It’s the reason a car was built and the “meaning” of the car, if you will. Philosophers sometimes refer to the concept of ‘meaning’ as ‘telos’ (τέλος) from the Greek word signifying “end, purpose, or goal.” For instance, the ‘telos’ of a car is to bring you from one place to another place in a reasonable amount of time. The Meaning of Meaning – Why ‘Telos’ Is Vitalīefore digging too deep, it’s good to define an important term in this question: what is “meaning”? defines the ‘meaning’ we’re concerned with as: “the end, purpose, or significance of something” In other words, the reason something exists. In this post, I aim to review explore the significance of “meaning”, review some false but popular musings on the meaning of life, and finally cover how the Bible answers the perennial question on what is the meaning of life. We are not left to meander through life without a purpose.

But it’s not that confusing from a Biblical perspective.

Psychoanalyst Carl Jung wrote, “Really, I don’t know what the meaning or purpose of life is, but it looks exactly as if something were meant by it.” Novelist Joseph Heller said he had no answers to the meaning of life “and no longer want to search for any.”įrom the lofty aspirations of religious leaders to the nonsensical pronouncements of potheads, everyone has a take on the meaning of life. Moorhead published these one-liners and phrases from about 250 thinkers.Īccording to the Chicago Tribune, answers about the meaning of life were quite varied. What is the meaning of life? In 1988, Hugh Moorhead, former chair of the Department of Philosophy from Northwestern University, asked hundreds of leading Western thinkers, commentators, and even comedians about the meaning of life.

For the wicked, unbelievers will bring glory to God through judgment by being objects of his wrath for eternity. What is the meaning of life? For the righteous, the meaning (or purpose) of life is to bring glory to God our creator and enjoy him forever through Jesus Christ. How the world considers the meaning of life, contrasted with the Bible’s answer, and why it matters from a Christian perspective.

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