Kierkegaard for Today

Søren Kierkegaard was born in 1813 in Denmark. He was the founder of existentialist philosophy and a pioneer in Christian ethics. Two hundred years later—everyone from theologians, freshman philosophy students, and people reading 140 character feeds on Twitter are exposed to his writings.

The most common form of despair is not being who you are. 

Two dangers exist: 1) Copying somebody else and trying to be like them. 2) Being the person somebody else wants you to be. God created you to be you and nobody else. 

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

Life is a journey and an adventure. The future always involves an element of faith. Mistakes will be made. Lessons can be learned. Our past either destroys us, defines us, or develops us. Choose to let it develop you. 

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.

Looking into the eyes of another person, experiencing God’s forgiveness and grace, serving a stranger, loving a child, exploring creation—such are the things of life. When life becomes a series of problems that are solved the point of life itself is missed. 

Once you label me you negate me. 

Think about all the labels we use to describe people: old, young, fat, unsuccessful, sick, junkie, divorced, weak, etc… Kierkegaard knew labels lie and shouldn’t be accepted or used. 

Love is the expression of the one who loves, not of the one who is loved. Those who think they can love only the people they prefer do not love at all. Love discovers truths about individuals that others cannot see. 

His definition of love is biblical and compelling. He is describing Christ’s version of love: Agápē. Love that is blind and impartial. Love with no strings attached. Love based on the character of the person loving rather than the worthiness of the object of the love. You figure this out and you figure life out. 

The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins. 

Of course he was describing Jesus here. Tiberius Caesar was the most powerful person in the world at the time of Jesus’ death. He died a few years after Jesus and is a footnote in human history. Jesus dies and the church begins. Two thousand years later nearly 2.5 billion people confess him as Savior and Lord. Being willing to die for someone or something beats not caring enough to die for anyone or anything. 

To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself. 

He is writing about risk. The life without risk is the most dangerous life possible. Not to risk means things like intimacy, growth, and discovery will never happen. The greatest risk is not failure or being hurt; the greatest risk is reaching death without living. 

The best is yet to come…

Craig