Lecture 1: The Meaninglessness of Life without God

One of the most fundamental questions in humanity: what is the meaning of life?

"Judging whether life is worth living amounts to answering the most fundamental question of philosophy. I see many people die because they judge that life is not worth living. I see others paradoxically getting killed for the ideas that give them a reason for living. I therefore conclude that the meaning of life is the most urgent of questions." - Albert Camus

"Clinics are crowded with people suffering from a new kind of neurosis, a sense of total and ultimate meaninglessness of life." - Viktor Frankl

Why should we ask questions about the meaning of life?

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Humanism, Materialism, Hedonism and cannot give meaning in life

Power, Money and Sex: How Success Almost Ruined My Life - Deion Sanders

Atheists who found life has no meaning:

If there's no God, then the universe came by chance --> if it's by chance, then there's no design --> if there's no design, there's no purpose --> if there's no purpose, there's no meaning

Meaning comes from purpose; purpose from design; design from a Designer

Why can't humanism, materialism and hedonism give life meaning?

Nothing less than yourself can satisfy you. And nothing in the world is greater than you, for you are made in God's image, filled with His Spirit, abiding in His Son. Only God is. We are "not of this world" - so this world cannot satisfy us.

What is the world to us?

This world is a pointer to what lies beyond the world.

Example:

"We don't belong here. We have somehow lost our way. This makes our present existence both strange and splendid. Strange because it is not where our true destiny lies; splendid, because it points ahead to where that real hope is found. But if we mistake the signpost for what is signposted, we will attach our hopes to lesser goals, which cannot finally quench our thirst for meaning and joy." - Alister McGrath

Samaritan Woman:

It is "life under the Son" that gives "life under the Sun" ultimate meaning


Revision #2
Created 16 December 2024 16:20:10 by Morcous Wahba
Updated 3 January 2025 18:57:53 by Morcous Wahba