Church Voices

I’d be lying if I said that I don’t often empathize with the elucidating writings of the great Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard, reflecting themes of the utmost despair, sadness and pain. Although a Christian, Kierkegaard couldn’t seem to dodge the concept of life as a whole being anything but meaningless and absurd. “I stick my finger into existence,” He said, “it smells of nothing.” In fact, Kierkegaard even claimed we must believe by “virtue of the absurd”, which the more you actually read into the development of that philosophy, the more interesting it seems to become.

I’m sure oftentimes identifying himself with the writings of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, Kierkegaard geared much of his melancholy postures toward poetry; although shown not to have been ignored in his philosophical/theological works either. Kierkegaard even innovated a form of Christian existentialism which held that basically the individual is thereby subject to an enormous burden of responsibility, for upon his or her existential choices hangs their eternal salvation or damnation. It’s not hard to see how this burden could lead to perpetual anxiety in life. Of course I would not go as far as to personally adopt these views myself, but I feel Kierkegaard’s struggles of meaningless and absurdity are frequent imposters of my faith—leaving me with a shrewd sense of alienation within this world and my beliefs thereof.

Sometimes I too can’t help but think existence is wholly absurd. The very concept, making and creation of life seems at times irrational, nonsensical, and utterly pointless. What can we make sense of in this cosmos? What epistemic millstone must we burn to defeat this mysterious paradox? The only answer I seem to reach, no matter by which way of reasoning, is death. Must we simply outlive it to breach it? Maybe I’m defeating the thought altogether by anticipating beyond the existential context in which it presents itself, but if the solution were death, it seems it would be sufficiently resolved by life eternal. If the solution were truly life in the existential, it would therefore be conquered by death. Thus, death ultimately suffices.

1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.

55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

We groan, being burdened…So that mortality may be swallowed up by life.