What is the meaning of life? I extract phrases from the bible and then relate it to the concept taught in the Landmark forum. Check it out, it's amazing... 1. Life is meaninglessWhat does King Solomon the wisest person in the bible say about life? Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” ..."I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind."13 Here is a misfortune on earth that I have seen:Wealth hoarded by its owner to his own misery.14 Then that wealth was lost through bad luck; although he fathered a son, he has nothing left to give him.15 Just as he came forth from his mother’s womb, naked will he return as he came,and he will take nothing in his hand that he may carry away from his toil.16 This is another misfortune:Just as he came, so will he go. What did he gain from toiling for the wind?17 Surely, he ate in darkness every day of his life, and he suffered greatly with sickness and anger. Ecclesiastes 5:13-17And the mighty King David says: 5 Indeed, You have made my days as hand breadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.Psalm 39:5-62. So that you can enjoy what He madeLife being meaningless does not mean it is valueless, you are immensely valuable to God who is making YOU day by day with painstaking love. God made life and everything around us for you to enjoy while walking with Him and He made it good... Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Genesis 1:31King Solomon says: 24 A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. Ecclesiastes 3:12-1418 I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.19 To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.20 For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.Ecclesiastes 5:18-243. Life is better with friendsAfter I moved countries and lived in a place where I had few Christian friends, I can say from personal experience the incredible value of friends in my life who love Jesus and who build a similar purpose in their lives as I am. I yearn for having that kind of friends again. Jesus said: 11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one.King Solomon said: 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?12 Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.How does this relate to the Landmark forum?With this background from the bible, it is interesting to note that the Landmark forum, a secular for-profit company that teach self-actualization uses this concept as a central tenet of their teachings. It shows how teachings from the bible can be universally applied whether you are a Christian or not because in this case, it is a universal concept. The difference between the Landmark forum and how the bible explains it is in the conclusion at the end. If life as we know it is empty and meaningless then what can we do to give it meaning? Through the bible, we define the value of life in our relationship with God and how we walk with him. In the Landmark forum, you are asked to choose what is of value to you personally, your values and principles allow you to create a purpose for "your life" even though "life" is empty and meaningless. As you can see, if you attend the Landmark forum as a Christian, you can choose the bible as the source of your values on which to create the purpose of your life. The Landmark forum does not attempt to answer any eternity related questions but rather teach you how to make the most effective life you can. Warning: For some people the concept of life being empty and meaningless can be extremely stressfull if they don't succeed in creating a purpose from their values. Some people may even commit to Landmark as their life purpose instead of creating a life outside of it. There is nothing wrong with dedicating one's life to a company that exist to give other people a life purpose but it must be done from a true understanding of your values. Personally, I prefer to make Jesus the rock on which I build my life. As always with any secular teaching, you as a Christian must guard your heart and ask the holy spirit to protect you. Do not simply take what you are taught but learn from others while constantly praying for personal guidance. Ephesians 6:10-18 Although I do not agree with the following links' negative contents I add it here for you to evaluate if you wish: https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?4,55321,55322 https://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?6,109836,109836  |