Christian and Marxist solution to the question of the meaning of human life
Christian theologians believe that materialistic philosophy is not able to answer the question of the meaning of life, since it does not recognize the other world and the immortality of the soul.
If, they say, everything ends in death, the complete disappearance of the personality, then what could be the point in its short-term existence? According to theologians, the answer to the question of the meaning of life can only be given by a religion that believes in the immortality of the personal spirit. Only religion can free a person from hopeless pessimism, because it leaves him hope for a future existence. According to Christian doctrine, the meaning of earthly human life should be sought not in life itself, but outside of it. Therefore, the goal and purpose of Christian life is salvation for eternal blissful life beyond the grave. This is salvation "the main religious truth." From the religious solution to the question of the meaning of life, a number of consequences follow for human morality, which actually make the earthly existence of people meaningless. This decision defines a specific classification of the values of life and culture, according to which everything important for people’s lives loses its significance, and in return, many useless and far-fetched demands are declared the most essential and necessary, in full accordance with the words of the apostolic epistle: “Do not love the world, neither what is in the world... For everything that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and its lusts, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (I John 2:15-17).
The Christian understanding of the meaning of life leads to neglect of its benefits and refusal of useful activities for society, from serving humanity: one cannot serve two masters - God and Mammon. There seems to be no point in serving people, since humanity will sooner or later perish. The meaning of life is not in happiness, since happiness on earth is unattainable, and not in the fight against evil, since evil can not be overcome by weak human forces, but only by an all-powerful and all-good God; Man is commanded: “Do not resist evil.” In short, there is nothing in human life that is addressed to the earth, to the vital interests of people, that would not be crossed out by Christianity. The Christian solution to the question of the meaning of life and the purpose of man comes down to a rather primitive idea: the Lord created people solely out of a vain impulse to have creatures before him who would admire him, love him and for that receive from him the reward of eternal blissful life. Despite its naivety, this myth still makes an impression on the minds of believers, as a result of which it is necessary not only to prove the inconsistency of the Christian understanding of the meaning of life, but also to contrast it with a scientific-materialistic understanding.
Christianity does not see any meaning in humanity's own existence, apart from the divine purpose, as a result of which history takes on an absurd appearance. But the main danger of the Christian understanding of the meaning of life is that it distorts the relationship between the individual and society, the individual and humanity, that is, what constitutes the essence of morality. Since religion is only interested in the soul and its salvation, religion breaks the connection between the existence of society and the goals of an individual’s life, between objective and subjective criteria for assessing personality. Thus, the Christian solution to the question of the meaning of life becomes the ideological basis for individualism. But, V.I. Lenin emphasized, it is impossible to correctly resolve the question of the meaning and purpose of life if we proceed only from the interests of the individual. This would be all the more wrong since the very interests of the individual are determined by the social whole. “Human goals are generated by the objective world and presuppose it; they find it as given, present. But it seems to a person that his goals are taken from outside the world, independent from the world (“freedom”).”
The scientific worldview leaves no illusions about personal immortality. This person will never be repeated anywhere, either in physical form or in any form whatsoever. After death, what awaits him is the same as before birth - non-existence. Of course, the matter that made up the human body will not disappear, it will continue to exist in other forms and compounds, and part of it, embedded in the sex cells, will give rise to new lives. But when they talk about the immortality of a person, they mean his body, consciousness, memory, that is, everything that a person himself feels as his individuality, his “I”. There is no such immortality. With the destruction of the body, nervous system, and brain, the existing existence of consciousness also disintegrates, and the existence of a given personality ceases.
