Knowra Christian existentialism Christian existentialism Christian existentialism is a philosophical tradition that examines individual freedom, responsibility, and lived existence in relation to God. It emphasizes personal commitment over purely abstract accounts of faith.
Søren Kierkegaard : A nineteenth-century Danish philosopher and theologian who made individual choice, inwardness, and faith central to religious life. His account of the single individual before God became a major source for the tradition.
Subjectivity : The first-person character of experience, thought, and judgment. Kierkegaard treats how a person lives a truth as distinct from merely stating it.
Existentialism : A family of philosophies concerned with concrete existence, freedom, responsibility, and the meaning of life. Christian existentialism adapts existential questions to human life before God.
Atheistic existentialism : Existentialist philosophy that addresses freedom and meaning without grounding them in God. It shares concern for choice and responsibility while rejecting the tradition's relation to God.
Gabriel Marcel : A French philosopher and playwright whose work explores hope, fidelity, embodiment, and human presence. He developed a Christian existentialism grounded in concrete relationships and participation.
Existential choice : A decision that helps shape a person's identity and commitments under conditions of uncertainty. Faith becomes a personal commitment that cannot be replaced by detached proof.
Christian theology : The reasoned study and interpretation of Christian beliefs, practices, and doctrines. The tradition works within Christian claims about God, sin, and redemption.
Scholasticism : A medieval method of philosophical and theological inquiry that organizes arguments through systematic analysis and disputation. Its systematic method contrasts with existentialism's priority on lived inward commitment.
Nikolai Berdyaev : A Russian religious philosopher who treated human freedom and creative personhood as foundations of spiritual life. His account of freedom links existential choice to Christian creation and redemption.
Anxiety : A form of unease arising from uncertainty, possibility, or perceived threat. Kierkegaard presents anxiety as arising from freedom and the possibility of choosing.
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