Can life have meaning without God? Part 4

In the previous three articles I have explored why it is that some Christians insist that life has no meaning without God, and also why their arguments do not stack up.

In this article I will offer some advice and examples of how to create meaning in your own life, without the need for a belief in God. Please note that I am not an expert on this, and much of what I say will be drawn from my own experience, and from material I have absorbed during the course of leaving religion. As with all advice and information in life, your job is to determine which bits are useful to you, and then let the rest go.

I hope you find it both informative and helpful.

Can life have meaning without God? Part 3

In the previous two articles I have explored why it is that some Christians insist that life has no meaning without God, and also touched on why I think their arguments do not stack up.

In this article I provide a more detailed rebuttal of the Christian claim that life without God has no "ultimate" meaning.

Can life have meaning without God? Part 2

In the previous article I discussed some reasons why some Christians claim that life has no meaning, and more specifically, no "ultimate" meaning, without God.

But what if their entire premise is wrong? What if meaning doesn't come from God?

In this article I will show why life can definitely have meaning without God and/or without a belief in God.

Can life have meaning without God? Part 1

What is the meaning of life? This is one of the oldest questions humanity has ever contemplated. Some, including myself, would argue that the question itself is not well formed, and is perhaps meaningless, or at best, misguided. Others (typically those who believe in God) confidently assert that not only is there an official meaning to life, but also that they have found it!

One of the more insidious and even bizarre claims made by many theists, is that life has no meaning without God. It is insidious because it seems many people are taught this either directly or indirectly as part of their religious upbringing, and therefore they simply accept it as a truism, an undeniable fact of life. It seems to be protected more so than other religious beliefs, probably because there is so much at stake if it were true. I think this belief can lead to unhealthy thinking patterns and behaviours.

But this claim is also bizarre, when you consider the large number of people both alive now and also throughout history who have lived happy and fulfilled lives without a belief in God. It would be utterly perverse to believe that not a single atheist who has ever lived has been able to live a life rich in meaning.

Meanwhile, on board the "HMS Christadelphia" ...

We join the scene as the Captain and First Mate are having a discussion about a recent incident on board the ship...

First Mate: What was all that commotion about?
Captain: (sigh) It’s the Lookout. He keeps shouting that we’re headed for the rocks if we don’t change course.
First Mate: Are we?
Captain: I keep telling him our map doesn’t say that, but he keeps telling me I’d better see for myself and also to learn how to read maps properly.
First Mate: Sounds a bit arrogant.
Captain: Exactly. But it doesn’t matter now. We sorted it all out.
First Mate: Great, so you reached an agreement?
Captain: Kind of. We made him walk the plank. He refused to jump but seemed to agree to being pushed.

THE TRUTH? Belief masquerading as knowledge

Is there a god? Is there life after death? How was the universe created? Do you know the answer to any of these questions? Let me be clearer. Do you really know the answer to any of these questions?

People have been asking these sorts of questions for thousands of years. Some Christadelphians claim to have the answers to them. But do they actually know the answer? or is their claim to knowledge actually just belief masquerading as knowledge?

The Bible's Human Origins: Acts and Letters

The last instalment in this series looks at the remaining books in the New Testament. Not only is there no evidence anywhere that these texts were divinely inspired, there are many areas where divine inspiration wouldn't even make any sense!

Let's take a closer look...

The Bible's Human Origins: Gospels - Part 2

Continuing on with the gospels, I now look at the textual dependence and historical reliability.

The Bible's Human Origins: Gospels - Part 1

Continuing my series on the human origins of the Bible, I will now turn to the New Testament.
I intend to focus aspects that are relevant to the claim of divine inspiration.

Were the four gospels divinely inspired?

I think we have good reason to doubt.

The Bible's Human Origins: Kings and Prophets

In this article I look at the stories of some of the kings and prophets in the Bible. Are these accounts historically accurate? And what does this mean for the claim of divine inspiration?

The Bible's Human Origins: Exodus

In this article I want to shine a spotlight on the exodus story and reveal some details that are probably unknown to many Christadelphians. In what should probably not be a surprise by now, I want to show that the Sunday School version of the story is false. However, I also hope to show some of the interesting details we can learn from modern Archaeology. I will even concede that there may well be a historical core behind some of the biblical stories.

As for whether the stories were divinely inspired, once again I think we have good reason to doubt.

Why would you worship a murderer?

If you are happy to believe in and worship a god who would save you, but allows millions of children to suffer and die every year, then you are a sick and disgusting individual. I hope you are better than that.

Now that I have your attention, and your apologist brain is probably already scrambling to form excuses answers, lets explore this a little further...

The Bible's Human Origins: Genesis continued

Moving forward through the Bible, we come to the stories of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It seems many Christadelphians read these accounts as if they are literal history, but are they?

I think we have good reason to doubt.

The Bible's Human Origins: Genesis 1 - 11

In the previous article, I provided evidence that Genesis 1 was connected with an earlier Babylonian creation myth, the Enuma Elish.

Whatever your view of the "divine inspiration" of the Bible is, it must somehow account for this. But is the Genesis 1 account the only similarity with Babylonian mythology? Not at all. This article will explore more connections between the first 11 chapters of Genesis and ancient mythology.

The Bible's Human Origins: Genesis 1

Many Christadelphians approach the Bible from the perspective that it is the inerrant word of God, and thus free of any errors or contradictions. I grew up with this belief as well.

But is it justified?

If we look objectively at the Bible, does it hold up as a reliable source of information? Can it be trusted?

I want to provide an overview of the entire Bible and highlight several major problems with it. Obviously this will take some time and several articles. Some of this material may be new to you, but where possible I will provide links and suggestions for further reading. Feel free to ask me for more info if there is anything I left out.

Following Jesus: What did Jesus actually do?

Recently I came across a comment from a Christadelphian who argued that:

"...many of us are just trying to do our best to live in the example Christ set for us to follow.....is that a bad thing? To love your enemy, to care for your neighbours, the sick, the poor etc?"

What example?

That got me thinking a bit. Did Jesus actually set that example? Or is this an assumption made by believers who read the Bible and then fill in the gaps according to what they were taught from when they were young?

To find out, I decided to scan through all four gospels and find every actual action that Jesus was said to have performed. That's when things got interesting.

Here is what I found...

What is God?

Or perhaps we should ask, "What is a god?"

Does anyone know?

In my experience, the various Christian and Christadelphian ideas of "God" could fit any/all of the following definitions:

• A place-holder for things we don't (yet) understand.
• Another word for "magic".
• An external projection of a person's ideal self (see this scientific study).
• An anthropomorphism of the laws of nature.
• A mental crutch for people who feel vulnerable and look for strength outside themselves rather than looking within. Ironically, the strength still comes from within, but indirectly via a powerful illusion. An inner parent vs child metaphor works equally well.
• A comfortable catch-all for people who don't like uncertainty.
• The answer to end all questions.

Did I miss any?

How do you know someone is listening?

There was a time when I realised that I could not tell the difference between praying and merely talking to myself. I realised that the world looked and worked exactly the same even if there was no one listening. Of course, I still looked for answers and convinced myself that events in my life were "providence".

Something Beautiful

Seth Andrews recently posted this video to his YouTube channel, The Thinking Atheist.

It's a future I could get excited about.

This is a message I'd happily preach.

Unfortunately it's not the one Christadelphians preach.

Why I don't believe in God

Below are the reasons why I don't believe in God...