Tag: Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard on Becoming an Individual, Seriously

Here are two excerpts from Kierkegaard’s 1847 journal, written when he was 34 years old.

Kierkegaard is sometimes criticized for placing too much emphasis upon “the individual,” promoting a brand of individualism that places little if any value in social connections or community relationships.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

Sadly, Kierkegaard’s philosopher MIS-interpreters have encouraged this common misunderstanding of the melancholy Dane by ignoring, or willfully remaining ignorant of, the centrality of Jesus Christ in Kierkegaard’s thinking.

Here is an example:

“Everyone would like to have lived at the same time as great men and great events.  God knows how many really live at the same time as themselves.  To do that (and so neither in hope nor fear of the future, nor in the past) is to understand oneself and be at peace, and that is only possible through one’s relation to God, or it is one’s relation to God.

“Christianity is certainly not melancholy, it is, on the contrary, good news – for the melancholy; to the frivolous it is certainly not good news, for it wishes first of all to make them serious.”

In other words, no one becomes the person, the unique individual, they were created to become until he/she stands submissively, and lives obediently, before the savior, Jesus Christ.  Only that authentic individual existing before God, who is who she is, who does what she does, who behaves as she behaves and decides as she decides because she lives to serve Jesus faithfully with all that she has to offer Him, will experience the joy of being her genuine, God-intended self.

That is authentic individualism, and it is only attained through the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Only these kinds of authentic individuals can compose a genuine Christian community where brothers and sisters in Christ serve each other freely and sacrificially.

In the American pursuit of secular individualism, constantly affirming the innate wisdom buried somewhere inside our inner rebel, that solitary soul fleeing God’s influence, we foolishly refuse to take ourselves seriously as sinners.

This is the Gospel’s first task:  to make us serious; serious about ourselves; serious about God.

It is the only route out of banal frivolity into eternal joy.

In this light, I suspect that the United States may be the least serious “Christian” nation on earth, nurturing a populous sucking at the teats of the most frivolous media culture – including the supposedly Christian media – ever devised.

Don’t live like the typical American consumer.  Set your sights on becoming an authentic Individual, please, before it is too late.

Kierkegaard on Christian Faith — Risking the Improbable and Accepting Failure

Few people understand Christian faith more clearly than Sǿren Kierkegaard.  Here is another section from his book, Judge For Yourself (pages 99-100 in the Hong, Princeton edition).  A few words of explanation may help if you’ve never read Kierkegaard before.

Faith is risking the improbable because (a) it is impossible to prove empirically that you have truly encountered God, and (b) there is no measure of empirical probability that Jesus of Nazareth is God incarnate.

Thus, faith risks the improbable.  A significant challenge for modern folks who insist on evidence.

Some people (Kierkegaard calls them lightweights) claim to venture the risk of faith, but only because they think that anything done “in faith” is guaranteed success; that is, success in earthly terms.  Success as they define success.

Hear the faithful Dane speak to us today (emphasis is mine):

“Here is the infinite difference from the essentially Christian, since Christianly, indeed, even just religiously, the person who never relinquished probability never became involved with God.  All religious, so say nothing of Christian, venturing is on the other side of probability, is by way of relinquishing probability.

 “But then is the essentially Christian utter folly and are the sensible people right – it is intoxication?  No!  Admittedly many a one has thought that he was venturing Christianly when he ventured to relinquish probability, and it was pure and simple folly even according to the view of Christianity.  Christianity has its own characteristic way of restraining…the point to check carefully here is to see whether the venturing actually is in reliance upon God.

 “To connect God’s name with one’s wishes, cravings, and plans is easy, far too easy for the lightweights; but it does not follow that their venturing is in reliance upon God. No, in relinquishing probability in order to venture in reliance upon God, one must admit to oneself the implications of relinquishing probability – that when one then ventures it is just as possible, precisely just as possible, to fail as to succeed…That one ventures in reliance upon God provides no immediate certainty of success; the dubiousness in the lightweights’ venturing in reliance upon God lies precisely in their understanding this to mean that they must be victorious..  But this is not venturing in reliance upon God; this is taking God in vain.”

Entrusting our lives to Jesus Christ ensures a right relationship with our heavenly Father here and now.  It also guarantees an eternity with Him in the world to come.  But neither faith nor Jesus promise to give us whatever we hope and pray for, no matter how “faithful” our intentions or “glorious” we think it might be for God.

So, do we trust in Jesus and follow Him for his own sake?  Or do we have ulterior motives?

