Christian Existentialism

image © Jessica Chase

Christian Existentialism

This page is for three audiences:

Psychologists and students of psychology--with the aim of drawing more scholarly attention to the psychological relevance of Christianity;

Individuals who are seeking psychological meaning in their life, but may see Christianity as something irrelevant or obsolete;

Practicing Christians who may not have thought much about the psychological message of Christianity, or may even be critical of what they see as attempts to "psychologize" Christianity.

Bookstores now are filled with books on Buddhism and Eastern religions. These books contain much practical wisdom and advice for how to live and be more spiritual. It seems harder to find books on Christianity that address the same topics in a compelling and useful way. Western culture has seen an increasing gap between religion and psychology. Today psychology pays little serious attention to religion, and vice versa.

This has not always been so. In earlier times psychology and spirituality were closely related. In fact, in the first the first few centuries of Christianity, the main expositors of psychological theory were Christian writers.

A close look reveals that Christianity is very concerned with personal psychology. It seeks a mental transformation. Just as Buddhists speak of "liberation"--meaning freedom from desires and the pain they produce--so does Christianity speak of "salvation" in almost the same way.

Christianity also discusses a second type of salvation-- relating to ultimate spiritual union with God in a life beyond. This is our long term goal. But a more immediate salvation, an earthly, psychological kind, receives as much or more attention in the Gospels and the Epistles of the New Testament.

The Christian message of psychological salvation has been de-emphasized. Perhaps there are historical reasons for this. Beginning the with Roman Emperor Constantine, Christianity became aligned with governments. As it began to endorse conformity to political institutions, Christianity may have tended to diminished personal psychological freedom. The promise of a happy afterlife could compensated for unhappiness in this one.

But we are in a new era where we must address more realistically the importance of psychological fulfillment in this life. We must not ignore that Christianity supplies a path of psychological liberation. The tradition begins with the teachings of Jesus, the Gospels and Epistles, and the early Christian writers. It continues with a monastic tradition, including varied techniques of meditation, that began in the first centuries AD and continues unbroken to this date. It is also found in a rich legacy of writings by spiritually advanced Christian teachers.

Few Christians know much about this tradition. While most may have at least heard of St. Augustine, not many know much about writers like Gregory of Nyssa or St. Bonaventure, or have read the works of St. Francis of Sales.

Modern Christianity--at least to judge from what is preached in churches or in read in contemporary literature--has lost touch with it's own deep psychological truths. Little wonder many people seek them instead in Buddhism or other Eastern religions.

It is good that people investigate these other traditions. They do aid spiritual advancement. But it makes little sense to travel to Nepal or Tibet, literally or figuratively, when the same truths can be found in ones own culture.

The Present Plan

This page serves as an introduction to several planned pages that concern the psychological dimension of traditional Christian thought.

The outline is as follows (these pages are under construction and will be added as they are finished).

Adam and Eve, the Fall, and the Birth of Anxiety
It is easy to recognize in the story of Adam and Eve a mythic enactment of our species' "fall" from a natural state through a leap forward in mental ability ("knowledge of good and evil.") Our powerful brains let us visualize past and future events, producing a capacity for anxiety. Our banishment from paradise is equated with alienation from life in the "here and now." This premise is supported with brief quotations from Genesis.
Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus described his mission unambiguously: to set prisoners free and give sight to the blind. The constant emphasis of the Gospels on abandonment of anxiety, and the centrality of this theme to "The Kingdom of Heaven" is emphasized. This page consists of short, direct quotations attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, with brief comments.
Paul - Renewal of the Mind, and Freedom from the Law

The idea of salvation being heavily concerned with a "renewal of the mind," is illustrated with short quotations from the letters of Paul. Only those epistles commonly believed to be authentically Paul's are considered.

The Patristic Literature
The psychological aspect of salvation is again evident in the writings of the early Church Fathers. This is illustrated with brief quotations by writers such as Clement of Alexandria, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine.
The Contemplative Tradition
Few Christians know much about the rich contemplative and meditative tradition of Christianity. This is found in the writings of great "mystics" such as Teresa of Avila, St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. It is also present in the meditative and contemplative practices developed over nearly 2000 years in the Christian monastic tradition.

Note: This is a legacy page from an old website (2001). It's interesting that my thinking and research has followed very closely this blueprint from several years ago. Hopefully I will be able to present some of the results of this work in the near future. Some of it can be found on my newer Psychology and Religion page (see link below).