Søren Kierkegaard
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Søren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855) was a prolific 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian. Kierkegaard strongly criticized both the Hegelianism of his time, and what he saw as the empty formalities of the Danish church. Much of his work deals with religious problems such as the nature of faith, the institution of the Christian Church, Christian ethics and theology, and the emotions and feelings of individuals when faced with life choices. His early work was written under various pseudonyms who present their own distinctive viewpoints in a complex dialogue. Kierkegaard left the task of discovering the meaning of the works to the reader, because "the task must be made difficult, for only the difficult inspires the noble-hearted". Subsequently, many have interpreted Kierkegaard as an existentialist, neo-orthodoxist, postmodernist, humanist, individualist, etc. Crossing the boundaries of philosophy, theology, psychology, and literature, Kierkegaard came to be regarded as a highly significant and influential figure in contemporary thought.
Soren Kierkegaard always emphasized the need for commitment in Christians. He was a thorn in the side of the institutional church with his criticism of the church's way of producing stereotyped church-goers, rather than vibrant, faithful, committed believers. He became increasingly convinced that his calling was in "making Christianity difficult." He was to remind people of his day that to be truly Christian, one must become aware of the cost of faith and pay the price. So he chastised: "We are what is called a 'Christian' nation—but in such a sense that not a single one of us is in the character of the Christianity of the New Testament.” |
Quotes
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“Most human beings never become mind and spirit, they never have that experience. The development they undergo from childhood, youth, manhood, to old age: don’t praise them for that; it is not their merit, it is a vegetative or animal-vegetative process. But never experience any spiritual development.”-Soren Kierkgaard
“Faith urges the believer onward so that he cannot settle at ease in the world.” -Soren Kierkegaard "The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament." -Soren Kierkegaard "For Hitherto all who were above the ordinary have been active in the direction of spreading Christianity, but my task lies in the direction of halting its mendacious spreading and also, I suppose, in the direction of making Christianity shake off a lot of Christians who are so in name only." -Soren Kierkegaard "How far Christianity is from being a living reality may best be seen in me. For even with my clear knowledge of it I am still not a Christian. Yet I still cannot help feeling that despite the abyss of nonsense in which we are stuck, we shall all be saved." -Soren Kierkegaard "They have changed Christianity and have made it too much of a consolation, and forgotten that it is a demand upon man. Woe to the lax preachers! As a result it will be that much harder for him who must preach Christianity anew." -Soren Kierkegaard "What is Christianity? The real conflict between Christianity and man lies in that Christianity is absolute, or teaches that there exists something absolute and demands of that Christian that his life must express the existence of something absolute. It is in this sense that I say I have never known a Christian. Never seen anyone’s life whom has expressed this." -Soren Kierkegaard "Life’s Worth: Not until a man has become so utterly unhappy, or has grasped the woefulness of life so deeply that he is moved to say and mean it; life for me has no value-not until then is he able to make a bid for Christianity. Then his life may acquire the very highest value." -Soren Kierkegaard "Basically many people believe that Christianity’s Commandment to “love thy neighbor” intentionally are made rather too strict-almost like a clock by which a household rises and which is put half an hour fast to prevent the members from getting up too late." -Soren Kierkegaard “Now with God’s help, I shall become myself” -Soren Kierkegaard "On Forgiveness of Sin: Believing that his sins have been forgiven is the decisive crisis through which a human being becomes spirit, he who does not believe that, is not spirit. (Here lies the Absurd, the Scandal, The Paradox: The Forgiveness of Sin." -Soren Kierkegaard "Forgiveness of sin does not apply so much to the particular as to the general; it concerns one’s whole self which is sinful and has a corrupting effect as soon as it gets the lest bit of leeway." -Soren Kierkegaard "The Incarnation is the historical made eternal, and the Eternal made historical. This is the great paradox—the presence of God in time. To believe this truth, Kierkegaard holds, it is necessary to have faith, but it is not a truth we can come to or achieve from within. Mankind needs a teacher in order to grasp this truth, a teacher free from error. This person is Jesus Christ, who has come into the world to reveal the truth to us" .-Soren Kierkegaard "Silence is the measure of the power to act; that is, a person never has more power to act than he has silence. Anyone can understand that to do something is far greater than to talk about doing it. If, therefore, a person has a plan or idea and is fully resolved to carry it out, he does not need to talk about it. What he talks about in connection with the proposed action is what he is most unsure of and most unwilling to do." -Soren Kierkegaard "The difference between an admirer and a follower still remains, no matter where you are. The admirer never makes any true sacrifices. He always plays it safe. Though in words, phrases, and songs he is inexhaustible about how highly he prizes Christ, he renounces nothing, gives up nothing, will not reconstruct his life, will not be what he admires, and will not let his life express what it is he supposedly admires. Not so for the follower. No, no. The follower aspires with all his strength, with all his will to be what he admires." -Soren Kierkegaard Source: Provocations "Mankind needs a teacher in order to grasp this truth, a teacher free from error. This person is Jesus Christ, who has come into the world to reveal the truth to us." -Soren Kierkegaard "Christ chose to be the socially insignificant one. The fact that he descended from heaven to take upon himself the form of a servant is not an accident which now is to be thrust into the background and forgotten. No, every true follower of Christ must express existentially the very same thing – that insignificance and offense are inseparable from being a Christian. As soon as the least bit of worldly advantage is gained by preaching or following Christ, then the fox is in the chicken house." -Soren