In my introduction thread, Belacqua said it might be interesting to explore the way existentialism relates to atheism. I'm an atheist, but Belacqua noted that not all existentialists are or were atheists.
Existentialism is basically the concept that our actions and encounters throughout life are what define us. Whether we call ourselves atheists or Christians is irrelevant; it's what saying I believe in God or There is no God means to us and the behavior it motivates that's important.
We have to be careful not to fall into bad faith. Saying that you're obeying God's word or that you're just following the evidence is dodging responsibility for your perspective and behavior. There's an element of risk in any important choice, and you can't pray or reason your way to the ideal decision or way of being. No God is going to explain what you should do, and no abstract reasoning is going to decree what you should find meaningful or important.
Is that a good enough start? Has anyone here read the work of existentialist writers like Sartre, De Beauvoir, Frankl or Camus?
![[Image: 65c822348717e38d22df956ca1472da3.jpg]](https://www.quotemaster.org/images/65/65c822348717e38d22df956ca1472da3.jpg)
Existentialism is basically the concept that our actions and encounters throughout life are what define us. Whether we call ourselves atheists or Christians is irrelevant; it's what saying I believe in God or There is no God means to us and the behavior it motivates that's important.
We have to be careful not to fall into bad faith. Saying that you're obeying God's word or that you're just following the evidence is dodging responsibility for your perspective and behavior. There's an element of risk in any important choice, and you can't pray or reason your way to the ideal decision or way of being. No God is going to explain what you should do, and no abstract reasoning is going to decree what you should find meaningful or important.
Is that a good enough start? Has anyone here read the work of existentialist writers like Sartre, De Beauvoir, Frankl or Camus?
