The Ultimate End
The past 3 months had been an emotionally and physically trying period for me.
Death, suffering, despair, betrayal, stress, fatigue – I’ve experienced these extreme states of life in parallel through my loved ones and close friends; a close relative had to make a decision to amputate a leg or die within a week; another had to face up to the inevitability of losing a second leg; a close friend struggled with the sudden prospect of divorce with young children; and I faced the toughest challenge of my job with key colleagues suddenly falling sick and heroic time constraints.
Big questions about life naturally surfaced in my mind: is death a good choice when there's no hope for quality of life? why is there so much pain and suffering? what is the point of working hard when life is so short? what is the ultimate meaning of life?
I found no easy answers even though I had been a God-fearing Catholic for decades - the ageless question of why an all-powerful loving God could allow so much pain and suffering in the world remains a mind-boggling mystery for most people, including myself...
Instead of relishing in the comfort of my business-class seat and enjoying the wide selection of movies during the two 12-hour flights of my business trip in Europe, my mind was actively being engaged and amazed by the mind-blowing concepts of a book on theology: Christian Philosophy
by Joseph M. de Torre - I've prayed for help and God led me to this seemingly difficult, boring and out-of-date book!
As I read the last page of that book some days after I returned from my trip, I felt an immense satisfaction and was profoundly enlightened: I've found the ultimate end in life - GOD - not by a sudden relevation from Heaven but by a systematically intellectual reasoning process that leaves no room for doubt.
In short, if man pursues an end other than God, he is bound to be dissatisfied and frustrated - every single thought and action must be oriented to God simply because he is created by God for God - by doing so, he attains an invincible joy beyond human understanding, regardless of his circumstances.
So, whether you're an atheist, agnostic or you simply don't care, I would urge you to take time to think about life and its ultimate end - it's the key to happiness in this life and the next! Click here for an interesting and witty article to begin your journey towards the Ultimate End.
Death, suffering, despair, betrayal, stress, fatigue – I’ve experienced these extreme states of life in parallel through my loved ones and close friends; a close relative had to make a decision to amputate a leg or die within a week; another had to face up to the inevitability of losing a second leg; a close friend struggled with the sudden prospect of divorce with young children; and I faced the toughest challenge of my job with key colleagues suddenly falling sick and heroic time constraints.
Big questions about life naturally surfaced in my mind: is death a good choice when there's no hope for quality of life? why is there so much pain and suffering? what is the point of working hard when life is so short? what is the ultimate meaning of life?
I found no easy answers even though I had been a God-fearing Catholic for decades - the ageless question of why an all-powerful loving God could allow so much pain and suffering in the world remains a mind-boggling mystery for most people, including myself...
Instead of relishing in the comfort of my business-class seat and enjoying the wide selection of movies during the two 12-hour flights of my business trip in Europe, my mind was actively being engaged and amazed by the mind-blowing concepts of a book on theology: Christian Philosophy
by Joseph M. de Torre - I've prayed for help and God led me to this seemingly difficult, boring and out-of-date book!As I read the last page of that book some days after I returned from my trip, I felt an immense satisfaction and was profoundly enlightened: I've found the ultimate end in life - GOD - not by a sudden relevation from Heaven but by a systematically intellectual reasoning process that leaves no room for doubt.
In short, if man pursues an end other than God, he is bound to be dissatisfied and frustrated - every single thought and action must be oriented to God simply because he is created by God for God - by doing so, he attains an invincible joy beyond human understanding, regardless of his circumstances.
So, whether you're an atheist, agnostic or you simply don't care, I would urge you to take time to think about life and its ultimate end - it's the key to happiness in this life and the next! Click here for an interesting and witty article to begin your journey towards the Ultimate End.
Comments
anyways I have been a Christian myself ever since birth and the same question occurs to me all the time- why would a Good God will allow evil and bad things to happen to good people- take the recent tragedy of Lo Hwei Yen being killed by terrorist.
Well, of course I will never find the answer till i meet God. Whenever I post such a question, fellow Christians always give me the same answer.. and that is we are all sinners and as sinful mortals we have to pay for our sins. Earth is just a temporal place we dwell till we meet God again. So logically our sufferings will end when we pass on.
Well since I don't exactly have an answer for you how about a nice little anecdote that illustrate why we believe in a God and how do we know He is in control...
An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the Problem
Science has with GOD, the ALMIGHTY. He asked one of his New Christian
Students to stand and . . .
Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD Good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to
Heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill.. But GOD
didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent )
Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella.
Is GOD Good?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Is Satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor : Where does Satan come from ?
Student : From . . . GOD . . .
Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything.
Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor : So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer)
Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these
terrible things exist in the World, don't they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, who Created them ?
(Student had no answer)
Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe
the World around you. Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD?
Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol,
Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.
Professor : Yes,Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor : Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn't.
(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )
Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat,
Mega Heat, White Heat, a Little Heat or No Heat. But we don't have anything
called Cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we
can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as Cold. Cold is
only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat. We cannot Measure Cold.
Heat is Energy. Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of
it.
(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )
Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as
Darkness?
Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?
Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the Absence of Something
You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . .
But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called
Darkness, isn't it? In reality, Darkness isn't.
If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?
Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality.. You argue
there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD. You are
viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, Science can't even explain a Thought. It uses Electricity and
Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To
view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that Death
cannot exist as a Substantive Thing. Death is Not the Opposite of Life:
just the Absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students
that they evolved from a Monkey?
Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes,
of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the
Argument was going )
Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at
work and Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavor,
Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir?
Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
(The Class was in Uproar )
Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor's
Brain?
(The Class broke out into Laughter )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's Brain,
Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . .
No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical,
Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that You have No Brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir?
(The Room was Silent. The Professor stared at the Student, his face
unfathomable)
Professor : I guess you'll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly !
The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH.
That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.
That student was Albert Einstein.