Why?: The Christian-Theistic Answer

"Living for God is the only reasonable existence."
The Christian says that the earth was created by a personal God who posesses many traits which will be defined later. He created a perfect world, but satan, one of God's servants, was allowed to fall. Satan brought several other angels with him in his fall. Satan also tempted Adam to disobey God by eating of the fruit that God had forbidden. In disobeying God, Adam sinned and fell from grace. Because God was merciful, however, He allowed Adam to live anyway. Man in general is now in the state he is in due to both God's creation and Adams fall. The Christian also believes that man can return to grace by being made perfect through God's Son, that is, Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Christ in order to atone for us (and therefore be loving) while still satisfying His own need for justice. This sums up the universe in the Christian sense.

God has many traits that make him God. Firstly, he is composed of three parts, while still being one God. This means that the Christian is a monotheist, but believes in a three part God. The how of this trinity is unknown but to God himself (Whenever I am using a non-female gender term, I will use "he" rather than "it". Also note that the word "man" is used to refer to mankind or humanity rather than individual men. Note that women are included in the second term. I apologize to any who this may offend.). We are but concerned with the direct application of this, and it means very little in the discussion of "why?" God is also all powerful, meaning that he influences the universe however he will, and can (but does not) do anything. Note that this omnipotency does not allow for contradictions, such as, "can God create a rock so large that he can't lift it?" Such questions are irrelevant and absurd. He is also immutable, or unchanging. He is the "I AM." This is his name in Hebrew, and shows how he is now, in the future, and in the past. His immutability is directly linked to his immortality. He is also above time, and is not influenced by fourth-dimensional bounds as are we.

God is the only perfect being, and as such creates a standard for morality. His righteousness is the ultimate measuring stick. As a just God, he must punish all those who come short of that standard. As a loving God, he desires to help those who he loves. As a personal God, he cares about the individual souls in the universe. This love and personality made him satisfy his love and justice at the same time by offering up his son as a substitute for man in judgement. This sacrifce, that of Christ, gives man a hope at eternity, which gives man a purpose. The Bible even discusses meaninglessness in the book of Ecclesiastes, as a terrible thing that can only be avoided by living for God and eternity.

Through a study of the Bible, therefore, the why of everything can be best summarized as a constant relation back to God. God created the world. Man and angels fell from God. God loved man enough to offer him a hope. Man can either reject or accept this hope, but God grants it nonetheless. If there was no God, not only would life be purposless, but existence impossible. Others can offer better reasoning for the "how" of the Christian system, but the point of this essay is the rather the why of existence. Man, in the Christian view, lives either a) for God or b) for an absurdity, or the self. Ecclesiastes shows why the second form of existence is so absurd to the Christian system.