This follows because God is a source of meaning, something which meaningful things reference, and not something whose existence references elsewhere.
God’s existence doesn’t reference something else. In this sense in which we use the word meaningful, if applied to God’s case we have to admit that God is not meaningful. God has nothing to point back to for a source of meaning. Unless there is a greater God who is God’s source-and by definition there isn’t-God’s life isn’t meaningful. But notice a peculiar consequence of this. Thus a theist would say that our human lives are meaningful because they point back to a source of meaning in God. Put simply, something is meaningful if it points at something else which serves as its source of meaning. But eventually there are real, existing things being pointed at which are the source of meaning (even if only in a pretend way, as in fiction), or else the whole pile of words signifies nothing. Sometimes, to be sure, words only point to other words which point to other words and so on. Words, as we know, are (usually) meaningful, but what makes them meaningful? Their meaning derives from the fact that they reference-that is to say, they point to-something in the world. If your life is the source of meaning, it makes no sense-indeed there is no need-to ask why or whence.īut to understand this, let’s look at what it means to be meaningful.
God doesn’t have to ask why his life is meaningful, or what makes it meaningful, because God is the source of meaning itself. God doesn’t yearn for “more” because God is the “more”. God doesn’t have a “higher purpose” because God is the higher purpose. If we try to address this question from God’s point of view (rather than our own) we are likely to conclude that no possible answer could do God justice. Imagine God asking himself (itself/herself)įor God, what could the answer be to such a query? What is it that makes God’s existence meaningful for God? That we even wonder about such things could itself be evidence that there is something “untold” about our lives, that there is “something more”.īefore continuing, let’s ask ourselves what kind of answer could ever satisfactorily resolve this question of “why?”. Perhaps other animals fail to ask why they are alive because they have no “higher purpose” perhaps we ask because we sense that we do. That observation itself, that we alone ask the question of existence, is often thought to be a clue to the answer. It’s likely that humans are the only species on earth who asks such a question of themselves. All of our major religions have a “story” whose purport is to answer it. I think it is fair to say that this is the ultimate religious question. My right hand pointing to landscapes of continents and the public road.We go to work, we eat, are entertained or entertain others with movies, music, tv, drama and comedy, we party with friends, couple, have sex, yet behind all our activities lurks the question, why do we exist? What is it all about? Why should there be life rather than not? And why us-why are we the ones who should be alive? My left hand hooking you round the waist, I lead no man to a dinner-table, library, exchange,īut each man and each woman of you I lead upon a knoll, I have no chair, no church, no philosophy,
No friend of mine takes his ease in my chair, My signs are a rain-proof coat, good shoes, and a staff cut from the woods, I tramp a perpetual journey, (come listen all!) I know I have the best of time and space, and was never measured and never will be measured. My son emailed me – “Where did you find this?” so I sent him a link to this page. When I left teaching, students gave me a gift: Leaves of Grass. When I was a teacher, I used the following passage all the time. Especially on this day in this era, as those of us in America work to keep our foundation and legacy healthy. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this.
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