Moi Thoughts

Reading the text "Fear and Trembling" by Soren Kierkegaard for my philosophy class brought a whole new revelation to my life regarding Faith and Relationship. Trying to articulate my thoughts and my study has become a trial for me. Therefore, I will attempt to articulate myself on here first as I have been asked to teach the youth this week and this is the direction that I feel lead to explore.


This portion of the class struck home to me as we began to study what drove Kierkegaard to pen this text and as we began to study and research the Age of Enlightenment and the period of Nihilism, which followed this age. The reason this was so personal to me was due to the fact that I personally, and I'm sure others possibly did so also, began to recognize the same pattern of belief and thought process taking place in our society today. This may be more significant for me personally because I work in education and deal with humanism, socialism, reason, and intellect on a daily basis. If you happen upon this, please bear with me as I explore and sort my thoughts.


According to Voltaire, the appeal of this age was designed to accomodate:
*1. autonomy of reason
*2 perfectability and progress
*3. confidence in the ability to discover causality
*4. principles governing nature, man and society
*5. assaults upon authority
*6. cosmopolitan solidarity of enlightened intellectuals
*7. a disgust for and with nationalism


Sound familiar? According to Encarta, this age was seen as the period of emergence from darkness and ignorance into a new age enlightened by reason, science, and respect for humanity. The most important of basic assumptions and beliefs commonly held by philosophers and intellectuals of this age was that of an abiding faith in the power of human reason. When this realization struck me, it felt like a knife to my soul as this has been my personal battle while pursuing education; however, that is a topic for another day. The basic doctrine through this period was that if reason was used judiciously, unending progress in knowledge, in moral values and other avenues of achievement would have endless possibilities. The church became ferociously attacked during this period due to it's political power and wealth, but more so due to it's strong suppression of the free excercise of reason. Religious salvation was to be thought of as simply an afterthought and was to be placed completely secondary to worldly happiness.


The motto of the age was proposed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant to be "Dare to Know." The fad was to explore many new ideas in numerous directions and to question every value and moral previously taught; hence, the inconsistencies and contradictions that are often found in 18th century writings. The homeland of this ideology, if I may term it as such, was France. One interpretation of this period ends with the statement that "the Enlightenment left a lasting heritage for the 19th and 20th centuries. It marked a key stage in the decline of the church and the growth of modern secularism." I guess that would be considered a "lasting heritage" to some but when thought of in reference to serving God and what it truly means to be a part of his body, the church, what a sad heritage.


Following closely on the heels of this period came the age of Nihilism; basically, the belief in nothing. According to Wikipedia, "Nihilism argues that the world, especially past and current human existence, is without objective meaning, purpose, comprehensible truth, or essential value." If one looks at the true definition of Nihilism it is basically the belief in nothing, perpetuates the doctrine of no loyalty, and identifies no purpose to life other than possibly the purpose of destruction. When one buys into the doctrine of Nihilism, despair reigns supreme. Nihilism perpetuates the abandonment of all ethical and moral codes due to the fact that it defines our existence as simply that. There is no after life, there is nothing to live for, there is no reason for our existence; therefore, we simply live and die. While one is on this earth, according to this doctrine, they simply exist.


Nihilism according to Webster's Dictionary: 1 a : a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless (b) : a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths2 a : a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility (b) capitalized : the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination. Sound Familiar? It is interesting to study this doctrine and the word "annihilation" in conjuction with each other.


However, back to my subject, Kierkegaard comes on the scene through this period of time and blasts those that buy into these doctrines. Depression, despair, and a sense of dissatisfaction with life was common during this period. Kierkegaard diagnosis the cure for society as a relationship with God. Not because the church deems it to be necessary, not because it was taught and is a traditional means of belief, not based on rote but simply because one loves God and wants to know him more and learn his ways. He then writes the story of Abraham and Isaac and identifies different scenarios that Abraham could have engaged in when God called him to sacrifice Isaac. Kierkegaard begins to explore the ethical versus the spiritual ramifications of Abrahams obedience to God.

Abraham exhibits absolute faith in the absolute! He never waivers in his faith and doubt is not a part of his constitution at this stage in the game of life. Romans 4:18-22 tells us, speaking of Abraham, "18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness."

This was just the beginning of Abrahams example of Faith. "The story that is the focus of Fear and Trembling is told in Genesis 22:1-19. In this passage, God tells Abraham to bring his only son Isaac to Mount Moriah, and to sacrifice him there as an offering to God. Without protest or question, and without telling anyone else of God's command, Abraham saddles his horses and rides for three days with Isaac and his two servants to Mount Moriah. He then lays Isaac upon the altar, and raises his knife to kill Isaac. Only then does the angel of God stop Abraham, pointing out to him a ram caught in a thicket that he is to sacrifice in Isaac's place." (SparkNotes) The faith of Abraham has no rational explanation. Basically the same as one's faith in God. There is no empirical evidence that God exists, this is the reason that there are atheists and agnostics in the world. Belief in God is based on faith and faith alone, until one actually experiences his spirit for themselves and even that, in and of itself, is a faith-based experience.

