Kierkegaard

3 Commentsby   |  11.22.10  |  The Schools of Psychology (Part IV-B)

Reading through the ideas behind existentialism in the textbook especially those of Kierkegaard, I was extremely pleased with the amount of focus that this school of thought places on the individual.  Kierkegaard modeled at least a portion of his life in relation to this theory as seen in his religious lifestyle.  Kierkegaard converted from Christianity to become a stout follower of Hegel then back to Christianity, but not the institutionalized brand of the time.  HE said that the most “meaningful relationship with God was a purely personal one that was arrived at through an individual’s free choice, not one whose nature and content were dictated by the church” (218).  A central point that Kierkegaard touches on that I believe is extremely relevant today was his idea on prayer.  He said that “rather than having a true relationship with God,” people were simply “praying relfexively and accepting religious dogma rationally instead of allowing it to touch them emotionally” (219).  Especially in the Churches of Christ, prayers have become formulas that people simply plug words into: example “Please bow with me.  Dear heavenly thank you for this day, and thank for (plug in something your thankful for), thank you for this church where we can worship freely, thank you for your son’s death on the cross in Jesus’ name, Amen” or some variation of the type.  What is worse is communion prayers, I might have heard 10 different prayers in my entire life regarding communion and I was raised in the church. Kierkegaard said “without risk there is no faith” (218), and I firmly believe that the Church no longer takes risks, but simply live a life of safe normality.

3 Comments

  1. Alyssa Bowyer
    2:20 pm, 11.22.10

    I agree with you, Christianity has strayed from its original beliefs, which is the individual’s personal relationship with God. The life group I am in tries to focus on that. We treat life group as a time to worship together and to keep each other accountable for each person’s personal relationship with God. Not one relationship looks the same, it shouldn’t. I wish more Christians had that train of thought, then maybe we could lose some of the stereotypes that have developed over the years.

  2. Stephanie Bell
    2:24 pm, 11.22.10

    I have found personally that when I strayed from the group think of the church and created a more personal relationship with God, that I was closer than I had ever been. I was able to question why my beliefs and find my own answers and I felt more like it was mine. When I believed what other people told me to I would go through the motions of the church, but I never really took the time to understand why I had done the motions. When I took control of my relationship with God, I was able to find the meaning behind the motions which I feel strengthened my faith and helped me find a better understanding of God.

  3. Austin Fontaine
    6:23 am, 11.30.10

    I completely agree with that strain of thought. I admit that I do have a personal bias on the matter, but I feel like mainstream “orthodox” Christianity has become fake and, quite frankly, insulting. When you worship as you please and do what you believe you are supposed to, it cannot be said that you are not doing what God wants you to, because who are they to dictate your spiritual life or know what you should do. fear of social stigma is a restricting force. It keeps people married, prevents crimes, compels individuals towards employment, makes kids move out of their parents’ homes, and many more things. It can easily play iether a productive or harmful role. Religion is a realm in which it is more often harmful than not. Therefore individual religious experiences, such as those sugguested by existentialists, are the best in my opinion.

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