Position:Home>Philosophy> A Question for the evolutionist and/or an atheist.?

God created evolution, He points that out quite succinctly in Genesis!. And no it wasn't a literal six days but it was His way of explaining it to us so that we would understand !.!.!."God created the universe and all that is in it; and all that is outside of the borders of the universe"!.
At that time in history we didn't have a clue about the big bang theory, nor Einstein's famous E=Mc2! Do you really think Moses would have understood the math!? And do you think he could have taught it to the chosen people!? I don't think so either!.
We are to love!.
First and foremost we are to love God with all of our hearts and all of our souls, before anything and anyone else!. Then we are to love our neighbours as we ourselves would want to be loved!. Without that we are nothing, we are doomed!. It doesn't matter what we do or how we do it!. It doesn't matter what we have in materials or intellect!. It doesn't matter how much we give or help!. If we don't have "love" then we don't have anything! We love God, then everyone else regardless of the other person's life, lifestyle, attitude, or appearance!. We are to love them!.
That is our purpose in life, that is what God created us for, and if we don't live up to that then we are lost!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Let me start by saying one has nothing to do with the other!. Whether or not evolution is true is independent of whether or not there is a purpose to life!. I've never understood why one can't believe in God and in evolution!.

The reason everything about evolution seems logical is because it is!. All of modern biology and organic chemistry makes sense in light of evolution!. There is not a second-best theory available right now, it is hands down the best!. "Intelligent Design" is not a theory, by the way, it is just a Christian fanatic response to evolution that doesn't even attempt to answer any questions!. It just poses more of them!.

But your question was about the purpose of life!. The answer: the purpose of life is whatever you make of it!. Your job is to make a purpose for your life!. Life is a journey!. You will not find the answers to your questions up front!. You have to find a way to make the most of your time on Earth!. I don't find that depressing, I find it very exciting!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Your confusion is common; many people struggle with these thoughts!. Here are some things to consider as you negotiate your own path!.

1) Some would argue that the main objective to life without an "afterlife" is to reproduce the species!. This works fine for many, but others find it unsatisfying!.

2) Some would claim that the meaning of life is to seek the meaning of life!. These people would argue that when one FINDS the meaning of life, his or her life ends!. Thus, we die simply because we have now "figured it out!."

3) One of the strongest thoughts, in my opinion, is the notion that to seek an objective is to want to know what the means to an end is; however, life is an end unto itself!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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There is no fundamental "evolutionist" or atheist philosophy!. Evolution is a scientific theory!. Atheism is one particular belief, not tied in to any larger doctrine!.

Personally, I tend to agree with Camus!. Read the Myth of Sisyphus!. It's a bit dense, but a good read!. Alternatively, watch American Beauty, much simpler, but less straight forward!.

The basic idea is that in the absence of any natural purpose, we are free to make our own purpose in life!. The idea of importance doesn't exist in a vacuum!. What is important is what's important to you!. Find that, and you'll find meaning!.

Incidentally, that was also the main point in City Slickers!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I am only answering to say that Patrick is wrong; the fact that "we are not evolving" follows logic like the rest of the theory!. We have little incentive to change!. The majority of us can live to age 20 and reproduce!. We don't have any major predators (except maybe bears)!.

Now we're ignoring the fact that evolution takes place over many, many generations!. It's hard to see how we've evolved when we only knew we were evolving for maybe 7 generations!. I realize you don't understand: evolution doesn't work by magic!. We won't magically grow wings or xray vision!.!.!.

For examples of species we have observed evolution in:

Evening Primrose (Oenothera gigas), Kew Primrose (Primula kewensis), Tragopogon Raphanobrassica, Hemp Nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit), Madia citrigracilis, Brassica
Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum), Woodsia Fern (Woodsia abbeae), Stephanomeira malheurensis, Maize (Zea mays), Yellow Monkey Flower (Mimulus guttatus);
Fruit Flies: (all separate experiments!.) Drosophila paulistorum, Drosophila melanogaster, Drosophila pseudoobscura, Drosophila silvestris, Drosophila simulans
(Several Housefly species as well) Apple Maggot Fly (Rhagoletis pomonella), Gall Former Fly (Eurosta solidaginis), Flour Beetles (Tribolium castaneum), A Lab Rat Worm called Nereis acuminata, Chlorella vulgaris,
As well as morphological changes in bacteria!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Even if god does exist I should think it is reasonable to assume that he gave us our minds so that we could use them to try and figure that out!.
My focus in life right now is to sharpen the mind that god, if he exists, gave me so that I can answer these type of questions!. Many philosophers have much to say on what living the good life means!.
I tend to think that Aristotle might be on to something when he talks about Eudaimonia!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I personally believe that each living being is a book which explores a small part of the epic saga of the awakening universe!.

The stories started off as interactive action adventures, simple organisms on quests for for food, mates and survival!. Over time they've got a bit more mature, the perceptual narratives of human lives are a rich and complex string of sights, sounds, thoughts and feelings!.

