The Biggest Questions There Are - Intro

There are certain questions that concern every single one of us. And we all seem to think that we know the answers to those questions. Why are we here? What is the meaning of life? Is there a God? What happens when we die? What is my purpose? Can I make a difference?

Whoa, whoa, slow down there Kevin, you're getting all weird and philosophical on us. I know, and shamelessly so. Maybe it proves that I'm a nerd at heart, I don't know, but lately I've been thinking about these questions a lot. Just like everyone else, I think I have the answers to those questions (at least most of them) but lately, I've been on this kick of finding out what everyone else's answers are. By that I mean giving them a chance to really argue their position. It's really interesting to me. One, because it challenges my beliefs (after all, if you hold a belief that you don't allow to be challenged, then why in the world do you hold it at all?) Two, because for some strange reason, I find it fascinating to attempt to strip myself of all preconceived notions and look at these issues with pure objectivity (it's impossible, but I like to try). I have a degree in psychology...maybe that has something to do with me wanting to look at both sides of every argument.

So anyway, I'm going to initiate a little project here on my blog. I'm going to try to answer these questions. This probably won't be an uninterrupted project. Who knows, it may take years to finish and I'm sure I'll want to intersperse it with other topics of conversation in the meantime. But hopefully, I won't leave this train of thought unfinished. And I'll admit right from the start that I'm sure all my conclusions will be biased toward my already-existing beliefs, but I'm going to make an effort to be completely objective. That means taking the most solid arguments that each side has to offer on the particular issue. I think it would be fun if this experiment sparked some discussion and maybe even a little controversy. I'm only going to ask one question at a time, each time moving to what seems to me to be the most pertinent question left. I'm not going to start with a set list or anything, because the matter at hand will completely hinge on how the previous questions are answered. In short, I'm going to try to construct a worldview from the ground up.

So which question first? It seems to me that the first question to explore should be "So who's in charge here? Is there even anyone in charge?" A little more formally, "Is There A God?" When I think about it, it seems like every other question stems from the answer to this one. Some kind of authority needs to be established on how we know anything about anything. I'll tell you right now, I think the answer is "yes". But I'm trying to be objective here. So because of my own bias, I'm going to give the first say to someone who strongly disagrees with me - Richard Dawkins. Dawkins is perhaps the most notorious atheist out there. He's well-educated and rational and believes emphatically against the existence of a god of any sort, so he seems like a good person to represent the atheist point of view. I'm currently reading his book, "The God Delusion" and have read enough to know that he presents this view well. I hope to summarize his points here with total fairness, after which I'll give the stage to a theist. When I get to the end of this book, I'll check in with you here and I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about.