WEBVTT - If There Is No God, Can You Find Meaning in Life?

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<v Speaker 1>Life audio in today's episode of Timeless Wisdom.

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<v Speaker 2>Is there meaning to life if there is no God?

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<v Speaker 2>And the answer is no.

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<v Speaker 3>Personally, I'm an atheist and I see meaning to everything

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<v Speaker 3>that exists.

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<v Speaker 4>Tree.

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<v Speaker 2>I think that's great. I think that means well, now

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<v Speaker 2>that you mentioned that, what meaning do you see in

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<v Speaker 2>a tree?

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<v Speaker 3>There's meaning beyond just looking at the tree and seeing

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<v Speaker 3>the tree as a physical entity. There's an essence beyond

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<v Speaker 3>our human understanding. So the thought I had, well, it

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<v Speaker 3>doesn't make.

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<v Speaker 2>Any sense to me. There's an essence, there's an essence

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<v Speaker 2>to a tree that is beyond there a human understanding.

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<v Speaker 2>But there is no God. So you find God irrational,

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<v Speaker 2>but you find your comment to be rational.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, my point is this is obviously we're trapped within

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<v Speaker 3>our senses and we cannot understand the tree, uh the

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<v Speaker 3>way that God would.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, yeah, but you don't believe in God, So why

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<v Speaker 2>are you saying that?

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<v Speaker 1>That's coming off? On Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Here thousands of hours

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<v Speaker 1>of Dennis's lectures, courses in classic radio programs, and to

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<v Speaker 1>purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. Go to Dennisprager dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>You are listening to the Ultimate Issues Hour each week

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<v Speaker 2>at this time on the Dennis Prager Show, I talk

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<v Speaker 2>about some great ultimate issue of life, some great eternal,

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<v Speaker 2>powerful question. Welcome to the Welcome to the Ultimate Issues Hour.

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<v Speaker 2>And today it is as ultimate, as ultimate as you

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<v Speaker 2>can get. This is Dennis Prager. Thank you for being

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<v Speaker 2>with me, and that is can there be? Is there

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<v Speaker 2>meaning to life? If there is no God? And the

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<v Speaker 2>answer is no. So let me explain this to you

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<v Speaker 2>because for many people this will sound bizarre, because an

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<v Speaker 2>atheist or agnostic will surely say, and can say, wait

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<v Speaker 2>a minute, you mean to tell me the love I

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<v Speaker 2>have for my family, my love of music, or of

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<v Speaker 2>my work, my attempt to better my society, these are

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<v Speaker 2>not meaningful. Who are you to tell me that these

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<v Speaker 2>are not meaningful? They are meaningful to you, But that's

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<v Speaker 2>not my question. My question is not can you find

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<v Speaker 2>any given act in life personally meaningful? Of course you can,

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<v Speaker 2>whether you're an atheist or a believer. That's not my question.

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<v Speaker 2>So don't tell me that you find meaning in family

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<v Speaker 2>and meaning in your work and meaning and doing good acts.

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<v Speaker 2>I know that I know that that's not my question.

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<v Speaker 2>So again, clarity before everything. Does life itself have meaning?

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<v Speaker 4>Not?

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<v Speaker 2>Does any given act that you do make you feel meaningful?

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<v Speaker 2>Of course it does, and it should, and that's fine.

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<v Speaker 2>But life itself is pointless if there is no God.

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<v Speaker 2>That's all you can subjectively feel meaning in helping the poor,

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<v Speaker 2>in raising a child, in making a life with your partner,

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<v Speaker 2>your spouse, in life that's wonderful. But in the final analysis,

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<v Speaker 2>that is all subjective feeling. There is no objective meaning

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<v Speaker 2>to life. It doesn't exist. If there is no God,

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<v Speaker 2>there is no design. It is all coincidence. I remember

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<v Speaker 2>I had on I once had a national TV show,

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<v Speaker 2>and I remember having Carl Sagan, who was the America's

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<v Speaker 2>most popular astronomer. He was He was on public TV,

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<v Speaker 2>and he was very Every book he put out was

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<v Speaker 2>a national best seller. He was a professor of astronomy.

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<v Speaker 2>I was at Dartmouth, I don't remember exactly where, and

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<v Speaker 2>he was very eloquent, and he was a good looking guy.

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<v Speaker 2>And then was he knew his astronomy and he was

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<v Speaker 2>he was an atheist. And I remember having him on

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<v Speaker 2>my show, and I'll never forget him saying something to

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<v Speaker 2>this effects is Dennis's I want you to know when

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<v Speaker 2>I look out at the at the cosmos. That was

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<v Speaker 2>his favorite word, cosmos. That there's the name of one

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<v Speaker 2>of his books. If I'm not mistaken, when I look

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<v Speaker 2>out at the cosmos, Dennis, and I see the vastness

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<v Speaker 2>of the universe. The more that I know about the universe,

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<v Speaker 2>and the more I see and here into it, the

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<v Speaker 2>more I realize how insignificant we humans are. So there

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<v Speaker 2>you go. That's exactly right. He realizes how insignificant we

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<v Speaker 2>people are. He was an honest atheist. He looks at

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<v Speaker 2>the universe and realizes we we we we have no significance. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>he wouldn't say that his life was insignificant, or your life,

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<v Speaker 2>or my life, or if he had children, his children's life.

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<v Speaker 2>Of course it's significant to me. But ultimately we're insignificant.

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<v Speaker 2>We have no we have no importance. And that and

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<v Speaker 2>he would he would. That's what I call an honest atheist.

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<v Speaker 2>And there are such believe me. So here is on

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<v Speaker 2>the Ultimate Issues hour. Here is my my first point,

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<v Speaker 2>my point for this hour. If there is no God,

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<v Speaker 2>life itself is meaningless, it's all random chance. You have

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<v Speaker 2>no more ultimate meaning than a pebble? Does it came

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<v Speaker 2>about by accident? You came about by accident if there

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<v Speaker 2>is no God? And that's it. And it boggles my

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<v Speaker 2>mind that more secular people don't acknowledge this very very

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<v Speaker 2>awful consequence of secularism, insignificance leading to boredom. That's why

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<v Speaker 2>the more secular the society, the more the need for amusement.

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<v Speaker 2>Those with religious meaning are less a less inclined to

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<v Speaker 2>need a fantastic amount of amusement in their life to

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<v Speaker 2>while away the boredom. It was who wrote in Bluebeard's Castle,

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yes, Alan, give me that is one of the

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<v Speaker 2>great books. I'll get you that in a moment. And

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<v Speaker 2>he he makes this point in this in this magnificent book.

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<v Speaker 2>I think I have it as one of the ten

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<v Speaker 2>that most affected me in Bluebeard's Castle. George, Oh it's killy,

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<v Speaker 2>It's killy. I'll have it momentarily. And he makes this

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<v Speaker 2>point that we should never never underestimate the significance of

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<v Speaker 2>George Steiner. I remember, not George Steiner. That's it. Boredom

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<v Speaker 2>on we has a very powerful effect. And secularism breeds

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<v Speaker 2>on we. The great French word for something deeper than boredom.

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<v Speaker 2>But it comes from a realization, whether it is conscious

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<v Speaker 2>or not, that really nothing matters. Nothing really matters, so

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<v Speaker 2>you might as well just have as much fun as possible.

