If There Is No God, Can You Find Meaning in Life?

Life Audio.

On today's episode of Timeless Wisdom.

Is there meaning to life if there is no God? And the answer is no.

Personally, I'm an atheist and I see meaning to everything that exists.

I think that's great. I think that— well, what— anyway, what me— well, now that you mentioned that, what meaning do you see in a tree?

Uh, there's meaning beyond just, uh, looking at the tree and seeing the tree as a physical entity. There's an essence beyond our human understanding. Uh, so, uh, the thought I have—

well, that doesn't make any sense to me. There's an essence— there's an essence to a tree that is beyond our human understanding, but there is no God. So you find God irrational, but you find your comment to be rational.

Well, my point is this, is obviously we're trapped within our senses and we cannot understand the tree, uh, the way that God would. Okay.

Yeah, but you don't believe in God, so why are you saying that?

That's coming up on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. This is John Hishta with AARP, and I want to talk to you about the money you pay into Social Security with every paycheck.

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Welcome to Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Hear thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles, go to DennisPrager You're listening to the Ultimate Issues Hour.

Each week at this time on the Dennis Prager Show, I talk about some great ultimate issue of life, some great eternal powerful question. Welcome to the, welcome to the Ultimate Issues Hour. And today it is as ultimate as ultimate as you can get. This is Dennis Prager, thank you for being with me. And that is, can there be— is there meaning to life if there is no God? And the answer is no. So let me explain this to you, because for many people this will sound bizarre, because an atheist or agnostic will surely say and can say, wait a minute, you mean to tell me the love I have for my family, my love of music or of my work, my attempt to better my society, these are not meaningful? Who are you to tell me that these are not meaningful? They are meaningful to you, but that's not my question. My question is not can you find any given act in life personally meaningful? Of course you can, whether you're an atheist or, or, or a believer. That's not my question. So don't tell me that you find meaning, uh, in, in family and meaning in, in your work and meaning in doing good acts. I know that. I know that. That's not my question. So again, clarity before everything. Does life itself have meaning? Not does any given act that you do make you feel meaningful. Of course it does, and it should, and that's fine. But life itself is pointless if there is no God. That's all. You can subjectively feel meaning in helping the poor. In raising a child, in, in, in making a life with your partner, your spouse in life. That, that's wonderful. But in the final analysis, that is all subjective feeling. There is no objective meaning to life. It doesn't exist. If, if, if there is no God, there is no design. It is all coincidence. I remember I had on— I once had a national TV show, and I remember having Carl Sagan, who was America's most popular astronomer. He was on public TV, and he was very— every book he put out was a national bestseller. He was a professor of astronomy. I was at Dartmouth. I don't remember exactly where. And he was very eloquent, and he was a good-looking guy, and he knew his astronomy. And he was an atheist, and I remember having him on my show, and I'll never forget him saying something to this effect. He says, Dennis, I just want you to know, when I look out at the cosmos— that was his favorite word, cosmos. That's the name of one of his books, if I'm not mistaken. When I look out at the cosmos, Dennis, and I see the vastness of the universe, The more that I know about the universe and the more I see and peer into it, the more I realize how insignificant we humans are.

So there you go.

