In Douglas Adams’s 1979 novel, over the course of 7.5 million years, a massive, earth-sized supercomputer figured out that the answer to life’s greatest question is “42.” Unfortunately, the great jeopardy of Adams’s novel is that no one—apparently not even the author—knows what life’s greatest question is. Fortunately for us, God has shared both the answer and the question for discovering life’s meaning and significance.
Throughout the ages, humanity has exhibited an almost subconscious yearning for eternal life.
To many people, it seems like people were made for long life, if not eternal life.
At the same time, we also recognize the heartache and pain that consumes this earthly existence—death, abuse, holocaust, natural disasters. So the problem becomes that a long life would only mean more pain, if not eternal pain and suffering.
What would be the point of eternal life if it only meant experiencing the full onslaught of human destruction and suffering for the full duration of eternity?
