Fear of Death as a Constituent of Authentic Christian Spirituality According to Existentialism of Søren Kierkegaard
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36421/veritas.v23i1.651Keywords:
Death, Fear of Death, Søren Kierkegaard, Existentialism, SpiritualityAbstract
Death can cause horror in humans even if they believe in an afterlife as in Christian beliefs. The horror of death encourages humans to strive for a temporal life. The fear of death also makes man aware of his mortality, so that he has a trembling that encourages him to be submissive and dependent on God. This paper aims to show that fear of death is a constituent of authentic Christian spirituality according to Søren Kierkegaard’s existentialism. To that end, this paper will present the paradox of human relations with finite things in Kierkegaard’s concept of faith which consists of the double movement of resignation and repetition. In Kierkegaard’s concept of faith, there is a paradox in man's relationship with finite things, where he simultaneously resigns and expects repetition. In this paradox, fear of death forms an authentic spirituality, as death becomes the agent that ends the relationship. In this spirituality, fear of death comes with gratitude to God for the relationship in a fragile temporal life. Fear of death shows the sincerity of love for God expressed in human relationships with finite things. This spirituality enables people to be happy with the fragility of temporal life. Feelings of fear and happiness are present in the double movement towards finite things that occur in faith, resulting in an emotional paradox in human attitudes towards the fragility of finite relationships. Thus, as an existential struggle, fear of death is a constituent of authentic spirituality expressed in relationships with God, others, and other relationships in temporal life.
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