Why Does Søren Kierkegaard Still Matter?

Godsplaining

Dominican Friars Province of St. Joseph

Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 23 April 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

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Summary

This episode of Godsplaining dives into the thought of Søren Kierkegaard—one of the most influential Christian philosophers of the modern era and often called the “father of existentialism.” Fr. Bonaventure and Fr. Joseph-Anthony explore how Kierkegaard pushed back against overly rational approaches to Christianity, especially those influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (checkout our episode on Hegel, if you haven't already). While Hegel emphasized reason as the key to understanding reality and faith, Kierkegaard insisted that faith cannot be reduced to logic alone. The episode unpacks Kierkegaard’s famous framework of the three stages of life: The Aesthetic Stage: a life driven by pleasure, beauty, and experience The Ethical Stage: a life grounded in moral duty and universal truths The Religious Stage: a life of radical faith, where one responds personally to God Through works like Either/Or and Fear and Trembling, Kierkegaard shows that true faith goes beyond rules and reason. Using the story of Abraham, he introduces the idea of a “teleological suspension of the ethical”—that God’s call can transcend human logic, requiring trust even when we don’t fully understand. Join us at the 2026 All Comers' Retreat in June: https://godsplaining.org/all-comers-retreat-june-2026/ For the St. Dominic Rosary and more from the Catholic Woodworker: https://catholicwoodworker.com/products/st-dominic-rosary?utm_source=godsplaining&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=stdominic Send your questions for the friars to: godsplaining@opeast.org Subscribe to our channel https://www.youtube.com/c/Godsplaining Support the Podcast Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/godsplaining Shop our merch store: https://godsplaining.org/store/ Shop Books Written by the Friars Witness: https://www.avemariapress.com/products/witness-1?srsltid=AfmBOoo3b2MbHxat33i-cwrd1AcSW_hPBfcHcm4-8XxJoCDn4OUgTBe_ Training the Tongue: https://stpaulcenter.com/store/training-the-tongue-and-growing-beyond-sins-of-speech Your Eucharistic Identity: https://ignatius.com/your-eucharistic-identity-yeip/ St. Dominic's Way of Life: https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Dominics-Way-Life-Knowing/dp/1681929392 Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly: https://www.amazon.com/Prudence-Choose-Confidently-Live-Boldly/dp/1681927322/ Connect on Social Media Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/godsplaining/ Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/godsplaining/ Follow us on X: https://x.com/godsplaining To learn more about the Province of St. Joseph visit: www.opeast.org To support the Province of St. Joseph visit: www.dominicanfriars.org

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Father Joseph Anthony Kress.
0:07.3	This is Father Bonhameter Chapman.
0:09.4	And welcome to Godsplaining.
0:11.3	Thank you to all of our listeners and thank you to our supporters, especially our monthly
0:15.4	supporters on Patreon.
0:17.3	If you'd like to join that group of monthly supporters for this podcast, please check the
0:22.0	link in the show notes in the description, which will take you to our Patreon page where
0:26.3	then you can jump in and support us. And we're very, very grateful for all of those that take the
0:31.2	time and the money to support this podcast. And we hope you enjoy it. Father Bonaventure, we are back at it again. We are. Part two. Part two, one of our great series, which is philosophy with Father Bonaventure. And I feel that... And Father of Anthony Crest. Well, I have the honor of just, like, throwing, lobbing questions at you. But honestly, I just sit at the feet of the master and the philosophies, and I just sit here and take my notes before we get into this.
0:58.0	Correct.
0:59.0	I have a great announcement.
1:00.0	Excellent.
1:01.0	And specifically for our listeners.
1:02.0	So, dear listeners, we have a great invitation for you, offering for you, whatever you want to call it,
1:09.0	but we are excited as a podcast to partner with the Catholic woodworker on a very, very special gift, which is the official god-splaining rosary.
1:19.3	This is an heirloom quality rosary that's made entirely here in the great United States of America, and it's made by Catholics and four Catholics, and it features
1:28.6	the St. Dominic Medal at the center of it all, who, by the way, our founder, St. Dominic,
1:33.5	is responsible for bringing the rosary to the church in our friars, our tradition has helped
1:39.3	to perpetuate this devotion throughout the centuries. This rosary itself is built for generations,
1:45.8	just as the rosary has fed the faith of many throughout the generations. It is a strong
1:52.0	rosary. It's weighted properly. It's made with fantastic materials. In a certain sense,
1:56.8	it's kind of meant to slow you down and not necessarily rush through these prayers.
	...

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