That Crazy Pursuit of the Meaning of Life
Here are a bit of excerpts from the journals of Kierkegaard. I don't know how generative they are in regards to forming a discussion, but they really do well to put into words the reasons why anyone becomes interested in theology:
"In Christianity itself there are contradictions so great that they prevent an unobstructed view, to a considerable extent, at any rate. As you know, I grew up in orthodoxy, so to speak. But from the moment I began to think for myself, the gigantic colossus began to totter. I call it a gigantic colossus advisedly, for taken as a whole it does have a good deal of consistency, and in the course of many centuries past, the component parts have become so tightly fused that it is difficult to come to terms with them. I might now agree with some of its specific points, but then these could only be considered like the seedlings one often finds growing in rock fissures. On the other hand, I might also see the inconsistencies in many specific points, but I would still have to let the main basiw stand in dubito for some time. The instant that changed, the whole would of course assume an entirely different cast, and thus my attention is drawn to another phenomenon: rationalism, which by and large cuts a pretty poor figure. Ther is really nothing to object to in rationalism as long as reason consistently pursues its own end and--in rendering an explanation of the relation between God and the world--again comes to see humankind in its most profound and spiritual relation to God. In this respect, rationalism from its own point of view considers Christianity that which for many centuries has satisfied humankind's deepest need. But then it is in fact no longer rationalism, for rationalism is given its real coloring by Christianity. Hence it occupies a completely different sphere and does not constitute a system but a Noah's Ark, in which the clean and the unclean animals lie down side by side...Therefore it attempts essentially to ally itself with Christianity, bases its arguments upon Scripture, and in advance of every single point dispatches a legion of Biblical quotations that in no way penetrate the argument. The rationalists behave like Cambyses, who in his campaign against Egypt dispatched the sacred chickens and cats in advance of his army, but they are prepared, like the Roman Consul, to throw the sacred chickens overboard when they refuse to eat. The fallacy is that when they are in agreement with Scripture they use it as a basis, but otherwise not. Thus they adopt mutually exclusive points of view."
Whew, that's a long quote. I tried to paraphrase, but Kierkegaard is so good here. This is why I am not content with contemporary rationalist apologetics, why I am not content with fundamentalism, why I am not content with over and again being backed into the corner of insisting the Christian worldview's superiority over the postmodern worldview, intelligent design over evolution, or any attempt to establish Biblical inerrancy or an ironclad rationalist defense of Christianity. This to me, is the Crusades all over again on an intellectual level, and in ignorance apologists kill indiscriminantly. As Kierkegaard says it "in no way penetrate the argument." This frustrates me. Is that the hope we have for Christ as the world's savior, just a heavy solid battering ram to smash the world's philosophies and cultures on? And does this really penetrate the human condition? Does the problem of suffering and being human really only take place in the philososphere, or is there something deeper which must be addressed down on planet Earth in the human being who is much more that a disconnected individual intellect.
There is something much deeper that makes us yearn for the goodness of God than mere logical superiority. And if the Bible is truth, if God is truth, where is the need to defend it, anyway? Is God really not the mighty warrior we say he is? Doesn't he himself make foolishness of the wisdom of the world? Who appointed us with the apologetical task of defenders of truth? I think it's the other way around, the truth keeps us. Jesus, who was full of grace and truth, he is the Good Shepherd, he is the one who goes before us. Not the other way around. The world is tired of superficial apologetical arguments. The world needs hope that penetrates the heart of the matter. The world needs nothing less than Jesus Christ himself.
"In Christianity itself there are contradictions so great that they prevent an unobstructed view, to a considerable extent, at any rate. As you know, I grew up in orthodoxy, so to speak. But from the moment I began to think for myself, the gigantic colossus began to totter. I call it a gigantic colossus advisedly, for taken as a whole it does have a good deal of consistency, and in the course of many centuries past, the component parts have become so tightly fused that it is difficult to come to terms with them. I might now agree with some of its specific points, but then these could only be considered like the seedlings one often finds growing in rock fissures. On the other hand, I might also see the inconsistencies in many specific points, but I would still have to let the main basiw stand in dubito for some time. The instant that changed, the whole would of course assume an entirely different cast, and thus my attention is drawn to another phenomenon: rationalism, which by and large cuts a pretty poor figure. Ther is really nothing to object to in rationalism as long as reason consistently pursues its own end and--in rendering an explanation of the relation between God and the world--again comes to see humankind in its most profound and spiritual relation to God. In this respect, rationalism from its own point of view considers Christianity that which for many centuries has satisfied humankind's deepest need. But then it is in fact no longer rationalism, for rationalism is given its real coloring by Christianity. Hence it occupies a completely different sphere and does not constitute a system but a Noah's Ark, in which the clean and the unclean animals lie down side by side...Therefore it attempts essentially to ally itself with Christianity, bases its arguments upon Scripture, and in advance of every single point dispatches a legion of Biblical quotations that in no way penetrate the argument. The rationalists behave like Cambyses, who in his campaign against Egypt dispatched the sacred chickens and cats in advance of his army, but they are prepared, like the Roman Consul, to throw the sacred chickens overboard when they refuse to eat. The fallacy is that when they are in agreement with Scripture they use it as a basis, but otherwise not. Thus they adopt mutually exclusive points of view."
Whew, that's a long quote. I tried to paraphrase, but Kierkegaard is so good here. This is why I am not content with contemporary rationalist apologetics, why I am not content with fundamentalism, why I am not content with over and again being backed into the corner of insisting the Christian worldview's superiority over the postmodern worldview, intelligent design over evolution, or any attempt to establish Biblical inerrancy or an ironclad rationalist defense of Christianity. This to me, is the Crusades all over again on an intellectual level, and in ignorance apologists kill indiscriminantly. As Kierkegaard says it "in no way penetrate the argument." This frustrates me. Is that the hope we have for Christ as the world's savior, just a heavy solid battering ram to smash the world's philosophies and cultures on? And does this really penetrate the human condition? Does the problem of suffering and being human really only take place in the philososphere, or is there something deeper which must be addressed down on planet Earth in the human being who is much more that a disconnected individual intellect.
There is something much deeper that makes us yearn for the goodness of God than mere logical superiority. And if the Bible is truth, if God is truth, where is the need to defend it, anyway? Is God really not the mighty warrior we say he is? Doesn't he himself make foolishness of the wisdom of the world? Who appointed us with the apologetical task of defenders of truth? I think it's the other way around, the truth keeps us. Jesus, who was full of grace and truth, he is the Good Shepherd, he is the one who goes before us. Not the other way around. The world is tired of superficial apologetical arguments. The world needs hope that penetrates the heart of the matter. The world needs nothing less than Jesus Christ himself.
posted by Anonymous at 7:04 PM
5 comments
