- In some ways it's like all
of us are sitting on death row
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because while the big clock
of life just keeps on ticking
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and at any moment,
00:00:07.87\00:00:09.64
death is gonna come and
get you from your jail cell.
00:00:09.64\00:00:12.87
And because of that,
there are people who think
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that even trying to
live a good life at all
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for even a few
moments is kind of pointless.
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That's what we're gonna
look at on today's edition
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of "Authentic."
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[upbeat music]
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They say that a writer
really only has a few words
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to get your attention,
to pull you into their book.
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So when it comes to
captivating readers,
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I think I'd have
to give first prize
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to the French philosopher
Albert Camus because,
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well, this is how he
opens his famous book,
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"The Myth of
Sisyphus," just listen to this.
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"There is but one truly
serious philosophical problem
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and that is suicide.
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Judging whether life
is or is not worth living
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amounts to answering
the fundamental question of
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philosophy. All the rest,
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whether or not the
world has three dimensions,
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whether the mind has
nine or 12 categories
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comes afterwards."
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Well, if that kind of writing
doesn't get your attention
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I doubt anything would.
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This is essentially,
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the same question that
Shakespeare asks in Hamlet
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when his lead character is
contemplating taking his own
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life and delivers
those really famous lines,
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"To be or not to be,
that is the question."
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What Camus book really
does is explore the value
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and the meaning of life.
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What's driving him
to think about suicide
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at the very beginning of the
book is a problem he describes
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as the absurdity of life.
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Sooner or later he argues,
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you're gonna realize
that life in this universe
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has absolutely no meaning
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and the process of
living is well absurd.
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It just doesn't mean anything.
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Here's one of the ways he
describes this sudden moment
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of awareness where you realize
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the world you're
living in is just ludicrous.
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And he does this by describing
a man in a phone booth.
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He writes, "At
certain moments of lucidity."
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He's talking
about watching people
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and suddenly
becoming aware that,
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well, they look
kind of ridiculous.
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"At certain moments of lucidity,
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the mechanical
aspect of their gestures,
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their meaningless pantomime
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makes silly
everything that surrounds them.
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A man is talking on the
telephone behind a glass
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partition. You cannot hear him,
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but you see his in
comprehensible dumb show,
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you wonder why he is alive."
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Now, to an extent,
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I think we can all
identify with that feeling.
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Most of us at some
point are suddenly captivated
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by something
rather ordinary let's say,
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I don't know,
like a group of people
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eating lunch at
the counter of a diner.
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And as we're watching them,
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the usual structure that
our brain gives to that site
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suddenly falls away and the
whole thing just starts to look,
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kind of silly, I mean,
maybe in our imagination,
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we suddenly compare
the crowd at the counter
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to a group of cows,
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with their noses in
a feeding trough for,
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maybe the up and down
movement of their head
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suddenly reminds us of those
little plastic drinking birds,
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that bob up and down
on the edge of a glass.
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But whatever it
is that you imagine
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the scene in front of you
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suddenly looks very silly
and it begins to lose meaning.
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It's a little
bit like what happens
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when you pick a word
from the English language
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like the word book,
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and you say it over
and over and over out loud
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until it no longer
sounds like a real word.
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And it becomes nothing more
than this silly arbitrary sound.
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Those are the moments
when you begin to suspect
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that maybe the world around you
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isn't quite as structured
as you've been led to believe.
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And you start to suspect
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that the only reason you
ever thought it was structured
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is because your
brain has been imposing
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some kind of structure on it.
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Now, for most of us,
that's just a passing moment,
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a mere glitch and
the fabric of reality.
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But for Albert Camus,
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it signaled something
really, really important.
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He thought of it as
this big eureka moment.
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A moment when you
finally wake up and realize
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that life is out
utterly pointless.
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He says, there's
no future reward,
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there is no higher purpose
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and there is no real
point to the exercise of living.
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Which brings him to
the subject of suicide.
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If life is truly pointless
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and all of us are just
waiting for the executioner
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to come and end
our time on earth
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then why not
just get on with it,
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what's the point of
prolonging your agony?
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Now, just in case we're
tempted to think that Camus
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was actually suicidal he wasn't.
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In fact, he argues that suicide
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would be the act of
a weak minded person.
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And somehow he wasn't
convinced that you need meaning
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to make the most of this life.
00:05:02.56\00:05:04.60
Even though a lot
of psychologists today
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do suspect that meaning
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might be the deepest
need that all of us have.
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Camus would argue though,
that meaning is in illusion.
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So if you're
gonna enjoy your life
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you have to find
another way to do that.
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Most of us he says,
are living for the future
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for the hope of reward.
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A reward he says,
that's never gonna come.
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Into the way,
his way of thinking,
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living for hope
that's an active escapism,
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just like suicide is.
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It's a way of avoiding your
present which is bad he says,
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because while the
present is all you have.
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So the best you can do he argues
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is to live in the
present and make the most of it
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just enjoy being alive.
