So in reply to my previous entry, Mr. Baker suggested i contemplate an even larger perspective, "what is the purpose of life?"
((Just a side note, i would like to acknowledge that the only people who really read this blog are Bakers, and i know you guys are Mormon. I'm not entirely clear on your beliefs in regard to the subject matter of this Blog, but I know my beliefs are very different. I'll try to avoid saying anything incredibly controversial, but if something slips in, please do not be offended.))
So, our purpose in life? The question itself implies Religion, so i'll dive right in.
I am of the belief that God gave us free will to make free and complete use of it. To Live life to the fullest, to make success for ourselves and our family. So our purpose in life could be to simply live.
I like that line of thought because it gives humanity some wiggle room. Its a bit Humanist, and leaves God almost completly out of the picture in regards to how we run our lives.
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Now Considering the counterargument that hypothetically my siblings would make, who take a somewhat fundamentalist view.
God wants us to glorify him, honor him, etc etc, but he wants us to CHOOSE to do it. We have free will so that our worship is all the more heartfelt.
The Reason i dislike this line of thought is because i do not believe God is that...self centered? My justification is that if, as the bible says, God made us in his image, then that includes some non-physical attributes as well, such as modesty and humble...ness. So I believe God would have made us for US, not for himself.
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So, Assuming that the purpose of humanity is to exist, one might think thats kind of a pointless existance?
The reason our existance is NOT pointless is because we exist! If our existance was going to be pointless, God wouldn't have made us. If our existance was devoted entirely to god, it would be equally pointless (In my opinion) due to the fact that either way we would be wandering aimlessly. Except in the first, we aren't saying anything, and in the second, we're praising God.
This also calls into question the nature of our creation (somewhat), but thats another matter alltogether. One deep blog at a time, Russ.
I'm not entirely sure where else to go from here. This i believe would be the first MAJOR issue i've tackled on this blog, so i guess...thats that.
Thanks for the suggestion, Mr. Baker!
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7 comments:
Very interesting post, I concur with most of what you wrote.
In terms of God and personality being vain or humble etc., I offer these thoughts on the nature of God:
I view God and his relationship with us as a parental one. He is my loving Father in Heaven. Being a parent myself makes this relationship much easier to understand. We are created in his image as our children are in our image. A big difference being that he has already perfected his nature while we are still trying to perfect ours. We are here on this earth to live to our full potential, to be the best that we can be. While we have our free will to choose as we want, he still has rules that need to be obeyed or there are consequences. Also as a parent, he has provided much to us (the earth, our health, basically everything) and we need to be appreciative (praise him) for the blessings we have been given.
I didn't have children just to glorify my existence and I don't believe that we are here solely just to glorify his existence either. We do however need to be very grateful for all that has been given to us and continues to be given. My opinion for whatever it's worth. BTW, your opinions would not be offensive. People should not be offended by differing views. We are respectful of other faiths and other view points.
What I like about you Russell is that you are a deep thinker, I sense that you see abstract things in a way that most people don't. I like to think of myself as the same.
Consider this, we are playing a game where we are all given a check for 24 hours of time/life each day, no more no less. We can't save any for tomorrow, we must spend it all, every second every day. In this sense iwe are all on a level playing field. Those are just some of the rules to this game that we call life. What do we do with our checks? We can piss them away, many people do. But before we try to figure out what we do with our checks, shouldn't we know a little more about the game? What's the objective? To please God? If so, why? Isn't there really much more to it than that? To what end??? If we don't understand the objective, why play the game?
For example, how many people will pull out a board game, not read the instructions/rules, not understand the objective but just sit down and start rolling the dice and moving their piece around the board? What would be the point of that? Nobody does that, because it's stupid and dissatisfying. A complete waste of time.
The most important part of playing a game is to know what the objective is, don't you think? Rules are an important part too because they define the boundaries. Strategy and tactics come later, but first we must know what the objective is. To what end??? What is it that we're trying to accomplish and more importantly, why?
Have you ever played a game with young children where they could not comprehend the objective or rules to a game. It is very frustrating, they don't get it and therefore it is not fun. They start to make up their own rules and their own objectives as they go.
It genuinely intrigues me that most people are not more consumed with trying to figure out how we're supposed to play the game and why we're even playing it. Why are people content to just act out one monotonous day after another with no real "big picture" direction? Wake up, get out of bed, go to school or work, go home, day after day after day. What if the rules and objectives that people make up for lack of understanding are counter productive to the real objective? We're supposed to acheive a low score but we're aiming instead for a high one?
Like you, I don't believe God to be self-centered, nor is He the author of confusion. That would be contrary to His nature. So then He must have a purpose and part of our responsibility is to learn the objective and rules. How we do that is a game in itself, but let's not jump ahead to that just yet.
I will testify to you with all of the fiber of my being that there is a "big picture" plan (an eternal plan), and it makes very good logical sense, so much that you will think, "duh!" when you hear it. It is perfect and there are hints and obvious signs everywhere and yet most people can't see them.
I have a question for you, have you seen the movie "Groundhog Day"? If so, what are your thoughts about it? Do you feel there are there any "deep meaning" messages in it?
Mr. Baker -
The "Board Game" analogy is interesting, i'll be thinking on that, because i'm not quite sure what to make of it right now. As for the movie "Groundhog Day", i haven't seen it, but i'll look into it.
Mrs. Baker-
Thats an interesting perspective that i hadn't considered before. It allows for us (humanity) to set our own levels of praise that fits us. I also liked the Praise-Appreciation connection. Another thing that hadn't occured to me, despite all the talk of "giving Thanks".
Thankyou both for your input! this stuff has been on my mind alot recently, and i'm starting the monumentous task of sorting out my beliefs and solidifying them. I'll keep your thoughts in consideration while i'm in this "sorting" process.
Ahem. Though I do bake on occasion, I cannot claim to be a "Baker." Somehow, though, I manage to read your bloggy thing. Take that!
...and so insightful, too!
So Neo, are you of the mindset to take the red pill or the blue pill?
The question I'm posing is not, "what is the matrix?", the question is (referring to my previous comment, life is like a game), "why play the game?" and an equally important question, "is it worth it?"
Choose the blue pill and be content with the "ultimate perspective" that you already have. Choose the red pill and open your mind to things that likely seem very familiar but that you've maybe never pondered before.
BTW, did you have a chance to watch Groundhog day? You owe it to yourself to watch it. It is a very clever story and to me very funny. That said, I know at least one person who found it boring. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions. No pressure, you're a busy student, just whenever.
Naturally i'd choose the red pill: I've never been one to turnd own an opprotunity to learn something new, be it about religion or otherwise. I've actually talked with Tory alot about the subject, and its been interesting, but the truth is i'm fairly hard-set in my ways, and change would be a long and difficult process that i just dont have the time for at this point in my life.
As for groundhog day, no, i haven't seen it, but i'll let you know when i do. Its been very busy around here lately, and i just haven't had the time...
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