Kierkegaard spent his life denouncing/warning those who never took the leap of faith, but instead stood apart as an “objective” spectator of life. These people would end up in the Inferno of Dante, who seems to share Kierkegaard’s aversion to “the vulgar crowd”, the noncommittals, the cowards. In life, they never stood or fought for anything, in death, they are forced to run after a banner without respite; in life, […]
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On the World as a Stage: II. The Conception of Time
The subtitle of this post should perhaps be “Kierkegaard’s Conception of Time As I Understand it”, but Kierkegaard scholars might strongly disagree with me. I’ve been meaning to write this ever since I read “Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments”, as part of an overall review of the book, but that review is long overdue. A recent discussion with an atheist friend of mine on religious belief reminded me of […]
Read more“For Self-Examination/Judge for Yourself” by Søren Kierkegaard
Against Humanity Jesus and Socrates have much in common, according to Kierkegaard: Both were terrible robbers and both were sentenced to death for their robbery. “What is assaulting a lone traveler on a highway perhaps a half-dozen times compared with his assault upon the whole human race and upon what it means to be a human being! A thief can steal my money; in so doing we are in disagreement, […]
Read moreKierkegaard on Thanksgiving
“If I thank God for the good I can discern to be a good, I am making a fool of God, because then my relationship with God means I am transforming God in likeness to me instead of my being transformed in likeness to Him. I thank Him for the good that I know is a good, but what I know is the finite, and consequently, I go ahead and […]
Read more“Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments” by Søren Kierkegaard
Faith, History and Scripture Suppose one can prove that the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life are historically accurate, the Holy Scripture authentic, and the Church’s Doctrine infallible, is it then sufficient for an individual to have Faith? Johannes Climacus’ (Kierkegaard’s pseudonym) answer is no. He goes further and posits that even if all the above were proven to be unreliable, it would not affect the Faith of a genuine disciple. […]
Read more“Philosophical Fragments” by Søren Kierkegaard
How Far Can We Know the Truth? In Plato’s Meno, an argument is raised that there is no such thing as a “truth seeker”, because if a man knows the truth already, there is no need to seek, and if he doesn’t, he can’t seek, since he wouldn’t recognize it even if he stumbles upon it. Socrates’ solution to Meno’s paradox is Recollection, i.e., the soul, which is immortal, already […]
Read more“Purity of Heart Is To Will One Thing” by Søren Kierkegaard
A great book for Christian self-examination, dedicated by the author and recommended by this reviewer to “that solitary individual” who desires to commit himself to One Thing and guard himself against double-mindedness, mixed and hidden motives. hypocrisy and mediocrity. Like Socrates, his role model, Kierkegaard excels, not so much in establishing the true religious or philosophical belief, as in distinguishing falsehood from truth, thereby prompting the reader to reflect and […]
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