Keaki Bryant
In his podcast for Reasonable Faith, Dr. William Lane Craig explores the question: Is there meaning to life?. He argues that life without God is meaningless, futile, and absurd. According to Craig, if God does not exist, then life has no ultimate purpose, value, or significance. He further claims that atheism leads to nihilism and despair. On the other hand, biblical Christianity, which asserts the existence of God and immortality, provides meaning, value, and purpose to life. Craig suggests that even if the evidence for theism and atheism were equal, a rational person should choose theism as it offers hope and happiness.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Life without God is absurd | Life with God is meaningful |
| Life without God is without ultimate purpose | Life with God has a purpose: to know Him and enjoy Him forever |
| Life without God is without ultimate value | Life with God has value: God is the source of objective moral standards |
| Life without God is without ultimate significance | Life with God has significance: our actions have eternal significance |
What You'll Learn
The Absurdity of Life Without God
The question of whether life has meaning is closely connected to the existence of God. If God does not exist, then there is no transcendent reality, and mankind and the universe are inevitably doomed to death. This leads to the conclusion that life is absurd, devoid of ultimate purpose, value, or significance.
No Ultimate Meaning Without God
If there is no God, then the end of every person's existence is death, and their life has no ultimate meaning. Their life may be important relative to certain events, but what is the ultimate significance of those events if they, too, are meaningless?
Consider the origin of the universe in the Big Bang. If the Big Bang had never occurred, and the universe had never existed, what ultimate difference would it have made? None, because the universe is doomed to die anyway. Therefore, it is without ultimate significance.
The same is true for mankind and each individual. The human race will eventually cease to exist, so it makes no ultimate difference if it ever did. The contributions of scientists, doctors, diplomats, and good people everywhere will amount to nothing. Because he ends in nothing, man is nothing.
No Ultimate Value Without God
Without God, there are no objective standards of good and evil, right and wrong. Moral values are either by-products of socio-biological evolution or expressions of personal taste. In such a world, it is impossible to condemn war, oppression, or bigotry as evil, or to praise tolerance, equality, and love as good. There is no one to say you are right and I am wrong.
No Ultimate Purpose Without God
If death awaits at the end of life, what is the goal of life? Is there any reason for our existence? If the universe's destiny is a cold grave in the recesses of space, then yes, it is utterly pointless.
H.G. Wells, in his novel "The Time Machine," portrays a future where the only sounds are the wind and the sea, and mankind is nowhere to be found. This is the reality in a universe without God: there is no hope, no purpose.
If God does not exist, then life is absurd, without ultimate meaning, value, or purpose. This worldview is inconsistent with how humans actually live, and it leads to despair. Therefore, it seems irrational to prefer death, futility, and despair to life, meaningfulness, and happiness.
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Where Do Atheists Find Meaning?
The question of whether or not there is meaning to life is closely connected to the existence of God. If God does not exist, there is no transcendent reality, and mankind and the universe are inevitably doomed to death. This means that life itself is absurd and without ultimate purpose, value, or significance.
According to some atheist thinkers, life without God is meaningless. Without God, there is no objective standard of good and evil, right or wrong. There is no ultimate purpose to life, and no ultimate value in life. If each individual passes out of existence when they die, then what is the ultimate importance of their life?
However, atheists may find meaning in other ways. For example, they may create meaning for their lives by freely choosing to follow a certain course of action. They may also find meaning in their vocation or work, whether that be as an artist, scientist, or rice farmer.
Atheists may also find meaning in their relationships and connections with others. They may seek to live bravely in the face of the absurdity of life, or they may embrace nihilism and reject the notion of absolute meaning altogether.
While atheists may not believe in an afterlife or an objective purpose to life, they can still find subjective meaning and purpose in their daily lives, relationships, and actions.
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Transhumanism and the Meaning of Life
Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates for the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cognition, and well-being. Transhumanists study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as the ethics of using such technologies.
Transhumanism is closely linked to the question of the meaning of life. If God does not exist, then life is without ultimate purpose, value, or significance. Transhumanism, on the other hand, asserts that life can be imbued with meaning through the use of technology to improve human bodies and minds at the individual level.
