So, I’ve started a class on Kierkegaard at church.
Honestly, I had no idea that he was a Christian philosopher at all. I mean, I knew of him, but only as a complicated Danish philospher that is hard to understand and harder to read. Naturally, I was instantly interested in the free class at Mercy Street. I missed the first night, but my friend J. who got me to go to Mercy Street in the first place convinced me to hit the second class. Oh, boy, was it worth it!
We’re studying from a book called Provocations, which is actually available in PDF format for free from plough.com.
Oh, and make no mistake, this guy is hard to read. I’ve had to reread several sections because I’ve lost where we started by the time I get to the end of it. So complicated and convoluted and, well, wonderful. So much intellectual meat to tear into and digest. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed those kinds of discussions and that way of thinking. This may sound, well, a little arrogant, but I’d stopped talking about those kinds of things because so few people around me seemed interested. Certainly, my ex-wife wasn’t going to keep up with me on that stuff. Not that she’s dumb, far from it, but she just couldn’t be bothered to deal with any kind of real intellectual challenge. More’s the pity. Then, of course, there are the redneck engineers… Hmm, best not to go there, isn’t it?
So, to give you a taste of K-Dog, as several of us have taken to calling Kierkegaard, here are a few, small, easy to digest quotes:
“An ethic which ignores sin is an absolutely idle science.”
Tru dat, yo. So, he challenges us to look at our faith in terms of sin. No kinder, gentler Christianity for him. K-Dog is right in there talking about the tough stuff.
“Man is not conscious of guilt because he sins, but consciously sins because of his guilt.”
So, we know we sin and, therefore, feel guilty. Can you see why I dig this guy? No flinching, no holding back. He just lays it out there.
“To sin against God is to punish yourself.”
I feel that! Every time I’ve sinned in anyone’s eyes, no one has punished me worse than I’ve punished myself. This guy is good!
“It is true that a mirror has the quality of enabling a person to see his image in it, but for this he must stand still.”
Ah, so my old favorite, introspection is required for growth. I have to look at myself honestly to see where I’m lacking, or sinning, and, for that, I have to be still.
“A person rarely amounts to anything, either good or evil, who has never lived in solitude. In solitude there is the Absolute, but also the absolute danger.”
And solitude shall be my mirror. A little peace is required before I can quiet the mental and spiritual unrest enough to see myself honestly.
“There are many people who arrive at conclusions in life much the way schoolboys do; they cheat their teachers by copying the answer book without having worked the problem themselves.”
It only works if you work it yourself. No one can do my spiritual work for me, nor I can do the work for anyone else. Damn.
“Our age is without passion. Everyone knows a great deal, we all know which way we ought to go and all the different ways we can go, but nobody is really willing to move.”
And, there it is. All Whitey White faux rap-speak jokes aside, this Kierkegaard guy is tough, not because he’s hard to understand, but because he speaks so much truth in such direct ways. Remember, the book is titled Provocations and that is his intent, to provoke us to move from our complacent, safe ideas about what Christianity is and is about.
I’m looking forward to the next session tonight!
