Comments on: Randy Pausch and the meaning of life

By: EDDIE

EDDIE — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:21:44 +0000

Saddens me that people here are so quick to judge. For one Randy has inspired me on many levels. Second he is a man of faith. I have seen his lecture and I have read his book. He states in his book that he chose to not discuss his religous beliefs because he basically wanted to share universal principles that apply to all faiths. no wonder people are so turned away from christianity. Not saying I am not christian but because someone chooses to have different belief systems and philosiphies they are “losers.” Please! I have many friends and family memebers that are truly intelligent people and have awesome morals that are not christian. Why do christians think they have it right and belittle anyone who questions otherwise? I for one am open to all religions and all philosiphies. Some christians, not all, are so close minded. It amazes me that some of you were born into christianity and not questioned anything else. YOu follow something completley blinded, instead of seeing what else is out there.

By: Sue Turnage

Sue Turnage — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:02:43 +0000

It is so easy to judge, to sit back and pontificate, as if we know it all. We do not. You do not. Randy Pausch was an accidental celebrity. He did not ask for this notoriety. His “Last Lecture” was meant to be for his students and collegues– those who knew him. It was recorded so that his children would have a record of what their dad “did”… to be seen again one day when they were older and could understand. The lecture was posted on YOU TUBE and now, more than one million people have viewed it.

Randy Pausch was a believer. People close to him have attested to this. Because he did not share his faith as others would desire does not change anything– God has chosen to use Randy and his messages to reach us.

•John 15:5 I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit: apart from me you can do nothing…John 15:8… You should produce much fruit and show that you are my followers, which brings glory to my Father.

Open your hearts, and let God speak. The message isn’t always so obvious, and what we do with it is what counts.

By: Marina

Marina — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 23:58:21 +0000

I agree with most of you. His leacture was not inspiring it was an explanation for his life; good, hardworking, satisfying. I am glad he lived a good life, but sad that he did not believe in God. If any one of you is looking for an inspiring, life changing book, my advise is for you to read the “Bible” and “Success through a positive mental attitude,” by Napolen Hill. God bless and God help to those who don’t believe in Him and then see Him face to face at the end of this wondeful journey on planet earth. :)

By: Life’s Meaning « Say It Isn’t So

Life’s Meaning « Say It Isn’t So — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:37:31 +0000

[…] July 30, 2008 · No Comments I felt moved to blog about Randy Pausch, the university professor whose “Last Lecture” has been all over YouTube and TV. But this post sums up my thoughts pretty well: http://www.3waystolive.com/2007/10/randy-pausch-and-the-meaning-of-life.html […]

By: Jane

Jane — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:44:16 +0000

I couldn’t have said this better:

“I haven’t heard the whole lecture but from the parts I did hear it sounded like a lot of meaningless platitudes. I guess that’s why the last lecture is so popular with the world. It’s what we do for Christ that gives life meaning. Everything else is vanity.”

If he is a Christian and Christ is out of the picture in his “journey of achievements”, he had indeed misled many. Many who thinks they can live to “their fullest”, leave a “legacy” without God.

By: Frank E. Doney

Frank E. Doney — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:03:05 +0000

I haven’t heard the whole lecture but from the parts I did hear it sounded like a lot of meaningless platitudes. I guess that’s why the last lecture is so popular with the world. It’s what we do for Christ that gives life meaning. Everything else is vanity.

By: Tony

Tony — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:42:48 +0000

Hi Ken. I really truly hope you’re happy clinging to your pretend knowledge of whatever you think life is for you. If you believe that life is finite then suit yourself. Maybe someone can give you a scratch-and-sniff sticker for it.

By: Ken McKnight

Ken McKnight — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:37:32 +0000

Thanks for reminding me why I have been an atheist for over 40 years. Your pretend sky-fairy story is not going to change the fact that this life is all we have, and at the end of it we die. Your wishful thinking can’t change the facts. I know I have only one finite life and that makes it meaningful beyond anything you will ever know while clinging to your delusion.