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<v Speaker 2>If nothing really matters, then you maximize excitement and fun

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<v Speaker 2>in life. There are consequences. What I'm saying is there

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<v Speaker 2>are consequences to a godless view of the world. There

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<v Speaker 2>are many consequences that will be a major theme of

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<v Speaker 2>the Ultimate Issues Hour talk about all sorts of things,

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<v Speaker 2>but that will be certainly one of them. And Alan,

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<v Speaker 2>I think that male sexual nature should be one of

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<v Speaker 2>the themes too, that we should do so if you

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<v Speaker 2>would put that down all right? One eight prayer seven

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<v Speaker 2>seven six is the number one eight p r A

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<v Speaker 2>g e Er seven seven six. I have put before

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<v Speaker 2>you the thesis of the hour eight seven seven two

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<v Speaker 2>four three triple seven six if I especially, I'm happy

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<v Speaker 2>to hear from anybody, but I especially want to hear

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<v Speaker 2>from those of you who do not believe that there

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<v Speaker 2>is a God who designed the world? Do you? Does

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<v Speaker 2>it make sense to you when I say that if

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<v Speaker 2>there is no God, then there is ultimately no meaning

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<v Speaker 2>to life? Is that I want to know if whether

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<v Speaker 2>you agree or disagree, I don't want to know. Does

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<v Speaker 2>it make sense to you? Because this is a very

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<v Speaker 2>big deal. That is one of my arguments for God's existence,

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that I believe that there is meaning to life.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't believe, and I don't mean emotionally. I intellectually

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<v Speaker 2>cannot accept the idea that life really is pointless. But

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<v Speaker 2>I have to accept that idea if there is no God.

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<v Speaker 2>So since I am sure that there is ultimately some

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<v Speaker 2>point to this human creature, therefore I conclude there must

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<v Speaker 2>be a God. I go through it as it were

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<v Speaker 2>the other way around, not that since there is a God,

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<v Speaker 2>life is meaningful. I am convinced life has meaning. Therefore

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<v Speaker 2>there must be a God, because there is no meaning

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<v Speaker 2>if there is no God. Again, we are just coincidences

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<v Speaker 2>here one eight prayer seven seven six is the number.

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<v Speaker 2>This is something that needs to be conveyed. And by

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<v Speaker 2>the way, this is not conveyed to kids at college.

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<v Speaker 2>It is amazing. It's amazing. This idea is just not conveyed. Phoenix, Arizona, John,

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<v Speaker 2>Hello John, thanks for calling.

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<v Speaker 4>Dennis Brager. All right, how are you okay? Simple question.

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<v Speaker 4>I just want to know how you feel that you

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<v Speaker 4>can validate someone's meaning to their life.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't. I acknowledge that everybody has subjective meaning in

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<v Speaker 2>his life, raising children, doing good, being kind to the neighbor,

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<v Speaker 2>having a hobby. I said that three times.

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<v Speaker 4>Okay, Now, so what in your opinion? And I think

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<v Speaker 4>I know the answer, but I'd rather have you reiterate.

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<v Speaker 4>Is the difference between someone who is a believer and

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<v Speaker 4>in your opinion, has meaning and someone who is not

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<v Speaker 4>a believer and does not have meaning.

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<v Speaker 2>Ultimately, it's not a matter of whether I have meaning.

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<v Speaker 2>It's whether there is meaning to It's not denis who

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<v Speaker 2>has meaning or doesn't. As I acknowledged, an atheist can

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<v Speaker 2>feel tremendous meaningfulness in his life. Okay. The question is

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<v Speaker 2>does life itself have any meaning? Okay?

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<v Speaker 4>And in your opinion, what is that meaning? Not to

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<v Speaker 4>you but life itself.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, if there is a God who designed us, then

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<v Speaker 2>there is a purpose, and then the purpose may ultimately

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<v Speaker 2>be only knowable to God. By the way, I don't

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<v Speaker 2>sit here and say to you I know the exact

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<v Speaker 2>purpose and meaning of all of life. I don't. It

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<v Speaker 2>is sufficient for me to know that there is a

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<v Speaker 2>God and there is meaning, and then that gives me

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<v Speaker 2>a great deal of intellectual and emotional comfort. If this

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<v Speaker 2>is clear to you, stay on, or don't stay on.

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<v Speaker 2>If it's not, stay on. But I really want to

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<v Speaker 2>make this clear to everyone listening. You are listening to

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<v Speaker 2>the Ultimate Issues Hour of the Dennis Prager Show.

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<v Speaker 1>This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

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<v Speaker 1>Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi everybody, Dennis Prager. This is the Ultimate Issues Hour,

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<v Speaker 2>one hour a week on the great questions of life,

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<v Speaker 2>just as I have one hour a week on the

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<v Speaker 2>issue of happiness. And it is this hour. And the

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<v Speaker 2>question today is or not? The question, well, yeah, I

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<v Speaker 2>guess the question is is their meaning? If there is

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<v Speaker 2>no God, is there meaning to life? And the answer

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<v Speaker 2>is no, that doesn't mean I have to say I'll

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<v Speaker 2>have to say this every time. I really I ask

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<v Speaker 2>your forgiveness for the many of you, for whom it

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<v Speaker 2>is obviously clear. But I know that it is not

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<v Speaker 2>clear to many people. I am not saying that if

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<v Speaker 2>you're an atheist you can't feel that things are meaningful.

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<v Speaker 2>Of course you can, I pray you do. You can

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<v Speaker 2>find a million things meaningful. You can find a sunset meaningful,

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<v Speaker 2>raising children, having a relationship with your spouse, with with

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<v Speaker 2>somebody else, with friends, love, art, reading, travel, I could

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<v Speaker 2>find a thousand things meaningful. That's not the issue. The

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<v Speaker 2>issue is is their meaning to life period not do

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<v Speaker 2>you personally experience meaningful moments? Those are two entirely separate questions.

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<v Speaker 2>So I will return here in Phoenix, John, Is it

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<v Speaker 2>clear now or do you still want to pose a

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<v Speaker 2>question now?

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<v Speaker 4>It's it's pretty clear after your explanation. But I'm still

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<v Speaker 4>looking for the answer of that, that meaning which you

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<v Speaker 4>probably can't answer.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't answer that. That goes into the into the

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<v Speaker 2>framework of if I were God, if I knew God,

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<v Speaker 2>I'd be God. I don't know exactly why, and that

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<v Speaker 2>will do that another time. Why did God create the world?

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<v Speaker 2>Why did God create the man? I don't have. I have,

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<v Speaker 2>I have some answers, I don't have the full answer.

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<v Speaker 2>It doesn't bother me. Those there are questions that people

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<v Speaker 2>ask that don't bother me, and bother them. That doesn't

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<v Speaker 2>bother me. It's if it is utterly intellectually and emotionally

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<v Speaker 2>satisfying to know that God designed the world and God

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<v Speaker 2>told me how to live a good life. That's all

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<v Speaker 2>I ask from God. Okay, all right, all right, John,

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<v Speaker 2>and I appreciate very much your call, and let's go

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<v Speaker 2>to Tom and San Mateo, California. Tom Dennis Prager Height.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, how are you doing?

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<v Speaker 2>Okay? Thanks?

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<v Speaker 3>My question is it's obvious that we see meaning in everything.

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<v Speaker 3>And I'm not just talking about the sunset thing.

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<v Speaker 5>Uh.

