Søren Kierkegaard is considered one of the great thinkers of recent times. A Dutch philosopher, theologian, and social critic, he rejected many the philosophies of his day. Kierkegaard’s focus was not so much on reason, but on experience and human existence. González (2010) describes Kierkegaard’s view that existence, “takes place in anguish, doubt, and despair” (p. 395). This emphasis on existence made him the founder of existentialism. Kierkegaard contributed to a number of different disciplines—philosophy, psychology, and theology to name a few. His contributions to psychology and to integrating psychology with theology are both intriguing and profound.
Kierkegaard’s extensional struggle with sin is revealed in the deep sense of guilt and …show more content…
The origin of Kierkegaard’s sense of despair begins with the trauma of a difficult childhood along with the revelation of a family secret so disturbing that it shook Kierkegaard to his soul. These experiences, accompanied by a deep sense of guilt and shame over his own sin, contributed to the despondency that Kierkegaard suffered. Kierkegaard describes the sense of despair as the hopelessness of not being able to die. The experience is a deep and profound inability to find peace, even in dying—a living experience of death (Podmore, 2009, p. 177).
Podmore (2009) explains how Kierkegaard’s struggle with despair reveals a profound psychological of understanding sin. He then goes on to establish how Kierkegaard’s equally insightful theological understanding of grace, answers Kierkegaard’s existential struggle with despair. Only when one is laid bare before God, hiding no part of the self or the horror of its sin, can one receive forgiveness and (self-) acceptance before God. This forgiveness and acceptance nourishes and heals the brokenness that sin produces in our souls (Podmore, 2009, p.
Kierkegaard’s extensional struggle with sin is revealed in the deep sense of guilt and …show more content…
The origin of Kierkegaard’s sense of despair begins with the trauma of a difficult childhood along with the revelation of a family secret so disturbing that it shook Kierkegaard to his soul. These experiences, accompanied by a deep sense of guilt and shame over his own sin, contributed to the despondency that Kierkegaard suffered. Kierkegaard describes the sense of despair as the hopelessness of not being able to die. The experience is a deep and profound inability to find peace, even in dying—a living experience of death (Podmore, 2009, p. 177).
Podmore (2009) explains how Kierkegaard’s struggle with despair reveals a profound psychological of understanding sin. He then goes on to establish how Kierkegaard’s equally insightful theological understanding of grace, answers Kierkegaard’s existential struggle with despair. Only when one is laid bare before God, hiding no part of the self or the horror of its sin, can one receive forgiveness and (self-) acceptance before God. This forgiveness and acceptance nourishes and heals the brokenness that sin produces in our souls (Podmore, 2009, p.