By: rafael

rafael — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:04:35 +0000

PROSECUTION
Is there a God? I will not try to say yes or no to this question. Rather, I will make this place a law court. I will ask you to be the judge, and I will be the prosecutor. The work of a judge is to make decisions, to approve or disapprove the truth of statements; the work of a prosecutor is to present all the evidence and arguments that he can possibly gather. Before we proceed, we have to be clear about one fact: all prosecutors are not eyewitnesses of crimes. They are not policemen. A policeman may personally witness an event, whereas a prosecutor obtains his information only indirectly. He places all the charges, evidence, and arguments collected before the judge. In the same way, I shall present before you everything that I can possibly find. If you ask whether I have seen God or not, I would say “no.” I am reading or demonstrating what I have gathered. My job is to search for facts and to call for witnesses. You are to arrive at a conclusion yourself.
THE UNIVERSE
First, looks at nature, the world that is before our eyes and every phenomenon in it. We all know that scientific knowledge is the rational explanation of natural phenomena. For example, there is an observed drop in the temperature of a patient. The drop in temperature is a phenomenon, and the explanation for it is scientific knowledge. When an apple falls from the tree, it is a phenomenon. Why does an apple not fly into the air? The explanation for this phenomenon constitutes knowledge. A man with knowledge is a man who has the proper explanations.
ONLY TWO EXPLANATIONS
The universe displays countless phenomena of diverse forms, colors, shapes, and nature. We cannot fail to notice these phenomena before our eyes. The explanation for all these phenomena is known as knowledge. All thoughtful persons have only two explanations as far as the origin of the universe is concerned; there is no third explanation. You have to take one or the other of them. What are these two explanations? The first says that the universe came into being through natural evolution and self-interaction; the second attributes its origin to a personified being with intellect and purpose. These are the only two explanations presented by all philosophers of the world. There is not a third one. Where did the universe come from? Did it come into existence by itself or through chance? Or was it designed by the One from whom we derive the concept of God?
CHANCE EVENTS
What are the characteristics of things that come about by chance? First, we know that they are unorganized. At the most they can be partially integrated. They can never be totally organized. One can achieve a specified goal by chance once, but he can never achieve a specified goal by chance all the time. Anything that comes together by chance can only be integrated partially, never totally. For example, if I throw this chair to the other side of the room, by chance it may come to rest at a perfect angle. If I do the same with a second chair, it may also lie neatly beside the first one. But this will not keep on happening with the third and the fourth and so on. Chance can only provide partial organization. It does not guarantee total integration. Furthermore, all random interactions are aimless, disorganized, and purposeless. They are without order and structure; they are loose, formless, disorderly, and not directed toward any meaningful purpose. Briefly, we can say that the characteristics of chance events are disharmony, irregularity, inconsistency, purposelessness, and insignificance.
CONSISTENCY AND ORGANIZATION
Now let us compare the things in the universe with these characteristics. Take, for example, the human being. He is carried in his mother’s womb for nine months and delivered; he grows up and eventually dies. This cycle is repeated for every single individual. Consistency can be observed. It is not a wild game of chance. Again, look at the sun above your head. It does not exist purposelessly. Rather, it has its purpose and significance. Look at the moon, the stars, and the myriads of galaxies through your telescope. Some stars have their own planets. They all follow definite tracks and patterns. They are all organized. Their manner of motion can be calculated and predicted. The calendar in your hand is derived from them. Even next year’s calendar can be printed before this year is past. All these show that the universe is organized, consistent, and purposeful.
MICROORGANISMS
Let us turn to the micro-world or quantum mechanics. Take a thin slice of wood. Put it under a microscope and observe its grain and structure, all meticulously regular and rhythmic. Even a blade of grass and the petal of a flower are finely fashioned. Nothing is unorganized or confused. Everything is disciplined and functional. All these things witness one fact to you: the universe, with its macro (the whole universe and galaxies) and micro aspects (quantum), is purposeful and meaningful. Can you say that all these came into existence by chance? Surely you cannot.
CHANCE OR DESIGN
The universe has to be created by someone with profound wisdom, vast knowledge, and intricate design. If you cannot accept the concept of random formation of the universe, you have to admit that it was created by such a God. There cannot be a third explanation. The choice is left to you. You have to decide if the universe came by chance or whether it was created by God.