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<v Speaker 3>Personally, I'm an atheist and I see meaning to everything

0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:49.040
<v Speaker 3>that exists.

0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:53.160
<v Speaker 2>I think that's great. I think that means well, now

0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:54.960
<v Speaker 2>that you mentioned that, what meaning do you see in

0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:55.520
<v Speaker 2>a tree?

0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:56.680
<v Speaker 5>Uh?

0:14:56.720 --> 0:15:01.880
<v Speaker 3>There's meaning beyond just looking at the tree and seeing

0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:05.240
<v Speaker 3>the tree as a physical entity. There's an essence beyond

0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:10.720
<v Speaker 3>our human understanding. So the thought I had, well.

0:15:10.560 --> 0:15:12.720
<v Speaker 2>That doesn't make any sense to me. There's an essence,

0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:16.520
<v Speaker 2>there's an essence to a tree that is beyond there

0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:19.440
<v Speaker 2>a human understanding. But there is no God. So you

0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.640
<v Speaker 2>find God irrational, but you find your comment to be rational.

0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.360
<v Speaker 3>Well, my point is this is obviously we're trapped within

0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:30.920
<v Speaker 3>our senses and we cannot understand the tree the way

0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:31.840
<v Speaker 3>that God would.

0:15:32.000 --> 0:15:34.000
<v Speaker 2>Okay, yeah, but you don't believe in God, so why

0:15:34.040 --> 0:15:34.760
<v Speaker 2>are you saying that.

0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:39.200
<v Speaker 3>Well, here's my point. There's things outside of us that

0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:43.720
<v Speaker 3>we don't necessarily understand pretty much all of existence. But

0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:46.880
<v Speaker 3>we know that there's a meaning to them because we're

0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:48.560
<v Speaker 3>seeing them, and we're kind of seeing them in a

0:15:48.640 --> 0:15:50.000
<v Speaker 3>watered down Yeah, but.

0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:53.800
<v Speaker 2>This is an utterly unscientific view. You are talking as

0:15:53.800 --> 0:15:56.000
<v Speaker 2>if there is a god and then fooling yourself into

0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:57.440
<v Speaker 2>thinking you don't think there's a god.

0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:03.920
<v Speaker 3>Well, my point is this, we know that there is something.

0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.320
<v Speaker 2>Else as a way we know why wait wait, wait, wait, wait,

0:16:06.480 --> 0:16:08.120
<v Speaker 2>don't we don't know any What do you mean we

0:16:08.160 --> 0:16:10.640
<v Speaker 2>know there is something else? The comment doesn't make sense

0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:10.880
<v Speaker 2>to me.

0:16:11.280 --> 0:16:14.160
<v Speaker 3>We know there is something more to the tree or

0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:14.960
<v Speaker 3>to the person.

0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.760
<v Speaker 2>No, we don't. Not. If there's no god, there is

0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.920
<v Speaker 2>nothing more. It is a series of molecules that have

0:16:21.280 --> 0:16:24.400
<v Speaker 2>organized themselves into a tree. There's nothing more whatsoever.

0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:27.960
<v Speaker 3>If there's no god, well, there's something more than we

0:16:28.000 --> 0:16:28.760
<v Speaker 3>can understand.

0:16:28.840 --> 0:16:31.640
<v Speaker 2>No, that's not true. We understand. As soon as science

0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.320
<v Speaker 2>tells us exactly what makes a tree, we understand it.

0:16:34.680 --> 0:16:37.600
<v Speaker 3>You think we can understand a tree absolutely without a

0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.520
<v Speaker 3>shadow of a doubt, you can, Well, I don't even.

0:16:40.440 --> 0:16:44.000
<v Speaker 2>Well, you're using terms that the mystic uses. And then

0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:47.800
<v Speaker 2>you deny that there is anything transcendent of science. So

0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:51.160
<v Speaker 2>you're you like, live in two worlds but don't realize it.

0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:53.640
<v Speaker 2>I don't know why you don't accept that there is

0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.040
<v Speaker 2>a God. You certainly talk that way. You're more mystical

0:16:56.080 --> 0:17:00.640
<v Speaker 2>than I am. For me, a tree is a tree. Okay,

0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:05.480
<v Speaker 2>I appreciate your call. We'll go to Bedford, Texas and

0:17:05.520 --> 0:17:09.120
<v Speaker 2>Mike Kellow, Mike, Dennis Prager, Hi, Dennis, Hi.

0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:14.600
<v Speaker 5>Well that was fast. Okay. First of all, this is

0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:16.640
<v Speaker 5>the best hour you have by far.

0:17:17.480 --> 0:17:19.400
<v Speaker 2>Well, I'm glad you love it. And I want everybody

0:17:19.440 --> 0:17:22.320
<v Speaker 2>to have their own favorites, ideally fifteen favorites. Oh okay,

0:17:22.359 --> 0:17:22.960
<v Speaker 2>go ahead.

0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:25.399
<v Speaker 5>And by the way, I agree with you, but I

0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:29.359
<v Speaker 5>can't explain why. Okay, However, I wanted just to just

0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:31.520
<v Speaker 5>ask you a question. It's something I've been struggling with

0:17:31.560 --> 0:17:35.840
<v Speaker 5>for a long time. If God is the source of

0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:40.879
<v Speaker 5>objective meaning in life, then exactly how does God's existence

0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:45.280
<v Speaker 5>produce that objective meaning as opposed to simply a subjective

0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:47.000
<v Speaker 5>need to believe in God?

0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:51.479
<v Speaker 2>Yes? Because God? If God exists, and God objectively exists,

0:17:51.480 --> 0:17:55.880
<v Speaker 2>so is that correct? Well, yeah, and the key if well,

0:17:55.880 --> 0:17:57.840
<v Speaker 2>of course, the keyword is if my whole thing is

0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.280
<v Speaker 2>predicated on and if if there is a God, there's meaning.

0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:01.639
<v Speaker 2>If there's no God, there's no meaning.

0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.040
<v Speaker 5>Okay, yeah, there's no ultimate meaning.

0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.560
<v Speaker 2>Yes, no ultimate meaning. I see, that's right. You can

0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:11.320
<v Speaker 2>find baseball meaningful, bringing up kids meaningful, love meaningful of course.

0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.080
<v Speaker 5>So really, this whole thing boils down to people who

0:18:14.200 --> 0:18:16.640
<v Speaker 5>simply want to believe in God versus people who don't

0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:17.440
<v Speaker 5>want to believe in God.

0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:20.320
<v Speaker 2>No, it doesn't boil that to that at all. It

0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:23.080
<v Speaker 2>boils down to the question of do you do you

0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:26.040
<v Speaker 2>acknowledge the simple truth that if there is no God,

0:18:26.119 --> 0:18:29.639
<v Speaker 2>life is ultimately pointless. That's what it boils down to.

0:18:29.720 --> 0:18:31.160
<v Speaker 2>It has nothing to do with what you will.

0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:35.120
<v Speaker 5>I what I acknowledge is that if God does not exist,

0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:40.159
<v Speaker 5>then life exists for its own sake. That's it.

0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:43.399
<v Speaker 2>Well, well, I don't know what for its own sake means,

0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:47.720
<v Speaker 2>but it just exists. It just exists to exist. It exists,

0:18:47.760 --> 0:18:51.560
<v Speaker 2>It has no design, It has no ultimate meaning. Yeah,

0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:56.800
<v Speaker 2>if Earth blows up tomorrow, it's meaningless, right, Okay, fine,

0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:59.200
<v Speaker 2>So that's all I ask I'm not trying to convince

0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.880
<v Speaker 2>you of anything except that one point you apparently accept.