Although materialists do not recognize personal immortality in its religious sense, they do not deny, in a sense, the immortality of the individual, if we consider its existence in inextricable connection with the existence of the human race. The highest value in the hierarchy of values known to us is humanity. Since there are no values that would rise above it, the meaning of humanity’s existence should be sought not outside of it, but in itself - in everything that contributes to the preservation and prosperity of the human race. But humanity consists of individuals, therefore, the meaning of the existence of each individual person should be to participate as much as possible in the implementation of this goal. A person can participate in the preservation and progressive development of humanity biologically, leaving behind offspring. A part of our “I” continues to exist in children; in them a person finds much of what he intimately feels as his own, deeply personal. He continues to exist in the memory of people, in books, works of art, cars, houses and other fruits of his life, which remain among the living and which act for a long time as if the deceased lived and acted among people. The meaning of a person's life is measured by the contribution he has made to the progressive development of society. This is the personal immortality of a person: some people are forgotten immediately after the funeral, others live in the memory and deeds of many generations.
Christianity and work
As already noted, in the modern era, the progress of mankind lies on the path of building communism. Therefore, wrote V.I. Lenin, the meaning of life of a conscious member of a socialist society should consist in active participation in this construction, in activities “to ensure complete well-being and free all-round development of all members of society” (Lenin V.I. Pol. sobr. op. ., vol. 6, p. 232). The most important element of such activity is labor. Therefore, the quantity and quality of labor, embodied in a product useful to society, is the main measure of assessing an individual and his fulfillment of his life purpose. The obligation to work for the good of society is proclaimed as the most important principle of the moral code of the builder of communism, which is reflected in the CPSU Program. Opponents of communism accuse Marxists of creating a kind of cult of labor and production. But there is nothing humiliating for communist morality in this reproach. Soviet people rightly view work as a natural need of a healthy body and, most importantly, a necessary condition for the existence of humanity, as an activity that creates conditions for everything else in people’s lives: education, recreation, entertainment.
Adapting to the psychology of the modern believer, Christian preachers these days strongly emphasize that Christianity also elevates work as the main duty of a person in his earthly life.
This kind of opinion contains a somewhat one-sided portrayal of the Christian attitude towards work. The actual position of Christianity is much more complex and contradictory.
In their interpretation of the work, modern preachers of Christianity refer to the Bible. But in the Bible, compiled from texts written down at different times by different peoples, one can find the most contradictory judgments about work.
This is no accident. During the slave era, when the books of the Bible were created, labor was considered the lot of slaves and the poorest segments of the population. It is clear that in a society where work is considered a forced occupation of pariahs, a disdainful attitude towards it should have been reflected in the dominant ideology, which was religion. In Christianity, a negative attitude towards work as a necessary activity, but of little value in the eyes of God, received quite clear expression and even dogmatic justification.
The distorted idea of work is associated with the biblical myth of the Fall of Adam and Eve. God placed hard work on Adam as a curse for violating his will: “By the sweat of your face you will eat bread” (Gen. 3:19). In full agreement with this divine spell, Christianity values in work mainly not its fruits, which are useful for people, but the heaviness and suffering associated with hard and unattractive work. A Christian must bear this burden, and the harder the work, the more pleasing it is to God. From the point of view of the idea of salvation, human activity aimed at improving the conditions of his existence is assessed as something of secondary importance. If one has to make a choice between productive work and serving God, then a true Christian must leave all earthly concerns and follow Christ.
The downplaying of the importance of productive labor results in the fact that many believers work in enterprises and collective farms without enthusiasm and do not show any desire to increase labor productivity or their production qualifications. Absenteeism from work on patronal and other holidays is common. All this indicates that such believers lack consciousness and a sense of work duty, i.e., that quality that distinguishes a convinced builder of communism.
Love is above all
Personal and universal experience convinces us that there is no higher happiness than love. They sacrifice their lives for her. Her man does not agree to exchange her for anything else. The face of the lover and the beloved glows with pure joy. Love is ready to sacrifice any pleasure. An example of such love is shown to us only by Christ, preached by the Orthodox Apostolic Church. He sacrificed himself for humanity as much as possible, to the point of death. His love for people and God is limitless. Thanks to divine love, he had no anger even towards his own torturers and murderers. The Savior gave people a revelation in which God is love. And the meaning of life is to achieve unity in eternity with Christ, with the One who loves us infinitely. It is enough to look closely at the faces of holy people in photographs to notice this heavenly joy that they received already here on earth. Christ compared the acquisition of the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the King - God, in his soul with how a person finds a treasure, and for the sake of it he is ready to sacrifice absolutely everything he has. He found happiness.
