Intimacy, Maturity, Destiny… and Existentialism (Part 4)

So, I need to say at the very beginning that I realize that these short essays of mine are terribly inadequate in answering the vast questions I propose. The essays I write are meant to be a brief overview of some subjects with some conclusions that may or may not be supported properly within the essay. These short essays represent many discussions I have with friends and hours upon hours of reading and thinking. It is my hope that some of these thoughts may stir some curiosity on the subjects I am writing about and may lead to your own study and reading on the subjects. I also hope that those reading will consider the conclusions I come up with and that they will be spurred on to at least try to find God’s Plan, Purpose, and Destiny for their lives… as I obviously believe that God’s Will is able, at least at some level, to be grasped.

I just got done reading some more on the subject of “Existentialism” and it’s origins. I need to say from the beginning that I think Kierkegaard, Sartre, and even Nietzsche were brilliant thinkers (even though Nietzsche’s nickname was the “anti-Christ”). There are some real nuggets that I have gained examining their lives, writings and thoughts, but I find it dangerous to use any of the “good things” or quotes I glean from them because of the background rational that led them to those quotes. The more I study Existentialism, or what I like to call “choose your own adventure life” the more I see how the logical conclusion is despair. You can even see it in all three of the philosophers (or anti-philosophers) lives I mentioned above. And I see the same conclusion on what I call the other end of the “pendulum” of fatalism where everything is “pre-decided”. Let me try to explain.

With “Existentialism”, Sartre told us that “existence comes before essence”. What existentialist teach us is that we need to take responsibility for our own lives and actions (not a bad thought to a degree) and that there isn’t a “preordained” purpose, plan, destiny, or “fate” that is possible for humans to know or follow. They teach that we essentially need to create our own destiny. One of Kierkegaard’s best known quotes is “life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” Good quote, but is it true? Are these good quotes truth? Is there a Greater Purpose, Plan or Destiny for us? Is it possible to know at least bits and pieces of that Greater Plan for our lives? Can we sift through some of these good quotes and lives in order to glean some truth and still be able to disregard the parts that are less than true?

One of the problems that I see as a “most-probable conclusion” to Existentialism is Nietzsche’s conclusion: “God is dead”. If God is no longer at least a contributing factor in the direction for our personal lives, the world around us, and ultimately history itself, we are left to be our own governing force, and there is no hope for outside help (or what existentialists call “objective truth”), than we are essentially left to our own demise. I believe that the Bible shows us that there is a certain amount of “free will” that God has granted each human to exercise, a free will that God in His sovereignty has granted us, but ultimately all things work towards for God’s Greater Plan and Purposes; they are worked together by God Himself. I believe that the Bible shows its readers this. We are God’s workmanship, created for good works in Christ that He has prepared for us in advance to do, He knows the plans He has for us, we can hear God’s voice like Abraham and so many others did in the Bible, and we can be directed towards that Greater Plan and Purpose that God has for us.

If these verses are not true, than to me, God is indeed dead or at least is as good as dead. If there is no Greater Purpose or Plan for individuals and mankind other than what we (flawed beings) make of it, than the result will inevitably be despair, the deep knowledge that we are lost in the dark, floating aimlessly. And when we die, it will be a welcome escape from this prison of existence. Unfortunately, this is the way I see many (both within and outside the Church) living their lives, doomed to “make something of themselves” with no hope of a higher calling or purpose than the one they are able to muster up or imagine for themselves. They are their own limitation.

But, I also see a similar “fate” for those at the other end of “pendulum”. What some call “fatalism” is the concept that all has been predetermined and predestined ahead of time. Though there is some reassurance to some that at least there is a “Master Plan” and a God directing everything, there seems to still be a sense of despair that sets in. Phrases like “well then, what’s the point in trying at all if everything is set in stone?” come from those who may feel stuck as a thespian destined only to act out a “play” they have no creative license in and perform “lines” they have no say in.

I feel that both Existentialism and Fatalism are man-made extremes that offer little to no hope to mankind. I think there are hints of truth in both but lack the humble recognition of “knowing in part” and the acknowledgement of the many “paradoxes” that make up faith. How can we have “free will” (a concept that Existentialism takes to extremes) and yet God still be “sovereign” (a concept that Fatalism takes to extremes)? Is it possible for a Holy (or “Other”) Being, we know as “God”, to make both true? Can God give mankind the free will to find His Will for our lives? I think the answers to those questions, gathered from my reading, discussions with people, personal life experience, travels around the world, 

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Published:
10.28.08 / 3pm
Category:
God's Will