I think it can be argued that Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher and theologian, has something to say about creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. However, I would like to place my focus on two of these in particular. I think that Kierkegaard really contributes significantly to the fall and to restoration. Soren Kierkegaard’s father taught him quickly about the fall of man. For awhile, Kierkegaard equated his father with God. That was, until his father confessed his rebellion and sinfulness. The book describes that Kierkegaard was rebellious after the earth-shattering news of his sinful father, but then later accepted God back into his life and experienced much joy. It seems that throughout his life, Soren Kierkegaard, constantly battled himself and the actions/beliefs of others. In addition to this troubling time with his father, he called off an engagement with his dearly loved women because he felt God was veto-ing it. Kierkegaard rejected church ideals and believed “that the most meaningful relationship with God was a purely personal one that was arrived at through an individual’s free choice, not one whose nature and content were dictated by the church.” Additionally, he thought religion was too rational and mechanical and that we needed to experience the irrational and emotional side to fully connect with God. It appears as though Kierkegaard was in touch with his emotional side, and perhaps this causes his internal emotional struggle. He internally battled his feelings, sharing that he often felt like the life of the party and knew everyone loved and admired him, but he recalled feeling like he “wanted to shoot himself” (206).
It seems to me that Soren Kierkegaard was well in touch with the fall. He knew of his father’s sinfulness, and that crushed his world. He believe the church was failing people, and that was a fall. He hurt a woman he loved very much, and that recognizes the fall of man. He discusses relationship with God as a Love Affair because “it is simultaneously passionate, happy, and painful” (207). He struggles with the way he thinks and feels about himself, therefore being an example of the fall of mankind. He even had a physical impairment, a hunchback, which again, teaches us that we are not perfect creations, rather broken and faulted human beings.
On a more positive note, I believe Kierkegaard also teaches us about restoration. He teaches us about faith. The book explains some of Kierkegaard’s ideas:
“Attempting to understand Jesus objectively reveals a number of paradoxes. Christ is both God and man; he is eternal truth existing in finite time; he lived almost 2,000 years ago but also exists presently; and he violates natural law with his miracles. Facts or logic do not remove these paradoxes; they create them. Belief alone can resolve them; subjectivity, not objectivity, is truth. Christian faith is something that must be lived; it must be felt emotionally. For it can be neither understood nor truly appreciated as rational abstraction.”
This quote holds a theme of faith that Kierkegaard seems to have. Kierkegaard talks about the love affair with God, and about the faith that it takes to be in an effective relationship with God. He speaks about God being unfathomable, and untamable. He even discusses stages of personal freedom. In my opinion, these things speak to the longing in Kierkegaard’s heart to know more about God, to desire Him, to be in awe of Him, to recognize His greatness. All of these things remind me of restoration. That one day we will be restored to our Father. But until then, we will continue to long and not be able to understand. We must use faith. 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” Restoration includes future hope, and I think Kierkegaard demonstrates future hope through his ideologies of a great love affair with God that requires faith, is personal, emotional, and maybe even irrational.