0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:04.280
<v Speaker 5>I choose to believe God.

0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:06.200
<v Speaker 2>Ex Okay, fine.

0:19:06.080 --> 0:19:08.120
<v Speaker 5>And then because it makes me feel.

0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:11.840
<v Speaker 2>Better, Okay, that's fine, Okay, great, I think that there

0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.760
<v Speaker 2>I think that there are there are better arguments that

0:19:14.840 --> 0:19:17.680
<v Speaker 2>makes you feel better. But I'm glad you feel better.

0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.520
<v Speaker 2>I care, frankly, does it make you act better more

0:19:20.520 --> 0:19:22.640
<v Speaker 2>than whether it makes you feel better, But that that's

0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:25.439
<v Speaker 2>a separate subject and we will deal with that another

0:19:25.480 --> 0:19:28.560
<v Speaker 2>time too. I appreciate your call very much, Mike, and

0:19:28.840 --> 0:19:32.080
<v Speaker 2>let's go to Angie in Cleveland. Hello, Angie, Dennis Prager.

0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:36.679
<v Speaker 6>Hi, I agree with you. I'm an atheist. I have

0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:39.520
<v Speaker 6>that same kind of feeling that there is no meaning

0:19:40.040 --> 0:19:42.879
<v Speaker 6>if there is no God. And as much as I

0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.359
<v Speaker 6>try to do good things, try to be a decent person,

0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.040
<v Speaker 6>that idea still lingers in the back of my mind.

0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:52.119
<v Speaker 6>I tend to shove it away. But I'm just wondering,

0:19:52.160 --> 0:19:54.960
<v Speaker 6>what do you do at that point to just change

0:19:54.960 --> 0:19:58.119
<v Speaker 6>my mind about my beliefs. Isn't something that's easy for me?

0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:03.800
<v Speaker 2>In other words, because you have faced the abyss, you

0:20:03.840 --> 0:20:07.680
<v Speaker 2>would like to believe in God. Correct, Okay, hold on,

0:20:07.760 --> 0:20:12.640
<v Speaker 2>You're you're the ideal call, as it were. See that

0:20:12.640 --> 0:20:15.280
<v Speaker 2>that's exactly the point. That's what I ask atheists to

0:20:15.400 --> 0:20:20.160
<v Speaker 2>honestly do, face the abyss, the darkness that their lack

0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:24.320
<v Speaker 2>of belief in God must in fact rationally lead to.

0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:26.240
<v Speaker 2>We'll be back in a moment. I'm Dennis Prager.

0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.200
<v Speaker 1>This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:40.520
<v Speaker 1>Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

0:20:40.680 --> 0:20:43.600
<v Speaker 2>You're listening to the Dennis Prager Show, the Ultimate Issues

0:20:43.720 --> 0:20:46.560
<v Speaker 2>hour every week at this time, an hour devoted to

0:20:46.600 --> 0:20:49.120
<v Speaker 2>the great questions of life. This time it is can

0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:51.399
<v Speaker 2>there be meaning in life? And I don't mean meaning

0:20:51.480 --> 0:20:56.159
<v Speaker 2>in your individual life about things you find meaningful? Of course,

0:20:56.240 --> 0:20:59.600
<v Speaker 2>that's a subjective thing. There's beauty in life. There's a

0:20:59.640 --> 0:21:02.239
<v Speaker 2>whole of things that you can you feel, and I

0:21:02.280 --> 0:21:06.720
<v Speaker 2>don't deny that. My question is, is there any ultimate meaning

0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:08.840
<v Speaker 2>to life itself? If there is no God? And of

0:21:08.840 --> 0:21:11.320
<v Speaker 2>course the answer is no, because we're all we are

0:21:11.400 --> 0:21:15.000
<v Speaker 2>simply physical beings who happen to have a mind. But

0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:20.359
<v Speaker 2>we're just physical beings who who came by accident and

0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:24.439
<v Speaker 2>who died by accident. And that's it. That's all we

0:21:24.520 --> 0:21:26.520
<v Speaker 2>are if there's no God and be honest enough to

0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.200
<v Speaker 2>acknowledge it. Now here is the great question, or one

0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:32.040
<v Speaker 2>of the great ones from Angie back to you, Angie

0:21:32.080 --> 0:21:36.639
<v Speaker 2>in Cleveland. So you, I am curious you have have

0:21:36.880 --> 0:21:40.200
<v Speaker 2>Did you recognize the what we what I call the

0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:48.400
<v Speaker 2>abyss of of a an atheistic view of life? Did

0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:52.240
<v Speaker 2>you realize this before this hour? Or or this is

0:21:52.359 --> 0:21:53.520
<v Speaker 2>just reinforcing or what?

0:21:54.760 --> 0:21:57.480
<v Speaker 6>No, Probably within the last couple of years.

0:21:58.040 --> 0:22:00.159
<v Speaker 2>Right, So it's become clear to you if there's no

0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:02.720
<v Speaker 2>God there right, So this is good? So this is

0:22:02.840 --> 0:22:04.800
<v Speaker 2>this is perfect? Then? So you want to know, then,

0:22:05.440 --> 0:22:10.160
<v Speaker 2>how can a person who doesn't believe but acknowledges the

0:22:10.160 --> 0:22:14.239
<v Speaker 2>the the rather sad reality of life if there is

0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:16.960
<v Speaker 2>no God, you would like to be able to believe

0:22:17.000 --> 0:22:17.399
<v Speaker 2>in God?

0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:18.240
<v Speaker 3>Right?

0:22:18.680 --> 0:22:23.359
<v Speaker 2>Right? Well, Alan, put that down. I'm not getting away

0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:25.200
<v Speaker 2>from this, Angie. I just want to put this down.

0:22:25.480 --> 0:22:27.920
<v Speaker 2>I would like to do that for one of the

0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:31.560
<v Speaker 2>hours of this Ultimate Issue's hour. How How would one

0:22:31.880 --> 0:22:35.960
<v Speaker 2>who is inclined to atheism come to take God seriously?

0:22:36.000 --> 0:22:37.480
<v Speaker 2>Were you raised in a religious home?

0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:42.520
<v Speaker 6>My mother was Catholic. We went to Catholic Mass, but

0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:46.879
<v Speaker 6>only on holidays. I never did confirmation or any of

0:22:46.920 --> 0:22:50.320
<v Speaker 6>those things. Right, So, no, we never talked about religions and.

0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:56.280
<v Speaker 2>Right and and did you I assume you went to college. Yes,

0:22:57.000 --> 0:23:00.359
<v Speaker 2>And of course, now that's an entirely secular experience. What

0:23:00.400 --> 0:23:03.560
<v Speaker 2>I think you need to realize before you would do

0:23:03.640 --> 0:23:07.200
<v Speaker 2>anything in the direction of trying to take God seriously

0:23:07.440 --> 0:23:12.080
<v Speaker 2>is realize what a thorough going secular brainwash you've had.

0:23:13.520 --> 0:23:20.240
<v Speaker 2>The society, the media are thoroughly secularized, and the education

0:23:20.359 --> 0:23:25.440
<v Speaker 2>you received were thoroughly secularized. So you've really never had

0:23:25.480 --> 0:23:28.600
<v Speaker 2>a chance to encounter sophisticated.

