DO RELIGIOUS ANSWERS REALLY GIVE YOU MEANING IN LIFE?
Religion claims to objectively give real meaning to life. It's not subjective. It's there. If you use a religion to get meaning from it, in other words if you create the meaning and the good feelings then that is you trying to forge an objective meaning. You are trying to create your reality and impose it on reality. So how do you get meaning then? You get it from being human. If a stone could get it from being a stone it would. Religion then cannot give you objective meaning only what it says is objective meaning. Doing that is passive aggressive intolerance for reality. Whoever makes a reality of their own hates the truth and the reality.
Religion seems to be aware of all that on some level which is why it tries to
simulate the power to give meaning by "answering" what it calls the deeper
questions.
List of what religion calls the "deeper questions"
Deeper questions:
Why does anything exist?
This question is always followed with an implied
answer: all exists for it was made by a God of love who wants all his children
to live happily with him forever. Religion in fact hates the question and
only cares about rigging people to see that as the only answer. In fact,
all you need to answer the why is maybe that there is a functionalist purpose
not a personal one. A functionalist purpose is like when something
randomly starts acting like it has a plan. It has nothing to do with
intelligent design. The religious answer goes too far. The why could
be answered by science. Science already says that DNA acts like it has a
purpose and produces what a purpose would produce but that does not mean a
person set it up. The answer is that the best theory even if it will never
be proven - things can be true without being proven - is that a simulated
purpose is the answer to the why.
Why are we conscious?
Religion says that you are a mind in a body. Nothing changes the fact that it is the way we feel. I feel like something living inside my body. But it is an illusion for the mind and body are one. And we should want to believe mind and body are the same for it implies equal respect for both.
There is a problem with the attitude, "Your mind and body are separate, and there’s no real meaning to your body." It is logical for the body cannot be as good as the mind if both are separate. The car is not as good as the driver. If you think the body means something you are under an illusion and it is daft to respect an illusion. There is a problem with mind and body believers thinking their bodies are nothing but it is far more likely that the soul and body believers will be worse. The mind and body people are bad enough without that crew adding to the problems. The attitude needs no encouragement.
We may not understand how we are conscious but that has nothing to do with us having or not having a soul.
The soul is at the root of concerns about deeper
questions.
Why are we motivated to seek relationships?
The odd thing is people wanting relationships with
Allah and Jehovah though they are not people in the ordinary sense. Why do
many of us want a relationship with the dog first and foremost? Again
religion seeks to manipulate you into thinking the motive to have relationships
is a gift from God who wants us to be brothers and sisters.
What can we know about God if he exists?
The best thinkers say that God cannot be a being
but is being itself and that we do not know what we mean when we talk about this
mystery. But we do supposedly know what God is not. St Thomas said
that it is technically wrong to say God is good. It is more accurate to
say God is not evil. It makes no sense to have or claim a relationship
with a God like that.
Should we worship him?
He is supposed to be perfect so he does not need our worship. Religion stresses worship and commands it and that forcefulness is intrinsically evil and abusive. Worship is not necessary. We are told that it is necessary for us but nearly all of us don't do a significant amount of it so that cannot be true.
We are supposed to worship God because of his good
character but God is too different from us and does not have a character at all.
Character is what you get if you can do evil but do not and have to deliberate
and make decisions. But God is outside time and never has to struggle for
he knows all. There is something twisted and forced and warped about
worship.
Has life a purpose for this life and an ultimate purpose?
If God were drunk and gave us an eternal good purpose would we care that he is drunk and clueless as long as the purpose is as good as what he would do if he acted consciously? There could be an ultimate purpose without it being indicatory of God.
Is God a crutch you use to get meaning in life or meaning right now or whatever?
It is the case that most of those who seek meaning through believing in God and serving him mean "meaning right now!!" They are like people who claim to be on the lookout for Ms Right or Mr Right when they actually want Ms Right Now or Mr Right Now!
The basic drive in human nature is that people want to sense not feel (feel is not enough for feelings are just feelings and don’t tell you what the case is) that somebody loves them and is willing to keep them as safe as possible no matter what happens or what they do or what anybody else does. People want to perceive it for that is stronger than merely feeling or a hunch or an instinct. God alone, according to religion, can fill this void. That is what God is all about deep down. This sense is a delusion if there is no God. It would mean God is a crutch because you don’t trust others enough. The trouble is with the perception. The way the universe works does not look like God cares. Even if he does it is still irrational to think he cares for that is just too much mystery. Human nature has and needs a limit on what it can make allowances for. So it appears that if God is a crutch then he is a fantasy crutch.
The difference between a crutch and a fantasy crutch is that the latter is really just a euphemism for a day dream!
What is free will?
Free will is the power to make yourself what you are as opposed to other forces such as programming making you what you are. If it exists that does not mean that free will as in the power to freely embrace God or reject him exists. Free will could be a human to human matter only. It would be evil to make more out of free will than you need to so keep God out of it. Keep it about people. Religion uses our free will as a means to an end as if the end justifies the means. It says, "We know God can exist and love us for evil is our fault and our doing not his."
How can we be happy?
If you aim for happiness you destroy it but if you do the right things it just happens. If you are built having the potential to gain level b of happiness you only harm yourself by using God and religion or drugs to get to level c. Accept what you get after trying.
WHAT SHOULD BE ASKED BUT WHICH RELIGION IN ITS MACHIAVELLIAN WAY DOES NOT ASK
Is it not narcissistic to say that everything happens for a reason thus that it is all about us? Don't people who say that really mean, "Everything happens happens for me"?
Thinking there is a higher purpose for your life or an ultimate purpose will have a powerful effect on your motivation. Will it be bad or good? Will you end up being no better off than thinking there is no inherent ultimate or higher purpose? The higher purpose stuff will only enhance your anger and devastation when something unspeakable happens to you. It will not stop the "Why me?" It will add to your pain by telling you, "Get a grip! It is not as bad as you feel. You are part of something amazing." If it has a good effect on your motivation what if you would do just as well if not better by trying to self-motivate without such doctrines?
Overall, the deeper questions do more harm than good which is why religion is
more successful with creating okay citizens than with creating saints.
