The Meaning of Life

1. THE ESSENCE OF LIFE AND MEANING
2. A SUBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE
3. DEVELOPING A PERSPECTIVE
4. COUNTERING PREJUDICE

1. THE ESSENCE OF LIFE AND MEANING

COPYRIGHT: This book and all excerpts are the sole copyright of author Grant Bowater. No reproductions for any purpose may be made without the prior permission of the author obtained in writing.

Consider for a moment all that life is: its scope; its diversity; its complexity; and its enormity! Through the ages of existence there have been billions of people, hundreds perhaps even thousands of cultures, incredible events, remarkable discoveries, fantastic accomplishments, incalculable adventures and tremendous experiences - both good and bad. History has woven a truly extraordinary tapestry of so many marvellous events, one can't help but be in awe of all that life has been and is today. Without doubt, it is an incredible reality. One could easily dwell on so many fantastic aspects of life and never exhaust the range of them - even in a lifetime. Is it any wonder we constantly explore every conceivable facet of life and record every wonderful event in our libraries, museums, and archives?

All that life is, has been, and ever will be, is way beyond our limited capacity to comprehend or fully understand. Sure we know enough to get by, even to excel. We have the intellectual capacity to make life work for us and achieve at least some measure of success. Yet in all our learning and knowledge, do we ever honestly figure out the big picture? Do we even know if there is a big picture? Is life simply a random assimilation of matter, following some meaningless course over an indefinable timeframe with no particular purpose or direction? Could it be that this amazing phenomenon really does have some kind of meaning or purpose?

In the cult movie classic 'The Matrix', life in this world was portrayed as a computer generated simulation. In the real world, humans were held captive as food cells for machines while the matrix created a pretence of life as we know it in the minds of the millions of people held captive. Such incredulous ideas arise because man is not satisfied with the current explanation of life. We inherently expect life to have some significant meaning and purpose - and it does!

Whatever we regard life in all its fullness to be, let us first of all consider the matter of a single human life. In the broadest possible sense of all that life is, can any one human being be anything more than unremarkable - a mere speck among that vast panorama of life?

Take your own life for example. You find yourself alive here on earth, born in this time, raised in your culture, and surrounded by the circumstances of your own making and the making of others. Just how significant then is your life? Surely considering the fantastic phenomenon that is life, you are entirely insignificant.

In the broader context of life it's relatively easy to dismiss the significance of meaning and purpose. Life is just so big we seldom ever bother to seriously think about it. However our own personal existence certainly is another matter. To even entertain the concept that we are totally insignificant can actually be quite disconcerting - especially when we consider all the effort we put into looking after and promoting our own interests and welfare. However, the reality of life is patently clear - in relation to the magnitude of this world, our individual lives appear to all intents and purposes, to be totally meaningless. Our labours, achievements, and contributions are essentially irrelevant. In the words of another philosopher - "All is vanity and grasping for the wind."

Interestingly enough, resigning ourselves to meaninglessness and purposelessness goes against the grain. We inherently feel our lives must have some meaning and purpose - even if we can't say how. Our life is certainly important to us and probably also important to a number of others too - loved ones, family, friends, employers / employees, colleagues, bank managers, etc. Consequently, some of us do find a personal and sincere meaning and purpose in so many aspects of life, and with that, we can be content. Yet in doing so, can we possibly concede that a meaning and purpose may exist beyond our own personal realm to a greater extent hitherto unknown? If life in the wider context appears to reveal no universal meaning and purpose, how is it possible that your own seemingly insignificant life can have any meaning, purpose, value, or worth?

Life is designed and structured to allow you the complete freedom to interpret it how ever you want, and take it for whatever you want it to be. You are free to construe whatever meaning and purpose you want. In fact man has done just this very thing. He has directed his course, both individually and corporately, to achieve whatever outcome he has purposed for himself.

But is this sufficient evidence to conclude that the meaning and purpose of life is just whatever we want it to be? I think not! - why? Because deep within each one of us is an inherent capacity to contemplate eternity - eternity is in our heart. We readily acknowledge our limitations and frequently regret our failure to accomplish anything of any real importance in life. We applaud those few people who over the course of history have accomplished outstanding achievements, and sometimes wonder - why not me? And always in the back of our mind is that severest of limitations - death! Yet in the deepest recesses of our being, the great majority of us readily hold fast to a comforting hope that life will continue beyond the grave. While this life may fail to deliver us our due portion, we must surely be headed for a better deal.

We know that life existed before we did and we know it is most likely to continue beyond our short existence. But no matter how remarkable or otherwise our accomplishments, our limited lifespan is totally insufficient for our capacity for life. Therefore aging and death cheats us of our potential.

I expect we all realise that we can never know everything that is to be known and that we can never do everything that could be done, even if we had a hundred lifetimes. Yet it is our intellectual capability and scope for potential that allows us to envisage far more in life than we will ever attain to. Consequently, the severe limitation death consigns us to, compels us to consider the concept of a universal meaning and purpose to life.

The very nature of life exudes meaning and purpose. The trouble of course is that we don't know what it is and few people are able to explain it to us. We tend therefore, to forget about it - pretend it really doesn't matter. We deny our inner expectation that there is more to life than we know, and naively accept meaninglessness. Alternatively we put our hope and expectation in the baseless belief that it will all work out just fine in the end - that "she'll be right mate!"