0:23:27.800 --> 0:23:32.720
<v Speaker 6>Belief Yeah, your show was actually the first time I've

0:23:32.720 --> 0:23:38.080
<v Speaker 6>ever heard anyone speak about religion, about the Bible, about

0:23:38.920 --> 0:23:41.320
<v Speaker 6>those types of beliefs. But I do have to say

0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:44.000
<v Speaker 6>that I didn't come upon the realization that I was

0:23:44.040 --> 0:23:46.520
<v Speaker 6>an atheist so much like I think most people do.

0:23:47.200 --> 0:23:51.600
<v Speaker 6>I actually was about fourteen or fifteen when I realized

0:23:51.760 --> 0:23:55.159
<v Speaker 6>that people believed in God differently than I did. I

0:23:56.080 --> 0:23:58.679
<v Speaker 6>never sat down and thought, does God exist? No, I

0:23:58.680 --> 0:24:02.040
<v Speaker 6>don't think he does. I just always assumed that it

0:24:02.160 --> 0:24:05.239
<v Speaker 6>was some kind of myths. I mean, I don't mean

0:24:05.240 --> 0:24:07.639
<v Speaker 6>to be disrespectful, but it just that's how it always

0:24:07.640 --> 0:24:08.439
<v Speaker 6>presented itself.

0:24:08.640 --> 0:24:11.840
<v Speaker 2>Yes, exactly that, and that's how it was presented to you.

0:24:12.640 --> 0:24:18.520
<v Speaker 2>That is the typical American educational experience. That it's either

0:24:18.600 --> 0:24:22.720
<v Speaker 2>ignored because you weren't taught about God in college or

0:24:22.800 --> 0:24:28.840
<v Speaker 2>high school any more than you were taught about astrology.

0:24:28.720 --> 0:24:34.480
<v Speaker 2>They're regarded as the same as just the beliefs of buffoons.

0:24:35.280 --> 0:24:38.679
<v Speaker 2>Maybe well intentioned, maybe non well intentioned, but of buffoons.

0:24:39.160 --> 0:24:41.600
<v Speaker 2>The first thing that you need to realize, and I

0:24:41.640 --> 0:24:43.840
<v Speaker 2>can't answer you fully now because I want to take

0:24:43.880 --> 0:24:47.080
<v Speaker 2>time to do that properly, but the first thing you

0:24:47.240 --> 0:24:50.680
<v Speaker 2>need to realize is that you have not been able.

0:24:50.800 --> 0:24:55.320
<v Speaker 2>You have not been offered the opportunity to intellectually weigh

0:24:55.359 --> 0:24:58.640
<v Speaker 2>the arguments for and against God. It has been weighted

0:24:58.920 --> 0:25:00.600
<v Speaker 2>ninety nine to one against.

0:25:04.720 --> 0:25:09.000
<v Speaker 6>Yeah, I see, so you constantly need to have that reinforcement.

0:25:09.520 --> 0:25:12.560
<v Speaker 2>Well no, it's well, well, all you need to know

0:25:12.840 --> 0:25:16.919
<v Speaker 2>is that you have not You have disqualified God without

0:25:16.960 --> 0:25:20.560
<v Speaker 2>giving him a fair trial. You have rendered him non

0:25:20.600 --> 0:25:28.800
<v Speaker 2>existent without ever having a trial. Okay, Okay, now now

0:25:28.840 --> 0:25:32.880
<v Speaker 2>in that regard, I mean, I may there's so much

0:25:32.920 --> 0:25:35.360
<v Speaker 2>I could recommend to you. C. S. Lewis is terrific

0:25:35.359 --> 0:25:39.480
<v Speaker 2>from the Christian side as an example, but I certainly

0:25:39.480 --> 0:25:42.240
<v Speaker 2>would recommend my tape the case for God's existence. I'd

0:25:42.280 --> 0:25:45.840
<v Speaker 2>like you to hear it, send me, send me an

0:25:45.840 --> 0:25:52.639
<v Speaker 2>email or through a Preger radio. We will, we will continue,

0:25:52.640 --> 0:25:55.400
<v Speaker 2>and I will deal with that subject on another Ultimate

0:25:55.400 --> 0:26:01.480
<v Speaker 2>Issues Hour. How does a sophisticated person today take God seriously?

0:26:01.520 --> 0:26:04.400
<v Speaker 2>But that's not the subject of this specific hour. We continue.

0:26:05.520 --> 0:26:08.720
<v Speaker 1>Are you enjoying timeless wisdom? We'd love to hear from you.

0:26:08.800 --> 0:26:12.080
<v Speaker 1>Call eight seven seven two four three seventy seven seventy

0:26:12.119 --> 0:26:15.000
<v Speaker 1>six and leave a review, share your thoughts, or just

0:26:15.080 --> 0:26:18.560
<v Speaker 1>even an encouraging word for Dennis. Your voicemail might just

0:26:18.600 --> 0:26:21.280
<v Speaker 1>make it on the show. That's eight seven seven two

0:26:21.400 --> 0:26:25.359
<v Speaker 1>four three seventy seven seventy six. That's eight seven seven

0:26:25.520 --> 0:26:30.000
<v Speaker 1>two four three triple seven six. Thanks for listening and

0:26:30.320 --> 0:26:31.200
<v Speaker 1>for your support.

0:26:31.880 --> 0:26:35.080
<v Speaker 2>You're listening to the Dennis Prager Show, the Ultimate Issues Hour.

0:26:36.480 --> 0:26:42.400
<v Speaker 2>This hour of the week, I talk about the great

0:26:42.480 --> 0:26:44.960
<v Speaker 2>questions of life, and it doesn't get greater than this.

0:26:45.119 --> 0:26:47.040
<v Speaker 2>Is there any meaning to life? And I don't mean

0:26:47.080 --> 0:26:51.120
<v Speaker 2>meaning to your individual feeling meaning about your individual life?

0:26:51.200 --> 0:26:53.960
<v Speaker 2>Of course, most people do, they feel that the love

0:26:54.000 --> 0:26:56.600
<v Speaker 2>of their family is meaningful, that they feel that their

0:26:56.640 --> 0:27:00.960
<v Speaker 2>work is meaningful, they feel that anything that happens in

0:27:01.000 --> 0:27:03.159
<v Speaker 2>any given day is meaningful, and you should feel that.

0:27:03.240 --> 0:27:06.520
<v Speaker 2>And I'm not here to knock that. I'm not asking

0:27:06.520 --> 0:27:10.479
<v Speaker 2>about whether you feel meaning in your life. I'm asking

0:27:10.520 --> 0:27:13.920
<v Speaker 2>whether life itself does have any meaning in the final analysis,

0:27:14.359 --> 0:27:16.680
<v Speaker 2>not whether you feel it in your individual life. Please

0:27:16.760 --> 0:27:21.160
<v Speaker 2>understand that. And there God becomes the question. If there

0:27:21.200 --> 0:27:24.520
<v Speaker 2>is no God and we are here as coincidences. Coincidences

0:27:24.560 --> 0:27:28.720
<v Speaker 2>don't have meaning just chance. Random chance has no ultimate meaning.

0:27:29.720 --> 0:27:36.600
<v Speaker 2>A designer designing has meaning, not random coming together of molecules.

