The Ultimate Issues of Life             Clifford Geertz, a cultural anthropologist studies civilizations. He has examined various societies from the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks to our modern ones. He concludes that every society tries to explain the meaning of life by answering the following six basic questions:     Will Good finally overcome Evil or Evil overcome Good? Is our life determined simply by random chance or is there some purpose and meaning to it at all? Does Life really triumph over Death or is the grave the end? Can people ever find a way to live in Peace with one another? Can we make contact with the Ultimate Force in the universe? What is the root cause of suffering? For instance, we all experience the conflict between Good and Evil, but which will finally triumph? Secular society gives us Batman (a symbol of Good) triumphing over the Joker (a symbol of Evil). But Batman is fiction and our own experience of Good triumphing over Evil is, more often than not, rather transitory. When confronted with the conflict between Good and Evil, we struggle to decide what we really believe. David defeats Goliath Each one must struggle with answering these six basic questions. Everyone is religious or spiritual in the sense that they develop an answer to these questions. The answer can be more or less explicit. Formal and explicit answers shape the nature of one's religion. Depending on the answers given, a person also knows what kind of God he or she believes in, for the word "GOD" is shorthand for the ULTIMATE. Will GOOD finally win out over EVIL or EVIL over GOOD? Does life have PURPOSE or does it all happen simply by random CHANCE? Will LIFE triumph over DEATH or DEATH over LIFE? Can people live in PEACE with one another or must they always be at WAR with one another? Can people come in contact with the ULTIMATE in the universe? What is the fundamental cause of SUFFERING?