The Crisis of Human Survival
The Gospel Message in the Shadow of Cosmic Anxiety and Existential Dread
By John Bashir M.A. (Philosophy), M.Th.
Part-4

Existential Dread and the Yearning for God
When man reflects upon the immensity of the cosmos and his own apparent insignificance within it, he is struck by a wave of existential dread. In such moments, he yearns for a Being who can take responsibility for his survival — or even his annihilation. Undoubtedly, that Being can only be the Creator of the Universe, the One worthy of defining the value of individual existence or non-existence. In a profound way, this very condition leads the soul to seek God, drawing the individual closer to the Divine.
Throughout history, many philosophers have undergone this existential crisis. Likewise, numerous prophets in the Bible have expressed this inner turmoil in their writings. Consider the following:
1. Job
The Book of Job in the Old Testament raises one of the deepest existential questions:
“Why is there suffering if I am righteous?” — Job 3:11
"Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?"
Job questions cosmic injustice and human fragility — yet, through his suffering, he ultimately comes closer to God.
2. Ecclesiastes
Attributed to Solomon, the book begins with the sobering declaration:
"Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" — Ecclesiastes 1:2
This book contemplates the futility of existence, the fleeting nature of worldly pursuits, and the finality of death, offering a profound meditation on the absurdity of life without divine anchoring.
3. Jonah
When Jonah flees from Nineveh, he is essentially trying to escape divine purpose:
“Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” — Jonah 4:3
His existential protest reflects the despair of a man caught between divine command and personal conflict.
4. Blaise Pascal
Pascal famously wrote:
"Man is a reed, the most feeble thing in nature; but he is a thinking reed."
In his Pascal’s Wager, he argued that since the universe offers no inherent meaning, the only logical hope for salvation lies in God.
5. Søren Kierkegaard
In Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard presents the story of Abraham as the highest example of existential faith. He insisted that human beings must take a “leap of faith” toward God — where logic ends, spiritual struggle begins.
6. Friedrich Nietzsche
Nietzsche proclaimed, "God is dead" — not to deny God's existence, but to expose the spiritual bankruptcy of modern man. He believed that in facing existential terror, humanity must give birth to the Übermensch, the “superman” who creates his own meaning.
7. Albert Camus
In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus wrote that life is ultimately absurd — yet man must live with defiance. Even after facing the absurd, he claimed, human beings can still choose hope.
Though some thinkers succumbed to despair and distanced themselves from a relationship with God — and many of their readers likewise drift away from divine companionship — this existential threshold is, in fact, the gateway to human transcendence.
Existential dread compels a person to ask, to seek, and ultimately to turn toward God. This condition has been the driving force behind the spiritual elevation of prophets and the intellectual greatness of philosophers alike. Today, many of us are experiencing something similar: abandonment, isolation, and cosmic anxiety.
And in such moments, there is only one thing that can truly console the soul:
“The deeply rooted, unwavering sense of nearness to God.”