How can I tell if I'm a Christian?
On the First Sunday after Pentecost, All Saints, Metropolitan Mitrofan of Gorlovka and Slavic celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the Church of All Saints in the city of Bakhmut (Artemovsk). At the end of the liturgy, the bishop addressed those gathered with an archpastoral word.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Your Reverences, all-honorable fathers, Father Superior, dear brothers and sisters, I congratulate you on Sunday, the feast of All Saints, who have pleased God from time immemorial, and the patronal day of this church!
The first Church, the first disciples of the Savior were the apostles - first twelve, then seventy. In the eyes of all other people, this was the Church. The answer to the question, where is the Church, was simple: where the disciples of Christ were. They preached the Gospel, the Word of God, and went where the Holy Spirit led them, and founded Christian communities. The Church expanded through people who believed in Christ and followed Him.
If we look at the first Church, the number of saints equaled the number of members of the Church, because all members of the Church were saints. Holiness in the Church was not something exceptionally rare, an unusual phenomenon, but a natural choice, which was associated with the fact that a person, leaving everything, as the apostles did, followed Christ. With the fact that for the sake of Christ a person was ready for sorrow, for suffering.
We remember that the first Church is the Church of the martyrs who shed their blood for the Name of Christ. We remember that in the first centuries, being a Christian meant not just accepting Baptism, receiving a certificate of Baptism, or bringing a child to be baptized, but making a choice for which you would be deprived of your civil rights, property and life. People made this choice because they put Christ above. He was dearer to them and more than anything else. And how can such people, who were ready to die for Christ every day and died when the time came, not be called saints?
Today we see that the Church, through the works of the apostles, disciples of Christ, has expanded and multiplied over the centuries. Once in the Gospel the Lord spoke about the Kingdom of God as about a small seed, which, when thrown into the ground, is not visible, just as the apostles were not visible at first. And when it grows, it becomes a huge tree, under whose canopy animals, birds, and people find shade.
The church grew in the same way over two thousand years and expanded, turning into a large tree, under the shade of which many peoples and many generations find shelter. People who believe in Christ today speak different languages, live on all continents, and have different skin colors. And for two thousand years now, these completely different people, following Christ, receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and become saints, uniting with Christ and becoming heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven.
There is another side - a lot of people have appeared in the Church who formally belong to it. We know that a person is baptized, he wears a cross, and in response to the question of what your religion is, he will say: “I am an Orthodox Christian.” But, looking at his actions, hearing the words that this person says, seeing how he lives, we would never guess that this person could be a Christian. What is accepted outside the Church, outside its walls, remains the usual norm in his life.
We know that today not only those people who have dedicated their entire lives to Christ consider themselves Orthodox, but also those who have been formally baptized and who have probably never taken communion in their lives, who are far from any church life, but only call yourself Orthodox.
Many people, calling themselves Orthodox, act in ways that a believer should not act, and through this the name of the Church is not exalted or glorified, but is discredited. We are often rightly told: how can you believe in Christ if you Christians behave like this? If faith in Christ has not changed you and has not made your life different, how can you say that this is something big, something great?
Faith in Christ becomes something more only when it has made such changes in my life that are noticeable to everyone around me. If I behave like a dishonest person, if I act as pagans do not act, if no one communicating with me sees justice, love, or truth in me, do I have the right to call myself an Orthodox Christian? By calling myself this, am I glorifying the Church? Or am I humiliating her?
Today we must think about the criteria by which we can determine whether we belong to the Church or not. Please note that I am not saying that we should determine whether any of our neighbors belong to the Church. Very often, without seeing our own sins and shortcomings, our own mistakes, we notice the sins and shortcomings of other people, and instead of judging ourselves, we begin to judge someone else.
