Kierkegaard: offence or belief

Thursday, September 8, 2011
    Commemoration of Søren Kierkegaard, Teacher and Philosopher, 1855
Meditation:
    Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this [teaching about eating flesh and drinking blood], Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.” From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
    —John 6:61-66 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The relation of personality to Christianity, is not to doubt or to believe, but to be offended or to believe. All modern philosophy, both ethically, and Christianly, is based upon frivolousness. Instead of deterring and calling people to order by speaking of being despairing and being offended, it has waved to them and invited them to become conceited by doubting and having doubted.
    ... Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), Practice in Christianity, tr. Hong, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1991, p. 80 fn (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, take away my insult to Your word. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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