Christian Scholarship?
Monday, June 23rd, 2008I came across a rather intriguing quote yesterday. The statement, penned by Soren Kierkegaard, really grabbed my attention. I thought the statement was worth sharing with everyone.
“The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand we are obliged to act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world?
Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament.”
Soren Kierkegaard
My experience with talking to new Christians over the years would confirm that Kierkegaard was right. An oft repeated question amongst those new to the faith is, “Why don’t people just do what the Bible says?”
I am a writer and Internet publisher currently living in Montana (of all places...). This blog reflects my thoughts on life, family, faith, new media, simplicity and whatever else happens to interest me at the moment - and yes, my grandmother is one of the few people to read my blog!