Why Are We Here?

Throughout recorded human history these questions have been asked and debated. Those who suffer from depression often struggle to find an answer to these questions, as do many of the rest of us. Here are some thoughts on these questions. I write from the point of view of a Christian believer, that is, one who believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he represented God's presence on earth for a little more than 30 years some 2000 years ago. I believe that this entire universe exists because it was designed and fabricated by an intelligent, living, personal being who exists outside of this universe, that is, in a different "dimension". This "dimension" and any beings within it cannot be detected by our human senses or discovered by our scientific observation. We only know they exist because from time to time they reach into our "dimension" and reveal themselves to us. Furthermore, this intelligent being designed and brought into existence a diversity of living beings within this universe, ranging from single cell organisms to intelligent beings such as humans.

This provides a possible explanation for who we are and where we came from, but what about an explanation of why we are here. Why did this intelligent being design and make life as it is today? Lets suppose that this being is what we would call "good", and that this being wants to share that "good" with other beings, that is, be in relationship with them and share its good will with them. If this is the case, then the purpose for our existence is to be in a relationship with and share the good will of this being from another dimension. This is the belief of most people who call themselves Christians. We call the being from another dimension "God", and we believe that Jesus Christ is the "son of God", sent to earth by God some 2000 years ago to announce and live out God's good will as a human being.

I understand, of course, that this explanation raises other questions. If this being is a being of good will, why does it allow human suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people? What if some do not want this relationship? Why do many scientists reach a different conclusion about the origin of the universe and the origin of life? We will try to address these questions in future articles.