I haven’t heard this show yet, but just last night I watched a debate on YouTube titled: “Does the universe have a purpose?”
“Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, and Matt Ridley debated William Lane Craig, Douglas Geivett, and Rabbi David Wolpe on the topic: Does the Universe Have a Purpose?”
Very interesting topic and that debate went well, I think so at least. Bottom line of the debate, for me was: ‘If there is a God, the universe has a purpose(although the atheist side seemed to disagree with that), if there is no God, although we can make purposes for ourselves in life, there is no ultimate purpose for the universe.’ (BTW, that’s not a quote just my own personal bottom line of their debate)
Good debate, I have been waiting for Mr. Dawkins and Dr. Craig to “go at it”, hopefully they do again someday.. Maybe Dr. Brown can join in one of those debates I think he did a great job against Bart Ehrman.
Anyway, can’t wait to hear the show. I’d love to hear Dr. Brown’s perspective!
Just finished listening to the show..
Great show Dr. Brown,
I really, fully agree with everything you said especially the part about how we relate to others and really trying to view things from their perspective.
That is definitely key in reaching out to people, I really need to do that more – it really takes a conscience effort though.
What a sad, depressing world it would be if there was no purpose in life. Sure we could make purposes for ourselves as we go but in reality, that is just an illusion, if there is no purpose there is no hope. Praise the Lord we do not live in that world!
BTW, Here is the link to the debate I mentioned earlier. If you have not seen it, you should check it out. Again the debate includes people like Richard Dawkins, Dr. William Lane Craig and Rabbi David Wolpe, (And more)
The first 6 minutes or so is in Spanish and you can just fast forward through that..
I will be praying for you and your ministry as you go to India, that you will be very fruitful for the kingdom of God and God will use you mightily! —
God bless you all!
A lady in my neighborhood is an agnostic. Well a while ago she came down with lung cancer because she was a smoker. She had to get one of her lungs removed. When I learned of her condition I told her I’d tell my church about her. My Pastor was willing to come down her house to pray over her but she refused that. But she did agree that the church can pray for her w/o her being present. A few weeks later I saw her and she told me…”Debbie whatever you guys are doing keep doing it because it is working.” She has no more cancer. Even though she knew we were praying for her, she knew it was because of God. She still is an agnostic. (This all happened about 2 yrs ago.)
Go figure. As I’m writing this I’m thinking next time I see her I’m going to ask her is she still an agnostic. I remember I use to pray really hard for that women that God would open her eyes to know Him. This should be interesting to find out where she stands now.
It is so good to know that life does not end in the grave, but goes on from death to eternity. What a hopeless world if there is no God. With God as our hope, like the hymn says “the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”. If life ends at the grave, then what hope can you give to a dying people? Beacause we have hope, we can smile at death because Christ overcame and death is now under His feet. Did you know that death is the enemy of God? Christians have such a powerful message. May God strengthen you today Dr. Brown. God bless you and the martyr and the family over there in India.
Something cannot come from nothing. In other words, because there is something, there was never nothing. The fact of existence itself really pushes the mind to it’s boundaries. We must explain the cause of existence. Whatever exists came into existence somehow. I guess the question then becomes, what is the cause of all things? We are alive today because we have been born into this world. Some might say that the universe has always existed but that is wrong because evidence have shown otherwise. I figured that if something can’t come from nothing, then there was always something that everything can come from. There was always something and that something is God, the beautiful mind behind this complex existence.
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:14
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58
I believe that God was simply speaking of Himself as the First, the one that brought all things into existence. Without God there is no meaning to life and without God, there would be no life. There was always something, something important, His name is Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
Heavenly Father I pray oh Lord that you will open the eyes of the blind. Let them see you, your truth, your Son. Help them, Lord please help them. Create a miracle in them. Then true joy will rest in them.
For the righteous will live by faith.
Can There Be Purpose and Meaning to Life without God ?
The only purpose to life on Earth is to procreate and Evolve. Life on earth and the Universe came into being as a consequence of Natural Law. God is an ideology that has evolved through Human Evolutionary Psychology. God exists in the Mind and only in the Mind. To believe in the Supernatural God is a delusion of indoctrination, weak mindedness and is akin to Mental Illness. It is a childish Ideology but also a dangerous one.
