In a recent interview (January 17, 2025), an oxford scholar and theologian, N.T. Wright, having written 90 books, concluded that the emphasis both in the O.T. and N.T. was NOT on getting people to Heaven, but rather, ***bringing Heaven to earth***! He alleged that there was too much emphasis in hymnals, as well as preaching, on leaving earth for their heavenly home. He did not deny the existence of Heaven nor deny it as our final destination. But noted that God wanted believers to ***seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness*** here in this life-time on earth. >He (Jesus) said to them, "When you pray, say, 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name;
***Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven***' " (Luke 11:2; Matthew 6:9-10) He recognized that the presentation of the Gospel transforms not only a person, but societies, and even nations. And that this is what is primary in the intention of God. There is no advocacy of extreme Post-millennialism here; just a need for the awareness of God's purpose for leaving the Church on earth, among the nations. Is this a proper interpretation of the New Testament Gospel message, according to Protestant (and/or Catholic) creeds? And is this a proper interpretation of the phrase in the Lord's Prayer, *on earth as it is in heaven*?

I am on the brink of studying philosophy. When I asked on Philosophy Stack Exchange what the purpose of Philosophy is, I got a lot of answers about logic, reasoning, mental exercise, challenging assumptions, and so on; but none of them answered anything along the lines of "to improve my life and the lives of those with whom I share this world." In light of the above, is there any point in studying philosophy as a Christian?

My question is for those who believe the Bible is the inpired word of God. I have been wondering what exactly the purpose of typology is in the Bible. The best answer I have thusfar is that it acts almost as a very long 'ruler' of sorts that enables the Bible student to acurately draw a very long but very straight line through the Bible 'connecting the dots' as it were, so that he/she may see the 'bigger picture'. Typology enlarges on themes that the Bible sometimes only gives limited details of at the time but later (some times only in the NT) elaborates on in more details. For example, the story of David and Goliath as a typology of the work that Christ came and did in our behalf as described by Paul in Rom. 5:18. By one act of disobedience Adam (king Saul) many were made sinners (all Israel remained as good as'defeated') until Christ (David) by one act of righteousness defeats Satan (Goliath) and because of His victory (David's) all men are made righteous (all Israel was victorious). Further: King Saul is mentioned as being 'head and shoulders higher than the rest' of the nation. So, he was like a 'giant' compared to the rest. He also stands as head (king) of Israel so too does Adam stand as head (king) of humanity. Goliath is described as wearing impregnable armour. So too does God describe Lucifer at the end of the book of Job (Leviathan). God says Leviathan is the king of the children of pride (How art thou fallen O Lucifer...) and that none but his (Lucifer's) maker can approach unto him (to destroy him). So too it is only Christ that could destroy Satan. David as symbol of Christ is quite lengthy so I will limit myself to the means he used against Goliath and the manner of his death. David destroys Goliath without sword or spear (not by might nor by power but by My Spirit) by throwing him with a stone against his head (bruising the serpent's head as promised in Gen 3) There is so much more but I hope you can see how many 'lines' start intersecting in just this one typology. In my mind typology used to be simply something beautiful that reminds me of the 'bigger picture' but the more I study them, the more they start looking like an elegantly detailed unification and harmonization of 'other things' I read of in various places in the Bible. Almost like a mosaic but each little tile in the mosaic is sometimes a mosaic in itself. I suppose that is why the humble romanesco broccoli will always be a tangible illustration to me of the principle behind typology - a small piece of it looks similar to the whole plant (aka self similarity, fractals, etc) Typology is very important to me but I am looking for a more concise answer as to it's purpose (why it is in the Bible). I am not that good with words (hence the long writing just to make a 'simple' illustration and explanation of what I mean so I can get to the point where I can try and make a simple statement as to its purpose). Anyone with wisdom to express this so simply so even a 'child' could understand? Thanks in advance. (And for all your time in reading all of this!

### Question **What do the Catholic and Orthodox Churches say is the (or the main or highest) purpose of human life for the regenerate?** ### Background Recent efforts to discover what “Christianity” says is the purpose of life (for the saved if/when a distinction is required), led me to a variety of answers among Protestants, covered mostly by Which is the purpose of life: * Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. * Glorify God and enjoy him forever. * Learn the will of the Lord and then do it. * Know and Love God. **What about the rest of Christendom?**

Bible contains several aspects. The best among them for humans is the guidance for conduct. It also instructs a way to live with honesty. I'm confused about the ultimate goal of living a life according to the Bible. **Is it reaching heaven or reaching God or unifying with god?** I'm interested to know whether the Bible explicitly says anyone among the three (I mentioned) as ultimate. Else if the Bible explicitly mentions any other one as the ultimate goal, please mention it.

