Mike:
I guess guys after seeing so much death, and all of the issues that are out there concerning eternity, and we are going to die, what hope is there.
i hear ya. when i first dropped the 'christian' label, i felt exactly like this too. what's the point? i think this is the most important question in the world and we each have to answer it for ourselves. IMO, a lot of people don't spend the time necessary to answer it for themselves and instead just piggyback on what their parents and their immediate culture taught them about religion, god, eternity, etc.
again, in my opinion, i feel that to defer the responsibility of answering your questions to an organized religion is not really being fair to yourself. for me, it was only after i dropped all faith in organized religion and the traditional religious/deistic beliefs that i felt free to finally figure out what my purpose is. to be honest, i'm still trying to figure out my purpose, but the journey is pretty fun (man, i sound lame...).
in any case, i genuinely feel that everyone should actively destroy the beliefs that they have been brought up with (be it judeo-christian, hindu, muslim or atheistic) and try to figure out how THEY personally view the universe (edited to add: Even if it brings them right back to where they started). i would hope that my children would destroy the atheistic tendencies i will no doubt impart to them and start the whole process over again.