“The only purpose to life on Earth is to procreate and Evolve.” Not correct.
Procreation happens, yes. Evolution appears to have happened. But neither is driven by purpose.
“Some might say that the universe has always existed but that is wrong because evidence have shown otherwise.”
What evidence is that exactly? Actually empirical evidence shows us that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed and so modern cosmology tells us that matter and energy have always existed in one form or another. If God could have always existed then so could have mass-energy. Claiming God has always existed and the universe has not is a logical fallacy knows as Special Pleading. This is a good example of the ancient religious custom of creating a mystery to explain another mystery. We know the universe as we now observe it had a beginning but the stuff the universe is made of has always existed. Creationists need to prove that total nothingness is even possible before they make the absurd claim that the universe came from nothing.
“Can There Be Purpose and Meaning to Life without God ? The only purpose to life on Earth is to procreate and Evolve.”
That may be our purpose but life itself has no inherent meaning. This is not a bad thing however. In fact it’s a great thing because it allows every one of us to give our lives whatever meaning and purpose we want to. Only people who believe in God strip away meaning and purpose from their lives. The rest of us know better.
I have never written on one of these before but the last comment on this site was urking me.Those who believe in God have a life stripped from any meaning? I believe in God. I live a purpose driven life aimed towards my loved ones and other people as well. The fact that I believe in a life after death does not take a thing away from my life in this world. I will enjoy every minute of it. And make the most of everything that comes my way. It is inprecious and can be taken away at any given moment. There is a lot of evil in our world. The only purpose to life on earth is to procreate and evolve? If thats your belief, thats fine for you. What is the purpose for all of the evil that takes place in our world? I, myself have lived a life blessed with good people that love and care for others. But unfortunately thats not the case for everyone. God is there I know it deep in my heart. And so is evil. When you rely on God instead of carrying the weight of your life on your shoulders you truly become free. He reveals himself to us in different ways. All you have to do is believe, and trust. Life here on earth is giving us all a chance to see the truth, and believe. Doesnt mean that there is no other meaning to our lives. Everything we do has meaning. But there is something bigger to come.
I haven’t heard this show yet, but just last night I watched a debate on YouTube titled: “Does the universe have a purpose?”
“Richard Dawkins, Michael Shermer, and Matt Ridley debated William Lane Craig, Douglas Geivett, and Rabbi David Wolpe on the topic: Does the Universe Have a Purpose?”
Very interesting topic and that debate went well, I think so at least. Bottom line of the debate, for me was: ‘If there is a God, the universe has a purpose(although the atheist side seemed to disagree with that), if there is no God, although we can make purposes for ourselves in life, there is no ultimate purpose for the universe.’ (BTW, that’s not a quote just my own personal bottom line of their debate)
Good debate, I have been waiting for Mr. Dawkins and Dr. Craig to “go at it”, hopefully they do again someday.. Maybe Dr. Brown can join in one of those debates I think he did a great job against Bart Ehrman.
Anyway, can’t wait to hear the show. I’d love to hear Dr. Brown’s perspective!
Just finished listening to the show..
Great show Dr. Brown,
I really, fully agree with everything you said especially the part about how we relate to others and really trying to view things from their perspective.
That is definitely key in reaching out to people, I really need to do that more – it really takes a conscience effort though.
What a sad, depressing world it would be if there was no purpose in life. Sure we could make purposes for ourselves as we go but in reality, that is just an illusion, if there is no purpose there is no hope. Praise the Lord we do not live in that world!
BTW, Here is the link to the debate I mentioned earlier. If you have not seen it, you should check it out. Again the debate includes people like Richard Dawkins, Dr. William Lane Craig and Rabbi David Wolpe, (And more)
The first 6 minutes or so is in Spanish and you can just fast forward through that..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6tIee8FwX8
Be blessed!
Also, Dr. Brown,
I will be praying for you and your ministry as you go to India, that you will be very fruitful for the kingdom of God and God will use you mightily!
—
God bless you all!
A lady in my neighborhood is an agnostic. Well a while ago she came down with lung cancer because she was a smoker. She had to get one of her lungs removed. When I learned of her condition I told her I’d tell my church about her. My Pastor was willing to come down her house to pray over her but she refused that. But she did agree that the church can pray for her w/o her being present.