Kierkegaard on Reading Scripture

Had I ever become a seminary professor, I would have made all my students read For Self-Examination and Judge for Yourself! by Sǿren Kierkegaard.  Either book is a good place to begin for anyone who is unfamiliar with my favorite “melancholy Dane” and wants to start reading Kierkegaard on their own.

Both books, published in 1851, only 4 years before his death at age 42, are a clarion call to genuine Christian living.  Kierkegaard particularly focuses on the centrality of Scripture, not simply as a book to be read or studied, nor as a source for Sunday sermons, but as a compelling Word from God that must be obeyed.

The only sufficient goal of all Bible-reading is personal transformation, and transformation only happens for those who surrender to God’s instructions by DOING what scripture says.  Reading without response is like a single person pretending to be married while eating alone every night.

Here is Kierkegaard’s advice (from For Self-Examination) for anyone whose Bible-reading has stalled because of its many difficult, hard to understand passages:

“…perhaps you say, ‘there are so many obscure passages in the Bible, whole books that are practically riddles.’ To that I would answer: Before I have anything to do with this objection, it must be made by someone whose life manifests that he/she has scrupulously complied with all the passages that are easy to understand; is this the case with you?…

 “In other words, when you are reading God’s Word, it is not the obscure passages that bind you but what you understand, and with that you are to comply at once.  If you understood only one single passage in all of Holy Scripture, well, then you must do that first of all, but you do not first have to sit down and ponder the obscure passages.  God’s Word is given in order that you shall act according to it, not that you shall practice interpreting obscure passages.  If you do not read God’s Word in such a way that you consider that the least little bit you do understand instantly binds you to do accordingly, then you are reading God’s Word.”

Following Jesus with Kierkegaard: The Best Apologetics is a Genuine Christian Life

Certain sectors of American evangelicalism are devoted to the study of  apologetics, that is the defense of the Christian faith and the relieving of  doubts.  Some seminaries even offer doctoral programs in apologetics, as if an advanced degree will make anyone a better evangelist, or a more successful resolver of doubts.

Don’t misunderstand me.  I am not opposed to advanced education.  But I am leery of the American penchant for professionalizing normal aspects of the Christian life with advanced degrees and curriculae.

What’s next?  A Ph.D. in spiritual direction?  I am afraid to look, but I fear that somewhere, someplace, someone is already offering degrees in spirituality.

Alas…

In 1851 Sǿren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) published For Self-Examination: Recommended to the Present Age and Judge for Yourself!: For Self-ExaminationRecommended to the Present Age.  These books continue his investigations into genuine Christian discipleship and what true believers must look like in a society where Christianity has degenerated into either a passé, cultural artifact, a mere act of mental assent or an emotional high.

Is the problem that such cultures need more or better apologists to alleviate people’s doubts about Christ?

In Judge for Yourself!, Kierkegaard insists that the best answer to anyone’s doubts about Christianity is an authentic Christian life lived in front of them, a life of obedient discipleship devoted to the imitation of Christ.

He writes:

“Imitation, which corresponds to Christ as the prototype, must…be affirmed again…Without introducing imitation it is impossible to gain mastery over doubts.  Therefore, the state of things in Christendom is such that doubt has replaced faith. And then they want to stop doubt with — reasons…They still have not learned that it is wasted effort — indeed, that it feeds doubt, gives it a basis for continuing. They are still not aware that imitation is the only force that can break up the mob of doubts and clear the area and compel one, if one does not want to be an imitator, at least to go home and hold one’s tongue.

“Imitation, which corresponds to Christ as prototype, must be advanced, be affirmed, be called to our attention.

“…The Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not come to the world in order to bring a doctrine…he did not try by way of reasons to prevail upon anyone…His teaching was really his life, his existence.  If someone wanted to be his follower, his approach, as seen in the Gospel, was different from lecturing.  To such a person he said something like this: Venture a decisive act; then we can begin.

“Venture a decisive act [Jesus says to us]; the proof does not precede but follows, is in and with the imitation that follows Christ.  That is, when you have ventured the decisive act, you become heterogeneous with [i.e. contrary to, standing against] the life of this world, cannot have your life in it, come into collision with it.  Then you will gradually be brought into such tension that you will be able to become aware of what I am talking about. The tension will also have the effect upon you that you understand that you cannot endure it without having recourse to me [Jesus] — then we can begin.  Could one expect anything else from the truth?“

Faith in Jesus is the decisive venture, the ultimate risk, the act of obedience compelling us to live an upside-down, counter-cultural life in a fallen world simply because our Savior tells us to.