If one were to study Abraham from an ethical point of view, he would be considered a murderer. When one looks at Abraham from a spiritual point of view, he was simply offering a sacrifice to God. Why? Because he knew without a doubt that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead and if he were to keep his promise of making Abraham a great nation that he would have to raise Isaac from the dead. Hebrews 11:17-19 "17By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
18Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
19Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. " Isaac would be the fulfillment of Abraham's seed, he could not do thus were he still dead. The paradox of Abraham is that he places himself, as a single individual, in an absolute relation to the absolute: he is not justified by anything universal, but precisely by being a single individual. What he attempts to do is not ethical or moral, or justifiable by any standard of what we know as just and moral today.

Abrahams actions are not related to the universal, he acts only for God and for himself. God asks him to act in faith and he does so to prove his faith. This is not something that he can articulate and that he can share in words. He does not go and ask his friends or peers what they think about how he should respond to God's request and how he should handle this situation. This is personal between him and his Lord. So how does one obtain this type of faith? Faith is passion based. One must be passionate to have faith, but it is nigh impossible to be passionate about something or someone you have nothing in common with or have no relationship to.

Abraham had a relationship with God. God had made some promises to Abraham and fulfilled them. Abraham had submitted himself to God in some things; therefore, had experienced the favor and the blessings of God. Abraham communicated with God. He was not perfect and made mistakes. Look at Hagar and the situation in Egypt where he claimed Sarah to be his sister. James 2:23 states "And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." When we look at the heroes of faith identified in Hebrews the 11th chapter there is one thing they all have in common even though many of them were screw-ups according to the ethical and moral scale we live by today. They had a relationship with God. David messed up big-time but God loved him because he had a broken and a contrite spirit. The list could go on and on. Relationship leads to Faith and the lack of relationship is solely connected to a lack of faith.

Basically our society today is experiencing the same cycle as experienced through the Ages of Enlightenment and Nihilism. We are simply dealing with the same old devil dressed up in a pretty new dress. People are attempting to rely on their reason and intellect to guide them and to concrete their future happiness and contentment. Submission to authority is definitely not in style and this is the age to explore every new idea and thought that expresses itself to one. If we do not have our loins girt about with truth and we do not hide the word of God in our heart faithfully, the deeper we dive into our education and our career the more we will find ourselves struggling with our faith. Reliance upon our own ability, our powers of reasoning and our intellect will lead us deeper into the deserts of despair and hopelessness and will destroy our God conscience.

We cannot live a life of faith under our own power and through our own human ability. It takes a relationship with God. How do we nurture such? By a daily life of devotion, by a daily prayer life, by studying the Word of God on a daily basis, by submitting our will to the ways of God and seeking him, by submitting ourselves to authority and gaining discipline in our daily living. The more we seek him the more we will find him, the deeper we will walk with him. If we are struggling with bitterness, resentment, hatred, anger, disrespect for authority, lack of judgement, and the list could go on, we may do an inventory of ourself and see if we are buying into the new age theories of "think for yourself" and "explore your inner man," and theories that deny the existence of God and our need for direction greater than our own. If so, we may find ourselves experiencing the thought process of Nihilism and feeling the despair, dejection, and depression of a life lived under our own power without the power of Jesus to keep us and direct us.

There is hope. Hebrew 11:6 states "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." God loves us even when we don't love ourselves; that is a statement found to be true through personal experience. When we seek him with our whole heart, no matter what mistakes we make in the process, we will find him. Building our relationship with the Lord will build our faith.

Life used to be so dark and cold
A bitter wind blowin’ thru my soul
But now I’ve got to let you know
Everything changed it’s a miracle.

Hard to explain how it came to be
Yesterday I was blind, today I see
This love I have so wonderful
Cause everything changed it’s a miracle

Oh oh, what a beautiful season
Oh oh, Jesus is the reason


It’s gonna be a white Christmas
Into the new and out of the old
Though my sins were red as crimson
Now they’re white as snow

It’s gonna be a white Christmas
The past is passed away
And it’s a brand new day because of Jesus
It’s gonna be a white, white Christmas

This can be your year for change
Where Christmas happens every day
And joy returns to you in full
This is your day for a miracle

Dreams and destiny renewed
What he’s done for me He can do for you
So open up your heart once more
This is your day for a miracle

It’s gonna be a white Christmas
Into the new and out of the old
Though my sins were red as crimson
Now they’re white as snow

It’s gonna be a white Christmas
The past is passed away
And it’s a brand new day because of Jesus
It’s gonna be a white, white Christmas

More than just a fantasy
It can be reality
If you believe it’s not a dream
It’s gonna be a white, white Christmas
~ Martha Munizzi and Israel Houghton