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Quit living for
the idea that someday
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the universe will actually
reward you for your efforts
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because all of us
are headed for oblivion.
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And nobody's going to
remember you after your dead.
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Albert Camus had a
background in theater,
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so he compares the
absurdity of life to an actor
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who is famous one moment
and then forgotten the next.
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I'll let him describe his
own way of thinking he writes,
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"The actors realm is
that of the fleeting.
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Of all kinds of fame it is known
his is the most ephemeral."
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So in other words, it
just doesn't last very long.
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"At least this is
said in conversation,
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but all kinds of
fame are ephemeral.
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From the point of
Sirius," that's the Dog Star.
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"Goethe's work in 10,000 years
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will be dust and
his name forgotten.
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Perhaps a
handful of archeologists
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will look for
evidence as to our era."
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Now, as Camus himself
admits, that's hardly original.
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Millions of people
have wondered about
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the apparent
pointlessness of life.
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And it's a thought that,
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even appears in
the pages of the Bible
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most notably in the
book of Ecclesiastes.
00:06:51.87\00:06:54.18
I mean, just listen to
this from Ecclesiastes 2.
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And I think I'm gonna
read quite a bit of this
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because in some ways it does,
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sort of parallel the
point that Camus makes.
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This is comparing the
lives of a wise man and a fool.
00:07:05.62\00:07:09.16
And the writer notices
that at the end of the road
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both of these people
suffer exactly the same fate.
00:07:11.53\00:07:15.23
It says, "The wise
man's eyes are in his head,
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but the fool walks in darkness.
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Yet I, myself perceive
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that the same event
happens to them all.
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So I said in my heart,
as it happens to the fool,
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it also happens to me and
why was I then more wise?"
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So in other words he's saying,
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what's the point of
investing in myself?
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It continues,
"Then I said in my heart,
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'This also is vanity.'
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For there is no more
remembrance of the wise man
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than the fool forever
since all that now is,
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will be forgotten
in the days to come.
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And how does a wise man die?
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As the fool,
therefore, I hated life
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because the work that
was done under the sun
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was distressing to
me for all is vanity
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and grasping for the wind."
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Pretty depressing stuff.
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At least if you leave it
right there and quit reading,
00:08:04.48\00:08:07.48
and I'm going to go
back and look at it again
00:08:07.48\00:08:10.85
in just a moment, but I've
got to take a break right now.
00:08:10.85\00:08:13.46
So don't go away
because I'll come back
00:08:13.46\00:08:15.82
to make you feel a
little less depressed.
00:08:15.82\00:08:19.13
[gentle music]
00:08:19.13\00:08:20.33
- [Announcer 1] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:08:20.33\00:08:22.43
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:08:22.43\00:08:25.70
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:08:25.70\00:08:28.20
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:08:28.20\00:08:31.31
You're at the voice of prophecy.
00:08:31.31\00:08:32.84
We've created the
discover Bible guides
00:08:32.84\00:08:35.04
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:08:35.04\00:08:36.61
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use
00:08:36.61\00:08:39.08
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions.
00:08:39.08\00:08:42.12
And they're absolutely free.
00:08:42.12\00:08:44.15
So jump online now,
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or give us a call and
start your journey of discovery.
00:08:45.59\00:08:48.92
- If there was one word
that I personally would use
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to describe Albert
Camus, it would be nihilism.
00:08:53.19\00:08:57.13
And I know there
are lots of people
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who reject that label for Camus
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because he expanded
considerable energy,
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trying to insist that he
was actually fighting nihilism.
00:09:03.37\00:09:07.28
He would describe
himself as an absurdist,
00:09:07.28\00:09:10.31
which means that he
recognize the absurdity of life
00:09:10.31\00:09:13.48
and he chose to fight
it instead of accepted.
00:09:13.48\00:09:16.62
But for me personally,
00:09:16.62\00:09:18.15
well, the
distinction between Camus
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and somebody like Friedrich
Nietzsche is small enough
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that I'm not convinced
00:09:23.32\00:09:24.46
he doesn't deserve
the nihilist label.
00:09:24.46\00:09:27.30
And I know some of his
fans are screaming right now
00:09:27.30\00:09:29.83
because Camus
himself rejected the label.
00:09:29.83\00:09:33.50
I guess I'll just
have to live with that.
00:09:33.50\00:09:35.20
But I do wanna
get back to this idea
00:09:35.20\00:09:36.91
that human existence is absurd.
00:09:36.91\00:09:39.44
If it is, the question is what
are you gonna do about that?
00:09:39.44\00:09:43.38
What you need to do
Albert Camus suggests
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is just live in the present.
00:09:45.65\00:09:47.68
Enjoy the fact that you're alive
00:09:47.68\00:09:49.32
and rebel against the
absurdity of the universe.
00:09:49.32\00:09:52.82
Forget about the future,
00:09:52.82\00:09:54.26
forget about the past and
just live for the present.
00:09:54.26\00:09:57.89
And then he goes on to describe
what that might look like.
