Week Three - Day Two: What We Believe

Clue #4: We have unfulfilled desires that God seems to satisfy.

The overwhelming majority of human beings throughout human history have had a sense that there was something more. For most of us, this sense has led us to believe in some form of God. But the skeptic in us will say, “Just because many, many people believe it does not make it right.”

Indeed, Sigmund Freud attacked this belief head on. He argued that our belief in God is based on unfulfilled desires and fears. In an attempt to satisfy those desires and fears we insert God. He called our belief “wish fulfillment.” We want very badly for there to be something more because if there isn’t, then we know our lives hold no meaning.

The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche went even further. He said that not only was the lack of meaning the real and true state of affairs, but our need to hide ourselves from that truth was a sign of weakness. In other words, we believe in God, according to Nietzsche, because we are too weak to face the truth about the universe. Most of us just can’t handle the truth! He called on us all to stand up, to be “superhuman.” He called us to accept the truth that there is no God and to accept the truth that we live in a world without meaning.

You have to hand it to both Freud and Nietzsche. They were honest. They understood where their beliefs led them and they went there. If they are right, if there is no God, then our lives really don’t have any meaning or any real anchor. Now, there have been many noble philosophical attempts to construct a sense of meaning for our lives, because we all know it’s better to have a sense of meaning than not. For example, it has been suggested that we take our meaning from our need to live together as societies. Since we seem to want company, maybe we could use this desire as a basis for human meaning. You can see how this would give us a reason not to murder one another – in case you need one.

According to this train of thought, we have to admit that there is no real reason not to murder someone. Since there is no God and no real meaning to the universe, there are no real rights or wrongs. There is no standard. We have to make one up if we want or need one. There isn’t an actual standard built into the fabric of the universe, but if we’re going to live together, we pretty much need one.

Or maybe we can construct our meaning from our inner drive to be happy. (By the way, this drive to be happy should be added to the list of things whose origin we must wonder about. Where did it come from if there is no God?) Find what makes you happy and do it. And then do not infringe on the happiness of others because you don’t want them to infringe on your happiness. We can work our way out from this basic foundation to arrive at a comprehensive sense of meaning.

These are quick examples of ways that we might be able to construct meaning for our lives. But most philosophers who have agreed with Freud or Nietzsche have honestly and bravely acknowledged that this sense of meaning is really artificial. There is no real meaning, they admit, but it’s better to have one than not to have one, so in order to help us live together as societies, we will have to construct it for ourselves.

So maybe Freud and Nietzsche are right. Maybe we can’t handle the truth. (Or maybe it’s too early to follow any of this. Hopefully not.)

But what if our desires and our longings for meaning give us a clue that there really is something toward which the desire itself points. Maybe these aren’t just fears and random desires. Maybe they point to a universal meaning, an absolute standard. Maybe there is SOMETHING that satisfies my desire for meaning. This is the argument that St. Augustine made seventeen centuries ago in his book The Confession. The argument goes something like this: the fact that I want a pizza certainly doesn’t mean that I will get a pizza. But the fact that I’m hungry does indicate that there is such a thing as food which can satisfy my hunger. (For the record, St. Augustine does not mention a pizza in his discussion.) The same could be said for all of our physical needs and the objects toward which they point. Our needs point beyond themselves to a reality which meets those needs.

But can we say the same thing about our emotional desires and longings? This is Augustine’s argument. The fact that I have internal emotional/spiritual longings suggests that there is SOMETHING toward which those longings point. Take love, for example. The fact that I long to experience something like love, does that then suggest that there is necessarily something that will satisfy that longing? And even if there is, does that mean that there is something more – some kind of meaning behind it all? In other words, does my “love” have any real significance or is it just my internal chemistry? Augustine says yes, my love does suggest SOMETHING more!

So let’s go one step further. Does my longing for God, then, mean that there is something real toward which that longing points? St. Augustine says emphatically yes! This is the crux of his argument!

Interestingly, Jesus’ followers seemed to agree.

Before You Start Your Day

1. Take a look at Romans 1:18-20.

   (18) The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, (19) since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. (20) For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

   Romans 1:18-20

   1. What does Paul give as the reason for our rejection of the truth?
   2. According to Paul, we know! Deep down we know! There is something in us that resonates with the universe and we know!
2. Now take a quick look at 1 John 4:7-12 and think of it in light of our office this morning.

   (7) Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. (8) Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (9) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (10) This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (11) Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (12) No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

   1 John 4:7-12

   1. What is the philosophical grounding for our love for one another? Why should we do it?
   2. What is the source of our love?
3. Now look at Psalm 27:4-5 and let the words of this song wash over you. Use this as your prayer to launch you today!

   (4) One thing I ask of the LORD,
         this is what I seek:
         that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
         all the days of my life,
         to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
         and to seek him in his temple.

   (5) For in the day of trouble
         he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
         he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
         and set me high upon a rock.

   Psalm 27:4-5