Am I a Christian Existentialist? - Revisited

On July 26, 2005 I posted Am I a Christian Existentialist?.

I want to come back to it and pose the concept that we are ethical life-forms because we can choose our immediate action based on what we have learned from past experience what we now believe to be the best course of action for what we have also come to believe is the best future for us.

I would further suggest that this is the "God in us", that we can learn from our past and consciously attempt to teach ourselves how to have a better future by what we do in the present.

We can choose based on what we know. Expanding to its limit, the wisest choice is when we know everything ... thus being the oracle of the omnipotent and omniscient—or God—is the highest position for a human being.

It isn't too hard to figure out that there are those who come along and pretend or even think they are oracles of God in order to advance their own selfish ends, leaders who use religion or science to rule for their personal benefit or the benefit of their particular group. They are wolves in sheep clothing. Some do it purposely, like Hitler. Some actually believe what they are doing is ordained by God, like George W. Bush.

Nor is it difficult to realize that the siren song of relative ethics can degenerate into short-sighted selfish behavior. "If I do what is best for my future, then I am doing what is best for the collective future" is the dictum of the coward.

But as a wise man taught, "By their fruit, ye shall know them." For what is the value of one person's wealth if all others are paupers?

That is why in my culture I choose to be labeled a Christian Existentialist ... and because Jesus taught "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."