00:09:57.89\00:10:01.30
He introduces three
different characters
00:10:01.30\00:10:03.83
who live an absurdist lifestyle.
00:10:03.83\00:10:06.90
One of them is a seducer a
sexually promiscuous person,
00:10:06.90\00:10:11.47
another one is an actor and
the third one is a conqueror.
00:10:11.47\00:10:15.71
What each of these
people need to do Camus suggest
00:10:15.71\00:10:18.05
is maximize the
experience of living
00:10:18.05\00:10:20.82
by engaging in the
maximum number of experiences.
00:10:20.82\00:10:25.22
The seducer he says,
00:10:25.92\00:10:27.12
needs to seduce as
many people as possible.
00:10:27.12\00:10:29.92
The actor needs to take
on as many different roles
00:10:29.92\00:10:32.89
as he can.
00:10:32.89\00:10:34.20
And the conqueror,
00:10:34.20\00:10:35.66
needs to engage in as
many conflicts as possible
00:10:35.66\00:10:38.13
because by
embracing the challenge,
00:10:38.13\00:10:40.70
the thrill of the present,
00:10:40.70\00:10:42.54
you're actually
maximizing your life.
00:10:42.54\00:10:44.97
It doesn't need to mean anything
it just needs to happen.
00:10:44.97\00:10:49.21
And it doesn't really
matter if you win or lose,
00:10:49.21\00:10:51.31
because what you've
done is live in the present
00:10:51.31\00:10:53.15
and just enjoyed it.
00:10:53.15\00:10:55.12
Now, I've got to admit,
00:10:55.12\00:10:56.62
I have made a little bit
of a caricature out of this
00:10:56.62\00:10:59.05
because all I have is
28 minutes and 30 seconds
00:10:59.05\00:11:01.29
to summarize the
work of a philosopher,
00:11:01.29\00:11:03.19
but that's
essentially what he says.
00:11:03.19\00:11:06.16
And then he
introduces a fourth character
00:11:06.16\00:11:08.96
the mythological
character of Sisyphus.
00:11:08.96\00:11:11.87
As you probably
remember from school,
00:11:11.87\00:11:13.57
Sisyphus was
condemned by the chief god Zeus.
00:11:13.57\00:11:16.24
And he was forced to push
00:11:16.24\00:11:17.71
the same massive stone up a
mountain over and over and over
00:11:17.71\00:11:21.68
for the rest of eternity.
00:11:21.68\00:11:23.08
He would struggle
to push it to the top
00:11:23.08\00:11:25.31
and then it would roll
back down to the bottom,
00:11:25.31\00:11:27.05
forcing him to
just start all over.
00:11:27.05\00:11:29.68
It was a pointless
task and Camus compared that
00:11:29.68\00:11:33.79
to the struggle of daily living.
00:11:33.79\00:11:36.09
You and I, he says are gonna
put in hard time on this earth
00:11:36.09\00:11:39.16
and in the end, it's
all going to be for nothing.
00:11:39.16\00:11:43.23
Here's the way he
describes it he says,
00:11:43.23\00:11:46.23
"You have already grasped
00:11:46.23\00:11:48.20
that Sisyphus is
the absolute hero.
00:11:48.20\00:11:50.71
He is as much through his
passions is through his torture.
00:11:50.71\00:11:54.38
His scorn of the
gods, his hatred of death,
00:11:54.38\00:11:57.05
and his passion for life
won him that unspeakable penalty
00:11:57.05\00:12:00.55
in which the
whole being is exerted
00:12:00.55\00:12:02.68
toward accomplishing nothing."
00:12:02.68\00:12:06.42
The torture of life,
00:12:06.42\00:12:07.66
comes from those
moments when we realize that
00:12:07.66\00:12:09.49
everything we do to use the
words of Ecclesiastes is vanity.
00:12:09.49\00:12:14.10
All your efforts
seem to be in vain.
00:12:14.10\00:12:16.13
So the only choice people have
00:12:16.13\00:12:18.53
at least from Camus perspective
00:12:18.53\00:12:20.87
is to accept an absurdity
00:12:20.87\00:12:22.87
and find a level of contentment
as you rebel against it.
00:12:22.87\00:12:26.54
"The struggle itself toward
the heights," Camus argues
00:12:26.54\00:12:29.84
"Is enough to
fill a man's heart."
00:12:29.84\00:12:33.11
I don't know about you
but I'm not happy with that.
00:12:33.11\00:12:35.82
And this is where I have
to part company with this man.
00:12:35.82\00:12:38.99
Not because the struggle
of life can't be enjoyable
00:12:38.99\00:12:41.79
but because it
doesn't seem to match reality
00:12:41.79\00:12:44.99
as much as Camus thinks it does.
00:12:44.99\00:12:47.60
For this guy
those occasional moments
00:12:48.80\00:12:50.97
when life seems pointless,
00:12:50.97\00:12:52.23
he thinks that's the
sum total of reality.
