Luther

by Soren Kierkegaard from The Journals of Kierkegaard

In a sermon Luther inveighs most violently against the faith which clings to the person instead of to the word; true faith clings to the word no matter who the person is.

Well, that is all very well among men. But as for the rest this theory does away with Christianity. We thus receive a doctrine in the ordinary sense, where the doctrine is more than the teacher, instead of which Christianity is this paradox, that the person is all important. Why does St. Paul inculcate so clearly that he is an apostle not of men, neither by man (Gal. 1:1) except to show the difference in kind, which again is authority. In another connection St. Paul can, quite consistently, do away with that his difference, when it is a matter of bringing in Christ in person, as for example when he inveighs against some for saying “I am of Paul”, others of Apollos, others of Cephas instead of all being of Christ. (1 Cor. 1:12)

And once again Christianity’s paradoxical difference from every other doctrine, from a scientific point of view, is that it posits: authority. A philosopher with authority makes nonsense. For a philosopher goes no further than his doctrine; if I can show that his doctrine is self-contradictory, incorrect, etc. he has nothing to reply. The paradox is that the personality is above the doctrine. It is therefore also nonsensical of a philosopher to demand faith.