Existentialist Christian Hedonism?

To me, it is an oxymoron of a mix. Christianity is neither Existentialist or Hedonistic, although I have known some hedonist who claimed to be Christian (Hedonism is a school of ethics which argues that pleasure has an ultimate importance, and that humanity's most important pursuit is sensual self-indulgence ), but Existentialism simply does not jive with Christian philosophy (Existentialism is a term that has been applied to the work of a number of nineteenth and twentieth century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, all held that the focus of philosophical thought should be to deal with the emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts of the individual person and his or her conditions of existence.)

Sounds to me as though he's being a bit facetious...or perhaps he feels a sincere responsibility to live his life to fullest extent of Song of Solomon...hard to say for sure w/o knowing your friend :)

Hedonism:

1. the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the highest good.

2. devotion to pleasure as a way of life: The later Roman emperors were notorious for their hedonism.

The terms are contradictory. Christianity teaches us to deny ourself, to put the flesh under submission to the Holy Spirit. Hedonism, in it's simplest form, is "if it feels good, do it." It is to do whatever you want, whenever you want, with whomever you want as long as you are happy doing it. It is a philosophy of total selfishness and pleasure.

Hedonism was a philosophy that says pleasure is the ultimate goal, and that seeking pleasure is the point. (which is.. bad)

but! when you tag christian to it, it means (hopefully) taking full pleasure in the most High God! which is a great thing. "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." this is an awesome quote by John Piper who considers Himself one. This statement is just saying that we find our source of pleasure and joy in God our father and through that God is most glorified.

-http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Article...

Desiring God ministries is pretty biblical grounded. and I advise to check that link out. it will explain in better detail then i can write.

Your servant,

Jacob

reading the book desireing god: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist would probabley give you a lot of answers but if you don't have the time or the will too read a long book then here is a breif summary

CHRISTIAN: one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ"

"HEDONISM: the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life. The ethical theory that achieving one's own happiness is the proper goal of all conduct."

Now, even with the worldly definition of "Christian" from a dictionary, we can begin to see a problem. If a "Christian" by the narrow definition given here is a person who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, then it follows that a "Christian" believes Jesus' teachings such as:

Mt 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Mt 23:25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

By the very definition of "hedonism", and even by this narrow dictionary definition of "Christian" we can see clearly that the term "Christian hedonism" posited by John Piper is an oxymoron. The two cannot exist together, for to obey Christ is to abandon hedonism, and to embrace hedonism is to become a hypocrite like the Pharisees.

(2) The term does not refer to a single, pagan philosophy but is a generic term that has been applied to a wide variety of philosophies that elevate the pursuit of pleasure. For the Christian hedonist, it includes the idea of pursuing the greatest pleasure, not in the short term, but maximized over eternity.

Again, Piper has built his case on a false foundation. First, the term "hedonism", though admitedly used to mean the general pursuit of pleasure in the popular idiom, is still a term that is as intensely self oriented as any term in existence. The pursuit of pleasure is a pursuit that is, at its most basic, a pursuit of fleshly gratification for the benefit of self. There is nothing more self-serving than hedonism. Second, for a Christian to pursue the idea of an eternity of self gratification is unthinkable by very definition. The reason is that the two ideas, by definition, cancel each other out. If a Christian is pursuing hedonism for the greatest pleasure maximized for eternity, then that Christian will never spend eternity in a place where he can gain such pleasure. This is because:

Ro 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sin is death. Self gratification, no matter in what form, is still sin because its aim is not the love of God but the love of self. There are many today who, in God's name, act as though they are worshiping God. But their worship is, in the end, self-indulgent hedonism.

2Ti 3:4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God

2Pe 2:13 ... Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

(3) Many wise, old Christians have chosen to describe the Christian life in these terms. C. S. Lewis and Soren Kierkegaard are among them.

John Piper now uses Kierkegaard descriptions as a model for what a Christian life should be. Kierkegaard though a Christian, lest some forget, was also the father of modern existentialism. He emphasized the "subjective nature of existence over objective nature." Rightly, then, he is the father of the new post-modern thought of today that is so pervasive in every aspect of life. "Luke, trust your feelings". "Your truth may be different from my truth." Existentialism has also crept into the church by way of the subjective experience gnostic revival movements out of RHEMA, Toronto and Brownsville. If Kierkegaard is a "wise old Christian" then his wisdom will be the ultimate downfall of the church. True Christians serve an objective God and His infallible objective Word.

C.S. Lewis wrote on many subjects but certainly would never have used a term like "Christian hedonism" in sermons such as "The Weight Of Glory".

The basic idea behind hedonistic thought is that pleasure is the only thing that is good for a person.

His religious views are confused and makes no sense..... probably not a christian.

I think your friend is either very confused

or an extreme eclectic that has mixed one

hell of a cocktail that will even dizzy their Karma.

He's talking about John Piper's doctrine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_hedonism

The entire doctrine can be summed up as: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." It's basically about finding all happiness from God.

It's a Christian who is constantly worrying about whether he exists or not. And because of this uneasiness, he goes around having sex with everyone...?

people love labeling themselves, don't they?

he believes in god but only exists for pleasure.