Bierkergaard: The Writings of Soren Kierkegaard

Soren writes that when we come to the understanding that we are nothing without God, that we need God in order to please God, that is the path to becoming a profitable servant.

Jim Murphy, in his book "Inner Excellence", writes in the Preface that "Self-centeredness is the root cause of all fear." Being cowardly is not of God who desires that we be of good courage. If we are overly fearful, chances are we are focused on ourselves and not God and the good he wants us to experience. * The book is the one that A.J. Brown was reading on the sidelines duri...

Soren writes, " Resolution has the winsome faculty of concerning itself with the little things." We may not have a lot of talent, money, time, etc. Or we may have a lot. What we have, God wants. Whether it is a little or a lot. And better to give all of a little than little of a lot.

Soren writes, "Besides all its other good qualities, the good, the truly great and noble, has the quality of not allowing the observer to be indifferent. It elicits a pledge, as it were, from the person who has at once caught a vision of it."

This sounds like some type of 1960's Hippie song. A bit of a travelogue. Keep the holiday season full of good cheer. Live life forwards my good people!

When our decisions are based on God' will, this imparts courage. It doesn't mean that we don't have fear but the confidence gives us courage to carry on. A peaceful conscience is a great gift. I end the podcast with a reading of ChatGPT's AI response to Soren's reflection on Bierkergaard and a little "Shop Local" illustration of the Incarnation. Remember the Reason for the Season.

This episode is me sharing the 5 books that I am reading. 4 are Kierkegaard-focused. One is sort of. The last one, which I just got but not reading yet, is about the worldly effectiveness of Stoicism in addressing both the adversities and joys of life. Yet, It has little hope of eternity and a better world. Share the podcast on social media, write a review on your podcast platform, and reach out o...

Soren writes that pride and cowardliness are the same. The focus on self and not God seems to be the underlying similarity. "The proud person always wants to do the right thing, the great thing, and he is actually struggling not with people, but God" because he wants to do it in his own power. Doing so can also make us fearful because it is all about us. A lot of us is vulnerable when we attempt g...

Soren writes that "That even the progress through life for the most honest contender is difficult" and fear/cowardliness "Gnaws asunder the chain of resolution." So, facing that life is, to one degree or another, difficult for everyone helps us make difficulties normative. And cope with them. When the evening comes, let us say that we continued to walk in the day of difficulties even though it mig...

The Apostle Paul writes to younger Timothy in 2nd Timothy 1:7 that "God did not give us a spirit of cowardliness but a spirit of power and of love and of self-control." Soren sees an "Abundance of intentions and a poverty of action" and "One becoming so high-flying in resolution that one forgets to walk" as evidence of being cowardly. The goal is progress, not perfection. Crawl if you must, just c...

Soren writes, "It (the past) becomes quieter, it becomes gentle, it becomes sad." The Apostle always remembered who he was before he was called by Jesus. A persecutor of the early Church. He didn't live in the past but neither did he forget it. Soren advises that it is good to not look back too often while on the good path. Neither is it wise to be anxious about the future by looking ahead too oft...

Thralldom is a noun that means "the state of being under the control of another person or being enslaved." Paul's Thorn in the Flesh was something that tethered him to the passing world. But, as a result, he also looked up with the revelation that God was giving him. So, the thorn was used for good as it made Paul not dependent on the world. But, to transcend the allure and the pride of temporalit...

Soren writes of the Apostle Paul's "Thorn In The Flesh" pouring "All of the agony into the brevity of the moment." This episode explores the existence of pain and joy in the same cup. And the more God uses us for His purposes, the more we may suffer.

Soren in developing his Upbuilding Discourse on Paul's "Thorn in the Flesh" reminds us, his readers, that we "Don't Have Too Many Moments To Waste On Worldly Sorrow." In light of eternity, they are brief and passing. The Apostle Paul is seen by many as a deluded impostor who had a selfish and egotistical scheme to create a new religion based on the teachings of an executed rabbi from Nazareth. A b...

My buddies and I were blessed to be able to hang around a fire with Sune from Copenhagen, Denmark. Where we were able to practice "Hygge" which is a Danish word for comfort/cozy. It is the intro for the other episode for today. We had an interesting night discussing the US presidential election and related matters as well some of the issues in Denmark. We were eating Brats, drinking my Homebrew Be...

First things first... So, I have changed the picture that fronts the podcast. I also have changed the category from "Christianity" to "Philosophy." Both changes seem to fit more of where the podcast is and where I want it to be. Me standing next to one of the two Soren Kierkegaard statues in Copenhagen embodies my goal of staying close to his legacy and his writings. Christ at the center. Philosop...

Yes, my good friends in the podcast universe, I am back from Copenhagen where I walked around 70 miles retracing Soren's steps. And endured the thorn of flying to Europe and back as a 6'8" man in a 5'10" world. The Big Man got a bit broken and then blessed in Copenhagen. Like one of those delicious rolls that come out of Danish ovens. Sometimes we want to put the blessing before the brokenness but...

I go on a major riff on my trip today to Copenhagen, talking about matters of such things. And, some personal reflection on my pain of over 40 years with my knee and head. Finally, we end with Soren's first paragraph of the Upbuilding Discourse "Thorn In The Flesh" and how the term is torn from its biblical context and used lightly and superficially to refer almost anything that doesn't go our way...

Soren assures the Christian that the peace of God is only through God himself. Our trust in his goodness towards us provides patience and calmness. Pray for me as I head to Copenhagen next week to walk where Soren walked. I'll see if I have the time to do an episode next Wednesday before I depart. The week after is likely going to have to wait as I will be flying back to the States.

Soren observes that people can go to church and not experience God. At all. As if God is not there. Yet, the Christian has God in him and with him all of the time.

Can we, like the Apostle Paul, "Boast in our weakness?" That is a spiritual confession that frees us to accept God's grace. Some discussion of outward observance vs. inward obedience is explored. Too often outward observance actually works against accepting God's grace. Like we can do it on our own.

In this section of the Upbuilding Discourse of "Needing God" the deeper self counsels the first self that 'Even in this moment, everything can be changed." Soren does not want his readers to place their hope on the inconstancy of the external world. He likens us to children who can be swayed by a trinket of externality and thus forget our need for God. He wants us to lose that f...

Jesus says that without him, we can do nothing. That is to try and make ourselves right with God without him. Becoming nothing is freeing. All of our strivings, efforts, fruitless chasing of the wind. Rest in him. What seems hard makes life less difficult.

We are capable of nothing at all in regards to earning God's favor. It is by Grace alone by Faith alone. We are capable of nothing "Until the fire of God's love ignites the blaze."

God's grace even makes our sufferings brief and short.