0:27:37.359 --> 0:27:40.000
<v Speaker 2>So that's the point. I mean, it's to me so

0:27:40.160 --> 0:27:44.760
<v Speaker 2>self evident, and most I think most honest atheists acknowledged this.

0:27:44.800 --> 0:27:47.640
<v Speaker 2>In fact, that's how you got the concept of existentialism.

0:27:48.800 --> 0:27:52.440
<v Speaker 2>Since this, since life has no meaning, according to the atheist,

0:27:53.440 --> 0:27:56.560
<v Speaker 2>you have to take meaning from your own existence. That's

0:27:56.600 --> 0:28:01.919
<v Speaker 2>what existentialism is about. Existencesm take meaning from existence. But

0:28:02.000 --> 0:28:05.200
<v Speaker 2>it doesn't work for the thinking person. It doesn't even

0:28:05.280 --> 0:28:08.399
<v Speaker 2>work from any non thinking persons because they though they

0:28:08.400 --> 0:28:10.359
<v Speaker 2>don't realize it's one of the reasons they get so

0:28:10.480 --> 0:28:13.320
<v Speaker 2>bored when you really do believe that life is a

0:28:13.400 --> 0:28:18.359
<v Speaker 2>sheer sheer fluke, it doesn't make life quite as interesting.

0:28:18.880 --> 0:28:22.560
<v Speaker 2>In the final analysis, take this challenge from Denver and

0:28:22.640 --> 0:28:24.560
<v Speaker 2>David Hi David Dennis Prager.

0:28:24.640 --> 0:28:26.000
<v Speaker 7>Hy Dennis, how you doing today?

0:28:26.240 --> 0:28:27.040
<v Speaker 2>Okay? Thanks?

0:28:27.320 --> 0:28:30.560
<v Speaker 7>Yeah, interesting topic for sure. And you know, when I

0:28:30.600 --> 0:28:33.480
<v Speaker 7>look at it from the way you're speaking, there, I

0:28:33.560 --> 0:28:35.520
<v Speaker 7>kind of see two choices that we have in life.

0:28:35.640 --> 0:28:37.840
<v Speaker 7>There either is no God or there is a God.

0:28:38.360 --> 0:28:40.240
<v Speaker 7>And of course, if there is no God, then there

0:28:40.280 --> 0:28:44.160
<v Speaker 7>is no meaning in life. But if there is a God,

0:28:44.240 --> 0:28:46.120
<v Speaker 7>then I don't know. Do we have two more choices

0:28:46.160 --> 0:28:49.720
<v Speaker 7>that God is here to has left us here to

0:28:49.880 --> 0:28:53.400
<v Speaker 7>fend for ourselves or is God directly involved in our lives?

0:28:54.000 --> 0:28:56.360
<v Speaker 7>And if He's left us here to fend for ourselves

0:28:56.880 --> 0:28:59.640
<v Speaker 7>with no purpose or meaning, then there is no purpose

0:28:59.720 --> 0:29:01.080
<v Speaker 7>or meaning. I mean, did he just yeah?

0:29:01.080 --> 0:29:03.280
<v Speaker 2>So in other words, it is possible that there is

0:29:03.320 --> 0:29:09.080
<v Speaker 2>a God who created life, but created it with no meaning.

0:29:09.520 --> 0:29:12.800
<v Speaker 7>A greater being of some kind. And we have you know,

0:29:13.120 --> 0:29:15.960
<v Speaker 7>we take speculation at it. We we look at all.

0:29:15.880 --> 0:29:18.840
<v Speaker 2>Right, look, look, of course it's possible. Then God, then

0:29:18.920 --> 0:29:24.400
<v Speaker 2>God is is the biggest sadest that ever existed.

0:29:24.960 --> 0:29:26.680
<v Speaker 7>Well, that's kind of where I was going with this.

0:29:26.840 --> 0:29:29.120
<v Speaker 2>Is this. Okay, you're right if if that's what you

0:29:29.200 --> 0:29:31.280
<v Speaker 2>believe in, you would have to conclude the world was

0:29:31.280 --> 0:29:32.560
<v Speaker 2>made by a sadist.

0:29:32.760 --> 0:29:35.280
<v Speaker 7>But my problem is I don't know what to believe

0:29:35.280 --> 0:29:38.480
<v Speaker 7>because there's so much confusion out there. You have your faith,

0:29:38.560 --> 0:29:41.480
<v Speaker 7>I know a dozen other people, each one with their

0:29:41.520 --> 0:29:44.480
<v Speaker 7>own view of it. I mean, I have one very

0:29:44.480 --> 0:29:47.880
<v Speaker 7>close friend who actually talks to God and in conversations and.

0:29:48.800 --> 0:29:50.800
<v Speaker 2>Well, wait does he get answers?

0:29:51.000 --> 0:29:51.160
<v Speaker 6>Oh?

0:29:51.240 --> 0:29:52.720
<v Speaker 7>Yeah, he's just right there in his eyes.

0:29:54.120 --> 0:29:56.520
<v Speaker 2>You know, it's like, look he well, then he's he's

0:29:56.520 --> 0:29:58.520
<v Speaker 2>on a different level than I am, I must say.

0:29:58.560 --> 0:30:02.520
<v Speaker 2>But no, the fact I don't see what the confusion

0:30:02.600 --> 0:30:05.080
<v Speaker 2>is because what I'm saying is so broad based. This

0:30:05.200 --> 0:30:10.760
<v Speaker 2>is acceptable to anybody anyone listening the anyone in any

0:30:10.920 --> 0:30:13.400
<v Speaker 2>God based religion can accept what I'm saying. I'm not

0:30:13.480 --> 0:30:17.520
<v Speaker 2>advocating any specific religious affirmation. I am not. I have

0:30:17.560 --> 0:30:20.800
<v Speaker 2>no agenda for any given specific religion. Here. I am

0:30:21.880 --> 0:30:26.480
<v Speaker 2>talking to you simply with the best of the honesty

0:30:26.520 --> 0:30:30.200
<v Speaker 2>that I can I can appropriate. If there is no God,

0:30:30.960 --> 0:30:31.480
<v Speaker 2>I'm sorry.

0:30:31.920 --> 0:30:33.040
<v Speaker 7>That's how I come back at you.

0:30:33.280 --> 0:30:35.280
<v Speaker 2>I know you are. I know you are. But I'm

0:30:35.320 --> 0:30:37.760
<v Speaker 2>just trying to answer that when you say there are

0:30:37.760 --> 0:30:41.000
<v Speaker 2>all these competing claims out there, There are no competing

0:30:41.040 --> 0:30:44.520
<v Speaker 2>claims on what I'm saying. There are completing claims on

0:30:44.680 --> 0:30:48.080
<v Speaker 2>the which revelation is true, but there is no competing

0:30:48.160 --> 0:30:51.600
<v Speaker 2>claim on this specific doctrine that I'm offering to you,

0:30:51.640 --> 0:30:54.000
<v Speaker 2>which is not even a doctrine, it's it's it's a

0:30:54.080 --> 0:30:58.840
<v Speaker 2>logical assertion. If we're not designed, if there is no God,

0:30:58.960 --> 0:31:02.680
<v Speaker 2>then life has no ultimate meaning. You don't have to

0:31:02.680 --> 0:31:05.240
<v Speaker 2>be a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, you don't have

0:31:05.360 --> 0:31:07.960
<v Speaker 2>to be anything to acknowledge that. You could be an

0:31:08.000 --> 0:31:11.880
<v Speaker 2>atheist and acknowledge that. So there's no competing claim to

0:31:11.920 --> 0:31:16.360
<v Speaker 2>what I'm saying. The only competing claim would be irrational. Well,

0:31:16.480 --> 0:31:20.600
<v Speaker 2>life is ultimately meaningful, and in fact it's a total coincidence,

0:31:20.880 --> 0:31:24.720
<v Speaker 2>But that's absurd, and so that I don't regard absurdity

0:31:24.720 --> 0:31:28.400
<v Speaker 2>as a competing claim. So, David, there are no competing claims.

