Imagine there’s no heaven…or Super Bowl
(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try. Have you ever? No hell below us…above us only sky. Imagine no heaven or hell, and no religion too. John Lennon said it’s not hard to do.
Well, I’ve imagined it, and I may say he’s a dreamer but it looks to me more like a nightmare. As much as I share Lennon’s desire for world peace and a brotherhood of man, the God-less, heaven-and-hell-less world I envision is more “dys” than “u”. As in, “topia.” Let me tell you why I think so by asking you to imagine something else.
The postseason is everything
Imagine that professional football was run like a community sports program for five-year-olds where the goal is to just learn a few basic skills and have some fun running around. No one keeps score and everybody gets a trophy. You know the kind. So, no Super Bowl, no playoffs, no postseason at all.
But, “the postseason is everything,” as a recent NFL promo succinctly summarized. Even if individual games were scored and a victor declared, do you really think the players and coaches would put as much time and effort into training and playing their hardest on the field if it didn’t matter beyond that one game?
The postseason gives every regular season game ultimate significance (unless you’re the Cleveland Browns). In much the same way, heaven and hell…a continuing existence after our life on earth ends…is our existential postseason. Without it our lives may have transitory, subjective meaning like the satisfaction of beating your opponent in a single game, but no lasting, objective meaning.
What’s the point?
Though our continuing existence is necessary for ultimate significance, it’s not sufficient. If God does not also exist, our endless existence would still have no ultimate meaning. Imagine again with me that there is a postseason in the NFL, but all 32 teams participate and they just keep playing and playing and playing…no one goes home, no championship game, no rock star halftime performance (I’d be okay with that), no Lombardi trophy. No Super Bowl ring to award the players who have been victorious. What’s the point?
Only God gives ultimate purpose to our lives. Just as the crowning of a championship team directs the season to its ultimate end, a God who created us to know him and enjoy all the blessings that go with that, directs our lives to their ultimate end, which is him.
Says who?
Imagine now that in Sunday’s big game Tom Brady gets called for intentional grounding and Bill Belichick calls the referee over and says, “That may be grounding to you but it’s not to us. The Patriots don’t believe in intentional grounding. We play by our own rules.” (Why does that sound like something he would really say?) Unless there is a “transcendent” rule-making committee, the refs would have no objective standard to judge what’s allowed and what’s not. And even if the two teams agreed beforehand that grounding is not a violation, who or what would arbitrate when the Patriots play a team that believes it clearly is?
As on the football field, so on the playing field of life. What draws a flag or gets one thrown out of the game altogether cannot be determined by the players themselves. If God does not exist no action can be objectively penalized as not allowed, nor can there be any objective rules of conduct. We may confidently draw up our own and expect others to abide by them, but if they challenge us or cry “Foul!” we have no objective reference to firmly establish that the ruling on the field stands.
John Lennon’s Imagine is an anthem for those who believe the notion of God to be not only ridiculous but harmful. If we didn’t have all these conflicting religious beliefs, they imagine, we could have real world peace. But my imagination is informed by the realization that our human passions, desires, and ideologies also conflict, and require a transcendent referee. And that we have an innate sense of an ultimate purpose for why we exist which can only make sense if God exists.
Imagine there’s no Super Bowl. There would be peace on the gridiron alright…’cause there’d be no games. No heaven? No meaning to our existence…and definitely no peace.
Thanks, Caroline! I enjoyed the timely metaphors!
LikeLike
I’m glad you did, Tom. Life is full of temporal examples of eternal truths, huh?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! Many signs of the Savior in this world!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry about your Vikes, I thought for sure they would beat the flailing eagles.
“What’s the point?”, “If God does not also exist, our endless existence would still have no ultimate meaning. ”
– The point of our existence is determined by the individual. Although I can see how many religious people believe it is a gift from their god. For instance, the concept of sports was created by people who looked for something meaningful in their life.
The rules of football have long evolved and they were created so both teams would play on an equal level playing field.
I understand what you are trying to say and that is what you believe but from the alternative view point, since the earliest of time, man has searches out how to live a meaningful life. The caveman made the wheel to make life easier, some night owls sought to understand the stars and planets, an alphabet was born, arithmetic was developed, explorers searched their own lands and when they wanted to learn more, they sailed the seas seeking other lands and then when we had the ability, we discovered outer space. We are a curious sort. Now we seek to make as much money as we can so we can enjoy it if we ever get to retire. Others just want to find happiness and money isn’t as important.
I don’t want to take away from what you believe but at the same time, I don’t want you to think the non-religious don’t have a purpose in life.
Hope you are having a great day! The weekend will be here soon!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Who will you be rooting for?
Regarding your comments on my post, I don’t deny that we humans can create our own subjective meaning. But on atheism our lives are still ultimately pointless because we came into being by chance without a purpose and we will someday go out of being forever, and the universe itself will grow cold and dark. Temporary pleasures and satisfaction can be experienced, but if I were an atheist I’d be wondering, what’s it all about really? if at the end of it all it’s as if I never existed.
Even some atheists recognize and admit this lack of ultimate meaning on atheism. Like Bertrand Russell who wrote that they must build their lives on “the firm foundation of unyielding despair.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not sure I am rooting for anyone, just rooting for an exciting game. I think the Patriots will win but it will be exciting if the underdog wins!