That's exactly right. He realizes how insignificant we people are. He was an honest atheist. He looks at the universe and realizes we, we, we, we We have no significance. Now, he wouldn't say that his life was insignificant, or your life, or my life, or if he had children, his children's life. He'd say, of course it's significant to me. But ultimately, we're insignificant. We have no importance. And that— and he would— that's what I call an honest atheist. And there are such, believe me. So here is, on the Ultimate Issues Hour, here is my, my, my first point, my, my point for this hour. If there is no God, life itself is meaningless. It's all random chance. You have no more ultimate meaning than a pebble does. It came about by accident. You came about by accident. If there is no God, and that's it. And it, it boggles my mind that more secular people don't, don't acknowledge this very, very awful consequence of secularism: insignificance leading to boredom. That's why the more secular the society, the more the need for amusement. Those with religious meaning are less inclined to need a fantastic amount of amusement in their life to while away the boredom. It was, who wrote in Bluebeard's Castle? Oh yes, Alan, give me that. It's one of the great books. I'll get you the name in a moment. And he makes this point in this magnificent book. I think I have it as one of the 10 that most affected me. In Bluebeard's Castle. George— oh, it's killing me, it's killing me. I'll have it momentarily. And he makes this point that we should never underestimate the significance of boredom. George Steiner, I remember that. George Steiner, that's it. Boredom on we has a very powerful effect, and secularism breeds on we. The, the great French word for something deeper than boredom. But it comes from a realization, whether it is conscious or not, that really nothing matters. Nothing really matters, so you might as well just have as much fun as possible. If nothing really matters, then you maximize excitement and fun in life. There are consequences. What I'm saying is there are consequences to a, a godless view of the world. There are many consequences. That will be a major theme of the Ultimate Issues Hour. Talk about all sorts of things, but that will be certainly one of them. And Alan, I think that male, male sexual nature should be one of the themes too that we should do. So if you would put that down. All right, 1-8-PRAGER-776 is the number. 1-8-PRAGER-776. I have put before you the thesis of the hour, 877-243-7776. If I especially— I'm happy to hear from anybody, but I especially want to hear from those of you, uh, who, uh, who do not believe that there is a God who designed the world. Do you— does it make sense to you when I say that if there is no God, then there is ultimately no meaning to life? That is that. I want to know if whether you agree or disagree. I don't want to know does it make sense to you because this is a very big deal. That is one of my arguments for God's existence, the fact that I believe that there is meaning to life. I can't believe, and I don't mean emotionally, I intellectually cannot accept the idea that life really is pointless. But I have to accept that idea if there is no God. So since I am sure that there is ultimately some point to this, this human creature, therefore I conclude there must be a God. I go through it, as it were, the other way around. Not that since there is a God, life is meaningful. I am convinced life has meaning, therefore there must be a God, because there is no meaning if there is no God. Again, we are just coincidences here. 1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number. This is something that needs to be conveyed. And by the way, this is not conveyed to kids at college. It is amazing. It's amazing. This, this idea is just not conveyed. Phoenix, Arizona. John. Hello, John. Thanks for calling. Dennis Prager. Hi, Dennis.

How are you?

Okay.

Simple question.

Um, I just want to know how you feel, um, that you can validate someone's meaning to their life. I can't. I, I acknowledge that everybody has subjective meaning in his life. Raising children, doing good, being kind to the neighbor, having a hobby. I, I said that 3 times. Okay, now, so what, what, in your opinion, and I think I know the answer, but I'd rather have you reiterate, um, is the difference between someone who is a believer and in your opinion has meaning and someone who is not a believer and does not have meaning ultimately. It's not a matter of whether I have meaning, it's whether there is meaning to life. It's not, it's not Dennis who has meaning or doesn't.

Okay.

As I acknowledged, an atheist can feel tremendous meaningfulness in his life.

Okay.

The question is, does life itself have any meaning? Okay, and in your opinion, what is that meaning? Not to you, but life itself. Well, if there is a God who designed us, then there is a purpose. And the purpose may ultimately be only knowable to God, by the way. I don't sit here and say to you, I know the exact purpose and meaning of all of life. I don't. It is sufficient for me to know that there is a God and there is meaning. And then that gives me a great deal of intellectual and emotional comfort. If this is clear to you, stay on, uh, or don't stay on. If it's not, stay on. But I, I really want to make this clear to everyone listening. You are listening to the Ultimate Issues Hour of the Dennis Prager Show.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

For nearly 3,000 years, Homer's The Odyssey has shaped Western imagination. It tells the story of Odysseus as he faces monsters, shipwrecks, false comforts, and impossible choices on his long journey home. As one of the foundational works of Western literature, Homer's epic is more than mythology. It explores permanent questions about courage, duty, loyalty, family, leadership, temptation, and the search for home. In one of the epic's defining moments, Odysseus rejects the offer of immortality from the goddess Calypso, choosing instead the long and difficult journey home. His decision reveals one of the central themes of The Odyssey: that a life of duty, family, and home is greater than a life devoted to comfort or glory. Achilles chose glory. Odysseus chose home. That's why Hillsdale College has released its newest free free online course, The Odyssey, taught by Professor Benedict Whalen. The course reveals why Homer's masterpiece remains one of the greatest works of Western literature. Find this free course at hillsdale.edu/startnow. The Odyssey from Hillsdale College. Go to hillsdale.edu/startnow.

Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

Hi everybody, Dennis Prager. This is the Ultimate Issues Hour, one hour a week on the great questions of life, just as I have one hour a week on the issue of happiness. And it is this hour, and the question today is— or not the question, well yeah, I guess the question is, is there meaning if there is no God? Is there meaning to life? And the answer is no. That doesn't mean— I have to say, I'll have to say this every time, I really I ask your forgiveness for the many of you for whom it is obviously clear, but I know that it is not clear to many people. I am not saying that if you're an atheist you can't feel that things are meaningful. Of course you can. I pray you do. You can find a million things meaningful. You can find a sunset meaningful, raising children, having a relationship with your spouse, with somebody else, with friends. Love, art, reading, travel. I could find 1,000 things meaningful. That's not the issue. The issue is, is there meaning to life, period? Not do you personally experience meaningful moments. Those are two entirely separate questions. So I will return here in Phoenix. John, is it clear now, or do you still want to pose a question?

No, it's, it's pretty clear, um, after your explanation, but I, I'm still looking for the answer of, uh, that, that meaning, which you probably can't answer.

I can't answer that. That goes into the, into the, uh, framework of if I were God, if I knew God, I'd be God. I don't know exactly why, and I, that will do that another time. Why did God create the world? Why did God create the man? I don't have— I have, I have some answers. I don't have the full answer. It doesn't bother me. Those— there are questions that people ask that don't bother me and bother them. That doesn't bother me. It's— it is utterly intellectually and emotionally satisfying to know that God designed the world and God told me how to live a good life. That's all I ask from God.

Okay?

All right. All right, John, I appreciate very much your call. And let's go to Tom in San Mateo, California. Tom, Dennis Prager, hi.

Hey, how you doing?

Okay, thanks.

Uh, my question is, it's obvious that we see meaning in everything, and I'm not just talking about the sunset thing. Uh, personally, I'm an atheist, and I see meaning to everything that exists.

I think that's great.

I think that—

what, what, anyway, what me— well, now that you mentioned that, what meaning do you see in a tree?

Uh, there's meaning beyond just looking at the tree and seeing the tree as a physical entity. There's an essence beyond our human understanding. So the thought I have—

Well, that doesn't make any sense to me. There's an essence— there's an essence to a tree that is beyond our human understanding, but there is no God. So you find God irrational, but you find your comment to be rational.

Well, my point is this, is obviously we're trapped within our senses and we cannot understand the tree the way that God would, okay?

Yeah, but you don't believe in God, so why are you saying that?

Oh, well, here's my point. Uh, there's, there's things outside of us that we don't necessarily understand, pretty much all of existence, but we know that there's a meaning to them because we're seeing them and we're kind of seeing them in a watered-down way.

Yeah, but this is an utterly unscientific view. You are, you are talking as if there is a God and then fooling yourself into thinking you don't think there's a God.

Well, uh, my point is this. We know that there is something else.

But we know why— wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. We don't, we don't know any— what do you mean we know there is something else? The comment doesn't make sense to me.

We know there is something more to the tree or to the person.

No, we don't.

We—

not if there's no God. There is nothing more. It is a series of molecules that have organized themselves into a tree. There's nothing more whatsoever if there's no God.

Well, there's something more than we can understand.

No, that's not true. We understand as soon as science tells us exactly what makes a tree, we understand it.

You think we can understand a tree absolutely without a shadow of a doubt? You can understand that?

I don't even— well, you're using terms that the mystic uses and then you deny that there is anything transcendent of science. So you like live in two worlds but don't realize it. I don't know why you don't accept that there is a God. You certainly talk that way. You're more mystical than I am. For me, a tree is a tree. Okay, I appreciate your call. We'll go to Bedford, Texas, and Mike. Hello, Mike. Dennis Prager.

Hi, Dennis.

Hi.

Wow, that was fast. Okay, first of all, this is the best hour you have by far.

Well, I'm glad you love it, and I want everybody to have their own favorites, ideally 15 favorites. Okay, but go ahead.

And by the way, I, I agree with you, but I can't explain why. Okay, uh, however, I want just to, just to ask you a question. It's something I've been struggling with for a long time. If God is the, the source of objective meaning in life, then exactly how does God's existence produce that objective meaning? As opposed to simply a subjective need to believe in God.

Yes, because God— if God exists, then God objectively exists. So is that correct?

