Wednesday, January 13, 2010

KKG (Not Kappa)

The more culture and knowledge, the more difficult it is to become a Christian.
Kierkegaard

I would add, The more difficult it is to remain one, or, the more difficult it is to believe he had ever been one.

Further, it forces you to change your faith drastically.

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Another nugget:

Although in the world we frequently enough see a presumptuous religious individuality who, himself so exceedingly secure in his relationship with God and jauntily sure of his eternal happiness, is self-importantly busy doubting the salvation of others and offering them his help, I believe it would be appropriate discourse for a truly religious person if he said: I do not doubt anyone's salvation; the only one I have fears about is myself; even if I see a person sink low, I still dare not despair of his salvation, but if it is myself, then I certainly would be forced to endure this terrible thought. An authentic religious individuality is always so lenient with others, so inventive in thinking up excuses; only toward himself is he cold and severe like a grand-inquisitor. With others, he is as a kindly old man usually is with a young person; only with regard to himself is he cold and uncompromising.

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Another:

If it [salvation/eternal happiness/etc.] does not absolutely transform his existence for him, then he is not relating himself to an eternal happiness; if there is something he is not willing to give up for its sake, then he is not relating himself to an eternal happiness. Even a relative telos partially transforms a person's existence.


Hmm, KKG makes the mistake of not equating the being of God as divorced from the condition of mankind. Therefore, his vague definition of God in this book is certainly not the clarion call to serving mankind as it ought to be; though he says that acting must spring forth from the passion, or the contradictory-existence, he does not say in which direction, though the answer should be obvious; that to serve mankind. In that case, and also through an effacement of the self, we ought to look not so much for a metaphysical being, an ontology God, whose very name is being, or refers to self, but rather his actuality in the world; note Jesus says that He is in the "least of these" - the poor, suffering, lonely. The greatest good that we can conceive then, is an ideality one which does not exist in actuality, the real world. And since we are called to exist in the real world, we must act. But how do we surmount our inherent laziness and apathy? Bla bla bla, big words.

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