Kierkegaard “This is all I have known for certain, that God is love. Even if I have been mistaken about this or that point, God is nevertheless love. If I have made a mistake it will be plain enough; so I repent – and God is love. He is love – not he was love, nor he will be love, oh no, even that future is too slow for me – he is love. Like spring water which keeps the same temperature summer and winter – so is God’s love. His love is a spring that never runs dry.” -Soren Kierkegaard Source: Provocations "God must become the equal of the lowliest. But the lowliest is one who serves others. God therefore must appear in the form of a servant. But this servant’s form is not merely something he puts on, like the beggar’s cloak, which, because it is only a cloak, flutters loosely and betrays the king. No, it is his true form. For this is the unfathomable nature of boundless love, that it desires to be equal with the beloved; not in jest, but in truth." -Soren Kierkegaard “Christ says: Do according to what I say – then you shall know. Consequently, decisive action first of all. By acting, your life will come into collision with existence, and then you will know the reality of grace. Nowadays we have turned the whole thing around. Christianity has become a worldview. Thus, before I get involved I must first justify it. Good night to Christianity!” -Soren Kierkegaard “Venture to give all your possessions to the poor and you will certainly experience the truth of Christ’s teaching. Venture once to make yourself completely vulnerable for the sake of the truth, and you will certainly experience the truth of Christ’s word. You will experience how it alone can save you from despairing or from succumbing, for you will need Christ both to protect yourself against others and to maintain yourself upright when the thought of your own imperfection would weigh you down.” -Søren Kierkegaard Source: Provocation “Love does not insist on its own way,” neither does it “rejoice at wrong.” Those who seek their own way push everything else aside. They demolish in order to make room for their own way, which they want to build up. -Soren Kierkegaard “Christ was crucified because he would have nothing to do with the crowd (even though he addressed himself to all). He did not want to form a party, an interest group, or a mass movement, but wanted to be what he was, the truth, which is related to the single individual. Therefore everyone who will genuinely serve the truth is by that very fact a martyr. To win a crowd is no art; for that only untruth is needed, nonsense, and a little knowledge of human passions. But no witness to the truth dares to get involved with the crowd.” -Soren Kierkegaard “Can there be something in life that has power over us which little by little causes us to forget all that is good? And can this ever happen to anyone who has heard the call of eternity quite clearly and strongly? If this can ever be, then one must look for a cure against it. Praise be to God that such a cure exists – to quietly make a decision. A decision joins us to the eternal. It brings what is eternal into time. A decision raises us with a shock from the slumber of monotony. A decision breaks the magic spell of custom. A decision breaks the long row of weary thoughts. A decision pronounces its blessing upon even the weakest beginning, as long as it is a real beginning. Decision is the awakening to the eternal.” -Søren Kierkegaard Source: Provocations "Although the scribes could explain where the Messiah should be born, they remained quite unperturbed in Jerusalem. They did not accompany the Wise Men to seek him. Similarly we may be able to explain every article of our faith, yet remain spiritually motionless. The power that moved heaven and earth leaves us completely unmoved. What a contrast! The three kings had only a rumor to go by. But it spurred them to set out on a long, hard journey. The scribes, meanwhile, were much better informed, much better versed. They had sat and studied the scriptures for years, like so many dons. But it didn’t make any difference. Who had the more truth? Those who followed a rumor, or those who remained sitting, satisfied with all their knowledge?" -Søren Kierkegaard “The path of an honest fighter is a difficult one. And when the fighter grows cool in the evening of his life this is still no excuse to retire into games and amusement. Whoever remains faithful to his decision will realize that his whole life is a struggle. Such a person does not fall into the temptation of proudly telling others of what he has done with his life. Nor will he talk about the “great decisions” he has made. He knows full well that at decisive moments you have to renew your resolve again and again.” -Soren Kierkegaard Source: Provocations “Is not the truth of the matter really this, that we are just like a child who would rather be free from being under his parents’ eyes? Is not this what we want? To be free from being under the eyes of God? When Christ resolves to become the Savior of the world, a lament goes through all humanity. Sighing grievously they ask: Why do you do this? You will make us all unhappy. Simply because to become a Christian is the greatest human suffering. Christ, being an absolute, explodes all the relativity whereby we humans live. In order to live in the spirit rather than the flesh, as he requires, one must go through crisis after crisis, being made thereby, from a human point of view, as unhappy as it is possible to be.” -Søren Kierkegaard Where am I? Who am I? How did I come to be here? What is this thing called the world? How did I come into the world? Why was I not consulted? And if I am compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I want to see him. –Søren Kierkegaard Prayers “Lord, give us weak eyes for things, which are of no account, and clear eyes for all your truth.” -Soren Kierkegaard "Father in Heaven! You have loved us first, help us never to forget that You are love so that this sure conviction might triumph in our hearts over the seduction of the world, over the inquietude of the soul, over the anxiety for the future, over the fright of the past, over the distress of the moment. But grant also that this conviction might discipline our soul so that our heart might remain faithful and sincere in the love which we bear to all those whom You have commanded us to love as we love ourselves.” -Soren Kierkegaard "Father in Heaven, when the thought of Thee wakes in our hearts, let it not awaken like a frightened bird that flies about in dismay, but like a child waking from its sleep with a heavenly smile.” -Soren Kierkegaard "Teach me, O God, not to torture myself, not to make a martyr out of myself through stifling reflection, but rather teach me to breathe deeply in faith.” -Soren Kierkegaard |
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