Stories of Self-Denial, 1

With the encouragement of some close friends, I have decided to share a few stories with you from my life.  I have been following Jesus – not always with perfect faithfulness, but those are a different set of stories; I mention that fact here to clarify that I am not making any claims to an exceptional Christian life, only a Christian life – for some 45+ years.

I don’t have as many years ahead of me as I have trailing behind me.  Lately, I have felt the Holy Spirit’s prompting, I suspect (I am not certain; that’s why I asked my friends’ advice), to share these experiences for the encouragement of others.  The memory of God’s good work should not die with the individual.  And God has been very good to me over the years.  These stories are told here in order to praise God by letting you know how good He has been to me.  (Check out my post about the Biblical meaning of “praise.”)

I firmly believe that self-denial is at the heart of obedient Christian discipleship.  Jesus could not speak any more clearly.  He says:

“If anyone wants to follow me, they must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)

Self-denial is the heart of the good news.  Self-denial defined every day of Jesus’ life on earth.  The crucifixion was Jesus’ ultimate act of self-denial.  Now he says to us, “Follow me.  Be like me. Live like me.  Be willing to die like me.  Say ‘No’ to your own selfish interests and submit entirely to the Father in heaven like me.”

It is impossible to be a disciple of Jesus Christ without learning to recognize those forks in the road where God tells us to abandon our own plans and walk in a different direction.  I am blessed in that the Holy Spirit has allowed me to recognize a few of those forks over the years.

Denying yourself is not easy.  In fact, it can be painful.

It’s not something we can do expecting immediate “blessings.”  Sometimes the rewards for obedience don’t appear for years.  Maybe they won’t appear until eternity.  At other times, the benefits become obvious in the moment.  In any case, we don’t follow Jesus because he is a cosmic gumball machine dispensing instant, observable blessings for our every action.

Sometimes self-denial entails immediate suffering.  But we do it anyway, gladly, willingly and repeatedly simply because we need to be with Jesus.  We love him, and we know that life does not make sense for us anywhere else but at his side.  As Kierkegaard wisely observed:

“If you will believe, then you will…accept Christianity on any terms…then you will say: Whether it is a help or a torment, I want only one thing, I want to belong to Christ, I want to be a Christian.”

For as long as I could remember, I had always wanted to be a wildlife biologist.  Trekking through the wildness, studying wild animals, learning their hidden secrets and behaviors that no one else had yet to witness, this was my lifelong dream as a child.

I chose my university accordingly.  The University of Montana was the only place for me.  Between its department of Wildlife Biology and the presence of Dr. John Craighead, my childhood hero and an American pioneer in modern ecology and wildlife studies, moving into the university dormitory made me as happy as a 17-year-old pig in slop.

I had qualified for the on-campus work study program so I hightailed it over to the office of the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unity, founded by Dr. Craighead, and I asked for a job.  Over the next several years my dreams started to come true.  I became an assistant to several doctoral students, helping them in their field research.  I was living my dream and the signs all seemed to say, ‘Full steam ahead.’

But I also hooked up with another group in my freshman year:  Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.  I attended their Large Group meetings.  I joined a Small Group Bible study, and I became friends with the local IV staff-worker, Marv Anderson.  (Marv and his wife Doreen are dear friends to this day.  I consider him to be one of my spiritual fathers.  Every believer needs someone like Marv in their life.)

Believe it or not, I had been born and raised in the church, but I had always thought very independently about my life.  At the university I began to rub shoulders with young people who talked openly about God’s will for their lives.

What?!  You mean following Jesus meant that I couldn’t just chase after any career I wanted?  I was supposed to pray, listen for answers, ask others for advice and do the things God wanted me to do????  Yikes!  Admittedly, I may have been sleeping during those particular lessons at church, but this was a brand-new attitude for my teenage, embryonic Christian faith.

But, with lots of helpful encouragement and advice from Marv and others, that’s exactly what I began to do.  And I started to realize new things about myself.

First, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that, in large part, my career choice was driven by a major problem in my character.  I have always been an introvert.  Not that there is anything wrong with being an introvert.  I am quite happy with myself in that regard.  But this young man had gone much further into himself and become a good old-fashioned misanthrope.

I did not like people very much.  I was angry and antisocial – yeah, why in the world had I sought out Inter-Varsity?  It must have been the Holy Spirit again.  And I came so see that my desire to live alone in the wildness had as much to do with my dislike for the rest of the human race as it did with my love for animal life.  Yet, I was increasingly impressed by the fact that Jesus loved people.  And if I wanted to follow him, then he wanted me to love people too.

