the_important_questions.jpg

Maybe nothing here represents your life right now, but for many people this is what they are going through right at this very moment.

What are the important questions that need to be answered ?


Maybe this lecture will help you to think of a few - Existentialism : Hope, Courage and Meaning

Here are two questions covered in the lecture:

What is man's current existential condition ?
What does Christianity have to offer ?

Sincerely,
HH

What a truly meaningful lecture by Jeremy LIvermore (linked in my opening post)!

A great question or two emereged.




What is your aboutness ?




Sincerely,
HH

Interesting. I like the montage too.

Of course I'm an old existentialist form way back. So I enjoyed it. I still call myself a Christian existentialist.

Originally posted by Metacrock

Interesting. I like the montage too.

The collage came first, and then I discovered Livermore's lecture. The combination was almost the same as listening to 'Asleep in the Light' by Keith Green.

Of course I'm an old existentialist form way back. So I enjoyed it. I still call myself a Christian existentialist.

Have your listened to J.P. Moreland's - The Meaning of Life lecture on the book of Ecclesiastes ?

Sincerely,
HH

Originally posted by headheart

The collage came first, and then I discovered Livermore's lecture. The combination was almost the same as listening to 'Asleep in the Light' by Keith Green.



Have your listened to J.P. Moreland's - The Meaning of Life lecture on the book of Ecclesiastes ?

Sincerely,
HH

No, oddly I am not very well read in the major Christian apologists of the day. The only one I really know that much about is Plantinga.

Thinking is fun!

I think when I first heard the words Christianity and Philosophy in the same sentence I recoiled, but then I began reading Os Guiness & Dr Francis Schaeffer, and later on Dr. G.H. Clarke & Dr Robbins. Clarke and Robbins' lectures were very forceful, and it was not until I began reading the gentler works of Professor M. Sudduth that I discovered the writings of Professor Plantinga and regained my interest in Jean Cauvin (John Calvin) .
Then one day I heard some lectures by Professor J.P Moreland (Philosopher) --- in particular the lecture from "Ecclesiates" (it was just so fresh and accesible) - more here BUT it was not until I heard Dr. Donald Carson, that I found a mind that was not to far a bridge to my own. ( quite a goodly sourse for lectures by Dr. Carson )

What would you recommend by Prof. Plantinga in response to this thread ?

How do you reconcile Existentialism and Christianity ?

Sincerely,
HH

Veritas Ministrires & Faith Interface ( new finds )

Originally posted by Metacrock

I still call myself a Christian existentialist.

I checked out your Doxa site and blogs and see that you are a big fan of Paul Johannes Tillich, and I also see that he was a Christian Existentialist philosopher, so there is not need to answer my question about reconciling Christianity and Existentialism. I've been planning to read some of Tillich's works among others. (my list is too long for this life time) but perhaps you can just refer me to a good primer for Tillich ?

If you would like to you can recommend a read by Plantinga which best answers this thread, or an online lecture, or download --- that would be good.

Peace,
HH.

Originally posted by Metacrock

No, oddly I am not very well read in the major Christian apologists of the day.

Well, you certainly have some very positive things to say of your own in; Christianity : A Force of Liberation

We can make progress. But we can only make progress if we remember who we are and where we came from. We cannot abandon the inner, the world of books and letters, our ability to think, faith in God, or our understanding of culture as it was and as it will be. This makes the Bible far more relevant than anything, and it means that people with Ph.D's in Biblical studies have an awesome responsibility: a responsibility to promote the world of letters, not to abort it. One is called to teach, not to persuade the student to give up learning. We need to learn more about the Bible. We need to talk up the Bible, we need to educate people on it, and we need to help students develop their own little worlds lined with books so they can understand the interrelationship between the Bible and the culture. I fear this is something for which many of our modern teachers are not equipped.

From: Christianity : A Force of Liberation

Your thrust reminds me so much of Professor Vishal Mangalwadi ( video blog ) words...

The Jews believed that God had promised, one day, to deliver them from their enemies and from the sinfulness of their own hearts. They believed that this deliverance would come through a leader anointed by God, a Messiah. The prophet Isaiah says, "In faithfulness he [the Messiah] will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the nations will put their hope." This belief, that the future will be better than the past or the present, is the source of the idea of "hope"-the idea that Obama made the centerpiece of his message. And the belief that an inspired leader will bring justice to the earth may be what lies behind the secularized Messianism of some of Obama's followers. Obama jokingly remarked, "Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger." Obviously, he meant, "I am not the Messiah."