We need to ask ourselves: by what criterion can I understand whether I belong to the Church? I am a baptized person, I read the Gospel, morning and evening prayers, go to church services, take communion several times a year and observe fasts. Can I say about myself that I am an Orthodox person, that I am a Christian?
Formally, yes. But if at the same time I allow myself to be rude, rude, if I behave in everyday life like a dishonest person - like a person who does not keep his word, who cannot be relied on, who does not love anyone but himself, who cares only about himself who shows greed, pride, selfishness in relationships with other people, do formal signs - that I go to services several times a year, confess, take communion, read the Gospel - make me a Christian?
Formal membership in the Church cannot save anyone. A person is saved by sincere faith in Christ and God, who responds to this faith and to the desire to change his life and begin to live by faith. If God does not see this desire in our heart, if He does not see in our life the desire to live according to His commandments, formal membership in the Church does not make us Christians, does not make us saints and does not bring us closer to God.
Most often we come across the fact that people who consider themselves saints only on formal grounds - because they read several akathists, made several bows or fasted several times a year - have an unbearable character, make the life of their loved ones unbearable, no one they do not love anyone but themselves, they condemn their friends, comrades, relatives and friends right and left, they are ready to sacrifice their Christian conscience and their principles for their own benefit. Or they see someone to blame, but in no case themselves. Haven't we seen such examples? Was it not bitter to our hearts when we saw this among those whom we considered Christians and in whom we trusted?
Isn't this the reason that today our people are suffering from a fratricidal war? How cool it is that they shoot at each other from consecrated tanks: they consecrated them there, here, and then they shot at each other, smashed houses, killed children...
This only speaks of our spiritual blindness, that we want to belong to the Church only formally. Here, father, sprinkle us with holy water, bless us, read a prayer, and we will live the way we want, and we will do as our pride and selfishness tell us. We will go with a kiss to the Gospel, because it lies in the middle of the church, and we did not even intend to read it and live by it. But we are all members of the Church.
And the members of the Church are not at peace with each other, not in love, but in enmity and war. Why? Because they remained members of the Church formally, but never belonged to it in soul and heart, never felt it as their Mother, never felt it was their duty to live according to the commandments of God and put them in first place, above everything in their lives.
This leads to perversions, to the fact that a person who calls himself a believer acts worse than an unbeliever, to the fact that a person who considers himself enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit costs nothing to say a bad word, offend, slander, condemn, envy, betray, do some other evil. And yet he considers himself a member of the Church only because he was at the Sunday service. We need to fix all this.
Today we see this through misfortune, through blood, suffering, misfortune, which only formal belonging to the Church leads to, when we outwardly bear the title of Christian, but do not perceive its spirit. Can we imagine the apostles who would treat each other the way people who call themselves Orthodox Christians and brothers treat each other today?
It is not formal membership in the Church that makes a person a Christian. It is not formal belonging to the Church that connects us with the saints, makes us family and close to them and to God. It is not formal belonging to the Church that gives us the joy of communication with God and the grace of the Holy Spirit, but the sincere desire of the heart to live according to the commandments of God, when we put them in the first place, and when this is seen not by people, but, first of all, by the Lord, Who is watching into our soul and into our heart.
The more true members of the Church there are who are sincerely, from the soul, from the bottom of their hearts ready to live according to the will of God, who not outwardly, but with the whole fullness of their lives will belong to God and live according to the Gospel, the less trouble there will be in our lives and the more in it there will be joy and love. “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
When lawlessness and pride increase, then love becomes scarce. And when love disappears, although we call ourselves the Church, we become some kind of gathering that cannot be the Church, because the Church does not exist without love. Without the grace of the Holy Spirit there is no Church.
As the Lord once told the Jews, who were proud of their descent from Abraham, - do not tell yourself that you are from Abraham, God can make children for Abraham from stones, but create fruits worthy of repentance - so each of us needs to think about it. about whether we formally belong to the Church if we received baptism from our parents and sometimes go to church and receive communion several times a year. We have to think about whether our lives match what we show. Can we testify to ourselves as Christians not with words, but with our deeds and actions, as befits every member of the Orthodox Church.
