Bierkergaard: The Writings of Soren Kierkegaard

If we recognized that we are eternal, we’d treat our lives and others’ lives with the seriousness they’d deserve. Soren is emphatic that this eternality is foundational to learning to will one thing: a living relationship with God.

I have made a decision, for now, to do one episode a week. On my end, the purpose is to give me more time to produce a quality episode. On the listener side, it is for you to experience a higher quality episode and for listeners to give each published episode more attention versus having episodes not being listened to when published. So, better quality and stronger attention are the goals. If the podcast continues to gain listeners and it seems favorable to add a second podcast a week, I will do so. So, each Wednesday as new episode will be published. In the meantime, if you are hankering for more, catch up on already published episodes!

Old age should result in some wisdom which then can be shared with the younger. That is the theme of this episode.

Soren’s insistence that our most ardent enemy is our own sin; it keeps us from having the purity of heart to will one thing.

If you want to know anything about what Soren (or anyone) wrote about and believed, read him! Not others’ interpretations. There is a secondary place for commentaries and critiques but they are no substitute for the author’s own words.

I talk about the life of Rich Mullins, a Christian musician, who had many struggles. Primary of which was his difficult relationship with his dad, which had a profound effect on who he was. Finding love in God the Father in Christ was his healing, imperfect as it was. Rich Mullins was a vulnerable individual who embraced and struggled with it in his music and life. Soren too had a difficult relationship with his earthly father and writing, not music, was his healing. Finding healing in your art is a theme. Whatever that may be.

In Danish, the term for “Solitary Individual” is Hiin Enkelte. We continue working through the Preface of Soren’s book “Purity of Heart Is To Will One Thing.”

We have all heard the cliche that there is no “I” in team. I however have also heard a quote that there is an “I” in win. Maybe Michael Jordan said that? There is an “I” in team. We don’t lose our individuality when on teams. Yet, our contributions have to be seen as rewarding for the team. The “I” in WIN.

How does the eternal nature of humanity create morality and meaning? Soren helps us understand this. The last two episodes became conjoined and I had to separate them. Weird tech glitch. Moving on.

We get into Soren’s most approachable book.