Jesus, who really was born in a manger and did call himself the Messiah, claimed that he was ushering in the Kingdom of God on earth. "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This kingdom was something radically new, a radical change from the kingdoms of the world, a kingdom of justice and peace. The kingdom of God begins when people submit themselves to the Word of God. As such, it has begun, and it will not be fully realized until Jesus comes again to reclaim God's authority over his creation

This worldview made the United States the most optimistic nation on earth. It was settled by people who believed that their special mandate was to live as citizens of God's kingdom in the New World. The hope for a better tomorrow was written into the cultural DNA of America. This is why Obama could say,

"There's a story I want to share that takes place before Moses passed the mantle of leadership on to Joshua. It comes from Deuteronomy 30 when Moses talks to his followers about the challenges they'll find when they reach the Promised Land without him. ... Moses says: What I am commanding you is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven. Nor is it beyond the sea. No, the word is very near. It is on your lips and in your heart. It's an idea that's often forgotten or dismissed in cynical times. It's that we all have it within our power to make this a better world. Because we all have the capacity to do justice and show mercy; to treat others with dignity and respect; and to rise above what divides us and come together to meet those challenges we can't meet alone."

From: Obama, "Change," and the Bible (Through Indian Eyes, Part IV)

We do have so much hope in the Scriptures and the more I read ancient literature (something I see you are very interested in doing) the more it cements my own confidence in the Bible which point so direclty to the 'hope of ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home'.

Hope in Jesus,
HH.

Add 1: Christianity and Existentialism.

I have never been able to dissolve the memory of the eyes and soul of my nieghbour at the Y.M.C.A. in 1978.

One morning as I was heading down the stairs the roar of Beethoven on his Hi-Fi drew me to knock and say good morning. What stood before me that morning was something similar to what I imagine a ghost must look like. Eyes sunken deep in the head from crying and a deseperation I have seen only in a few other human beings.
My friend was a student of the Existentialists and seemed to have somehow disconnected himself from life. Tragically a week later he lobbed his entire collection of books over the balcony, and seemed to be teetering on the brink of suicide.
I have never been able to comfortably consider the Existentialists without that memory recurring.

'It is impossible to give a precise definition of existentialism, because it is not a precise philosophy. One of its basic ideas is that there can be no complete philosophical system which answers all our questions. It insists that instead of talking about 'objective truth', which can never be obtained, we should begin with the actual individual and his experience as a human being--with his freedom, his despair and his anguish.'

'The first effect of existentialism is that it puts every man in possession of himself as he is, and places the entire responsiblity for his existence squarely upon his own shoulders. And, when we say that man is responsible for himself, we do not mean that he is responsible only for his own individuality, but that his is responsible for all men.' JEAN-PAUL SATRE.

I wanted to post the final segment of the following ideas about Existentialism and Christianity, but they both are integral and summarized, so here they are:- "Christian Existentialsm ?'

Originally posted by Metacrock

I still call myself a Christian existentialist.

Hi Metacrock,

The idea has been buzzing around my head since you wrote it, and though I realize that many great philosopher-theologians have endeavoured to synthesize or join Christianity and Existentialism, BUT what is your response to the following:

Christian Existentialism - Is it compatible? What is the Christian worldview toward Existentialism?


Secular existentialism is a philosophical movement that is gaining an ever increasing popularity in the American society and to a degree has slowly crept its way into some liberal circles of Christianity. But the worldview of traditional Christianity is that it is not compatible. Here are some reasons why.

• Existentialism is a 20th century movement viewed by Christianity as the antithesis of faith in God because the philosophy asserts that God nor absolute truth exist.
• Existentialism believes in the total autonomy of a person from a world and life view apart from a God of sovereign authority, whereas Christianity acknowledges the existence of an all knowing, all powerful, and all present personal Creator who revealed Himself for the purpose of giving human life meaning.
• Existentialism states that the world is absurd, and there is no hope. Christianity states that the world is absurd, and it is a wonder there is hope.
• Existentialism is opposed to rationalism and traditional Christianity is not.
• Existentialism asserts that man is free from imposed moral values. Traditional Christianity believes in God’s transcendent universal moral values.
• Existentialism asserts that each person is their own authority concerning truth. Traditional Christianity insists that God is the absolute final authority over His creation and all things.
• Existentialism believes that existence precedes essence. Traditional Christianity believes that a person’s essence is predestined from God and precedes existence

.
As well as the following:

Religious existentialism on the other hand is a philosophy of its own that is not compatible with either secular existentialism, nor traditional Christianity. There is a wide variety of forms of existential religion with differing doctrinal beliefs. Kierkegaard and later Karl Barth are sited for attempting to make theology, particularly the Christian faith, compatible with existentialism.



Its premise is that a person must submit themselves totally to God without reasoning -- that is, true absolute faith must be void of philosophy or intellect. Religious existentialism then states such things as:

• A person is autonomous and is fully free to make choices and fully responsible for them
• Rational grounds for theology and divine revelation do not exist
• True faith transcends rationalism and God’s commandments
• The true God is not the God of philosophers or of rationalism
• The destruction of wars throughout human history proves there cannot be rational understanding of God or humanity
• A Christian must personally resolve within self the content of faith from being a myth or mystery to being realty or truth before they will allow an understanding and acceptance of salvation
• It is impossible to discover personal Being and faith through rational reasoning.

Sincerely,
HH

Refer: Christian Existentialism - Is it compatible? What is the Christian worldview toward Existentialism?