Alienation, nihilism, or the leap of faith : the relationship between humankind and God in modernity and its critique in the works of Marx, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard

This thesis argues the case for the reconstruction of faith on new principles. It begins by providing a background to the problems of Christian faith in modernity. In particular, it canvasses the problems that result from the collapse of an objective proof for the existence of God. Because of this occurrence, there arises the challenge of atheism. The first chapter examines in detail one important form of such a critique of Christianity by Marx in terms of his theory that religion is a form of alienated consciousness. The thesis then moves on to the great destroyer of religion in the person of Friedrich Nietzsche and considers his critique, which moves on different levels. Three different forms of critique are examined: the metaphysical, the prophetic and the genealogical. Finally, the thesis moves on to consider Kierkegaard's response and anticipation of these arguments in the form of an inward turn that tries to deny the validity of an objective justification of faith. The result of these considerations seems to be that Christian faith is reduced to a perspective, one among many, and becomes a purely private and subjective affair. To some extent this is to be welcomed, in that it focuses attention on the individual's relationship with God. However, it also means that the political implications of faith are reduced to the vanishing point. How to overcome this impasse is not addressed in the context of this thesis as it is intended as a preliminary examination of the state of faith in modernity. The major objective was to find a way beyond the atheistic critique of religion of Marx and Nietzsche and that is accomplished through a reading of Kierkegaard. To go beyond Kierkegaard's concerns would have to be attempted in a separate piece of work. The parameters of the thesis are very broad as it is and it has been difficult to contain the wide-ranging nature of my concerns within the assigned limits