Purpose

[alfrodull]

Does your religion teach that life (the human race, or perhaps the biosphere as a whole) has a purpose? If so, what is this purpose?

What about the individual? Do you believe that each individual has a specific purpose in life that they are called (or even fated) to achieve? I'm not talking about the afterlife or adhering to a specific moral code so much as I am speaking of individual actions: one might say George Washington was "destined" to be the first president of the United States, for example, or that Tiger Woods was "destined" to play golf.

 

[awitch]

No, I don't believe every person has a particular purpose that was written in stone (somewhere) before s/he was born.

I suppose our purpose is to advance the species by finding our talents and contributing to society. In other words, it's up to each of us to determine our own purpose.

 

[Caitlin.ann]

Nope no purpose.

 

[Mansonslilchild]

I do not personally believe in fate. Furthermore, I have concluded that in order to have a destiny, you must first have a destination. I feel that you choose your own destination. If you did not choose your destiny, that would be the definition of fate. For every action you make, there are consequences. If I decide I want to do something, take the proper steps to accomplish it, and really work for it, I will achieve it. Sometimes there are variables that add into situations and, of course, you have to keep those in mind and work around them. The idea of a deity judging my pre-determined life is not attractive to me. As a matter of fact, if you truly think about it, free-will wouldn't even exist in a scenario such as this. That would make the God and/or Godess a very cruel thing. If you happened to add that we were "created in the image of god" to this, that would actually make evil the greatest virtue. Idk about all that

 

[Gardenia]

As far as I know, there is no teaching which says humanity as a whole has a specific purpose to achieve. I believe we're here to learn, and to experience and enjoy physical existence. I'm not sure I'd say individuals have specific purposes, either.. I do believe in reincarnation, so I think it is possible that some may choose to be born again to experience a specific thing, learn a certain lesson (or, more than one).. but perhaps sometimes it's just something like wanting to live again just because it may be enjoyable.

 

[Mahammad]

Does your religion teach that life (the human race, or perhaps the biosphere as a whole) has a purpose? If so, what is this purpose?

What about the individual? Do you believe that each individual has a specific purpose in life that they are called (or even fated) to achieve? I'm not talking about the afterlife or adhering to a specific moral code so much as I am speaking of individual actions: one might say George Washington was "destined" to be the first president of the United States, for example, or that Tiger Woods was "destined" to play golf.

The purpose of our life is to worship Allah (swt) and that doesn't mean he needs our worship, he doesn't need anyone to worship him but the purpose of life is to worship him.

 

[Wicked Willow]

I'm quite existentialist as far as "purpose" is concerned - it is something we give ourselves, not something that is written in stone.

 

[Eudaimonist]

Do you believe that each individual has a specific purpose in life that they are called (or even fated) to achieve?

No. We may have a naturally appropriate purpose of flourishing in this life, however, we choose our specific purposes. It may be that our natural talents incline us to one purpose over another, but the choice is still ours.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[dewaddict84]

Does your religion teach that life (the human race, or perhaps the biosphere as a whole) has a purpose? If so, what is this purpose?
Yep, the purpose of life is to propagate life.

What about the individual? Do you believe that each individual has a specific purpose in life that they are called (or even fated) to achieve?
Not really. They're certainly not fated to do anything. I'd say each individual has the same general purpose as the whole of life.

 

[TerranceL]

Purpose exists in the eye of the beholder.

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

Does your religion teach that life (the human race, or perhaps the biosphere as a whole) has a purpose? If so, what is this purpose?

Yes, indeed!

I quote from the Baha'i scriptures:

”O SON OF BOUNTY!
“Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things. Thus, ere thou didst issue from thy mother’s womb, I destined for thee two founts of gleaming milk, eyes to watch over thee, and hearts to love thee. Out of My loving-kindness, ’neath the shade of My mercy I nurtured thee, and guarded thee by the essence of My grace and favor. And My purpose in all this was that thou mightest attain My everlasting dominion and become worthy of My invisible bestowals….”
--The Hidden Words, Part One, #32

Thus the purpose of the entire rest of creation is our training and spiritual education!

As to our specific purpose as humans, our scriptures state it is twofold.

We are to worship God through:

1. Acquiring the spiritual virtues we'll need in both this life and the Next, and
2. Carrying forward an ever-advancing civilization.

Best!

Bruce

 

[sidhe]

Purpose is something we create for ourselves. Speaking personally, our purpose is to pursue our own True Will...however, that might mean being a carpenter to one man, and being a neurosurgeon to another, and being an "escort" to another. That which brings us joy and a feeling of closeness to the Divine/something greater than ourselves is our purpose.

If you've ever seen Chariots of Fire, the line "When I run, I can feel the joy of God" is a good example of the idea of Will.

 

[Wicked Willow]

"Consciousness expresses itself through creation. This world we live in is the dance of the creator. Dancers come an go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on. On many an occasion when I am dancing, I have felt touched by something sacred. In those moments, I felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists.

I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved. I become the victor and the vanquished. I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song. I become the knower and the known. I keep on dancing then it is the eternal dance of creation. The creator and creation merge into one wholeness of joy. I keep on dancing... and dancing... and dancing, until there is only... the dance."

-- Michael Jackson

 

[sidhe]

^And that would be, too.

 

[Rasta]

I believe that purpose is an abstract concept created by humans to make us feel special. I think each individual creates their own purpose in life, even if they plagerized it from a "spiritual how to" book. We define our reality and the choises we make determines our destination.

 

[Penumbra]

Greetings!



Yes, indeed!

I quote from the Baha'i scriptures:

”O SON OF BOUNTY!
“Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things. Thus, ere thou didst issue from thy mother’s womb, I destined for thee two founts of gleaming milk, eyes to watch over thee, and hearts to love thee. Out of My loving-kindness, ’neath the shade of My mercy I nurtured thee, and guarded thee by the essence of My grace and favor. And My purpose in all this was that thou mightest attain My everlasting dominion and become worthy of My invisible bestowals….”
--The Hidden Words, Part One, #32

Thus the purpose of the entire rest of creation is our training and spiritual education!

As to our specific purpose as humans, our scriptures state it is twofold.

We are to worship God through:

1. Acquiring the spiritual virtues we'll need in both this life and the Next, and
2. Carrying forward an ever-advancing civilization.

Best!

Bruce

Training and spiritual education for what?

That seems like a means, not a purpose. Advance spiritually for this life and the next. Then, continue advancing spiritually. What is the purpose of each moment of this system? Is there an end result, or is each moment somehow its own end result, and if so, what is the purpose of each moment?

-Lyn

 

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings!

As I thought was clear, training and spiritual education so we can fulfill our dual purposes (which I then stated).

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Montalban]

Nope no purpose.

Why did you post that?

 

[Montalban]

This is a porpoise...

 

[Eudaimonist]

This is a porpoise...

Oh, no! My life has no porpoise after all!