Well, yeah, and, and the key—

okay, hold on.

If—

well, of course the key word is if. My whole thing is predicated on an if. If there is a God, there's meaning. If there's no God, there's no meaning.

Okay, there— yeah, there's no ultimate meaning.

Yes, no ultimate meaning.

I see.

That's right. You can find baseball meaningful, bringing up kids meaningful, A love meaningful, of course.

So really this whole thing boils down to people who simply want to believe in God versus people who don't want to believe in God.

No, it doesn't boil that to that at all. It boils down to the question of, do you acknowledge the simple truth that if there is no God, life is ultimately pointless? That's what it boils down to. It has nothing to do with what you will.

What I acknowledge is that if God does not exist, then life exists for its own sake. That's it.

Well, well, I don't know what it for its own sake means, but it just exists. It just exists to exist. It exists. It has no design. It has no ultimate meaning.

Yeah, I, I can understand.

If Earth blows up tomorrow, it's meaningless, right? Okay, fine. So that's all I ask. I'm not trying to convince you of anything except that one point. —which you apparently accept.

I choose to believe God exists. Okay, fine. And, and, and then because it makes me feel better. Okay, that's fine. Okay, great.

I, I think that there— I, I think that there are, there are better arguments that makes you feel better, but I'm glad you feel better. I care, frankly, does it make you act better more than whether it makes you feel better? But that, that's a separate subject, and we will deal with that another time too. I appreciate your call very much, Mike. And let's go to Angie in Cleveland. Hello, Angie. Dennis Prager.

Hi. Um, I agree with you. Um, I'm an atheist. I have that same kind of feeling that there is no meaning if there is no God. And as much as I try to do good things, try to be a decent person, that idea still lingers in the back of my mind. I tend to shove it away. Um, but I'm just wondering, what do you do at that point to just change my mind about my beliefs isn't something that's easy for me.

In other words, because you have faced the abyss, you would like to believe in God? Correct. Okay, hold on. You're, you're, you're the ideal call, as it were. See, that, that's exactly the point. That's what I ask atheists to honestly do— face the abyss, the darkness that their, that their lack of belief in God must in fact, rationally lead to. We'll be back in a moment. I'm Dennis Prager.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

For nearly 3,000 years, Homer's The Odyssey has shaped Western imagination. It tells the story of Odysseus as he faces monsters, shipwrecks, false comforts, and impossible choices on his long journey home. As one of the foundational works of Western literature, Homer's epic is more than mythology. It explores permanent questions about courage, duty, loyalty, family, leadership, temptation, and the search for home.

Home.

In one of the epic's defining moments, Odysseus rejects the offer of immortality from the goddess Calypso, choosing instead the long and difficult journey home. His decision reveals one of the central themes of The Odyssey: that a life of duty, family, and home is greater than a life devoted to comfort or glory. Achilles chose glory. Odysseus chose home. That's why Hillsdale College has released its newest free online course, The Odyssey. Taught by Professor Benedict Whalen, the course reveals why Homer's masterpiece remains one of the greatest works of Western literature. Find this free course at hillsdale.edu/odysseus. Hillsdale.edu/startnow. The Odyssey from Hillsdale College. Go to hillsdale.edu/startnow.

Now back to more of Dennis Prager's Timeless Wisdom.

You're listening to The Dennis Prager Show, the Ultimate Issues Hour. Every week at this time, an hour devoted to the great questions of life. This time it is, can there be meaning in life? And I don't mean meaning in your individual life about things you find meaningful. Of course, that's a subjective thing. There's beauty in life. There's a whole host of things that you can, you feel, and I don't deny that. My question is, is there any ultimate meaning to life itself if there is no God? And of course, the answer is no, because we're all, we are simply physical beings who happen to have a mind, but we're just physical beings who came by accident and who die by accident. And that's it. That's all we are if there's no God, and be honest enough to acknowledge it. Now here is the great question, or one of the great ones, from Angie. Back to you, Angie, in Cleveland. Hi. So you— I am curious, you have— did you recognize the— what I call the abyss of an atheistic view of life? Did you realize this before this hour, or, or this is just reinforcing, or what?

No, probably within the last couple of years.

