Selfhood and Faith in Existential Theology Case Study: John Macquarrie

This article is to describe, analyze, and criticize the selfhood and faith in the theology of the contemporary thinker, John Macquarrie. His viewpoint, in this regard, is a combination of Heideggerian analysis and Christian faith. Briefly, he holds that modern human generally faces with non-authentic selfhood or existential disorder and while there is no solution to solve this situation in human condition, so human must appeal to the Grace. Thereby, an authentic selfness is a homogeneous structure that all human existential paradoxes are equalized in it. In this regard, the problem of death is important; because it reminds human his finitude of existence and his short time to reach the authentic selfhood. It cannot be considered that the authentic selfhood is related to the idea of essential self; but rather it must be searched in the totality of soul and body. Likewise, human cannot reach to certitude about understanding human existence; therefore, passing the intellectual argumentation, human must be satisfied with its phenomenal description. Overall, it could be admitted that Macquarrie presents a realistic explanation for selfhood and faith based on religious teachings and Christian theological traditions; and in this regard, he receded from atheist and nihilist schools as well as the extremist and positivist humanistic movements. However, he could not present a true and precise explanation for human soul and he denies some truths such as substantiality and immorality. Likewise, his emphasis on incapability of human to reach the certitude about understanding human existence and bypassing intellectual argumentation and satisfying with phenomenal description of human existence does not seem to be justified.