Christian existentialism

Christian existentialism is a theo-philosophical movement which takes an existentialist approach to Christian

theology. The school of thought is often traced back to
the work of the Danish philosopher and theologian Sren
Kierkegaard (18131855), who is considered the father
of existentialism.[1]

Kierkegaard proposed that each person must make independent choices, which then constitute his existence.
Each person suers from the anguish of indecision
(whether knowingly or unknowingly) until he commits to
a particular choice about the way to live. Kierkegaard also
proposed three rubrics with which to understand the conditions that issue from distinct life choices: the aesthetic,
the ethical, and the religious.

Kierkegaardian themes
2 Major premises
One of the major premises of Christian existentialism
entails calling the masses back to a more genuine form
of Christianity. This form is often identied with some
notion of Early Christianity, which mostly existed during
the rst three centuries after Christs crucixion. Beginning with the Edict of Milan, which was issued by Roman
Emperor Constantine I in AD 313, Christianity enjoyed a
level of popularity among Romans and later among other
Europeans. And yet Kierkegaard asserted that by the 19th
century, the ultimate meaning of New Testament Christianity (love, cf. agape, mercy and loving-kindness) had
become perverted, and Christianity had deviated considerably from its original threefold message of grace, humility, and love.
Another major premise of Christian existentialism involves Kierkegaards conception of God and Love. For
the most part, Kierkegaard equates God with Love.[3]
Thus, when a person engages in the act of loving, he is
in eect achieving an aspect of the divine. Kierkegaard
also viewed the individual as a necessary synthesis of both
nite and innite elements. Therefore, when an individual does not come to a full realization of his innite side,
he is said to be in despair. For many contemporary Christian theologians, the notion of despair can be viewed as
sin. However, to Kierkegaard, a man sinned when he was
exposed to this idea of despair and chose a path other than
one in accordance with Gods will.

Sren Kierkegaard

A nal major premise of Christian existentialism entails

the systematic undoing of evil acts. Kierkegaard asserted
that once an action had been completed, it should be evaluated in the face of God, for holding oneself up to divine
scrutiny was the only way to judge ones actions. Because actions constitute the manner in which something
is deemed good or bad, one must be constantly conscious
of the potential consequences of his actions. Kierkegaard
believed that the choice for goodness ultimately came
down to each individual. Yet Kierkegaard also foresaw

Christian existentialism relies on Kierkegaards understanding of Christianity. Kierkegaard argued that the
universe is fundamentally paradoxical, and that its greatest paradox is the transcendent union of God and humans in the person of Jesus Christ. He also posited
having a personal relationship with God that supersedes
all prescribed moralities, social structures and communal
norms,[2] since he asserted that following social conventions is essentially a personal aesthetic choice made by
individuals.
1

NOTABLE CHRISTIAN EXISTENTIALISTS

the potential limiting of choices for individuals who fell thought he had gotten away with murder, until Nathan arinto despair.[4]
rived to tell him a story about two men, one rich and the
other poor. The poor man was a shepherd with only one
lamb, which he raised with his family. The lamb ate at
his table and slept in his arms. One day a traveler came to
3 The Bible
visit the rich man; instead of taking one of his own sheep,
the rich man seized the ewe lamb that belonged to the
Christian Existentialism often refers to what it calls the poor man and prepared it for his guest. When Nathan nindirect style of Christs teachings, which it considers ished his story, David burned with anger and said (among
to be a distinctive and important aspect of his ministry. other things): As surely as the Lord lives, the man who
Christs point, it says, is often left unsaid in any partic- did this deserves to die!". Nathan responded by saying
ular parable or saying, to permit each individual to con- "You are the man!". Realizing his guilt, David becomes
front the truth on his own.[5] This is particularly evident lled with terror and remorse, tearfully repenting of his
in (but is certainly not limited to) his parables. For ex- evil deed.
ample, in the Gospel of Matthew (18:21-35), Jesus tells
a story about a man who is heavily in debt (the parable An existential reading of the Bible demands that the
of the unforgiving servant). The debtor and his family reader recognize that he is an existing subject, studyare about to be sold into slavery, but he pleads for their ing the words that God communicates to him personof
lives. His master accordingly cancels the debt and sets ally. This is in contrast to looking at a collection [6]
truths
which
are
outside
and
unrelated
to
the
reader.
them free. Later the man who was in debt abuses some
people who owe him money, and he has them thrown in Such a reader is not obligated to follow the commandjail. Upon being informed of what this man has done, the ments as if an external agent is forcing them upon him,
master brings him in and says, Why are you doing this? but as though they are inside him and guiding him interWeren't your debts canceled?" Then the debtor is thrown nally. This is the task Kierkegaard takes up when he asks:
into jail until the debt is paid. Jesus ends his story by say- Who has the more dicult task: the teacher who leceveryday
ing, This is how it will be for you if you do not forgive tures on earnest things a meteors distance from
[7]
life,
or
the
learner
who
should
put
it
to
use?"
Existenyour brother from your heart.
tially speaking, the Bible doesn't become an authority in
Often Christs parables are a response to a question he is a persons life until they permit the Bible to be their perasked. After he tells the parable, he returns the question sonal authority.
to the individual who originally asked it. Often we see a
person asking a speculative question involving ones duty
before God, and Christs response is more or less the same
questionbut as God would ask that individual. For example, in the Gospel of Luke (10:25), a teacher of the law
asks Jesus what it means to love ones neighbor as oneself. 4 Notable Christian existentialists
Jesus replies by telling the story of the Good Samaritan.
In the story a man is beaten by thieves. A priest and a
Levite pass him by, but a Samaritan takes pity on him and Christian existentialists include German Protestant thegenerously sets him up at an innpaying his tab in ad- ologians Paul Tillich and Rudolph Bultmann, British Anvance. Then Jesus returns the question, Which of these glican theologian John Macquarrie, American theolothree do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell gian Lincoln Swain,[8] American philosopher Cliord
into the hands of robbers?". Jesus does not answer the Williams, French Catholic philosophers Gabriel Marquestion because he requires the individual to answer it, cel, Emmanuel Mounier and Pierre Boutang, German
and thus to understand existence in the Bible, one must philosopher Karl Jaspers, Spanish philosopher Miguel de
recognize who that passage is speaking to in particular. Unamuno, and Russian philosophers Nikolai Berdyaev
To Kierkegaard, it is the individual hearing the passage. and Lev Shestov. Karl Barth added to Kierkegaards ideas
A good example of indirect communication in the Old the notion that existential despair leads an individual to
Testament is the story of David and Nathan in 2 Samuel an awareness of Gods innite nature. Some ideas in the
12:1-14. David had committed adultery with a woman, works of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky could arBathsheba, which resulted in her pregnancy. He then or- guably be placed within the tradition of Christian exisdered her husband, Uriah, to come home from a war front tentialism.
so that he might sleep with his wife, thus making it appear
as if Uriah had in fact conceived with Bathsheba. Instead,
Uriah would not break faith with his fellow soldiers still on
the battleeld and refused to sleep with her. David then
ordered him back out to the battlefront where he would
surely die, thus making Bathsheba a widow and available
for marriage, which David soon arranged. David initially