Whether or not meaning and purpose in life is important to you or not is academic. You quite probably have got this far without knowing precisely what it is, most things in life are OK, so what does it matter? The truth is you could toss this book in the trash right now and forget about it, and life will simply carry on in much the same way that it has done so till now. It will continue in the natural course of life just as millions of lives have continued before, and do continue even now.

It is only once you see and understand what the true meaning and purpose of life is all about, that the contradictory evidences and predicaments of life that so easily deceive us into accepting meaninglessness and purposelessness, become clear.

Well that depends! Superficially, not much. Millions of people have lived and died and never known why - never discovered what life is really all about. But for those who do discover the true meaning and purpose of life, an unimaginable world opens up to them that defies description. Inconceivable to the natural mind, a destiny and future is revealed that surpasses our wildest hopes or dreams.

You see, this is why it is all so fascinating. If life really does have some universal meaning and purpose, surely we would all know by now what it was, or at least discover it in the course of our life. It is because we don't, that the issue of meaning and purpose is so profound. Only in understanding the true meaning and purpose of life will we realise why this universal meaning and purpose is so elusive.

4. COUNTERING PREJUDICE

COPYRIGHT: This book and all excerpts are the sole copyright of author Grant Bowater. No reproductions for any purpose may be made without the prior permission of the author obtained in writing.

I can also assure you that an improved state of being can be achieved without trauma. To get the full benefit of a vastly improved lot both now and after death will certainly require some meaningful changes, but I reiterate that merely by adopting and implementing a simple approach to life, you'll most definitely be better off!

Now it doesn't take rocket science to figure out that a book on the meaning of life is almost certainly going to have a religious focus. Well you're right! The inevitable is obvious. However, you may be surprised to know that this book does more than just pander to the religious mainstream, and as far as conforming to common religious thinking - far from it.

Besides, it is impossible to have any view on the meaning of life that is not religious. Religion by definition includes: a creed, belief, or faith. And because within the definition of absolute proof, no argument for the meaning of life has ever been established, any such concept held, must therefore be held as a matter of faith or belief - a religious view no less!

Undoubtedly significant elements of Christendom would not necessarily agree with certain aspects of the propositions put forward in this book. There's a raft of reasons why this is so, some of which will become clear through the content of this book. As to the validity of the divergence from mainstream Christian philosophy, I'll leave you to be the judge.

This book says what needs to be said. It's primary objective is to put matters straight regarding a number of commonly held misconceptions about God, religious faith, life, death, and how to be successful in life - particularly as propagated by mainstream Christendom.

Too often the proclamation of the Christian faith has been coloured with traditional bias where fear and guilt have been the primary motivators to win converts. God has often been incorrectly portrayed as strict, judgemental, and distant.

Alternatively, the "come as you are" method has at times been employed in desperation to win converts. This approach portrays God as yearning for the privilege of our devotion, and implores us to do Him the favour of becoming a believer.

Christianity has not been as successful in achieving its objectives because its proponents have not always got the message right. Too many people have been offended at the Christian witness for reasons other than the right one. Certainly "Christ crucified" is an offense to many, but it is tragic when it has been the offence of the Christian witness that has either turned away potential followers or inoculated others to the true message.

It is time an accurate, rational presentation of the meaning of life was presented - one that sweeps away the folklore, false traditions, and emotive language, allowing the individual to take a long clear reasoned look at the facts as they really are.

Because traditional religion has not done a very good job of answering some of the most reasonable questions of life, many people have understandably developed a preconceived bias against religion.

Certainly Christianity appears fragmented and polarized over various issues. Historically there are incidents and occasions that justify alarm, and most people have little trouble finding examples of hypocrisy. Not-with-standing such evidence challenging the credibility of the Christian faith, I intend to make plain, the substantial difference between the real meaning of life, and the general perception of the traditional or historical Christian view.

While I suspect strong feelings of doubt rise up and perhaps even disdain, for the notion that a book of religious ideas could possibly produce any satisfactory answers, bear with me for at least the early chapters.

It's quite likely that you've justifiably dismissed most religious argument, that you've heard it all before, and you can't possibly think of anything new or different that could be said to persuade you otherwise, but allow me to enlighten you. I trust this book will not disappoint.

Most people give at least some thought to religion over the course of their life. The scope of that thought, however cursory, would have been significantly influenced by the observation of, and perhaps even an experience with, a particular religious view. If that included the Christian church or Christians, there are likely to be a number examples of how, why, and what they believe can't possibly be true.

It is these kinds of prejudices that I would ask you to reserve in the interim. Alternatively, take a chance and have a crack at finding the flaws in the arguments that follow - at the very least that should be fun.

For those of other faiths, I invite you to lay aside your opinions of Christianity and take an inquisitive look at what this book has to say. I admit to giving little credence to other faiths although I have no intention of deriding or belittling them. It is not the purpose of this book to compare or evaluate other faiths and I endorse the freedom and respect for all to believe what they may. I trust that by setting out a thorough and reasoned explanation for the meaning and purpose of life, you will see more clearly where Christianity is coming from and why its adherents believe and act the way they do.

In this day and age it is equally likely that you've had no meaningful encounter with the Christian church or Christians at all. Our modern post-Christian era (in Western society) has ensured many thousands of people, particularly younger people, have had virtually no spiritual or religious teaching whatsoever. If this is the case for you, then you probably have no established misconceptions, bias or prejudice to overcome - therefore enjoy this fascinating read!