00:12:52.23\00:12:55.04
For me, those are
more like glitches
00:12:55.04\00:12:57.27
in the process of
understanding reality.
00:12:57.27\00:13:00.21
The vast majority of
people do find meaning in life.
00:13:00.21\00:13:03.45
And it seems to me
00:13:03.45\00:13:04.85
that we might want to
apply Occam's razor here.
00:13:04.85\00:13:07.55
The most obvious
explanation Ockham argued
00:13:07.55\00:13:10.25
is probably the right one.
00:13:10.25\00:13:12.79
What you don't wanna do,
00:13:12.79\00:13:14.66
is build your perception of
the universe on the exception,
00:13:14.66\00:13:18.33
on a brief moment of confusion.
00:13:18.33\00:13:20.76
What you wanna do is build it
00:13:20.76\00:13:22.46
the way that the
vast majority of people
00:13:22.46\00:13:24.37
have understood
the nature of existence
00:13:24.37\00:13:26.23
for a really, really long time.
00:13:26.23\00:13:29.34
Occam's razor suggests
00:13:29.34\00:13:30.74
that most people are
probably right about life
00:13:30.74\00:13:33.24
it means something.
00:13:33.24\00:13:34.64
The confusing parts
of life are not the rule,
00:13:34.64\00:13:37.61
they're the exception.
00:13:37.61\00:13:39.48
Now, before I
protest any further,
00:13:39.48\00:13:42.08
let me underline a few
things I think Camus got right,
00:13:42.08\00:13:45.09
because there are
points of intersection
00:13:45.09\00:13:47.69
between his
absurdist approach to life
00:13:47.69\00:13:49.79
and the way the Bible
00:13:49.79\00:13:51.03
describes the
nature of human existence.
00:13:51.03\00:13:54.23
We've already seen how the
book of Ecclesiastes admits
00:13:54.23\00:13:57.27
quite openly that life
can often seem pointless,
00:13:57.27\00:14:02.04
but that's just a tiny
sliver of the biblical worldview
00:14:02.04\00:14:05.11
and I'm gonna come back
to that in just a moment.
00:14:05.11\00:14:08.38
But for now, let
me give some credit
00:14:08.38\00:14:10.45
where credit is probably due.
00:14:10.45\00:14:12.71
To some extent Camus is right,
00:14:12.71\00:14:14.75
all you really
have is the present.
00:14:14.75\00:14:17.72
And I'll be the first to admit
00:14:17.72\00:14:19.45
that some
Christians really downplay
00:14:19.45\00:14:21.99
the value of
living in the present
00:14:21.99\00:14:23.73
because they put all of
their emphasis on the afterlife.
00:14:23.73\00:14:27.30
Now, to be sure the
Bible does present an afterlife
00:14:27.30\00:14:30.60
and a future reward is
major reasons to go on striving
00:14:30.60\00:14:34.47
against the
hardship of this world.
00:14:34.47\00:14:36.87
And I really do believe
00:14:36.87\00:14:38.31
that someday you and I are
gonna answer for the present.
00:14:38.31\00:14:41.28
That's gonna
happen in the future,
00:14:41.28\00:14:43.78
but that doesn't mean
this present doesn't matter.
00:14:43.78\00:14:46.51
Let me show you what I mean,
in the Sermon on the Mountain
00:14:46.51\00:14:49.55
Jesus says something
that I think more people
00:14:49.55\00:14:52.52
should probably take to heart.
00:14:52.52\00:14:54.79
He's talking about worry,
00:14:54.79\00:14:56.79
which is really the
art of borrowing trouble
00:14:56.79\00:14:59.19
from the future here's
what Jesus says, He says,
00:14:59.19\00:15:02.76
"Therefore, do not worry
00:15:02.76\00:15:05.10
saying, what shall we
eat or what shall we drink
00:15:05.10\00:15:07.87
or what shall we wear
for after all these things,
00:15:07.87\00:15:11.17
the Gentiles seek.
00:15:11.17\00:15:13.01
For your Heavenly Father
00:15:13.01\00:15:14.11
knows that you
need all these things
00:15:14.11\00:15:16.04
but seek first the Kingdom
of God and His righteousness
00:15:16.04\00:15:19.08
and all these things
shall be added to you.
00:15:19.08\00:15:21.92
Therefore, do not
worry about tomorrow
00:15:21.92\00:15:24.49
for tomorrow will
worry about its own things.
00:15:24.49\00:15:27.16
Sufficient for the
day is its own trouble."
00:15:27.16\00:15:31.59
So on the one hand,
00:15:31.59\00:15:33.29
Jesus does point us
forward to the Kingdom of God,
00:15:33.29\00:15:36.00
which is a reward that
you can look forward to.
00:15:36.00\00:15:38.70
But at the same time,
00:15:38.70\00:15:39.93
He underlines the
value of the present
00:15:39.93\00:15:42.54
and He counsels
you to live in it
00:15:42.54\00:15:45.21
because all you
really have is today.