If you only get to read one book then it's a bit of a shame that we're living books the middle of the saga rather than the end!. So far we don't even understand the overall plot, if we did then we probably wouldn't have the words to express it!. Later stories are bound to be much longer and more complex, and possibly even get to the main plot!.

Having said that everything we do affects the overall saga in some way!. At the moment we're at the part of a massive plot twist to do with humans and technology, the way things turn out afterwards could affect the entire universe forever!.

I suppose our job for now is to help change any books that we can and make them longer, happier and more worthwhile!. When the technology is ready we should explore making them more complex, the five senses and capacity for thought that we have are a miniscule fraction of what they could be!. also we should keep trying to figure out the main plot, not "why are we here!?" but "what exactly is going on here!?"Www@QuestionHome@Com

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the purpose of life is to continue the species!.!.!.!. that's it for animals, plants, bacteria, essentially all life on Earth!.!.!.!. as we do continue the species, the species evolves!.!.!.!. for better or worse, but hopefully better!.!.!.!. 'survival of the fittest' so to speak!.!.!.!.!. sometimes a natural phenomena like a solar radiation blast could tweak our usual genetics and send us into a" hurried up" evolutionary change!.!.!.!.and still our purpose is to continue to live and breed and pass on those new genetics to the next generations to see how they work out for us!.!.!.!.!. that's IT!.!.!.!.!. there's no big REASON for us to be here!.!.!. it probably the biggest long shot odds in the galaxy that just the right combo of 'stuff' got together and sparked life!.!.!.!.

humans the only creatures with intelligence!?!.!.!.!. wrong!.!.!. that's pretty arrogant!.!.!.!. dolphins care!.!.!. elephants grieve!.!.!. apes cry!.!.!.we look at the stars and wonder!.!.!.!. how do we know that the wolf isn't crying to them in religious fervor!?!.!.!.!. how do we know that the dinosaurs didn't THINK, plan, dream!?!.!.!. just because they didn't WRITE it down!?!.!.!.!. they were, after all, the lead species for a very, very long time on this planet!!.!.!.!.!.

don't get hung up on WHY we're here!.!.!. we are!.!.!. we just ARE!.!.!.!. and it's not a bit depressing!.!.!.!. it's stunningly wonderful!!!!.!.!.!. out of all the many worlds out there, it's US!.!.!. JUST US, that knows that those worlds ARE OUT THERE!.!.!.!. it may never have happened before and may never happen again, should we go the way of the dinos one day!.!.!.!. but it DID HAPPEN and WE"RE THE BEANS!!!!!.!.!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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You realize you can believe in God and evolution, right!? Evolution absolutely does not disprove the existence of God, or vice-versa!. The Roman Catholic Church herself supports the theory of Evolution - it's hard to disprove hard science, after all - but maintains that God created the universe and all life (this doesn't mean he created all life in the exact form that it appears today, although He could definitely steer the course of Evolution)!.

And actually, evolution can be used as evidence for the proof of the existence of God!. How so!? Well, evolution solidifies the notion of cause and effect!. A hypothetical scenario, for example: Why do lizards on a certain island have orange spots!? Well, it is the effect of the lizards evolving to blend in with the vegetation of the island, thereby becoming less visible to predators!. Ultimately evolution, as a science of cause and effect, could in theory trace us back to the very first living organism to appear on Earth!.

So, everyday logic and our experiences as human beings has always given us to believe in cause and effect!. Now we have evolution as a scientic proof to what people have already known for millenia - every effect has a cause!. Let's apply this trifecta - logic, experience, science - to a proof for the existence of God!.

If we apply cause and effect on a cosmological level, we could start by asking, Why is there a planet earth!? And astronomers can give us some explanation about the formation of the planets in our solar system!. They can then explain what caused the solar system!. And the galaxy!. So on and so forth!. Then comes the big question, What caused the universe!? Scientists have The Big Bang Theory!. Okay, that's all fine and dandy, but the Big Bang doesn't explain its own creation!. What caused the Big Bang!? What caused matter to exist in the very first place!?

Ultimately you're left with two choices!. One choice is to say that the universe has always existed, and there is no beginning!. Based off of logic, everyday experience, and science as understood on our planet, this first choice makes no sense and doesn't mesh with our understanding as human beings!. The second choice is that there is something SUPERnatural (which very literally means 'beyond/above the natural', accordingly it exists outside of the natural world that we live in) that is the ultimate origin of all that exists!. The easiest way of referring to this supernatural, ultimate origin is the word 'god'!. Perhaps this 'god' isn't God as we understand from a Judeo-Christian point of view!. But it's 'god' in some way or fashion!.

To finally answer your question!. Evolution makes the question of the purpose of life no less or more open or difficult than it has always been!. Whether you believe in God or not, this has been and will always be the million dollar question!. I agree with the other answerers and many postmodern philosophers: as there is no meaning of life that humans as a species have been able to discover or create that is accepted universally, the meaning of life is whatever meaning you as an individual assign to it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I hate it when people do not answer the question that is asked, but I am about to do taht myself!.

Everything about evolution is NOT logical!. THere are so many flaws in it, such as the fact that we are no longer evolving,Www@QuestionHome@Com

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