God, the meaning of life, and a new argument for atheism

We raise various puzzles about the relationship between God (if God exists) and the meaning of life (if life has meaning). These difficulties suggest that, even if we assume that God exists, and even if (as we argue) God's existence would entail that our lives have meaning, God is not and could...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Megill, Jason L. (Author) ; Linford, Daniel ca. 20./21. Jh. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Nature B. V 2016
In: International journal for philosophy of religion
Year: 2016, Volume: 79, Issue: 1, Pages: 31-47
Further subjects:B Theism
B Atheism
B Hidden God
B God Proof
B Life
B meaning of life
B Human Beings
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:We raise various puzzles about the relationship between God (if God exists) and the meaning of life (if life has meaning). These difficulties suggest that, even if we assume that God exists, and even if (as we argue) God's existence would entail that our lives have meaning, God is not and could not be the source of the meaning of life. We conclude by discussing implications of our arguments: (i) these claims can be used in a novel argument for atheism; (ii) these claims undermine an extant argument for God's existence; and (iii) they suggest that atheism is consistent with our lives having meaning.
ISSN:1572-8684
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11153-015-9538-x