was cool i would totally pop in and throw a couple words here and there.
do i just have to PM you about it.

and i totally agree with you that you should challenge religion. but I have gone through enough experiences to know what i believe to be true. i have over come some serious crap so. i will definitely keep what i have.

and it is a way cool religion. woot woot.