Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Kierkegaard on why we can't follow God's Word

Reflections from an Ecumenist, a Charismatic, and a Philosopher — Lutheran Forum:

Sorry for the (1,2,3,4...) Fifth-hand passing of a quotation, but this is a good one.

It's found in this excellent article from Sara Wilson and the gang over at the Lutheran Forum which quotes Larry Christianson, writing in Micheal Root's blog and ends with this quote from Soren Kierkegaard (as any good Scandihoovian would!) It sums up the reason why major church bodies can pass "statements" and "policies" which are clearly against God's word by showing how we as individuals do it all the time in our own lives.

"'The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any word in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world?'
(Cited from Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard, ed. Charles E. Moore [Farmington, PA: Plough, 2002], 201.)"

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