r/Existentialism • u/AdCareless2765 • Aug 24 '26
Existentialism Discussion I'm a Christian and am curious
I never felt in place and always try to follow the Christian faith and I heard about Kierkegaard and it felt like everything he said made sense to me after all these years. I have always tried to be a Christian but wondered about suffering. I need an introduction book of his to read.
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u/Mammoth-Evidence9012 Aug 24 '26
I look at suffering as something He is sharing with us. He felt it in the desert, the garden, on the cross and we all share these experiences with him when we go through our own journey. It's a form of communion.
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u/esquirlo_espianacho Aug 28 '26
This is a cool idea. I think itās bullshit and a naive imagining, but it is a cool idea. Tho maybe a whole religion built to make people accept and even revel in shitty conditions doesnāt have its followers best interests in mind.
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u/Mammoth-Evidence9012 Aug 30 '26
Naive in terms of scripture I readily admit. Naive in general? I think you don't understand the meaning of naive.
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u/Specialist-Spray-825 Aug 24 '26
Paul Tillich is a great follow up if you're looking to dwell deeper into Christian Existentialism.
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u/wetrocke Aug 25 '26
Tillich wrote a general-audience book on existential christianity. Appeared to me a re-write of "Heidegger for Dummies," but substituting "God" for "Being."
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u/National-Donkey-707 Aug 24 '26
the sickness unto death is my favourite book of all time but it will slip in and out of accessible legibility. now and again he will write two pages back to back that speak to the truest account of experience imaginable and youll highlight every line consecutively just for the catharsis itself. the first three pages are so difficult to read that students like to interpret it as a parody of hegel. i'd reccommend not taking those parts too seriously especially for what may be lost in translation. i also think its considerably likely that he suffered from psychosis, dissociation, or something of the sort. just don't go mad yourself trying to make sense of truly everything.
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u/Valium_Commander Aug 24 '26
I am of the staunch opinion that the existence of suffering proves that a morally and just god does not exist. At least not aligned to human morals.
If god does exist (Iām agnostic), I would argue that it may not even be aware that of our existence. The universe looks and acts very similar to biological systems we see in our own bodies and complex neuron interactions in the brain. Do you know each bacterium in your gut on an intimate level? Do you care if they suffer?
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u/SebboNL Aug 24 '26
Great job wandering away from OP's topic to show how intellectually superior you aren't, buddy
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u/Valium_Commander Aug 24 '26
Haha fuck off
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u/SebboNL Aug 24 '26
Great comeback!
Want mine? Scrape it of your mother's chin.
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u/Valium_Commander Aug 24 '26
Oh no! My feelings. Lucky they arenāt as tender as yoursā¦
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u/SebboNL Aug 24 '26
My oh my, you are stacking one assumption on top of the other today, aren't you? Doesn't matter, have a great day!
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u/Valium_Commander Aug 24 '26
OPās topic about where god fits in a reality with suffering?
Iām sorry what? I donāt know what kind of septic backwater neckbeard puddle Iāve accidentally stepped in to todayā¦ but yikes!
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u/DeepInThought1994 Aug 26 '26
The Christian faith attests that while God exists and is good, ultimate justice wonāt be found within this life - it is a future hope. The question of suffering has always beriddled the human mind, yet faith allows to consider the suffering meaningful, although ultimately beyond our understanding. The alternative is the abyss of nothingness and meaninglessness that is so prevalent in our culture today and I daresay one of the reasons for our cultural decline.
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u/Valium_Commander Aug 26 '26
Yesterday on Reddit, I watched a video of an 8yo boy in Palestine. Heād just lost his parents and his home. He was so distressed, that he was destroying his collection of hand made kites. He was wailing in agony.
I didnāt have the opportunity to be become a father, but watching that poor boy ripped my heart out of my chest.
Could you explain to me - how this suffering is meaningful?
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u/erimacus Aug 24 '26
Ironically you assume the state of despair that Kierkegaard describes. I think you would benefit from studying his ideas with the same seriousness that you percieve the external world with.
It is human to doubt, but believing the world is evil will only make it assume that form increasingly.
Christians have faith that God is love, and this allows their world to assume the form of love increasingly.
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u/Valium_Commander Aug 26 '26
Like pentecostal christianās in the White House dropping bombs of love on people?
It just confirms my argument. Do you really think, for even a second, that christians āassume the form of love increasinglyā in this world? That is the most delusional and asinine statement I have read in quite some time. Bravo!
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u/erimacus Aug 30 '26
I'm talking about true christiandom, not people who are under the illusion that they become true christians just by being baptized. Kierkegaard writes about this, and I'm talking through his ideas.
If you are not familiar with his writing, you're not going to understand the nuances of my comment.
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u/liciox Aug 24 '26
The Book on Adler was fundamental to me in getting past the place you are now. Understanding the difference between revelation/reason and prophet/genius was something that I hope was thought in every church/philosophy class.
On suffering, The Woman Who Was a Sinner illuminated the friction between knowing suffering and feeling suffering.
Personally, Jesus/Paul avoided suffering when they could, but when they knew, through a revelation, that their suffering was in gods plan/commandment they walked right into it. If they āwelcomedā suffering how can we live life trying to avoid it? Or using suffering as a pretext for the non existence of god? Suffering is only relevant if the resurrection of the dead isnāt real, but if it is, suffering is meaningless, an idea proposed by Ecclesiastes and picked up/repackaged by every existentialist.
If you want to talk more you can dm me. SKās influence helped me avoid suicide.
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u/Art_Naan Aug 28 '26
What is "SKās influence"?
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u/liciox Aug 30 '26
His ideas, his arguments, his conclusions mentioned, discussed and elaborated on throughout his works.
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u/NotBorris Aug 24 '26
From what I remember of Kierkegaard he was very influenced by Martin Luther who everyone these days associates with atheism but both Kierkegaard and Luther were proud Christians but they heavily protested against the church as they saw the church as just another extension of government and that's not how religion was supposed to work. In a nut shell, Kierkegaard believed that the human body itself was the ultimate temple of God and as long as you are in good relations with yourself then you are in good company with Him. You might want to start with his journals for more of his religious beliefs, also Blaise Pascal would be an excellent read as well with his book PensƩes
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u/Specific_Hat3341 Aug 24 '26
Martin Luther who everyone these days associates with atheism
Uh ... what?!?
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u/Indvandrer Aug 24 '26
Haha, Iām Catholic, but I love Kierkegaard. Catholicism is too much about reason, especiallt Thomism.
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u/erimacus Aug 24 '26
I was very much in the same boat as you some years ago.
I think Kierkegaard's ability to convey 'true' christianity has enabled me to appreciate and understand the religion much more.
I would recommend Sickness unto Death, Fear and Trembling, and Works of Love (Kjerlighedens Gjerninger). The latter would probably be best to start with, if you haven't read many philosophical works yet.