HEADS OR TAILS? :

What are we doing here? (Dr. Abraham Twerski, M.D., August 29, 2002, Jewish World Review)

Just what are we doing here? What is the purpose of existence? Is it to "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may die?," as the prophet Isaiah asked? It is not necessary for spiritual man to know the purpose of his existence, but it is essential that he think about it and search for it. If one concludes that he has no, purpose in life, that is his privilege, but as a human being he must exercise the unique human capacity to at least contemplate whether there is a purpose to life or not.

This is necessary because this search is crucial for self esteem-a necessary prerequisite for a person to maintain his emotional health. Self esteem requires a sense of having value or worth. Generally we value things for their function or for their aesthetic value. Of these two choices, man is not merely a decorative ornament, so we are left with contemplating our function: Just are we for? To be without a purpose would be devastating to our self esteem.

Now for the big question. Can you have purpose in life without postulating a Creator? To speak of one's ultimate purpose one has to assume that there is an ultimate purpose for the entire universe; a universe where each person has an individualized role. For the Universe to have a purpose there must have been some Intelligence that brought the Universe into being in order to fulfill that purpose. In a Universe that came about spontaneously and happened to evolve in such a way that after billions of years man appeared on insignificant earth, man can hardly be considered to have a purpose.

...and that, to me, is an intolerable thought. I know many people who are unable to believe in a Creator because their reasoning precludes it. I know several who believe in a Creator because they've had a personal experience of Him. I, on the other hand, have to admit I've never had a moment where I thought that I could truly perceive the Creator. But, even if applying it backwards, I find "reasoning" a sufficient means to arrive at the necessity of His existence. Because a life without purpose and without morality would be a horrible and ugly thing and because purpose and morality are only possible if there is a Creator, I choose to believe in Him.
Posted by Orrin Judd at August 29, 2002 11:12 PM