Right, so it's become clear to you if there's no God there, right? So this is good. So this is, this is perfect then. So you want to know then, how can a person who doesn't believe but acknowledges the, the, the rather sad reality of life if there is no God, how You would like to be able to believe in God, right? Right. Well, Alan, put that down. I'm not getting away from this, Angie. I just want to put this down. I, I would like to do that for one of the hours of this Ultimate Issues Hour. How, how would one who is inclined to atheism come to take God seriously? Were you raised in a religious home? My mother was Catholic.

We went to Catholic Mass, but only on holidays. I never was, uh, did confirmation or any of those things, right? So no, we never talked about religion. So now, right.

And, and did you, uh, I assume you went to college? Yes. And of course now that's an entirely secular experience. What I think you need to realize before you would do anything in, in the direction of, of trying to take God seriously is realize what a thoroughgoing secular brainwash you've had. The society, the media are thoroughly secularized, and the education you received were thoroughly secularized. So you've really never had a chance to encounter sophisticated belief.

Yeah, your show is actually the first time I've ever heard anyone speak about religion, about the Bible, about those types of beliefs. But I do have to say that I didn't come upon the realization that I was an atheist so much like I think most people do. I actually was about 14 or 15 when I realized that people believed in God differently than I did. I never, I never sat down and thought, "Does God exist? No, I don't think he does." I just always assumed that it was some kind of Myth. I mean, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but it just— that's how it always presented itself. Yes, exactly.

That, and that's how it was presented to you. That is the, the typical American educational experience, that it's either ignored because you, you weren't taught about God in college or high school any more than you were taught about astrology. Huh. They're, they're regarded as the same, as, as just the beliefs of, of buffoons, maybe well-intentioned, maybe non-well-intentioned, but of buffoons. The first thing that you need to realize, and I can't answer you fully now because I want to take time to do that properly, but the first thing I— you need to realize is that you have not been able, you have not been offered the opportunity to intellectually weigh the arguments for and against God. It has been weighted 99-1 against Yeah, I see.

So you constantly need to have that reinforcement?

Well, no, it's— well, well, all you need to know is that you have not— you have disqualified God without giving him a fair trial. You have rendered him non-existent without ever having a trial.

Okay.

Okay, now, now, in that regard, I mean, I, I, I mean, there's so much I could recommend to you. C.S. Lewis is terrific from the Christian side, as an example. Uh, but I, I certainly would recommend my tape, The Case for God's Existence. I'd like you to hear it. Send me, uh, send me an email or through Prager Radio. We will, uh, we will continue, and I will deal with that subject on another Ultimate Issues Hour. How does a sophisticated person today take God seriously? But that's not the subject of this specific hour. We continue.

Are you enjoying Timeless Wisdom? We'd love to hear from you. Call 877-243-7776 and leave a review, share your thoughts, or just even an encouraging word for Dennis Prager. Your voicemail might just make it on the show. That's 877-243-7776. 7776. That's 877-243-7776. Thanks for listening and for your support.

You're listening to the Dennis Prager Show, the Ultimate Issues Hour. This hour of the week I talk about the great questions of life, and it doesn't get greater than this: is there any meaning to life? And I don't mean meaning to your individual feeling, meaning about your individual life. Of Of course, most people do. They feel that the love of their family is meaningful. They feel that their work is meaningful. They feel that, that, that anything that happens in any given day is meaningful. And you should feel that. And I'm not here to knock that. I'm not asking about whether you feel meaning in your life. I'm asking whether life itself does have any meaning in the final analysis. Not whether you feel it in your individual life. Please understand that. And there God becomes the question. If there is no God and we are here as coincidences, coincidences don't have meaning. Just chance, random chance has no ultimate meaning. A designer designing has meaning, not random coming together of molecules. So that, that's the point. I mean, it's, it's to me so self-evident. And most, I think most honest atheists acknowledge this. In fact, that's how you got the concept of existentialism. Since you— this— since life has no meaning according to the atheist, you have to take meaning from your own existence. That's what existentialism is about. Existence-ism. Take meaning from existence. But it doesn't work for the thinking person. It doesn't even work for many non-thinking persons because they— though they don't realize it's one of the reasons they get so bored. When you really do believe that life is a sheer just sheer fluke. It's, uh, it doesn't make life quite as interesting in the final analysis. Take this challenge from Denver and David. Hi, David. Dennis Prager. Hi, Dennis.

