Faith: The Staying Power

Abstract

In this paper I aim to present a wide-ranging and sustained examination of Kierkegaard’s thought especially with reference to his oeuvre—Fear and Trembling. Paradox and absurd in its semantic content would exclude reason. Kierkegaard’s point is that there is no real way to clasp the absurd—the religious mystery—except through the leap of faith which is a feasible alternative to the trajectory of ethical stage which is an established principle and universally lauded norm. Kierkegaard’s vision is to give an enlightened view of the leap of faith which is an alternative to the limit of the ethical stage. I would investigate Kierkegaard’s account of faith and its constitutive elements which are grounded in the soul, in the personality, and in the spirituality of the single individual. Furthermore, I would argue that for Kierkegaard, religious understanding—faith—is not different from self-realization, spiritual cultivation; God-realization.