Transhumanists argue that there is a perfectionist ethical imperative for humans to strive for progress and improvement of the human condition. They believe that it is possible and desirable for humanity to enter a transhuman phase of existence, in which humans enhance themselves beyond what is naturally human. This would involve the use of technologies such as genetic engineering, cryonics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology to slow, reverse, or eliminate the aging process, increase human life spans, and enhance human cognitive and sensory capacities.
However, critics of transhumanism argue that it poses threats to human values and social equality. They warn that it may lead to the creation of a two-tiered society of "haves" and "have nots", with only the wealthy having access to human enhancement technologies. Others argue that transhumanism attempts to substitute humans for God and that it represents a denigration of the human body.
Despite these criticisms, transhumanism has gained support from prominent figures in Silicon Valley, including Google co-founder Larry Page, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Tesla's Elon Musk. These individuals have launched companies and initiatives dedicated to extending the human life span, establishing human colonies on other planets, and developing implantable brain chips.
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Facing Life Without God
The Absurdity of Life Without God
According to Dr. William Lane Craig, life without God is absurd and meaningless. If there is no God, then there is no objective standard of good and evil, right and wrong. There is no ultimate purpose, value, or significance to life.
The Consequences of Atheism
Atheism implies that life is pointless and futile. If God does not exist, then there is no hope, and the human race is destined for destruction. This realisation may lead to an age of nihilism, where the destruction of all meaning and value in life occurs.
The Human Predicament
The atheist worldview is insufficient to maintain a happy and consistent life. Without God, life has no meaning, and people cannot live happily knowing this. To be happy, one must pretend that life has meaning, which is inconsistent.
The Christian Solution
Biblical Christianity provides a solution to the human predicament. With God, there is hope, and life has meaning, value, and purpose. People can live consistently and happily within this worldview.
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The Real Consequences of Atheism
No Ultimate Meaning
If each individual person passes out of existence when they die, then what ultimate meaning can be given to their life? Does it really matter whether they ever existed at all? Their life may be important relative to certain other events, but what is the ultimate significance of any of those events? If all the events are meaningless, then what can be the ultimate meaning of influencing any of them? Ultimately, it makes no difference.
No Ultimate Value
If there is no God, then there are no objective standards of good and evil, right and wrong. By “objective standards,” I mean moral standards that are valid and binding independently of human opinion. If God does not exist, then there is no transcendent source of moral values. Rather, moral values are either just the by-products of socio-biological evolution and conditioning or else expressions of personal taste.
In a world without God, who is to say which values are right and which are wrong? Who is to judge that the values of Adolf Hitler are inferior to those of a saint? The concept of morality loses all meaning in a universe without God.
No Ultimate Purpose
If death stands at the end of life, then what is the goal of life? Is it all for nothing? Is there no reason for life? If its destiny is a cold grave in the recesses of outer space, the answer must be, yes — it is pointless. There is no goal, no purpose for the universe.
No Hope
If there is no God, then both man and the universe are inevitably doomed to death. Man, like all biological organisms, must die. With no hope of immortality, man's life leads only to the grave. His life is but a spark in the infinite blackness, a spark that appears, flickers, and dies forever.
No Escape
Scientists tell us that the universe is expanding, and everything in it is growing farther and farther apart. As it does so, it grows colder and colder, and its energy is used up. Eventually, all the stars will burn out and all matter will collapse into dead stars and black holes. There will be no light; there will be no heat; there will be no life; only the corpses of dead stars and galaxies, ever expanding into the endless darkness and the cold recesses of space — a universe in ruins. So not only is the life of each individual person doomed; the entire human race is destined to destruction. There is no escape. There is no hope.
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Frequently asked questions
According to Dr. William Lane Craig, the meaning of life is to be found in knowing God. He argues that God is the source of infinite goodness and love, and the paradigm of moral value. Knowing God is the fulfillment of human existence.
Dr. Craig argues that without God, life is absurd and without purpose. He states that if God does not exist, then both man and the universe are inevitably doomed to death.
Dr. Craig believes that if there is no God, then there are no objective standards of good and evil, right and wrong. He claims that in a world without God, there can be no objective right and wrong, only subjective judgments.
According to Dr. Craig, if there is no God, then life has no ultimate value. He argues that without God, there are no objective standards of good and evil, and moral values are relative and subjective.
Dr. Craig suggests that the question of the meaning of life is closely connected to the question of God's existence. He argues that if God does not exist, then life is ultimately meaningless, but if God does exist, then life has meaning, purpose, and value.
