One reason why I love Kierkegaard

Here is one reason why I love Kierkegaard's writings. The first page to his book "Fear and Trembling" has this quote:

"What Tarquinius Superbus said in the garden by means of the poppies, the son understood but the messenger did not."

It's a quote from Hamann; and the pseudonym Kierkegaard uses is 'Johannes de Silentio'.

Now, the first questions that pop in your mind, is "Who are all these people?", and "How does this fit in with the book?", or "Why put all this in, in the first place?".

Look at "Fear and Trembling" first:

1. Philippians 2:12 - Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
2. At the beginning of Psalm 54 - My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught at the voice of the enemy, at the stares of the wicked; for they bring down suffering upon me and revile me in their anger.My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.

Serious stuff. Keep in mind that the subject of the book is Abraham's faith in God as He told him to sacrifice his son. One of the ways Johannes de Silentio tells us about Abraham's anguish is to clearly tell us what this 'fear and trembling' motif means.

Who is Johannes de Silentio? It's Kierkegaard's pseudonym. It is Latin for "John the Silent". He is silent because he doesn't understand Abraham's faith - he is trying to, but he just can't wrap his arms around it.

The book exists on two levels. 1. It is an examination of Abraham's faith in the Genesis story - very powerful. 2. It is a deeply personal allegory about Kierkegaard's faith, and how he gave up his fiancee Regine Olson, and thought that if he had enough faith, he would get her back - like Abraham got Isaac back: but alas! He didn't.

Who is Hamann - the guy who said the quote at the beginning? He was a philosopher. When he said the quote, he was focusing on something very, very interesting:

That an act can have a completely different meaning to someone who has special knowledge.

Hamann's example was Tarquinius Superbus, the 7th king of Rome. Superbus couldn't take the city of Gabii by force, through the military. So, he came up with a brilliant strategy. He sent is son, Sextus, to Gabii. When Sextus arrived, he faked like he hated his father, and he had marks all over his body from where he said his father beat him.

Gabii greeted him with open arms, he got the complete trust of their military, eventually was their leader, and so completely controlled the city. When he got complete control, the son sent a secret messenger to his dad, asking him what he should do with the city. His dad, the king, didn't say a word - all he did was cut off the heads of the tallest poppies!!!

I mean, think about it. Superbus couldn't just tell the messenger, "Tell my son to kill all the leading military figures in my rival city." That would have blown his cover. So, when the messenger came back, he told Sextus, "Well, all he did was cut off the heads of the tallest poppies. He didn't really say anything."

But: "What Tarquinius Superbus said in the garden by means of the poppies, the son understood but the messenger did not."

On the one hand, that's just a cool story. On the other, it is a perfect parable for what Kierkegaard is trying to tell us about the kind of book he is writing. An act can take on a completely different meaning if you have special knowledge. What acts?

1. Sacrificing a son.
2. Breaking off an engagement.

To someone without special knowledge, these acts would look hideous or mean-spirited. The special knowledge is Faith. The faithful and faithless see the same thing; but because the faithful has special knowledge, that 'same thing' has a different meaning.

I just scratched the surface here. But that's just the main reason why I'll never get sick of reading Kierkegaard. There's just layers and layers and layers of meaning, and they all make sense if you investigate and study it, and you just come away from that study completely refreshed, understanding something in an entirely new way, and you feel like you've actually discovered something about the meaning of life you wouldn't have got from any other source. I love it!