Is God Dead ?

Friedrich Nietzsche, the existential philosopher, stated that there has been a collapse of religion and that “God is dead.” Even though people still attend church and profess belief, the existentialists believe that people are less involved and their beliefs are different from early Christianity.  With the loss of faith becomes a shortening of human life; because the belief in an afterlife disappears with that loss of faith.  They also think that the values, goals, and beliefs of societies are, to that individual, meaningless beyond his individual life.

Existentialists also reason there is a strong and irrational compulsion in human nature and that people must recognize and come to terms with this. Existentialists also emphasize the individual and the direct experiencing of life rather than the dependency on mediate experience such as provided by books, newspapers, magazines, radio and TV. Another emphasis is on the subjective experience of truth since scientific and technical achievements have not solved the problem of man’s existence. They also state that because of the highly technological, mass production society with the emphasis on mass communication, propaganda, and conformity the individual being is lost. Kierkegaard, to sum up, believes that man is not a ready made being; man will become what he makes of himself and nothing more.

Who am I, according to the existentialists, might be answered by saying that man must first realize what he is which means that he will die, has strong irrational forces within him, and cannot realistically be comforted by religious, political, scientific, or other illusions. Rollo May in Existence: A new dimension in psychiatry and psychology stated that he believes that the realization of a person’s potentials can occur once being as existence is accepted and understood.

Okay, you may or not be thinking about the “who am I” question. But hopefully, you might be thinking about your life and the kind of life you want for yourself and others. You might be thinking about your health and what you can do to make it better. The answer seems to be related to food and exercise.

 With the issues of excessive overweight, poor health, unhealthy nutrition, lack of physical activity, too much game playing, and out of control prescription and illegal drug use, it appears that something is missing. Perhaps, the existentialists are correct. If so, I would add finding passion and meaning to make a difference in the “who am I “question.

Just the other day, I was contacted by Danny of Venturepax. He has a web page that is designed to motivate you or encourage you to do something outside. By joining his website you receive points. By doing an outdoor activity you receive points. By going outside and letting him know about it on the website you eventually receive a reward. He is getting sponsors to endorse and sponsor his project. If you believe that doing an activity outdoors and receiving a reward is good for you then consider going to that site and learn more about it? http://www.venturepax.com/

 The It Has Nothing to Do with Age book trailer is on YouTube and my blog. Exciting! Watch it!