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What’s the Point?
Seriously. What’s the point? I’ve found myself asking that question of life more and more as time goes on… and I’m not alone.
We’re born, we learn how to walk, we learn where and where not to poop. Our parents teach us to not stick a fork in electrical outlets and to never be in a room alone with uncle Lester. Then they send us to school where we learn to manage our emotions and expectations while memorizing a bunch of stuff – 20% of which is actually useful (to this day I have yet to gain any benefit from knowing how to find the square root of a number). Then we’re off to college and if we’re driven (or masochistic) enough, graduate school. We go on to find a career and a spouse. We start a family, buy a house, go on vacations, punt the kids out of the house to start their lives, save for retirement, then idle away our remaining years in an RV or a motorized scooter while waiting for the sweet release of mortality.
Seems rather horrifying when you look at it, but it’s the path we’re all primed to go on. It’s the socially acceptable way to live life. But it’s only utilitarian. School, work, kids, and saving accounts are a means to achieve a certain level of survival, comfort, and security, but they are not a “purpose”. They aren’t “the point”. If they were, then those of us who manage success on this path wouldn’t be so overcome with the drive to find higher meaning in life. We wouldn’t still be asking, “What’s the point?”
Everywhere we turn, we are confronted by those who tell us to look “beyond ourselves” to satisfy the need for purpose. They tell us purpose is found in leaving a legacy, “making an impact” (whatever that means), and making the world a better place. This usually comes in the form of a cause we choose to support. These generally consist of “ending” something like hunger, homelessness, or a disease. Or “saving” something like a bird we’ve never seen, a rain forest we’ll never visit, or the whales.
Really? “Save the whales”? Is that it? Is my life to be defined by how many 80-ton, krill sucking leviathans are left behind when I die? This can’t be the point.
The problem is, try as we might, we can’t escape the question. We all ask, “what’s the point?” with our actions even if we don’t do it verbally. When we don’t get an acceptable answer, we try to anesthetize ourselves against the question or distract ourselves from it with alcohol, sports, music, food, vacations, sex, shopping, fantasies, and all the other indulgences and excesses that stimulate our various glands and mental pleasure centers (I should add “church” to this list).
But once the adrenaline, estrogen, endorphins, testosterone, and digestive enzymes have subsided; once the bills (or bail) has been paid, we’re back to the question we’ve been asking from the start. What’s the point?
We all want to know “what’s the point?” We want to know why we’re all here. We want to know why EVERYTHING is here. The first priority of this blog is to address that question. But before we can answer the question “what is all this for?” We need to ask “What IS all this?” What is existence? It’s a good question. Lets start there…
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I don’t know how to find my URL. Sorry. I have just started reading your posts. They are very interesting.
Thank you! I hope you keep reading, and please feel free to comment
EM
I am a 64, year old guy from Canada an I am a christian an ignorant one as well. I can’t defend my faith an have more questions than answers.. I realize that you are very bright an I am learning an enjoy your podcasts. I just want to encourage you in the lord. I I also enjoy your dry sence of humor, I too am a big Kim kardashian fan as well, Not!!!!
Hi Ron!
First of all, I’m SO SORRY that it has taken so long to respond to you. I try to respond to comments within 24 hours of receiving them, but for some reason, I was not alerted to yours. So I apologize.
That said, I greatly appreciate the encouragement and PLEASE feel free to ask ANY questions you have about your faith. If I can give you an answer, then I get to be of value to you. If I don’t have the answer, then I get the opportunity to learn! And yes, the Kardashians are proof that Satan exists.
Thanks for writing!
Do you believe in near death experiences? I would like to believe in them but scripture tells me that there is a gulf between this world and you cant pass from one to another. I think that is found with the story about the rich dude an Lazarus.
Hi Ron,
The reports of near-death experiences are almost impossible to quantify because there is no way to prove that the person did, or did not see what they claimed to see. So I honestly take those reports with a grain of salt. One thing that makes me doubt them is when they describe the “Jesus” they claimed to have seen, and he looks like the common portraits we see of a skinny Caucasian man with long hair and a goatee. When the real Jesus (being a first-century middle-eastern Jew) obviously would have looked nothing liked that. That makes me believe that what people are actually seeing is a projection in their own minds of what THEY think Heaven will be like based on their own preconceived notions. The only thing close to a “near-death experience” in the Bible would be Stephen in the book of Acts, who saw Jesus and Jehovah on His throne when he was being stoned to death.
You spoke bout Tithing in one of your podcasts. Can you tell me which podcast it was? Thanks! I also like your comment bout The room full of lawyers an the rapture..Maybe bout 3 out of 100 would be taken up! lol..Good one. thanks So much for the info. God Bless.
Thanks Ron. Here is the podcast that includes tithing https://faithbyreason.net/is-the-church-under-the-law-fbr-podcast-56/
You may have changed your position on this by now, but if not, please check out Dr. J. Steve Miller’s work on near death experiences (and death bed experiences). He’s a Christian apologist and he’s written a few books on the subject. Here’s his website: https://jstevemiller.info/
Here’s an interview on Sean McDowell’s youtube channel discussing his first book, Near-Death Experience:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhqLc6GPu-U
I discovered you on an episode of Sam Tripoli’s Tin Foil Hat podcast (bummed the end got cut off due to technical difficulties). I’m looking forward to getting into your site more.
I do have aquestion as part of my research. Do u believe Neanderthals lived before the flood and how would they have survived if they lived after also? Im interested in how many types of tribes lived before like nephilim? Thanks love the site!! Big fan
Hi Travis
Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate that you’re a fan of FBR!
As for your questions – first of all, I have a few issues with the idea of Neanderthals. Their existence is mostly promoted by secular scientists, who have an agenda to promote the naturalistic worldview and disprove supernatural creation. As such, I tend to doubt the intellectual honesty of some of their findings.
God made man as His unique image-bearers. I have no reason to believe that God created any “semi-human” beings. The so-called Neanderthal skulls and skeletons are either some form of extinct simians (apes), remains of Nephalim, or outright frauds constructed by secular scientists to promote their evolutionary world view, like Piltdown Man, and Java Man.
If it’s the latter, then no further examination is necessary. If they are simian, then they should be viewed no differently than any other animal whom Adam had authority over. If they are Nephalim, then they are either members of the first incursion who died in the Flood, or they are one of the latter incursions who appeared during the Exodus and conquest of the Promised Land.
There are Bible teachers who believe that some Nephalim survived the Flood. I am not one of them. The purpose of the Flood was to destroy the Nephilim who existed during that time. If Nephalim survived the Flood, then that means that God failed. And I do not believe that God is capable of failing in any physical endeavor He undertakes. Therefore the Nephalim who are around after the Flood must be the result of additional incursions by Angelic beings cohabitating with human women after the Flood.