Søren Kierkegaard’s Advice on Reading the Bible

Søren Kierkegaard offers two suggestions for the reader who tackles difficult portions of the Bible. First, read it like a love letter, he says. As you struggle with language, culture, and other barriers, look on them as the necessary work to get to the main, crucial message from someone who loves you. 

Second, act on what you do understand. Kierkegaard dismisses the objection “There are so many obscure passages in the Holy Scriptures, whole books which are almost riddles” with the reply that he would only consider that objection from someone who had fully complied with all the…