The Contribution of Søren Kierkegaard for the present times

Resumen

Søren Kierkegaard as a prolific riter, composing during his short life 35 intellectually captivating writings. In addition to his dissatisfaction with the state of religion and that of the established church in Denmark, his relationship to his father and his unfulfilled love to his fiancé, Regina, gave impulses to his incisive critical reflection. Kierkegaard can be considered a misunderstood prophet of his time who focused his intellectual capacity on topics such as: theology and anthropology – where he emphasized the ‘otherness’ of God and the gravity of human sin, overcome only on the basis of God’s initiative as actualized in daily decisions and acts of following Christ; critique of the power of the press and the indifference of the people to manipulation; and criticism of formal Christianity and the status of the ‘State-Church’ common throughout Europe of his time. Kierkegaard can be considered as one of the forerunners of modern individualistic existentialism, though one with a more potent religious/Christian dimension.