A DEMAND AND ITS OBJECT
One witness may not be enough. I will call in another. This time we will consider man’s heart. Before doing so, we should also observe one fact: wherever there is a desire, there must first be an object for that desire. For example, an orphan who has never seen his father naturally has a desire for a kind of paternal love. I have asked many people who were orphans, and they all have felt this irrepressible yearning. By this we can see that every desire of the heart arises out of an object in the world. As human beings we have a need for social belonging. We need companionship and mutuality. If you put a boy on a deserted island and he grows up alone, he still has the yearning for companions, for beings like himself, even though he has never seen a human being. This yearning or desire is the very proof that somewhere in the world there is something known as “man.” At a certain age, man begins to think about posterity; he starts desiring children and grandchildren. This is not a mere fantasy. This desire stems out of the existence and possibility of offspring. Hence, where there is desire, there is an object for that desire.
THERE IS GOD IN THE HEART
Do we have any desires other than social identity and self-propagation? What other cravings do we have? Deep in everyone there is a craving for God. Whether they are highly civilized races, such as those among the Caucasians, or the ancient civilizations, such as the Chinese civilizations, or the African natives and uncultured aborigines, they all have a common craving –God. As long as they are men, they have a yearning for God, no matter what race or nationality. This is a fact. You cannot argue against it. Everyone is seeking after God. Everywhere man is craving for God. This is very clear. By applying the principle that we just mentioned, we can see that since our heart feels the need for a God, there must necessarily be a God in the universe. Since there is a need for God in the heart, there must be the existence of God in the universe. If no God exists, we would never have such a craving in our heart. We all have an appetite for food. In the same way, we all have an appetite for God. It would be impossible to live if there was only an appetite for food but no food. Likewise, it would be impossible to live if there was a capacity for God but no God.
NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOD?
Once, an atheist rudely rebuked me in a loud voice: “You said that a man has the psychological need for a God. But there is no such thing, and I do not believe in it.” I said, “Well, do you mean to say that you never think about God? In fact, even while you were talking, you were thinking about Him. This indicates that you do have a capacity for God. There is no one who has never thought about God. He may try not to think much about Him. Since this thought is in you, there must be such an object outside of you.
“THE WORDS AND THE HEART”
A young man once came to me to argue about God. He was vehemently against the existence of God. He gave me one reason after another for saying that there is no God. As he was enumerating the various reasons why God should not exist, I listened to him quietly without saying a word. Then I said, “Although you insist that there is no God and support yourself with so many arguments, you have lost your case already.” He said, “What do you mean?” I went on to explain: “Your mouth can say as much as you want about there not being a God, but your heart is on my side.” He had to agree with me. Although one can give all sorts of reasons in the head, there is a belief in the heart that no argument can defeat. A stubborn person may give a thousand and one reasons, but you can have the boldness to tell him, “You know better in your heart that there is a God. Why bother to look for evidence outside?”Now what would you say? After looking at nature and the universe, after checking with your inner feeling, it is up to you to decide whether or not there is a God. But you should not be irresponsible; your attitude must be sober because everyone has to meet God soon. One day you will all stand before Him. Everything concerning you will be laid bare. On that day you will know God. But now is the time for you to be prepared. We should all be prepared to meet our God.
Finally is there is a God. Who is he? Who among the most ancient religions claim to be God’s son?
As well there must be a written record of God and God’s son. Among all the ancients’ written records is there such a book?

By: Steve

Steve — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:05:34 +0000

Unfortunatly the message that Randy gave is no different than the message that the majority of the Christian churches give, a positive, practical way of living life. That’s why so many Christians would listen to it and say how wonderful his message was, it’s the same message they hear week after week.
May we all go back to the cross where we find the true meaning of life, the reason why I forgive, love, commitment. Christ loved me so much that he purchased me by currency of His blood. I love and give up my life because I see that being done for me at the cross. I commited and driven to this goal of self denial and love becasue I see Jesus who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross and despised the shame…for us! Man the cross is everything.