That realization caused me to seriously question whether I could continue calling myself a Christian.  I knew in my guts that no one could say they believed in Jesus while hating other people.  Yet, the last thing I was interested in was learning to love others.  Heck, I didn’t even like myself most of the time!

After a period of great internal wrestling, I concluded that I couldn’t walk away from Jesus.  I knew that I was lost without Him.  It was up to me to change, whether I liked it or not.  So, I added two new requests to my time of daily prayer.

First, I asked Jesus to teach me how to love people as he loved them, to give me his heart for others.

Second, I confessed that my plans for wildlife biology were my own.  I had never before asked the Lord what he wanted to do with my life.  So, I started asking, ‘Jesus, what are your plans for my life?  What did you make me to do?  If you want me to be a biologist, great.  But if you want to take me somewhere else, I will give up biology and do whatever you want.’

If you have checked out the biography on my blog, you will know that I have never worked as a biologist.  After graduation I followed a path into Christian ministry.  Something I never imagined I would do.  I said ‘No’ to my life-long plan – in the middle of seeing it all come true! –  because it had always been my plan.

It turned out that Jesus had a better idea for an introverted misanthrope who had also been given some unexplored gifts in communication and public speaking.

I have never regretted my decision to walk away from biology.  God’s plans for me have meant considerable hardship, at times.  The journey hasn’t always been easy.  There are more stories yet to be told.  But I have never been sorry for the choices I made, because I believe there was no other way for me to keep following after my precious Savior, Jesus Christ.

I thought I was going to the University of Montana to work with John Craighead.  Actually, I went there to meet Marv Anderson…and, of course, my wife Terry.  I had never heard of Marv before, but his model of faithful discipleship changed my life forever.

Learning “to deny myself” ended up saving me from deep personality flaws that were steering me into a life of isolation and loneliness.  Had I stubbornly held on to the person I was at the time, I would have eventually been lost.

Believe me.  Jesus always knows best.  Even when his direction is hard.

Kierkegaard’s Depression and Service in God’s Kingdom

1836 February

The melancholy Dane.

“People understand me so little that they do not even understand when I complain of being misunderstood…I have just returned from a party of which I was the life and soul; wit poured from my lips, everyone laughed and admired me – but I went away – and the dash should have been as long as the earth’s orbit —————- and wanted to shoot myself.”

1847 August

“I must come to closer grips with my melancholy. It has until now lain deep down and the tremendous intellectual strain has helped to keep it down.  That my work has profited others, that God has approved it and helped me in every way is sure enough.  Again and again I thank him for having done infinitely more for me than I ever expected…I shall therefore remain quiet…and try to understand myself, and really think out the idea of my melancholy together with God here and now.  That is how I must get rid of my melancholy and bring Christianity closer to me.”

1848 May

“My life began with a terrible melancholy, in its earliest youth deranged in its very deepest foundations, a melancholy which threw me for a time into sin and debauchery and yet (humanly speaking) almost more insane than guilty…so I grasped eternity with the blessed assurance that God is love, even though I was to suffer thus all my life; yes, with that blessed assurance.  That is how I looked upon my life.”

These are only a few of the numerous references to depression and suicidal impulses that Sǿren Kierkegaard discloses in his journals.  There are many more.  They are one of the reasons that I feel an affinity for this 19th century Christian brother.

Of course, Kierkegaard lived long before any medical treatments, or even talk therapy, were available for people suffering with depression.  Which makes it all the more amazing (to me, anyway) that he not only managed to withstand his periodic suicidal impulses – I am oh so happy that he never shot himself! – but that his chronic depression eventually played an important role in the circumstances that drew him to faith in Christ.

The Christian Kierkegaard’s openness about his depression and its interactions with his trust in Jesus teach me a number of valuable lessons:

Even when Sǿren was twisted into knots by the darkest, psychic oppression, he continued to search for life’s answers in relationship with his heavenly Father.  If there is any meaning to be found in life, he knew that it appears as we surrender ourselves more and more completely to the Father of Jesus Christ.  He never gave up on faith in Jesus, though I am sure that he felt like it many times.  That persistent faith assured him that we are deeply, deeply loved by God whatever else our terrors, sadness, or emotional despair may try to insinuate in moments weakness and vulnerability.

