We have division, riots, crazy politics, depression in global economics and depression in personal psychology, in fact, suicide rates used to be for people more my age, but almost 3 million adolescents had a major depressive episode last year,[1] and 10-20% will have one before moving into adulthood.[2] Reality never stops coming at us it seems, and studies regarding suicide and depression prominently feature the impact of lack of purpose, lack of hope.

Hope is extremely important in life. When you think of hope, what is it? We will use a basic definition: desire and expectation for a certain thing(s) to happen. Do you have hope for your overall life? Or, is yours more wishful thinking than hope? Have to be real about this, as reality doesn’t care what you are hoping for, it is going to bring you what it is going to bring you.

A good example is found in the story of Molly Bloom. She grew up with a dad, who was a psychologist and used all he could to push his kids to the highest levels of achievement. Her brother, Jeremy Bloom, was a two-time Olympic champion and then played professional football for the Steelers and the Eagles. Her other brother went to Harvard medical school and is now a surgeon. And now was her turn. She’ is just about to get into the Olympics herself, as the two competitive skiers ahead of her made mistakes, and now she has it all calculated out: with a solid run she is off to the Olympics, good chance to place with a medal, then start her non-profit business. Her hopes look pretty good, but, there is reality.

Her purposes in life were what her hopes were based upon. This is a super intelligent, driven, gifted woman, with nice purposes for her life and all calculated out, everything seemed on her side. Life doesn’t care, life ripped it all away, she didn’t go to the Olympics, but instead went to the hospital, and gained extensive medical bills. She tried to re-adjust what she based her hope upon and began an illegal gambling operation, which was very successful and made her very rich, but this too was all taken from her.[3]

Her hope was not reliable, even though it sounded really reliable, so, what about yours? Is your hope reliable or will it end up like Molly’s? You can actually get your answer to that question. Here are the two questions you have to answer to determine if your hope is reliable: Does God exist? What is my Purpose in life?

Now you may be wondering how the two questions are related, and even if you recognize why they are tied together, you still are probably thinking: “These are two of the most impactful and biggest questions in all of life, which the best minds have pondered and written on throughout all of history—I doubt this guy in a few blogs is going to provide reliable answers—that would be the correct thought if the answer depended on me, thankfully it doesn’t. The answer to those questions depends on the reliability of the source I use for the answers, and the evidence supporting this source’s authority over any other.

[1] Susanna Schrobsdorff, “The Kids Are Not All Right,” Time (Nov 7, 2016): 47; also NIMH » Major Depression (nih.gov); “Suicide is about despair, and the only cure for despair is hope,” says Joel Dvoskin, PhD, ABPP, a clinical and forensic psychologist.

[2] MKC Nair, et al. The Indian Journal of Pediatrics 71(6):523-4, July 2004. DOI:10.1007/BF02724294, PubMed.

[3] You can read more of this interesting story in her memoir or the movie of the same name: Molly’s Game.

The object you see in the picture was created by myself and friends, Kris and Steve, only we as the creators KNOW the purpose for which it was made, which I can explain. We made this to knock on someone’s door remotely, while we hide across the street behind a car, or behind some bushes.

We tape the small end of the fishing line to some house’s front or back door, then reel out the long fishing line to allow us to get to our hiding place. Then, we are able to pull on the long line to swing the battery and knock on the door.

With practice, we were able to get skilled enough to make it sound just like someone knocking, and keep the battery from hitting the door when the angered homeowner swings the door open. Eventually we would make it knock while they have the door open, which really freaks them out, but had to be ready to run as either the fishing line or our laughter led the incensed homeowner directly to us.

When anything, even a remote door knocker, is created by an intelligent agent, then only the creator can provide the reason or purpose of the creation. This is why our primary BIG question (Does God exist?) must be known to answer our secondary BIG question (What’s the purpose of life?). And once you have your purpose(s) in life, you can determine how likely you are to reach what you hope for.

Determining the meaning or purpose of your life is much more straightforward than many realize. When the girl pictured above the flowchart seeks what the meaning or purpose of her life is, either:

  1. There is no creator God, and therefore, no true goal for life or objective purpose.

If we exist due only to chance and nature, then no universal meaning or goal for life exists. With no objective Purpose, we would be left to decide our own purpose(s) we seek in life, as shown following the right-side of the flowchart above. Meaning, logically, any purpose of life you choose, whether to sacrifice yourself to aid people suffering the terrors of a brutal dictator, or you choose to be that brutal dictator, any purpose a person chooses is incapable of being right or wrong, or even better or worse than any other because there is no objective, universal and unchanging standard to judge against. This fact is well-established by leading atheists in biology, physics, psychology, and other applicable fields of study. [1] These purposes we make up for ourselves are equally valid and ethically neutral, all on the same level as displayed in the flowchart.

Further, if there is nothing of you or I existing beyond this physical universe (a soul or spirit), then no person would ever be capable of a single free thought or choice. Experts in science and other fields of study, who reject the existence of God, recognize this fact, because they have to based on the evidence.[2]

Those who reject the existence of God realize this fact is hard for people to accept, but claim because we don’t realize or feel all our thoughts are controlled by nature and natural laws, and it feels like we choose our purposes, then it does not matter these feelings are only illusion. Personally, I disagree, it matters very, very much whether there is real free will, objective purpose, and better or worse choices. And if their belief is inaccurate, God does exist, then they are also incorrect about the purpose of life.

 

  1. There is a creator God, and there is infinite meaning and purposeful value to your life established by an Authority.

A purposeful God is the only source to know and communicate to us the objective purpose of our being. As we follow the left-side of the flowchart, the question now becomes: What is the primary Purpose for my life?

This is given clearly throughout the Bible, which you can read and determine for yourself. But, you can get a good glimpse once you become a parent. What would you want most for your little creation? A relationship of love and trust with you, and for them to love and encourage others to flourish/develop in the fullest sense.

The same is true for God. If such a God exists, then your full perspective includes an eternal existence after this life, therefore, developing your relationship with God and helping others to also, would take precedence over the good or bad one may experience on Earth. As shown in the flowchart, this is the purpose with a capital “P”, and because there is a spiritual component of you, which would be capable of free thought and choice, you could also choose other purposes in life, which are not your primary or ultimate Purpose, but are parts of your life. These secondary purposes can also be good, and can be judged depending how they impact the primary Purpose or big picture. For example, playing Call of Duty or other video games does bring benefits, as long as kept in proper priority by not damaging more significant purposes, such as proper attention to family.

Now what makes your hope secure and reliable or insecure and unreliable is how well the evidence supports your answer to whether the Creator exists or not and your prioritization on your Purpose and purposes. What follows in the next article are  amazing discoveries in science providing astronomical evidence to support your hope.

So here is what is next:

  • The next blog demonstrates why only the left-side of the flowchart has the evidential confirmation.
  • Then, we look at YOU. We provide a list of purposes in life, and you are given a unique opportunity to see your life and concretely choose your purposes and priorities.
  • Finally, we will produce a graph of your purposes and priorities, which will visually display your hope, and whether it is reliable to lead to your desired and expected outcomes, or leans more towards wishful thinking. You can accurately know now whether your future holds realization of your hopes, or disheartening falling short of what you hoped or expected.

[1] This topic is covered in detail in the booklet: Morality: You have to sit in God’s lap to slap His face.

[2] This topic is covered in detail in the booklet: The Freedom Scale: Assessing Levels of Freedom Corresponding to Belief Systems.