00:15:45.21\00:15:48.94
So in some tiny way, we
can find an intersection
00:15:48.94\00:15:52.25
between Albert
Camus and the Bible.
00:15:52.25\00:15:54.82
Far too many people in
this world live neurotically
00:15:54.82\00:15:57.79
because their entire
existence is based on the future
00:15:57.79\00:16:01.49
and they're missing
the life they have today.
00:16:01.49\00:16:05.19
So what some people
practice in this world
00:16:05.19\00:16:07.50
is something called mindfulness,
00:16:07.50\00:16:09.70
which is really just
paying attention to your life
00:16:09.70\00:16:13.00
as it presents itself right now.
00:16:13.00\00:16:15.84
And we know that just
learning to live in the present
00:16:15.84\00:16:18.41
can bring relief to people
00:16:18.41\00:16:19.87
who suffer from
crippling anxiety.
00:16:19.87\00:16:22.98
Now, to be clear there
is a version of mindfulness
00:16:22.98\00:16:25.85
that Christians tend to avoid
00:16:25.85\00:16:27.25
because it comes
loaded with a lot of,
00:16:27.25\00:16:29.98
well, contrary religious ideas.
00:16:29.98\00:16:32.72
But as we've just seen,
00:16:32.72\00:16:33.86
there is also a
biblical way to be mindful.
00:16:33.86\00:16:37.26
Here's another example
where the Bible underlines
00:16:37.26\00:16:39.49
the value of
living in the present,
00:16:39.49\00:16:41.43
or be it in kind
of a roundabout way.
00:16:41.43\00:16:44.97
In his first letter to the
Corinthians, Paul is discussing
00:16:44.97\00:16:48.34
the importance of the
resurrection of Christ.
00:16:48.34\00:16:51.07
And here's what
he says, he writes,
00:16:51.07\00:16:53.41
"And if Christ is not
risen, your faith is futile
00:16:53.41\00:16:57.35
you are still in your sins.
00:16:57.35\00:16:59.28
Then also those who
have fallen asleep in Christ
00:16:59.28\00:17:02.25
have perished, if in this
life only we have hope in Christ
00:17:02.25\00:17:06.99
we are of all men,
the most pitiable."
00:17:06.99\00:17:10.83
So you'll notice that Paul is
arguing against the idea that,
00:17:10.83\00:17:14.36
death is actually final forever
00:17:14.36\00:17:16.93
because Christ has promised
the resurrection of the dead.
00:17:16.93\00:17:20.77
And the fact that
Jesus rose from the dead
00:17:20.77\00:17:23.04
means that you and I have
something to look forward to.
00:17:23.04\00:17:26.47
If that isn't true Paul says,
00:17:26.47\00:17:28.31
then the dead
have simply perished,
00:17:28.31\00:17:30.28
which is exactly
what Camus used to preach.
00:17:30.28\00:17:33.55
Then Paul says,
00:17:33.55\00:17:35.08
"That if we only have hope
in Christ for this lifetime
00:17:35.08\00:17:38.69
then we should be pitied."
00:17:38.69\00:17:40.32
Now, if you look
at that carefully,
00:17:41.19\00:17:42.42
it's a bit of a
double-edged sword.
00:17:42.42\00:17:44.49
On the one hand,
00:17:44.49\00:17:45.96
if we come to the conclusion
that this life is all we have
00:17:45.96\00:17:49.16
that's a really
depressing thought,
00:17:49.16\00:17:51.90
but at the same time I want
you to notice that Paul does say
00:17:51.90\00:17:55.54
that we have hope in
Christ in this lifetime.
00:17:55.54\00:18:00.74
Off course, Camus would
argue that hope is ridiculous.
00:18:01.88\00:18:04.25
And what you're hoping
for isn't going to happen
00:18:04.25\00:18:06.41
because death is just gonna
come for you at any moment now.
00:18:06.41\00:18:09.88
Paul does not
think hope is ridiculous
00:18:09.88\00:18:12.52
and reminds us that we
have hope both in the future
00:18:12.52\00:18:16.16
and now in this lifetime.
00:18:16.16\00:18:18.89
Now, I do have to go
and take another quick break
00:18:18.89\00:18:20.96
but don't go away
because I wanna come back
00:18:20.96\00:18:23.10
and quickly
examine some real problems
00:18:23.10\00:18:25.90
with "The Myth of Sisyphus,"
I'll be right back after this.
00:18:25.90\00:18:29.47
[gentle music]
00:18:30.27\00:18:31.47
- [Announcer 1] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:18:31.47\00:18:33.58
Sometimes we don't
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00:18:33.58\00:18:36.88
but that's where
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You're at the voice of prophecy.
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- You know, there's one
more little area of agreement
00:19:01.50\00:19:03.81
I think I can find
between Camus and the Bible
00:19:03.81\00:19:06.24
and that's Camus's insistence
on learning contentment.
