The evidence of evolution is all around us, to deny it is about as sensible as a haddock denying the existence of seawater.
But there is no natural explanation for why a naturally driven process of evolution has developed something which far exceeds the functionality of a biological survival machine. Looking ahead it seems very likely that the capacity for the human race to destroy each other will soon ensure that humans will have been around for just a very short period in the time line for this earth. And to what purpose? Will it all have been for nothing? Just a random blip created by chance? Who will support Darwin's theory when all the humans are gone?
You need to get the teleology out of your hair to see clearly. Extinctions are natural to evolution just as death is a natural consequence of life. Humans may well go extinct, such an event certainly in no way would invalidate evolutionary theory.
But it would show how pointless human life is, and our awareness of it. There is much, much more to life than evolution.
But I don't consider my own life to be pointless, Alan. I have, amongst the trials and stresses that have accompanied my life, enjoyed countless moments of fulfillment and enjoyment, just like many others. To consider that my life will one day end in oblivion does not mean that my life has no meaning. Satisfaction comes from the meaning and focus that I am capable of imprinting on it. I know that you need some outside agency to create some sort of fulfilment in your life, but that doesn't mean that others have to be like you. I quite accept that for you, your faith is a bedrock which would make you feel desolate if it was taken away but why can't you accept that others may find their own sense of meaning in so many different ways.
All sorts of experiences give my life meaning. Obviously the friendship and love that is felt in the various relationships I have is one important factor. But there are many others, too.
Consider, for instance, my fascination with the natural world, and all that I have absorbed from it. My focus has been on birdwatching, and, because of this, I have been privileged to visit many countries and have probably seen about a third of the world's known species. I have seen at first hand, delighted in and learnt from so many experiences associated with this. I won't bore you with the details as my experiences are really only pertinent to me, and I quite accept that they may mean very little to another person.
Or consider my working life when I was a teacher, and, through my enthusiasm and knowledge, tried to convey some of that to my pupils, whilst encouraging their challenging and enquiring minds. The fact that I helped awaken an interest in Maths or English in some of those pupils, for instance, I found, as with many teachers, a rewarding and meaningful experience.
Or consider the present where my wife and I run two dance sessions a week(modern ballroom and modern sequence) for the older generation. The obvious enjoyment this gives to others as well as ourselves creates its own meaning, too.
And, for me, none of the meaning or satisfaction that I feel, has any association with any god at all. It comes from my own mind, and my best explanation of it comes from the idea of evolution through natural selection.
People like you,(and I have met a fair number), find it so difficult to understand and appreciate that other paths though life are available which are just as valid for each individual as the one that you follow.
