Favourite Bible Verses of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche
Existentialism, Loose Ends, Religion December 1st, 2008To preface by comments on Kierkegaard, I thought I would reproduce his and Nietzsche’s favourite* quotes from the Bible. The verses they use share a common theme, so well done if anyone recognises which philosopher used a particular quotation. At least one verse is used by both.
And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, Mark 12:38, Luke 20:46
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. Matthew 19:21 (also Luke 12:33)
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Matthew 18:9
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:38-44, Luke 20:45-47
But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Matthew 5:34-35, James 5:12
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 1 Corinthians 1:27
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26
I will save any reaction until after I have finished reading my current book.
* my knowledge of Kierkegaard is still very narrow so their might be even more relevant quotes. Plase add any additional verses as comments.
Anti Citizen One
December 11th, 2008 at 7:52 am
1. Kierkegaard / Nietzsche
2. Kierkegaard
3. Nietzsche
4. Kierkegaard / Nietzsche
5. Kierkegaard
6. Kierkegaard / Nietzsche
7. Nietzsche
I’m not sure about 1 and 3-7 (LOL), but for sure, no. 2, is defintely used by Kierkegaard for attacking 19th century Christendom. It’s been going around the blogosphere like fire, so it’s only fair to post it here.
“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 words 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?
Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.
I open the New Testament and read: “If you want to be perfect, then sell all your goods and give to the poor and come follow me.” Good God, if we were to actually do this, all the capitalists, the officeholders, and the entrepreneurs, the whole society in fact, would be almost beggars! We would be sunk if it were not for Christian scholarship! Praise be to everyone who works to consolidate the reputation of Christian scholarship, which helps to restrain the New Testament, this confounded book which would one, two, three, run us all down if it got loose (that is, if Christian scholarship did not restrain it).
December 14th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Thanks for your comments Patrick. I tried to recollect where I had read the bible verses and found my memory is not as good as I’d thought!
1. “Beware of the scribes” – Kierkegaard, fundamental message of The Instant
2. “sell that thou hast, and give to the poor” – Kierkegaard, Attack on Christendom
3. “if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out” – Nietzsche, Twilight, Morality as Anti-Nature, aph. 1.
4. the widow’s mite – Kierkegaard, The Swindler and the Widow’s Mite & I have a gut feeling Nietzsche also used this but I can’t find where!
5. “Swear not at all” – Kierkegaard, Attack on Christendom & Nietzsche, Antichrist aph 33.
6. “God hath chosen the weak things” – Nietzsche, Antichrist aph. 45. and Kierkegaard (according to some random blog), need the source
7. hate your family and yourself – Kierkegaard, Attack on Christendom (I think)
Again, I am not well read in Kierkegaard, and my memory of Nietzsche is variable!
AC1