Is the Universe friendly or not?

[LuciferSam]

As an existentialist, I have to create the world I want everyday. if there is hope, it is up to me to create it. If there is kindness, up to me to show it, compassion, up to me to live that way. I can't wait for the debate to be decided about whether these virtues are physical reflexes, gifts from an unseen God, or whatev. Can't be paralized by fear of an unfriendly universe or provoked to action by the threat of divine punishment. Just got to get on with living a life filled with all the goodness I can make happen. The if it turns out there's a big daddy god waiting to hold me accountable for not believing, I'll paraphrase Mark Twain and say, "I made an honest mistake." because you sure can't make a case for a loving universe based on the evidence.

Good post. As for the notion of whether we have free will, I think the best way to deal with it is to live your life respectfully and forget about it, which I think is what you're implying. You'd probably like the movie Waking Life. It has a strong existentialist theme throughout. I believe that purpose and creation are inventions of man and are not otherwise present in the universe. I believe the notion that "perception is reality" is pure fantasy. I also think a certain amount of fantasy might be healthy as long as it's not used to make decisions.