The other day I was reading about absurdism. Actually, I take that back: I was reading a comic about absurdism. Close enough, right? Right.

Completely coincidentally, it’s apparently an idea that none other than Søren Kierkegaard is partially responsible for.

The fundamental idea behind absurdism is this: finding the meaning of the universe is impossible because no meaning exists (as in, the universe is cold, dark and unforgiving). Therefore, to attempt to find meaning is absurd, and the only ways to “win” (if you want to call it that) are:

• Commit suicide
• Adopt a set of religious beliefs (aka “philosophical suicide,” since religion requires faith, which is the opposite of pure logic, which is the foundation of philosophy)
• Accept the absurd

In other words, you can either give up or learn how to fake it.

Granted, this is all founded on the idea that the universe is meaningless, which is the point to argue here, and I would in some sense argue against it. But maybe that’s because I don’t want to wear a tutu and hand out hot dogs at a water polo game.

And so ends yet another pointless exploration into the world of philosophy by yours truly. I hope it has been sufficiently educational. And perhaps this will help make more sense of Albert Camus’s The Stranger, should you pick it up again (or for the first time) in the near future.

Søren Kierkegaard is an irate, spiritual philosopher who had some issues with the way the Christian community was doing their thing in his day. So basically a more prominent, more vocal version of me. And from Denmark.

Provocations is a collection of his spiritual writings put together some time back. I somehow came across the book as a free PDF and, knowing what I did of Kierkegaard’s work, decided it’d be good to at least be aware of what he was saying.

The book covers a lot of territory, so it was helpful to get an idea from the start what he was standing for. His main arguing points are for a very subjective faith. That is, he believes faith to be a very personal thing, that no expansion of knowledge about one’s set of beliefs helps save them, that faith is the foundation and everything else is secondary.

He takes these ideas to extreme ends, but they are ends that should be explored. He does so with a fair amount of attitude and calling-out of bad Christian habits. He also comes to conclude that the “Christianization” of our world creates an environment where “everyone is a Christian, so no one is a Christian.”

Today’s martyrs will not bleed, as formerly, because they are Christians – yes, it is almost insane! They will be put to death because they are not “Christians.” Frightful drama! And how alone the martyr will stand!

I recommend Provocations for anyone who enjoys philosophical discussions on faith and wants to take faith to its necessary ends in order to see what the Christian life might look like without a need for arguments over doctrine and theology or a “Christian elite,” as he might call it were he to see the state of modern church life.

To be clear, though: I do not entirely agree with everything Kierkegaard has to say, but enough of it that this was an encouraging and growth-inducing read. I firmly believe that we should have no fear of any question, and Kierkegaard challenges those ideas of where the ends of the earth lie. I respect his life’s work much for that alone.