{"id":1828,"date":"2019-10-23T20:00:23","date_gmt":"2019-10-24T02:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/?p=1828"},"modified":"2019-10-23T20:00:23","modified_gmt":"2019-10-24T02:00:23","slug":"kierkegaard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/?p=1828","title":{"rendered":"Kierkegaard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"440\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kierkegaard-statue.jpg\" alt=\"Statue of Kierkegaard, Royal Library, Copenhagen, Denmark\" class=\"wp-image-1829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kierkegaard-statue.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Kierkegaard-statue-205x300.jpg 205w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>God does not insulate his believers from the Void, for he often exposes them to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>For example, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/?p=1689\">Oedipus<\/a> was utterly ruined without clear reason; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/?p=1699\">Job<\/a> was tormented as a result of a random bet; and Abraham\u2019s test of faith was an appalling nightmare. Perplexed by the meaning of such examples, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iep.utm.edu\/kierkega\/\">Soren Kierkegaard<\/a> spent a lifetime pondering about the blurry line separating the uncertainties of faith from the horror of the Void.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"970\" height=\"970\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/large-scale-structure-of-the-universe.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1830\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/large-scale-structure-of-the-universe.jpg 970w, https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/large-scale-structure-of-the-universe-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/large-scale-structure-of-the-universe-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/large-scale-structure-of-the-universe-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/><figcaption>Simulated view of the large-scale structure of the universe, by Nico Hamaus, Universit\u00e4ts-Sternwarte M\u00fcnchen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>For Kierkegaard,\nchoosing between God and the Void is perhaps the most vital decision\nof many decisions we must make. When we think seriously about\nourselves, Kierkegaard realized, it is the obligation of choice that\nlies at the very crux of existence. We, however, by our very nature,\nare finite, prejudiced, and limited. Though required to make\ndecisions, we are incapable of discovering any logical criteria for\nweighing options; there are absolutely no objective standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In choosing without\nknowing, all decisions are mere guesswork, and we experience dread\nknowing that we are held responsible for our guesses. We can\ndeliberate, deceive, or make a leap of faith, but we cannot evade\nresponsibility. Life, therefore, is a dead end, an agonizing anomaly\nfilled with ennui, emptiness, and anguish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"544\" height=\"680\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/anxiety-by-Sillvi.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1831\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/anxiety-by-Sillvi.jpeg 544w, https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/anxiety-by-Sillvi-240x300.jpeg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 544px) 100vw, 544px\" \/><figcaption>Anxiety by Sillvi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>After much restless\ncontemplation, Kierkegaard chose Christianity, knowing evidently that\neven if a relationship with God was possible, it would not preserve\nhim from inner void and existential terror.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>God does not insulate his believers from the Void, for he often exposes them to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[6,9,13,2],"tags":[336,338,62,34,29],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1Af2X-tu","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1832,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1828\/revisions\/1832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyperboreans.com\/heterodoxia\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}