And now, time for something Really different. Let’s talk for a minute or two about the meaning of life. Seriously. Ask the average fellow what he or she believes — for example, in a theological sense (ie: what his or her religious position is) — and very often the answer will be a statement of that which he does NOT believe (ie: Jews don’t believe in Jesus). Much harder is a formulation of that which one does believe. Many people find the concept of belief (meaning something less than certainty) and its inherent ambiguity to be an inconvenience to their emotional karma and choose instead to subscribe to certainties or beliefs without any shed of doubt. Webster’s dictionary defines religion as a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs and practices involving the service or worship of God (all references herein to the abstract) or the supernatural. Doesn’t say a thing about certainties.
So here’s the challenge. Part One: Take some time to think about what you believe (not what you don’t believe). What is the meaning of life? Does God exist? What does he, she or it want from you? Does the Bible exist? What is the role of clergy? How do ethics coincide or contrast with religious imperatives? What is more important: observance of ritual with religion or morality without religion? If God doesn’t exist, what does? Is there a supernatural source of reward and punishment? These are just some starter questions. I’m sure most of you have spent lots of time thinking about these issues already.
OK, so when you come to some conclusions, we come to Part Two of Ivan’s Meaning of Life Challenge. Write down some sort of code that states what it is that you Believe. It can be a list of statements and verbal illustrations, an essay, an anything. Could be a page, a few pages, a few hundred pages. Point is, it’s one thing to think it and another to write it. When you do, you’ll see in black and white (unless you use a color display) one belief stacked up against another and you’ll have to decide if they are consistent with each other and defensible against the various facts and circumstances that challenge belief structures.
I wouldn’t ask you to do anything I haven’t already done myself so I can report that I have done some writing and prepared something along these lines. I am withholding it for now while I ruminate and brood, the overgrown teen idol that I am. While I idle in the taxiway, I am passing along the challenge to you and it will be interesting to see in a few weeks what we of various religions (and non-religions) and nationalities come up with. I don’t expect that what we write will change minds, win popularity contests or even make sense a year from now (after all, we can change our minds), but I think that the challenge is worthwhile and that it should be fair game for people to challenge others and to see how people defend what they believe in. Again, this is not so much as a religious exercise as a thought exercise on the great issues pertaining to the Meaning of Life (which tend to ultimately touch upon religion whether or not one has a universalistic or particularistic outlook) and a chance to see how people from different backgrounds hold court in this increasingly global village.
Some Terms: Anonymity will be respected to the extent it is requested. This activity is not open to all but will be restricted. If you got this note, then you are invited to play. Responsa will be posted on the Internet so that you can log in and check what’s been posted but on a “hidden” page.
C’mon, It’ll be fun. I’ll touch bases on this in 2 weeks. Ciao for now.
