Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Soren speaks again

I am reading an awesome book suggested by a dear friend named Elisa that I don't talk about enough. She is a wonderful, creative and sacrificial person that has raised three amazing children that refuse to accept the life offered them by our culture and long for something different, something better. And what is a greater act than giving birth to such spirit?

The book is called The Irresistable Revolution, by Shane Claiborne and you should read it.

This is a quote from Soren Kierkegaard:

the matter is quite simple. The bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly. Take an words in the new testement and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever got on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God. Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the new testement.

I am proud to be Danish when reading Soren's words.

rev

6 comments:

Ant said...

Man, I want that life! Craving cigarettes is nothing to the craving I have for a different life. It is scary though, to get close to the Bible and the words that are offered to us. We seem to do this with people and our relationships as well. We will get as close as we can, until it really costs something. Show me the bill and I'll pay it!

Anonymous said...

Ouch

Anonymous said...

drop me an email mate - i do check up here - Hamo

Anonymous said...

This is a fantastic quote and Shane's book is a challenging and provoking read - I heartily recommend it!

I constantly find myself challenged by this quote by Soren! It reminds me of a quote by Philip Yancey - which is similar. He laments in one of his earlier books (can't tell you which one yet as they are packed and sitting at the new house we're moving to) that if we as Christians TRUELY believed Jesus and lived our lives with that knowledge 100% what an impact we would have on this world, instead we tend to compartmentalize Christ.

I have just started reading FLASHBANG! which is along similar lines - will post more later.

Digger said...

Since when are you Danish?

KLJ said...

Hello... Jensen? That's plenty Danish there aint it?
We've always been Danish, since the day we were born.