00:19:06.24\00:19:10.78
In his mind, the
endless task of Sisyphus
00:19:10.78\00:19:12.98
became better when he
learned to be content.
00:19:12.98\00:19:15.62
And that's actually an
idea that Paul taught as well
00:19:15.62\00:19:19.59
in his letter to the Philippians
here's what Paul says,
00:19:19.59\00:19:22.89
"I know how to be abased
and I know how to abound.
00:19:22.89\00:19:26.26
Everywhere and in old things,
00:19:26.26\00:19:27.66
I have learned both to
be full and to be hungry,
00:19:27.66\00:19:30.30
both to abound
and to suffer need."
00:19:30.30\00:19:34.24
You know, that's
probably great advice
00:19:34.24\00:19:36.10
for one of the most
entitled generations
00:19:36.10\00:19:38.14
to ever live on this planet.
00:19:38.14\00:19:39.57
You and I have more stuff,
00:19:39.57\00:19:41.04
we have a higher
standard of living
00:19:41.04\00:19:43.11
than any generation in history
00:19:43.11\00:19:44.91
and yet we find
ourselves dissatisfied.
00:19:44.91\00:19:48.48
Our appetite for self-indulgence
00:19:48.48\00:19:50.49
apparently is a bottomless pit.
00:19:50.49\00:19:52.35
And the only cure
for that is content.
00:19:52.35\00:19:55.66
You know, one of the
things I like about Camus
00:19:56.73\00:19:58.49
is just how quotable he is.
00:19:58.49\00:19:59.96
Back in college, I found
myself enjoying his books
00:19:59.96\00:20:02.56
because he really does have
a gift for stating his ideas
00:20:02.56\00:20:06.57
in a way that forces
you to stop and think.
00:20:06.57\00:20:09.47
And it was obvious to me
that in his early childhood,
00:20:09.47\00:20:12.87
which was fatherless
00:20:12.87\00:20:14.34
and the tough time he had
navigating the world as a kid,
00:20:14.34\00:20:17.01
and the fact that his marriage
failed in less than a year
00:20:17.01\00:20:19.65
and his career ambitions
were ruined by tuberculosis.
00:20:19.65\00:20:22.98
And while all of this stuff
00:20:22.98\00:20:24.95
probably contributed to his
rather bleak outlook on life.
00:20:24.95\00:20:28.69
And to be sure
sometimes a hard life
00:20:28.69\00:20:31.13
brings out the best in people
00:20:31.13\00:20:32.76
because it does seem to
generate a level of creativity.
00:20:32.76\00:20:36.46
But what I don't enjoy
about Camus is the solution.
00:20:37.87\00:20:41.10
I know that some people
find what he writes comforting
00:20:41.10\00:20:43.61
but I sure don't.
00:20:43.61\00:20:45.14
In fact, I find some of
the implications horrific.
00:20:45.14\00:20:48.21
The only way to fight
meaninglessness he says,
00:20:48.21\00:20:51.05
is to expand your experiences
00:20:51.05\00:20:52.71
and prolong your
life as much as possible.
00:20:52.71\00:20:54.98
Living in the present is
all you've got so maximize it.
00:20:54.98\00:20:59.09
So here's the problem with that,
00:21:00.26\00:21:02.39
it's really hard to
maintain any kind of morality
00:21:02.39\00:21:05.23
when your goal is to
maximize the present.
00:21:05.23\00:21:07.96
I mean, let's just consider
the case of the seducer,
00:21:07.96\00:21:10.77
the person that Camus argued
had learned to be an absurdist.
00:21:10.77\00:21:14.84
The goal of the
seducer remember is to seduce
00:21:14.84\00:21:17.67
as many people as possible.
00:21:17.67\00:21:19.01
And he uses Don
Juan as his example,
00:21:19.01\00:21:21.74
a man who just lives to
satiate his physical appetite.
00:21:21.74\00:21:26.08
But what that leaves you with
00:21:26.08\00:21:27.78
is a much higher propensity
for heightened selfishness.
00:21:27.78\00:21:31.82
If all we have is now,
00:21:31.82\00:21:33.52
then why not adopt
Aleister Crowley's maxim,
00:21:33.52\00:21:36.46
which says, "Do what you will."
00:21:36.46\00:21:38.83
I mean, some noble philosopher
00:21:38.83\00:21:41.63
might be able to cobble
together a decently moral life
00:21:41.63\00:21:44.73
but how are the
vast majority of people
00:21:44.73\00:21:47.37
going to respond to
Camus's way of thinking?
00:21:47.37\00:21:50.51
They're gonna
respond like the seducer
00:21:50.51\00:21:53.14
and what the seducer
does in the real world
00:21:53.14\00:21:56.21
is leave behind a
trail of hurt people.
00:21:56.21\00:21:59.85
Sexual relationships,
00:21:59.85\00:22:00.88
it turns out are
not just physical acts
00:22:00.88\00:22:02.58
they have a deep
emotional component.