I'm sure many of you do. I believe many of you live this way. I believe that if this were not so, then the very existence of the world would have ceased. But I would like to see more people like this. I would like the number of people who not only outwardly, but also sincerely, from the heart, to live holy, according to the commandments of God, and who place the law of love above all other laws, to multiply, and this would change our lives.
I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, congratulate you all on your throne day, on the feast of all saints - true members of the Church. God grant that each of us be like them both in our deeds and in our lives! God bless you all! May God's blessing be with you all!
Many people are interested in the question: what is the meaning of life in Christianity? Trying to find an answer to a question is depriving you of peace. Religion helps every believer find the path to a life full of meaning. Undoubtedly, thinking about the meaning of life is a philosophical question, however, faith and sincere prayer to God will help you find a clear answer to it. A religious response to the tossing of the soul will become a bright ray of light and show the path to peace and harmony. Let's turn to three world religions and try to figure out what the meaning of human life is.
Immortality of the soul
The position of biased atheists is further weakened by the facts accumulated by resuscitators who have repeatedly brought their patients back to life. These doctors, far from the problem of the meaning of life, remained scientific skeptics for a long time, but were forced to change their view on the question of the existence of the soul.
They were shocked by the testimonies of their patients: having been in a state of clinical death for a long time, they described in detail everything that they saw and heard, being at a great distance, in completely different rooms. Whereas, according to the logic of the atheists, they could neither see nor hear anything even close to their lifeless body. Many philosophers have come to the conclusion that the existence of God and the existence of the immortal soul of man are necessary conditions for the possibility of the existence of meaning in life. These same postulates are the basis for the approach to a religious solution to this issue. Philosophers and thinkers have risen to the concepts of good, living according to conscience. Some become stuck at the level of adherence to the simple selfish pursuit of pleasure.
Christian understanding of the meaning of life
Many holy fathers in their sermons and teachings pay special attention to the issue of finding the true path of life and oneself. Man began to think about the eternal and the most important in the distant past. Remember the legend of King Sisyphus; as punishment, he was doomed to forever roll a stone to the top of the highest mountain. Having reached the top, the king again found himself at the foot and began a meaningless ascent. This myth is the clearest example of the meaninglessness of human existence.
Thinkers about the true meaning of existence
The philosopher Albert Camus, reflecting on the meaning of life in Christianity, applied the image of Sisyphus to the image of a man - his contemporary. The philosopher’s main idea was the following: the life of every creature, limited by the boundaries of existence, resembles Sisyphean labor, full of absurdity and meaningless actions.
It is important! Often a person who has reached a respectable age remembers life and understands that there were many incoherent events in it that turned into an endless chain of meaningless actions and actions. So that earthly existence does not resemble Sisyphean labor, it is important to find the meaning of life, to clearly see the road - your own, the only path to harmony and happiness.
Unfortunately, many people live in an illusory world and follow pseudo-goals. However, in the world of specifics and realities, it is impossible to find the true meaning of a Christian’s life. This idea is best confirmed by exact science - mathematics. A number divided by infinity is zero. It is not surprising that all attempts by people far from faith to explain the meaning of existence look naive.
Great creators and philosophers understand the incompleteness of earthly existence. Blaise Pascal realized only two years before his death that science is just work, a craft, and the true meaning of Christian life is rooted in religion. In his letters, the scientist often thought a lot about the meaning of existence. He wrote that a person can become truly happy only by realizing that there is a God. The true good is to love Him and abide in Him, and the great misfortune is to be separated from Him and to be filled with darkness. True religion clearly and clearly explains to man the reason why he resists God, and therefore the greatest good. True faith shows how to gain the necessary strength to overcome one’s own delusions, how to accept God, and find oneself.