While I’m not a fan of Russell, it sounds like you may have taken the quote out of context. The full quote makes it sound like he was saying life is not all rainbows and lollipops 🙂
At the end of life… what is the purpose? From the day we are born, we are one day closer to death. What is the purpose of a newborn who dies just days after birth? I may look at things in a different perspective of a typical non-believer but at the end of our time, we are buried, we become part of the earth. sorry to get metaphysical but, we become the hummus of the earth, we become the soil, the water and the air everyone breathes. We become part of the plants and trees. I like the fact that my parents, my grandparents and my ancestors are still part of this earth. It’s especially nice when I go hiking and remember this. As long as I have a memory of them, they will always be with me.
In the end, I hope to look back and be happy with the life I led. and if I do come back, maybe be a blade of grass on a mountain top … with a great view 🙂
LikeLike
While I admire your sunny and “earthy” attitude, you still have not suggested any purpose for our existence. You only stated what happens to us. Even if what happens provides you with some satisfaction, that doesn’t qualify as a purpose.
LikeLike
Ah, I was answering based on an individuals purpose in life. You are asking why are we here and what was the purpose for us being here. I’m interested in your answer to your own question.
Do we need to have a purpose for being here? or perhaps our existence is happenstance. the only planet in our solar system that can sustain human life as we know it. What about bacteria or organisms on other planets, what is there purpose? What is the purpose of having skunks, porcupine, mice, birds..insects..etc.
For me, WHY we are here really isn’t all that important to me, I know I am here and the only thing I can really do is live life. I don’t need a goal post at the end of life. As long as I can look back on my life with wonderful memories, that’s good enough for me.
LikeLike
I answered my question in my post: “Only God gives ultimate purpose to our lives. Just as the crowning of a championship team directs the season to its ultimate end, a God who created us to know him and enjoy all the blessings that go with that, directs our lives to their ultimate end, which is him.”
Do we need a purpose? Objectively speaking, no. On atheism we have no purpose other than what we create for ourselves. But that self-proclaimed purpose cannot be that for which we exist, which we could not have determined ourselves. So it’s really something different than what I’m talking about.
If you or anyone is content to have no ultimate purpose to your life, then my calling attention to it is unlikely to bother you. But getting to the end of my life with only memories of the past and no hope for a future is not “good enough for me”
LikeLike
Looking at it from your belief, what do you think was Gods purpose to create human’s on earth? To worship him and follow his laws? To make it to “Heaven”.
What about other people who believe in a different god? or Buddhists? or the same god but perhaps not believing in the divinity of Jesus? The Jews don’t necessarily have an afterlife narrative but believe they are similar to followers of Islam who believe in an afterlife in Paradise. Depending on the Buddhist tradition, they believe in heavenly realms and being reborn again (and attempt to build good Karma) Not much different from your purpose.
I have a similar view as the Buddhist with exception to the heaven realms but my purpose is similar to accruing good karma. While I do not wish death on you, lol, when you die, I hope you find yourself in the most wonderful place. I’m not really sure what the afterlife brings but like I said, If it means I can be a blade of grass on the top of a mountain, that would be pretty cool but I am not going to hang my hat on any certainty on an afterlife. I’m cool with that. It just helps me to focus on making this life a wonderful one.
Thanks
Dave
LikeLiked by 1 person
I direct you again to my answer: “to know him and enjoy all the blessings that go with that.” “Build(ing) good Karma” is actually diametrically different from this purpose.
Despite the varied and conflicting views on what happens after death, there is one reality that applies no matter what one believes. I believe God wants all people to know him and gives us enough evidence that he exists. And that we are each responsible for how we respond to that evidence.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your response. I suppose I was looking for something deeper in your answer to what purpose does it serve to create the universe, create the earth and populate it with humans (and everything else). One would figure if his purpose was “to know him”, that he/she would not make it such a mystery that he exists.
It seems to me, if we are a creation of a god, he would observe us and be present. I will use the analogy of a fish bowl (or an ant farm or zoo) that he would be present and active in our lives. Give instructions to us. (and I don’t mean in a spiritual sense only). For instance, Christians believe that Jesus is God. It’s been 2000 years since Jesus and times have changed. How about some clarification on our current world? 🙂
I agree, there is one reality that applies no matter what one believes. The reality of the situation is we return to the earth in one way or another. heaven, paradise, heaven realms, being born again, reincarnation…etc are idealistic and notional. But yes, I understand since you are Christian, that you believe you are going to heaven.
LikeLike
Thanks for the post. In my opinion this kind of thinking doesn’t help us get to the truth. Possibly happiness but not a more accurate understanding of reality. I want to know what’s true but I feel the religious argument often consists of what people want to be true. There is a difference.
I understand why some people feel there would be no purpose. I imagine ancient Greeks and today’s Muslims also thought and do think this way, but this hasn’t helped Zeus to exist or for Mohammad. If I could switch the question to you, if you were confronted by someone of another religion saying this about their God, how would you react? I guess with a sense of understanding that they want it to be true, but I would imagine it wouldn’t convince you that Zeus was indeed up there.
Thanks again for your thoughts, I just wanted to add my opinion.
Cheers,
Sam
LikeLike
Hi, Sam. Thank you for your thoughtful comment. This post isn’t meant to serve as evidence for the God of the Bible, per se, but simply to point out that without God and eternity our lives are ultimately meaningless. And so perhaps to provoke some to investigate evidence for him.
Believers in a different God could conceivably make the same argument, so I would want to know what evidence they have to establish that their God is real. I have presented evidence for the God of the Bible in numerous other posts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I understand. I guess I mentioned it because I hear a lot of arguments for God being ‘well if he didn’t exist what is the point?’ and I just feel this isn’t a relevant answer but wanted to mention it. But I always enjoy the discussion, so thank you for your response 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person