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If we believe we are the product of atoms, time and chance, we will conclude as Bertrand Russell:
"That Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; that his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; that no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave; that all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, ...."
The potential of mankind in the mind of an atheistic evolutionist is summarized in the words of this great British philosopher and logician. In short, whatever we can achieve is meaningless and will be buried under the eventual collapse of our solar system.
** Bertrand Russell said envy was one of the most potent causes of unhappiness. It is a universal and most unfortunate aspect of human nature because not only is the envious person rendered unhappy by his envy, but also wishes to inflict misfortune on others.
THE MEANING OF LIFE
Atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell: "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." (Quoted in Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, 17).
Welsh scholar Rheinallt Williams: "There is nothing which arises more spontaneously from man's nature than the question about life's meaning. But if to be shoveled underground, or scattered on its surface, is the end of the journey, then life in the last analysis is a mere passing show without meaning, which no amount of dedication or sacrifice can redeem." (Quoted in Blanchard, Does God Believe in Atheists?, 332-333.)
Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy: "What is life for? To die? To kill myself at once? No, I am afraid. To wait for death till it comes? I fear that even more. Then I must live. But what for? And I could not escape from that circle." (Quoted in Blanchard, Does God Believe in Atheists?, 333.)
Novelist Rebecca West: "I do not believe that any facts exist, or, rather, are accessible to me, which give any assurance that my life has served an eternal purpose." (Quoted in Blanchard, Does God Believe in Atheists?, 333.)
William Provine (The Scientist, 1988): "No moral or ethical laws exist, nor are there absolute guiding principles for human society. The universe cares nothing for us and we have no ultimate meaning in life." (Quoted in Blanchard, Does God Believe in Atheists?, 333.)
Richard Dawkins (described by some as, "increasingly our most militant atheist"), when asked, "What is the purpose of life?", replied: "Well, there is no purpose, and to ask what it is, is a silly question. It has the same status as 'What is the color of jealousy?'" (Quoted in Blanchard, Does God Believe in Atheists?, 333.)
From Glenn Durham's Sermon "How to Live Effectively"
Isn’t it amazing that it took an atheist, Bertrand Russell, to remind us of this insight? Russell said: “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”4
4. Rick Warren. The ...
A philosopher of last century, Bertrand Russell was an outspoken atheist. He even wrote a book called Why I Am Not A Christian. When Russell was 81 years old, he was interviewed on a British Broadcasting Corporation radio talk show. The interviewer asked him what he had to hang onto when death was...
Unfortunately, there are some people who have no hope at all. They live in a kind of existential pessimism and despair. Bertrand Russell was a brilliant thinker, but because he made no room for God in his thoughts, he could not figure out the mystery of life. He once said, “When I die, I believe that I shall rot, and that that is the end.” He went on to say, “All the labors of the ages — the inspiration, the noonday brightness of human genius — are destined to extinction. The whole temple of man’s achievement must inevitably be buried in the debris of a universe in ruins.” Now there’s something to cheer your day. But when you exclude God from your life and thinking there is no other way to think.
By way of contrast, I think of Joni Eareckson Tada who is a woman in a wheelchair. Many of you know her story. In her youth she was an athletic teenager, but in 1967 she broke her neck in a tragic diving accident in Chesapeake Bay. She has written several books, including one on her life story. Because of her paralysis, she cannot feed or bathe herself, or care for her most basic needs. She is a deeply committed Christian, and even as a quadriplegi...
