What is the point of life?

Healthy skepticism of ALL worldviews is good. Skeptical of non-belief like found in Atheism? Post your challenging questions. Responses are encouraged.
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IceMobster
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What is the point of life?

Post by IceMobster »

What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOXMf6yDCU

Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!
Kenny
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Kenny »

IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
It's about the journey; not the destination.

Ken
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IceMobster
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by IceMobster »

Kenny wrote:
IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
It's about the journey; not the destination.

Ken
That makes no sense. Imagine if you had a person you love, let us say a girlfriend (I don't know if you do so I am being hypothetical) and she asks to meet at her place. So, you would care about the journey to her place more than you would to see her?

Reminds me of one Orthodox bishop who said: "Let us say that the passengers of a train know the amount of pebbles the train passed upon or all the names and all the species of trees they passed. How does that help them if they do not know where they are going or from where did they start?"
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOXMf6yDCU

Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Kenny »

IceMobster wrote:
Kenny wrote:
IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
It's about the journey; not the destination.

Ken
That makes no sense. Imagine if you had a person you love, let us say a girlfriend (I don't know if you do so I am being hypothetical) and she asks to meet at her place. So, you would care about the journey to her place more than you would to see her?

Reminds me of one Orthodox bishop who said: "Let us say that the passengers of a train know the amount of pebbles the train passed upon or all the names and all the species of trees they passed. How does that help them if they do not know where they are going or from where did they start?"
I was talking about the journey of LIFE. The destination of life is not important, it is the journey that is.

Ken
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"What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence".
IceMobster
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by IceMobster »

Kenny wrote: I was talking about the journey of LIFE. The destination of life is not important, it is the journey that is.Ken
I know you were talking about the journey of life. I used allegories which debunk the statement that journey is more important than the destination.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOXMf6yDCU

Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Kenny »

IceMobster wrote:
Kenny wrote: I was talking about the journey of LIFE. The destination of life is not important, it is the journey that is.Ken
I know you were talking about the journey of life. I used allegories which debunk the statement that journey is more important than the destination.
Think of it this way. Using your scenario, if I were going to meet my girlfriend, rather than get into my car, fighting traffic, dealing with the complications and distractions of driving across town to meet her, I would rather snap my finger and immediately be with her in an instant, because it is the destination that is important, not the journey.

If we apply this logic to life, rather than dealing with the complications and distractions of living, wouldn’t it be better to just off yourself right now if you had a guaranteed ticket to Heaven or whatever destination you are aiming for? So why are you not killing yourself right now if it is the destination that is so important?

Ken
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IceMobster
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by IceMobster »

Kenny wrote:
IceMobster wrote:
Kenny wrote: I was talking about the journey of LIFE. The destination of life is not important, it is the journey that is.Ken
I know you were talking about the journey of life. I used allegories which debunk the statement that journey is more important than the destination.
Think of it this way. Using your scenario, if I were going to meet my girlfriend, rather than get into my car, fighting traffic, dealing with the complications and distractions of driving across town to meet her, I would rather snap my finger and immediately be with her in an instant, because it is the destination that is important, not the journey.

If we apply this logic to life, rather than dealing with the complications and distractions of living, wouldn’t it be better to just off yourself right now if you had a guaranteed ticket to Heaven or whatever destination you are aiming for? So why are you not killing yourself right now if it is the destination that is so important?

Ken
Fine, then it is safe to conclude that both journey and destination are important. So, you just contradicted yourself ("It's about the journey; not the destination.")?
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOXMf6yDCU

Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!
Kenny
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Kenny »

IceMobster wrote:
Kenny wrote:
IceMobster wrote:
Kenny wrote: I was talking about the journey of LIFE. The destination of life is not important, it is the journey that is.Ken
I know you were talking about the journey of life. I used allegories which debunk the statement that journey is more important than the destination.
Think of it this way. Using your scenario, if I were going to meet my girlfriend, rather than get into my car, fighting traffic, dealing with the complications and distractions of driving across town to meet her, I would rather snap my finger and immediately be with her in an instant, because it is the destination that is important, not the journey.

If we apply this logic to life, rather than dealing with the complications and distractions of living, wouldn’t it be better to just off yourself right now if you had a guaranteed ticket to Heaven or whatever destination you are aiming for? So why are you not killing yourself right now if it is the destination that is so important?

Ken
Fine, then it is safe to conclude that both journey and destination are important. So, you just contradicted yourself ("It's about the journey; not the destination.")?
First of all let me be clear; I am only speaking for myself, not you or anybody else.
I am saying when it comes to life's journey, that is what is important; the destination is not. When it comes to all the journeys, destinations, and all the other activities we engage in while on this journey of life, they are all as important as we make them.

Ken
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Storyteller »

If there was nothing after death, wouldn`t that make life even more precious? To be made the most of?

You say if there was nothing after death then you`d kill yourself (btw, please, please don`t say things like that, even to prove a point. I have seen the devastation suicide causes) but to me that just doesn`t make sense. You are hastening the very thing you object to. If there is something after life (especially if it`s better) then surely it would makes sense to want to get there quicker?

The point of life is to experience, to feel, to laugh, to love, to exist, to live. The point of life is to live.

(Putting this lot in brackets because these thoughts occurred to me as I typed and I wanna get them down before I forget. Suicide is a sin as far as I can remember, why? Because life is a gift from God and only He has the right to end life. Which means life is important otherwise surely taking your life to get to a better place wouldn`t be a sin would it?)
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Audie »

IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
is this really how you think?
IceMobster
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by IceMobster »

Audie wrote:
IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
is this really how you think?
Why would I post it otherwise? Yes, that is my opinion.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOXMf6yDCU

Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Audie »

IceMobster wrote:
Audie wrote:
IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
is this really how you think?
Why would I post it otherwise? Yes, that is my opinion.
Awfully self indulgent, don't you think?
IceMobster
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by IceMobster »

Audie wrote: Awfully self indulgent, don't you think?
Sorry what, LOL?
English is not my native language but synonym for what you just said is hedonistic(not necessarily in a materialistic way), right? Also, epicurean?
Not even close.
How and why did you conclude that?
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOXMf6yDCU

Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te!
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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by RickD »

Audie wrote:
IceMobster wrote:
Audie wrote:
IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
is this really how you think?
Why would I post it otherwise? Yes, that is my opinion.
Awfully self indulgent, don't you think?
Did I just see Audie make an assumption about what someone meant? Isn't that the very thing she rails against ?

Pot, meet kettle.
John 5:24
24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.


“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”
-Edward R Murrow




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Re: What is the point of life?

Post by Storyteller »

Audie wrote:
IceMobster wrote:
Audie wrote:
IceMobster wrote:What is the point in living if there is eternal nothingness afterwards? Note that I am not implying the: "If there is no God, everything is allowed." - it is irrelevant in this case.
Does it matter if you do this or that in this ~80 years of your life if you perish into nothingness after death?
If there was no God, I would kill myself right now, so, why don't you do it?
I've read somewhere that (from an atheist point of view) the purpose of life is to share the knowledge onto the next unit (being, probably the descendant), but what is the point in that? So they can do the same while your nous disappears as you die knowing their will, too?
is this really how you think?
Why would I post it otherwise? Yes, that is my opinion.
Awfully self indulgent, don't you think?
Awfully harsh and intolerant, don't you think?
Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof - Kahlil Gibran
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