In April’s God Who Speaks bible resource Bishop David Evans explores the meaning of life
What is the meaning of life? This question may become significant at any stage of life. It may be a fleeting feeling, or something more profound. The answer may seem obvious. The question may also seem perplexing, and prompt further reflection.
The God Who Speaks project is a partnership between the Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Bible Society, and it’s Bible exploration resources for April have been created for all who are touched by the sense that life itself raises questions that need to be explored, for the sake of our own understanding of ourselves, of how we relate to other people, and how we may respond to God.
The Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, the Right Reverend David Evans, identifies six related topics that can begin to provide answers to this question.
Our first resource is Scripture, the Word of God, which may be found to prompt and respond to many human questions. Modern Philosophy is another resource. This provides a rich array of how European thinkers have addressed the question of life’s meaning from the 17th to the beginning of the nineteenth century.
There is no need to be put off by the word ‘philosophy’. According to the philosopher Pope St John Paul II, everyone has a philosophy of life. Reflecting with more systematic philosophers may help to broaden and deepen that personal philosophy, and Bishop David explores key themes in human identity through the works of philosophers as diverse as Descartes, Schopenhaur, Gadamar, Pascal and Mary Midgley.
The six themes
Identity – it’s not all about me but about us; Generosity – giving and giving away; Adaptability – being and becoming; Empathy – are we each other’s keeper?; Paradox – managing without resolution; Community – building now and beyond.
How the series works
Each theme follows the same model of:
A themed reflection from the Bible and modern Philosophical thinking.
An image and reflection inspired by the main theme.
A question and action point to help with individual or group discussion.
A short prayer to end the session.
Suggested further reading for going deeper.
To read Bishop David’s reflections click HERE