The Effect

What is the effect of so many different ideas by scholars and religious leaders on the question of life's purpose? Many respond as did an elderly man who said: " I've been asking why I'm here most of my life. If there's a purpose I don't care anymore.

Quite a number who observe the profusion of views among the world's religious conclude that it really does not matter what one believes. They feel that religion is just a diversion for the mind, something to provide a little peace of mind and comfort so that one can cope with life's problems. Others feel taht religion is nothing more than superstition. They feel that centuries of religious speculation has not answered the question about life's purpose, nor has it improved the life of the common people. Indeed, history shows that this world's religions have often held mankind back from progress and have been the cause of hatreds and wars.

Yet, is it even important to find the truth about the purpose of life? Mental-health professional Viktor Frankl answered: "The striving to find a meaning in one's life is the primary motivational forec in man.... There is nothing in the world, I venture to say, that would so effectively help one to survive even the worst conditions, as the knowledge that there is a meaning in one's life."

Since human philosophies and religions have not satisfactorily explained what the purpose of life is, whre can we go to find out what it is? Is there a source of superior wisdom that can tell us the truth about this matter?


Continued-Next time: Who Can Tell Us?