Comparing Kierkegaard's Absolute Duty To God

What is a human person? How do human beings relate to God? Who am I? Why do I exist?

​Sir Gawain, nephew to the well-known King Arthur of the Round Table, is regarded as the most elite and noble of all the knights in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Yet, like anyone else in the world, Sir Gawain is far from perfect. Gawain, a courteous knight living a life dedicated to honor, courage, and self-preservation, is tested on his chivalrous code throughout his journey; a search for the Green Knight. Throughout the tests, Gawain’s actions reveal that even the best of men can be selfish and are subject to guilt and sin.

Robert the Monk pits the foolish arrogance of Kerbogha against the Crusaders’ fervent belief and faith in God in the meeting between them. Robert tells the story of Kerbogha meeting with Peter the

The Influence of the Supernatural on Courtly Conduct, Christianity, and Chivalry in Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

“For ever, said Arthur, it is a worshipful knight’s deed to help another worshipful knight when he seeth him in a great danger; for ever a worshipful man will be loath to see a worshipful man shamed; and he that is of no worship, and fareth

Theme in “Defender of the Faith” can be interpreted in many varying ways, some of which are life-long lessons and others to the relation between faith and the individual.

The role of chivalry is a complicated concept for solitary heroes within Beowulf and Albrecht Dürer’s Knight, Death, and the Devil. In Beowulf, the concept of chivalry is explained through the eyes of the hero, Beowulf, which is the idea of performing chivalrous actions in the face of death for glory; however, Beowulf does not realize that his actions will not keep his people safe in the end. In Knight, Death and the Devil, the idea of chivalry is the motivation of the knight on religious grounds to be chivalrous in the face of death. The Knight gives the impression that he understood that his actions would ultimately be meaningless, and he appears resigned to the idea. The argument can be made that chivalry is unsustainable in both texts, given that while it inspires these heroes to pursue these tasks, the result is that they believe that mild sacrifices, such as their own life, must be made to ensure victory; however, these two texts differ with their heroes’ anticipated outcomes of their sacrifices, which turns out to be for nothing. Despite having different outcomes of operating within a system of chivalry, these two texts similarly critique the outcomes of chivalry as being unsustainable based on the demands it places on heroes to sacrifice themselves. To defend this claim, I will begin by similarly critiquing how chivalry is unsustainable within both texts. I will then express how both texts show the unsustainability results from the demands of sacrifice. I will then

We exercise our freedom not in complete isolation but in continuous interaction with others.” But this sort of identity is not individualistic in nature rather it exists in both equal and mutual forms between the two sexes of humanity. Barth here chooses to use the language of relationship rather than that of the material. For humans do not own this imago rather they reflect it and instead of the image of God being physically present within. “For it is not God in us but rather we are in relation to God through imago dei.”

Faith is the paradox that the single individual can rise above the universal (what is believed by the masses) (Kierkegaard, 84). If this is not the case, then Abraham is lost and "faith has never existed just because it has always existed (Kierkegaard, 85)." Kierkegaard accepts faith to be a category that is mostly subjective, because it cannot be forced to change. Mediation takes place by virtue of the universal and faith is above the universal (Kierkegaard, 89). Johannes believes Abraham could do it because he was blessed and was a friend of God. According to him, faith is not about observing. Friendship cannot be objective. Abraham's ethical relationship with Isaac is that the father should love the son more than himself (Kierkegaard, 58). According to ethical beliefs, Abraham should not kill Isaac. However, faith is greater than ethics. Johannes

Kierkegaard believes that true faith can only be attained through a double movement of giving up rationality or logic, while at the same time believing one can understand logically. In “Fear and Trembling” Kierkegaard relates true faith to the Knight of infinite resignation and the Knight of faith; in this paper, I will examine this claim and show why Kierkegaard’s analogy is an excellent metaphor for the double movement which is required in one’s quest to attain faith and why.

Although remembered by many as foremost a philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard was quite the theologian in his time, with his own unique approach to theology and Christianity in general. In a time that was ruled by objective methodology in every aspect of acquiring and summarizing knowledge, Kierkegaard sought to bring Christianity back into the realm of the subjective, thereby making it much more interactive and personal. What this paper focuses on is Kierkegaard’s requirement of sacrifice that all Christians must be willing to make in order to be considered true Christians, followed by both a critique and a praise for his contagious notion.

It would seem that he views other people as closer to God, not simply because of his own isolation, but because he witnesses their apparent ability to function in a world of God. This is seen on his act of acquiring a sense of morality through observation of behaviors of others

He is unsure how he should call upon the Lord (3). He points out that it is his faith,

In this essay, I will try to summarize, analyze and discuss several pages of Søren Kierkegaard’s Training in Christianity. I will try to focus on his approach to sacred history, a general Christian history and Christianity, which he discusses in this work in relation to faith in God. In other parts of this essay I will attempt also to relate these pages of his work to some key ideas of Kierkegaard’s theology and philosophy and support this with some concrete quotations from the text. In the end I will very briefly compare different philosophies of Hegel and Kierkegaard and try to relate Kierkegaard’s work to a few topics, which

Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d'Arthur is a classic piece of literate that reveals the depths of mankind in numerous ways. Man is a complicated creature, greatly influenced by a variety of circumstances and often the choices made in those times mold man into who he or she will become. The lens for which one views beauty and goodness can be greatly affected by these experiences. As I have spent time reflecting on Mallory’s writing, it is apparent that he used several key themes to explain his views of man; those being identity, fate, love, family, and redemption. These themes parallel much of scripture and when paid attention to, can help one understand the truths of Scripture on their Christian journey.