Wolff characterizes kierkegaard’s existential dilemma
Kierkegaard waged a mighty battle with his own will and conscience not just about the existence of God, but, more importantly, about having faith in the promise of Christianity–that God actually became Man in the form of Jesus Christ, who died for the sins of all men, in order to renew His promise of eternal salvation and everlasting life in God’s paradise (heaven).
Wolff characterizes Kierkegaard’s existential dilemma: “But just because I need so desperately to know that Jesus really lived, I am hopelessly at a loss for evidence or argument sufficient to my need. Can I rest comfortably in the belief that I have been promised eternal life when the evidence for my belief is merely probable, merely the sort of evidence that a historian or philosopher can produce? No, too much is at stake: Salvation is everything; it is eternity of life rather than death. I am reduced by my terror and my need to infinite concern for something that defies rational grounding. In short, I am reduced to an absoluteleap of faith” (p. 310).
Explain in your own words what you think Kierkegaard is trying to solve or establish here; specifically, explain what he means by saying thatone must make a “leap of faith” in order to truly realize the promise of Christianity. Be sure to discuss how Kierkegaard’s approach to religious faith differs radically from that of his family and the society of his time, including his claim that faith is irrational and that “truth is subjectivity.”
