Basically, my entire last post was about my faith in God and how Christianity has influenced my morals. Ironically, the principle I am interested it is Sartre's atheistic existentialism. What I like about existentialism is that it really puts an emphasis on not judging other people, and not being hypocritical in your actions. While I obviously am in disagreement over the atheistic view on the existence of God, I can certainly agree with Sartre's existentialist philosophy on the judgement of others, and I like the idea of acting in good/bad faith (i.e. do I think that what i'm doing is an accurate representation of human beings?). I like this because it keeps you conscious and aware of each and every one of your actions. Your commitment to this philosophy/lifestyle must be extremely serious if you really want to live this way, and I respect that (though I don't think that I could actually do it).
Obviously, Sartre's existentialism conflicts with belief in God and current values, because existentialism suggests that God does not exist (and if He did it wouldn't matter anyway) and also suggests that there isn't really a set moral standard. But I can incorporate certain aspects of existentialism into my life. For instance, I also think that people are inherently good. Therefore I can become more aware of my actions, and before I do something, ask myself if it is an accurate representation of human beings (though it is not really the same because I will be judging my action through a lens of Christian morals, a.k.a. Jesus goggles - but I think it still holds some validity). I can also use existentialism in not judging other people, which I already try not to do. I like the principle that I am able to judge the basis of one's actions (i.e. based on truth or error) but not that person.
I commented on Becks' blog this week.
http://becksbradley.blogspot.com/
