Defending Organized Religion and Kierkegaard’s Anti-Climacus
Practice in Christianity, written by the pseudonym[1] of Anti-Climacus, describes the ideal Christian life from the perspective of the ideal Christian. ‘Anti-’ in the sense of ‘Anti-Climacus’ is not an indication of opposition (to Climacus, the ‘devoutly non-Christian’ ethicist and editor of Either/Or whose esthetic sense was particularly keen). Rather, “Anti-” is an older form of “ante”, meaning ‘before’ both in the sense of time and in the sense of rank. Anti-Climacus is the perfect Christian; this was useful to Kierkegaard, who could not claim that distinction for himself. Practice in Christianity deals harshly with the Church’s homogenization of Christianity by removing its “offensiveness.” This paper will examine and analyze several passages from Practice in Christianity, draw parallels between the inoffensive Church of Denmark in the mid-19th century and both the charismatic and “High-Church”[2] traditions of worship in the United States today, and suggest criteria for sincere, “offensive” worship in an organized church.
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at me.”
-Matthew 11:2-6; RSV
“The possibility of offense is the crossroad, or it is like standing at the crossroad…one never come to faith except from the possibility of offense.”
-Anti-Climacus; Practice in Christianity, pg. 81
What is offensive about Christianity? Surely such a question is absurd, even blasphemous! The word “Christianity” implies to many people a lifestyle characterized by altruism, kindness, mercy and sincere love—even after centuries of monarchs and murderers alike have used “Christianity” as an excuse for a variety of causes. Consider also the Christian’s devotion to God and attempted emulation of Christ—it is surely impossible to take umbrage at this patently inoffensive way of life. This argument makes great sense to many who call themselves “Christians.” Indeed, the concept of Christianity as a belief system is unlikely to offend many. The practice of Christianity, on the other hand, is particularly offensive, albeit not in the sense in which “offensive” is particularly used.
Our readings from Luke’s Gospel portray those in poverty as the people who will inherit the earth and be by Christ’s side in the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel of Luke, it states, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours” (6:20). Our readings from scripture paint a picture that suggests that those who are suffering in the world during their lifetime, will be
Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 19(1), 69-84. Heim, D. (1996). The 'Standard'. Phil Jackson, Seeker in Sneakers. Christian Century, 133(20), 654-656.
In de-emphasizing the role of the Church, it’s rituals, and offices, and supplanting them with a more direct and personal approach to God and spirituality; the Protestant Reformation, through the works of Martin...
Pullen, H. W. Modern Christianity, a Civilized Heathenism. Boston: William F. Gill and, 1875. Print.
The size of the Christian megachurch is manifested in its title, which demonstrates that this typically prodigious and resplendent edifice sustains a weekly attendance of at least two thousand congregants; and that the majority of the mega churches are of the Protestant persuasion, of which its doctrine is basically the antithesis of Catholicism’s authoritarian structures, as well as the other major religions of Islam, Hinduism and Old Testament Judaism (The Hartford Seminary). Over the years, there has not only been an enormous emergence of mega churches here in the US, but also of many disparaging remarks from the public, comedians, books and the news media, about this institution. Some assert that these types of churches are not really concerned about the souls of the people, and they are prodigious only because of the avarice, a misrepresentation of Jesus Christ and a manipulation of the hearts of people, in conjunction with a gross negligence of spiritual leadership. The truth is, that in some instances there is malfeasance, but in others, the church is led by the Spirit of God with vigor and integrity.
He then heard the voice of Elisha, telling him to come through. He heard the singing of the congregation. Elisha said, “Rise up, rise up, Brother Johnny, and talk about the Lord’s deliverance” John has been saved and exaltedly claimed, “Lord, I been introduced to the Father, and the Son, and I ain’t no stranger now!”
A multiple-baseline design differs from a reversal design by attempting to control for confounds through the introduction of treatment at differing time intervals to a few different people, to the same person in different situations, or to the same person across different behaviors. Reversal designs attempt to control for confounds by reversing the baseline and treatment conditions one or more times to assess the impact on behavior (Jackson, 2012).
In addition, in Kierkegaard’s “Practice in Christianity,” we are given the distinction between an imitator (a true Christian)
In the end he fails to get Daisy back and his pursuit of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties is over and unsuccessful. By the time he almost reaches his dream, the year of the American Dream has past and he fails miserably. Although he has failed to achieve his American Dream, “Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it was what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men” (Fitzgerald 6-7). The Great Gatsby is seen as being a "general critique" of the American dream that everyone hoped to gain. It was a powerful example of the disadvantages for Americans of Fitzgerald’s generation and after. The American Dream is possible if you believe you can achieve it in the end.
McManners, John. "The Oxford History of Christianity." The Oxford History of Christianity. New York: New York Oxford Press, 2002. 28.
In an age when culture continues to lower standards of intellect, Marva Dawn makes compelling observations and suggestions for the Church to rethink its’ strategy on impacting society. How do we evangelize without weakening the message of what we are communicating? The majority of her text focuses on the worship environment generally, but later she focuses on music, preaching, and liturgy specifically. According to Dawn, a gathering of believers should emphasize God as the subject and object of worship, challenge each individual to grow in godly character, and accentuate the community of believers (not only in the room, but throughout history as well). Through this grid, she encourages leaders and participants to evaluate each worship element. If these primary goals are accomplished, then worship will not be empty and simpleminded. Instead the worship atmosphere would be held to a higher standard and, she believes, both pleasing to God and attractive to those who do not know God.
This is a within subjects repeated measures design where each animal will receive each level of the independent variable and will serve as its own control. The data will be analyzed with a one-way within-subjects anova.
...nclude Mono-Operation bias, according to Trochim & Donnelly (2008), which is a threat to construct validity that happens when there is a problem with your operationalization of your independent variable versus the construct on which it was based. Another design threat is that of the Mono-Method bias and this threat to construct validity refers to the use of only one method of measurement i.e. (you can’t provide proof that you are measuring what you say you are measuring) (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008). In addition, and according to Trochim & Donnelly (2008), a threat to construct validity is that of Interaction of Different Treatments, which means that experiences outside of those being controlled by your experiment effect the outcome of the study. An additional threat to construct validity that is related to design is Interaction of Testing and Treatment, which is
The Late Middle Ages saw great theological discrepancies through the progression of Christian mysticism. The exploration into spiritual practices and the unification of the soul during this period led to great philosophical works. The Cloud of Unknowing and The Imitation of Christ are two noteworthy texts that discuss one’s aspiration to attain union with God. The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymously authored spiritual exercise that accentuates movement toward the contemplative life by acknowledging what is unknown by man. In contrast, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis is a spiritual guide which emphasizes that the way to be fully Christian is to live in the imitation of Jesus Christ. While many of the thoughts concerning human reason and withdrawal from the corporal world are similar in the texts, the two are inherently different as the account in The Imitation of Christ is more compelling due to its focus on a humanistic objective while acquiring union and salvation with God.
Lambert, T. (2014). A brief history of Christianity in England. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from http://localhistories.org/christian.html