Though Kierkegaard struggled with temptation, he never surrendered himself to believing that his depression was a divine punishment or judgment.  He did not allow the experience of depression to determine his faith in the Lord.  Just the opposite.  He knew that he had been forgiven and accepted by God.  Even though it must have created a torturous, existential contradiction, Sǿren found a way (just like the psalmist) to live by faith even as he “walked through the valley of the shadow of death.”  Kierkegaard was often a depressed believer, but he was a believer nonetheless.  And he held to the truth that God always loved His children, even when they were depressed children.  The adjective (depressed) didn’t matter.  Faith clung to the noun (child of God).

Rather than blame God for his suffering and angrily pull away from the Father, Kierkegaard used his suffering as a vehicle for reflection and self-understanding.  There are things that even the depressed person must choose by force of will.  Kierkegaard eventually saw his depression as a gift from God, for he was convinced that melancholy (as he put it) was essential to his psychological insights and productivity as a religious author.  A lifetime of struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide molded him into the man God wanted to use.

In a sense, then, depression became the cross that Kierkegaard carried throughout his life of Christian discipleship.  His writings were intended to help the Danish national church open its eyes to the true gospel of Jesus Christ.   Sǿren was, in effect, an evangelist to all the people of Denmark.  Depression became his tutor directing him into the various avenues he explored for communicating the real Christian gospel to a nation of people who already thought they knew it all.  As he neared the end of his life, Kierkegaard acknowledged the privilege of being used by God in this way and genuinely expressed his gratitude for the “life of melancholy” that kept him praying, seeking, thinking, studying, writing, believing and hoping.

For Jesus said, “If anyone wants to come after me, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)

I pray that I will imitate Kierkegaard in the way that he took up his cross for Jesus.

Being an Individual Rather Than a Member of “The Herd,” with Sǿren #Kierkegaard

Kierkegaard is often criticized for being too individualistic and not having sufficient appreciation for the importance of community.  I disagree.

Kierkegaard’s book, A Literary Review, discusses a contemporary novel, Two Ages.  Without getting into the details of the book’s historical background, Kierkegaard uses his book review as an opportunity to unmask what he sees as the social dangers of mass movements.  Kierkegaard refers to such movements as “the herd.”

The herd finds its power in a “leveling” process; that is, in its insistence on uniformity, keeping everyone scripted, on message, thinking, saying and doing only that which is approved by the herd.

The herd’s efforts at leveling always work to destroy individualism.  And, I would agree with Kierkegaard in saying that an especially powerful place for leveling is the Christian Church.

In contrast, Kierkegaard defends the vital importance of courageous individuals who will stand up for what they believe is right and act accordingly, especially when driven by Christian conviction.

The principled individual is more important than the largest, unprincipled herd, for herds are controlled by the whims and fancies of “abstractions” like the press and popular opinion.

Therefore, the principled individual does not hesitate to act, to do what is right, all alone, if necessary.

The principled individual’s greatest enemy arises from within, appearing in the form of “reflection.”

Reflection, in this context, involves overthinking a situation so that “due consideration” stalls the impetus to action.  Instead of standing up for what it right, the “reflective” person remains seated because taking a stand might prove irrational before knowing all the facts, all the possible consequences, exploring all the alternatives, etc., etc., etc.

Kierkegaard’s social critique is as relevant today as in his own day. I believe that it is especially urgent advice for anyone in the American church, particularly in so-called evangelical churches, who wants to follow Jesus faithfully:

“The idolized positive principle of sociality in our time is the consuming, demoralizing principle, which in the thralldom of reflection transforms even virtues into vitia splendida [i.e. glittering vices].  And to what can this be due other than to a disregard for the singling out of the religious individual before God in the responsibility of eternity?  When terror begins here, one seeks comfort in company, and reflection then captures the individual for life…

 “Stopping it [i.e. the leveling process] is possible only if, individually singled out, the individual achieves the fearlessness of religiousness…

 “…only he [sic] becomes an essential human being in the full-bodied sense of equality…for if the individual is unwilling to learn to be satisfied with himself in the essentiality of religiousness, before God rather than ruling over the world; unwilling to be satisfied with ruling over himself…if he is unwilling to learn to be inspired by this as the noblest he should achieve because it expresses equality before God and equality with all men, then he will not escape reflection…”

Practice in Christianity, with Sǿren Kierkegaard #kierkegaard

In my opinion, Sǿren Kierkegaard’s book Practice in Christianity is one of the best handbooks on Christian discipleship ever written.  Personally, I far prefer Kierkegaard over Bonhöffer’s Cost of Discipleship.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Kierkegaard lived in Christendom. He knew very well what it meant for people to define their “Christianity” in terms of nationality and earthly citizenship.  Loyalty to one’s homeland, patriotism, military service, church attendance, mourning over the redemptive deaths of Danish soldiers, these were the liturgies and sacraments that defined a good Christian life in his world.

