The Big Questions

Sitting in a cozy and comfortable armchair in front of a warm fireplace, it may be easy to ponder life’s big questions. But if you are racked with physical or emotional pain, have recently lost someone close to you, or are flooded with anxiety about how to pay the rent, however, these questions may not even occur to you.

Many people need to feel safe and secure before they turn their attention to questions about human existence. They may also need shelter, food, and clothing. Yet, the questions remain. Adversity of one kind or another may prove distracting, but the questions do not go away.

Here are just some of the big questions:

  1. Does human existence, including my individual life, have enduring significance, and if so what might it be?

  2. Should I serve a purpose greater than myself, more than experiencing a new pleasure or seeking longevity, power, or money? If I don’t serve such a purpose, where might I find it?

  3. Must I invent meaning for my existence or does my life already have meaning that I may not have discover?

  4. What happens when I die? Does life end when the body and brain are no longer capable of sustaining it? Will I be reincarnated? Do claims of life after death make sense? And if so, what will it be like?

  5. Are some ways of living better than others, and if so, what is the best way? Why, for example, should I care about other people, beyond their ability to gratify my needs and make me happy?

  6. According to the Big Bang, the universe instantaneously came into existence almost fourteen billion years ago. Why did it happen at that particular instant, rather than before then or some time in he future?

  7. If, as some scientists predict, the universe will eventually come to an end, what will happen after that? Will anything make lasting sense?

  8. How can I know if God exists, and if so what God is like? What role does God play in human affairs, and more personally in my life?

  9. How, come to think of it, can I truly know anything? Am I stuck with trying to figure out what seems most probable but never, in the end, remains uncertain?

Christianity does not answer all these questions, but it provides more credible answers than any other religion or philosophy on offer.