THE MEANING OF LIFE

* THE MUSINGS AND VERSE OF JOHN P. HOOPER & OTHERS *

Midi music     "As the Deer"



THE   MEANING  OF   LIFE  
"Undoubtedly The Most Asked Question Of All Time"

          Some time ago, I sent out a message to about fifteen friends and acquaintances on the subject; "What Is The Meaning of Life?" Frankly, I did not expect to receive any replies but I did receive three. In my opinion all were notable for their content but two were more to the heart of the subject.

          The first was short and to the point and reflected my view that "Meaning" and "Faith" in something" were inseparable. It also has a great economy of words but does not address the original question of separation. It went as follows....

          " For me it is not an issue of meaning vs faith. My Meaning in life IS my Faith. It is so intertwined there is no separating it !"
                                                Sara Kaplan

         I think the above is probably the answer that would represent the thinking of most Christian people who might have pondered this question. However, I was also struck by the response below for its depth of thought, perception and universality of application to others.

* Another Christian View *
          "Life is quite meaningless without devine wisdom. Heavenly wisdom is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality and hypocrisy"
          "One's life has no meaning, to himself, unless he has family and friends to share it with." Could it be that God is the answer to this possible void?....JH

Quoting Dr. Timothy Johnson on "Creation....
          And if there's design, there must be a designer or -or capital D - Designer. Johnson quotes Sir Fred Hoyle, the eminent astrophysicist who compared random accidents producing higher organisms to the odds that "a tornado sweeping through a junkyard might assemble a Boeing 747".

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          In the following, the subject is developed at length and with great attention to developing a relationship between meaning and, ultimately, faith. You will note the author implies that meaning was spiritual and acquired by right living while while her religious affiliation was determined by her culture. Kind of makes one think?

          "The meaning of life begins with the fact that we have been given a life. It is our choice how to honor that life.
          I believe we must grow ourselves whole and that is a journey.
          Then we make a contribution outside ourselves to make the world a better place in thanksgiving for having a life.
          I believe each of us has a gift to give, we need to find that in ourselves and share it, In so doing, we will make that contribution.
          Personally, I would never have reached this stage of life without the vision of pathways finer than my humanity which has inspired me to be more than I thought I could be.
          This for me has been spiritual, by culture it has been Christian, and it has formed the best in me."

                                                        Jacquie Humphrey Simonds


          * I am in awe of the explanation, written by, Jaquie Simonds, that neither includes nor excludes Theistic or Atheistic perceptions but develops her own
pathway to "The Meaning Of Life" with a clarity not present in the work of the philosophers, students of the "Meaning" and others that I have studied, to date. In fact the atheists generally agreed there was no answer to the question and were mostly concerned with pointing out that, inasmuch, as all ended in "misery and death" the answer to the question was of no consequence".

          * What a great way to relate meaning with faith! I thank both authors for placing "meaning and faith" in perspective for me and possibly for others. I feel fortunate to have the privilege of bringing such inspiring thoughts to others *...JH...Note...The following "Conclusion" was the result of many hours of contemplation of the response of Jacquie Simonds and others to a lesser degree.


MY CONCLUSION

          After a long period of study and input from many people, I decided to see what Webster's dictionary had to say..... It indicated the word "Meaning" had two different components   1-"Purpose" and  2-"Significance".....

          This begs the questions can Life have Meaning answering one component without addressing the other?.... In my mind, the answer is no.

          * PURPOSE:  I believe we are given life to "multiply and replenish the earth".

          * SIGNIFICANCE:   is the cumulative result of how we honor or dishonor that life by our relationship to others for good or evil.

         * * * I have concluded that, while "Meaning" can be realized by various paths, it is best achieved by applying the teachings of  JESUS CHRIST   to your relations with others.

Too simple?....you be the judge.....JH

        * I had concluded, long ago, that the hope of an eternal spirit is inherent in every one,from birth, regardless of his or her origin or religious persuasion. I like to think that God's spirit is my conscience, ready to point out the path to a more "meaningful" way of life, if asked. My father had it right when he said "You only need two words to live a meaningful life. They are "DO RIGHT".You will always know the difference as there is no grey area in God's plan for living. It is either right or wrong. It's up to you!".

ADDENDUM

          Hi Friends:     I started this "The Meaning of Life" journey over a year ago publishing the topic on my website and left it idle until recently.

          This past Christmas I received the book "The Meaning Of Life" by E.D. Klemke ,deceased, emeritus professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University which is a compilation of the thoughts of famous authors, scientists and philosophers on the subject. This book is a "study" not a "read". It is divided into three sections. The first written by Theists, such as Tolstoi, David F Swenson, and William Lane Craig. The second compiled from Atheistic authors such as Bertrand Russell, Julian Huxley and Albert Camus. he third section is devoted to "Questioning the Question" or considering all aspects of the topic.

          Recently, I put the subject "The Meaning of Life into the "Google Search Engine" and the first link contained the remark, get this...."This is the first of about 17, 500,000 answers to the inquiry "The Meaning Of Life". I suddenly realized that this is far and away the most perplexing of all of life's questions with a definitive answer obscured in the rhetoric of many.

          In retrospect, I wonder why the subject never occurred to me until I became ninety years old....no smile. Tolstoi, in his writing on the subject, indicated "the happiest group of people he knew of, were just plain ordinary people that lived their lives one day at a time and with limited means". The commonality they shared was "hope" generated by belief in an eternal relationship with a "God" of their heritage, whoever that might be.

* SPIRITUALITY AND SCIENCE FINDING COMPATIBILITY ? *

          I recently read in the newspaper that    "SCIENTISTS BELIEVE THERE MAY BE A "HOPE OF ETERNITY" IMPLANTED IN THE DNA OF HUMANS AT BIRTH! ...WOW!...They are researching the possibility.....read on

          CHARLES TOWNES.....the UC AT BERKLEY, CA. professor who shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in quantum electronics and then startled the scientific world by suggesting that religion and science were converging, was awarded the $1.5 million Templeton Prize for progress in "Spiritual Knowledge".....WOW!

Any thoughts you wish to share are welcome.....smile              * EMAIL JH *

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