Does life have any meaning?

Not quite the meaning of life is simply to live it as meaningfully as you possibly can. If you are creative create etc

well everyone should practice good deeds, not just religious people. i believe in God, but i think some atheists get a bad rap because some closed minded bigots label them as heathens or Satan worshipers or well basically anything you can think of.

But Mr. McDougall gets it right here. people should try to get the most out of life by doing what they are good at and essentially showing the world your talents and really giving the world what you have to offer. By world, i don't necessarily mean the whole world. I was just thinking grandly. But whatever you can do to create a better environment and get meaning out of life, i say go for it.

The positive thing about the idea that life may have no concomitant or transcendent meaning or value is the fact that, if that were true, the ultimate value of life would be wholly in the hands of oneself. The value system that we employ in our day to day life would be nothing but a construct of our own beings. This would mean that our approach to our own experiences in life would be in our own hands and not the hands of some being or existence outside of our control. This mindset causes many good things and allows for a mental state that creates a freedom in oneself. I say that because one with a belief that holds nothing accountable for life but themselves causes a one to evaluate themselves in a way that holds themselves to a personal moral standard that they know and truly value. This can and often does cause humanity to be self-sufficient, self-directing, and ultimately aware of what is right and wrong individually. This allows for a self-sustaining and creating morality that stems from the roots of one own beliefs and experiences. I feel that when a good moral and ethical set of this type is embraced it carries a much greater kind of virtue of a much greater value then that of a person who only cares for life only for fear of god and hell.

Just a thought
hope it made sense
a bit off the cuff

Thanks
Vajra

Of course life has a lot of meanings, or no meaning, depending, of course, on the particular life. I mean by "meaning" importance or significance. Einstein's life had a great deal of meaning. So did Hitler's.

Life's significance lies in the way that it is lived. For a person who doesn't believe in God or a supreme being of some sort the way that they live falls entirely on them. So I feel that when a person who doesn't believe in a direction outside of themselves (e.g. an atheist) decides to live a moral and ethical life, the value of that moral and ethical standard may be of greater value then that of a person who lives morally because they were taught that God smites the wicked.

i think life has many meanings. Love and honour and understanding and fun. THEY OFTEN CONFLICT.

If we come to believe that this is not the only realm, then it becomes even grander. More to understand, enjoy, honour and love. In some ways more conflict too, between and within us.

Life aint all fun, or all honour, or all understanding or all love. Though this makes the meaning of our lives difficult to hold together ..... it is even more difficult to throw away. To maintain a long and meaningless life would take exceptional circumstances. Isolation for one thing, .... because the meanings of our lives are not all ours.

How can you equate Einstein to Hitler? Hitilers life was the antipathy of meaning and Einstein life was full of meaning

Life - garden of souls. Crop of souls will collect at the Second Coming.
Jesus in first coming has watered souls that they grew. Read:

"And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast
seed into the ground; 4:27 And should sleep, and rise night and day,
and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

4:28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade,
then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

4:29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in
the sickle, because the harvest is come".

harvest - right souls.

God can't create everyone separately. It has sown people as we sow wheat.

---------- Post added 04-28-2010 at 07:02 AM ----------

Its experimental method of creation

Hi, I am new to this website and have been reading your posts for about a week and a half now.
Lately I have been thinking a lot about just this topic and I have a very similar view as your brother does. Like him, I am an atheist and I do agree with him that nothing we do will have a lasting effect on the Universe as a whole. However, I think he should take his thinking one step further and instead of saying life is meaningless, he should say life is its own meaning. When you do anything it provides you with some sort of innate pleasure or displeasure. Spend your time here doing things that provide pleasure and your life will seem complete.
Maybe I am way off base here and if so tell me I am wrong, I am eager to hear the opinions of an intelligent community.