How you doing today? Okay, thanks. Yeah, interesting topic for sure. And you know, when I look at it from, um, from the way you're speaking there, I, I kind of see two choices that we have in life. There either is no God or there is a God. And of course, if there is no God, then there is no meaning, no meaning in life. But if there is a God, then I don't know, do we have two more choices? That God is here to, uh, has left us here to fend for ourselves, or is God directly involved in our lives? And if he's left us here to fend for ourselves with no purpose or meaning, then there is no purpose or meaning.

I mean, did he just— yeah, so in other words, it is possible that there is a God who created life but created it with no meaning? A greater being of some kind.

When we have, you know, we take speculation at it. We, we look at—

all right, look, look, of course it's possible. Then God, then God is, is, is, is the biggest sadist that ever existed.

Well, that's kind of where I was going with this, as if—

okay, you're right. If, if that's what you believe, then you would have to conclude the world was made by a sadist.

But my, my problem is I don't know what to believe because there's so much confusion out there. You have your faith. I know a dozen other people, each one with their own view of it. I, I mean, I have one very close friend who actually talks to God in conversations. And, uh, well, wait, does he get answers? Oh yeah, he sits right there and his eyes are rolled back and he says, you know, it's like, whoa, look, he, he—

well, then he's, he's on a different level than I am, I must say. But, but you know what, the, the fact— I don't see what the confusion is because what I'm saying is so broad-based. This is acceptable to anybody Anyone listening, the, the, the— anyone in any God-based religion can accept what I'm saying. I'm not advocating any specific religious affirmation. I am not— I have no agenda for any given specific religion here. I am, I am talking to you simply with the, the best, uh, of the honesty that I can, I can appropriate. If there is no God—

I'm sorry, that's how I come back at you.

I know you are, I know you are. I'm— but I'm just trying to answer that When you say there are all these competing claims out there, there are no competing claims on what I'm saying. There are competing claims on which revelation is true, but there is no competing claim on, on this specific doctrine that I'm offering to you, which is not even a doctrine. It's, it's, it's a logical assertion. If, if we're not designed, if there is no God, then life has no ultimate meaning. You don't have to be a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, uh, you don't have to be anything to acknowledge that. You could be an atheist Dennis Prager doesn't acknowledge that. So there's no competing claim to what I'm saying. The only competing claim would be irrational. Well, life is ultimately meaningful, and in fact it's a total coincidence. But that's absurd. So that— I don't regard absurdity as a competing claim. So David, there are no competing claims. There are competing claims as to which, which God, which revelation. That's not my business right now. Okay, let's go to Longwood, Florida, and Lisa. Hello, Lisa. Dennis Prager. Hello, Dennis.

How are you? Well, thank you. Good. I consider myself an agnostic. I just don't know if there's a God. I can't acknowledge it.

Well, you're not asked to know. Wait, Lisa, this may help you. You're not asked to know. I don't know that there is a God. I believe there is a God.

I, I guess I can't believe that there isn't. I can't believe that there is.

Okay, so you're not talking about knowledge. You're even talking about belief. So So if you had to bet all your money— you have to bet everything that you own and your future health on whether or not it all came about on its own or some higher intelligence designed it— which would you bet? Or would you flip a coin?

I would bet that there is some sort of higher intelligence but nobody on this planet understands it. I don't think anybody has any idea.

Wait! Whoa whoa wait! Woo woo woo! Wait, wait, wait... So if you had to bet your future health and all your possessions right now, you would bet that we were designed? That there was some higher intelligence, yeah. Well then you're not an agnostic.

An agnostic would flip a coin.

My mother tells me if I don't take the Bible and the God of Israel as the true and only God, then I'm an atheist.

That's what my mother tells me. That's between you and mom. Between you and me right now is I want to establish that you're not an agnostic. So, so to begin with, if, if you had to bet everything of importance to you, you would bet that we were not sheer— we are not self-created.

I would bet that that's correct.

Okay, fine. So the next question becomes, do you believe that that which created us cares about us, or just created us and is currently playing chess in another dimension?

I would bet that he or she or them, they are just playing chess in another dimension.

Okay, well then your mother's right. You, you are functionally an atheist. I love this call. God bless. Oops, excuse me. May the chess players bless you, Lisa. We will return, final segment coming up on this edition of the Dennis Prager Show's Ultimate Issues Hour.

