Theological Existentialism

I’ve been reading some of Francis Schaeffer’s writings lately, as well as a few chapters in Sire’s The Universe Next Door. These authors have helped me better understand the views of a variety of people in our culture. As I understand it, the theological existentialist builds an impenetrable barrier between the rational world, which includes science and history, and faith. The secular existentialists like Sartre, Camus, Jaspers, and Heidegger recognized that a system based solely on a naturalist worldview (i.e., the supernatural does not exist) leads to pessimism and ultimately nihilism. Unwilling to live with the depression and hopelessness of this worldview, each of these men sought optimism and hope in something removed from the rational world of logic and reason. However, because we are rational beings, none of their irrational sources of hope has proven to be effective for the masses.

Unfortunately, rather than discard the existential system, many theologians (like Karl Barth) tacked on faith as the source of optimism and hope for modern man. Consistent with the existential approach, these theologians rejected the traditional view that the Christian faith is a rational, reasonable faith. Instead, they chose to keep faith in a separate box, sheltered from the world of logic and reason. Thus, one could believe in the "Christian" God while claiming that the Holy Bible is filled with scientific and historical errors. The result is an irrational faith, one that is not based on revealed truth. In fact, such a faith denies truth as something that can be known. Rather, faith is defined at the personal level and is not founded on a set of propositions and historical events and figures. As I understand theological existentialism, Jesus Christ may have been a real person, but he was not really supernaturally raised from the dead. Miracles never happened. Rather, faith is some ill-defined hope in a God who cannot really be known other than through subjective, personal experience. I see no way to harmonize this view of God with the words of Jesus in John 14:6 (NIV): “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”