Quote Originally Posted by SmoothGroove View Post
So err yes, feel free to discuss, what is the meaning you have found for yourself/do you HAVE a meaning?
I'm sorry if I have touched any nerves as well in regards to the religious thing, it seems whenever i try to talk to anyone about their religious views I offend them
I don't know about the whole religion argument. Morals came before religion as a whole, and I'd assume you'd have to have morals to allow yourself to follow the religious text. But what I don't like about religion is the afterlife. Common to all popular religion is the karma concept. You get what you give. Some are nice (reincarnation), and some suck royally (Chinese hell sounds worse than Christian hell, because not only does it last a few thousand universe lifespans, but you'll have to do it over and over if you screw up in the next life. It also has layers of increasing intensity and duration. In modern Christian hell, you burn for a single eternity, in the same setting.). Ah. I'm on a tangent. Oh well. Anyway, religion has great ideas: don't kill people, don't steal, don't lie. But some people only adhere to it because they are afraid of the afterlife.

Many Christians think life is a test of soul, to see whether or not you get into heaven. But heaven is life itself! The test is the universe! The whole meaning of the universe is to become self-conscious. As simple atoms and molecules, the universe is mostly unaware. Sure, atoms react to other atoms, molecules interact with other molecules, but that isn't true perception. Life creates a better perception. As life becomes more complex, so does the universe's self awareness. Life evolves from bacteria that are pure reaction, to microorganisms with true instinct, to worms with simple memory, all the way to humans. We can experience the universe. We know that what we are experiencing is the universe. We are apart of the universe. Is the universe self-aware? No, not all the way. We still have evolving to do. Luckily, humans have reached a point where we don't need DNA to evolve. We've got language (a medium) and technology (speed).