Hi all.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the comforts of religion vs reality. Theism has a lot to offer in the way of solace and acceptance of our ultimate fate, providing you can actually believe in it. There's a meme I'll see from time to time that talks about wanting a physicist to speak at your funeral. It talks about how comforting it will be to your spouse to know that all the energy you ever generated is still cycling through the universe. While factually true, the comfort it provides is slim to none, in my view.
I, for one, can accept the fact that this is all pointless. That the whole of life in our universe, even if it exists outside of earth, will eventually succumb to the inevitable heat death of the universe and cease to exist. However, that's a very bleak reality. If in the end, we're destined for oblivion, then the struggle, the day to day grind that makes up our adult lives, is utterly for nothing.
The obvious response to this, of course, is that we're here now. We're alive. And we have an instinct to stay that way, which means most of us won't kill ourselves. We'll continue to work because we need resources to survive. And we'll continue to search for ultimate meaning and find none.
My questions to the board are, how do you cope with the ultimate meaninglessness of your existence? What brings you solace, and what would you tell someone to comfort them? What would you say (or did say) at the funeral of a loved one who is an atheist?
This question obviously isn't aimed at the theists, but feel free to weigh in on what gives you purpose as well.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the comforts of religion vs reality. Theism has a lot to offer in the way of solace and acceptance of our ultimate fate, providing you can actually believe in it. There's a meme I'll see from time to time that talks about wanting a physicist to speak at your funeral. It talks about how comforting it will be to your spouse to know that all the energy you ever generated is still cycling through the universe. While factually true, the comfort it provides is slim to none, in my view.
I, for one, can accept the fact that this is all pointless. That the whole of life in our universe, even if it exists outside of earth, will eventually succumb to the inevitable heat death of the universe and cease to exist. However, that's a very bleak reality. If in the end, we're destined for oblivion, then the struggle, the day to day grind that makes up our adult lives, is utterly for nothing.
The obvious response to this, of course, is that we're here now. We're alive. And we have an instinct to stay that way, which means most of us won't kill ourselves. We'll continue to work because we need resources to survive. And we'll continue to search for ultimate meaning and find none.
My questions to the board are, how do you cope with the ultimate meaninglessness of your existence? What brings you solace, and what would you tell someone to comfort them? What would you say (or did say) at the funeral of a loved one who is an atheist?
This question obviously isn't aimed at the theists, but feel free to weigh in on what gives you purpose as well.