This episode of Timeless Wisdom will continue right after this.

For nearly 3,000 years, Homer's The Odyssey has shaped Western imagination. It tells the story of Odysseus as he faces monsters, shipwrecks, false comforts, and impossible choices on his long journey home. As one of the foundational works of Western literature, Homer's epic is more than mythology. It explores permanent questions about courage, duty, loyalty, family, leadership, temptation, and the search for home. In one of the epic's defining moments, Odysseus rejects the offer of immortality from the goddess Calypso, choosing instead the long and difficult journey home. His decision reveals one of the central themes of The Odyssey: that a life of duty, family, and home is greater than a life devoted to comfort or glory. Achilles chose glory. Odysseus chose home. That's why Hillsdale College has released its newest free online course, The Odyssey. Taught by Professor Benedict Whelan, the course reveals why Homer's masterpiece remains one of the greatest works of Western literature. Find this free course at hillsdale.edu/startnow. The Odyssey from Hillsdale College. Go to hillsdale.edu/startnow.

Now back to more of Dennis Prager's timeless wisdom.

Final segment here of this edition of the Ultimate Issues Hour on the Dennis Prager Show. 1-800-PRAGER-776 is the number And it has been a really important hour, as indeed I try to make all the hours of my show, but especially the Ultimate Issues Hour because it's about ultimate issues of life. And I'm just asking you to acknowledge a rather important thing that you don't have to be religious to acknowledge. You just have to be intellectually honest. If there is no God and we are just coincidences in the universe, then we— then life has no meaning. And to repeat, it's probably the fifth time I'm saying it because people don't hear it or people just tune in. That doesn't mean that you cannot personally find and feel meaning in your own lives. Of course you can. You can find a thousand different things meaningful. That's very different from whether or not there is any ultimate meaning to life itself. And there isn't. If it came about on its own and it will die on its own, then that's it. We just visit for a tiny period of time and drop dead. And you have to be honest and face that fact, but it has consequences, and I believe it has huge consequences, consciously or not. I'd be very interested, for example, just to bring it down to a very, very mundane level, I would be very curious to know if a, if the, if a deeply committed to God, a God-centered home, is as likely to watch as much television as a secular home. I'd be very curious. Now, there are other factors as well about television watching. I have no doubt about it. There are other factors that could, that could be involved as well. But on the same socioeconomic and educational level, let's just say a person who only went through high school who has a God-centered home versus only through high school non-God-centered home, which do you think will have more TV? And I'm— the reason that I raise it is because in the final analysis, the, the, the sense of pointlessness and the need to be constantly drugged— and it is a drug— by entertainment, by amusement is going to be more felt by somebody who does not have God in his or her life. This is not a criticism, this is not an attack, this is not to make anybody feel bad, nothing like that. I want you to open your ears to what I'm saying, that's all. Open your minds to what I'm saying. And yes, therefore, if we are just coincidence, then we are, as Carl Sagan said to me, Dennis Prager, I look up into the cosmos, and the more I see how grand and how large it is, the more I realize how insignificant we human beings are. Well, that was an honest atheist, and that's what I have asked for. How do you come to believe in this God if you find it difficult? That's for another hour. In the meantime, I hope this one has been beneficial. I'm Dennis Prager. Thank you for listening.

Tomorrow on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager.

Hi everybody, I talk about the real, real issues of men and women on the Male-Female Hour, and I want to read to you a letter I received after last week's show. You mentioned that you would like to do an hour on modesty. I am really looking forward to that one. Well, brother, here is your request is granted. I feel sort of like Aladdin's lamp here. She rubbed on the lamp and voilà. Which, by the way, shows I read your mail, folks. I can't respond. I didn't even get a chance to respond to her. But I do, and if you have thoughts and reactions, they are absolutely invaluable to me. I was asked this question a long time ago, and I'm very open on these issues. That's why people ask me, well, Dennis, so as a man, do you like when women wear very revealing clothing? And I said, and this is, this is, this was a key answer, the male in me loves it, the man in me doesn't.

Join us tomorrow to hear more on Timeless Wisdom with Dennis Prager. Visit DennisPrager.com for thousands of hours of Dennis's lectures, courses, and classic radio programs. And to purchase Dennis Prager's Rational Bibles. We want to take just a second to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the podcast. Go to lifeaudio.com to find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network, including shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.

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