Inevitability of God

Purpose of Existence
Value of Existence
Basis of Good and Evil
Life After Death
Inevitability of God

Purpose of Existence

Some people think that the world came to its existence by chance. By definition, there is neither purpose nor meaning in "chance". The universe exists by chance, the earth exists by chance, and I exist by chance, they argue. With this philosophy, there is no answer to such questions as "For what purpose do we exist?"

I wonder how many people can truly accept that neither any purpose nor any meaning is attached to their lives. For what purpose do we live? To love? To bear children? To contribute to society? But why should we love? Why should we produce children? Why should we contribute to the society? Why should we so eagerly live for the prosperity of mankind, just like a single-minded virus endlessly making copies of its own? Where does it end? Why should we continue if it will end?

Some people correctly point out that I would not be able to indulge in contemplating "useless" things if it weren't for the people around me actually investing their energies in practical things rather than being idle. Shouldn't I stop philosophizing and do something useful? But, what if there is a real purpose for my life that I am just not aware of? Isn't it truly a waste of time to live without knowing what this purpose is? Isn't it that the majority of the people just live neither knowing nor wanting to know the real purpose of their own existence? Should I just choose my own purpose for my life? But how valid would such an arbitrarily chosen purpose be?

Value of Existence

Some people think that the world is consists of only matter. Matter is that of which we can observe the evidence of its existence. An atom can be observed and therefore it exists. Magnetic fields can be observed and therefore they exist. The living mixture of organic and inorganic being can be observed and therefore I exist. Anything unobservable such as God or spirits or life after death does not exist. The purpose of existence or its meaning does not exist because these things are not observable.

I wonder how many people can truly accept that we are nothing but matter. The reason why I feel loved, happy, or valued, is nothing but the effect of some electric current running through my brain cells. What is the difference between the mind of six billion people rejoicing and the flow of electric current in six billion cables? Why do we weep for people cruelly tortured and killed? Death is nothing but a gathering of cells ceasing to function. Is my life more valued than the life of a bacterium that has just been eaten by the white blood cells flowing in my vessels? No matter how great one's contribution to mankind is considered, one must ask what the value is of that contribution on a tiny planet in a vast galaxy in a vast universe -- so tiny is the earth that if a large comet were to crush against it, it would disappear. Who can tell me that my life is worth more than just matter?

Basis of Good and Evil

Some people think that distinguishing good from evil is a subjective matter. It is just humans who decide arbitrary what is good and what is evil according to their epoch and culture, and thus nothing in this universe can be said to be absolutely good or absolutely evil. Is it good to contribute to human society? Is it good for mankind to prosper? It is said that the existence of human beings is the ultimate evil for the perishing species, or indeed for the earth.

I wonder how many people can truly accept that there is no absolute standard of good and evil. Darwin's evolution theory is based on the principle of natural selection; that is the stronger one remains while the weaker one perishes. If this principle is correct, then we do not need to be kind to others. Instead, it should be "good" to exploit others and gain profit for oneself, because the stronger should prey upon the weaker. If this principle is correct, then we do not need to protect the weaker people or perishing species. Instead, it should be "good" to actively remove those weaker creatures, because this is what natural selection means. Someone may say, "No! It is not right that just individuals survive, but the whole of mankind should prosper." Still others may say, "No! It is not right that just mankind prospers, but every species should prosper in harmony." But in the end, shouldn't every species repeat the cycle of generation, evolution, decline, and extinction? Why should we follow what the current society decides as good and evil, if we know that there is no basis in it?

Life After Death

Some people think that death is absolute end of one's existence. That is, my existence will completely disappear when my body stops functioning. In other words, no matter how one lived a life -- a life loved by many people or a life hated by many people -- everyone goes to exactly the same end of nothingness.

I wonder how many people can truly accept that everyone goes to the same end regardless of how good or bad they are. Neither the great contribution one has made to mankind, nor the respects of billions of people, has any value if one is dead and does not exist. It does not matter how many people I have abused, tortured, and killed -- what can they do to me if I am dead and do not exist. Even if my family suffers for what I have done in the past, there will be no effect on me if I am dead. Those who oppress and those who are oppressed go to the same end of nothingness.

Why then should I choose to do good now? So I won't be put in jail? I can be stupid enough to think that I am clever enough to plan evil without getting caught under the civil laws. Wouldn't it be logical to conclude that I should live however I like, if I know that tomorrow I will die? Even if I oppress others, what does this do to me after I die and disappear? If the button to launch the nuclear missiles was in front of me, and if I knew that tomorrow I would die, would there be any reason for me not to press this button?

Inevitability of God

I cannot give sufficient answers to the above four questions of "basis", without acknowledging the existence of God. That is, it is God who has created this world with purpose, it is God who has given the special value to human lives, it is God who has determined what is right and what is wrong, and it is God who will judge each person according to his or her deeds. One may say that mankind has created the concept of God in order to provide the answer to the questions of "basis". However, it can be also said that because God indeed created the world, we cannot give the answers to those questions without acknowledging his existence.

Of course, I can see no logical inconsistency in the answer, "There is no such 'basis' in anything." That is, we can consider the world as having "just happened" without any purpose - it consists of nothing but matters, and there is neither absolute good nor evil nor permanent motivation to choose good. But isn't accepting such a view abandoning the basis of currently accepted ethics and morals, which have been understood by accepting some absolute and unchanging concept such as God or Buddha or Shinto gods? Once several generations have not been taught on this absolute unchanging basis, we will see the current ethics and morals being replaced by other ethics and morals, that are currently not regarded as ethical or moral at all. And of course, if we think that there is no such things as absolute good or evil, then the change of ethics and morals is just a process of mankind evolving, or in fact perishing, and it is nothing that we should judge as good or evil. This understanding does claim its consistency, but it is far more difficult for me to accept it than to accept such a concept as God, the Creator. This is because such a "no God" understanding simply does not agree with my daily experience, which is full of respect for others, love for my wife and my daughters, and the real feeling of some value in my life. Yes! We can understand the world correctly only after accepting the existence of absolute God, can't we?

In short, I am contrasting two worldviews here. One is the view that the world is a product of chance and the other is the view that the world is a product of God. It may well be that there is another worldview that can explain what I see without contradiction and I just do not know about it. But for now, as far as I can understand, the existence of God is inevitable. And to me, to neglect God is equal to neglecting the purpose of our existence, the value of human life, the basis of ethics and morals, and the permanent motives to choose what is good beyond the civil laws.

I have heard that a well-trained chimpanzee can have intelligence similar to that of a human baby. They seem to have consciousness of self to the point that they can recognise the image reflected in the mirror as themselves. But the only known animal questioning by itself "For what purpose do I exist?" is mankind. Why? The Bible states the one purpose of human existence as follows:

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

Acts 17:26, 27 (NIV)

Produced by Hajime Suzuki
Special thanks to Karen Spencer and John Lew for their suggestions for this translation
Special thanks to my wife Louise for her constant encouragement and patience