Great scientist and Orthodoxy
In the modern world the situation has not changed radically. A deeply moral person, having achieved certain heights and results, clearly understands that this is not the true goal. Great people are constantly understanding the fullness of life and its true meaning. A striking example is the life of Academician Korolev. Managing the greatest space program, he understood that the meaning of existence is in the salvation of the soul, that is, it rushes far beyond the boundaries of earthly existence. In those days, Orthodoxy and faith were subject to serious persecution, but even then Korolev had a mentor, he attended pilgrimages and donated large sums to charity.
The nun Silouana, who worked in a hotel at the monastery, wrote about this amazing person. In her stories, she describes Korolev as a respectable man in a leather jacket. She was amazed by the fact that the academician, having lived for several days in a hotel at the temple, was sincerely surprised by poverty and misery. His heart was breaking from what he saw, and Korolev wanted to help the monastery. The academician lamented that he had little money with him, but left his address and telephone number and asked the nun to definitely stop by when he arrived in Moscow. The nun gave Korolev the address of a priest who found himself in a difficult situation and asked him to provide all possible assistance. Some time later, Silvana arrived in Moscow and was visited by the Queen. To her surprise, the man lived in a luxurious mansion, was very happy to see the nun, and invited her to visit. In Korolev’s office there were icons, and on the table lay an open book of the Philokalia. The academician donated 5 thousand rubles to the monastery. By the way, the priest became Korolev’s mentor and good friend, whose address the nun gave and asked for help.
It is important! For Korolev, turning to religion was not a short episode; in it, the academician learned the meaning of a Christian’s life. The scientist lived by Orthodoxy, risked his own high position, and found time to read the works of the holy fathers.
Pushkin on the Gospel
Great poets in their work raised the eternal question of the meaning of birth and existence. At the beginning of the 19th century, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin wrote the poem “Three Keys,” where he expressed the endless feeling of thirst for the soul. At that time, the poet was only 28 years old, but even then he wanted to understand the meaning of the presence of living beings on earth and their birth. And 3 months before his tragic death, Pushkin will write about the Gospel - the only book where every word is interpreted. The poet said that only this great book is applicable to any circumstance and event in life, its eloquence captivates and has eternal charm.
The answer to the question - where to look for the meaning of birth and what can change your life? The most accurate teaching will be revealed by the Holy Gospel. It says here - life is more important than food, it is more important than the Sabbath. In accordance with the Gospel, Jesus died for everyone, and after being resurrected, he became the Author of life. The real meaning of life lies in union with Jesus, this is the true source of happiness and light. The Gospel says that a true believer will certainly be resurrected after death.
It is important! Entry into eternal life begins on earth, through the church. If a person could not step on the feet of holiness, but lives his path with spiritual honesty, he gains knowledge of the meaning of his existence. Prayer helps with this, which is an appeal to God, a conversation with him. One of the most powerful is the prayer of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which changes a person and opens the path to eternal life.
Scientists and the existence of God
It is no secret that many scientists who created various sciences as knowledge systems were believers. The existence of the Creator, our fantastically complex and harmoniously conceived world, is the foundation for the logic of understanding man and the entire universe in general. The recognition by “science” of the existence of the Creator is the voice of the believing scientists themselves, the creators of science, whose names we call units of measurement in physics: Pascal (wrote in defense of the Christian faith), Newton (author of theological works), Ampere... Among the believing scientists are the astronomers Copernicus and Kepler, Lomonosov, Popov, Mendeleev, Pavlov, Einstein... The meaning of life and the religious picture of the world did not contradict the sum of their scientific knowledge. Those few scientists who stubbornly denied the existence of God could not figure out what experiments could prove their atheistic hypothesis. Scientists come to a dead end when trying to explain the uniqueness of the existence of our life in the Universe: the calculated probability of the emergence of sustainable life from inanimate matter is practically zero. And even more so - the likelihood of the random emergence of an amazingly complex DNA molecule. And the fundamental physical constants are tuned by the Creator with perfect accuracy to such values that only allow our solar system to exist, as well as unique life on Earth.
