Answering life’s big questions

---

 

Just about everyone ask life’s big questions: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going?

 

Today we are effectively  told, in the evolutionary story, that life is a fluke, a cosmic accident. In this case our existence lacks any purpose, so life is a farce. And where are we going, in this view? Fertilizer! In short, life is: Fluke…farce… fertilizer.

 

Evolutionist Richard Dawkins said that we live in a universe that has ‘no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.’[1] The evolutionist’ universe has no purpose because it is an accident; a cosmic accident. With evolution so widely taught in schools and universities, is it any wonder that so many lack any purpose or meaning to their lives?

 

As Susan Blackmore, psychologist and disciple of Richard Dawkins said, ‘If you really think about evolution and why human beings are here, you have to come to the conclusion that we are here for absolutely no reason at all.’[2]

 

However, the Bible provides true and satisfying answers to these questions.

 

Where did we come from? ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (Genesis 1:1). It was no accident. God made us in ‘His own image’ (Genesis 1:27); He made us special, we are not just ‘rearranged pondscum’, as one evolutionist put it.

 

Why are we here? A chair or a car is not created without a purpose.; likewise the universe. Because God created us, He must have had a purpose in doing that. Many parts of the Bible allude to this-our main purpose is simply to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever! Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”[3] Because things were created, they have a purpose. Psalm 16:11 says, “in Your (God’s) presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” The atheists are correct: if there is no Creation-no Creator- there is no purpose to life.

 

Where are we going? Well, where you are going depends on where you have come from. In the evolutionary view, death has always been an integral part of things, because death of the unfit is the stuff of natural selection. So in this view it is logical that death is the end of it. Dust to dust…(or fertilizer). However, God did not create man merely as a material being (dust) but also as a spiritual being, in His image. So there is an element to our being that transcends matter-the spirit.

 

Furthermore, death has not always been here; it is an interloper (the last enemy; 1Corinthians15:26). Creation is in decay because of the rebellion of Adam (Genesis 3) and it anticipates its release from the ‘bondage to decay’ to which it was ‘subjected’ (Romans 8:18-23). Jesus Christ made this possible through His taking upon Himself the curse of death.

 

His resurrection testifies to His having paid the price and having defeated the power of death. So, we, the descendents of Adam who are ‘in Christ’ look forward to a new heaven and new earth where things will be restored to their original perfection (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3-4).

 

For those who are not ‘in Christ’ there will be God’s judgment upon them; a fearful prospect. The famous creationist scientist, Pascal, pointed out the poor logic pf choosing to not be ‘in Christ’.