Kierkegaard
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.