I have this book on philosophy...it's kind of the dummy guide to philosophy but it mentions Kierkegaard and I really liked what I saw. According to the text:
He distinguishes between objective reality and subjective reality. He believes that objective is cold hard facts. It is the truth whether you believe it or not. For subjective, he believes that truth is what is true for you...this is insightful without the negative connotations that normally come to mind when we hear the word subjective. He believed that a strong subjective truth was better than an objective one.
This makes sense given his strong Christian values. I would expect him to prefer a passionate feeling to something cold and factual. Nevertheless, this is compelling. My text states that he saw Christianity as individual, that one could not simply go to church and hear an opinion through another person. I like this idea. I believe we all have to find faith on our own. We all see the world differently even if the facts are the same. Knowing this, I believe that it is necessary to find faith on our own. We cannot be ushered into a system where someone tells us how to think in accordance with religion or really any other matter. We have to live our lives to find true, deep, and emotional meaning. Otherwise we are simply going through the motions.
This is one reason why I practice my faith alone. I believe that so many people believe that doing what is right simply amounts to giving one dollar or attending mass. Being a good person is doing what comes your way, not just following a formula of expectation. The same is true with Christianity. So many people quote bible versus without having any idea what they mean. It is clear that they have never given it any thought. They just regurgitate things. This is not faith. I think we have to ask questions, to find our own path, and to gain knowledge in our own way. I think this is what truly leads us to finding God and living life.
I feel like Christmas is a great example of this. We all go through the motions. We organize a gathering and buy the presents. No one's heart is in it anymore. So many people are unhappy, angry, disgruntled because they don't want to have their holiday that way, nevertheless they continue to do it. Why? Why do it to yourself? Because that is how the holiday is meant to be? Says who? When did God say that there is a certain way to celebrate it? If doing these things makes you miserable then you shouldn't. It defeats the deeper messages of the holidays. If sitting at home and eating pizza helps you to enjoy the holidays then do so...otherwise you will be embittered and thus unable to share kindness and joy with your fellow man, one of the main ideas behind the holiday. Besides, for some people this is all they have the means to do on a holiday and I sincerely doubt God thinks less of them. The point is to share time with others and enjoy the innocent meanings of the holiday in a pure way. However you decide to do that is up to you.
We cannot be told what to think by another person, because we are not that other person nor should we be made to fit their mold. We should embrace who we are. We were made to be different and so we are all meant to follow a different path.
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