But Kierkegaard had the spiritual maturity and insight, not only to realize how corrupting the Christendom counterfeit could be, he also had the prophetic fortitude to loudly warn his compatriots of Christendom’s fiendish ability to snuff out authentic Christian witness.

For everyone who believes that society ought to be more hospitable and welcoming to Christianity, so that the church can enjoy greater privilege (and maintain its tax-exempt status); for all who imagine that the legislature and the courts can advance the kingdom of God, or that the rules of church discipline ought to be imposed on everyone in the public square, Kierkegaard observes:

 “As long as this world lasts and the Christian church in it, it is a militant church; yet it has the promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  But woe, woe to the Christian church when it will be victorious in this world, for then it is not the church that has been victorious but the world. Then the heterogeneity [the contrast] between Christianity and the world has vanished, the world has won, and Christianity has lost.”

The church militant is the body of Christ that understands this world is not home.  If we become too comfortable, we have forgotten our mission. Authentic discipleship always faces opposition.

Suffering with and for Jesus is the defining characteristic of genuine Christian living in this fallen world.  The true church, which is always the militant church, never forgets these things.

Keeping Christianity Difficult with Sǿren Kierkegaard

I plan on periodically sharing excerpts from the writings of Sǿren Kierkegaard, one of my favorite Christian authors.  Whether or not you agree with him, he is always worth reading (very slowly) and pondering (usually, for a long time).

Here is our Kierkegaard reading for today:

“Hardship is the road [for the Christian life].  Far be from us this hypocritical talk that life is so varied that some are walking along the same road without hardships, others in hardships…Doubt about the task [of discipleship] always has its stronghold in the idea that there could be other roads…but since hardship is the road, the hardship cannot be removed without removing the road, and there cannot be other roads, but only wrong roads.”

In other words, living for Jesus by definition brings difficulty and suffering.  If following Jesus has never made my life more complicated, more difficult, then I am probably not really following Jesus.  I am simply taking a walk.

The Danish Christian thinker, Sǿren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), has been an important spiritual friend of mine for many years.  His writings have provided me with comfort, encouragement, challenge and insight, always mixed with spiritual and intellectual stimulation.

I have even written a book – Encountering Jesus, Encountering Scripture – explaining how Kierkegaard’s “way of knowing” through personal experience is, in fact, the New Testament’s own account of acquiring faith through spiritual experience.

Engaging Kierkegaard has helped me to persevere in following my Lord. Though, as the famous Dane repeatedly confessed, I continue in the process of following Jesus, dependent entirely on his grace.  I still have a long way to go in being conformed to the image of our Savior.

Kierkegaard often went so far as to say that he was in the process of becoming a Christian.  He had not yet arrived.  And, no. He did NOT say this because he believed in earning his way into God’s kingdom by relying on works righteousness.

Kierkegaard talked this way because 19th century Denmark was a nation in the throes of “Christendom.”  That is, the vast majority of its citizens attended the Lutheran state church, and almost everyone considered themselves to be Christian simply because they were Danish.  Denmark was, after all, a “Christian nation.”

Sound familiar?

Following his conversion out of Christendom and into genuine repentance and trust in Jesus Christ, Kierkegaard became a resident missionary to his own people.  He well understood that the Jesus we encounter in the New Testament is highly offensive to anyone who takes him seriously.  After all, Jesus makes the most outrageous demands of his followers.

When the gospel of Jesus Christ is explained truthfully, it is highly offensive and inconvenient.  Jesus repells as well he as attracts.  He offers the average listener many more reasons to say, No, than to say, Yes.

So, as a missionary to Christian Denmark, Kierkegaard became convinced that he must make Christianity difficult.  For only by hearing the highly offensive challenge embedded in the Lordship of Jesus Christ does anyone hear the truth of the gospel.

Making Christianity “difficult,” then, was simply a matter of talking about Jesus faithfully. Something that was in short supply in 19th century Denmark, especially among pastors and theologians working for the state church.

But, if we stop to think about it, Kierkegaard’s Denmark was not all that different from America today.

Even though the United States has never embraced an established, state church, far too many Americans are blinded by a similar idolatry – belief in a Christian nation where patriotism eclipses allegiance to the resurrected Jesus.

Yes. Our country desperately needs to hear a much more difficult brand of Christianity.