Of anything, really?
If we look closely, perhaps deeply would be a better
word, at the course of anything created, the pattern does not vary. Duration varies, but the cycle of: Birth; Growth; Fullness; Decay; Dissolution: does not.
This is the consistent course of all that ever was -
or ever will be.
What’s the use of all these temporal creations?
Is God like a child, blowing cosmic soap bubbles simply for His own amusement? Is it pointless fun, or is there a purpose to it all?
Maybe there is no God. Many believe so, however their case against God is not based on evidence. It is based on lack of evidence.
Measurable evidence increasingly points to purposeful creation. The age of the Universe, from the Big Bang to now, has been calculated. There is not enough time in that calculation for random changes to form the complexity that exists. The frequency of mutation, as well as other forms of random change is known. It would require adding some trillions of zeros to the current age of the Universe for random change to be plausibly considered.
The idea of Intelligent Design is being reluctantly discussed. A lot of scientists think the term suggests something uncomfortably close to God.
They’re right, it does.
From Newton on, science has concentrated on the quantifiable and the material. Despite that, scientists for several centuries flirted with the notion of a clock-work Universe. Unfortunately, a clock-work Universe would require a Clock-Maker. That would not do. Scientists spent progressively more time on narrow inquiries, and less on grand questions. That’s just as well.
The scientific method is the best means ever developed for precise investigation. It’s not much good for grand questions of Origin and Purpose.
Nevertheless, precise modern, scientific investigation has revealed an extensive, previously unknown, functionally complex, intense layering of intertwined, and interactive systems that comprise nearly everything from celestial bodies to bacteria.
Is this the work of a skillful Clock-Maker, an Intelligent Designer, or should we simply call it the work of God?
I think it’s the work of God.
That still begs the question, “What’s the use”? Why create all the dying stars that fill the Universe, or the expiring life that fills the Earth? What possible use could God have for any of this.
It’s a mystery I’ve wondered about for a long time.
I know that many will say that God did all this because He loves the men and women He created in His own image. That means, apparently, that God created the Heavens and the Earth for no other reason than to support his favorite creation - us. God is Omnipotent, why not just create the humans and the Earth, and skip the Universe part.? Well, as odd as it may seem, much of the science of Intelligent Design suggests the Universe part was necessary. They say that if the Universe had developed in any other way, at all, we would not be here.
It’s humbling to think that God did all that just for us. In fact, it seems unbelievable. Even so, it still doesn’t explain what God gets out of it.
I have an idea; maybe a crazy idea.
Imagine a Physicist who is the sole survivor of a disaster that wiped out all life on Earth. He would be lonely. Perhaps he would eventually construct automatons to keep him company. They would be responsive, useful, entertaining, or anything else he had programed them to be. They would not be conscious.
Real companions don’t have programs; they have opinions.
Might the granting of Free Will be the only way to create companions with true consciousness? I think God said, “Yes”, although He knew that many of us would not be able to manage the responsibilities of Free Will. Those who chose evil would lack the compassionate insight required for eternal life.
God would like to share His Heavenly home with all of us. He wants us to love him as He loves us; by a decision of free will.
God will guide us; He will not decide for us.
As we, “strut and fret” our hour upon the temporal stage of this world we should keep in mind that nothing but our own freely made decisions will determine our viability for eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
What’s the use? That is the use. What else could
it be?
God doesn’t send us to Heaven, or Hell. We do that all on our own.
I once heard a fellow talk about being a friend of God. At the time, I thought that was a peculiar way to put it. Now I think it may be exactly the right way to put it.
Of course, opinions will vary.