The roots of existentialism have been traced back as far

as St Augustine.[9][10][11] Some of the most striking passages in Pascal's Penses, including the famous section
on the Wager, deal with existentialist themes.[12][13][14][15]
Jacques Maritain, in Existence and the Existent: An Essay
on Christian Existentialism,[16] nds the core of true existentialism in the thought of Thomas Aquinas.

See also
Atheist existentialism
Christian existential apologetics
Christian humanism
Christian philosophy
Fideism
Jewish existentialism
Meaning (existential)
Neo-orthodoxy
Postliberal theology
Postmodern Christianity

References

[1] M.J. Eliade & C.J. Adams (1987). Encyclopedia of Religion (v.5). Macmillan Publishing Company.
[2] Sren Kierkegaard (1846).
Concluding Unscientic
Postscript, authored pseudonymously as Johannes Climacus.
[3] Sren Kierkegaard (1849). The Sickness Unto Death
Trans. Alastair Hannay (New York: Penguin Books,
2004), 14.
[4] Sren Kierkegaard (1849). The Sickness Unto Death
Trans. Alastair Hannay (New York: Penguin Books,
2004), 24.
[5] Donald D. Palmer (1996). Kierkegaard For Beginners.
London, England: Writers And Readers Limited. p. 25.
[6] Howard V. Hong (1983). Historical Introduction to
Fear and Trembling. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton
University Press, p. x.
[7] Sren Kierkegaard (1847). Works of Love. Harper &
Row, Publishers. New York, N.Y. 1962. p. 62.
[8] Lincoln Swain (2005). Five Articles, Soma: A Review of
Religion and Culture.
[9] Gordon R. Lewis (Winter 1965). Augustine and Existentialism. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
8,1, pp. 1322.
[10] Michial Farmer (6 July 2010). A Primer on Religious
Existentialism, Pt. 4: Augustine. christianhumanist.org
[11] Craig J. N. de Paulo, ed. (2006). The Inuence of Augustine on Heidegger: The Emergence of An Augustinian
Phenomenology. Lewiston: The Edwin Mellen Press.
[12] Desmond Clarke (2011). Blaise Pascal, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

[13] Cliord Williams (July 3, 2005). Pascal. cliordwilliams.net

[14] Michial Farmer (20 July 2010). A Primer on Religious
Existentialism, Pt. 5: Blaise Pascal. christianhumanist.org
[15] Michial Farmer (27 July 2010). A Primer on Religious
Existentialism, Pt. 6: Apologetics. christianhumanist.org
[16] Jacques Maritain (1947). Existence and the Existent: An
Essay on Christian Existentialism (Court trait de l'existence
et de l'existent), translated by Lewis Galantiere and Gerald
B. Phelan. New York: Pantheon Books, 1948.

7 External links
A website that explores the existential teachings of
Jesus, with references to Kierkegaard and Tillich

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