The Meaninglessness of Life

  Life, in and of itself, is inherently meaningless. It doesn't serve some divine purpose anymore than we as a species serve a divine purpose. Claiming that life or humanity has meaning or purpose is simply a form of self aggrandizement. We do it to make ourselves feel special and important. Religion, for all its talk about being humble, engages in this sort of aggrandizement. It tells us that we were made in God's image. It tells us that we were given dominion over the Earth and its creatures by said God. It tells its believers that they're better than the nonbelievers. Instead of humility, it gives its followers hubris.

  Like it or not, we're nothing more than animals. Highly evolved animals, but animals nonetheless. And like our less evolved brethren, we can be vicious. Unlike our less evolved brethren however, we possess the intellect and skill to do some incredibly large scale damage. We have the potential to wipe out ourselves and the majority of life on the planet. And the hubris of religion can be one of the factors leading to us wiping ourselves off the face of the planet.