0:31:29.040 --> 0:31:33.360
<v Speaker 2>There are competing claims as to which God, which revelation.

0:31:33.760 --> 0:31:37.680
<v Speaker 2>That's not my business right now. Okay, let's go to Longwood,

0:31:37.680 --> 0:31:39.240
<v Speaker 2>Florida and Lisa, Hello Lisa.

0:31:39.280 --> 0:31:41.920
<v Speaker 8>Dennis Prager, Hello Dennis, how are you well?

0:31:41.960 --> 0:31:43.080
<v Speaker 2>Thank you good.

0:31:43.720 --> 0:31:46.640
<v Speaker 8>I consider myself an agnostic. I just don't know if

0:31:46.640 --> 0:31:48.840
<v Speaker 8>there's a god. I can't acknowledge it.

0:31:49.000 --> 0:31:51.520
<v Speaker 2>Well, you're not asked to know. At least this may

0:31:51.560 --> 0:31:55.040
<v Speaker 2>help you. You're not asked to know. I don't know

0:31:55.200 --> 0:31:57.800
<v Speaker 2>that there is a god. I believe there is a god.

0:31:58.840 --> 0:32:01.440
<v Speaker 8>I guess I can't believe that there is and I

0:32:01.440 --> 0:32:02.200
<v Speaker 8>can't believe this there.

0:32:02.480 --> 0:32:04.960
<v Speaker 2>Okay, so you're not talking about knowledge, you're even talking

0:32:05.000 --> 0:32:07.560
<v Speaker 2>about beliefs. So so, if you had to bet all

0:32:07.640 --> 0:32:11.320
<v Speaker 2>your money, you had to bet everything that you own

0:32:11.640 --> 0:32:15.880
<v Speaker 2>and and your future health on whether or not it

0:32:16.040 --> 0:32:19.240
<v Speaker 2>all came about on its own, or or some higher

0:32:19.240 --> 0:32:22.560
<v Speaker 2>intelligence designed it. Which would you bet? Or would you

0:32:22.600 --> 0:32:23.280
<v Speaker 2>flip a coin?

0:32:24.240 --> 0:32:27.280
<v Speaker 8>I would bet that there is some sort of higher intelligence,

0:32:27.320 --> 0:32:29.520
<v Speaker 8>but nobody on this planet understands it. I don't think

0:32:29.520 --> 0:32:30.000
<v Speaker 8>anybody has.

0:32:30.200 --> 0:32:32.560
<v Speaker 2>Well wait wait wait, wait, woo woo woo wooh wait

0:32:32.560 --> 0:32:34.880
<v Speaker 2>wait wait wait, So if you had to bet your

0:32:34.880 --> 0:32:38.280
<v Speaker 2>future health and all your possessions right now, you would

0:32:38.320 --> 0:32:43.600
<v Speaker 2>bet that we were designed. So fine, Well, then you're

0:32:43.600 --> 0:32:47.000
<v Speaker 2>not an agnostic. An agnostic would flip a coin.

0:32:48.440 --> 0:32:50.840
<v Speaker 8>My mother tells me, if I don't take the Bible

0:32:51.400 --> 0:32:54.080
<v Speaker 8>and the God of Israel as the true and only God,

0:32:54.200 --> 0:32:55.680
<v Speaker 8>then I'm I'm an atheist.

0:32:56.400 --> 0:33:00.239
<v Speaker 2>That's my That's between you and mom. But I mean

0:33:00.320 --> 0:33:02.520
<v Speaker 2>you and me right now is I want to establish

0:33:02.600 --> 0:33:06.160
<v Speaker 2>that you're not an agnostic. So to begin with, if

0:33:06.200 --> 0:33:08.400
<v Speaker 2>you had to bet everything of importance to you, you

0:33:08.440 --> 0:33:10.920
<v Speaker 2>would bet that we were not sure, we are not

0:33:11.200 --> 0:33:12.120
<v Speaker 2>self created.

0:33:12.720 --> 0:33:13.880
<v Speaker 8>I would bet that that's great.

0:33:13.880 --> 0:33:16.680
<v Speaker 2>Okay, fine, So the next question becomes, do you believe

0:33:16.720 --> 0:33:21.240
<v Speaker 2>that that which created us cares about us or just

0:33:21.360 --> 0:33:24.920
<v Speaker 2>created us and is currently playing chess in another dimension?

0:33:26.040 --> 0:33:29.280
<v Speaker 8>I would bet that he's or seeing or them they

0:33:29.400 --> 0:33:32.000
<v Speaker 8>are just playing chess in another dimension.

0:33:32.360 --> 0:33:40.880
<v Speaker 2>Okay, well, then your mother's right. You are fortunately an atheist.

0:33:42.680 --> 0:33:45.560
<v Speaker 2>I love this call. God blow hopes. Oops, excuse me.

0:33:45.720 --> 0:33:48.800
<v Speaker 2>May the chess players bless you, Lisa. We will return.

0:33:49.120 --> 0:33:53.520
<v Speaker 2>Final segment coming up on this edition of The Dennis

0:33:53.520 --> 0:33:55.560
<v Speaker 2>Praeger Show's Ultimate Issues Hour.

0:33:56.920 --> 0:34:06.560
<v Speaker 1>This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue now back to

0:34:06.640 --> 0:34:11.200
<v Speaker 1>more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

0:34:11.360 --> 0:34:13.880
<v Speaker 2>The final segment here of this edition of the Ultimate

0:34:13.920 --> 0:34:16.319
<v Speaker 2>Issues Hour of the Dennis Prager Show one to eight.

0:34:16.440 --> 0:34:21.359
<v Speaker 2>Praguer seven seven six is the number, and it has

0:34:21.440 --> 0:34:24.480
<v Speaker 2>been a really important hour as indeed, I try to

0:34:24.520 --> 0:34:27.040
<v Speaker 2>make all the hours of my show, but especially the

0:34:27.120 --> 0:34:29.960
<v Speaker 2>Ultimate Issues hour, because it's about ultimate issues of life.

0:34:31.160 --> 0:34:35.279
<v Speaker 2>And I'm just asking you to acknowledge a rather important

0:34:35.560 --> 0:34:39.000
<v Speaker 2>thing that you don't have to be religious to acknowledge.

