Richard concludes his book by asking 3 questions which I will attempt to answer:
Who are you?
A father, husband, neighbour, lawyer, golfer, skier, traveller, blogger, procrastinator and citizen of the world. Contrary to what I am told in this book, I don't need an imaginary friend to get a grip on my identity.Do you matter?
If you exclude my family and friends, most certainly not. Postulizing a supernatural creator who demands adoration certainly wouldn't give me any greater feeling of importance.What is your place in life?
It's the sum total of the effect which my life has on others. After I'm gone, I expect that is all there will be of me.Richard summarizes the thesis of this book when he writes:
"Who are you going to live for? What are you going to build your life around? You can center your life around your career, family, a sport or hobby, money, having fun, or many other activities. These are all good things, but they don't belong at the center of your life. None is strong enough to hold you together when life starts breaking apart. You need an unshakable center." According to Richard, that emotional crutch is god.
Surprisingly, I finish this book agreeing with Richard on one point. If an individual is going to be thrown into existential despair at the thought that all good things come to an end, perhaps they are better off convincing themselves that the center of their life is an imaginary friend. In fact, the delusion can become quite convincing when it is shared by millions of like-minded brethren.
I share the same attitude as Dr. James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and a noted atheist. The purpose of life is to live well and the prospect of a good lunch tomorrow is more than enough to keep me going.
6 comments:
Always good to hear an athiest dog on people like Rick Warren who really do not preach the message of the Bible. Thanks for the critique!
To Tam - why didnt you say you played golf,if you have to fight a slice like me your probably going through hell already. ha ha
Congratulations, TAM. After this gruelling task, you are now a fully fledged Jedi Knight.
Seriously, I do admire your tenacity at completing this task, long, long after da ran off and you'd "won".
Where the "hell" is da? Roving the South American countryside, I suppose.
I agree with Richard that everyone needs a rock; a comfort zone that provides strength when everything seems too much to handle. I respectfully disagree with Richard that my family cannot be that rock. In fact, I find that insulting. I guess I am far luckier than Richard, and for that I am (not eternally) grateful.
Cheers.
To TAM- What about those who have no lunch, dinner,breakfast, or food in general. what about the 80% of the worlds poulation who eak
out an existance what do they anticipate or look forward to. I know this in no way has anything to do with Gods existance but its easy for us in the west who have homes, cars holidays, to talk of self determination, and
how we are self made men but realy we are not in control of our own destiny or lunch for that matter
Excellent series! C'mon, Da, scholar up!
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