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Sun 19 Oct, 2008 02:57 am
4 - The Greatest Danger
Pages 16-18 P:SWK
The Greatest Danger to Christianity is not atheists or heresies, according to Kierkegaard, but "orthodoxy which is cordial drivel, mediocrity served up sweet". He is critical about counterfeit Christianity's weak half-hearted approach to life. He argues that Christianity does not oppose the passions and natural instincts to become a better person, but that it does oppose "flat mediocrity, nauseating atmosphere, and homey, civil togetherness".
Kierkegaard argues that individuals must revolt against mediocrity and stagnant, narrow-minded values of society and counterfeit Christianity: "We clever humans, however, prefer to treat faith as if it were something finite, as if it were something for the betterment and enjoyment of temporal life. It is supposed to bring us meaning and fulfillment, happiness and direction. This kind of religion is nothing but a deception. If you were honest and if you would look at it more closely, you would see that this really is contempt for religion, a dangerous and culpable irreligion. True faith insists on being an either/or. To treat it as if it were like drink and food is fundamentally to scorn it. But this is precisely the way of mediocrity."
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