LIFE ... defined

[OverVolt]

Its because we don't have to struggle very much we forget its about, "survive, eat, reproduce."

 

[spittledip]

why would an omniscient diety simply create a world of slaves whose sole purpose for existence is to glorify that diety?

sounds like a worthless god.

Monotheism: killing religion for 6000 years.

Everyone is a slave to something.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Everyone is a slave to something.

I'm a slave to the rhythm. It's gonna get you! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A7CVrBFC7M

And coffee.

Life has no purpose. "It's the journey not the destination." Just like leveling up in SWTOR.

 

[lothar]

Religious philosophy has contemplated the purpose of life for hundreds, if not thousands of years. But then many Americans feel religion has no purpose in their life. Hence such drunk musings.

Heh.

 

[chusteczka]

Yes, it has been interesting to watch the slow move away from religion both here in the US and over in Europe where they have a head start. If you are interested I know there have been several articles on the matter especially from britain's perspective. It also seems to be specific to christianity and I would think that various eastern religions will fare better in the long run.
What was the focus of your class? I've taken a philosophy of religion which focused on western religions and explored philosophical ideas such as what it means for god to be all powerful. And then I took a class that was religious worldviews which explored both western and eastern religions and some of their basic tenets and some of their history.

The course I took was introductory, titled Religious Studies 110 (also Philosophy 110).

Course Description
Survey of the leading living religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; examination of basic texts and of philosophic theological elaborations of each religion.

Course Summary
The purpose of this course is to help you to understand the beliefs and practices of the world's major religions: i.e., Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, focusing on the doctrines, worldviews, and spiritual ideals of each. Some of you will take this course to learn more about your own religious tradition. Others have chosen it to become more familiar with religions different from your own, but which, as the consequence of an increasingly global culture, increasingly affect your lives. In either case, it is important for you to enter the course with an open mind, prepared to learn new things, and to hear more familiar ideas described in new and unfamiliar ways. The purpose of the course is not simply to provide you with new information, nor is it to make you more comfortable with ideas you already hold. On the contrary, the goal of the course is to challenge you, by introducing you to new ideas as well as new views of old ideas, and thus deepen and enlarge your thinking about the world's religions.

Major Sections

• Religion: Its Nature and Study
• Hinduism
• Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shinto
• The Hebrew Bible
• Judaism
• Christianity
• Islam
• Comparing Religions

The Six Dimensions of Religion

• Ritual
• Mythological
• Doctrinal
• Ethical
• Social
• Experiential – How all the dimensions cooperate for a unique experience.

As an engineering major, this class was an opportunity for my mind to relax. As such, I really enjoyed the class. It is good to see someone else showing interest in a fascinating topic.

Basically, early humans tried to make sense of the world around them and created stories about creationism for telling around the campfire. The campfire being the beginning of the Social dimension. When survival becomes a secondary need, older humans start recognizing the work necessary to continue survival, they get bored with life, and start to ask why. Then the question is asked why must we suffer through life. Religion becomes guidance for dealing with the suffering associated with life while also providing people something to contemplate as they grow older and wiser.

Hinduism believes that every individual form possesses two dimensions; transient/human and permanent/eternal. The example is given that water in a cup is the same as and a portion of the water in the ocean. The Water Cycle of water on earth evaporating into the atmosphere to condense and fall back to earth is symbolic of the soul as we live and die. Hence, rebirth to suffer again. This leads to the following questions:

• why must we perpetually suffer?
• How may we best deal with the suffering?
• What must we do to break free from the perpetual cycle of suffering?

Most, if not all religions have creation Myths and give much consideration to these questions concerning the purpose of life. How the religions answer these questions develops their individual Doctrine. The tasks that must be performed in life to fulfill the doctrine becomes the Rituals. The way of living life to properly complete these tasks becomes Ethical. Each religion takes a different approach to these individual dimensions as a whole Experience for living a proper life as deemed by those who came before us.

EDIT:
It seems that religion is the search for meaning of life.