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Post by shelbygraham on Jul 1, 2024 15:47:29 GMT
I became an expert on Knight of Faith, which is also a concept from Kierkegaard. It seems like the Leap of Faith is a two-step process, similar to Knight of Faith. Kierkegaard said that becoming a Knight of Faith requires first becoming a Knight of Infinite Resignation; meaning, you have to resign or be willing to lose earthly things we love. In a way, this is kind of like what Grace says in her cheat sheet - distancing yourself from something so that you can get a full grasp or understanding of a situation. You have to have doubt before you can actually have true faith. Kierkegaard did not really believe in "blind faith." It seems like Kierkegaard believed having faith is a process, similar to becoming a Knight of Faith. This recurring theme or idea of faith being a two-step process suggests that Kierkegaard did not believe having faith was an easy task and those with faith should be admired.
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Post by Dr. Nemmers on Jul 2, 2024 18:07:19 GMT
Right, I think they're very much related... seems to me that the Knight of Faith would then become equipped to take a Leap of Faith? Hard for me to see how it could be one and not the other, since they both consist of willingly setting aside rationality and reason and becoming something extraordinary.
I do wonder to what extent these are both hypothetical or theoretical.... Apparently Kierkegaard said he had never actually met a "Knight of Faith," and he himself hadn't actually done the Leap of Faith either. Maybe he was just wishcasting about what the ideal would be?
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Post by shelbygraham on Jul 2, 2024 18:48:47 GMT
I found that interesting, as well. Like you say, he has never met one...yet he still believes they are out there. He describes it as an almost impossible task to become a knight of Faith. As someone known in his time for writing religious works/teachings, maybe this was an encouragement for people to at least try to achieve this ideal. He is giving his readers an idealistic model to follow? A goal to reach?
I try to imagine if I know of anyone in my life who I could consider a Knight of Faith, and I think even the most "faithful" people I know still have their moments or difficulty with moving past Knight of Infinite Resignation. I consider myself pretty faithful, as well, but definitely not a Knight of Faith.
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Post by gnicholson3 on Jul 3, 2024 1:58:18 GMT
That is exactly what he meant; I believe. The concept I included as a pressure point, abstraction, is exactly that. Taking away all else and leaving the purest version of you. It is a hard, nearly impossible, thing to achieve, but then you become aware of your actuality and your possibilities. A baby, for example, is born with infinite possibilities because they have not acted on anything. If an external action, like baptism, is acted then that child will have the social obligation to perform so then it is necessary to abstract from the church, so they can make the choice, the action, of becoming what they already are.
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