The Evangelical Universalist Forum

On the absurdity of life in a godless universe

I am an agnostic Christian. This means that I don’t find the evidence sufficient in orderto be intellectually convinced.
However I do hope with all my heart that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead.

Actually I find the thought of death, non-being, absolutely unbearable and infinitely depressing.
If life is all about having some good moments (and suffering a lot), trying to do good works, getting older and older and finally disappearing forever, then I doubt it is worth it.
To be quite frank, I think I would prefer to eternally suffer in hell (while still existing) rather than getting anihilated (either by God or a purely physical universe). Interestingly, Chris Date from RethinkingHell mentioned in a debate that I am not alone in that case, for many Greek thinkers were also more afraid of death (understood as destruction) than of hell.

However I know many atheists who say that life can ONLY be meaningful if it is not eternal.
Yet I am sure that if at the end of their life an angel (or let us say a space alien if atheism is true :smiley: ) were to propose them to live one additional happy day, most of them would gladly accept the offer.
So it looks like to me that death is an infinite loss. But I realize that my pemissism (both with respect to God’s existence and to the meaninglesness of life) strongly hinge on my mood.

So do you think that life is objectively meaningless in a godless universe?

Antitheists lotharlorraine.wordpress.com/cat … isemitism/ deny this vehemently and assert that nobody needs a religious belief to has the feeling that her life has a meaning.

I think that if there were no God, a Buddhist cultivation of acceptance vis-a-vis everything would seem to be the best (and probably the only) way for me to still try getting out of bed the morning.

Hey - that was very well said!
I’m focused on something else right now, but I will definitely get back to this.
You said some things that many if not most of us feel in our bones.

Lotharson, I agree. Without a good God, what would be the point? When everyone was gone and the sun flared out and the universe slowly grew cold, what difference would any of it have made? How utterly bleak! I’m glad that I do believe, but Lotharson, hang on and one day you will see and it will be good – better for you, perhaps, that you hung on for the hope of hope and for the love of love when you could see nothing. It will all be good in that day. If I’m not speaking the truth to you, then there is no point at all, so the only logical thing to do is to keep seeking the good God. Nothing else matters without Him.