In the evangelical circles, finding God's will for one's life is a very common topic, with a "recipe" that looks like this Christianity.com article: [How Do We Know God’s Will for Our Lives?](https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/how-do-we-know-god-s-will-for-our-lives.html) . The motivation why one is "compelled" to find it is: by walking in the "zone" that God has set for you: 1) you will have *peace* that God is with you, 2) you will be *successful* because God will provide everything you need for His will to be accomplished, and 3) you live a *Godly pattern* exemplified by Jesus and the apostles who themselves have dedicated their lives to execute God's specific will for them. I realize that for Catholics entering vocations (joining a religious order / priesthood), there is an established practice for discernment. But how about for lay Catholics? What I heard is a general Thomistic guidance of aligning our intellect and will toward true happiness in God by being aware of how our numerous daily choices can potentially sidetrack us toward anything **less than God** such as honor, riches, power, etc. instead of striving toward the true final end of human nature of beatific vision by living with true love toward those within our circle while working together with the Holy Spirit toward eliminating one's vices and increasing one's virtues. While that guidance is in some way more specific than the evangelical advice linked above, there are still many choices that a typical 18 year old Catholic can be bewildered, such as: what major to study at the university, who to marry, career path, etc. Is there a practice similar to discerning vocation but for lay Catholics? A related sub-question: does the answer come in the form of special graces given to lay Catholics toward some particular calling (example: talents for music for those called to be musicians), similar to special graces infused by God for the religious (example: for fulfilling their vows of chastity)?

I know it's different than most Christian faiths' beliefs, and I know the missionaries teach it... I know it's a big part of Mormon curriculum and doctrine, and this site is replete with questions about seemingly every part of it , but would someone connect the dots and piece it together here in an overall summary? Why is it needed in LDS doctrine, what questions does it answer?

I believe when a person is born God chooses him or her to carry out an action on this planet. And until that action is carried out they can never retreat from this world. Paralyzed people fully from head to toe who are like so from birth and those people in life who developed some intense illnesses that they never quite got over with and can't rebuild their lives or help their family, what was that purpose-driven life for them? I am asking this because I volunteer at an organization where broken people and people in wheelchairs come for help. I talk to them. I hear their distressing everyday life story. I want to know what was that God's chosen action that they have to carry out on this planet when they are so vulnerable themselves and are suffering so much? I also heard on tv that a pastor saying every person's life has a grand design. So this question.

Complementarians believe that men and women are equal but have different yet complementary roles assigned by God. What do complementarian church leaders in history believe are the differing roles of men and women in the church?

Is the purpose of life directly and explicitly addressed in the New Testament? Most of the citations I found are implicit at best.

Reformed theology stresses that God created the universe for one purpose: to glorify him fully. And to reach the fullness of Glory, God must demonstrate all that would glorify him. This means that to demonstrate things like wrath and grace, there must first be misery. It's a very tidy theodicy, except it leaves me wondering why God cares about the fullness of Glory so much. The theology makes God out to be self-obsessed, and that he must prove (to whom exactly?) that he's perfect at everything. Humanity is a means to an end. The purpose of creation being for God's glory is a given, but I guess the question is why? Why is creation about that? Why must God show his full Glory, and is there even anyone to fully appreciate it in the first place? --- I want to be sure that answers focus on reformed theological positions and preferably quote known theologians and any accompanying scriptures. --- Question inspired by [this answer.](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/9583/according-to-reformed-theology-how-does-the-fall-glorify-god/42495#42495)

I'm not sure that I know of any place in the Bible that directly states, "this is the purpose to life." But does it give us any idea as the exact purpose as to why we were created. If God is truly Sovereign then he did not Need us for any reason, so why did He create us? Please provide scripture in your answer.

I heard it many times from some Christians and even preachers that God created us to worship and praise Him. I think this idea came from the fact that Psalms contain many phrases like *"Praise the Lord"* and many words related to worship. I'm still not convinced with verses from Psalms that the **main purpose** of creating us was to praise and worship God. The purpose of creating human, as I see from Genesis 1:28 is to *multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.* Is there any verses from the Bible that clearly indicates we were created mainly to praise and worship God?

Philippians 2:13: > For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. I understand that this question deals with infinite concepts and it's impossible for us to comprehend the mind of God as Isaiah 55:8 says: > For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. Nevertheless, I feel I must seek an answer from which to base the purpose of my own actions. I am looking for opinions from others supported by philosophical reasoning or historical references, not necessarily facts straight from the bible. This question is in a way asking why god created life at all. I've seen this question answered with a simple "because it pleases him," but that just doesn't seem satisfactory to me. My hunch is that God created as an extension of his loving nature. 1 John 4:8 says that "God is love", and I know of no other scripture where God is described in such a way. It's clear to me that this love is referring to a love for others (rather than self-love) so that would be complete with the existence of the Trinity with no call for angels or man. For this reason, I feel angels and man were created with the intent of us taking part in this love and also showing his love as perfect by redeeming us despite our rebellion. As 2 Corinthians 12:9 says: > And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness **TLDR:** In what way does our ultimate existence please God? My tentative theory is that we are used to show his love as perfect and to take part in that love.

I'll get the obvious quote out of the way first. William Lane Craig states that the purpose of people is to > "To glorify God and enjoy him forever." Now that's the purpose *for us*. In the book of Ephesians, given the spiritual awareness of the people of Ephesus, the writer Paul delves into matters of the Spiritual Realm. In Eph 3:10 Paul writes: > His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, Can we expand on this to suggest that God had a purpose for creation, for the benefit of those outside creation? Could it be that Paul is saying that our creation is a 'model example' for the spiritual realm, showing that his authority is better, and an example of what happens when his authority is rebelled against? My question is: **Does Eph 3v10 hint at Gods supernatural purpose for creation, humanity and our history?** [Context: This is a question that came up in Bible-study last week]