Kierkegaard’s Attack Upon “Christendom”, Part 1
Existentialism, Religion, Reviews December 9th, 2008I started reading Kierkegaard (SK) due to is alleged similarity to Nietzsche (FN). For SK’s later work, I was struck by the similarities to FN and pleased by SK’s style which is generally straight forward and clear. His pamphlet series The Instant and articles in The Fatherland had a general readership in mind. Since they were published separately, there is a certain amount of repetition but this must be forgiven as circumstantial. I have decided to focus on comparing the similarities between SK and FN. I am less sure how they would have disagreed, if they had actually met beyond the obvious point that one was an atheist and the other Christian.
(Although SK said he is “not a Christian” – this reminded me of Confucius: “When a country is well governed, poverty and a mean condition are things to be ashamed of. When a country is ill governed, riches and honor are things to be ashamed of.” Analects of Confucius)
Christian Suffering
The main thrust of SK’s late writings was that the “official” Danish church of 1850′s had diverged from New Testament Christianity into paganism or Judaism. His main justification for his argument is that Christianity is a religion of earthly suffering. This is also the assessment of FN and their agreement on this point could hardly be stronger!
The religion of suffering has become the religion of mirth, but it retains the name unchanged. SK, The Instant No.4 (What is really shocking)
Above all beware of the priests! It is a mark of being a Christian (if one is to be a Christian in such a sense that it will hold good in the Judgment) that one has suffered for the doctrine. SK, The Instant No 5
What can be remembered eternally? Only one thing: to have suffered for the truth. If thou wouldst have a care for thine eternal future, take heed to suffer for the truth. SK, The Instant No 8
ONCE on a time, Zarathustra also cast his fancy beyond man, like all backworldsmen. The work of a suffering and tortured God, did the world then seem to me. FN, Zarathustra
Ye cannot divine how sorely prophetic men suffer: ye think only that a fine “gift” has been given to them, and would fain have it yourselves [...] But it never occurs to us that it is their sufferings –that are their prophets! FN, Gay Science, 316
But how did such an “improved” Teuton look after he had been drawn into a monastery? [...] there he lay, sick, miserable, hateful to himself, full of evil feelings against the impulses of his own life, full of suspicion against all that was still strong and happy. In short, a “Christian.” FN, Twilight of the Idols
Both thought that suffering should be sought but for different ends – SK to prove that a man was a true Christian and eventual self annihilation. FN demanded suffering to follow his ideal of “what does not kill me makes me stronger”.
And according to the New Testament what is it to love God? It is the will to become, humanly speaking, unhappy for this life, yet blissfully expectant of an eternal blessedness – in no other way can a man love God who is spirit. The Instant No 6, Fear most of all to be in error
For enjoyment and innocence are the most bashful things. Neither like to be sought for. One should have them,- but one should rather seek for guilt and pain! FN, Zarathustra
One point of disagreement between the two is their valuation of earthly life. But both have, at least, considered the possibility that non-existence is preferable to existence.
Suppose now that this child in its naiveté were to say to its parents, “But if this is such a bad world, and if this is what awaits me, then indeed it is not well that I have come into this world.” Bravo, my little friend, thou has hit the mark! SK, The Instant No 7
[Quoting Silenus:] Suffering creature, born for a day, child of accident and toil, why are you forcing me to say what would give you the greatest pleasure not to hear? The very best thing for you is totally unreachable: not to have been born, not to exist, to be nothing. The second best thing for you, however, is this — to die soon. FN, Birth of Tragedy
I have yet to discover why SK and FN came to opposite views on Silenus’s challenge – is earthly life to be valued highly or lowly. Since SK believed in an afterlife, he could arguably afford to highly value the spiritual world while being pessimistic about earthly life. FN seemed to alternate between saying earthly life is “good” while also saying to assign a value of life is in fact meaningless.
To be continued…
Anti Citizen One
December 11th, 2008 at 7:28 am
Both of course, disapproved of the Christianity of 19th century Europe. But I have a feeling Nietzsche would’ve accepted the Christianity of Kierkegaard:
On my next visit to Germany I propose to take up the
psychological problem of Kierkegaard and at the same time
to renew acquaintance with your older literature. It will
be of use to me in the best sense of the word and will
serve to restore modesty to my own severity and
arrogance of judgment. – Nietzsche, letter to Georg Brandes.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:32 am
That was assuming, of course, Nietzsche had the time to read the primary German translation of Kierkegaard, instead of relying on Brandes, Hoffding, and Martensen’s translation of fragments of SK’s writings.
December 16th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
Another quote on suffering by Kierkegaard, for completeness:
In every generation that man is a rarity who exercises such a a power over himself that he can will what is not pleasant to him, that he can hold fast that truth which does not please him, home that is the truth although it does not please him [...] and then nevertheless [...] can commit to it. Instant No.4 (The difficulty of my task)
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
[...] In agreement with our favourite existential thinkers, a new study has linked suffering with religiosity: Gray and Wegner created a state-by-state “suffering index” and found a positive correlation between a state’s relative misery (compared to the rest of the country) and its population’s belief in God. Sciam [...]