A few weeks later I saw her and she told me…”Debbie whatever you guys are doing keep doing it because it is working.” She has no more cancer.
Even though she knew we were praying for her, she knew it was because of God. She still is an agnostic. (This all happened about 2 yrs ago.)
Go figure. As I’m writing this I’m thinking next time I see her I’m going to ask her is she still an agnostic. I remember I use to pray really hard for that women that God would open her eyes to know Him. This should be interesting to find out where she stands now.
It is so good to know that life does not end in the grave, but goes on from death to eternity. What a hopeless world if there is no God. With God as our hope, like the hymn says “the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”. If life ends at the grave, then what hope can you give to a dying people? Beacause we have hope, we can smile at death because Christ overcame and death is now under His feet. Did you know that death is the enemy of God? Christians have such a powerful message. May God strengthen you today Dr. Brown. God bless you and the martyr and the family over there in India.
Something cannot come from nothing. In other words, because there is something, there was never nothing. The fact of existence itself really pushes the mind to it’s boundaries. We must explain the cause of existence. Whatever exists came into existence somehow. I guess the question then becomes, what is the cause of all things? We are alive today because we have been born into this world. Some might say that the universe has always existed but that is wrong because evidence have shown otherwise. I figured that if something can’t come from nothing, then there was always something that everything can come from. There was always something and that something is God, the beautiful mind behind this complex existence.
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Exodus 3:14
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58
I believe that God was simply speaking of Himself as the First, the one that brought all things into existence. Without God there is no meaning to life and without God, there would be no life. There was always something, something important, His name is Jesus.
2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
Heavenly Father I pray oh Lord that you will open the eyes of the blind. Let them see you, your truth, your Son. Help them, Lord please help them. Create a miracle in them. Then true joy will rest in them.
For the righteous will live by faith.
Can There Be Purpose and Meaning to Life without God ?
The only purpose to life on Earth is to procreate and Evolve.
Life on earth and the Universe came into being as a consequence of Natural Law. God is an ideology that has evolved through Human Evolutionary Psychology. God exists in the Mind and only in the Mind. To believe in the Supernatural God is a delusion of indoctrination, weak mindedness and is akin to Mental Illness.
It is a childish Ideology but also a dangerous one.
“The only purpose to life on Earth is to procreate and Evolve.” Not correct.
Procreation happens, yes. Evolution appears to have happened. But neither is driven by purpose.
“Some might say that the universe has always existed but that is wrong because evidence have shown otherwise.”
What evidence is that exactly? Actually empirical evidence shows us that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed and so modern cosmology tells us that matter and energy have always existed in one form or another. If God could have always existed then so could have mass-energy. Claiming God has always existed and the universe has not is a logical fallacy knows as Special Pleading. This is a good example of the ancient religious custom of creating a mystery to explain another mystery. We know the universe as we now observe it had a beginning but the stuff the universe is made of has always existed. Creationists need to prove that total nothingness is even possible before they make the absurd claim that the universe came from nothing.
“Can There Be Purpose and Meaning to Life without God ?
The only purpose to life on Earth is to procreate and Evolve.”
That may be our purpose but life itself has no inherent meaning. This is not a bad thing however. In fact it’s a great thing because it allows every one of us to give our lives whatever meaning and purpose we want to. Only people who believe in God strip away meaning and purpose from their lives. The rest of us know better.
I have never written on one of these before but the last comment on this site was urking me.Those who believe in God have a life stripped from any meaning? I believe in God. I live a purpose driven life aimed towards my loved ones and other people as well. The fact that I believe in a life after death does not take a thing away from my life in this world. I will enjoy every minute of it. And make the most of everything that comes my way. It is inprecious and can be taken away at any given moment. There is a lot of evil in our world. The only purpose to life on earth is to procreate and evolve? If thats your belief, thats fine for you. What is the purpose for all of the evil that takes place in our world? I, myself have lived a life blessed with good people that love and care for others. But unfortunately thats not the case for everyone. God is there I know it deep in my heart. And so is evil. When you rely on God instead of carrying the weight of your life on your shoulders you truly become free. He reveals himself to us in different ways. All you have to do is believe, and trust. Life here on earth is giving us all a chance to see the truth, and believe. Doesnt mean that there is no other meaning to our lives. Everything we do has meaning. But there is something bigger to come.