00:22:02.58\00:22:04.65
And what happens when
somebody uses other people
00:22:04.65\00:22:07.36
for personal satisfaction
00:22:07.36\00:22:09.26
is that they cause significant
damage to somebody else.
00:22:09.26\00:22:12.93
What you get is
a drunken frat boy
00:22:12.93\00:22:15.06
who sees a girl as
nothing but a conquest.
00:22:15.06\00:22:17.73
And in the act of intimacy,
00:22:17.73\00:22:19.47
the human body emits
high levels of oxytocin,
00:22:19.47\00:22:22.54
a hormone that
bonds us to other people,
00:22:22.54\00:22:25.51
it's actually
called the love hormone.
00:22:25.51\00:22:27.54
And it's the same chemical
00:22:27.54\00:22:28.98
that surfaces in
greater quantities
00:22:28.98\00:22:30.78
when a mother is
breastfeeding a newborn.
00:22:30.78\00:22:33.78
It creates a deep
emotional connection
00:22:33.78\00:22:37.35
and it teaches
you to trust people.
00:22:37.35\00:22:39.75
So what happens when the
seducer uses other people
00:22:39.75\00:22:43.02
is that he's actually destroying
00:22:43.02\00:22:44.69
somebody else's
capacity to trust.
00:22:44.69\00:22:48.40
And he's also missing out
on the significant rewards
00:22:48.40\00:22:50.77
that come from long-term
committed relationships.
00:22:50.77\00:22:53.94
Camus might not want
you to focus on the future
00:22:53.94\00:22:57.07
but I can tell you, after
nearly 30 years of marriage
00:22:57.07\00:23:00.58
that the future is
well worth investing in.
00:23:00.58\00:23:03.58
As he wrestled
with all these ideas,
00:23:04.41\00:23:06.68
Camus tried very hard to
cling to some kind of morality.
00:23:06.68\00:23:10.32
But personally, I do find
this approach kind of empty.
00:23:10.32\00:23:14.22
I mean, he wants us to rebel
to push back against absurdity,
00:23:14.22\00:23:17.99
but you've got to wonder
what's the point of pushing back
00:23:17.99\00:23:20.86
because wouldn't
that also be meaningless,
00:23:20.86\00:23:23.67
wouldn't you also just be
pushing back against nothing?
00:23:23.67\00:23:27.50
I honestly think,
00:23:28.57\00:23:30.07
that Camus was a little bit
scared of his own conclusions
00:23:30.07\00:23:32.61
and he tried very
hard to make it seem like,
00:23:32.61\00:23:34.81
living for the
present is enough.
00:23:34.81\00:23:37.95
But you really have to wonder
00:23:37.95\00:23:39.38
what the world would be
like if everybody just did that.
00:23:39.38\00:23:43.05
Now, before we're finished,
00:23:43.05\00:23:44.49
I wanna offer you
a biblical suggestion
00:23:44.49\00:23:46.42
for why the world so
often seems meaningless
00:23:46.42\00:23:49.32
and life can feel so pointless.
00:23:49.32\00:23:52.09
You find the
beginnings of an answer
00:23:52.09\00:23:53.90
in the opening words of
Psalm 8 where the Bible says,
00:23:53.90\00:23:58.80
"O Lord our Lord,
00:23:58.80\00:24:00.10
how excellent is your
name in all of the earth,
00:24:00.10\00:24:02.20
who have set your
glory above the heavens."
00:24:02.20\00:24:05.81
According to this,
the universe exists
00:24:05.81\00:24:08.44
to display the glory of the
creator it goes on in verse 3,
00:24:08.44\00:24:12.21
"When I consider your heavens
the work of your fingers,
00:24:12.21\00:24:14.88
the moon and the
stars, which you have ordained
00:24:14.88\00:24:17.32
what is man that you are mindful
of him and the son of man
00:24:17.32\00:24:20.52
that you visit him?"
00:24:20.52\00:24:22.52
I would argue, that
one of the key reasons
00:24:22.52\00:24:24.79
we find the universe
absurd or meaningless
00:24:24.79\00:24:27.10
is because we've
convinced ourselves
00:24:27.10\00:24:29.33
that the universe answers to us.
00:24:29.33\00:24:31.67
But according to the Bible,
00:24:31.67\00:24:32.80
the universe
answers to the creator.
00:24:32.80\00:24:36.20
And what you and I have done
00:24:36.20\00:24:37.31
is detach
ourselves from reality,
00:24:37.31\00:24:39.27
and we've placed ourselves
rather narcissistically
00:24:39.27\00:24:42.21
at the center of attention.
00:24:42.21\00:24:44.05
Then when the universe
doesn't respond like we hope
00:24:44.05\00:24:47.02
we begin to think
that our existence
00:24:47.02\00:24:49.02
must be absurd, I'll
be right back after this.
00:24:49.02\00:24:53.99
- [Announcer 2] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:24:55.66\00:24:59.93
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:24:59.93\00:25:04.43
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:25:04.43\00:25:06.60
and come away scratching
your head, you're not alone.
