No, there is not more to life than this.
On the walk between Tim Horton’s and my apartment, this poster hangs on the side of one of the buildings:
And every time I find myself wondering which answer the poster expects. A philosophy professor once told me never to use questions in an essay, as the answer the reader wants to give may not be the one you expect to hear.
Considering that the poster hangs on the side of a church, and is advertising something called an Alpha Course, it’s a pretty safe bet that the more-to-life the poster refers to is God, or at least something religious. Now, the website for this program sounds like it’s asking neutral questions—”Does God exist?” for example—as if the program really is trying to answer the question, but looking closer at the material on the site, especially some of the video lectures, it’s quite clear that the answer is going to be “Yes”. No surprise.
I understand that they’re probably trying to show off the majesty of God’s creation by using this photo. But surely the point is that there’s more to life than the regular day-to-day stuff that we all live though. That’s what should have been pictured. “Is there more to life than this?” next to some burnt out office worker or some otherwise miserable person. The answer then, is more obivously “yes”, and more people might be inclined to try the course to get more information on the subject.
As it stands, I still look at that picture and think, “No, that actually looks pretty awesome. Where can I sign up for this mountain climbing adventure you promise?” God disappoints yet again.
January 8th, 2008 at 13:19
“God disappoints yet again.” How facile. I’d say you are looking for a reason to be disappointed by God, if you can conclude that from seeing that poster. The point of the poster is, I think, not that life is boring and mundane, but exhilarating and full of great moments, and yet there can be a richer experience of living than that afforded by such a literal “mountaintop experience”. I’m not pushing religion, but I’ve noticed a dismissive tone to your comments about God — de rigeur for someone your age? the only acceptable ism?– and I don’t think it reflects well on you, compared to many of your other insightful comments. If you’re disappointed in God, it’s possibly because you’re expecting God to prove him/her/itself to you, to be worthy of your respect/faith. God is; you have to do the work– not to prove yourself worthy, but to be God in this world.