What it means to be Christian: Kierkegaard's purpose as an author

Abstract

My purpose for this thesis is to understand and interpret the meaning and intent of Kierkegaard's authorship. Kierkegaard is emphatically concerned with making his reader aware of essential Christianity and what it means to be a Christian. Accordingly, I will begin by examining the context from which Kierkegaard writes. He felt that Christendom greatly misunderstood essential Christianity. Believing that those in Christendom erroneously focused too intently on the doctrines of Christianity to the neglect of the "how" of Christianity, he examines how it is possible that a person could learn eternal truth. For Kierkegaard, Christianity cannot be objectively discerned because it is not a teaching, but a way of life. As a result, Christianity is not primarily a historical matter of philosophy. As long as one seeks Christianity's truth objectively, he or she will constantly delay to make a decision about becoming a Christian, doubting the truth of Christianity. Having shown how Kierkegaard objects to Christendom's version of Christianity, I explain what he considers to be the prerequisite for genuine Christian faith-subjectivity. He believes that one must exercise the utmost personal concern if one is to be enabled to accept Christianity. Kierkegaard, therefore, conceives of Christianity as a way of existing. Furthermore, I make clear important points in Kierkegaard's thought. Since there are many competing ideas about what Christianity is, I suggest that, while Kierkegaard rejects Christianity as a system of doctrines, he is neither indifferent nor hostile to doctrines. For him, doctrines are descriptive of the normative Christian life. He adds that to truly believe, as a Christian, is to personally trust Christ. He says that this change of mind corresponds with a change of life such that one becomes a responsible individual before God. Finally, I conclude that Kierkegaard is best characterized as a Christian apologist, defending Christianity from Christendom, and that his contributions as an existential philosopher and literary writer simply complement his primary purpose as an author.