00:25:06.60\00:25:09.64
Our free focus
on prophecy guides
00:25:09.64\00:25:12.11
are designed to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:25:12.11\00:25:14.81
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:25:14.81\00:25:17.38
for you and our world.
00:25:17.38\00:25:18.91
Study online, or
request them by mail
00:25:18.91\00:25:21.38
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:25:21.38\00:25:24.49
- The moment we
pulled away from God
00:25:25.32\00:25:27.02
and we wanted to be the center
of the universe's attention,
00:25:27.02\00:25:29.79
that's the moment that
life began to seem pointless.
00:25:29.79\00:25:32.36
And I'm convinced that's
what Camus was witnessing.
00:25:32.36\00:25:36.36
When we live for self, we
run into all kinds of problems
00:25:36.36\00:25:38.93
because we're asking the
universe to answer to us.
00:25:38.93\00:25:41.87
And it was
created to answer to God.
00:25:41.87\00:25:44.01
In fact,
according to the scriptures,
00:25:44.01\00:25:46.14
you and I were also
created to answer to God.
00:25:46.14\00:25:49.91
In the city of Athens,
Paul explains it this way
00:25:49.91\00:25:52.78
to a group of Greek
philosophers he says to them,
00:25:52.78\00:25:56.25
"For in Him we live
and move and have our being
00:25:56.25\00:25:59.52
as also some of
your own poets have said,
00:25:59.52\00:26:02.19
'For we are
also His offspring.'"
00:26:02.19\00:26:05.19
Detach yourself away
from your original design
00:26:06.26\00:26:08.46
and you're gonna
stop finding purpose.
00:26:08.46\00:26:10.80
The self-importance
that we insist on leaves us
00:26:10.80\00:26:13.74
without any importance at all
00:26:13.74\00:26:15.24
because we were
not designed for this.
00:26:15.24\00:26:18.01
I guess you could say
that apart from the creator,
00:26:18.01\00:26:20.41
we're like a fish
trying to ride a bike.
00:26:20.41\00:26:22.78
We're using a machine,
00:26:22.78\00:26:24.18
the universe that was
not designed to glorify us.
00:26:24.18\00:26:28.65
A self-driven existence
where you live for the present
00:26:28.65\00:26:31.32
often devolves
into sheer hedonism,
00:26:31.32\00:26:33.79
the practice of
living for pleasure.
00:26:33.79\00:26:35.86
And as millions of disillusioned
people could tell you,
00:26:35.86\00:26:38.73
there is a future
reward for hedonism,
00:26:38.73\00:26:41.63
a price that you're going to
pay and it isn't very pleasant.
00:26:41.63\00:26:46.33
We cannot afford to forget
00:26:46.33\00:26:48.14
that the present
we create right now
00:26:48.14\00:26:50.17
is going to be our present
at some point in the future.
00:26:50.17\00:26:53.31
And if you ignore the
advice of the one who made you,
00:26:53.31\00:26:55.98
you're probably gonna find that
future really hard to enjoy.
00:26:55.98\00:27:01.18
Listen, I'll agree
with Camus on this,
00:27:02.05\00:27:04.59
the answer to a difficult
life really is not suicide
00:27:04.59\00:27:09.36
there is a point to all this.
00:27:09.36\00:27:11.43
And at the same time,
00:27:11.43\00:27:12.66
the answer isn't living
for self in the present.
00:27:12.66\00:27:16.13
A situation where strong people
00:27:16.13\00:27:18.10
always seem to
trample on the weak
00:27:18.10\00:27:19.90
and pursuit of
their own happiness.
00:27:19.90\00:27:22.20
I can assure you
after sitting with,
00:27:22.20\00:27:24.57
I don't know how
many dying people now
00:27:24.57\00:27:26.98
that kind of life
almost always ends badly
00:27:26.98\00:27:30.31
it almost
always leads to regret.
00:27:30.31\00:27:32.91
The real answer,
00:27:32.91\00:27:34.15
is found in discovering
the one in whom we live
00:27:34.15\00:27:36.05
and move and have our being.
00:27:36.05\00:27:37.52
And understanding that
the universe only seems absurd
00:27:37.52\00:27:42.32
because you and I
made it look that way
00:27:42.32\00:27:44.33
when we pulled away from the
real reason for its existence.
00:27:44.33\00:27:49.03
And living in the present to
some extent it's a good idea,
00:27:49.03\00:27:52.47
but that's not all there is.
00:27:52.47\00:27:55.07
There is a future
to look forward to
00:27:55.07\00:27:57.27
and there is a point to life
00:27:57.27\00:27:59.17
and you'll find them
in the pages of this book.
00:27:59.17\00:28:02.01
Thanks for joining me again
this week, I'm Shawn Boonstra.
00:28:02.01\00:28:04.91
You've been
listening to "Authentic."
00:28:04.91\00:28:07.58
[upbeat music]
00:28:07.58\00:28:10.35