0:34:39.040 --> 0:34:41.400
<v Speaker 2>You just have to be intellectually honest. If there is

0:34:41.440 --> 0:34:45.440
<v Speaker 2>no God and we are just coincidences in the universe,

0:34:45.480 --> 0:34:49.719
<v Speaker 2>then that life has no meaning. And to repeat it's

0:34:49.760 --> 0:34:52.520
<v Speaker 2>probably the fifth time I'm saying it because people don't

0:34:52.560 --> 0:34:55.480
<v Speaker 2>hear it or people just tune in. That doesn't mean

0:34:55.520 --> 0:34:59.399
<v Speaker 2>that you cannot personally find and feel meaning in your

0:34:59.440 --> 0:35:02.200
<v Speaker 2>own lives. Of course you can. You can find a

0:35:02.280 --> 0:35:07.239
<v Speaker 2>thousand different things meaningful. That's very different from whether or

0:35:07.280 --> 0:35:10.080
<v Speaker 2>not there is any ultimate meaning to life itself, and

0:35:10.120 --> 0:35:13.239
<v Speaker 2>there isn't. If it came about on its own, and

0:35:13.280 --> 0:35:17.799
<v Speaker 2>it will die on its own, then that's it. We

0:35:17.960 --> 0:35:20.799
<v Speaker 2>just visit for a tiny period of time and drop dead.

0:35:22.760 --> 0:35:25.080
<v Speaker 2>And you have to be honest and face that fact.

0:35:25.120 --> 0:35:29.160
<v Speaker 2>But it has consequences, and I believe it has huge consequences,

0:35:29.200 --> 0:35:33.960
<v Speaker 2>consciously or not I'd be very interested. For example, just

0:35:34.000 --> 0:35:36.359
<v Speaker 2>to bring it down to a very very mundane level,

0:35:36.400 --> 0:35:40.800
<v Speaker 2>I would be very curious to know if a deeply

0:35:41.320 --> 0:35:45.759
<v Speaker 2>committed to God, a God centered home is as likely

0:35:45.800 --> 0:35:48.160
<v Speaker 2>to watch as much television as a secular home. I'd

0:35:48.200 --> 0:35:53.720
<v Speaker 2>be very curious. Now, there are other factors as well

0:35:53.880 --> 0:35:57.759
<v Speaker 2>about television watching. I have no doubt about it. There

0:35:57.760 --> 0:36:01.160
<v Speaker 2>are other factors that could be involved as well. But

0:36:01.840 --> 0:36:06.920
<v Speaker 2>on the same socioeconomic and educational level. Let's say a

0:36:07.320 --> 0:36:10.279
<v Speaker 2>person who only went through high school who has a

0:36:10.320 --> 0:36:13.720
<v Speaker 2>God centered home versus only through high school non God

0:36:13.800 --> 0:36:16.320
<v Speaker 2>centered home, which do you think we'll have more TV?

0:36:16.840 --> 0:36:18.920
<v Speaker 2>And I'm the reason that I raise it is because,

0:36:18.960 --> 0:36:24.920
<v Speaker 2>in the final analysis, the sense of pointlessness and the

0:36:25.040 --> 0:36:29.040
<v Speaker 2>need to be constantly drugged, and it is a drug

0:36:29.480 --> 0:36:34.880
<v Speaker 2>by entertainment, by amusement, is going to be more felt

0:36:35.080 --> 0:36:38.440
<v Speaker 2>by somebody who does not have God in his or

0:36:38.440 --> 0:36:40.920
<v Speaker 2>her life. This is not a criticism, this is not

0:36:40.960 --> 0:36:44.200
<v Speaker 2>an attack. This is not to make anybody feel bad,

0:36:44.360 --> 0:36:47.240
<v Speaker 2>nothing like that. I want you to open your ears

0:36:47.560 --> 0:36:50.200
<v Speaker 2>to what I'm saying. That's all. Open your minds to

0:36:50.239 --> 0:36:55.000
<v Speaker 2>what I'm saying. And yes, therefore, if we are just coincidence.

0:36:55.600 --> 0:36:58.520
<v Speaker 2>Then we are as Carl Sagan said to me, Dennis,

0:36:59.480 --> 0:37:03.040
<v Speaker 2>I look up into the cosmos, and the more I

0:37:03.080 --> 0:37:07.200
<v Speaker 2>see how grand and how large it is, the more

0:37:07.239 --> 0:37:12.839
<v Speaker 2>I realize how insignificant we human beings are. Well, that

0:37:13.000 --> 0:37:16.759
<v Speaker 2>was an honest atheist, and that's what I have asked for.

0:37:18.160 --> 0:37:20.359
<v Speaker 2>How do you come to believe in this God? If

0:37:20.400 --> 0:37:24.120
<v Speaker 2>you find it difficult, that's for another hour. In the meantime,

0:37:24.160 --> 0:37:27.440
<v Speaker 2>I hope this woman has been beneficial. I'm Dennis Prager.

0:37:27.680 --> 0:37:31.799
<v Speaker 2>Thank you for listening.

0:37:30.320 --> 0:37:33.160
<v Speaker 1>Tomorrow on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

0:37:33.440 --> 0:37:36.239
<v Speaker 2>Hi, everybody, I talk about the real, real issues of

0:37:36.320 --> 0:37:38.719
<v Speaker 2>men and women on the Male Female Hour, and I

0:37:38.760 --> 0:37:42.160
<v Speaker 2>want to read to you a letter I received after

0:37:42.280 --> 0:37:45.239
<v Speaker 2>last week's show. You mentioned that you would like to

0:37:45.280 --> 0:37:49.080
<v Speaker 2>do an hour on modesty. I am really looking forward

0:37:49.520 --> 0:37:54.560
<v Speaker 2>to that one. Well, broh, here is your request is granted.

0:37:54.560 --> 0:37:58.080
<v Speaker 2>I feel sort of like a Laddin's lamp here she

0:37:58.239 --> 0:38:03.160
<v Speaker 2>rubbed on and voila, which, by the way, shows I

0:38:03.200 --> 0:38:05.520
<v Speaker 2>read your mail, folks. I can't respond. I didn't even

0:38:05.520 --> 0:38:08.719
<v Speaker 2>get the chance to respond to her, but I do.

0:38:08.800 --> 0:38:12.759
<v Speaker 2>And if you have thoughts and reactions, they are absolutely invaluable.

0:38:12.840 --> 0:38:17.439
<v Speaker 2>To me. I was asked this question a long time ago,

0:38:17.480 --> 0:38:19.319
<v Speaker 2>and I'm very open on these issues, and that's why

0:38:19.360 --> 0:38:21.799
<v Speaker 2>people ask me. Well, Dennis, so, as a man, do

0:38:21.880 --> 0:38:26.920
<v Speaker 2>you like when women were very revealing clothing? And I said,

0:38:27.600 --> 0:38:31.120
<v Speaker 2>and this is this was a key answer. The male

0:38:31.360 --> 0:38:34.560
<v Speaker 2>in me loves it. The man in me doesn't.

0:38:34.840 --> 0:38:38.560
<v Speaker 1>Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with

0:38:38.719 --> 0:38:43.160
<v Speaker 1>Dennis Prager, visit Denispragger dot com for thousands of hours

0:38:43.160 --> 0:38:46.920
<v Speaker 1>of Dennis's lectures, courses in classic radio programs, and to

0:38:47.000 --> 0:38:54.239
<v Speaker 1>purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. We want to take just

0:38:54.280 --> 0:38:56.680
<v Speaker 1>a second to thank the team at Life Audio for

0:38:56.719 --> 0:38:59.600
<v Speaker 1>their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to lifeaudio

0:38:59.680 --> 0:39:02.640
<v Speaker 1>dot com to find dozens of other faith centered podcasts

0:39:02.640 --> 0:39:06.200
<v Speaker 1>and their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting,

0:39:06.520 --> 0:39:06.960
<v Speaker 1>and more.